We are pleased to introduce @IG_NSA — a Twitter feed supplying background info and secrets of the Ig Nobel Prizes. @IG_NSA is intended as a courtesy for intelligence agencies the world over. It is meant to express the good wishes of the Boston/Cambridge area technology/science/medical community. AND COMING SOON… We will also soon announce [watch this space and/or follow the Twitter […]
Cat Bites and Human Depression [The Data Miners’ Tale]
This study presents a cheery attempt to see if cat bites lead to human depression (or maybe vice versa): “Describing the Relationship between Cat Bites and Human Depression Using Data from an Electronic Health Record,” David A. Hanauer [pictured here], Naren Ramakrishnan, Lisa S. Seyfried, PLoS One. 2013 Aug 1;8(8):e70585. (Thanks to Constanza Villalba for […]
Assuming You Are From There, Your Character Cannot Be Assumed
News about character: “The Inaccuracy of National Character Stereotypes,” Robert R. McCrae, Wayne Chan, Lee Jussim, Filip De Fruyt, Corinna E. Löckenhoff, Marleen De Bolle, Paul T. Costa Jr., Martina Hřebíčková, Sylvie Graf, Anu Realo, Jüri Allik, Katsuharu Nakazato, Yoshiko Shimonaka, Michelle Yik, Emília Ficková, Marina Brunner-Sciarra, Norma Reátigui, Nora Leibovich de Figueora, Vanina Schmidt, […]
Perception, and the modification of toffee’s environs
Layla Eplett, in the Food Matters blog, explores a new study by Ig Nobel Prize winner Charles Spence: “Each volunteer was given four pieces of toffee. Two pieces were eaten accompanied by a soundtrack of a lower pitched brass instruments. The remaining toffee was consumed listening to a high pitched piano piece. The result was […]