Zero-Calorie Tabs

The tabs are clogging up my browsers once again. This is only part of what's been squatting in my computer.

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I just finished reading New York magazine's long but excellent story on the Stuyvesant High School (and Harvard) cheating scandals. The takeaway quote for me was from a researcher who studies cheating, who "found that even the most impulsive cheaters cheated less often when they believed the point of the test was to help them master the material, not just get a score. 'If everything is always high-stakes,' Anderman says, 'you’re going to create an environment conducive to cheating.' "

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Following on the raids of peace activists in the Twin Cities and Chicago, there's news of raids on the homes of supposed anarchists in Portland, Ore., and Seattle and Olympia, Wash. Battering rams and stun grenades were used to break into homes so the FBI could look for "black clothing, paint, sticks, computers and cell phones, and ‘anarchist materials or literature.' " That's some dangerous stuff, for sure. More people have been subpoenaed to appear in front of grand juries, where they are not allowed counsel.

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Have you heard about nanocrystalline cellulose? Made from wood (even from saw dust or twigs, no whole trees required), it's light, strong, and conducts electricity. Uses so far: flexible electronic displays, components for computers, and lightweight body armour.

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Dr. Mark Crislip, one of the founders of Science-Based Medicine, recently posted a list of the bedrock beliefs that underlie his worldview and approach to science. It's worth a read. It starts with "There is a reality independent of human existence" and goes on from there.

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Maggie Koerth-Baker wrote up some recent research on a phenomenon I've often experienced: Time really does go more slowly (perceptually) when you're traveling a route for the first time than the second, or learning lots of new stuff versus living your normal routine.

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The disciplined pursuit of less. Wish I'd read this when I was in my 20s.

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Doonesbury's take on teaching creationism in science classes.