20 JUN 2017 by ideonexus
Underreported Atheists
The authors of the study, published earlier this year, adopted a novel way to measure atheist identity. Instead of asking about belief in God directly, they provided a list of seemingly innocuous statements and then asked: “How many of these statements are true of you?” Respondents in a control group were given a list of nine statements, such as “I own a dog” and “I am a vegetarian.” The test group received all the same statements plus one that read, “I do not believe in God.” The totals from... 1 
notes
notes05 JUN 2017 by ideonexus
Reading Fiction is to Temporarily Believe Nonsense
The weather bureau will tell you what next Tuesday will be like, and the Rand Corporation will tell you what the twenty-first century will be like. I don't recommend that you turn to the writers of fiction for such information. It's none of their business. All they're trying to do is tell you what they're like, and what you're like—what's going on—what the weather is now, today, this moment, the rain, the sunlight, look! Open your eyes; listen, listen. That is what the novelists say. But they... 1 notes
notes09 JAN 2017 by ideonexus
Cultural Homogenization Makes Travel Pointless
But she thought of Kuno as a baby, his birth, his removal to the public nurseries, her own visit to him there, his visits to her-visits which stopped when the Machine had assigned him a room on the other side of the earth. "Parents, duties of," said the book of the Machine," cease at the moment of birth. P.422327483." True, but there was something special about Kuno - indeed there had been something special about all her children - and, after all, she must brave the journey if he desired it. ... 1 notes
notes01 JAN 2017 by ideonexus
Acquire as little software as you can get by with, and st...
Acquire as little software as you can get by with, and stick with it. That's hardware critic Richard Dalton's advice. It's easy to get so caught up in the constant onrush of improvements and "next generations" in the software market that you wind up forever getting ready to work instead of working. You can buy last year's computer cheap, get last year's software, which runs beautifully on it by now, take the month to get fully running with it, and then turn your back on the market for a coupl...Folksonomies: productivity
Folksonomies: productivity
1 notes
notes24 FEB 2015 by ideonexus
Elaboration on the RPG Definition
Instead of snakes and ladders, we'll put in hidden doors and secret passages. Don't roll a die to see how far you move; you can move as far as you want. Move down the corridor to the intersection. You can turn right, or left, or go straight ahead, or go back the way you came. Or, as long as you're here, you can look for a hidden door. If you find one, it will open into another stretch of corridor. That corridor might take you straight to the exit or lead you into a blind alley. The only way t...Folksonomies: rpg role-playing games
Folksonomies: rpg role-playing games
1 18 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Developing Puzzle Games Requires Experimentations
...you need fewer art assets to build a simple puzzle game. This is
very good news for small developers, and for those just starting out in gaming. One
or two people can build a world-class puzzle game. It would be next to impossible for
one or two people to build a world-class third-person action game from scratch (and
be finished by the end of the millennium). Puzzle games generally require puzzle
pieces, such as blocks, widgets, shapes, or gizmos of some kind. Once you have built these obj...Folksonomies: game development
Folksonomies: game development
1 notes
notesThe entry-bar for building a puzzle game is low because they don't require many complex graphics, but the rhythm and heartbeat of the game require playing with variables and tweaking ideas.
01 JUN 2013 by mxplx
"Healthy Aging" is not enough
“The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”
http://www.longecity.org/forum/page/index.html/_/articles/action/brokenportal2010Folksonomies: science immortality
Folksonomies: science immortality
Achieving indefinite life extension is the most important, urgent, and time-sensitive cause ever undertaken in the history of humanity,Regardless of whether we ultimately find that we can achieve indefinite life extension or not, we need to go all the way and see. Our lives- this amazing shot at this incredible mysterious existence- depend on it. We can not afford to sell ourselves short on this.
sentiments expressed by proponents of the compression of morbidity, though very noble and well meaning, are misleading and harmful to this cause.
09 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Fascination Found in Manure
...after my first feeling of revulsion had passed, I spent three of the most entertaining and instructive weeks of my life studying the fascinating molds which appeared one by one on the slowly disintegrating mass of horse-dung. Microscopic molds are both very beautiful and absorbingly interesting. The rapid growth of their spores, the way they live on each other, the manner in which the different forms come and go, is so amazing and varied that I believe a man could spend his life and not ex... 1 notes
notesDavid Fairchild describes the endless forms of mold found here.
