| Thus Spake Science |
[Dec. 11th, 2003|12:28 pm] |
Pretty women scramble men's ability to assess the future
Psychologists in Canada have finally proved what women have long suspected - men really are irrational enough to risk entire kingdoms to catch sight of a beautiful face.
Biologists have long known that animals prefer immediate rewards to greater ones in the future. This process, known as "discounting the future", is found in humans too and is fundamental to many economic models.
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This behaviour makes perfect sense from an evolutionary perspective. It also explains the "blond" jokes, since men feel pretty stupid "the day after" and project the feeling onto the perceived cause of the action (the proverbial blond woman). The same goes for the smart vs. beautiful attitude toward women.
Now we can rationally consider the male fear of a beautiful businesswomen, because in reality she actually "dumb's down" her male opponents/colleagues. This is very similar to "witchcraft" in the earlier times.
I wonder if/how it applies to gays.
A practical note:
1) try to secure participation of at least one cute female in a brainstorming session;
2) try to exclude cute females from strategy meetings; (sorry)
2a) know the type of women you like, and apply [2] only to those;
3) try hard not to be stupid in the presence of a beautiful woman(!);
4) find a female marketing partner.
Nam et ipsa Scientia Potestas est! Francis Bacon |
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| Don't worry, be [pragmatically] happy! |
[Dec. 11th, 2003|01:14 pm] |
Fear of new things shortens life
Animals with an innate phobia of novelty have higher levels of stress hormones after a new experience and die significantly younger than their braver kin, new research has found. The work suggests that a lifetime of fearful stress can take an accumulated toll on health.
Living longer is a good thing, but in dangerous environments - say, full of predators or poisonous plants - the rat that runs away from the unknown may live to pass on its genes another day. |
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[Dec. 11th, 2003|04:09 pm] |
Читаю на русском "Казе", Харуки Мураками. Очень полезная книга. В главе, где рассказывается об отце Крысы разбогатевшем на средстве для прочистки труб, я вдруг понял, что забитые осенними листьями водостоки, можно, наверное, пробивать чем-то вроде Liquid Plumber. Интересно, почему мне это не пришло в голову раньше, даже мысли такой не было - задуматься. Погода замучила. Почти каждый день идет дождь. Вчера в журнале у ![[info]](http://lj.rossia.org/img/userinfo-lj.gif) marusja@lj прочитал самую лучшую запись недели:
Никогда не думала, что в Америке протекают крыши :)
Вода капает ужасно бодренько, и все имеющиеся тазики уже задействованы, а я вспоминаю разнообразные фильмы про кораблики, где герои черпают воду и кричат сорванными голосами.
Когда я уезжал, наверное, тоже так думал.
Между прочим, у sfbayarea_ru хорошие друзья. Не хуже Мураками. Рекомендую. |
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| Delay Line Memory Systems |
[Dec. 11th, 2003|09:23 pm] |
Found two interesting developments separated by 50 years. It becomes clear from the first example that the approach proposed in the second example most likely will not be used for its intended purpose (storing data for a quantum computer)
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The History of Computing Technology, by M.R. Williams, talks about "The first device to gain widesparead acceptance as a reliable memory system". ( Read more... )
BBC Science News describes the recent expreriment for "freezing" light ( Read more... ) |
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[Dec. 11th, 2003|09:40 pm] |
Almost got into an argument with arbat@lj on his complaints wrt latest decision of the US Supreme Court. Then I thought: what for? I tried to convince him of something, don't remember what now, a couple of times before, to no avail. It took us forever to [respectfully?}] disagree, which was the case from the very beginning. So, I decided to spend the precious time riding my bike and/or reading a book.
Good night everybody! |
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