[vimeo]33181232[/vimeo] The orchestrator of this performance writes: While following on the coat tail of my first popular video “Queen Bohemian Rhapsody Old School Computer Remix” I tried to change the venue and built a couple of robot bands (yeah! machines that play actual instruments). These videos didn’t fair as well so i decided to go […]
Year: 2012
2012 Yearly Golfball Patents: A look back
Over the course of the last year Improbable has attempted to address the question of whether the number of new patents for golfballs might or might not be used as a continuous gauge for human ingenuity. With the recent publication of December’s figures, The full results are now in. Statistics : Highest monthly level : 11 golfball […]
Hawking’s theory (of God’s mind) validated in Beverly Hills?
Physicist Stephen Hawking boosted his fame and income by writing the following phrase at the end of his book A Brief History of Time: “If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of reason – for then we should know the mind of God.” Evidence suggests that a company in Beverly Hills, […]
A Bosch painting as a metaphor for theoretical physics
The In The Dark blog presents a metaphor for modern theoretical physics: [This is] the painting that I often use to introduce cosmology talks. I usually use this piece of Hieronymus Bosch Das letzte Gericht (The Last Judgement) to illustrate my feelings about the standard cosmological model: The top part represents the concordance cosmology. It clearly features an eminent cosmologist surrounded […]
Al Jazeera takes a quick look at the Ig Nobel Prizes
The Al Jazeera network profiled this year’s Ig Nobel Prize ceremony:
Perspectives on Bomby the Bombardier Beetle
The Sept/Oct 2000 issue of the Annals of Improbable Research featured seven perspectives on the curious creationist book Bomby the Bombardier Beetle, which is based screw-loosedly on the curious, real insect called the bombardier beetle: Bomby, Bomby, Bomby (an introduction)* — Sally Shelton Bomby: Thoughts of a Forensic Entomologist* — Mark Benecke Creative Science Serves […]
Dan Ariely asks: Are we in control of our own decisions?
In this video, Ig Nobel Prize winner (for demonstrating that high-priced fake medicine is more effective than low-priced fake medicine) Dan Ariely asks: Are we in control of our own decisions?
Updated list of new patents for golfballs (Dec. 2012)
The number of new US golfball patents fell back to disappointingly average levels this December – down almost 28% on November’s figures. • Golf balls having at least two core layers formed from HNP compositions • Low lift golf ball • High performance golf ball having a reduced-distance • Multi-piece golf ball comprising low hardness […]
Non-Math Academics Tend to Be Impressed by Equations
What’s the value of an equation? This study appears to show that, to academics who don’t use much mathematics, any equation can be impressive — no matter what the equation says, and whether or not it adds any clarity or knowledge to a situation: “The Nonsense Math Effect,” Kimmo Eriksson, Judgement and Decision-Making, Vol. 7, […]
Economics experiments involving death and taxes
An essay by John Carney on MSNBS’s NetNet blog looks at several experiments involving the relationship between death and taxes. The newest experiment, like several of the old ones, is being conducted in the United States. The essay does not fail to mention the study that earned the 2001 Ig Nobel Prize in economics (but […]