Interesting Links for 29-07-2013

[andrewducker]

• This may be the best scientific paper abstract ever written
  (tags: funny viaSkreidle science )
• Warren Ellis on Plot
  (tags: WarrenEllis writing )
• Pronunciation YouTube channel turns into a spooky mystery
  (tags: weird )
• The Scariest Sex Toys We've Ever Seen
  (tags: sextoys )
• The shockingly short history of the history of technology
  (tags: history

Comments

This may be the best scientific paper abstract ever written

[cartesiandaemon]

ROFL, that's incredibly helpful, it's awesome. I wish more papers were like that.

Admittedly, I'd rather it had a tad more detail on "probably" -- was the uncertainty in the numbers, or the interpretation, or in premises other people might disagree with? But it's a lot more informative than a long waffly abstract that doesn't come down on either side :)

Why it's important not to think too much about your fantasies (NSFW)

[cartesiandaemon]

LOL. FWIW, I've been trying to notice when my mobile's internet blocks a site someone links to as potentially adult content. I expected it to be worse than it was; so far it's mostly been (a) LJ and DW, when the journal's author has enabled the "may contain adult content" flag and (b) OGLAF :)

A magnet floating around a Möbius strip track.

[cartesiandaemon]

Oh wow, that's awesome. Science wins.

Researchers discover a flaw in weather prediction

[cartesiandaemon]

What, again? It doesn't sound like the problem is with rounding errors, but that people are trying to model a chaotic system past the point rounding errors show up.

Re: Researchers discover a flaw in weather prediction

[andrewducker]

Yup. I think the take-away point is "once you get out to 10 days the accuracy is so bad that rounding errors are enough to produce completely different results".

A petition against ISP Filtering in the UK

[cartesiandaemon]

I really don't like the criticism of "bad parents", but I agree with the general sentiment.