FEB 06
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Surprise-free zone.
Yesterday, BBC World TV reported the results of the International Atomic Energy Authority ’s (IAEA) investigations into Iran’s nuclear research thus :
“ After three years of investigations, the IAEA still cannot be sure that Iran’s nuclear programme is entirely peaceful “
Really Magazine can report that after five minutes of investigations, we can be entirely sure that the nuclear research conducted in the US, Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, is not entirely peaceful – oddly though, no mention was made of this . . .
For several dozen other countries who are, ( or were ) treading the very same well-beaten nuke path - and also substantially lacking a mention - see
Reader Carmelita points out that these other countries ' are presumably developing nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes ' . . .
28 FEB 06
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Coca-Brek ?
Coca leaves are so nutritious they should be routinely included in school childrens’ meals – that’s the official Bolivian govt. line.
According to MSNBC ( via Reuters ) :
“ A coca leaf ‘weighing 100 grams’ (sic.) contains 18.9 calories (sic.) of protein, 45.8 mg of iron, 1540 mg of calcium and vitamins A, B1, B2, E and C, which is more than most nuts, according to a 1975 study by a group of Harvard University professors. “
[ Duke, J.A., Aulik, D., and Plowman, T. 1975. ' Nutritional
Value of Coca '. Botanical Museum Leaflets 24(6):113-119. ] ( no www
link available )
The Bolivian press statement didn’t mention, however, that the same study also pointed out that :
" Coca leaves may, however, contain 0.25 to 2.25% toxic alkaloids, including benzoylecgonine, benzoyltropine, cinnamyl-cocaine, cocaine, cuscohygrine, dihydroxy tropane, hygrine, hygroline, methyl cocaine, methyl ecgonidine, nicotine, tropa cocaine, and A- and B-truxilline “.
For everything you ever wanted to know about coca leaves – and their derivatives - see : this National Institutes of Health (NIH) publication.
( caution : 232 page .pdf )
24 FEB 06
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Terpsichoreal genes ?
Apologies to readers for the late appearance of this article, which should have been published last September. Ed.
A joint Israeli/French research project studied the DNA of 85 carefully selected subjects ( and their parents ) to determine whether genetic differences “ - may lead to an understanding of the neurobiological basis of one of mankind's most universal and appealing behavioral traits - dancing. “
As well as the DNA tests, the professional dancers ( and a control group of non-dancing athletes ) were also psychologically profiled, using Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the Tellegen Absorption Scale.
To support the team's conjecture(s) the paper quotes very widely, from sources such as the rhetorician Lucian of Samosata (~125 to ~180 A.D.) to Charles Darwin, who described an Australian Aboriginal dancing party ( a corrobery ) thus:
“Perhaps these dances originally represented actions, such as wars and victories; there was one called the Emu dance, in which each man extended his arm in a bent manner, like the neck of that bird. In another dance, one man imitated the movements of a kangaroo grazing in the woods, whilst a second crawled up, and pretended to spear him ”.
Armed with our 21st century knowledge of genetics, dare we ask then ‘ Was DNA, perhaps the unseen ‘maestro’ of the corrobery ? ‘
Really Magazine is not sure, but the conclusion of the research suggests that :
“ the association between these [AVPR1a and SLC6A4 ] genes and dance is mediated by personality factors reflecting the social communication, courtship, and spiritual facets of the dancing phenotype.”
The full paper was published in the Sept 2005 issue of PLoS
Genetics.
23 FEB 06
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AI for GI’s gets the thumbs up.
The BBC, USA Today, and a host of other high-profile sites are reporting on a military-funded University of Southern California project which teaches the importance of correct ‘gesturing’ when trying to communicate in a language one is unfamiliar with.
Say, for example, Arabic, Pashto, or Levantine.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted computer software, built on top of a commercial computer-games engine called ‘ Unreal Tournament ’ is apparently proving successful in teaching soldiers the use of 'foreign' body language.
