Clipmarks | rmowery'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

5 Reasons to take naps

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 03:33:55 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: ririanproject.com

“Set aside half an hour every day to do all your worrying; then take a nap during this period.”

Thomas Edison, Napoleon Bonaparte, Salvador Dali, Winston Churchill, and Presidents Kennedy and Reagan had something in common? In fact, each of them enjoyed a regular nap.

While small children typically take naps in the afternoon, our culture generally frowns upon mid-day sleep; however, many people feel a mid-afternoon slump in mood and alertness, especially after a poor night of sleep. Many believe that this slump is caused by eating a heavy lunch. However, in reality, this occurs because we were meant to have a mid-afternoon nap.

Tags: naps, napping, health, brain power, psychology

Zen Stories To Tell Your Neighbours

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 08:43:20 GMT

clipped by: chloetoo

Clip Source: www.rider.edu

Why tell a Zen story?
Please ReadMe!
Frames Version
Send a Story to a Friend

***

the stories:

Banishing a Ghost
Bell Teacher
Books
Christian Buddha
Chasing Two Rabbits
Cliffhanger
Concentration
Destiny
Dreaming
Egotism
Elephant and Flea
Empty Your Cup
Enlightened
Full Awareness
Gift of Insults
Going with the Flow
Gutei's Finger
Holy Man
I Don't Know
Is That So?
It Will Pass
Just Two Words
Knowing Fish
Learning the Hard Way
Masterpiece
Maybe
The Moon Cannot Be Stolen
More Is Not Enough
Most Important Teaching
Moving Mind
The Nature of Things
Nature's Beauty
No More Questions
Not Dead Yet
Obsessed
Paradise
Practice Makes Perfect
Present Moment
Prosperity
Ritual Cat
Searching for Buddha
Self-Control
Sounds of Silence
Spider
Successor
Surprising the Master
Tea Combat
Tea or Iron
Transient
True Self
Useless Life
Wanting God
When Tired
Without Fear
Working Very Hard

Do you have a good story to contribute?
Do you have a different reaction to a story?
Let me know

|| Incoming Mail and FAQs || Westerners Speak Out on Zen Stories ||

|| About John Suler || About Rider University ||

*What is This Thing Called Self?*

- Kudos -

Tags: zen, zen-buddhism, zen-stories

Your Brain Boots Up Like a Computer

Sat, 19 Aug 2006 02:22:24 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

As we yawn and open our eyes in the morning, the brain stem sends little puffs of nitric oxide to another part of the brain, the thalamus, which then directs it elsewhere.

Your Brain Boots Up Like a Computer

By Abigail W. Leonard
Special to LiveScience
posted: 17 August 2006
09:39 am ET

Like a computer booting up its operating system before running more complicated programs, the nitric oxide triggers certain functions that set the stage for more complex brain operations, according to a new study.

In these first moments of the day, sensory information floods the system—the bright sunlight coming through the curtains, the time on the screeching alarm clock—and all of it needs to be processed and organized, so the brain can understand its surroundings and begin to perform more complex tasks.

"The thinking part of the brain is applying a sort of stencil to the information coming in and what the nitric oxide is doing is allowing more refinement of that stencil," says Dwayne Godwin, an associate professor at Wake Forest University and lead author of the study, which was funded by the National Eye Institute.

Tags: neurology, health, science, brain, brain theory, thinking, psychology

Jim Carrey and Conan discuss quantum physics

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 03:37:40 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: koutuk.blogspot.com

[Video]

What is Quantum physics? From wikipedia we know that, "It is a fundamental physical theory which extends and corrects Newtonian mechanics, especially at the atomic and subatomic levels. It is the underlying framework of many fields of physics and chemistry, including condensed matter physics, quantum chemistry, and particle physics. The term quantum (Latin, "how much") refers to the discrete units that the theory assigns to certain physical quantities, such as the energy of an atom at rest"

But here Conan and Jim Carrey discuss quantum physics - and Max attempts to. Check out this hilarious clip.

