‘The kind of boredom you experience most often may be linked to your personality, say researchers.’ (National Geographic)
Related:
The Most Boring Article You’ll Read Today
Daily Archives: 21 Nov 13
Scientists discover three galaxies merging in the dawn of the universe
‘This exceedingly rare triple system, seen when the universe was only 800 million years old [which is cosmic terms is the equivalent to the first 3.8 years of our lives], provides important insights into the earliest stages of galaxy formation during a period known as ‘cosmic dawn,’ when the universe was first bathed in starlight.’ (Gizmodo).
This Painting Of The Danish Royal Family Will Steal Your Soul
‘When the Queen of Denmark opted to commission the first royal family portrait in almost 125 years, she turned to Thomas Kluge, a largely self-taught Danish portrait painter whose inspirations are said to include Rembrandt and Caravaggio. After four years of work, Kluge\’s finished painting is finally here: an inexplicably creepy portrait that reimagines the royal family as a clan of sadists, transvestites, and malevolent pigmen whose abominable ruttings have brought into the world a brood of Damien-like progeny.’ (Co.Design via Boing Boing)
Boeing’s Massive Dreamlifter Lands at the Wrong Airport, Gets Stuck
‘Pilots flying Boeing’s massive 747 Dreamlifter accidentally landed at the wrong airport yesterday, and have been stuck there overnight. The modified jumbo jets hopscotch the world picking up sections of the 787 Dreamliner and flying them to the company’s factories in Everett, Washington and North Charleston, South Carolina. But last night instead of landing at McConnell Air Force Base where the nose sections are made by Spirit Aerosystems, they landed several miles away at Jabara airport. No big deal? Big deal: The runway at Jabara is only 6,101 feet long, a bit shorter than the 747′s normal takeoff requirements…’ (Wired.com).
Lots of interesting stuff at Salon today
Something for everyone’s taste:
“Falling Upwards”: The weird and wonderful history of the hot air balloon: At the beginning of “Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air,” Richard Holmes announces a literary ambition to match the aerial ambition of his air balloon pilots and pioneers, by offering a lengthy chapter of epigraphs not unlike the long list of quotations that Herman Melville deployed at the beginning of “Moby-Dick.”There is so much pleasure in them that it is worth quoting a few in full:“…Climate denying group compares U.N. talks to the Holocaust: “There simply is no parallel” between the climate negotiations currently taking place in Poland and the horrors that took place at Auschwitz and Birkenau during the Holocaust, David Rothbard, head of the anti-science Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), wrote in a fundraising email unearthed by DeSmogBlog….This incredibly smart domestic violence app could save women’s lives: The Aspire News app looks like any other iPhone or Android news aggregator, but it’s actually a potentially lifesaving domestic violence alert system.While the front page functions like a regular news app, when you go to the “Help” section of the page it provides a list of local domestic violence resources and a “Go Button,” that, once pressed, alerts the user’s chosen contacts…Michael Cera’s bizarre New Yorker piece and the art of dissecting fame: Call it the Franco strategy: As James Franco did in 2008, it’s possible to cement one’s celebrity by alternating movie work with writing intended to subvert one’s public image. Back when James Franco set out on his conceptual-art project of a career, beginning to aggressively collect graduate degrees and directing more films than one can easily recall, he had been slowly rising for years…Wal-mart’s outstanding death fine: Five years ago, when Wal-mart worker Jdimytai Damour was crushed and killed by Black Friday shoppers in Valley Stream, NY (file under “vile semiotics of consumer capitalism”), the retailer was ordered to pay a minimal fine to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. While the $7,000 fine is negligible to Wal-mart’s $466 billion annual sales income, the sum remains unpaid…Law enforcement reportedly told victim of alleged sexual assault her life would be “made miserable” if she pursued rape case: Florida police told the victim of an alleged rape that her life would be “made miserable” if she pursued charges against her alleged rapist, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, according to a statement from the woman’s family.A Tallahassee Police Department detective warned the woman’s attorney that “Tallahassee was a big football town’’ and “the victim needs to think long and hard…Senate votes to curb filibuster: WASHINGTON (AP) — In a victory for Democrats, the Senate has voted to weaken filibusters and make it harder for Republicans to block confirmation of the president’s nominees for judges and other top posts.The mostly party-line vote was 52-48. It came Thursday after a series of procedural moves and angry accusations from both parties’ leaders.