A USC researcher explains :
“ Wrong interpretation of nonverbal cues or the wrong nonverbal responses can lead to serious misunderstanding and escalate hostility,”
Quite.
And what more poignant example could there be than the ' thumbs-up ' gesture, as the US Airforce Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) website clarifies for us :
“The thumbs-up gesture traditionally is an offensive Iraqi insult, equivalent to using the middle finger in the Western world. “
Ooooops.
Could Really Magazine possibly suggest then that the AFSOI might want to urgently reconsider this offering ( from their ‘deployment stress/brochures' page )?
22 FEB 06 ( late edition )
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The C.H.O.* is a clown.
In some parts of the world, he’s the second most recognised character : and now he’s got his long-deserved mention in the Feb. issue of the cutting edge management journal Leadership Quarterly.
A research note entitled “The leadership of Ronald McDonald: Double narration and stylistic lines of transformation “ examines his role.
“ rather than just being a spokesperson or marketing device for the McDonald's corporation, Ronald performs an important transformational leadership function. “
Using
the Bakhtinian
Theory of Double Narration, the researchers argue that his
leadership exceeds official corporate narratives because of the cultural
meanings associated
with his character as a clown.
“ the clown persona has enabled Ronald to emerge as a leader along two interrelated lines of organizational stylistic transformation “
Co-author of the paper David Boje, professor of management at New Mexico State University. also runs a very informative website dedicated to all things ‘Donald.
Where you can find, amongst other things, a pictorial history of Ronald (1966 - ), Ronald ‘praying’ in Thailand, and ( apparently ) experimenting with cross-dressing in Japan. Shurely some mistake ?
Read the full
research here :
* Chief Happiness Officer
22 FEB 06
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KO’s in NM.
Readers may be interested in the breakdown of the latest US defence budget –
but Really Magazine is, unfortunately, not qualified to give exact details of how the taxpayer’s contributions will be spent.
Instead then, today’s story points readers at new research conducted by Doctor Buse of the Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.
( motto : ‘ The world’s most lethal warfighting team ‘ ) .
Dr. Buse looked at 642 video tapes of martial arts competitions ( which had been screened between 1993 and 2003 ) in order to identify “ the most salient medical issues.”
Paying particular attention to stomps, head butts, and groin attacks.
Conclusions ?
“ Blunt force to the head resulted in the highest proportion of match stoppages. “
The paper is presented in this month’s issue of the British Journal
of Sports Medicine.
* * *
* Note:
The $439,300,000,000 does not include an extra $440,000,000 to be spent by the Dept of Defense on ‘ media and public relations contracts ‘. ( as estimated from 2003/5 figures . source here.)
21 FEB 06
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Chinese Chatbots
If you thought that the province of ‘ slightly less than fully whelming chatbots ‘ would be restricted to West of the Great Firewall of China, think again.
A Chinese chatbot called ‘ Xiaoai ‘ is available 24/7 to answer queries and chat ( via MSN ) – and it’s already logged 10 million users.
The ‘bot gives weather info, news and translation help – and according to user Zhang “ It was fun when I use (sic.) it for the first time."
But, the piece in today’s ‘ China View ’ ends thus : “ Zhang, who is 26 and has a number of friends, has already uninstalled the program. “
Smart move ?
Despite its 10 million users, Really Magazine singularly failed to find a link
to the site – which is probably just as well - we had in mind some
questions about ‘superstitious’ activities . . .
20 FEB 06
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The ‘ Bing ! ‘ factor.
Readers will know how poignantly difficult it is to come to a rational product-choice decision when shopping for towels or oven mitts.
But help is at hand in the latest issue of Science Magazine .
Research from the Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, showed that not thinking about things too much was sometimes the best strategy. To be specific, the more complicated and important the choice – the more one should not think about it.
The ' Deliberation-Without-Attention ' hypothesis as it’s
been called, has a long and illustrious history : for example.
