MetaFilter

The SEALs began telling stories, and Kyle offered a shocking one. In the days after Hurricane Katrina, he said, the law-and-order situation was dire. He and another sniper travelled to New Orleans, set up on top of the Superdome, and proceeded to shoot dozens of armed residents who were contributing to the chaos. Three people shared with me varied recollections of that evening: the first said that Kyle claimed to have shot thirty men on his own; according to the second, the story was... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by His thoughts were red thoughts at 6:39 PM on May 27, 2013

For instance, as a visual thinker she can instantly see why a cow will panic and back up in a chute, while no one else had a clue.

Alternatively, she is the first person who has ever given a flying fuck. If no one has ever taken the time to actually think about the chute system, the first person to approach the problem with a modicum of care is going to look brilliant.

She is a wicked cool presenter, regardless. If you ever... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by five fresh fish at 9:13 AM on May 27, 2013

I have just discovered that I employ a new type of thinking. It is called "brilliant." This has enormous implications regarding how smart people think I am. Does anyone know the TED organizers?
posted to MetaFilter by michaelh at 8:41 AM on May 27, 2013

There's a story told about Hilbert that he once told conference planners that he would be presenting a paper on his proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. He showed up at the conference and gave an entirely different talk; When asked about it later he said "Oh, that was just in case the plane went down."
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:41 PM on May 24 [74 favorites +] [!]

While I'm delighted that an old math story like this gets so... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by gleuschk at 9:19 AM on May 27, 2013

In software development

It is easy enough to verify the work of a computer programmer. You compile and run the blasted thing, or simply download a binary.

In the case of physics, this fellow may have knocked together which isn't internally self-contradictory (the math works out) but if it predicts the existence of new particles at masses where we've already probed and found squat, or doesn't predict the existence of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sebastienbailard at 7:22 AM on May 26, 2013

I like the concept but I don't think they really took it in the right direction. The ending point was "face the Red"? No, sorry, that's lame. Here's my proposed alternate ending:

The roommate smashes open the door, letting the Red in. The protagonist falls backwards through the window, the roommate missing her grasp by inches.

Cut to body bag, zipping up over dead face of protagonist. A little Red seeping out around the edges of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Kadin2048 at 7:28 AM on May 27, 2013

If it wasn't about student debt, I'd have thought it was an ad for a bizarro sex/drug cult. Face the Red, Ride the Snake.
posted to MetaFilter by Blazecock Pileon at 5:10 AM on May 27, 2013

I love the subtle hints and utter cluelessness clearly written by some oblivious person who has no clue what a dollar is (so, rich and young. I'm guessing:nepotism). "Oh no! You spent $56 on groceries this week! THAT'S A LOT! You should have bought the hot dogs, not the fresh lean cuts!"

Not the best of the web.
posted to MetaFilter by Yowser at 4:38 AM on May 27, 2013

Holy shit this is some grade-A financial industry propaganda right here.

Here's the script: Let's reify the financial anxiety of young graduates as a creepy mist that only they can see. Let's portray their reactions to that mist as objectively insane and subjectively paralyzing. Then let's offer "personal responsibility" and "confronting the mist" as the only ill-defined solution.

This will distract the viewer from the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by R. Schlock at 9:51 PM on May 26, 2013

Elizabeth Warren: Student Loans Should Have Same Rate Big Banks Get

Elizabeth Warren Student Loans Bill Endorsed By Several Colleges, Organizations
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 8:36 PM on May 26, 2013

If I may add a related example from Arizona: the city of Bisbee. Once a copper mining town, now known for its eclectic, progressive vibe, Bisbee passed a law to permit same-sex civil unions, for the limited purposes of access to municipal services. This is notable because the state passed, by referendum, a constitutional amendment some years back prohibiting same-sex marriage.

The state's Attorney General, a right(wing) wanker, Tom Horne*, filed suit against the city to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by darkstar at 9:39 AM on May 25, 2013

They'll arrest street level pushers but the drugs and guns come to the city through upper channels. You want to stop the drugs coming into the city you go after the banks that are laundering the cartel money and you bust the kingpins,

It's my understanding, via Chicago public radio and other media here, that the epidemic of violence currently is due to how effective the CPD were at putting away high level people in the 90s and early 2000s. There's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MarvinTheCat at 11:04 PM on May 25, 2013

"And to all who think of Shatner as Kirk being hammy or overacting... watch any other TV show of that era: overacting WAS acting. Shatner was actually one of the best of his era.

