A New Way to Increase Organ Donation?

I have a confession to make. Despite my love of science and my atheism I wasn't an organ donor until a couple of years ago when my girlfriend figuratively slapped me in the face with my hypocrisy.

Study Finds Piracy Effect on International but not Domestic Box Office Sales

A recent study (yay for free downloads of scientific papers!) finds that piracy has a larger effect on box office revenues for Hollywood movies shown internationally than for those same movies shown domestically.

The researchers looked at data prior to and post the 2003 of BitTorrent, a popular method for pirating films and other media. They found that the longer the time period between the point where the film becomes available somewhere in the world and the point where it becomes available in the potential-pirate's backyard, the more likely it is to be pirated and lose money. Believe it or not, this is also true for television shows like Britain's Downton Abbey (first released in Britain and then some time later in the U.S.).

Long story short, people get excited about the product (movie or TV show) and will resort to less-than-legal means to get it if the studios take too long to bring it to them legally. Obviously there are still people out there who pirate films even when they are playing in their local cinema, but this study's results suggest that those people probably weren't ponying up the dough prior to BitTorrent anyway.

(via /Flim)

TED Tuesday: The Case for Same Sex Marriage

If you will permit me, I will stand on my soapbox a bit. On this day, it is hard to be happy and excited about my own personal relationship when I know that for a large portion of the population a day like today is bittersweet. As a heterosexual American I can marry the person I love legally and be afforded certain rights that are denied to millions of Americans who no doubt love their partners just as much as I do. That is wrong. Today's talk, although not a typical TED talk, is no less important (though, if it matters, I did find it through the TED website). It is an impassioned speech on the importance of this issue from New York state senator Diane J. Savino just prior to a vote that ultimately defeated a same sex equality bill in December of 2009. The words are as true now as they were then.




For further viewing, I also recommend watching this reaction from the mayor of Newark NJ, Cory Booker,  on a public referendum on same sex marriage and why civil rights issues should not ever be put to a popular vote.

Happy Valentine's Day

Didn't feel like going through a ton of trouble for V-day. So here are a few worthwhile (sometimes related) links:

• 7 worst role models for women in romantic comedies
• 10 anti-Valentine's day movies
• Community-themed Valentine's day cards
• Dirty love letters written by famous authors
• Montage of hollywood's most romantic scenes
• A primer on love letters from Ronald Reagan?
• The most beautiful valentine ever made
• Game of Thrones Valentine's cards

Please feel free to share your own in the comments.

How inbred are superheroes?

At one point in my life I harbored dreams of being a comic book artist. I even had a comic book I wrote and illustrated published -- albeit through  a community college art class in ninth grade. Like all childhood dreams, eventually reality set in and the demons of self-doubt convinced me that comic books just weren't worth my time.

Like any aspiring comic book artist I read every comic book I could get my hands on. One of my favorites was The Uncanny X-Men. The thing that sets the X-Men apart from other comics is the sheer number of er, relations among the characters -- this character is that character's mother, this guy is that guy's brother from the future, etc. It was all very confusing and I though I never had the time or drive to investigate it, I was pretty sure that the X-Men family tree had some pretty tangled branches, if you get my drift.

My intuition was wrong. Samuel Arbesman has used a tool from the social sciences called Social Network Analysis -- most famously used to examine the influence of friendships on obesity in the Framingham heart study (click through for a cool graphic) -- to understand the family tree of the X-Men. They aren't as inbred as I thought they were. In fact, they have next to no inbreeding at all, which is a sharp contrast to real world examples like the lineages of pharaohs in ancient Egypt.

So glad to see that someone is lending their quantitative skills to these important questions.

12 ways the world could actually end

Doomsday scenarios seem to be all the rage these days. Last year we had not one, but two incorrect predictions of the apocalypse from the same guy. This year a small but fervent group of people believe that the Mayan calendar predicts a December apocalypse (just in time for the holidays!). I, for one, am in agreement with my blogmate Jordan, who on our most recent podcast said he was looking forward to another slew of failed doomsday predictions. However, as a scientist, I must always acknowledge the possibility of improbable events from the success of Tim Tebow to the destruction of the planet. That is why I was very happy to see that Wired took a close look at 12 specific ways the world could end that are backed by science.

The good news is...they're all pretty unlikely.

Mitt Romney's hair shares its perspective on the GOP race

It's no secret that Mitt Romney's hair is a regular topic of discussion. In fact, we spent a decent amount of time discussing it during the last podcast. Its ears must have been ringing, because it has something to say.

