Science & Technology

Supercavitation essentially creates a gas bubble around all but the very nose of a projectile in order to virtually eliminate water drag and achieve high speeds (possibly breaking the sound barrier). The technology is real and the applications range from peaceful ocean farming and exploration of Jupiter’s moon Europa to supercavitating weaponry like torpedoes and bullets. However, there appears to be plenty of obstacles (like steering, constantly changing pressures etc..) preventing such an occurrance. “Mastery of supercavitation could turn the quiet chess game of submarine warfare we know today into a mirror image of the hyper-kinetic world of aerial combat.” The cinematic possibilites alone make this phenomenon intriguing. Imagine Top Gun under water. Take note, Hollywood. This could make the basis for a great movie. [thanks to F2 and metascene]

Its nice to see that someone writes lab reports the way I used to. I especially liked his conclusions: “Going into physics was the biggest mistake of my life. I should’ve declared CS. I still wouldn’t have any women, but at least I’d be rolling in cash.”

It seems that amazon is now taking orders for IT, otherwise known as Ginger. Of course, they still don’t know what it is, what it does, or how much it will cost, but apparently doesn’t stop people from buying it. The mystery thickens.

Mind reading. It seems fantastical, but it may be true. A team of Italian neurophysiologists have discovered so called “mirror” neurons in the brain which seem to be firing in sympathy, reflecting or perhaps simulating the actions of other people. For instance, if I were to slap myself in the face, a certain set of neurons in my brain would be firing in order to make this act of stupidity happen. And if you happen to witness my moronic act, the very same set of neurons will fire in your brain (though you won’t be slapping yourself silly). This discovery could go a long way in explaining things like why people are so damn imitative, how we developed language, and also why people can instantly understand how you are feeling just by observing your actions. Some people are referring to this as “mind reading”, but it seems to be acting more like an advanced simulation to me. Basically, when I observe someone doing something, my brain instinctively simulates the action (by firing the appropriate neurons) and makes conclusions based on what happens. Though it may not be mind reading, it is certainly a big step forward for psychologists.

An interesting side note regarding mind reading. Some people believe we have an innate but repressed form of mind reading that sometimes surfaces in the form of “intuition” or even physical illness when faced with danger. The human brain only operates at somewhere around 10-20% efficiency, with occasional jumps to 25-30% (which is usually referred to as intuition or revelation and is associated with a possible decline in physical health). For instance, take this entry found in Wierd but True:

“train wrecks: in train wrecks the number of passengers in damaged cars is less than average by so much and so often that it cannot be a chance occurrence. somehow we know not to get on them. (work done by william cox and reported by lyall watson)”

I’ve heard of similar statistics referring to airplanes as well. Many planes that crash are only half full; people who didn’t get on the plane just had a “bad feeling” about it or actually got sick and were unable to fly. What are our brains really capable of?

Why I Like Math By Matt Stone. Nice story of a man’s search for meaning and finding it through mathematics (“I became aware of an underlying superstructure that tied all my math knowledge together. “). Why is it that people think religion is only comforting? Comfort is one aspect of religion, yes, but it is not everything. In many cases, I would even go so far as to say that religion is no more comforting than any other system of beliefs (be it scientific, atheistic, agnostic, or, in this case, mathematics). My naive optimism has more to do with my happiness than my religion (then again, I suppose religion has infulenced my optimism). In the end, I don’t think religion is as important as most people think. It plays a small part in many aspects of life, but it does not (at least, it should not) dominate everthing. [via metascene]

What is the colour of five? What does blue taste like? Believe it or not, some people can answer these questions. These people have an rare variety of perception called synesthesia. Synesthesia literally means joined sensations, a condition that causes certain sensations to “leak” into one another. Its much deeper than a simple association or metaphor; synesthetes don’t think about a sound when they see a colour, they actually hear the sound! This raises all sorts of questions regarding our view of the world and reality. Do we all have an innate form of synesthesia, possibly repressed? Who knows, but the more I think about this condition the less I’m suprised (and the more I realize how little we know about ourselves). Yet another bizarre scientific discovery…

The Human Genome in Human Context: Scientists recently announced that they had virtually completed the task of mapping the human genome. The implications of such an event vary. Some believe it will usher in a new era of Genetic Engineering, complete with a multitude of ethical fears such as the insurability of people with genetically identifiable risks for diseas or the creation of an entirely new form of Humanity. The author of the article believes that we really don’t have much to worry about right now. While we may have mapped the genome, we have do not yet know how to apply it. Some quotes from the article:

“Enhancements in human abilities that may come through genetic engineering will in most cases be negligible compared to those already achieved, or achievable in the future, through tools.”

“The problem is compounded by the fact that the relation of genes to traits is not one�to�one. Some traits are influenced by many genes, and some genes influence many traits. The law of unintended consequences is therefore bound to operate with a vengeance.”

“…there is already quite conclusive evidence that human behavior, though strongly conditioned by genetics, is not completely determined by it. ”

All in all, a fascinating article and a refreshing change from the typical Horrors of Genetics diatribe. I don’t think we’ll be heading for a world like the one presented in the film Gattaca any time soon…

This site contains various (suprisingly insightful and referenced) blurbs about strange phenomena that occur. What an odd world we live in. Its amazing how little we know about it. [found in the bowels of kottke]

Do we live in a “designer universe”? The laws of nature seemed fine-tuned for conscious life to emerge; if the fundamental constants of physics are off by only a hair, the universe would have been a lifeless dud (no stars, no stable elements, etc…) This reminds me of one of Thomas Aquinas’ 5 Ways (order in the universe implies an intelligent creator that we call God), and the finely tuned universe seems to support some sort of Cosmic Designer. However, the Cosmic Designer Hypothesis is only one way of explaining the improbable fine-tuning of natures laws (and it is flawed to begin with). Theres the “Big Fluke Hypothesis”, which doesn’t provide much of an explaination, and then there is the “Many Universes Hypothesis”, which claims that there are, suprise, many universes (perhaps an infinite amount), the idea being that we live in the lucky one universe where everything came together. All the theories have their own advantages and disadvantages, and its quite fun to ponder why our world is the way it is…

Taking Ballistics by Storm: An electronic gun with no mechanical parts that could theoretically fire a million rounds per minute. It was invented by former grocery wholesaler Mike O’Dwyer. I can’t believe this guy, who has no formal education in ballistics, didn’t kill himself while inventing this thing. [via usr/bin/girl]