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It's kinda funny that you linked to Mark Newman, since he just wrote an article on modularity and community structure (which he did indeed proceed to use on the karate club in a recent talk). However, his work does include graph partitioning and cluster analysis, which he tries to improve upon using a new algorithm.

I agree there is certainly a lot of integrative work to be done, but that's because there has been a ton of network stuff done in physics and computer science, but not all of it is mappable to human-to-human networks, which have tricky psychological and sociological forces at work. I've found Brokerage and Closure by Ron Burt to be a really good read on social networks from a sociological and business perspective. Super-quick summary: closure measures the cohesiveness of a group, while brokers span the gaps between the groups. It can be difficult and costly to be a broker, but in general these costs are outweighed by the benefits of greater access to information and opportunities.

I think there's plenty of mediocre research in many fields, but the trick is finding, using, and promoting the good stuff. (Kinda like Slashdot comments?)

You definitly never read Al Franken's book.

I enjoyed Guns, Germs, and Steel a lot myself. Still, it must be taken with a grain of salt and accompanied by opposing views. While Diamond has experience in the fields of physiology and ecology, he is no expert in the numerous other fields which contributed to his book. Some of the anthropology has already been criticized as way off.

The composer Sofia Gubaidulina made wide use of the Fibbonaci sequence in the 1980s, happy to find a way of systemization that still allowed the form to "breathe". Her 1986 symphony "Stimmen... Verstummen..." is a notable example: the length of its movements grow ever shorter according to the sequence. In the 9th movement is a conductor's "solo", where he motions before a silent orchestra, the distance between his hands growing ever larger according to the sequence. In the 1990s she began using the Lucas and Evanglist series as well, whose aesthetic imperfection alongside the divine harmony of the Fibonacci sequence makes tantalizing listening. See V. Tsenova's thesis Zahlenmystik in der Music von Sofia Gubaidulina for a musicological analysis.

That's only one example. Per Norgard may be mentioned as well, his third symphony abounds in Golden Section references. And, as others have already posted, Bartok used the sequence heavily in his work.

The composer Sofia Gubaidulina made wide use of the Fibbonaci sequence in the 1980s, happy to find a way of systemization that still allowed the form to "breathe". Her 1986 symphony "Stimmen... Verstummen..." is a notable example: the length of its movements grow ever shorter according to the sequence. In the 9th movement is a conductor's "solo", where he motions before a silent orchestra, the distance between his hands growing ever larger according to the sequence. In the 1990s she began using the Lucas and Evanglist series as well, whose aesthetic imperfection alongside the divine harmony of the Fibonacci sequence makes tantalizing listening. See V. Tsenova's thesis Zahlenmystik in der Music von Sofia Gubaidulina for a musicological analysis.

That's only one example. Per Norgard may be mentioned as well, his third symphony abounds in Golden Section references. And, as others have already posted, Bartok used the sequence heavily in his work.

A great book on this subject is Stephen Pinker's The Blank Slate : The Modern Denial of Human Nature. He spends a good while explaining the biological evidence for certain traits such as increased intelligence being just as much genetically determined as someone's eye color. He also takes the time to explain why so many people instinctively demonize this stance and why facing the truth about our genetic heritage will actually allow people to live in greater harmony with each other. The explanations are surprisingly clear and he mostly stays away from rhetorical and psychological bubble that so many philosophers often resort to.

How about encouraging the "patient" to go outside or do something constructive, instead of coercing him into repeating a mindless task for no real reward. [...]
I have no objection to psychotropic drugs and behavioral treatments when used judiciously to relieve real suffering or addiction. But using these tools to homogenize children to the societal norm is absolutely repugnant. How we can get through to these deranged teachers, parents, and psychiatrists?

As somebody with ADD who has tried the meds and benefited from them, I can't bring myself to be quite as outraged as you.

I agree that what is probably going on is using drugs to adapt a minority to the modern society we've built for ourselves. But most people do that, albeit to a lesser extent. Try to find an office without a coffeepot. And look at the number of people who regularly have a drink after work.

