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All rights reserved. webmaster@world-of-newave.com (Webmaster) Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:41:18 GMT Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:41:18 GMT Newave Lisa XML Engine v1.0 - http://www.world-of-newave.info/about.htm 60 http://www.world-of-newave.info/images/wi8831.gif World-of-Newave.info - Knowledge and Informational Database http://www.world-of-newave.info/ 88 31 {LITERATURE > CYBERPUNK} - Science of brain "fatigue" http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/cyberpunk/science-of-brain-fatigue-20080754626.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/cyberpunk/science-of-brain-fatigue-20080754626.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:22:40 GMT New research suggests that the brain's "executive function," the mental system involved in abstract thinking, planning, and focusing on one thing instead of another, can be fatigued to the point that your ability to make decisions is badly hampered. Scientific American has an interesting survey of studies in this area. The, er, decision whether to read the article or not is up to you. From SciAm: ...What types of actions exhaust executive function and affect subsequent decision-making? Until recently, researchers focused on activities that involved the exertion of self-control or the regulation of attention. For instance, it's long been recognized that strenuous cognitive tasks?such as taking the SAT?can make it harder to focus later on. But recent results suggests that these taxing mental activities may be much broader in scope-and may even involve the very common activity of making choices itself. In a series of experiments and field studies, University of Minnesota psychologist Kathleen Vohs and colleagues repeatedly demonstrate that the mere act of making a selection may deplete executive resources. For example, in one study the researchers found that participants who made more choices in a mall were less likely to persist and do well in solving simple algebra problems. In another task in the same study, students who had to mark preferences about the courses they would take to satisfy their degree requirements were much more likely to procrastinate on preparing for an important test. Instead of studying, these "tired" minds engaged in distracting leisure activities. Why is making a determination so taxing? Evidence implicates two important components: commitment and tradeoff resolution. The first is predicated on the notion that committing to a given course requires switching from a state of deliberation to one of implementation. In other words, you have to make a transition from thinking about options to actually following through on a decision. This switch, according to Vohs, requires executive resources. In a parallel investigation, Yale University professor Nathan Novemsky and his colleagues suggest that the mere act of resolving tradeoffs may be depleting. For example, in one study, the scientists show that people who had to rate the attractiveness of different options were much less depleted than those who had to actually make choices between the very same options. Tough Choices: How Making Decisions Tires Your Brain (Scientific American)... Boingboing.Net Science of brain "fatigue" ^{{new window}} Www.Boingboing.Net - New research suggests that the brain's "executive function," the mental system involved in abstract thinking, planning, and focusing on one thing instead of another, can be fatigued to the point that your ability to make decisions is badly hampered. Scientific American has an interesting survey of studies in this area. The, er, decision whether to read the article or not is up to you. From SciAm: ...What types of actions exhaust executive function and affect subsequent decision-making? Until recently, researchers focused on activities that involved the exertion of self-control or the regulation of attention. For instance, it's long been recognized that strenuous cognitive tasks?such as taking the SAT?can make it harder to focus later on. But recent results suggests that these taxing mental activities may be much broader in scope-and may even involve the very common activity of making choices itself. In a series of experiments and field studies, University of Minnesota psychologist Kathleen Vohs and colleagues repeatedly demonstrate that the mere act of making a selection may deplete executive resources. For example, in one study the researchers found that participants who made more choices in a mall were less likely to persist and do well in solving simple algebra problems. In another task in the same study, students who had to mark preferences about the courses they would take to satisfy their degree requirements were much more likely to procrastinate on preparing for an important test. Instead of studying, these "tired" minds engaged in distracting leisure activities. Why is making a determination so taxing? Evidence implicates two important components: commitment and tradeoff resolution. The first is predicated on the notion that committing to a given course requires switching from a state of deliberation to one of implementation. In other words, you have to make a transition from thinking about options to actually following through on a decision. This switch, according to Vohs, requires executive resources. In a parallel investigation, Yale University professor Nathan Novemsky and his colleagues suggest that the mere act of resolving tradeoffs may be depleting. For example, in one study, the scientists show that people who had to rate the attractiveness of different options were much less depleted than those who had to actually make choices between the very same options. Tough Choices: How Making Decisions Tires Your Brain (Scientific American)...