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid complains that Republicans…Plastic pollution may be transporting toxic chemicals into our seafood: Plastic pollution is already seen as one of the most serious threats to the oceans — particularly those teeny particles that we can’t normally see, but which fish love to eat. Another serious threat: the man-made chemicals dumped or washed into the waters. And while each is worrisome on its own, they cause even more trouble combined.That’s because plastics, as researchers are beginning to understand…Secret deal let NSA spy on ordinary U.K. citizens: The latest NSA leak from whistle-blower Edward Snowden, published in the Guardian, reveals for the first time that ordinary British citizens had their communications surveilled by the NSA, without any grounds for suspicion.A secret 2007 deal struck between the U.K. and the U.S. — and detailed in an NSA memo — enabled surveillance of citizens previously deemed off-limits….Dudes still upset that women can be raunchy: Variety critic Brian Lowry is worried about Sarah Silverman. In his Wednesday review of her new HBO special “We Are Miracles,” he acknowledges her numerous “career-friendly gifts – from her looks to solid acting chops,” but fears that the famously foul-mouthed comic is sabotaging herself. How? By daring to be “as dirty and distasteful as the boys.” …The National Book Awards get it right: I was surprised to learn that James McBride’s “The Good Lord Bird” was the “surprise” winner of the National Book Award for fiction last night. Then again, it’s hard to begrudge working journalists a decent angle on the prize during any year in which neither Jonathan Franzen nor Philip Roth has published a book that can be “snubbed” by the panel. …Monty Python reunion show will add “modern, topical” twist to classic sketches: Following news of a reunion show, the five surviving members of Monty Python revealed more details of the performance that is to take place on July 1, 2014, in London’s O2 Arena.John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones will perform some of the group’s most iconic sketches with “a modern, topical, Pythonesque twist,” along with some new material as well.“…Rick Perry on changing the GOP’s presidential debate system: “Hell yeah!” Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the man who, during a televised debate, couldn’t remember which federal agencies he’d dissolve, has a simple response to the idea of changing the way the GOP conducts its debates: “Hell yeah!”That’s what Perry reportedly said, to laughter, during a recent meeting of the Republican Governors Association.Ohio Gov. John Kasich set Perry up for the joke when he commented…Watch Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA rapping about the Big Bang: Rapper GZA, of Wu-Tang Clan fame, is releasing a space-themed album called Dark Matter. He’s even been chatting with astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson about the project. Here, as part of a talk at the University of Toronto, he previewed an a cappella version of one track. It’s about the Big Bang. And it is tremendous.[Mashable] …Will George Zimmerman kill again?: His history and the law pose serious risks… (Salon.com).
The Dunbar Number and Human Relationships
‘150 is “the approximate number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar.” 150 is often referred to as the Dunbar number.
Ten years ago, Robin Dunbar studied the sending of Christmas cards in England. He used the count to measure meaningful social connections. The number sent averaged 153.5, precisely what Dunbar expected. He and other researchers kept finding groupings of 150; self-governing communes, offices of Gore-Tex, etc. Dunbar postulates that this is simply the brain’s limit. Sure, there are outliers, but most people top out at 150 relationships…
“Fundamentally, once you go beyond this number of people you can keep in your head, you begin to filter yourself, you change what you share and how much, you put on your public face.” …
Dunbar plotted the size of the neocortex of each type of primate with the size group that it lived in. The bigger the neocortex, the larger the group. To predict human group size, Dunbar supplanted the ratio of the human neocortex into the group. The result? 147.8, roughly 150…
Dunbar says within the 150, there are other interesting numbers. Three to five are our closest friends. The death of any of our 12-15 closest would devastate us….’ (dirjournal.com).
Worlds oldest creature was 507…
..but scientists killed it (Telegraph.UK)
