Category Archives: sciences

the copper peril

Could a penny dropped from the top of the Empire State Building kill a pedestrian on the street below? The Experiment. (Thanks again to Joanne Schmitz) 2021: Closing comments on this one to cut down a little bit on spam.

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the promised what?

Why Jews Don’t Farm. Link from Matthew Yglesias, whose commentors don’t think much of the essay.

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spheres subtracted

Hyperbolic geometry, provoked by “Not Knot”. The shape at the end of that show is an ideal rhombic dodecahedron (‘ideal’ means some of its vertices are at infinity) seen from inside; here it is seen from outside, in the Poincaré … Continue reading

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incorrect chemistry

Jacob Sullum: “H: The surprising truth about heroin and addiction“

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first they mock . .

Well well! Robin Hanson’s concept of idea futures is discussed today (though not by that name) in the New York Times: A Market Approach to Politics

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convert politics to economics

Robin Hanson writes, on the Armchair Economists list: Wouldn’t a privately organized fire department look a lot like a government one, with hoses and fire trucks and all that? Wouldn’t a private school look a lot like a public school, … Continue reading

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the government you pay for

Hey Hillary, it could be worse: Scotland now spends more of its national income on health than any other country in the developed world. While this has led to higher hospital staffing levels, Scotland’s life expectancy remains the lowest in … Continue reading

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