A must-have for mad science laboratories everywhere.

Only you can prevent Gray Goo

] He was quoted as stating that "competent physicists,
] chemists, chemical engineers and men knowledgeable of
] thermodynamics have known that natural petroleum does not
] evolve from biological materials since the last quarter
] of the 19th century."

Hrm. This article is interesting in light of our discussions about energy. It makes two mistakes. First, it grossly overestimates how widely accepted this theory is. There are a lot of articles up on the net about this theory and its author. Largely, they seem to say that this is simply unproven. It might be true, but no one is sure, and there are reasons to be skeptical of it.

The second mistake is what this theory, if true, implies for oil as a resource. It does imply that we have a lot more oil then we think we do, but how much is totally unclear, as the actual theory is unproven. In order to measure the size of something you must first establish that it exists. Also, whether or not oil is "renewable" is debatable. Gold is talking about oil renewal in tens of thousands of year timeframes. Thats a far site more rapid then the millions of year timeframes the presently accepted theories promote. However, its not commerically "renewable" on human timescales.

WorldNetDaily: Sustainable oil?

As it happens, several significant new books ... could settle the debate right now -- if people take the trouble to read them.

Most public debates in the US seem to fall into this category.

Those looking for some facts to go along with their "rich people will destroy our future" hypothesis could do worse then to look at this information (and they typically do). The reality that we've accepted a several degree temperature increase over the next 100 years regardless of who is counting, coupled with recent revelations about bifurcations in the equilibrium states of oceanic systems. The worst case realistic scenario is in fact rather troubling. Not "we're all going to die" troubling, but certainly "England is no longer really a hospitable place to live" troubling.

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

] R. F. Arenstorf from Vanderbilt University has presented
] a 38-page possible proof of the twin-prime conjecture
] using methods from classical analytic number theory.

If correct, this of course implies that there are infinitely many primes, which has been heretofore unproven.

Slashdot | There Are Infinitely Many Prime Twins

Jeremy wrote:
] A scientist shortage? Again? The gloomy warnings are
] back.
]
] A crisis is in the making, says a report.
]
] Overall, a grim picture -- of questionable validity.

See my post in the DMCA Congressional hearing thread...

This author correctly notes that the political/economic system incents lawyers and disincents scientists. It also disincents artists and more recently, engineers. This author is also correct in noting that minor policy decisions which run against the grain of the economy are counterproductive.

I have a great interest in the legal profession and a lot of respect for many good lawyers that I know. However, the ABA readily admits that what large numbers of lawyers do in a society is protect entrenched interests. You have to be an entrenched interest to afford a 6 figure person to protect you. Thats why the ABA is so hopping mad about salaries for public defenders.

A society that incents large numbers of lawyers and disincents artists, scientists, and engineers is a society that is becoming more entrenched. One that is become less creative, less dynamic, and less adaptible.

History is a long list of societies which became entrenched and static and then collapsed under the weigh of changes beyond their control.

What the author is missing is that you have to think outside the box and ask if the system is really taking you in the direction you ought to be going. People who drive cars with blindfolds on don't live very long.

RE: What Scientist Shortage?

Archaeologists have found what they believe to be the site of the Library of Alexandria, often described as the world's first major seat of learning.

Library of Alexandria discovered

Alan Kay rocks.

To those that are unfamiliar with the blue plane-pink plane concept, the concept may sound like an optics notion.

Fortunately, the idea is simultaneously more interesting, straightforward and yet complex.

The different planes are used as a visual model to describe the two major "planes", or ways of thinking, existent today.

Let us explore the meaning of the pink plane. It represents a more black and white way of portraying the universe. It declares that things are either right or wrong, they work or fail; it applauds discrete knowledge over reasoning and derivation of concepts. It is a plane of thought where math and science are memorized facts and equations.

The blue plane, on the other hand, can be described as perpendicular to the pink plane. The two planes might coincide on a line, where the same rules apply in the physical universe, and hence results can be the same, however the means is completely different. In this plane of thought, visualization of concepts and creativity can be used to accomplish what is accomplished in the pink plane by trite memorization.

It can be therefore shown that most advancement in any field has been accomplished by thought in the blue plane -- thought that in the pink plane would be deemed impossible or ridiculous.

You might agree, or disagree with the previous statements and arguments and ask, so what's the point of it all?

The questions I seek to answer are:

How can we learn to switch our universe into the blue plane? Can we learn to be "bi-planar" and support both schools of thought?

If the children are being instructed in the pink plane, can we teach them to think in the blue plane and live in a pink-plane society?

What is to become of those of us past schooling, who are aware of these planes? Are we to dredge on with pink shades over our blue eyes? What other choice do we have, become hermits and form our own seceded blue colony?

Blue Plane, Pink Plane

] The rovers' lifetimes will depend on factors such as
] durability of their electric motors, cumulative effects
] of severe day-night temperature swings, and the amount of
] available power from solar cells, Naderi said. For an
] added $15 million, the $820-million mission has been
] extended to Sept. 13. Mars will pass behind the sun then,
] Naderi said, cutting communications.

Someone asked me about this a few weeks ago. They are apparently running way longer then expected, and NASA has funded further work with them.

Mars rovers still working...

] Researchers are reporting new evidence supporting their
] earlier discovery of an inexpensive "tabletop" device
] that uses sound waves to produce nuclear fusion
] reactions.
]
] The researchers believe the new evidence shows that
] "sonofusion" generates nuclear reactions by creating tiny
] bubbles that implode with tremendous force. Nuclear
] fusion reactors have historically required large,
] multibillion-dollar machines, but sonofusion devices
] might be built for a fraction of that cost.

Freakin cool

Evidence bubbles over to support tabletop nuclear fusion device

] Called the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, or
] BLEEX, it is part of a Defense Advanced Research Projects
] Agency venture designed to help foot soldiers carry
] heavier loads over even longer distances, by connecting
] robotic supports to their legs to reduce the load.

New Scientist - Exoskeleton