I think the real culprit here is our evolutionary history: for a long time we were hunter-gatherer nomads, but we went through a farming period where staying in one place and leading a rote-filled, obedient, crappy life was the ticket to success. And we can't complain too much, as it gave us the infrastructure necessary to build up the industry that has freed 99% of the population from farm work.

Now things are changing again. Taylorism is dying out. Now we can stop being machines or computers. Indeed, given how different creative work is, we have to drop the old habits. I think part of that will be an educational system that is much better suited to people with ADD, and more difficult for people genetically inclined to be obedient sheep. It will take decades, and a lot of work, but I think we'll get there.

In the meantime, the notion that you would have to be on drugs to put up with traditional schools or cube-farm jobs is a nice bit of ironic truth.

Here is a test to see if there is really adhd. Put one of these kids in front of their favorite video game. (I have never seen a kid in front of their favorite video game zone out, they are completely engrossed in the game) If they can play it for more the 30 minutes at a time without a break, then they have no problem concentrating.

Hi. Might I suggest you do something crazy like, say, reading a book about ADHD? Hallowell and Ratey's book Driven to Distraction is a great start. It's written by two licensed psychiatrists who both have ADD.

In there you will learn that "Attention Deficit Disorder" is an unfortunate misnomer, and that part of the disorder is very strong focus on things that are sufficiently stimulating. They mention that a better name would be something like "Attention Inconsistency Disorder".

As somebody diagnosed with ADD in college, I believe it's a real thing. My attentional mechanisms are definitely different than most people. I am very distractable, and can also be very focused in certain rare circumstancess. I have learned to act like normal people do, but it has taken me years of practice, and I have a host of special tricks to pass.

I agree with you that sugar, caffeine, and television can aggravate things. I don't own a TV, but do own a TV-B-Gone, the universal TV off button, so that I can keep up a conversation in places where nobody is watching the TV but it still blares away. And my personal guess is that it's not a disorder in the traditional sense, but rather a genetic difference that was adaptive in certain environments, even if it is not adaptive in certain particular modern circumstances.

But I still think that difference exists, and modern society treating it as a "disability" is better than sweeping it under the rug like they used to. The various medications they have are interesting and I found them helpful in understanding exploring ways to think and be. I don't take them anymore, but if a kid diagnosed with ADD is still having trouble in school after eliminating environmental aggravators and working on organization and study skills, I think it's negligent not to offer them the opportunity to try the various meds to see if something helps. I sure would have benefitted by trying them earlier than college.

Friedman is a psychotic, apertheidist with a simpleton's understanding of international politics, and economics. In his supposed area of expertise, the Lebanese Civil War, he is far outshone by Robert Fisk.

They're selling a crippled EEG machine for $500 which doesn't even give the read out of the brain activities. If you are semi serious about this, I would suggest you take a look at OpenEEG. It's a opensource DIY modular EEG machine that costs around $200 to build (there is also a partialy build version available). There are several free games, and the best thing is, it's not limit to the Playstation (supports Win, Mac, Linux, PocketPC, etc.).

Of course if you want to make sense of the readings, you need to know how to interpret the brainwave patterns. There are several book on this subject; the more popular ones are:
Getting Started with Neurofeedback
The High-Performance Mind

They're selling a crippled EEG machine for $500 which doesn't even give the read out of the brain activities. If you are semi serious about this, I would suggest you take a look at OpenEEG. It's a opensource DIY modular EEG machine that costs around $200 to build (there is also a partialy build version available). There are several free games, and the best thing is, it's not limit to the Playstation (supports Win, Mac, Linux, PocketPC, etc.).

Of course if you want to make sense of the readings, you need to know how to interpret the brainwave patterns. There are several book on this subject; the more popular ones are:
Getting Started with Neurofeedback
The High-Performance Mind

(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/06740 06135/104-1347749-8453522?v=glance&n=283155)

When you get finished, get back with us.