Science of brain "fatigue" - Boing Boing {...}

Published: July 22, 2008, 6:22 pm - Indexed: July 22, 2008, 11:33 pm - Page Size: 40KB

Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Cyberpunk

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Cyberpunk {LITERATURE > RSS FEEDS} - Eleventh Pushes Science Fact http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/eleventh-pushes-science-fact-20080733432.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/eleventh-pushes-science-fact-20080733432.htm Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:00:00 GMT The executive producers of CBS' upcoming SF drama Eleventh Hour said the series is based in real science as it deals with issues such as cloning, genetic manipulation and new technology. Scifi.Com Eleventh Pushes Science Fact ^{{new window}} Www.Scifi.Com - The executive producers of CBS' upcoming SF drama Eleventh Hour said the series is based in real science as it deals with issues such as cloning, genetic manipulation and new technology.

Published: July 22, 2008, 6:00 am - Indexed: July 23, 2008, 12:04 am - Page Size: 43KB

Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds {LITERATURE > CYBERPUNK} - Science fiction from George Dyson http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/cyberpunk/science-fiction-from-george-dyson-20080768123.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/cyberpunk/science-fiction-from-george-dyson-20080768123.htm Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:02:08 GMT George Dyson, one of my all-time-favorite science writers, has written a short science fiction story for Edge. Bruce Sterling describes it thusly: "Amazingly, this piece reads almost exactly like I would have imagined it. Try to imagine Hugo Gernsback writing "Ralph 124C41+" only Hugo used to live in a treehouse, is a comprehensive scholar of extinct technologies, and has an IQ high enough to boil mercury." Google was inverting the von Neumann matrix?by coaxing the matrix into inverting itself. Von Neumann's "Numerical Inverting of Matrices of High Order," published (with Herman Goldstine) in 1947, confirmed his ambition to build a machine that could invert matrices of non-trivial size. A 1950 postscript, "Matrix Inversion by a Monte Carlo Method," describes how a statistical, random-walk procedure credited to von Neumann and Stan Ulam "can be used to invert a class of n-th order matrices with only n2 arithmetic operations in addition to the scanning and discriminating required to play the solitaire game." The aggregate of all our searches for unpredictable (but meaningful) strings of bits, is, in effect, a Monte Carlo process for inverting the matrix that constitutes the World Wide Web. Ed developed a rapport with the machines that escaped those who had never felt the warmth of a vacuum tube or the texture of a core memory plane. Within three months he was not only troubleshooting the misbehavior of individual data centers, but examining how the archipelago of data centers cooperated?and competed?on a global scale. Link (via Beyond the Beyond)... Boingboing.Net Science fiction from George Dyson ^{{new window}} Www.Boingboing.Net - George Dyson, one of my all-time-favorite science writers, has written a short science fiction story for Edge. Bruce Sterling describes it thusly: "Amazingly, this piece reads almost exactly like I would have imagined it. Try to imagine Hugo Gernsback writing "Ralph 124C41+" only Hugo used to live in a treehouse, is a comprehensive scholar of extinct technologies, and has an IQ high enough to boil mercury." Google was inverting the von Neumann matrix?by coaxing the matrix into inverting itself. Von Neumann's "Numerical Inverting of Matrices of High Order," published (with Herman Goldstine) in 1947, confirmed his ambition to build a machine that could invert matrices of non-trivial size. A 1950 postscript, "Matrix Inversion by a Monte Carlo Method," describes how a statistical, random-walk procedure credited to von Neumann and Stan Ulam "can be used to invert a class of n-th order matrices with only n2 arithmetic operations in addition to the scanning and discriminating required to play the solitaire game." The aggregate of all our searches for unpredictable (but meaningful) strings of bits, is, in effect, a Monte Carlo process for inverting the matrix that constitutes the World Wide Web. Ed developed a rapport with the machines that escaped those who had never felt the warmth of a vacuum tube or the texture of a core memory plane. Within three months he was not only troubleshooting the misbehavior of individual data centers, but examining how the archipelago of data centers cooperated?and competed?on a global scale. Link (via Beyond the Beyond)...