I have an odd sort of specialty regarding this. I am one of the world's only experts in Shatner's acting from the era, beside Shatner himself, as I am the author of Ultra Actors: William Shatner. I literally watched and wrote about every single film Shatner did during... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Bunny Ultramod at 8:47 PM on May 15, 2013

My 13-year-old son and I are watching every Star Trek right now and it is a fantastic experience. In fact it has repaired out relationship.

My son has been acting up in school and at home since he was 8 or 9. A nice kid but too smart for his own good, too easily frustrated, too easily distracted. And is it helpful that he loves attention and is great at making people laugh? No it is not. The last five years have been tough, with regular phone calls and notes home from... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by LarryC at 7:02 PM on May 15, 2013

I was thinking it sounds more like a Stephen King novel. What exactly goes on at the yearly town meeting? Two horny teenagers and a struggling writer are about to come face to face with an ancient horror.
posted to MetaFilter by Brocktoon at 11:34 PM on May 24, 2013

> successionism isn't any better an idea now than it was when the Confederacy tried it.

Was it a good idea when the thirteen colonies tried it? When the centralized government has more and more power all you can do is hope they stay morally correct perpetually. If there is a push and pull of power, and people have the option of moving elsewhere and living under different laws and law enforcement priorities, the central power can get the mood of the population and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Space Coyote at 9:16 PM on May 24, 2013

I just looked at the recipients of the Fields Medal and they're almost all in their thirties.

There's a reason for that.
posted to MetaFilter by escabeche at 8:36 PM on May 24, 2013

Of course it is rather rare for mathematicians to contribute major work altogether -- that's what makes it major! But a lot of recent developments have been carried out by middle-aged mathematicians (we prefer "mid-career"....!) Perelman was in his late 30s when he proved Poincare, Wiles just 40 when he proved Fermat, Taylor mid-40s when he proved Sato-Tate. Agol and Wise, who proved virtual Haken last year, a big big deal in topology, were both young 40s. Mochizuki is 44 if you... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by escabeche at 7:54 PM on May 24, 2013

After I proved my theory of everything, I realized that I was too old to have solved it, so I threw it out and went back to an earlier theory I had come up with as a younger man, involving chocolate pudding and jetted tubs retro-fitted as bongs.
posted to MetaFilter by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 6:42 PM on May 24, 2013

They tell me some guy on Slate(!) has disputed it.

If you're referring to the article from Slate that delmoi linked to arguing that math is no longer a young person's game, then it's not just some guy, it's MetaFilter's own, um, me.
posted to MetaFilter by escabeche at 6:12 PM on May 24, 2013

dudemanlives: "Einstein was a patent clerk"

Where E ≔ { people at least as smart as Einstein },
and m ≔ { people with mundane jobs },
and c² ≔ m ⊆ E,

E ⊆ m ≢ c²
posted to MetaFilter by Riki tiki at 3:55 PM on May 24, 2013

it was just, like, me and Dave, and Dave's girlfriend Lindsay

Horse hockey, Greg. Who do you think packed all those boxes? Me. Also Hal himself, but it was at least 41% me. I helped pack, therefore I helped move, quod erat demonstrandum.

Also I helped Hal kill those fifths of whipped cream vodka left over from Jillian's birthday party, which is why you didn't have to waste any trips... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Iridic at 3:48 PM on May 24, 2013

I am a venerable personage, and I categorically endorse Iridic's ludicrous claims. Please don't hurt his feelings by baseless attacking a theory you haven't even read, okay? God.
posted to MetaFilter by Your Disapproving Father at 3:09 PM on May 24, 2013

This seems like as good a time as any to announce my new model of gravity, which extends Heim theory to four-dimensional manifolds.

Cold fusion is one of the more trivial applications. Within five years, we'll be riding FTL gravitic drives to Gliese 581. In seven years' time, we'll resurrect Mr. Rogers. Exactly ten years from now, I'll be writing this comment and sending it back to this thread via retrochron pulses.

All this is comprehensively... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Iridic at 3:09 PM on May 24, 2013

There's a story told about Hilbert that he once told conference planners that he would be presenting a paper on his proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. He showed up at the conference and gave an entirely different talk; When asked about it later he said "Oh, that was just in case the plane went down."
posted to MetaFilter by Tell Me No Lies at 2:41 PM on May 24, 2013

I, for one, am sad that this way cool thing came to the Blue in a way that has us talking about pedantic hypotheticals rather than admiring something that's really freakin' fun.

