Memetic Infections

Facebook infections look remarkably similar to human ones. And like organisms, the odds do seem stacked against all but the fittest of memes.

Originally spotted at /.

Very neat article with graphs, and discussions of weakness in the theory. Very very cool.

Except, that memes are, basically, "viral ideas"... as in "viral"... as in infectious agents... as in "No fucking shit, Sherlock."

But, still, I haven't seen a lot of studies on the actual study of meme and virus co-representation. I know there are such things out there, I just haven't seen them. And the very scientific nature of such an interesting piece is always very cool and very much appreciated. (Take note, Huffington Post, science- REAL scientifical science, with "like evidence and stuff" can be, and is, cool).


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LEAVE TEH BATMAN ALONE!!!111

(mild cursing, just so you're aware)


Made by friends of mine. Good job, gentlemen. Now, about my Obama idea...
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Great Article on Latest Autism Rulings

Dr Steve Novella, on Neurologica, writes:

The Autism Omnibus hearings were set up to evaluate for thousands of petitions for compensation under the vaccine injury compensation program. This is a program set up in the US to compensate those who suffer adverse effects from vaccines, and it is paid for by a tax on all vaccines. This is a sensible system because it allows manufacturers to produce much needed vaccines without risking bankruptcy over fad pseudoscientific accusations - like those that took down Dow Chemical. It also more quickly and fairly compensated families, which is fair given that vaccines are somewhat compulsory in the US (although in most states it is all too easy to get an exemption).

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Internet-Vision

Remember Doctor Horrible's Sing-along Blog? Just telling people you do, so you can seem cooler?

There's a group of people- ever expanding, ever better- that actually do "television" shows for the internet. And there's a new one, as of Today:



6 minutes, seems like it could be horrible, seems like it could be really good. We'll see. Definitely worth watching.
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It's a Celebration!

Happy Darwin Day.

For those of you who are local, I'll be celebrating tomorrow with others of like-mind.
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Guilding the Lily (of copyright vs technology)

The Author's Guild claims that the new Kindle's text-to-speech software is illegal, stating that 'They don't have the right to read a book out loud,' said Paul Aiken, executive director of the Authors Guild. 'That's an audio right, which is derivative under copyright law.' Forget for a moment that text-to-speech doesn't copy an existing work. And forget the odd notion that the artificial enunciation of plain text is equivalent to a person's nuanced and emotive reading. The Guild's claim is that even to read out loud is a production akin to an illegal copy, or a public performance.

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Alan Moore

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Better Late than Never

Doctor Who is back in production, ramping up for the 4 (or 5?) specials due out in lieu of a real season this year.

Then David Tennant is out, and enter Matt Smith.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/4124591/Doctor-Who-Introducing-Matt-Smith-the-26-year-old-Time-Lord.html

GAY! If he's got that little emo-ass quaff I'm not gonna watch. This will be a Haden Christianson as Darth Vader level of shit, says I. But, to be fair, I should go find some of Matt Smith's other performances and see if he's a whiney little shit. As should you.

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Hack the Planet!

found at WarrenEllis.com:

What do we do if our best efforts to limit the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere fall short? According to a growing number of environmental scientists, we may be forced to try an experiment in global climate management: geoengineering. Geoengineering would be risky, likely to provoke international tension, and certain to have unexpected consequences. It may also be inevitable. Environmental futurist Jamais Cascio explores the implications of geoengineering in this collection of thought-provoking essays. Is our civilization ready to take on the task of re-engineering the planet?

Except, isn't that illegal? Didn't we sign some UN resolutions that said we wouldn't do that kinda shit- as did, presumably, many other countries? Or does that only apply during war/conflict?

Regardless, it's not like it's going to be easy, or cheap, or worth it, most likely.

1) Look at how much China spent to try and control the rain during the Olympics. And look at how well it worked. And notice who is saying it worked perfectly, and who is saying it didn't work at all. But, mostly, just understand that Perry was right when he said "Yes I believe China will control the weather. If it doesn't cooperate they'll have it shot."

2) There's a basic principal that I'm thinking about: The air only holds X amount of moisture, if you force it to rain one place, or divert the rains so that some area gets cloud cover, or similarly attempt to manipulate clouds/rain, aren't you forcing drought in some other place? Presumably this could be diverted, a little, by manipulating on one side of a large body of water, so that moisture content could be reclaimed. But how well would that really work?

3) As with most futurist, this guy seems like a really neat thinker, possibly even highly intelligent. But, in the end, a complete fraud. "Futurist" is a term that, roughly translated, means "sci-fi geek with some amount of journalistic-esque ability" (Yes, -istic-esque.)

4) His book is Hacking the Earth, because Hackers already laid claim to "Hack the Planet".
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PZ Meyers may well be trying to kill us all...

via Pharyngula
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