‘
to arrive at the simplest truth, as Newton knew and practiced, requires
years of contemplation. Not activity. Not reasoning. Not calculating
Not busy behavior of any kind. Not reading. Not talking. Not making
an effort. Not thinking. Simply bearing in mind what it is that
needs to know. (Quoted in Claxton, 1997, p. 58) ‘
As the author points out though, ‘ the unconscious ’ can’t always be trusted to come up with answers – such as “ What is the square root of 625 “
and sums up by saying :
“ Both systems [ conscious and unconscious ] can be fast, slow, smart, or stupid “
Really Magazine probably agrees with that 100% – but we’ll have to sleep on it.
The Science article is ‘suscriber only’ – but here’s a remarkably similar one from the same author ( Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 2004)
17 FEB 06
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Really Magazine ' Space
Elevator ' project launched.
Really Magazine has successfully completed the first stage tests of its ‘ space elevator ’ programme.
The image ( inverted for clarity ) shows a ceramic counterweight suspended
on a carbon fibre thread.
Technologist Grant Hunter explains :
“ The tests proved conclusively that Arthur Clarke’s ‘ Space Elevator ’ concept is indeed viable. Our counterweight was suspended to a length of 1 metre – and it was rock steady. This can be considered a first step towards the 99,779,000 metres needed to reach equilibrium.
We're fully confident that the space elevator / platform concept could be used as a launch pad for satellites, space exploration vehicles, or even tourism. “
At present though, the carbon fibre used in the experiment is simply not strong enough to support its own weight over a length of 99,779 Km – and there is no known material which is.
Grant Hunter again “ We
are waiting for a suitable carbon nanotube structure [ to be invented
] which
will enable extremely long and phenomenally strong cables – then
the idea will really take off “.
We will of course be keeping readers fully informed.
More news in 2020.
16 FEB 06 (late)
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Down on the Pharma.
Yesterday’s press release from the Stanford School of Medicine, entitled ‘ The Farmworkers’ Paradox.’ points out that “ most of the Mexican farmworkers who harvest the fruits and vegetables that feed the nation aren’t eating enough of it themselves ”.
Really Magazine would like to float the conjecture that the practise of not eating the produce from the farm where you work is actually very common, right across the world.
And perhaps ‘syndrome’ might be a better word than ‘paradox’ ?
A paradox is - ' a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that may in fact be true.' - and what’s absurd about not wanting to eat the produce from the farm where you work ?
After all, you’ve seen how it’s produced. Unless you are lucky enough to work on an organic farm, you’ll have witnessed the product being liberally doused in a cocktail of über-chemicals from the moment it sprouts up until it’s harvested ( and beyond ).
In fact, Really Magazine is familiar with at least one case of a landowner who puzzled for years about why the workers on his farm never ate any of the produce . . . When he did finally find the answer to the ‘paradox’ - he immediately ‘ went organic ’ . . .
( his company is now making a healthy profit )
16 FEB 06
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Robita.
For those who aren’t familiar with Robita ( Real-world Oriented BI-modal Talking Agent ) , the lab which created the ‘bot ( the Perceptual Computing Group at Waseda University, Tokyo ) have a very informative website , and they’ve recently posted a new video showing that Robita is now capable of arguing ( calmly ) with students.
Here’s a direct link to the clip ( 8Mb mpeg )
Robita can also recognise facial expressions , make ‘ hand ’ gestures
, and wiggle its eyebrows – and, if all goes according to plan, will
soon be connected to the internet.
15 FEB 06 (late)
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A foam by any other name.
There possibly may be a nu-tech solution to the current surfboard manufacturing crisis ( the leading manufacturer of the polyurethane foam used inside surfboards shut down blank production late last year to comply with enviro-regs ).
