Clipmarks | kankamuso's clips

Critical Thinking On The Web

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 03:51:19 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.austhink.com

Top Ten

Argument Mapping Tutorials. Six online tutorials in argument mapping, a core requirement for advanced critical thinking.
The Skeptic's Dictionary - over 400 definitions and essays.
The Fallacy Files by Gary Curtis. Best website on fallacies.
Butterflies and Wheels. Excellent reading - news, articles, and much more.
Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts by Peter Facione. Good overview of the nature of critical thinking. (pdf file)
Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion by John Stuart Mill. Classic chapter, densely packed with wisdom about thinking.
Chance - best resource for helping students think critically about issues involving probability and statistics
Psychology of Intelligence Analysis, by Richards Heuer. A good overview of how to improve thinking in the light of insights from cognitive psychology.
A Handbook on Writing Argumentative and Interpretative Essays by Ian Johnston
Baloney Detection Part 1 and Part 2 - by Michael Shermer. 10 step guide.

Tags: critical thinking, bull-shit detection

Dedroidification!

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:09:15 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: Excellent mind expanding content!

Clip Source: corporate.skynet.be

~ Streaming Video Documentaries ~
home - new - navigation - sitemap - enable top quote bar

Reading > Watching

Visit Dedroidification (home), the main site with over 100 pages of the same kind of excellent mind expanding content!

Categories:

Consciousness

Enlightening Comedy

Mystery History

Many Bloodsucking Insects (Poli-Tics) & Conspiracy

UFO & NASA (Never A Straight Answer)

Science & Free Energy

Lectures

Music Videos

Recommended docus (with no vid linx)

How to Make a Folded-Paper CD Case

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 19:47:38 GMT

clipped by: kurtisthorne
clipper's remarks: Useful for us over-users of backup media!

Clip Source: www.curbly.com

How to Make a Folded-Paper CD Case

Posted January 08, 2007 in How To | 14514 views | 8 comments

Instead of paying good cash for cd cases, which eventually break and end up in a landfill, how about creating your own, unique folded-paper cd cases that are biodegradable and take up a fraction of the space?

The Props:

8 ½" by 11" paper

a cd

a computer (optional)

labels (optional)

The Procedure:

1. Center a cd, which you’ll be using as a guide, at the top of a sheet of paper, as shown.

2. Fold in sides of paper to sides of cd.

3. Center cd at the middle of the folded paper.

4. Fold bottom up.

5. Fold the horizontal creases, which I’ve identified in red, to sides as indicated by arrows, so the creases are even with sides of original folded sides. (I’ve identified the creases in question with dashed lines for illustration.)

6. You'll have a box-shape sticking up toward you after making the folds in step 5. Just fold this flap down flat as shown below.

7. Tuck the "ears" that are sticking out to the sides in between the original side folds and the fold created in step 4.

8. Slip cd into front pocket and fold down top half of paper.

9. Dog-ear the top two corners of the top half of paper.

10. Slip top half of paper into pocket.

For a personal touch, print labels and photos on the front center of paper to give your cd holder some pizzazz. A picture from a trip of a lifetime or a friend’s favorite tunes.

Print the name of that book you wrote or are working on. Any paper, of course, will do including postal wrap, grocery bags or something of the decorative variety. A sheet of heavier-weight wrapping paper with a printed label makes a great way to store and share holiday pictures.

Tagged:
folded paper cd case Reduce

Tags: tutorials, useful, makes

Another PC desktop sharing tool

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 15:23:19 GMT

clipped by: bigb0b

Clip Source: lifehacker.com

Download of the Day: CrossLoop (Windows)

Windows only: Connect to and take control of another PC with CrossLoop, quite possibly the easiest remote-access tool on the planet.

Just install the small CrossLoop app on your PC, then have the person on the other PC do the same. A few clicks and you're securely connected, able to see and interact with the other PC (though not transfer files). I tried this with Windows XP and Windows Vista machines and it worked flawlessly.

CrossLoop is a must-have tool for anyone who serves as the go-to tech support guru for friends and family. It's even easier to work with than my beloved LogMeIn, though it does require a person to be at the other end, so you can't use it for unattended remote access. This fabulous freebie requires Windows. — Rick Broida

7 comments, latest by eleazar

Tags: computers, software, remote, sharing

Trust your instinct

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 13:03:11 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Interesting

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

A UCL (University College London) study has found that you are more likely to perform well if you do not think too hard and instead trust your instincts. The research, published online today in the journal Current Biology, shows that, in some cases, instinctive snap decisions are more reliable than decisions taken using higher-level cognitive processes.

Participants, who were asked to pick the odd one out on a screen covered in over 650 identical symbols, including one rotated version of the same symbol, actually performed better when they were given no time at all to linger on the symbols and so were forced to rely entirely on their subconscious.

