Saturday, August 31, 2013

Saturday roundup (featuring whales)

What ails India's economy.

The defense barrages the Naval Academy rape survivor.

Whales can get suntanned and sunburned, too. While we're on the topic, some science on whale and dolphin communication. And here are your whale videos (they're shaky so prepare for the Blair Witch effect):




Here's some periodic table history.

Fantastic commentary on how there's more to the world than math:
Physics’ capacity for universal mathematical laws, doesn’t yet fit all of life.
The mathocentric faith of Galileo’s disciples can be unwise. Wisdom means knowing how to choose rightly, for example picking the thinking tool fittest for each task. Economists who rely mainly on numbers to define rational behavior unwisely ignore that we aren’t by nature calculators. Math takes training. Maximizing narrow monetary self-interest isn’t a fit proxy for evolutionary success (for a highly interdependent species).
Numbers and mathematics have no monopoly on precision or truth. Words, logic, images, and patterns can be qualitatively exact. Only poor-quality thinking ignores that mathematics can’t yet be counted on to add up to the sum of all human wisdom. Reason and prudence dictate that we keep different kinds of thinking tools in our cranial toolboxes.
Michael Pollan explains his controversial tweet on Amy Harmon's GMO orange piece. Amy Harmon's response includes an interesting thought on narrative reporting.

Al Pacino on stage vs. screen.

CNN explains itself (or, rather, the Onion takes the liberty of doing so).

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