Clipmarks | jedipunk's clips

9 Mental Math Tricks

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:58:42 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: oddline.blogspot.com

1. Multiplying by 9, or 99, or 999

2. Multiplying by 11

3. Multiplying by 5, 25, or 125

4. Multiplying together two numbers that differ by a small even number

5. Squaring 2-digit numbers that end in 5

6. Multiplying together 2-digit numbers where the first digits are the same and the last digits sum to 10

7. Squaring other 2-digit numbers

8. Multiplying by doubling and halving

9. Multiplying by a power of 2

Tags: math, educational

Can you stand eggs on end at the vernal equinox and at no other time?

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:33:23 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: www.straightdope.com

Can you stand eggs on end at the vernal equinox and at no other time?

Dear Cecil:

Recently during the occurrence of the vernal equinox I saw a televised report that people had gathered in Central Park in New York City to witness a remarkable sight: eggs that had been balanced on end and then left to stand that way without apparent support.

Supposedly this is possible only during the equinox. Is this true? Why?

Dear Philip:

This is a perfect example of the difference between the tough, two-fisted Straight Dope approach to scientific research and the limp-wristed methods practiced by the daily press--e.g., the New York Times.

The Times is not a bad little newspaper in some ways. But when it comes to things like egg balancing, it is out of its depth.

Tags: science, urban legend

HOWTO: Talk to an Evolutionist Without Being Dismissed as Ignorant and Stupid

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:04:14 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: blog.kickin-the-darkness.com

HOWTO: Talk to an Evolutionist Without Being Dismissed as Ignorant and Stupid

Okay, I'm actually serious here. I'm going to try not to get snarky or anything, the intent of that title is just to catch your attention. If you're an adherent of Creationism or Intelligent Design (ID), I am actually going to give you some legitimate advice on how to talk to an evolutionist in such a way that they don't immediately dismiss you as an idiot. Okay, that sounds a little provocative, and I'm sorry, but surely you're aware that one of the most common accusations by evolutionists about those who question their theories is that the questioner is obviously ignorant of evolution and so they're not going to waste their time trying to carry on an intelligent conversation with such a person.

Tags: evolution, science, religion

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:52:28 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense

Opponents of evolution want to make a place for creationism by tearing down real science, but their arguments don't hold up

Besieged teachers and others may increasingly find themselves on the spot to defend evolution and refute creationism. The arguments that creationists use are typically specious and based on misunderstandings of (or outright lies about) evolution, but the number and diversity of the objections can put even well-informed people at a disadvantage.

To help with answering them, the following list rebuts some of the most common "scientific" arguments raised against evolution. It also directs readers to further sources for information and explains why creation science has no place in the classroom.

1. Evolution is only a theory. It is not a fact or a scientific law.

2. Natural selection is based on circular reasoning: the fittest are those who survive, and those who survive are deemed fittest.

12. Nobody has ever seen a new species evolve.

Tags: science, creationism, evolution

Answers in Genesis: Yeah, that's the Ticket

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:24:42 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com

The Young-Earth Creationist doesn't even deal with the fact that animals cannot migrate long distances through deserts or ice fields without dying first. They adapt to conditions in the location which they exist and if the ecology changes in that location and they cannot complete their life cycle, they die. There's no attempt there to explain how a koala bear, who can only eat Eucalyptus leaves could travel from Turkey to Australia without going extinct first. There's no attempt to explain how an aquatic species like a duck-billed platypus could complete its life cycle during the "mini-Ice Age" that followed the flood while all the water was frozen. The truth of the Genesis account is simply asserted and no explanation is given for these problems.

Tags: creationism, noah's ark

10 Questions, and Answers, About Evolution

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:23:55 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

“Ten questions to ask your biology teacher about evolution,” a document by Jonathan Wells, a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based group that advocates intelligent design, aims to highlight the weaknesses in evolutionary theory. Here are his questions, along with responses compiled by the National Center for Science Education. More questions can be found on Dr. Wells’s site, http://www.iconsofevolution.com/ More information about biological evolution can be found at http://nationalacademies.org/evolution/.

Tags: science, evolution

If God Has A Plan, Free Will Is An Illusion

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:19:10 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com

If God Has A Plan, Free Will Is An Illusion

So when Christians say that God has a Plan, that means that things can only work out one way, and the variables only have the appearance of being unknown. As long as God has a plan, free will only has the appearance of being unknown to us. To an omniscient God, it must be obvious. This is why, free will is an illusion as long as God has a plan.

Tags: religion, atheism

How To Convert a Wireless Router into an Access Point

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:37:18 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: www.smallnetbuilder.com

How To Convert a Wireless Router into an Access Point

Step 7: Check the AP wireless connection. Fire up a wireless notebook or other client and check that it properly associates and pulls an IP address from your LAN router's DHCP server. Congratulations! You now have a new AP!

Tags: networking

A Former Jehovah's Witness Speaks Out

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:19:16 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: friendlyatheist.com

I lived in a constant state of terror as a child. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Satan the Devil and his demon hordes are real. They espouse a near hysterical fear of demons, even though this is not always as evident in their literature. According to Jehovah’s Witnesses, demons reside upon and rule over this world. They believe that demons may attack humans, psychologically, physically, and sexually.