Now Sandia Labs ( the US taxpayer-funded uber-tech research facility ) has press-released details of a ‘new’ foam ( TufFoam ™ ) which was originally developed “ to protect sensitive electronic and mechanical structures from harsh weapons environments. “ .
But wait, could this be the same TufFoam ™ which has been around for 20 years or more ?
Really Magazine is confused. There are, it seems, at least three possible scenarios which might explain the apparent conundrum :
• Scenario 1 : The foam’s been around for years – and Sandia have just realised there’s a possible new sales outlet.
• Scenario 2 : Sandia forgot to Google their choice of name to see if it was already registered.
• Scenario 3 : None of the above.
15 FEB 06
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No longer a Gray area . . .
The UK’s Institute of Food Science and Technology has just added a new item to their ‘ Hot Topics ’ list.
‘ The Use of Irradiation for Food Quality and Safety ‘ is a 19 page .pdf which commends the irradiation of food as “ an effective, widely applicable food processing method judged to be safe on extensive available evidence . . . “
The info-packed file is replete with interesting factoids – Really Magazine was unaware for instance that “ more than a hundred years of research have gone into the understanding of the safe and effective use of irradiation as a food safety method. – “
Or that in 2002, five prawns and shrimps were found to have been irradiated ( or contained irradiated ingredients ) without appropriate labelling.
Read the .pdf to find out everything you ever wanted to know about food
irradiation. ( Bearing in mind however, that with regard to the information
statements and guidelines, the institute “ can
accept no responsibility whatsoever in connection with them “ )
* * *
p.s.
There seems to be a temporary fault at the IFST website.
Really Magazine entered the word ‘ funding ’ into the site’s search box and received the message :
“ Conflict.The server did not receive a valid request “
Perhaps our readers will have more luck with their search.
14 FEB 06
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War monikering.
Really Magazine is, of course, keen to keep on top of official policy regarding the correct terminology for the ‘ War On Terror ’ (WOT) [ Pron: Wo Own Terr ].
Back in July last year the phrase was given a determined sendoff, when it was officially replaced by the ‘ Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism ‘ (GSAVE).
The new name only lasted a few days though – some people ( any guesses ? ) apparently found the new moniker waaaaaaaay too doggone diff’cult – and it reverted, at the very highest of levels, back to the Wo Own Terr.
Using GSAVE was, it seems, like trying to throw a wide loop with a short rope*.
In the last few weeks though, WOT appears to have been abandoned ( again ) – this time suffering a top-brass booting-out in favour of the less lingually challenging ( and more PR compatible ) ‘ Long War ‘ (LW).
We will do our best to keep on top of these nominative technicalities – though, there is a feeling, that giving the conflict yet another new name is unlikely to make much of a difference to the people there on the ground – or under the ground.
As that (other*) old Texan saying goes ' You can cut off a dog's tail,
but you can't sew it back.'
13 FEB 06 (late)
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Less is more. ( isn't it ? )
If you wanted to sell popcorn to consumers - in the dark ( think: cinema ) – and you wanted to be able to put less into the cup without annoying the customers, would you be better advised to use tall thin containers, or short fat ones ?
According to new research from the University of Michigan , if only one type of container is to be sold by the theatre, then “ the shorter, fatter one may bring greater satisfaction to consumers."
More details in ' The Effect of Vision versus Touch on the Elongation Bias.' to be published in the upcoming Journal of Consumer Research. ( March 2006.)
Also see: from the same (co)author :
' Vital dimensions in volume perception : can the eye fool the stomach ? ' ( Journal of Marketing Research 1999)
and :
' Pizzas ; 
or
square ? Psychophysical biases in area comparisons. ' ( Marketing
Science 2001 )
13 FEB 06
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Decimal pint error ?
The Journal Current Biology just
published the results of an intriguing
study into the possible life-extending properties of Resveratrol ,
a chemical found in abundance in grape skins* – and thus red wine.