Tags: entertainment, physics, jim carrey

How To Stop Time

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 15:48:12 GMT

clipped by: travislaborde
clipper's remarks: A bizarre experiment you can try Spooky!

Clip Source: www.grasshopper.com

Einstein demonstrated that time is relative.

But the rabbit-hole goes much deeper. Quantum physics discovered that consciousness is entangled in matter in some inexplicable ways; but other than the very fast, or very small, or very large, we tend to assume our “ordinary” reality conforms more to the laws of Newton. Simple cause and effect unfolding with clockwork constancy —well, it’s time to shatter this assumption. Let’s stop time.

Find a clock with a smooth sweeping second hand. The one on this page might work, but depending on how much is running on your computer, it may or may not be completely smooth. If it appears relatively smooth, it will still work, you’ll be able to factor out what you are controlling.

Tags: brain

Are Aliens from other worlds here?

Wed, 02 May 2007 04:11:55 GMT

clipped by: rmowery
clipper's remarks: Some part of this are interesting. In particular listen to Ronald Regan's speech to UN and what he says. It is somewhere around 22 minutes. Makes one think and also wish that an Alien race would land here and maybe help bring a stop to all the fighting on earth!

Clip Source: chooseandwatch.com

[Video]

UFO Documentary Area 51 Alien interview

Tags: alien, area51, reagan, majistic

Stephen Hawking's explosive new theory

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:49:22 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Stephen Hawking's explosive new theory

Prof Stephen Hawking has come up with a new idea to explain why the Big Bang of creation led to the vast cosmos that we can see today.

Astronomers can deduce that the early universe expanded at a mind-boggling rate because regions separated by vast distances have similar background temperatures.

They have proposed a process of rapid expansion of neighbouring regions, with similar cosmic properties, to explain this growth spurt which they call inflation.

But that left a deeper mystery: why did inflation occur in the first place?

Now New Scientist reports that an answer has been proposed by Prof Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University, working with Prof Thomas Hertog of the Astroparticle and Cosmology Laboratory in Paris.

Tags: stephen hawking, science, cosmos, bing bang

British believe Bush is more dangerous than Kim Jong-il

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 14:32:43 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

British believe Bush is more dangerous than Kim Jong-il

· US allies think Washington threat to world peace
· Only Bin Laden feared more in United Kingdom

Carried out as US voters prepare to go to the polls next week in an election dominated by the war, the research also shows that British voters see George Bush as a greater danger to world peace than either the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, or the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both countries were once cited by the US president as part of an "axis of evil", but it is Mr Bush who now alarms voters in countries with traditionally strong links to the US.

Tags: bush, bush administration, world leaders, danger

A printer without ink from Zink

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 16:27:06 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: crave.cnet.com

A printer without ink from Zink

Zink wants to take the printer off of your desk and put it in your pocket. The question now is whether you'll want it.

The Waltham, Mass.-based start-up has created--with help from Polaroid--a way to print photographs or documents without ink or an ink cartridge. Without an ink cartridge, the printer can be reduced to the size of an iPod or smaller, CEO Wendy Caswell says. The controlling factor when it comes to printer size is whether you want 2 x 3 pictures or 4 x 6 prints.

A camera-printer combo the size of an iPod

(Credit: Zink)

The first two products will likely be a standalone printer and a camera with a built-in printer. The company is showing off the technology this week at the technology conference Demo '07 taking place this week in Palm Desert, California. (Sonny Bono and Gerald Ford territory.)

The trick is the paper. In conventional machines, print heads squirt ink in a meticulous pattern onto a sheet of paper, which gets affixed through heat or other means.

In Zink's system, images are created when a heated printer head comes into contact with a sheet of specialized paper. The paper--which is actually a polymer but feels like ordinary photo paper--contains three crystalline layers. The three layers are clear until heated. When heated, the material turns amorphous and changes colors: one of the crystalline layers turns yellow, the middle one goes magenta while the final one turns blue. The layers are activated at different temperatures and require different cooking times.

