Universal Rule

Book Reviews

Wednesday, March 26, 2003

Will Finland be number one in the future? -- Comment()
Finland is currently the best country in the world based on the performance of the innovation system. But how to stay on top? This question is tackled in a new report by the Ministry of Education titled Knowledge, innovation and internalization: 'The Science and Technology Policy Council of Finland, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, adopted its new review "Knowledge, Innovation and Internationalisation" on 12 December. The review examines the development challenges facing science and technology policy in the coming years and outlines relevant policy. Special attention is paid to the rapidly internationalising innovation environment and the ensuing pressures for structural and operational change in Finland.'

Hit songs by science? -- Comment()
Computer program 'predicts hit songs': 'Record companies are to test a "juke box jury" computer program that can tell if a song is likely to top the charts. Like the guests on the TV pop show, launched in the 1960s and revived in the 1980s, the software predicts whether a tune is going to be a "hit" or a "miss". The program, called Hit Song Science, correctly forecast the success of jazz songstress Norah Jones months before she topped the US charts and won eight Grammy awards. Record company bosses were so impressed that five major labels have decided to try out HSS for themselves, New Scientist magazine reports.'

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Religion helmet simulates brain's God Center: "The experiment is based on the recent finding that some sufferers from temporal lobe epilepsy, a neurological disorder caused by chaotic electrical discharges in the temporal lobes of the brain, seem to experience devout hallucinations that bear a striking resemblance to the mystical experiences of holy figures such as St Paul and Moses." [Boing Boing Blog]

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Open code from Berkman: "Jon Zittrain of Harvard Law School has been doing some good work developing useful and interesting courseware, which the Berkman Center offers for free. If you're interested in helping provide feedback, check out his post to cyberprof." [Lessig Blog]

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Steven Wright: "It doesn't make a difference what temperature a room is, it's always room temperature." [Quotes of the Day]

So true. And hits a nerve. My apartment has been without central heating for most of two days, due to repairing the hot water pipes. Last night the temperature outside went to -5°C, and inside temperature was about 15°C. I sure hope they fix the heating today.