I mean, it's a guy in space singing "Space Oddity"!! Singing a song about getting stuck in space, right before he gets in a capsule to crash back to Earth. FROM SPACE!!!!! That's at least a little bit Baller, no??

Bunch'a hipsters, the lot of ya.
posted to MetaFilter by dry white toast at 7:50 PM on May 23, 2013

Two interesting facts I learned from that article:

1. The Russian Space Agency is named ROSCOSMOS.

2. The laws applying to astronauts on the ISS depend upon the section they happen to be in at the time, and which nation owns it. So if you need to murder someone on the space station , make sure you do it in the Columbus Laboratory, and you might serve time in one of those nice Finnish jails.
posted to MetaFilter by Kevin Street at 12:28 PM on May 23, 2013

"in all media, throughout the universe, in perpetuity".

When the Koppi-leviathans of Infringix VII find out about this, they will have a good laugh before burning our planet to a cinder.
posted to MetaFilter by 1adam12 at 12:28 PM on May 23, 2013

Certainly the lawyers don't come after everyone on YouTube, do they?

Ish. Record company SOP is to content match the song, put up ads on it that benefit them rather than you if you don't object. If you do object, they'll take the video down.

No lawyers are involved at any point.

If the record company don't do it, rest assured that news organisations who report your video clip and/or ContentID trolls... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jaduncan at 12:23 PM on May 23, 2013

koeselitz: ""How Does Copyright Work In Space?" is a "crazy leading headline"?"

No, "should he have been greeted by copyright police?" is a stupid, leading question for the article to ask when the answer is, "clearly not, because he got permission before recording."
posted to MetaFilter by zarq at 12:15 PM on May 23, 2013

Forgive me if I don't remember a lot of conservative commentators lining up to support Bradley Manning and Julian Assange.

I will forgive you - but I think it's more a function of your access than its existence. Thus, Brad Manning is made out to be a different kind of criminal, one far more deadly to the state than international spies, profiteers, murderers and cheats. He angered the state when he exposed a few of its many crimes... Inseparable... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by corb at 9:12 AM on May 15, 2013

when someone's attention to the issue of press freedom varies depending on who occupies the Oval Office, it's relevant to the conversation about how scandalous the behavior really is.

How so? Isn't the "scandalousness" of one's behavior objectively independent from another person's "attention" to a particular issue?
posted to MetaFilter by BobbyVan at 9:02 AM on May 15, 2013

"Screw" the people who want to make a living.

Everyone wants to make a living. No one is entitled to make a living that has become outdated or which they are not very good at.

I think you must be young because you seem to miss the point of that note. When the internet began to put knowledge online, there were a large number of professionals whose livelihood was basically acting as a parasitic... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rr at 5:48 PM on May 15, 2013

-- judge walks in and shakes his head at me before sharpieing the word BAD on my forehead --

These days, most states are franchulates or Burbclaves, much too small to have anything like a jail, or even a judicial system. So when someone does something bad, they try to find quick and dirty punishments, like flogging, confiscation of property, public humiliation, or, in the case of people who have a high potential of going on to hurt others, a warning tattoo on a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by iamabot at 11:01 AM on May 23, 2013

It's not really fair for West Sixth to whine about the fact that they're being sued. If you're so sure it's not trademark infringement, gather your evidence and prove it. This is how the legal system works.

I'm sure that if I started a craft brewery called Wessex Brewery, and made a circular green logo with a star in it, West Sixth would be happy to sue me.

I think part of the point is that the craft brewing industry is not a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by burnmp3s at 10:36 AM on May 23, 2013

It's not really fair for West Sixth to whine about the fact that they're being sued.

It is, considering that even if they win, they'll have had to spent time, money and afford defending themselves which could've been more productive spent making beer.