The research, from the Institute of Neuroscience in Pisa found that large doses of the compound extended the lifetime of laboratory Killifish by an impressive 60%. ( Previous studied had already confirmed a similar effect for flies and nematode worms. )
But only large doses showed the effect. So, to the obvious question . . . How much red wine would a person have to consume to get a similar dose as the fish ?
In a recent Radio 4 interview , lead scientist Alessandro Cellerino quantified it at about 1 litre per day. Not overly problematic for some well practised imbibers ?
New Scientist magazine ( subscribers only ), however, published significantly different calculations – reckoning the amount at a stonking 72 bottles per day – surely beyond the reach of even the most determined Italian boozers ?
Here’s a another resume of the story ( with different figures yet again ) from Italy Magazine.
* Note : Also found in peanuts, bluberries, some pines, and the roots of
Japanese Knotweed.
11 FEB 06 (late)
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“ Also the pet liking, the whale is eaten.”
Many thanks to the BBC for pointing Really Magazine in the direction
of Hakudai.com – a
japanese website selling whale meat . . .
There’s such a glut of whale meat in Japan – all harvested in the interests of ‘ scientific research ’ of course – that it’s now being sold as dogfood.
Link roundup below :
• Here’s a Babelfish translation of the page in question :
• Readers of a sensitive disposition are strongly encouraged not to click on this Hakudai.com link proudly displaying a whale butchering session.
• Link to the BBC story :
10 FEB 06 (late)
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Bigger, Further - and Staler
If you’re interested in ‘ the implications of the multibenefit
and the benefit congruency frameworks for understanding consumer responses
to sales promotions ‘ – look no further.
The Food & Brand
Lab at the University of Illinois has made available on-line
some ‘consumer
research insights’ – for example, a paper entitled : ‘ A
benefit congruency framework of sales promotion effectiveness ‘ which
found, amongst other things, that ” products
in large packages are perceived as less expensive to use, so consumers
use them 18% to 45%
more than usual. “
here’s the link
Curiously though, Really Magazine wasn’t able to find any mention whatever of the larger packages in the research paper itself . . .
The lead author, Prof. Brian Wansink , is famous for his ‘ candy jar ’ experiments – which have consistently shown that “ women eat more than twice as many Hershey Kisses when they are in clear containers on their desks than when they are in opaque containers on their desks -- but fewer when they are six feet away. “
He’s also determined that Philadelphia moviegoers given large buckets of stale popcorn described as tasting 'terrible' ate 31 percent more than those who received medium buckets of the same unpleasant snack.
10 FEB 06
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Pharma-challenge of the day.
Can our any of our readers help us decypher the following sentence, found in today’s press-release (.pdf) from Medicines Australia ?
“ While many think about medicines as a way or curing illness and achieving better health, much of their real value is in helping people live well and have control over their lives. “
Does it mean that one should think about taking medicines even if one is not ill ?
Or perhaps to become even healthier than one already is ?
Or . . .
Really Magazine feels sure that our readers will be able to make more sense of it than we can.
By the way, here’s the corporate membership list for Medicines Australia –
Think : Merck, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Shering-Plough, Sanofi-Aventis, Roche, Novartis, etc etc etc.
Well ?
Reader Carmelita comments :
' I believe there's a conference in Australia in a few months time on the subject of medicalization of everyday life. Maybe this news release was an attempt at a pre-emptive strike against all those people who believe that medicine should be a last resort and that the default state for humans is health.
The definition of sickness is forever widening to take in more and more of the human population.
Of course, healthy people are lots more fun to treat because they're...healthy, none of that messy sickness business. '
Editor's note :
Yes, there is a 'disease mongering' conference coming up in April - here's the details.
09 FEB 06
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Why is Superman like Jesus ?
They both <quote>
• arrived on earth in usual circumstances after
being sent here by their fathers
• move from relative obscurity to a more prominent adulthood
• help the humans they are sent to live with
• struggle to stand up for truth against injustice and evil
</quote>
That is, according to the coursework for students on the postgrad Religious
Education programme at Sheffield Hallam University.
