Hi. I'm Megan :)

An even shorter version!

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:59:43 -0400

An even shorter version!

How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes: Lessons in Mindfulness and Creativity from the Great Detective

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 01:26:19 -0500

How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes: Lessons in Mindfulness and Creativity from the Great Detective:

Maria Popova has an amazing breakdown of Maria Konnikova’s new book Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes. The fictional detective was a crime-solving case study in the limits of human mindfulness and observation. Can any mere mortal actually train their own mind to observe as he did?

It turns out that our attention spans are a bit paradoxical. Being a better observer might seem at first to be about taking in and processing all the information that you can. However, our minds have evolved to filter out a great deal of the sensory input (and noise) around us. Multi-tasking and division of our attention only seems to impair our mindfulness and creativity:

Attention is a limited resource. Paying attention to one thing necessarily comes at the expense of another. Letting your eyes get too taken in by all of the scientific equipment in the laboratory prevents you from noticing anything of significance about the man in that same room. We cannot allocate our attention to multiple things at once and expect it to function at the same level as it would were we to focus on just one activity. Two tasks cannot possibly be in the attentional foreground at the same time. One will inevitably end up being the focus, and the other — or others — more akin to irrelevant noise, something to be filtered out. Or worse still, none will have the focus and all will be, albeit slightly clearer, noise, but degrees of noise all the same.

Becoming a more thoughtful observer of the world around us is more about observing better, not observing more. It’s about being selective and engaged simultaneously, and taking time out to do one single thing, and do it well.

In my efforts to become more Sherlockish, I’m already well on my way to “strikingly handsome Cumberbatchian looks”, so I guess it’s time to begin training the brain! There are so many more great tidbits about attention and observation over at Brain Pickings. Do check them out. I’ll be picking up this book as soon as I can.

this is for you, bree.

jtotheizzoe: It’s cool, Ari … I’ve got this one under...

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 02:56:06 -0500

jtotheizzoe:

It’s cool, Ari … I’ve got this one under control.

So, How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Um … so, what is a woodchuck, exactly? You might know it by its more common name: a groundhog. That’s right, a woodchuck, or Marmota monax, is a solitary rodent of the marmot family also known by the flattering names “land-beaver” and “whistle-pig”. “What’s a marmot?” you may be asking … well, I can’t do everything for you. May the Google be with you.

Woodchucks/groundhogs live in underground burrows, and when they aren’t busy determining the patterns of wintertime meteorology via shadow analysis, they do a lot of digging. It’s the digging that’s important in this question.

See, “chucking” is, for some reason, often confused in people’s minds with “chewing”. The actual meaning of “chuck” is to throw something carelessly or casually. What we really want to know is how much wood could a whistle-pig carelessly throw if a land-beaver could carelessly throw wood?

Luckily, we can come up with a number for that. New York wildlife expert Richard Thomas reported that a woodchuck could tossingly excavate up to 700 pounds of dirt while digging out a burrow. If we assume that’s the most intense chucking that the groundhog undertakes, then we merely need to replace dirt with wood.

So the answer is 700 pounds.

On another note, if you’d like to impress your friends, ask them this question in Latin: Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?

What a badass.

jtotheizzoe: Melting Steel With Bacon! Thanks to the elaborate...

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 00:53:19 -0500

jtotheizzoe:

Melting Steel With Bacon!

Thanks to the elaborate hydrocarbon chains in pork fat, there’s enough chemical energy stored in bacon to melt steel. You just have to find some way to get at all that energy.

Theo Gray uses prosciutto to construct a “thermal lance” in the video above. Normally, this is a tool that uses intensely-burning iron rods to cut through other metals.

By using pure oxygen to power the combustion reaction, nearly all of the chemical energy in the bacon’s bonds is converted to heat. He’s literally running the oxygen through the meat like a flaming hose of delicious thermal destruction. It goes to show you how much chemical energy is wasted in normal combustion (also known as “burned bacon”).

Non-meat-eaters, rejoice. He also tests out a vegan version made from a cucumber and breadsticks. As for me, I think it’s the second-best use of bacon I’ve ever seen, next to eating it.

So cool.

Vincent.

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:40:27 -0500

Merry Christmas everyone! :)

did-you-kno: Source ….

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 01:34:17 -0500

did-you-kno:

Source

….

did-you-kno: Source Definitely know that feeling

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:20:54 -0500

did-you-kno:

Source

Definitely know that feeling

did-you-kno: Source This makes me happy :)

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 01:45:37 -0400

did-you-kno:

Source

This makes me happy :)

jtotheizzoe: I just bought a bunch of Avogadros. I guess I’ll make some guaca-mole. Gotta love a...

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 02:12:33 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

I just bought a bunch of Avogadros. I guess I’ll make some guaca-mole.

Gotta love a good chem pun :)

trickeryandlies: dreaminginspace: everythingrelephant: worldof...

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 02:18:00 -0400

trickeryandlies:

dreaminginspace:

everythingrelephant:

worldoflena:

this is my brothers friend…weirddd

hahaha this is my brother’s friend too wth

this would be a picture of lorcan

oh my gosh I know him hahaha LORCAN!

Lorcan’s tumblr famous!

Must perpetuate lorcan’s tumblr fame :)

did-you-kno: Source Im going to stay in one of these someday...

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 19:12:33 -0400

did-you-kno:

Source

Im going to stay in one of these someday :)

This is just plain weird…

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 02:50:53 -0400

This is just plain weird…

did-you-kno: A bacon sandwich really does cure a hangover - by...

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 02:35:08 -0400

did-you-kno:

A bacon sandwich really does cure a hangover - by boosting the level of amines which clear the head, scientists have found. Bread is high in carbohydrates and bacon is full of protein, which breaks down into amino acids. Your body needs these amino acids, so eating them will make you feel better.

Source

Vinny will be glad to hear this

Ahh, how I wish I went to school with young Bill :)

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 01:58:06 -0400

Ahh, how I wish I went to school with young Bill :)

did-you-kno: Source Not such great news for justin…

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 01:11:01 -0400

did-you-kno:

Source

Not such great news for justin…

:)

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 02:18:00 -0400

jtotheizzoe: Tie a Bowtie with Bill Nye and Chris Hardwick!...

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 02:45:29 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

Tie a Bowtie with Bill Nye and Chris Hardwick!

Be the dapper scientist you’ve always wanted to be! I’m a pretty capable traditional tie-knot-tyer, but this one is gonna take some practice.

(↬Nerdist)

jtotheizzoe: “Hmm, maybe I should do a web show …” … said Bill...

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 02:43:53 -0400

jtotheizzoe:

“Hmm, maybe I should do a web show …”

… said Bill Nye, thinkaliciously. Well, it sounds like he got his wish.

According to the most recent episode of the Nerdist Podcast, with Bill as guest, he is bringing The Science Guy back to life on the Nerdist YouTube channel!

Did you hear me? Bill Nye is coming back! Rejoice, all!

*cough*needasidekick?*cough*

(photo by Derek Heisler)

Bill bill bill bill bill bill, bill nye the science guy! Inertia is a property orf matter. (too many downey/8th grade flashbacks right now) but i still love old bill!

did-you-kno: Source That’s…. So….. Strange....

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 02:20:20 -0400

did-you-kno:

Source

That’s…. So….. Strange. o _O

did-you-kno: Source FREE SLURPEES!!! :D

Thu, 12 Jul 2012 02:14:56 -0400

did-you-kno:

Source

FREE SLURPEES!!! :D