Where West Sixth went wrong is thinking that bad pr/outrage amongst beer geeks could stop this lawsuit, when it looks more like a tactical weapon used by Ass Hat to destroy a competitor in the name... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MartinWisse at 10:31 AM on May 23, 2013

Oh come on, they are both numbers inside of a circle! Clearly one is a rip-off of the other, because that is a truly unique design.
posted to MetaFilter by monospace at 10:16 AM on May 23, 2013

regarding copyright infringement

Trademark infringement, an important distinction.
posted to MetaFilter by Horace Rumpole at 9:55 AM on May 23, 2013

The idea of "copyright police" showing up to arrest Commander Hadfield reminded me of a professor I had a few years ago who tried to convince the class that plagiarism was a bad idea because, verbatim, "you could be arrested."
posted to MetaFilter by asciident at 10:06 PM on May 23, 2013

One hypothetical mentioned in TFA is an astronaut spontaneously bursting into song

This has actually happened. Apollo 17 astronauts, overcome with the joy of walking on the moon, spontaneously started singing "I was strolling on the moon one day..." This was their version of the song "Strolling through the Park One Day". Fortunately that song was written in 1884, so it was public domain at that point, but I don't think the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by twoleftfeet at 10:19 PM on May 23, 2013

I think he cleared the cover with Bowie. Hadfield worked with Emm Gryner on the music, who played with Bowie on one of his tours.

Oh wait... "In this particular case the matter is straightforward because Commander Hadfield had obtained permission to record and distribute the song"

For heaven's sakes, why do you have this crazy leading headline that you trivially disprove two paragraphs later? The Economist should be better than lame... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by GuyZero at 11:46 AM on May 23, 2013

Over the last 15 years I have kept in touch with many of the teachers at my former University. We chat regularly, grab dinner, whatever.

As you might expect, there is a mix of types in that set. What I am going to describe below is my direct personal observations of actual top-15 University teachers in STEM.

What I observe is that the poor lecturers (tenured and not) that I know are deeply hostile to MOOCs and, when they don't just boil over... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rr at 1:21 PM on May 15, 2013

In the late 19th and early 20th century, the labor market was tight enough that companies actually did hire children despite the fact that they don't really make good employees.

Plus, there was no minimum wage, so employers could literally pay them pennies.

I just find it really strange that the very idea that people might prefer to hire the cheapest possible labor, thus the people willing to accept the least for... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Miko at 1:47 PM on May 14, 2013

Today they'd probably mostly hire adults, because the labor pool is that slack and adults make better employees. In the late 19th and early 20th century, the labor market was tight enough that companies actually did hire children despite the fact that they don't really make good employees.

But the idea of rolling back child labor laws because there's not really a demand for child laborers is stupid, and I don't think you're arguing in good faith by advancing that.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Kadin2048 at 12:40 PM on May 14, 2013

Corb, perhaps we should eliminate child labor laws so that those 14 year olds could have relevant work experience as they enter the work-force. God knows the American textile industry could use a steady supply of 8 or 9 year old seamstresses like the good old days.
posted to MetaFilter by empath at 12:05 PM on May 14, 2013

I believe that there exists a price point which is high enough to lure teenagers into working, while still being low enough that an adult could not support themselves on it and thus would not choose to engage in it. Do you disagree, or is your issue primarily moral rather than economic?

We are already at that price point, which is why these adult workers are so also eligible for and making use of public assistance.

Also,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Miko at 8:36 AM on May 14, 2013

Sorry cons, but you've only got three more years for a real Nobama scandal and this ain't it.

I'm going to try to contain my anger, but: this right here, this attitude right here, is why we have no more privacy rights in this country and why we are engaged in abominable activities around the globe. That right there.

Because whether we're cheering for the Yankees or the Sox - and make no mistake, identifying D or R is about as... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by corb at 5:01 AM on May 14, 2013

Like this. Consider a weird school with one 1000-person class and 49 10-person classes, so that 98% of their courses have 10 students. Must be great!


Size Weighted Size
1000 1000000
10 100
10 100
*45 more 10-person classes*
10 100
10 100
1490 1004900 Totals

The unweighted average class size is just 1490/50 or 29.8. The weighted average is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:02 PM on May 14, 2013

People keep asserting that MOOCs are seeking to replace a system that doesn't have any problems.

Where are people asserting this?
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 8:52 AM on May 14, 2013

Presumably those working at Jamba Juice aren't counted in a "starting salary" statistic, because they don't earn one. But no, you're right, everyone with a college degree is gainfully employed doing interesting and productive work and aren't in any way limited by having debt they'll be paying off into their thirties.

One of the things being discussed in this thread is the value of simply being at college. Getting to have deep conversations with your professors... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MetalFingerz at 8:09 AM on May 14, 2013