This is not some sort of special insight. It goes back at least to the book The Innovator's Dilemma - and probably much farther back than that.

This was already done a long time ago:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000 BPBAPI/ less than $39 with free shipping and almost all places no tax. Thats equivelent to $35 in a store with tax :)

Net Promoter Score is a measure created by Frederick F. Reichheld, a consultant as Bain and Company (a strategic management shop). His article in the Winter edition of MIT's Sloan Management Review goes into it in descent depth, and Reichheld's new book explores its usage quite thoroughly. (The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth)

While I haven't read his new book yet (it was released on the 2nd), he's not your typical brain-dead consultant. He wrote an excellent book, The Loyalty Effect, on how to manage and measure loyalty and its effects to customer, employee, and investor relationships. Whenever I see his name its usually associated with company's known for treating their employees well.

Net Promoter Score is a measure created by Frederick F. Reichheld, a consultant as Bain and Company (a strategic management shop). His article in the Winter edition of MIT's Sloan Management Review goes into it in descent depth, and Reichheld's new book explores its usage quite thoroughly. (The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth)

While I haven't read his new book yet (it was released on the 2nd), he's not your typical brain-dead consultant. He wrote an excellent book, The Loyalty Effect, on how to manage and measure loyalty and its effects to customer, employee, and investor relationships. Whenever I see his name its usually associated with company's known for treating their employees well.

It's great for you that you like your Clie, but I don't own one and am not about to run out and spend, what, over $200, or heck, even $100 to be able to purchase a book.

would be designed by someone who knows what she is doing.

(The link is safe to click. T'was the first hit at google.)

I have no problem with purchasing ebooks, and do this all the time from either Fictionwise or eReader to read on my Palm Zire (yes, the older one), which I upgraded to 8 MB. And I use to read many hours on it without any problem.

Before I began reading ebooks I did some research and found eReader's DRM scheme to be very nice, unlike others. The ebook comes encrypted with your name and the number of the credit card you used to purchase it as the decryption key. In other words, the ebook isn't device-locked, so I can open it in any Windows, Mac, Palm, Pocket PC and/or Symbian machine (no Linux version so far) I have access to. Also, the standard versions of the reader software are freeware, and the purchaseable Pro ones also aren't device-locked, so I install and reinstall them anywhere. Thus, so far I've purchase both Windows and Palm eReader Pro. And the Fictionwise store has the advantage of also having DRM-free copyrighted ebooks. These don't come nicely formatted as the DRM'ed ones, but they are as readable as any Project Gutenberg text file, so no big deal there.

However, the main advantage I see on ebooks is that they're much cheaper to purchase than printed versions, at least for me who don't live in USA. The shipping charges practiced on online stores such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble to send printed books to Brazil are outrageous, while on ebooks they're $0.

All in all, my ebook reading experience, with both DRM'ed, DRM-free copyrighted and public domain ebooks, has been almost excelent. I've around 200 ebooks and will keep purchasing them no matter what. :)

right - you have the worng title.
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1841154350/qid=11 42018161/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/103-2099874-5925405?n =283155

Amazon has both books.

The book's correct title is "The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography". (See title at Amazon.)

I'm a little surprised we're seeing a review of it only now; it's 5 or 6 years old. I have it, and greatly enjoyed it.

Full disclosure: Elonka is a friend of mine, and my co-moderator on the Kryptos solving group.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385495323/104-20 93210-6205527?v=glance&n=283155

The book isn't available at Barnes and Noble, but you can buy it here for as low as $4.86: Science of Secrecy: The Secret History of Codes and Codebreaking. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

The book isn't available at Barnes and Noble, but you can buy it here for as low as $4.86: Science of Secrecy: The Secret History of Codes and Codebreaking. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

--^--
<<P>>
--V--

Listing potential vulnerabilities is not the issue. We're talking exploits, not vulnerabilities.

