“Researchers…have shown it takes about ten years to develop expertise in any of a wide variety of areas, including chess playing, music composition…and research in neuropsychology and topology. There appear to be no real shortcuts: even Mozart, who was a musical prodigy at age 4, took 13 more years before he began to produce world-class music.”
read more | digg story
The fund has lost $6.4 billion, according to the letter, which said assets were down 65 to 70 percent for the month and 55 to 60 percent for the year. Amaranth started the year with $7.5 billion, soared to $9.2 billion before stumbling to less than $3 billion today.
read more | digg story
How will the open access movement affect global science?
read more | digg story
South Korea on Thursday unveiled an armed guard robot that it says can be used to detect and suppress intruders along the heavily fortified border between South and North Korea. the robot, which can fire a machine gun or rubber bullets and sound an alarm when it detects suspicious movement, could dramatically improve surveillance capability.
read more | digg story
Intel has pulled back the curtains and provided details about its budget computer project, a low-cost laptop designed for use by students in developing countries. Last year, Intel chairman Craig Barret derisively dismissed the OLPC project’s $140 2B1 laptop
read more | digg story
Most of it is fairly simple, but what exactly is an “outrage against personal dignity”? I feel certain that nearly 100% of Muslim terrorists would consider being interrogated by a female an “outrage”, shall we allow that interpretation? Of course not and that is what the President chose to clear up.
read more | digg story
It often comes as a surprise to bosses to discover an employee finds them intimidating. Here are a few reasons why managers can seem scary.
read more | digg story
As more and more people gain high-speed access to the Internet, opportunities arise that weren’t possible before. One such opportunity is the idea of virtual education. More and more students are finding new opportunities for learning that involve reaching out over a TCP/IP connection.
read more | digg story
Exerpt:
“# 5 - The Warp Drive. Screw Mars, screw the Moon and screw the near Earth orbit International Space Station. We want new galaxies, new star systems and we really want that cool streaking star effect when we engage warp drive.”
read more | digg story
The exciting news is that there are signs of change, daily indications of an interest in redesigning cities for people. Some cities are far better at planning their growth than others. They plan transport systems that provide mobility, clean air, and exercise, a sharp contrast to cities that offer congestiion & unhealthy air.
read more | digg story
The U.S. government is seeking to develop a powerful ground-based laser weapon that would use beams of concentrated light to destroy enemy satellites in orbit. The largely secret project is part of a wide-ranging effort to develop space both defensive and offensive. The White House has recently sought to play down the issue of space arms.
read more | digg story
Most mobile phone users will still have to wait some time for Internet telephony company Skype’s mobile service because of technical hurdles and a lack of suitable handsets, Skype’s chief executive was quoted as saying in a Finnish newspaper on Thursday.
read more | digg story