Odds and Ends, Sun 12 July 2009
1. "Humans prefer cockiness to expertise"
<http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227115.500>
"The research ... shows that we prefer advice from a confident source,
even to the point that we are willing to forgive a poor track record".
2. "Why your brain just can't remember that word"
<http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17263>
"In tip-of-the-tongue experiences, for instance, words suddenly and
perplexingly go missing only to reappear seconds or minutes later.
Another brain quirk — déjà vu — confirms the fallibility of memory.
Now two new studies have shed light on both phenomena."
3. "Our complex brains thrive on the edge of chaos"
<http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20127015.000>
"Chaotic thinking is rarely a recipe for success, but evidence is
emerging that operating at the edge of chaos may drive our brain's
astonishing capabilities."
4. "MBA: Mostly bloody awful"
<http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2009/2526727.htm>
"Something happened to management culture decades ago and now being
a Master of Business Administration, especially from Harvard, is
rather on the nose. MBA, it's being said, can also stand for 'Mediocre
but Arrogant', or 'Management by Accident'."
5. "What's Better: Stocks, Bonds, or Lobbyists?"
<http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/whats-better-
stocks-bonds-or-lobbyists/>
"Looking for a 22,000 percent return on your investment? Hire a
lobbyist, send her to Washington on your behalf, and watch the
money roll in."
6. "Health insurers want you to keep smoking, Harvard doctors say"
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?
id=health-insurers-want-you-to-keep-sm-2009-06-03>
"Health and life insurance companies in the U.S. and abroad have nearly
$4.5 billion invested in tobacco stocks, according to Harvard doctors.
'It's the combined taxidermist and veterinarian approach: either way
you get your dog back'."
7. "Teens capture images of space with £56 camera and balloon"
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5005022/Teens-
capture-images-of-space-with-56-camera-and-balloon.html>
"Proving that you don't need Google's billions or the BBC weather
centre's resources, the four Spanish students managed to send a camera-
operated weather balloon into the stratosphere."
8. "How to Develop Film Using Coffee and Vitamin C! Srsly!"
<http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/coffee-caffenol-film-developing/>