Science fiction from George Dyson - Boing Boing {...}

Published: July 18, 2008, 9:02 am - Indexed: July 19, 2008, 12:05 am - Page Size: 33KB

Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Cyberpunk

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Cyberpunk {LITERATURE > CYBERPUNK} - Science of becoming Batman http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/cyberpunk/science-of-becoming-batman-20080750315.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/cyberpunk/science-of-becoming-batman-20080750315.htm Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:30:00 GMT E. Paul Zehr has a book coming out in October called Becoming Batman: The Possibility of A Superhero, about the physical and mental training one would need to become a superhero without any supernatural powers. Zehr, a professor of kinesiology and neuroscience at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, is also a karate expert. Over at Scientific American, JR Minkel interviews Zehr about how one might train as the Dark Knight. From SciAm: What's most plausible about portrayals of Batman's skills? You could train somebody to be a tremendous athlete and to have a significant martial arts background, and also to use some of the gear that he has, which requires a lot of physical prowess. Most of what you see there is feasible to the extent that somebody could be trained to that extreme. We're seeing that kind of thing in less than a month in the Olympics. What's less realistic? A great example is in the movies where Batman is fighting multiple opponents and all of a sudden he's taking on 10 people. If you just estimate how fast somebody could punch and kick, and how many times you could hit one person in a second, you wind up with numbers like five or six. This doesn't mean you could fight four or five people. But it's also hard for four or five people to simultaneously attack somebody, because they get in each other's way. More realistic is a couple of attackers. Batman and science (Scientific American), Pre-order Becoming Batman (Amazon)... Boingboing.Net Science of becoming Batman ^{{new window}} Www.Boingboing.Net - E. Paul Zehr has a book coming out in October called Becoming Batman: The Possibility of A Superhero, about the physical and mental training one would need to become a superhero without any supernatural powers. Zehr, a professor of kinesiology and neuroscience at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, is also a karate expert. Over at Scientific American, JR Minkel interviews Zehr about how one might train as the Dark Knight. From SciAm: What's most plausible about portrayals of Batman's skills? You could train somebody to be a tremendous athlete and to have a significant martial arts background, and also to use some of the gear that he has, which requires a lot of physical prowess. Most of what you see there is feasible to the extent that somebody could be trained to that extreme. We're seeing that kind of thing in less than a month in the Olympics. What's less realistic? A great example is in the movies where Batman is fighting multiple opponents and all of a sudden he's taking on 10 people. If you just estimate how fast somebody could punch and kick, and how many times you could hit one person in a second, you wind up with numbers like five or six. This doesn't mean you could fight four or five people. But it's also hard for four or five people to simultaneously attack somebody, because they get in each other's way. More realistic is a couple of attackers. Batman and science (Scientific American), Pre-order Becoming Batman (Amazon)...

Science of becoming Batman - Boing Boing {...}

Published: July 15, 2008, 8:30 pm - Indexed: July 16, 2008, 5:56 pm - Page Size: 52KB

Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Cyberpunk

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Cyberpunk {EUROPE > MUSEUMS} - London's Science Museum Brings Us The Science Of Survival http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/arts-and-entertainment/museums/london-s-science-museum-brings-us-the-science-of-20080712611.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/arts-and-entertainment/museums/london-s-science-museum-brings-us-the-science-of-20080712611.htm Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT 'The Science of Survival', on now at the Science Museum, London, got us thinking about our planet's dwindling resources - and how much we will have left in 2050. 24hourmuseum.Org.Uk London's Science Museum Brings Us The Science Of Survival ^{{new window}} Www.24hourmuseum.Org.Uk - 'The Science of Survival', on now at the Science Museum, London, got us thinking about our planet's dwindling resources - and how much we will have left in 2050.

London's Science Museum Brings Us The Science Of Survival - 24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage {...} 24 Hour Museum is the UK's official guide to over 3,000 museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage attractions. 24 Hour Museum offers daily arts news, exhibition reviews, listings and in-depth online trails, as well as having a comprehensive, fully searchable, database of over 3,000 cultural institutions. {...}

Published: July 14, 2008, 1:00 am - Indexed: July 15, 2008, 10:20 am - Page Size: 47KB

Category: Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Arts and Entertainment > Museums

]]> Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Arts and Entertainment > Museums {SCIENCE} - Science centre staff face axe as funds cut http://articles.world-of-newave.info/science/science-centre-staff-face-axe-as-funds-cut-2008072314.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/science/science-centre-staff-face-axe-as-funds-cut-2008072314.htm Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT MORE than a quarter of staff at Glasgow Science Centre are to lose their jobs in a funding cut by the Scottish Government. News.Scotsman.Com Science centre staff face axe as funds cut ^{{new window}} News.Scotsman.Com - MORE than a quarter of staff at Glasgow Science Centre are to lose their jobs in a funding cut by the Scottish Government.