I’d like to say something magnanimous about my competition, but come the hell on. Newt Gingrich looks like he’s wearing a bowl of boxed mashed potatoes on top of his fat watermelon face. Rick Perry parts his greasy mop in the middle, like a mental patient. Rick Santorum probably walks into his barber shop and says, “Give me the Bob Saget.” I could go on and on.

I was hoping that Romney's hair might have some insight into what is wrong with Michelle Bachmann's eyes, but it spent the whole piece discussing it's own perfection. Typical.

Podcast Episode 3: Electile Dysfunction

The guys welcome Ben A. to the podcast as a guest host to discuss the the transition into 2012, the Republican primaries/caucuses, and a trivia quiz about big events from 2011.





Links from this podcast.

• Americans Elect
• The SOPA Bill
• Caucus/Primary Schedule
• Nominate a charity in the blog post

Featuring the songs "Just Had To Let You Know" (Lorenzo's Music) / CC BY-SA 3.0 and
"Roulette" (Lorenzo's Music) / CC BY-SA 3.0

Traces of illicit drugs found in public air

Ever find yourself strolling a long a city street and just feeling "high on life"? Turns out, you might just have a mild contact buzz. First off, scientists have established that it is possible to detect levels of the active ingredients in cocaine and marijuana in the air sampled from public areas. Secondly, there are significant associations between higher levels of these substances in the air and factors such as the number of drug seizures and the prevalence of certain types of crime in that area. Epidemiologically speaking, this could be a cheap way to determine the amount of drug use in a given area to help target interventions and policing.

Sort of makes me rethink the whole "oxygen bar" fad.

The science of temper tantrums

Another entry in the "you can study anything" file. Researchers have discovered that children's temper tantrums have a pattern and a rhythm to them. In order to discover this, scientists developed a onesie with a high quality microphone for the children to wear. If the child threw a tantrum while wearing the outfit the researchers were able to record the audio and to use it to look for patterns in tantrums across children. Doing so has led them to "the most quantitative theory of tantrums that has ever been developed." No word exactly as to whether or not that is actually an impressive accomplishment. Also, no word on whether the most common reason for the tantrums was that the child was required to wear a onesie.

Considering a can drive? Don't.

During the holidays many people feel generous and turn their attention to helping those in need. A popular way to do this is to have people donate unused canned and boxed goods to be donated to the needy. Slate provides a very compelling argument as to why these drives are just a plain bad idea. In brief, people often buy food at a premium price to donate (because they don't have surplus canned goods at home) rather than pooling money and buying in bulk. Thus:

Katherina Rosqueta, executive director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania, explains that food providers can get what they need for “pennies on the dollar.” She estimates that they pay about 10 cents a pound for food that would cost you $2 per pound retail. You’d be doing dramatically more good, in basic dollars and cents terms, by eating that tuna yourself and forking over a check for half the price of a single can of Chicken of the Sea.

Charities, it seems, have known this for a while but are reluctant to turn away people for fear of insulting them.  The best option, it seems, is to donate money to charity. And while you are at it, tell us about your favorite charity.

Deconstructing December: The 12 days of Christmas or a song for the 1%

Time recently ran an article on the "Cost of Christmas" and how it is no longer affordable for the average American. And by “Cost of Christmas,” they of course mean the estimated cost of buying all the gifts in the classic song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – all 364 of them. Apparently PNC wealth considers this such a priority that they have been estimating this cost every year since 1984.

In 2011, it would cost you $101,119.84 to buy your “true love” the gifts ($24,263.18 if you were just paying for day 12). Obviously, this is not your average Christmas gift. In fact, it’s about 155 times more than the average American intends to spend this holiday season ($646 according to the American Research Group, Inc.). Given all that has happened recently, do we really need another reminder of what the 1% can afford and the rest of us can't?

So what are the 99% to do? I propose that they stop defining their wealth by these rich standards and start trying to live within their means. Therefore, I propose to you an amended list for the 99%.

RIP Christopher Hitchens

Sad news folks. We lost one of our truly smart brethren last night. Christopher Hitchens has passed away from complications due to esophageal cancer.

(via: kottke.org)

Time Magazine's Self-fulfilling Prophecy

I peered around the corner as the voices grew closer. What began as a miffed and nonthreatening few had grown to a sea of pumping fists and rhythmic shouts. They were nearly at the door and I knew I would only get one shot. I hadn't yet been seen, but I knew once I was they would descend upon me like seagulls to bread crumbs, each fighting the other for the chance to take a piece - or in this case to say their peace. To express the disappointment they felt. To say we were wrong. I slipped my hands into my pocket and grasped the can of mace I'd purchased just that morning. I knew there was a possibility that some crazed individual would be waiting, but I had no idea that he would be accompanied by a mass of unbridled dissidents amplifying each others emotions. All it would take was one thoughtless motion and the horde would pounce.

