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Pokemon More Reviewed Than Science

Michael Nielsen has penned a very thoughtful essay on how the internet age will change how science is performed. Having sloppily dabbled in a website which allowed for rating of scientific papers, I think Michael’s observations about why “review” sites for scientific papers are a tough sell (what reward do I get for commenting on a paper, exactly?) are spot on. I also liked his comparison of science review sites and reviews of Pokemon products:

The contrast between the science comment sites and the success of the amazon.com reviews is stark. To pick just one example, you’ll find approximately 1500 reviews of Pokemon products at amazon.com, more than the total number of reviews on all the scientific comment sites I described above. The disincentives facing scientists have led to a ludicrous situation where popular culture is open enough that people feel comfortable writing Pokemon reviews, yet scientific culture is so closed that people will not publicly share their opinions of scientific papers. Some people find this contrast curious or amusing; I believe it signifies something seriously amiss with science, something we need to understand and change.

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Hawking To Fall Into the Blackberry Hole?

Rumors have been spreading that Stephen Hawking might be considering moving to the Perimeter Institute. These rumors have been officially denied. The real story here, however is not about Hawking relocating, but whether Stephen Hawking has turned into an experimental physicist and is testing the black hole information paradox by throwing himself into the Blackberry hole. I mean, if Hawking can visit for one month, and then escape from the Perimeter Institute, then I think we can conclude that the unitarity of quantum theory is safe. However, if Hawking get’s sucked in, I myself will worry that information really is destroyed at the Perimeter Institute in a black hole.

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New York Times Reports MySQL Error

Um, okay, so was this little piece of information really noteworthy enough to be included in a New York Times article on Psystar:

Although Psystar’s Web site was available earlier today, by 1 p.m. EDT it was offline and returning the error message: “Database Error: Unable to connect to the database: Could not connect to MySQL” to Computerworld editors and reporters attempting to connect.

I mean, isn’t that a bit high up even for an inverted pyramid?

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iPhone Apps (Free)

When people ask me about my iPhone, I usually tell them that it is a great gadget, but not really a terrific cell phone. I’m going to have to modify that a bit now, I think. With the addition of third party applications, the iPhone is now a super duper great gadget, but not really a terrific cell phone. Here are some of the free apps I’ve been loving (I haven’t yet looked at the paid ones, cheapo that I am!)
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Fill 'Er Almost Up?

I recently rented a car and got dinged with a 13 dollar fee because I didn’t drive 75 miles (and, did not see the tiny sign indicating the new rule that if I drove so little I would be rewarded by not having to fill up the fuel tank for a mere 13 dollars. Having a receipt could have gotten this fee waved.) My first thought on seeing this fee was wondering if they actually took their average mile per gallon for seventy five miles and set the fee so that at current fuel prices they would always make money on this? A sort of rental car arbitrage?
My second thought was, I wonder if they actually fill my fuel tank up? I mean sure when I get in the dial points to full, but we all know that doesn’t mean the tank is actually really full. And, well, given their new desire to milk some dollars from me because apparently they don’t trust me to fill up the fuel tank, I’m not exactly in a trusting mood when it comes to rental car companies. So next time I rent a car, I suppose I should immediately drive to a gas station and see if I can put fuel into the car. Anyone else care to test this experiment? If they don’t you should charge then a 13 dollar fee for not filling up your tank, don’t you think? And if they are filling up the tank: well why don’t we design a method for allowing them to not fill up completely and sell it them?

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Chess, Backgammon, and the Algorithmic Lens

An interesting interview with Christos Papadimitriou (recent winner of the Katayanagi Prize for Research Excellence) on Dr. Dobb’s Journal. On chess and backgammon:

In chess, when you play like an idiot, you always lose, so you learn. In backgammon, you can play 10 games, not play well, and win. So you think you are great but you have made a great number of mistakes. Tragically, life is closer to backgammon, because you can play a perfect game and lose!

Which made me wonder which game is the closest game to “real life?” (Okay I’ll dispense with the obvious answer which is the board game “Life.” Bzzt! Disqualified for using little pegs that are always getting lost for people. I mean those damn blue and pink pegs get in more car accidents in a typical game of “Life” than most people get into in their real life.)
Continue reading “Chess, Backgammon, and the Algorithmic Lens”

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Devilish Dice Games

A new entry in the best title ever competition appeared last week on the arXiv:

arXiv:0806.4874
Why devil plays dice?
Authors: Andrzej Dragan
Abstract: Principle of Relativity involving all, not only subluminal, inertial frames
leads to the disturbance of causal laws in a way known from the fundamental
postulates of Quantum Theory. We show how quantum indeterminacy based on
complex probability amplitudes with superposition principle emerges from
Special Relativity.

I bet the devil would play a mean game of liar’s dice.

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Against the Stereotype

After reading the comments on my post Leaving Academia: Cry or Celebrate?, I started thinking about the successful scientists I know, and it occurred to me that the following conjecture is at least anecdotally true:

Scientists who have passionate outside interests are more successful in science than those who do not.

Okay, hows that for a broad against the grain statement which might stimulate comments on this blog? Anyone?