Science centre staff face axe as funds cut - Scotsman.com News {...} Science centre staff face axe as funds cut - MORE than a quarter of staff at Glasgow Science Centre are to lose their jobs in a funding cut by the Scottish Government. {...}

Published: July 4, 2008, 1:00 am - Indexed: July 4, 2008, 5:56 pm - Page Size: 54KB

Category: Science

]]> Science {EUROPE > NEWS AND MEDIA} - Science centre staff face axe as funds cut http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/glasgow,-city-of/news-and-media/science-centre-staff-face-axe-as-funds-cut-2008079136.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/glasgow,-city-of/news-and-media/science-centre-staff-face-axe-as-funds-cut-2008079136.htm Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:00:00 GMT MORE than a quarter of staff at Glasgow Science Centre are to lose their jobs in a funding cut by the Scottish Government. News.Scotsman.Com Science centre staff face axe as funds cut ^{{new window}} News.Scotsman.Com - MORE than a quarter of staff at Glasgow Science Centre are to lose their jobs in a funding cut by the Scottish Government.

Science centre staff face axe as funds cut - Scotsman.com News {...} Science centre staff face axe as funds cut - MORE than a quarter of staff at Glasgow Science Centre are to lose their jobs in a funding cut by the Scottish Government. {...}

Published: July 4, 2008, 1:00 am - Indexed: July 4, 2008, 6:18 pm - Page Size: 56KB

Category: Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Scotland > Glasgow, City of > News and Media

]]> Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Scotland > Glasgow, City of > News and Media {EUROPE > NEWS AND MEDIA} - Troubled science centre cuts jobs http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/news-and-media/troubled-science-centre-cuts-jobs-2008073613.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/regional/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/news-and-media/troubled-science-centre-cuts-jobs-2008073613.htm Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:52:57 GMT Glasgow Science Centre announces plans to cut 28 jobs following concerns over government funding. News.Bbc.Co.Uk Troubled science centre cuts jobs ^{{new window}} News.Bbc.Co.Uk - Glasgow Science Centre announces plans to cut 28 jobs following concerns over government funding.

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Glasgow, Lanarkshire and West | Troubled science centre cuts jobs {...}

Published: July 3, 2008, 3:52 pm - Indexed: July 4, 2008, 6:20 pm - Page Size: 44KB

Category: Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Scotland > News and Media

]]> Regional > Europe > United Kingdom > Scotland > News and Media {LITERATURE > RSS FEEDS} - Science Fiction Search Engine http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/science-fiction-search-engine-2008079035.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/science-fiction-search-engine-2008079035.htm Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:49:32 GMT Xenite.Org has created a custom search interface for fans of science fiction and fantasy. We have favored the best resources on the Web for popular topics such as The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Stargate, and more. Xenite.Org Science Fiction Search Engine ^{{new window}} Www.Xenite.Org - Xenite.Org has created a custom search interface for fans of science fiction and fantasy. We have favored the best resources on the Web for popular topics such as The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Stargate, and more.

Science Fiction Search Engine | Fantasy Search Engine {...} Search the science fiction and fantasy Web ... {...}

Indexed: July 2, 2008, 4:49 pm - Page Size: 7KB

Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds {LITERATURE > RSS FEEDS} - SF-Fandom Science Fiction and Fantasy Forums http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/sf-fandom-science-fiction-and-fantasy-forums-2008077043.htm http://articles.world-of-newave.info/arts/literature/genres/science-fiction/rss-feeds/sf-fandom-science-fiction-and-fantasy-forums-2008077043.htm Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:49:31 GMT Science fiction and fantasy discussion forums, moderated by science fiction and fantasy fans. Join in SciFi forum discussions for scifi television shows and scifi movies. Sf-fandom.Com SF-Fandom Science Fiction and Fantasy Forums ^{{new window}} Www.Sf-fandom.Com - Science fiction and fantasy discussion forums, moderated by science fiction and fantasy fans. Join in SciFi forum discussions for scifi television shows and scifi movies.

SciFi Forums - Science Fiction and Fantasy Forums {...} Science fiction and fantasy forums. SF-Fandom provides moderated scifi forums for fans of science fiction, fantasy, history, mythology, ... {...}

Indexed: July 2, 2008, 4:49 pm - Page Size: 2KB

Category: Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds

]]> Arts > Literature > Genres > Science Fiction > RSS Feeds