24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Scale Analysis VS Magnitude Comparisons
There are some subtle facts about scale analysis that make it more powerful than simply comparing orders of magnitude. A most remarkable example is that scale analysis can be applied, through a systematic use of dimensions, even when the precise equations governing the dynamics of a system are not known. The great physicist G. I. Taylor, a character whose prolific legacy haunts any aspiring scientist, gave a famous demonstration of this deceptively simple approach. In the 1950s, back when the...Folksonomies: quantification
Folksonomies: quantification
Giulio on how this technique was used to estimate the power of a secret nuclear blast from a photo.
30 AUG 2012 by ideonexus
An Exercise for Cultivating a Positive Outlook on Life
It's possible to change your cognitive bias by training the brain to focus more on the positive than on the negative. In the lab, Dr. Fox showed subjects pairs of images, one negative (the aftermath of a bomb blast, say) and one either positive (a cute child) or neutral (an office). Participants were asked to point out, as quickly as possible, a small target that appeared immediately after each positive or neutral image—subliminally requiring them to pay less attention to the negative images,...Folksonomies: cognitive behavioral therapy cbt
Folksonomies: cognitive behavioral therapy cbt
Write down four positive things for each negative thing that happened to you at the end of each day.
03 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Nuclear Bombs End Large-Scale Warfare
The last few centuries have seen the world freed from several scourges—slavery, for example; death by torture for heretics; and, most recently, smallpox. I am optimistic enough to believe that the next scourge to disappear will be large-scale warfare—killed by the existence and nonuse of nuclear weapons.An accurate prediction by a physicist who worked on them.