On television — especially American television — forensic scientists almost always figure out the identity of mysterious corpses. This study suggests that the actual results — in real life, dealing with real corpses — may not be as good, especially outside America: “Unidentified bodies and human remains: An Italian glimpse through a European problem,” Cristina […]
Month: April 2013
Improbable Research and Ig Nobel at TEDx CERN
Geneva, Switzerland (and environs) will host lots of Improbability during the next week or so: two events. Both events will be webcast. Soprano Maria Ferrante and pianist Alice Martelli will perform songs from Ig Nobel operas, at both events. Improbable Research at CERN I will do a TEDx CERN talk on the topic: “Why All Good, and Some Bad, Research is […]
A cup of tea and some Smoots: One must or can celebrate standards
A core definition of Britishness, the official six-page specification for how to make a cup of tea, is officially “under review”. But don’t panic. It is standard procedure for the British Standards Institution (BSI) to do a “systematic periodic review” of each of its many specifications which, piecemeal, define nearly everything British. Belying stereotypes of […]
A look back at the improbable show at the IET in London
Steve Colgan chronicled the recent Ig Nobel show at the Institute for Engineering and Technology, in London. This photo shows Dr. Charlotte Burn discussing what people make of the question of why dogs chase their tails. Colgan was one of the stars of the event, which was a featured part of this year’s Ig Nobel […]