interesting things
It’s the kind of death that would suit the most dramatic of fashionistas – being killed by the revolving door at Vogue House.
via The Daily Beast – Latest Articles http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/15/tatler-s-dog-perishes-in-revolving-door-at-vogue-house.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A woman stole an empty commuter train from a depot Tuesday and drove it to a suburb of Stockholm where it derailed and slammed into an apartment building, officials said….
via AP Top Headlines At 8:24 a.m. EST http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_SWEDEN_TRAIN_CRASH?SITE=FLROC&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Lawrence Wright goes inside the Church of Scientology to explain its enduring appeal for celebrities—and reveals what happens to its adherents like Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
via The Daily Beast – Latest Articles http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/15/inside-scientology-s-secret-world-going-clear-by-lawrence-wright.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29
From the Globe …
Swartz and his lawyers were not looking for a free pass. They had offered to accept a deferred prosecution or probation, so that if Swartz pulled a stunt like that again, he would end up in prison.
Marty Weinberg, who took the case over from Good, said he nearly negotiated a plea bargain in which Swartz would not serve any time. He said JSTOR signed off on it, but MIT would not.
via Talking Points Memo http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2013/01/on_swartz_and_mit.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Talking-Points-Memo+%28Talking+Points+Memo%3A+by+Joshua+Micah+Marshall%29
Brian sez, “I made an animated presentation about broadband and mobile data caps – specifically, how they discourage innovation, how the excuses used to justify data caps don’t hold water, and the real reasons that ISPs and mobile providers are moving towards caps.”
This is really good stuff. It might need an edit for time, but if you’ve got 11 minutes, this is what you should spend ’em on.
Why Data Caps Suck: The Animated Examination
(Thanks, Brian!)
Apple has cut its orders for components for the iPhone 5 due to weaker-than-expected demand, at a time when the U.S. company faces greater competition from rival Samsung.
via WSJ.com: What's News US http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324235104578241051730364998.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us
Newspaper’s gun-permit map used by burglars to target home?
via DrudgeSiren.com – All Stories http://www.drudgesiren.com/allhl.php?id=156719&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+drudgesiren%2FoGpG+%28DrudgeSiren.com+-+All+Stories%29#h156719
Buzz Bissinger says he relied on a manipulative liar who insisted he didn’t win his cycling championships through doping. A Pulitzer Prize winner’s mea culpa.
via The Daily Beast – Latest Articles http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/01/14/buzz-bissinger-i-was-deluded-to-believe-lance-armstrong-when-he-denied-doping.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thedailybeast%2Farticles+%28The+Daily+Beast+-+Latest+Articles%29
The Swiss watchmaker will pay $750 million for the luxury watch and jewelry brand and assume up to $250 million in debt, the companies said.
via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/business/global/swatch-to-acquire-harry-winston-watches-and-jewelry.html
Online comments hurt science understanding, study finds
Science, New Media, and the Public, from Online science news needs careful study.
The Science of Why Comment Trolls Suck
The researchers were trying to find out what effect exposure to such rudeness had on public perceptions of nanotech risks. They found that it wasn’t a good one. Rather, it polarized the audience: Those who already thought nanorisks were low tended to become more sure of themselves when exposed to name-calling, while those who thought nanorisks are high were more likely to move in their own favored direction. In other words, it appeared that pushing people’s emotional buttons, through derogatory comments, made them double down on their preexisting beliefs.
The study, which was in pre-publishing form, appears to have been taken offline.
Don’t Panic: Challenges Regarding Science, News and Comments Online
I don’t want anyone to forget these questions, so I’m asking them again. Please think about them, and weigh in here. What do you make of these?
•What can be done to get around the Google bottleneck – that self-reinforcing search-engine feedback loop mentioned above?
•What can we do to consistently draw attention to good science reporting?
•Do the benefits of online commenting outweigh the costs?
John Stuart Mill, Internet Trolls, And The Principle Of Charity, Part I
As Mill highlighted a person “is capable of rectifying his mistakes, by discussion and experience. Not by experience alone. There must be discussion to show that experience is to be interpreted… Very few facts are able to tell their own story, without comments to bring out their meaning.” For Mill this allowed us to step ever closer to the truth of a situation or gain ever more clarity on ideas. This was the most important goal of all rational debate and, for Mill, thoughtful discussion one of the most powerful ways to acquire it.
Reading charitably does not even mean reading realistically or knowing the reader’s “true” intention, since that is largely impossible especially on a platform like the Internet. It means reading a comment, an idea, or a question in the best possible light, warranted only by two properties: (1) we are fallible and cannot know everything, no matter how certain we or our group might be; (2) many people are bad at communicating and sometimes have never encountered the ideas being presented, thus their asking questions should be viewed as if from a Martian rather than a murderer.
Charity, Accuracy, And Being ‘Nice’ In Online Debates
Xark: Why I Shut Down Comments
Climate Trolls: An Illustrated Bestiary
via MetaFilter http://www.metafilter.com/123828/Comments-Are-Important