A lot of those aren't programming as much as protocol stuff, which is easier to learn. I'd probably start by reading the wikipedia pages on HTTP, XML, Flash, Javascript, and the broad types of languages - functional, procedural, object-oriented, concurrent should get you started. Also, read about assembly language, the basics of how compilers work, the basics of how an operating system works at a low level (with task scheduling, hardware abstraction, etc), and *especially* the difference between... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by devilsbrigade at 4:18 PM on June 18, 2007

The time to start running a power saw outside on a Sunday morning is exactly two hours before it is acceptable to drink a cold beer. The acceptable time to begin drinking cold beer on the weekend is noon, therefore power saws can let rip at 10 AM.
posted to Ask Metafilter by BitterOldPunk at 1:35 PM on June 1, 2008

Decode Genetics (decodeme) has been doing the personalised SNP business for longer than 23andme, and offers roughly 10x the SNPs of 23andme for the same price. The best thing is that the company safely removed from the privacy-hostile US environment and is based in Iceland, which has one of the stricter data privacy regimes in the world (even when you're dead, which protects your descendent's genetic privacy as well). Lodging your genetic data with any US-based company is basically tantamount to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by meehawl at 2:06 PM on February 3, 2008

@garfy3 there is hit alt-shift-print screen if what we are thinking of is the same thing
posted to Ask Metafilter by DJWeezy at 4:13 PM on January 15, 2008

Every relationship is a unique radioactive isotope with its own half-life. Detecting the presence of any remaining traces is difficult, as symptoms may linger well past the presence of the actual element. Excessive testing for the presence of the isotope can result in false positives.

You'll know you're ready when you go out with someone new and it doesn't feel wrong. It's not necessarily the new person that does it, it's your willingness to try new things.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by wemayfreeze at 1:33 PM on October 15, 2007

Wow that's a great idea Matt! I believe that children are the future. Or maybe giant bugs are the future, but my heart says kids.
posted to MetaTalk by Mister_A at 8:06 AM on February 13, 2007

I think more naked girls on AskMe could help sort things out.
posted to MetaTalk by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 6:34 PM on February 4, 2007

Greetings from another former English and philosophy major!

At my grad program we had a saying, "The road to the General Exams is paved with Coppleston." The Generals were our comprehensive exams, and showed a wide knowledge of the history of philosophy. Copleston wrote a 9 volume history of philosophy that is an excellent secondary source for someone looking to build a good knowledge of the history of philosophy. Of course, it doesn't hit the latest and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ontic at 1:08 PM on December 14, 2006

ontic's advice is good re: problems approaches, which are much more popular now (that's how I've done my degree). If you want to go for a more historical route, start with the following. For Greece, read Plato and Aristotle. You can buy Plato's Complete Works, edited by John Cooper, for a reference. For better individual translations, seek out Allan Bloom, Seth Benardete, Thomas West (editor), Eva Brann. The most useful dialogues are, IMO, Crito, Apology,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by smorange at 1:46 PM on December 14, 2006

It has long been recognised that alcohol affects different people in different ways. Here is Thomas Nashe, writing in 1592, describing eight kinds of drinker:“The first is ape-drunk, and he leaps and sings and hollows and danceth for the heavens; the second is lyon-drunk, and he flings the pots about the house, calls the hostess whore, breaks the glass-windows with his dagger, and is apt to quarrel with any man that speaks to him; the third is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by misteraitch at 3:35 AM on October 30, 2006

Well, the first lesson of thinking criticially is to question the assumption. When a "revealing" study is released and filtered by the press its often misunderstood. Its simplified and stupified. Especially in regards to cause vs correlation.


There are some obvious things to do like do puzzles, take a class in logic, understand logical fallacies, etc. If those seem dry and boring (and frankly they are) you can do something like what this guy... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by damn dirty ape at 10:05 AM on October 20, 2006

Two suggestions: learn about logical fallacies and do lateral thinking games/puzzles with friends. The former should make your thinking more rigorous, and the latter should make it more creative.

In terms of assessing situations, reading Blink might help, if only to get you to trust your gut feelings. In terms of troubleshooting problems, if you're only speaking about 'problems' in general, then I'd concentrate on my first two suggestions. If there's a specific domain... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by kimota at 10:19 AM on October 20, 2006

William Miller and Reid Hester, editors of the most comprehensive and most methodologically sound evaluation of treatment methods ever published, state that, "We were pleased to see that a number of treatment methods were consistently supported by controlled scientific research." But they continue, "On the other hand, we were dismayed to realize that virtually none of these treatment methods was in common use within alcohol treatment programs in the United States...... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by callmejay at 1:36 PM on August 19, 2006

Collect them slowly over a long period of time. You have to weed out a lot of chaff, but every three or four years, you should notice that there those that stand the test of time, ONLY PERIODICALLY DISAPPOINTING YOU! ( Almost everyone slips, so give them a little slack when they fail, but the keepers will stand out. )

Also, be the friend you want, and you'll educate those sensitive enough to recognize it, while gaining a better character for yourself.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by FauxScot at 5:40 PM on August 14, 2006

Why has the state of affairs you describe so well been the case. You subscribe to the idea that it all hangs on reproductive control? There's nothing else in additition to understand about human nature?

Well... why. Why do human beings live in societies? Why are these societies invariably (more or less) heirarchical? Why do some members of that society have more status than others (as chiefs, shamans, priests, royalty)? There's that, for one thing:... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jokeefe at 3:57 PM on August 12, 2006

Ah, so you do still love your discipline. Then stick with it. I hope my first reply wasn't too cold-blooded. There so much good advice above I don't know what to add, except this, which you may already know:

How to Read a Book in One Hour

1. Create a clean space--a table, the book, paper and a writing utensil, and nothing else.

2. Read two academic reviews of the book you photocopied beforehand. Don't skip this step,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by LarryC at 11:32 AM on May 2, 2005

I believe the usual advice is to be gone when he returns, and take any CDs of his that you like.

You're also allowed to break one thing of his that you know he likes, with a value of less than $100.

But other than that: big angry fights are not as satisfying as you hope they might be. I'd just leave. Life is short, and trust is important. You can either spend months and years trying to trust this guy again, or you can spend one month... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by jellicle at 6:14 PM on June 9, 2006

The best of the web is a 'What I read in the NYTimes in 2005-6' book report?

[y2karl the following isn't directed at you personally.] Snark aside, this isn't new, only well-phrased for the most part. twsf raises the right question. So much of MetaFilter's political chatter (and that all across Left Blogistan) is a bit like trying to start a fire by piling more and more sticks in a field. 'Look at this amazing stick!'

'Yes, but did will someone... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by waxbanks at 7:44 AM on June 17, 2006