Just so we're clear, it's just good science to conclude that girls are better than boys at reading, but it's a disgusting revelation of a black soul to conclude (from other studies, etc.) that boys are better than girls at math. Do I have that right?
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 9:50 AM on July 25, 2008

And what (other studies, etc.) are you talking about?

Oh, I'm not saying I know of any, per se. I'm just reacting to this idea that Pinker and Summers are sexist douchebags. I don't know much about Summers, but I've read some of Pinker's work and he strikes me as a scientist who legitimately wants to know what's true, not as some guy with an axe to grind.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 10:34 AM on July 25, 2008

Gary Taubes, a science researcher, believes that overweight is a hormonal disorder, not a matter of "eating too much." The disorder of obesity, in his opinion, is caused by carbs (really the insulin response to those carbs) but the big idea is that it's not a question of willpower. Just as children grow vertically and have appetites to match, fat people grow fat and have appetites to match. It's not that kids grow because they eat so much, it's the other way around. Same thing with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 2:34 PM on July 14, 2008

The genetic explanation of obesity doesn't explain the relatively recent increase in obesity.

How about the genetic explanation of obesity IN THE PRESENCE OF REFINED CARBS. And I'm not talking about HFCS. It's that and the sugar and the flour and the potatoes. Our bodies did not evolve with foods that spike our insulin so much. We ate meat and veggies and maybe some berries. Bread was invented a few thousand years ago. And in the 60s and 70s,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 5:31 PM on July 14, 2008

(The hormonal explanation also explains the genetic component of obesity. Not all people get fat in the presence of carbs.)
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 5:34 PM on July 14, 2008

People don't fully comply that is the failing.

The failing is that traditional weight-loss programs do not make long-term compliance possible without extreme and very rare willpower. This does not reflect weakness on their part but simple human nature. Hormones regulate appetite. Appetite (usually, eventually) regulates behavior. One has to be almost superhuman to maintain a significant weight loss if they are genetically predisposed to obesity in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 1:55 PM on July 15, 2008

But now I come in here and read time and time again people throwing around "plausible reasons" as to why people can't lose weight. These counter arguments reek of some kind of twisted justification.

No, it's much more reasonable to believe that the 95% of people who are unsuccessful at keeping the weight off really *choose* to overeat by 500-2000 calories a day even though they hate being fat and are shamed in one way or other every single day.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 6:53 PM on July 15, 2008

I happen to have a personal policy that prohibits me from indulging stupid bullshit like this...

I am going to have to use that sometime.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 12:44 PM on July 14, 2008

I was sad to hear of his death.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 9:20 AM on July 12, 2008

Clearly the biggest problem facing higher education today is that education causes too many liberals!
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 12:36 PM on July 9, 2008

I'm just happy that breaking news about Kasparov is not his assassination.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 4:21 PM on May 19, 2008

People who complain about celebrities' charity work (or adoptions) care more about taking said celebrities down a notch than about helping anybody. They just can't stand that Madonna and Angelina get credit for their good works.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 10:22 AM on May 17, 2008

People really don't get it. This kind of thing is literally counterproductive. People see this sort of thing and decide that environmentalists are kooks.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 6:38 PM on April 23, 2008

The HCFS paranoia out there is really prevalent and really absurd.

Seriously. The problem with HCFS is that we eat WAY too much of it because it's a cheap way for manufacturers to make something taste good enough that people will buy it. It's not that HCFS is necessarily worse for us than sucrose, it's that simple carbs are just awful for homo sapiens. Combined with the low-fat craze, the affordability of HCFS has caused simple... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 10:12 AM on April 21, 2008

Cynical bunch here. He sings beautifully and there is a poignancy independent of the show's ham-handed manipulation.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 2:00 PM on April 14, 2008

Jesus fuck, metafilter. Michael Jackson in his prime was freaking awesome. That's all there is to it.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 8:43 PM on March 25, 2008

I'm intrigued by "If you give me $5 i will write down a secret and mail it to you." I can see myself paying for that.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 9:58 AM on February 25, 2008

a) You owe my boss an apology.
b) Right-click does indeed toggle between vertical and horizontal. Unfortunately, it also brings up the RIGHT-CLICK MENU!
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 12:27 PM on February 13, 2008

Just to be clear:

Animals fed with artificially sweetened yogurt over a two-week period consumed more calories and gained more weight — mostly in the form of fat — than animals eating yogurt flavored with glucose, a natural, high-calorie sweetener.

The artificial sweeteners are hypothesized to cause the rats to eat more, thereby gaining weight.

Oh, and the sweetener? Not aspartame. Saccharine.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 11:24 AM on February 11, 2008

I've never properly learned physics. For example, I didn't know that the fat acceptance movement has repealed the laws conserving mass and energy.

That reminds me of the "proof" that evolution is false because it violates the second law of thermodynamics.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 8:18 PM on February 11, 2008

Interesting idea.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 9:35 AM on January 11, 2008

More than 50% of American Catholics are pro-choice. Look it up.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 7:32 AM on November 5, 2007

Wow. This thread is a much bigger downer than I thought it was gonna be.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 7:06 PM on October 9, 2007

Thanks for the reviews. Yeah, this theme of loser guy gets hot girl for unexplained reasons is an interesting turn for romantic comedies.

