Tuesday, 25 May 2010

fNIR

It's pretty much fun.

Here researcher are using fNIR, kind of optical tomography, to compare how baby reacts to certain images. (for example familiar faces). It doesn't use ionizing radiation or electrical impulses, just light.

This particular machine is called MONSTIR.

Besides neonates they visualize insides of breasts and muscles.

Wednesday, 19 May 2010

Two words about the tragedy of the commons and "Wealth of nations"

Contrary to common misconceptions, Smith did not assert that all self-interested labour necessarily benefits society, or that all public goods are produced through self-interested labour. His proposal is merely that in a free market, people usually tend to produce goods desired by their neighbours. The tragedy of the commons is an example where self-interest tends to bring an unwanted result.

"Between ten and fifteen years ago, before the boat fishery was entirely ruined, the price is said to have run from seventeen to twenty shillings the barrel. For these last five years, it has, at an average, been at twenty-five shillings the barrel. This high price, however, may have been owing to the real scarcity of the herrings upon the coast of Scotland." [1]

1. Wealth of nations.

Adam Smith

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_hand

Apophenia

Well, I don't have anything against imagination. I find that real knowledge about neurons and galaxy filaments much more amazing than baseless speculation about own crooked mind and projecting these thoughts on factual entities.

-"Everything has a meaning"

No! You just can't accept, that You are story-telling agent and Your mind isn't suitable to accept facts without any connections. Now You are just stupid, by rejecting everything that would be hard for You to learn and appreciate.

1. Some Preliminary Reflections on the Biological Substrate of Meaning-Making

L Petchkovsky

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_correlation

Rant about worthlessness of social ideas.

This always strikes me. Do You people are really so uncreative? Ideas are cheap. Everyone have some ideas, but ideas about social issue are worthless. Everyone can think about thousands social ideas. You can ask some women in 17 century Inn in France (or any other people in any other times in history) and they would imagine tens of new ways how people can interact with each other.

How many novels had been written about orphan discovering magical powers and going to a school for special children? Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands? Rowling isn't prized for idea, but for actual work.

Only work matters!

Somalia

Somalia is a big place. One story cannot make it justice.

"HARGEYSA, Somalia — When the sun rises over the craggy hills of Hargeysa, it sheds light on a different kind of Somalia.

Ice cream trucks hit the streets. Money changers, unarmed and unguarded, push cash through the market in wheelbarrows. Politicians from three distinct parties get ready for another day of debate, which recently included animated discussion on registering nomadic voters."

BTW, merging of whole variety of African counties in only 40 or so entities was one of most stupid geopolitical moves in history. It was like merging Europe into three entities: Prussia, Russia and Roman Empire with capitol in Istanbul.

In short:

* Puntland - oil, fisheries and piracy

* Somaliland - tourism, livestock and large diaspora.

Maybe thankfully to emigrants in Somaliland is sound government with diplomacy contacts abroad, large English speaking population, better education and transport.