That's why I only listed some items that I know have had exploits written for them. If you want a list of vulnerabilities instead, you can look at Apple's big recent update.

To get back on the point, what makes you think the first article had information about the local accounts being given out and what makes you think the second challenge did not disprove the article's misleading depiction?

That I read the first one, and knew from it that they attackers were given a shell.

I don't know of any Ryan R. with a notable security reputation

I can't speak to how notable it is. But my name is Ryan Russell, I am sometimes more easily remembered as Blue Boar.

Here's a list of the books I've worked on. You can see some of my co-authors, for example.

In the Apple case in particular, I've had early access to KF's Bluetooth stuff, for example. I also have a copy of the local priv escalation exploit that was used in the first contest. And of course, there are people out there that are much better connected exploit-wise than I.

I think you're on to something, but I'm not convinced the logic works.

Print publishing has been around for a long time, and they have had a chance to perfect the pricing model. There are two questions, why are hardcover books more expensive than paperback, and why do hardcover come out first? The answer to the first is that hardcover books are a bit more expensive to produce. The answer to the second is a little more interesting. Basically, publishers are working to maximize their profit (a good example based on the hotel industry can be found in The Art of Pricing ). Some people are willing to pay more to get a book first, and they are willing to pay more than the difference between a hardcover and paperback copy - for example, a hardcover costs 10% more, but some people are willing to pay 40% more to get it early. If the publisher only released paperback, they would lose out on all the profits from the 'early adopters' while if they only released hardcover they would lose out on those who would be willing to pay a little less. So, release the hardover, which costs 10% more to produce, but has a 40% higher price tag compared to the paperback == more profit.

So, iTunes vs. CDs. CDs cost more to produce (like hardcover books) the question is, is the margin between "hardcopy" and "softcopy" enough that it is profitable to shift early adopters to the hardcopy version early and let the rest wait for the softcopy. I would say no, the margin per song from iTunes (or other digital distribution) is far, far better than a physical CD. Not to mention the impluse, instant gratification factor and the (likely) quicker format turnover/re-purchase.

It seems a better profit maximizing strategy for music distribution would be either an auction or loyalty based model. The first, auction, would be to have X * T number of songs available at a D * T price (loosly). So the price would go down over time and more songs would be sold. The hardcore fans line up to buy the song, but once they are sold, they're sold until tomorrow (sort of like the midnight CD release). The second, is to offer the songs only to those registered (possibly at a cost) to the fan club. They get the songs early and at a premium - but only those 'in the club' can get it first.

So, I think it is a lot like the print publishing model in as much as record companies need to find a way to charge those who want the music first more, but I don't think it is profit maximizing to do that through CD sales. CDs are a very expensive way to distribute music in 2006 - far more than the difference between hardcover/paperback books.

The labels are going to have to deal with digital distribution. And the first ones to do it will gain. Music is becoming more an more an impulse purchase, and technology is making that happen. With iTunes (and her ilk) one can hear a song on a TV show or movie, look it up and buy it before the song is over. It's only a matter of time before there are links to songs in TV shows, movies and music videos so you can buy it and download it while you watch.

Ne-Yo
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EGCVK2/103-42 41130-8103063?v=glance

Chris Brown
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B0WOHG/103-42 41130-8103063?v=glance

Perhaps this has little to do with the low sales, but I'm sure not being on Amazon count for something.

Ne-Yo
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EGCVK2/103-42 41130-8103063?v=glance

Chris Brown
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B0WOHG/103-42 41130-8103063?v=glance

Perhaps this has little to do with the low sales, but I'm sure not being on Amazon count for something.

Allow me to contribute one or two more links to your list here:
The Truth About Violent Videogames is one of the more informative articles on violence and videogames that I've read.

And of course, for offline reading, there is Everything Bad is Good for You.

I find it hard to believe that one can look at something from the 8th century and assume that the events happened as reported. While DNA can certainly be proven to exist in something, that doesn't mean it used to be bread. And I'm (kinda ex) Catholic.