Dr Li Zhaoping, of the UCL Department of Psychology, said: "This finding seems counter-intuitive. You would expect people to make more accurate decisions when given the time to look properly. Instead they performed better when given almost no time to think. The conscious or top-level function of the brain, when active, vetoes our initial subconscious decision – even when it is correct – leaving us unaware or distrustful of our instincts and at an immediate disadvantage. Falling back on our inbuilt, involuntary subconscious processes for certain tasks is actually more effective than using our higher-level cognitive functions."

The study shows an instance when our rational mind is more likely to perform worse than our subconscious – but the conscious mind still tends to veto the subconscious.

Ten participants were asked to locate the only back to front version of a repeated symbol on screen and were given between zero and 1.5 seconds from the moment their eyes had landed on the odd one out to scrutinize the image. Participants had to decide whether the odd one out was on the left or the right-hand side of the screen. The researchers found that participants scored better if they were given no scrutinizing time at all.

Tags: science, biology, psychology, cognition

Huge Rubik's Cube Collection

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 07:49:31 GMT

clipped by: Scattered_Fusion
clipper's remarks: Over 1300 photo's in the collection.

Clip Source: knuttz.net

Tags: games, puzzle, rubik's cube, collection, photos, pictures

Catch the Baby!!

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 07:37:49 GMT

clipped by: ShizzyMcJizzles
clipper's remarks: I wish I had a story this cool

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

NEW YORK (AP) -- Two passers-by rescued a toddler who fell four stories, scrambling to catch him as he tumbled from a fire escape, police said.

Julio Gonzalez, 43, and Pedro Nevarez, 40, saw 3-year-old Timothy Addo dangling from a Bronx building on Thursday, police said. The boy had crawled out of a window when his baby sitter briefly took her eyes off of him, police said.

"He was hanging on for dear life," Gonzalez said.

Hearing people in the building scream for help as the boy's grip weakened, the men rushed over to position themselves under the fire escape to catch him. (Watch man describe his life-saving catch)

"No one came," Nevarez said. "We knew it was up to us."

The boy tumbled and hit Nevarez in the chest so hard he knocked him off balance, but he bounced into Gonzalez' arms.

Timothy was treated at the hospital for a cut on his forehead.

"He's fine. He's happy. He's smiling," said his mother, 26-year-old Katrina Cosme, who was working at the time of the accident.

Passers-by catch tumbling toddler

Tags: news, unbelievable, baby, miracle, lucky

Why You Can't Tickle Yourself.

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 02:46:46 GMT

clipped by: jeffreyj

Clip Source: www.neatorama.com

18. Why Can’t You Tickle yourself?

Much to the dismay of wacky masochist everywhere, the human brain is wired against self-tickling. Because the brain controls movement, it knows what your hand is going to do before you do it. Thus it anticipates the exact force, location, and speed of the tickle and uses that information to desensitize you to your own roving hands.

So why do we have a tickle response anyway? Turns out, it’s a defense reaction meant to alert our cave-dwelling ancestors to creepy crawlies that didn’t know their place, and the uncontrollable laughing fit that goes along with it is actually a panic response.

Even if you know someone else is about to go for your rib cage, it’s hard to turn the response off because a) your brain can’t anticipate exactly how and where they’ll tickle you and b) knowing someone is about to tickle you is usually enough to keep those panic receptors open and ready to go.

See also: Tickle Salon and Tickle Robot | Andre Stubbe and Markus Lerner’s ticklish robot | for something completely different: trout tickling [wiki], and who can forget: Tickle Me Elmo [wiki]

Tags: science, biology

We killed Life on Mars

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 02:44:14 GMT

clipped by: abbysname
clipper's remarks: Scientist theorizes that NASA inadvertently killed life on Mars.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Scientist: NASA found life on Mars - and killed it

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two NASA space probes that visited Mars 30 years ago may have found alien microbes on the Red Planet and inadvertently killed them, a scientist is theorizing.

The Viking space probes of 1976-77 were looking for the wrong kind of life, so they didn't recognize it, a geology professor at Washington State University said.

Dirk Schulze-Makuch presented his theory in a paper delivered at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Washington.

Based on a more expansive view of where life can take root, the paper's findings may prompt NASA to look for a different type of Martian life when its next spacecraft to visit Mars is launched later this year, one of the space agency's top scientists said.

Last month, scientists excitedly reported that new photographs of Mars showed geologic changes that suggest water occasionally flows there -- the most tantalizing sign that Mars is hospitable to life.

In the 1970s, the Viking mission found no signs of life.

But it was looking for Earth-like life, in which salt water is the internal liquid of living cells.

Given the cold dry conditions of Mars, life could have evolved on Mars with the key internal fluid consisting of a mix of water and hydrogen peroxide, said Schulze-Makuch.

That's because a water-hydrogen peroxide mix stays liquid at very low temperatures, or -68 degrees Fahrenheit, and doesn't destroy cells when it freezes. It can suck water vapor out of the air.

The Viking experiments of the 1970s wouldn't have noticed hydrogen peroxide-based life and, in fact, would have killed it by drowning and overheating the microbes, said Schulze-Makuch.

One Viking experiment seeking life on Mars poured water on soil. That would have essentially drowned hydrogen peroxide-based life, he said. And different experiment heated the soil to see if something would happen which would have baked Martian microbes.

