Category Archives: Technology and Society

Science And Society, Space, Technology and Society

The Bermuda Triangle

19 Comments

Solved?

Oceanographic surveyors of the sea floor in the area of the Bermuda Triangle and the North Sea region between continental Europe and Great Britain have discovered significant quantities of methane hydrates and older eruption sites.

Because of the correlations and existing data, the two envisioned what would happen when gigantic methane bubbles explode from natural fissures on the seafloor.

Makes sense to me. There would be no warning, and nothing you could do. You might be able to set up a warning system for aircraft, though, perhaps with satellite monitoring. I don’t think that ships would have the ability to escape. Too slow and unmaneuverable. Better to avoid the area, or perhaps to better map the deposits, and put them on the charts like other hazards.

[Via Geekpress]

Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Science And Society, Technology and Society

The Big DNA Letdown

13 Comments

Thoughts on the (so far) overhype of genetic sequencing.

I think that there are going to be huge breakthroughs in health and longevity, but our understanding of genetics is currently much too dismal for them to come from DNA analysis in the near term.

My understanding is that the DNA is a recipe, not a blueprint. And while even with a blueprint of a house, the final product is still dependent on the carpenter, it is at least specified. A recipe can have much more varied outcomes, depending on the cook, and the available resources and ingredients.

Humor, Mathematics, Popular Culture, Technology and Society, Weird

Too Much Time On His Hands

28 Comments

And now for something completely different — an estimate of how fast the signal of the Beacon of Gondor propagated:

After the first signal is on fire, Gandalf sees the next signal only 6 seconds later. WHAT? The guys (or gals) at the next station must have just been sitting there staring and waiting for a signal. Oh, it was probably like 40 years since the last time it was used. I guess you can do stuff like that if you don’t have youtube. But wait, the more I think about this, the more upset I get. I am ok with invisible rings, flying dragons, glowing swords and stuff. However, it is beyond the bounds of reason to expect me to believe that some guys are sitting way on the other mountain with a hair-triggered lighting mechanism. Six seconds. Seriously.

[Via Geekpress]

Media Criticism, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

Not Forever

13 Comments

I’m often annoyed by the straw-man argument/complex question (and aren’t all complex questions a form of straw man?) that opponents of life extension toss out: “Why do you want to live forever”?

It’s not about living forever — it’s about living as long as you want to live. Robin Hanson has the same problem.

I can’t say now that I won’t be tired of life in a hundred years or so, but give me a chance to find out. I do suffer from ennui occasionally as I get older, but I think that most of it comes from not feeling as physically good as I did when I was younger, and not having the financial resources to do all the things I’d like to do. Fix those problems, and I might in fact be willing to at least take a trip to Mars, if not a one-way one.

Technology and Society

To Coast

29 Comments

…or not to coast — that is the question.

From a safety (and brake wear) standpoint, I agree that it’s a bad idea to coast down a hill — you should use the engine to help brake the car. But I often coast pulling up to a stop sign or red light. I can whip it back into gear fast enough if I have to, and if I’m already in gear, it’s probably the wrong one for a rapid acceleration, unless I’ve been downshifting.

As for fuel economy, I’ll accept his argument for fuel injected cars, but I’ll bet that coasting saves gas over having the transmission engaged for a carburetted vehicle (do they even make them any more, though?).

[Update a few minutes later]

I guess not, if Wikipedia is to be trusted:

Carburetors were the usual fuel delivery method for most U.S. made gasoline-fueled engines up until the late 1980s, when fuel injection became the preferred method of automotive fuel delivery. In the U.S. market, the last carbureted cars were:

* 1990 (General public) : Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, Buick Estate Wagon, and Subaru Justy
* 1991 (Police) : Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with the 5.8 L (351 cu in) engine.
* 1991 (SUV) : Jeep Grand Wagoneer
* 1994 (Light truck) : Isuzu[5]

Elsewhere, certain Lada cars used carburetors until 2006. A majority of motorcycles still use carburetors due to lower cost and throttle response problems with early injection setups, but as of 2005 many new models are now being introduced with fuel injection. Carburetors are still found in small engines and in older or specialized automobiles, such as those designed for stock car racing. In such applications, carburetors reliably supply very high volumes of fuel at full load and are easy to set restrictions on to give even, fair racing.

So there you go.

Administrative, Technology and Society

Public Service Announcement

13 Comments

If you get a Facebook message from me or anyone saying that I liked “Girls Are Unable to Stare at This for 10 Seconds, but Guys Can…,” it’s some kind of scam. Don’t follow it.

I’d send a warning to all my FB friends, but my FB pages doesn’t seem to be working properly (e.g., I don’t seem to have a way to update my status, and I can’t type a list name into a message).