Clip Source: friendlyatheist.com

I usually think that Richard Dawkins is overstating things when he calls religion child abuse. But in a case like this, I absolutely see what he means. And this is part of what atheists are talking about when we say that religion gets a free ride. If this sort of terror were being foisted upon a child in the name of anything other than religion — in the name of political beliefs, for instance — society would recoil in horror. Why does religion get a free pass?

Tags: religion

Randi’s big shoes to Phil

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:29:16 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: blogs.discovermagazine.com

Randi’s big shoes to Phil

James Randi has offered me the position of President of the James Randi Educational Foundation. I am extraordinarily honored, and I have accepted this duty.

Tags: skepticism

10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:23:51 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List

5. Evil plastic bags. Take it from the Environmental Protection Agency : paper bags are not better for the environment than plastic bags. If anything, the evidence from life-cycle analyses favors plastic bags. They require much less energy — and greenhouse emissions — to manufacture, ship and recycle. They generate less air and water pollution. And they take up much less space in landfills.

10. Unmarked wormholes. Could your vacation be interrupted by a sudden plunge into a wormhole? From my limited analysis of space-time theory and the movie “Jumper,” I would have to say that the possibility cannot be eliminated. I would also concede that if the wormhole led to an alternate universe, there’s a good chance your luggage would be lost in transit.

7. Deadly sharks. Throughout the world last year, there was a grand total of one fatal shark attack (in the South Pacific), according to the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida.

Tags: lists, skepticism

What is Multiplication, Really?

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:47:46 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

What is Multiplication, Really?

Let's start with the underlying fact. Multiplication simply is not repeated addition, and telling young pupils it is inevitably leads to problems when they subsequently learn that it is not. Multiplication of natural numbers certainly gives the same result as repeated addition, but that does not make it the same. Riding my bicycle gets me to my office in about the same time as taking my car, but the two processes are very different. Telling students falsehoods on the assumption that they can be corrected later is rarely a good idea. And telling them that multiplication is repeated addition definitely requires undoing later.

Tags: education, mathematics

Amanda Peet and Antivaxxers

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:15:47 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: www.cookiemag.com

I wanted to address my comment in Cookie magazine that "parents who don't vaccinate their children are parasites." I believe in my heart that my use of the word "parasites" was mean and divisive; I completely understand why it offended some parents, and in particular, parents of children with autism who feel that vaccines caused their illness. For this I am truly sorry. Since my mom has Parkinson's Disease, I know what it feels like to want a concrete cause, and a concrete cure, as soon as possible.

However, I still believe that the decision not to vaccinate our children bodes for a dangerous future. Vast reductions in immunization will lead to a resurgence of deadly viruses. This is as indisputable as global warming. I know a lot of parents who secretly use as a justification, "Well, enough other people are vaccinating, so therefore, we don't have to."

Tags: antivaccination

Why the walmart hate?

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:38:38 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk
clipper's remarks: This was clipped from the comments of a consumerist.com article that linked to a video showing the walmart as a virus.

Clip Source: consumerist.com

I was thinking the same thing. I want to see these mythical mom-and-pop shops that pay above minimum wage, give health insurance, and instead of smoke spew rainbows and ponies. I used to work for a mom-and-pop cell phone place. We never got a raise, paychecks were late, our "health-insurance" was a dental discount card and when the place went out of business, for whatever reason they fought against us when we applied for unemployment. Yeah, mom-and-pop shops, they are greatest.

Tags: walmart

Why I Deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:41:34 GMT

clipped by: jedipunk

Clip Source: unreasonablefaith.com

Why I Deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus

Paul, the earliest New Testament author, never mentions the virgin birth. For someone who we rely upon for much of Christian theology, it is an odd omission. Paul refers to Jesus’ birth twice (Rom 1:3; Gal 4:4) and never says he was born of a virgin or of different means than anyone else. You’d think that would be important.

The virgin birth is also not in Mark, the earliest gospel, or in John, the only other gospel not based on Mark. Why is such an important story left out of all the early sources? Probably because it hadn’t been made up yet.

Why would the story be made up? Perhaps to fulfill an old prophecy of a virgin birth, which the Gospel of Matthew cites:

Some scholars say “virgin” was a mistranslation in the Septuagint (the Greek translation the gospel writers used), and should have been translated “young woman.” That means the story might have been based on a mistranslation!

Tags: atheism, religion, christianity

Clipmarks | jedipunk's clips

9 Mental Math Tricks

Monday, September 22, 2008

9 Mental Math Tricks

Can you stand eggs on end at the vernal equinox and at no other time?

Can you stand eggs on end at the vernal equinox and at no other time?

HOWTO: Talk to an Evolutionist Without Being Dismissed as Ignorant and Stupid

HOWTO: Talk to an Evolutionist Without Being Dismissed as Ignorant and Stupid

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense

15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense

Opponents of evolution want to make a place for creationism by tearing down real science, but their arguments don't hold up

Answers in Genesis: Yeah, that's the Ticket

10 Questions, and Answers, About Evolution

If God Has A Plan, Free Will Is An Illusion

If God Has A Plan, Free Will Is An Illusion

How To Convert a Wireless Router into an Access Point

A Former Jehovah's Witness Speaks Out

Randi’s big shoes to Phil

Randi’s big shoes to Phil

10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry List

What is Multiplication, Really?

Amanda Peet and Antivaxxers

Why the walmart hate?

Why I Deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus

Why I Deny the Virgin Birth of Jesus