Tags: mars, life, aliens, nasa, space

47 Years Overdue

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 00:16:10 GMT

clipped by: BoycottShampoo
clipper's remarks: I would have returned it too, minus the late fees. Har, har.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

HANCOCK, Michigan (AP) -- Robert Nuranen handed the local librarian a book he'd checked out for a ninth-grade assignment -- along with a check for 47 years' worth of late fees.

Nuranen said his mother misplaced the copy of "Prince of Egypt" while cleaning the house. The family came across it every so often, only to set it aside again. He found it last week while looking through a box in the attic.

"I figured I'd better get it in before we waited another 10 years," he said after turning it in Friday with the $171.32 check. "Fifty-seven years would be embarrassing."

Tags: news, book, odd, library

Cut onions without tears

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 23:23:44 GMT

clipped by: Moondome

Clip Source: www.lifehacker.com

Using a knife, cut a cone out of the bottom of the onion (where the roots come out). The diameter of this cone should be about a third of the diameter of the onion, and about 1/3 deep. Take this piece and throw it away (don't put it down the disposal!). This piece contains the part/gland that makes baby Jesus and everyone else in the room cry when you're chopping it up. Once you've gotten that piece out, chop off the top, peel, and slice the onion.
Been doing it for years, and it works like a charm. You know your cone is too small if it doesn't work, because you've cut into that teargas grenade.

Tags: tips cooking

NYC has some dirty buildings

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:28:38 GMT

clipped by: Eagle Bauer
clipper's remarks: Man, I had no idea..

-Eagle

Clip Source: www.trevorlittle.com

Tags: nyc, buildings, powerwashing

Song Stuck In Your Head? You've Got An Earworm!

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 19:00:21 GMT

clipped by: haraya
clipper's remarks: The entire article is interesting.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

In Germany, this type of song is known as an "ohrwurm" - an earworm - and typically has a high, upbeat melody and repetitive lyrics that verge between catchy and annoying.

Songs such as the Village People's YMCA, Los Del Rio's Macarena, and the Baha Men's Who Let The Dogs Out owe their success to their ability to create a "cognitive itch," according to Professor James Kellaris, of the University of Cincinnati College of Business Administration.

"A cognitive itch is a kind of metaphor that explains how these songs get stuck in our head," Professor Kellaris told BBC World Service's Outlook programme.

"Certain songs have properties that are analogous to histamines that make our brain itch.

"The only way to scratch a cognitive itch is to repeat the offending melody in our minds."

'Insidious and blatant'

Professor Kellaris has presented the early results of his earworm research at a conference on Consumer Psychology.

He said that virtually everyone suffered from a cognitive itch at one time or another.

The Village People owed much success to earworms

"Across surveys I found that from 97% to 99% of the population is susceptible to earworms at some time," he stated.

"But certainly some people are more susceptible than others. Women tend to be more susceptible than men, and musicians are more susceptible to them than non-musicians."

The research is of particular interest to both the pop industry - looking to boost sales - and to advertisers, who often use jingles to get their brand name stuck in the head of listeners.

"For both advertising purposes and pop music purposes, you want something that once heard is not forgotten quickly or easily," explained jingle writer Chris Smith, adding that a good earworm was "Insidious - and often quite blatant".

"One of the key elements of an earworm is repetition," he said.

"If you have something with a lot of varied content, it's not so easily assimilated.

Tags: science, music, annoying songs, songs, pop, study, audio, advertising, entertainment, brand, marketing, research, mind, brain, itch

Apparently you don't need address in Britain to send a letter

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 10:44:26 GMT

clipped by: gunni23

Clip Source: planetgonecrazy.blogspot.com

Really first-class sketch for an address

Paul Bates sent a Christmas card to a long-lost pal in this envelope with NO street name, NO town, NO postcode — yet it arrived!

Card was delivered with this sketch on the envelope instead of an address

Steel worker, 48, had forgotten the name of the town workmate Peter O’Leary moved to from Neath, South Wales, three years ago.

But he recalled Peter had pointed it out on a map. So he put a dot on a sketch of the South West Peninsula, wrote “somewhere here” and hoped for the best.

Amazingly the card arrived at Peter’s home in Bude, North Cornwall, nine days later — after his postman recognized the name in a local sorting office.

Tags: funny

A year without buying anything new

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 00:13:29 GMT

clipped by: greg naylor

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

SAN FRANCISCO - It began, as grand ideas often do, over a dinner — risotto, artisan cheese and wine. What would it be like, 10 environmentally conscious friends wondered as they discussed the state of the planet, to go a year without buying anything new?

Twelve months later, the results from their experiment in anti-consumption for 2006 are in: Staying 100 percent true to the goal proved both harder and easier than those who signed on expected.

Now that they know they can do it, Boyd, Kesel and Perry are ready to extend the pledge into 2007. But first, they plan to give themselves a one-day reprieve to stock up on essentials — windshield wipers, bicycle brakes and tongue studs.

Tags: sustainability