2003 June

Scientists decoding the human genome have discovered that just 78 genes separate men from women. But what are they? The BBC asks brits to guess: “When faced with flat-pack furniture, men never read the manual. Yet they spend hours reading manuals for cars or bikes they will never own. Linda, UK Women could never invent weapons that kill, only ones that make you feel really bad and guilty until you surrender Dan, UK …” Thanks Ceri BBC NEWS | UK | What are the 78 differences between women and men?

“A recent study by Dr. Daphne Bavelier… just published in the journal Nature, adds enhanced attention skills, the ability to follow multiple objects, and split-second tracking skills to the list of benefits experienced by video game aficionados.” … er OK, so having autistic children that can catch flies is a good thing? Enter the (Algebra) Matrix

This month’s Skeptic column in Scientific American elegantly debunks Bible Code claptrap. One of the things that Shermer points out in the article is that a ‘prediction’ is a statement that something will happen in the future. To look at something written in the past and say that it could possibly be restated to fit something that has already happened is not a prediction. The Bible Code did not ‘predict’ anything, but with a suitably contrived descramber it can ‘postdict’ almost anything, true or false, sense or nonsense. Following the success of Bible Code I comes Bible Code II, such is the power of the parasitic meme. This is bullshit that people want to believe, but no matter how hard they try to, it will always provably be bullshit. Via Boing Boing: Scientific American: Codified Claptrap — The Bible Code is numerological nonsense masquerading as science