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/>