The US war in Iraq is officially over

Call it. Time of death, early on Thursday morning December 15th. The United States has finally ended it's nearly 9 year war with Iraq. And just in case you think this is really just paying lip service to the idea of troop withdrawal, consider these numbers:

Although Thursday's ceremony marked the end of the war, the military still has two bases in Iraq and roughly 4,000 troops, including several hundred who attended the ceremony. At the height of the war in 2007, there were 505 bases and more than 170,000 troops.

The Expanding Defininition of "Occupy"

One can occupy a space. One who occupies space is an occupant. An activity can occupy time. An activity that occupies large amounts of time is an occupation. Recently many people with and without regular occupations have become occupants of public spaces - in movements labeled Occupy. In fact,  many American minds have become occupied with the occupants of Occupy camps, who are referred to as Occupiers. Occupiers for the record, generally oppose the practices of many people with occupations which they say have contributed to many homes becoming unoccupied. Due to these Occupy occupations, "occupy" has gained a new connotation. It seems that one can now use "occupy" to represent the opposition to anything with which one has discontent. Now a genally passive verb, has become much more active word. Even for the web to choose a side, one only picks which thing to deride. And if your TV show is put on notice, just tweet an "Occupy" to give it focus. It's obvious that "occupy" is getting all the heat, from your neighborhood park to your Sesame Street, so as the term occupies new colloquial reputation, perhaps "Word of the Year" is a most appropriate elevation.

(Sources: DailyTech, Examiner.com, Huffington Post, NPR)

Podcast Episode 2: "Student" Athletes

Jordan, Ed, and Dean offer smart suggestions, discuss the smart and not-so-smart moves of the week, debate the merits of paying college athletes, have a smart showdown, and offer an apology for the last podcast. Featuring the music of Baba Brinkman. Links from this podcast:

Smart Suggestions

• Baba Brinkman's Rap Guide to Evolution (Videos | Music)
• Penny Arcade
• Downcast App

Smart/Not So Smart

• Albert Pujols/Ryan Braun
• Amazon's 5% day (Also: mTurk)/Rick Perry's "Strong" Ad (Also: Brokeback Comparison)/The Romney-Perry Wager (Also: Poverty Line)
• Alec Baldwin's SNL Appearance/NASA Missing Moon Rocks

Smart Showdown

• Proposed Element Names
• Siri Abortion Clinic Glitch
• Herman Cain Puts Campaign On Hold
• "Merry Christmas" vs. "Happy Holidays"
• Top Baby Names of 2011

Giveaway: Win $25 in Amazon cash

What's on your mind this week?

Smarty nation, we want to know. What's on your mind this week? Sound off in the comments.


Stuff on my mind this week: 
This week I am going to celebrate the birth of Nostradamus (12/14) by making abstract predictions that will be discovered by internet historians and interpreted as meaningful/clairvoyant in the distant future. I will also be doing as they (used to do) in Rome by celebrating the feast of Saturnalia (12/17).

The week in entertainment looks bleak. No new music looks promising -- though Cee Lo, The Foo Fighters, and Coldplay are releasing new singles -- and the two major movie releases this week are both sequels (The Chipmunks and Sherlock Holmes). In science, I am looking forward to the findings from CERN regarding the Higgs Boson (a.k.a., "The God Particle"), which are supposedly due Tuesday morning. Finally, in current events I am looking to see what will happen to the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) as it is going to be debated by the U.S. House of Representatives on the 15th.

That's it for me. What's on your mind this week?

Mythbusters Debacle: An Update

Note: The original post that I had up no longer has a working video, I've embedded a new one in this post.

If you haven't already heard, the show Mythbusters had themselves a wee accident involving a cannonball. Now underwire has charted the path of the cannonball and dot physics blog has run the calculations.

Full disclosure I think that Mythbusters is, at best, pseudo-science. So this whole cannonball story just makes me wanna sing.

The only "Best of" List you will ever need

It's nearing the end of the year folks and that means plenty of "Best of" lists. We want this to be your one-stop-shop for all your "Best of" needs. I am your "Best of" host and will update this post until the last "Best of" list has been written. Here's what we have so far broken down by topic.