Unfortunately, the Catholic church hitched its ride to a saying by Alfred Einstien, trying to explain this phenomenon of Transubstantiation:

"But if every gram of material contains this tremendous energy, why did it go so long unnoticed? The answer is simple enough: so long as none of the energy is given off externally, it cannot be observed. It is as though a man who is fabulously rich should never spend or give away a cent; no one could tell how rich he was."
--Albert Einstein, "E=MC2",
Out of My Later Years

Einstein was basically saying that matter could exist in two states - the state that it appears to be, and the underlying actual state that it is. This idea is widely critisized, and I believe that Einstien himself even laughed it off in later years.

However, it is an interesting theory to re-open, now that we have things like molecule-sized silicon-based "quantum dots" which can be manipulated to appear to have the properties of certain types of matter by manipulating electron fields around the quantum dot. Remember that the physical state of matter is represented mostly by the orbiting electrons, including mass and appearance. (Interesting read: Hacking Matter.)

So if we, as humans, can manipulate quantum dots to take on all of the physical characteristics of a different state of matter, even though it is itself silicon dots surrounded by orbiting electrons, perhaps matter itself is capable of disguising itself.

It's an interesting place to be, to deny that matter can appear to be something different than it is, and at the same time, be able to manipulate matter to appear to be something different than it is...

It sounds and looks awfully familiar. And that was 15 years ago. And more or less blown out of the water by the Newton and Windows 3.1 Pen Computing API. It's too big.
What I would pay for right now is a Blue Angel Pocket PC with an iPod mini/nano small hard or flash drive in. Running MacOS or Linux Tablet Edition. I'd never go in the office again.

Short answer: the workers themselves. Long answer: On Anarchism

If TiVo doesn't offer lifetife subscriptions anymore, then it might just suggest that they won't be around for anyone's lifetime. The fact that they are partnering up with a retail chain on its last legs, RadioShack, doesn't bode well for its future. It's a pity to see such an inventive company put its survival into doubt.

Still, the lack of the new model until mid-year doesn't bother me much. Existing models already due everything a user could want, the Series 2 records your shows. For 40 hours. What more could you want? Although there have been some issues with build quality (see some of the reviews on the Amazon listing) that hopefully will be fixed in the next generation.

From a strictly biological perspective...

...multicellular living things are the result of the growth and development from one cell.... In this process of development, to what extent is its life that of the cell, and from whence comes the life of the living thing as a whole? There is no distinct boundary. The organic integrated body which grows and develops with an indistinct cell-body boundary is a living thing. Although a fertilized ovum is only one cell, this is the living thing in the nascent stages of the embryo. When people talk about the birth of living things, when the seed sprouts a bud, or the egg hatches, or a baby is born, they regard life as having been added to the body of a living thing. This is just a convenient manner of speaking. In reality, just as the living body does not suddenly appear, the life of a living thing does not abruptly emerge.

If you want more books with this type of space combat/travel, try Larry Niven's Known Space series, particularly the early stories, such as:

Tales of Known Space
Protector
World of Ptaavs

These books feature the slow (less than the speed of light) space travel and long distance space combat discussed above. Generally, the entire Known Space series is quite a good read, IMHO.

If you want more books with this type of space combat/travel, try Larry Niven's Known Space series, particularly the early stories, such as:

Tales of Known Space
Protector
World of Ptaavs

These books feature the slow (less than the speed of light) space travel and long distance space combat discussed above. Generally, the entire Known Space series is quite a good read, IMHO.

If you want more books with this type of space combat/travel, try Larry Niven's Known Space series, particularly the early stories, such as:

Tales of Known Space
Protector
World of Ptaavs

These books feature the slow (less than the speed of light) space travel and long distance space combat discussed above. Generally, the entire Known Space series is quite a good read, IMHO.

