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Biononsense
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2–3 minutes·
No comments on BiononsenseAfter reading this article about human genetic engineering, I have to comment on something that’s been bugging me for a while now. The article is inoffensive enough, but it uses the term ‘biogenetics’. I’m sorry, but there is no such field as biogenetics; it’s either genetics or nothing, and there’s no use in trying to…
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GamesFilter
A while ago I mentioned that I was thinking about setting up a collaborative weblog akin to MetaFilter, called (appropriately enough), GamesFilter. Over the last few weeks I’ve been working on it on and off during the periods in which my brain refuses to accept any more information about neuroscience. GamesFilter has been running for…
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Excessive Storage
In response to the new 30GB Apple iPod, Creative have just announced a 60GB mp3 player, the Nomad Zen. I feel that things have gotten a bit out of hand here. While more storage is always a good thing, I only have 54GB storage on my computer, and although I occasionally have to burn some…
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Making the extraordinary seem ordinary
A couple of days ago over dinner, I was having one of those typical university conversations about whether the Internet had really changed the world. As was pointed out, “We’re still not buying all of our groceries over the web.” I replied with something about delivery of large perishable goods and how in fact the…
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Never good enough
The big news today is that Apple has launched its new music service. $.99 for a single track and $10 for an album. However, the folks at MetaFilter are positivery derisory of the entire scheme, even though it has almost no DRM issues (burn to CD effectively as many times as you want). What do…
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Natural Artifacts
Natural Artifacts – a well-written post at MetaFilter by someone who has written a program that generates images without human output. Is it art? The creator says no.
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Smoky
Support For New York-Style Smoking Ban – the results of a MORI poll conducted in the UK on whether we should have a smoking ban. One question: is it standard in America to have smoking and non-smoking areas in restaurants, and if so, do they work well? I can’t remember from my previous visits.
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Pinker on the Stand
Pinker on the stand – a transcript of talk and discussion given by Steve Pinker on ‘Human Nature and Its Future’. I can’t say I learned anything particularly new from the talk itself, but Pinker receives a real roasting in the discussion about the concepts of criminal justice and what implications our new understanding of…
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The Sands Of Time
Update on the Civilization 3: Culture Game – we now have seven confirmed players, and will be starting as soon as our last player receives his copy of Civ3 and PTW, eighth player or no eighth player. Here is a revised version of a recruiting email I sent out yesterday: To those who are wavering:…
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Culture Wars
Do you have a taste for world domination? Have you got a copy of Civilization 3 and the Play The World expansion pack? If so, sign up for the Civilization 3: Culture Game, starting in the next few days! The Culture mailing list is holding a Play-By-Email eight player game, and we are currently looking…
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