The concept – using cinema’s most popular figures to explore religious themes – utilises clips from The Truman Show, The Matrix, Superman, and, of course, Star Wars .
The Truman Show, for example “ helps explore the nature of God and whether man is being controlled “
The cinematic inspiration is explored in detail in this month’s REtoday Magazine ( subscriptions only )
08 FEB 06
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Smoke Rings
Don’t miss George Monbiot’s essay published today in the UK’s Guardian newspaper. With regard to scientific publications :
“ both academia and the media have failed dismally to exercise sufficient scepticism “
And, as he points out, every journalist should begin with the question “ Who’s funding you ? “
Really Magazine will be doing it’s very best to assist George.
07 FEB 06 (late)
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Paint it black
If you were looking for an example of someone who looks pretty good for their age ( despite everything ) Sir Mick Jagger wouldn’t be a bad start.
His fat-free look must surely attributed, at least in part, to his daily running exercises – which he takes very seriously.
So seriously, in fact, that he has asked for an exclusive ‘running area’ to be built inside the ballroom of the Copacabana Place Hotel in Rio, where he and the other Stones will be staying later this month. ( they’re giving a free concert* in Rio on the 18th Feb )
One more detail, he’s asked for the track and surrounding walls to be painted black.
Does Sir Mick’s secret to third-age healthiness rely on a new, as yet undocumented technique - blending cardiovascular exercise with sensory deprivation ?
Really Magazine is in the dark on this one.
( source: O Globo 06/02/2006 )
* Note. The concert is free, but the Stones will, of course, be getting paid by the sponsors.
There will be very serious security concerns for the organisers. Last week, three people died and dozens were injured in a crush at a much smaller free gig in Sao Paulo.
The Stones Copacabana audience is currently being estimated at 1.5 Million - by far the biggest in their very extensive career.
07 FEB 06
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No caption worthy
Here’s a direct link to a high-res picture of a robot camel jockey* ( courtesy of K-Team Robotics in Yverdon-les-bains, Switzerland).
The company manufactures ( amongst other things ) ‘jockeys’ in the form of small boys - as a solution to the sporting upheavals caused when Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates banned child jockeys last year.
The first regional camel race using robots was held in Kuwait on Sunday, with teams from six gulf states pitching their bots against each other.
( * note : the jockey is robotic, not the camel )
06 FEB 06 (late)
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We're not stupid.
more cartoons here :
06 FEB 06
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System Error.
What do the owners of Really Magazine have in common with the bosses of Google ?
As of yesterday, both have had their credit cards rejected at the Gula Gula healthfood restaurant in Rio. ( source: O Globo.)
Both events underline the growing fragility of the credit card system in general. You can be one of the richest individuals on the planet and still be left stranded somewhere with no cash and a bill to pay. Luckily for the Google bosses ( who are on a fact-finding mission re. the Brazilian alcohol industry * ) they had another card with them which worked.
Reader’s comment: ( anon. )
Lynn Truss, in her latest book ‘Talk to the Hand’, had a similar experience. Apparently you're supposed to call the credit card company and tell them where you're going before you board a plane, plastic in hand, to explore the world. Really Magazine, Mr. Visa, can I go to Rio?
Editor’s comment:
My bank used to insist on this, but now they’ve abandoned the idea. They no longer take calls on the subject. Their official policy is that a card may well be rejected if you try to use it in a country which isn’t registered in your previous spending profile – but you " just phone them to reactivate it " . . .
catch 22 ?
there’s no international freephone number you can ring – so,
if you have no cash for a local phonecard, or don’t know how –or
where – to get one, you’re shafted.
* * *
* Note. Errrr . . . why ?
Rumour has it that a certain Mr. Gates is also gearing up interest in exactly
the same subject . . .
03 FEB 06
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