It's all kind of missing the point that Knocked up was funny and Superbad hilarious.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 11:04 AM on October 6, 2007

I think it's awesome.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 1:49 PM on October 4, 2007

"You can retrieve anomalies by placing your mouse over them and pressing the SPACEBAR."

Are you fucking kidding me?!?!?! You have a mouse. You use the mouse to move the cursor. When the cursor gets to where you want to go, you... press the SPACEBAR????

Jesus fucking Christ. Your design privileges have been revoked. Please return to Mousing 101 for remediation.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 3:15 PM on September 25, 2007

My new computer came with Vista. After spending a day or two changing all the settings to "Windows Classic" (itself a throwback even in XP) it's only slightly more annoying than XP was.

"Only slightly more annoying" is not a great review for a big upgrade, I guess.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 1:51 PM on September 24, 2007

Awesome post.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 11:44 PM on September 18, 2007

This is pretty standard. How are we to know the guy in the car had not been driving earlier?

Since when is "how do we know he didn't commit a crime?" sufficient to convict someone of a crime?
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 12:49 PM on September 14, 2007

I hate that they retouch freckles out of existence.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 10:29 AM on September 12, 2007

Finally, don't forget that harmonic ear-training is only half the battle - rhythmic ear-training is important too!

Any tips or resources?
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 6:34 PM on September 8, 2007

Big fan.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 8:53 AM on September 8, 2007

Flunkie:

This seems like rank hypocrisy to me. Their holy book is quite clear that this sort of thing is an abomination to their god.

Reform Judaism does not hold the Torah in the same regard as do other religions/denominations like Orthodox Judaism.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 8:06 AM on August 10, 2007

I play a ton of one minute chess over at FICS under the name DietDew if anyone's interested. I'm generally rated about 1650. I recommend the BabasChess interface for those who want to play blitz or lightning.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 1:14 PM on August 9, 2007

Holy crap, I just looked into it and I have played over 13,000 lightning games at FICS since the late 90s.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 1:15 PM on August 9, 2007

If the same experiment got the same results in 1947 and 2007, isn't the parsimonious explanation that children innately prefer "white" dolls to "black" dolls? Why is everybody so sure that it's culture's fault?
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 12:29 PM on July 25, 2007

amberglow:

Edwards at least says "I'm not there yet" when he talks about getting there--Hillary and Obama don't even do that.

Obama:

It is my obligation, not only as an elected official in a pluralistic society but also as a Christian, to remain open to the possibility that my unwillingness to support gay marriage is misguided, just as I cannot claim infallibility in my support of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 6:14 AM on July 18, 2007

I walked out of Moulin Rouge even though it meant I had to wait in the lobby for my girlfriend.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 9:08 AM on July 6, 2007

Steve Buscemi wins.

Haha, I saw the same thing.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 10:37 AM on June 23, 2007

Can anyone educate me on this? Should I actually have said something like, "Dude, calm down, I was only joking with her?" Would this have made a difference?

"Calm down" is a little confrontational, but explaining explicitly that you were joking would have worked. "Oh, we were just joking around. She knows I'm not really making fun of her music." People with Aspergers often need things explained explicitly, but the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 10:33 AM on June 23, 2007

You people are mean. He pretty obviously has Asperger's.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 8:47 AM on June 8, 2007

It's excruciatingly slow. Any way to speed up the gameplay?
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 11:21 AM on June 7, 2007

Guys, guys, enormous nations with vast stores of nuclear weapons are not a threat! A few stateless terrorist organizations who haven't been able to cobble together so much as a dirty bomb are the greatest threat this nation has ever faced!
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 10:58 AM on May 29, 2007

I hope non of you anti-SUV crusaders ever fly anywhere. :-)
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 9:41 AM on May 24, 2007

Terrible post, but the song's pretty good. (Of course I don't generally listen much to lyrics.)
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 8:50 AM on May 6, 2007

The ipod would be much easier to use if the wheel was replaced with a nintendo "+" control.

Did you ever notice how cars have steering wheels instead of joysticks? It's for the same reason. With a joystick, one has two options, click-click-click (once for each degree or something) or hold (and STOP at just the right moment.) With a wheel, you can accelerate and decelerate the degree of change.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 10:21 AM on April 27, 2007

I never imagined SMB could be so funny.

I thought it was funny when my next-door neighbor used to make mario dance on the ivy.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 4:50 PM on April 13, 2007

Still and all, why bother? Here's my answer. Many people need desperately to receive this message: I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people do not care about them. You are not alone.

I didn't know him, but I loved him.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 7:40 AM on April 12, 2007

Count me as another who doesn't mind when it's done subtly. Offscreen, we see a brand logo every 2 seconds anyway, so what's the difference if they get paid for the brands in the movie? I get annoyed when there's a giant Pepsi(R) can in the foreground facing the camera for no good reason, but if Jack Bauer carries a Microtech Halo III it just makes it seem more authentic than if he whipped out some prop designer's creation.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 12:46 PM on March 30, 2007

Wow, those maps actually line up pretty well with what people generally think of as the "bad areas" of DC. I'm surprised at how well they line up.
posted to MetaFilter by callmejay at 7:03 AM on February 3, 2007