Save yourself $1.75 by buying the book here: Netroots Politics. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

Save yourself $1.75 by buying the book here: Netroots Politics. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!

Here's at least ONE laptop you can buy that you can reasonably expect to work:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AAPY8S/104-75 69862-7259129?v=glance&n=541966

This is the same model *I* have. As I alluded to, you'll have to use the ndiswrapper hack to get the
on-board WiFi to work (Again, blame Broadcom for that one- it still works with snagging their 64-bit driver and running ndiswrapper...), you'll have to forego the onboard flash reader (Blame TI for that one...), and you'll need to turn on the UMA memory use in the BIOS to allow you to install anything other than Mandriva or Gentoo and to be able to have 3D support from the ATI provided binary only drivers.

Windows doesn't really do any better- if you just took an XP disc, you'd still have to get the Broadcom drivers for the on-board WiFi, TI's provided drivers for the flash reader, and ATI's 3D drivers for the card. You just get a "better" experience out of the box since they did all that work for you before you ever bought the machine. If they did the same thing for you under Linux, you'd have the same experience. It's not the distributions' fault for that any more than it's MS' fault for the same conditions if you don't have the help from the vendor that you're getting.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670496626/102-17 19409-4630548?v=glance&n=283155

When this gets into the environment, and teams up with an extremophile to create the heat, watch out. End of civilization as we know it.

It is best when freshly ground and french-pressed.

I agree it is best when freshly ground. I would expand to say that it is better than best when freshly roasted and freshly ground. A good home roaster can be purchased for $75 - $200, and an excellent one for $600-$700. I got both of mine (beginner, then a better one after I killed my first) here. That's where I get my green beans, too.

As far as brewing goes, the french press is good. However, you should also consider the vacuum pot. An example would be the Bodum Mini-Santos which makes 25 oz (two tall mugs) of coffee. There's also a larger version. The coffee you can get out of a vacuum pot blows away any other method of brewing I've ever tried - french press, drip, drip with gold filter, percolator, boiled 8).

It is best when freshly ground and french-pressed.

I agree it is best when freshly ground. I would expand to say that it is better than best when freshly roasted and freshly ground. A good home roaster can be purchased for $75 - $200, and an excellent one for $600-$700. I got both of mine (beginner, then a better one after I killed my first) here. That's where I get my green beans, too.

As far as brewing goes, the french press is good. However, you should also consider the vacuum pot. An example would be the Bodum Mini-Santos which makes 25 oz (two tall mugs) of coffee. There's also a larger version. The coffee you can get out of a vacuum pot blows away any other method of brewing I've ever tried - french press, drip, drip with gold filter, percolator, boiled 8).

You mean you only do contact info?

Every once in a while Amazon puts the Fossil Abacus on sale for $29.99 with free shipping. You got to catch it at the right time. Even at it's listed price, it's still a nice watch. It's basically a Palm V on the wrist. Not only do you have a contact list, but you can add graphing calculators and games and such. On a side note, screw some of the bad reviews on Amazon about battery life between charges. If you plug it in at night, you don't have to worry about the rechargable battery draining in a day or two.

I've dumped databank watches a long time ago. This Abacus is the best watch I've owned since the Casio CFX-40 Scientific Calculator watch.

"killed more people in 24 weeks than AIDS has killed in 24 years, more people in a year than the Black Death of the Middle Ages killed in a century."
The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague In History, by John Barry

If you're looking for a massive plague that would have conferred resistance on survivors, that would suit the argument.

(And yet we're looking at the bird flu now. Also the pandemics of 1957 and 1968. The picture's muddied by modern vaccination practices, which were having some grab by '57.)

Why is this moderated funny?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471 653667?v=glance

The only problem with the Timex Datalink is that, we being nerds, some of have very thin wrists that this watch doesn't look well on. I bought the Timex Data Link USB Watch 5B112, but it simply looks ridiculous on my stickly arms. If only I could bring myself away from the computer long enough to lift some weights and ingest plenty of weight gain supplements.