"No longer like a toad in these foul cellars will I secret the venom of hatred -- for you shall bring me love!" - Erik
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« Science: July 2014 | Main | Science: September 2014 » ScienceWell that's a problem I'm all for solar energy, but not if it's going to create a vortex of fiery bird death. When i think of solar energy, i think mainly of solar panels on our roofs and maybe, as we have here in Jersey, on all our telephone poles. It never occurred to me that we'd have to create some sort of mirrored monstrosity that focuses the sunlight into laser intensity. It might be a question of trying to fit solar into a traditional power plant model instead of distributing the responsibility (and ownership). Or it might just be that solar panels on the roof aren't sufficient for our power needs in all climates (yet?). To go back to the Earthship, they are very much designed to work independent of an energy grid, but they also remove the majority of the need for climate control thanks to its use of thermal mass. Climate control is what drains the majority of a typical home's energy. So an Earthship is pretty much self-sufficient, energy wise. But we can't expect to retrofit all existing buildings to be partially underground, even if people would accept that (which they wouldn't). So hopefully this Flamestrike issue is resolvable. By fnord12 | August 19, 2014, 11:20 AM | Liberal Outrage
& Science | Link This made me laugh. By min | August 14, 2014, 9:32 AM | Science | Link Sometimes the news caters only to hope. No doubt many readers have heard that having a pet increases happiness and health. But few know that the studies reporting no effect are just as numerous. A study showing no such effect is something nobody wants to read. It's not scary nor hopeful enough to grab anyone's attention. It's in the boring dead zone, the anti-sweet spot. As a result, in this case only the positive gets reported. Like a lot of news, contemporary legends (popularly known as urban legends) tend to be scary. That is because the scary ones are more likely to be retold, as was found in an experiment by psychologists Jean Fox Tree and Mary Susan Weldon. According to my theory, we find cautionary tales compelling because of fear and hope. The middle section of the article also gives an interesting reason for why people find slot machines so addictive. It comes down to our brains being stupid and telling us "Hey, you're getting better at this. You got really close to winning that time. I bet with more practice, you can get a win on your next pull.". By min | August 10, 2014, 1:16 PM | Science | Link |
