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Top 25 Science Stories of 2002
1.Nc3 writes "Scientific American has released a list of their top 25 featured science stories of 2002. From Cryptography to Entomology to Astronomy, a lot of neat stuff happened this year."
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Slashdot releases its top 10 "top 10" stories for dec 31st.
This replaces all the "top 10" stories released on Dec 25,26,27,28,29 & 30th.
ok, so it's not technically a dupe since the previous story referred to an article referring to the article instead of referring to the article itself. It's just an inferior clone. The editors must be having an off day.
How many more superheavy elements will be born only to die in their first milliseconds of life before we realize we CAN'T PLAY GOD?! Poor Ununoctium never even had a chance at a normal life. :)
Sexy?
Man, you need to get out more often. Or stay in more often. Something. All I know is that whatever you're doing, you're doing it wrong.
--
the strongest word is still the word "free"
Article Link Here
It says that Yet pound for pound, the sturdiest spider silks are stronger than steel and stretchier than nylon.
I heard that while back the Army made a vest out of Spider Silk rather than Kevlar and it was able to stop even small rifle bullets O_o.
This could be very revolutionary. I wonder how it compares to silk?
I really think the winner is the SCIENTIFIC METHOD, and in such, that no matter how much you falsify and market your claims, i.e. fusion in coca-cola, cloned humans, flying pigs, altering gravity, you eventually have to publish and MORE IMPORTANTLY you have to have someone be able to REPRODUCE your results.
To wit, I think those good-old boys who spent many a Saturday night figuring out how to get atoms to realize "damn it's cold" and stop and all huddle together at the bottom of a beaker -- well that takes the prize for me. Because it's little breakthroughs like this which fork into other areas of research and discovery. You take all the others and rip up the Noble Prize submission form, this one takes the cake.
"This isn't a study in computer science, its a study in human behavior"
Sequencing of genome this or DNA that: A
Detection of ice and dirt way out in space: B+
Detection and fanciful naming of really old bones: A
Armies of telekinesis-powered robots: B
Detection of life-ending asteroids: F
Thinking one thing, then thinking the opposite thing: A
Faster porn delivery: B
Flying cars: F
Teledildonics: F
Collies that can cook, play poker, and/or defend you with mouth-mounted lasers: F
A laptop that feels like a desktop: D-
FINAL GRADE: C-
And scientists and medical researchers are already researching AIDS. The AIDS problem in Africa is not scientific, it's cultural and political.
19.) Meet the Oldest Member of the Human Family - This is depressing ... this helps to further prove that you and I are nothing more than a chimp!
And? We are animals. Nothing more. We are not special. Deal with it. Yes, we are the top of the food chain for now and we are the most competent tool users and the most comunicative species ever to walk the earth, but we are still animals. You and I are special to our friends, family and loved ones. Is that not enough?
18.) Attacking Anthrax - Yea! Eat that bin Laden!! That idea won't work on the U.S.!
Bin Laden didn't have anything to do with the anthrax attacks. That was the work of home grown American nutjobs.
17.) Crafty Crow Rivals Primates in Toolmaking - Proves you can teach an old bird new tricks ... nothing neat hear ... move on
There is something "neat" here. Corvids (crows, ravens, magpies) are the smartest birds on the planet. The fact that they may be smarter (in some areas) that chimpanzees could radically change how we view animal intellegence.
14.) Element 118 Dropped from Periodic Table - I needed some of this stuff next week ... again, nice to see how "real" some of these so called findings are, but even better to see that someone was honest enough to retract their false findings! Way to embarass the community!!
No. Being honest is not an embarrassment. The embarrassment would come from the scientists refusing to retract their work. I respect and trust a scientist who has the integrety to admit a mistake.
11.) Light's Information-Carrying Capacity Doubles - So now more senceless data from Microshaft can travel at "the speed of light" ... great!
Please. Grow up. This kind of crap is cool if you are 14-years old.
4.) Physicists Create a New State of Matter - Sorry, call me short sighted, but I just don't see how this is useful
Many new discoveries are not useful at first. It was hundreds of years after Leonardo first thought up the helicopter before anyone could build one that actually worked. It took a better understanding of aerodynamics, better building materials and a lightweight, yet powerful engine in order to do it. Each piece of the puzzle found by someone else. Many inventions are made not by inventing the thing out of whole cloth, but by piecing together the discoveries of others into something new. Usually something never invisioned by those who discovered the pieces. That is the beauty of Abstract Knowledge: you never know what the pieces you've found will eventually make.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.