The first printer will cost about $199. Sheets of 100 pieces of paper will go for $19.95.

Tags: hardware, technology, printer, pocket printer

The Skeletal Systems of cartoon characters

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 06:48:23 GMT

clipped by: maximelt

Clip Source: michaelpaulus.com

Hello Kitty (closed)

Hello Kitty (open)

Buttercup (closed)

Buttercup (open)

Pigpen (closed)

Pigpen (open)

pigpen (detail)

the Mad Scientist

Pikachu

Marvin the Martian

Lucy

Blossom

Little Lotta

Betty Boop

Betty Boop (detail)

Linus

Charlie (front)

Shmoo

Barney

Peppermint Patty

Bubbles

Dexter

Tweety

Eggbert

Baby Huey

Charlie (profile)

Fred

Album: Mrs Duncan's class assignment

Changed: 03/22/06
Contains: 18 items.

an interview in Pig Magazine Italy

Tags: humor

Car that runs on air

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 03:38:57 GMT

clipped by: rmowery
clipper's remarks: Nice! Good-bye Oil companies

Clip Source: www.celsias.com

A French designer of engines for Formula One racing cars has turned his attention to creating an engine that runs on, and emits, only air! By all accounts, this is no pie-in-the-sky dream invention either - as the vehicle’s release is slated for later this year.

With a top speed of 110kph (68mph) and a range of about 200kms (125miles), it looks to be an entirely useable commuter, and more. In fact, once the initial model is on the market, there are plans for a hybrid version - a car that will use a small amount of fuel to generate the compressed air required for the main engine - resulting in a 4,500km range (2,800 miles) from just one tank of fuel!

Tags: air, compressed air, alternative energy

Thinking diagonally with multiplication grids Jason 22 Sep 2006

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 21:11:05 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: 37signals.com

Thinking diagonally with multiplication grids Jason 22 Sep 2006

Yesterday’s Chicago Tribune ran an article about teaching math in school [registration required] that included something I’d never seen before: The multiplication grid.

I don’t have any idea if this is better/worse/harder/easier, but I just found it interesting. It’s refreshing to see alternate solutions (grid) to more common approaches (stacked).

Tags: math, education, mulitplication, gelosia method, learning

5-Year-Old Pins Rabid Fox During Cookout

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 12:47:08 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: abcnews.go.com

5-Year-Old Pins Rabid Fox During Cookout

5-Year-Old Pins Rabid Fox During Family Cookout to Protect His Little Brother

A 5-year-old boy grabbed a rabid fox by the neck and pinned it to the ground during a family cookout, protecting six other children before his stepfather could kill the animal.

"I wanted to protect my little brother," said Rayshun McDowell, who battled the fox in the front yard of his home Sunday in Kingstown, a town about 50 miles west of Charlotte.

The fox bit Rayshun in the leg, but the 61-pound-boy held the animal down for more than a minute. Animal control officials said Tuesday that test results confirmed the fox had rabies, which is fatal unless treated before symptoms appear. Rayshun is undergoing treatment.

Tags: fox, rabies, tough kid, protector, nc

Elves in Chinese folklore

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 04:06:13 GMT

clipped by: zephyrgong
clipper's remarks: They're top 10 widely spreadly elves in Chinese folklore,sorry it's too hard to translate their names to English,but the Chinese names are bellow:

狐仙(Fox spirits),龙女,夜叉(Yaksha),判官,牛头(Ox heads),马面(horse faces ),二郎(Erlang Shen ),七郎,刑天(Xing Tian),辟邪

I hope I can have time and ability to do some short description to each of them.There's already have a detailed list about Chinese mythology on Wikipedia(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_mythology), most of them have well described,but I think have some pictures will make more sense.

Clip Source: cache.tianya.cn

Tags: elf, folklore, artwork, china