Monthly Archives: March 2012

Most people think that science and math and engineering are found everywhere, like soccer, but actually, they are regional practices, more like hurling or tossing the caber.  In the map, countries are resized according to the number of scientific papers … Continue reading →

In scuba diving, pressure increases by one atmosphere with each ten meters of depth.   As pressure increases, people breathing standard air mix gradually get silly.  This is mainly caused by the increasing nitrogen pressure, and is called nitrogen narcosis, or … Continue reading →

I sent this to Jerry Pournelle some time ago: here’s a current version Let us assume that we really could make drugs that increased intelligence. I’m pretty sure it’s actually possible, and the approach that makes it easy is looking … Continue reading →

By definition, most people are not in the top 1% of intellect, so books aimed primarily at that top 1% are never going to be best sellers. The question arises, what is  the most effective strategy for developing a best … Continue reading →

Over on Discover gnxp, Victor said “As far as IQ is concerned, I find such comparisons meaningless. An IQ test devised by members of some African tribe is going to be very different from one devised by Western academics. And … Continue reading →

We are now at the point where we can realistically expect to see interventions that significantly increase human intelligence. Some approaches build on our real but limited understanding of how the brain works.  For example, by adding an extra copy … Continue reading →

Here we have yet another case in which a discovery was possible for a long time before it was actually accepted. Aristotle is the villain here: he clearly endorses spontaneous generation of many plants and animals. On the other hand, … Continue reading →

I have to disagree with Henry: I don’t think there’s been selection for ethnic nepotism. I somewhat suspect that there may have been recent selection for more accurate altruism, in some populations. Imagine that in much of history, people lived … Continue reading →