Centives

With the recent announcement that the physicists at CERN who thought they had accumulated evidence against one of Einstein’s key assumptions admitting that it might have been a technical glitch, Slate’s Brian Palmer asked the question: Was Einstein ever wrong? His answer notes that:

• Einstein’s views on quantum mechanics are widely believed by current physicists to be incorrect. In particular Einstein was uncomfortable with the notion that there is an inherent uncertainty to our universe that cannot be quantified through equations, famously remarking that God does not “play dice with the universe.” Niels Bohr is said to have responded “Stop telling God what to do with his dice.”
• Einstein also modified his equations to reflect a universe that was neither expanding nor contracting – in line with the views of other physicists of the era.
• Einstein’s doctoral thesis contained a math error.

To read more about the details of Einstein’s mistakes, why he might still ultimately may have been right upon certain things anyway, and the people who have tried (and failed) to disprove him click here.

Source: Slate

In The Atlantic Nadya Labi looks at a new type of statistical analysis that is taking the criminal justice system by storm: algorithms that predict the likelihood of violent crimes. Some of the things she found include:

• The statistics show that teens are at the highest risk of committing another crime after they have been convicted for the first time. Violent activity decreases with age through the 20s, but reoffenders become more common among those in their late 30s.
• The nature of the crime for which an individual is convicted is not a good predictor of whether or not they will commit a future violent crime. Instead the age and gender of the individual as well as the timing of violent activities matters.
• While the algorithms do not explicitly take race into account, race still manages to find its way into the equations. Certain statistical models take into account the zip codes of the offenders and these can be divided along racial lines.

To read more about how different cities are using these statistics, what the Supreme Court has to say, as well as some of the ethical issues involved, click here.

Source: The Atlantic

Via: Marginal Revolution

Why do the rich store their money in the Cayman Islands? And should you follow their example? Brett Arends at Smart Money examined some of the issues involved:

• Contrary to popular perception, moving your money offshore does not allow you to avoid taxes. Income earned from abroad is taxed in the same way as income earned at home.
• The real reason people move their money abroad is litigation risk – US courts have no jurisdiction over money stashed overseas and you can protect yourself to some extent by stashing your cash abroad.
• Another reason is political risk – with the financial crisis some have lost faith in the American government and have stored their money abroad. If need be they can go renounce their citizenship and go into exile.

To read more about both these risks and ways that you could avoid paying taxes in the United States, click here.

Source: Smart Money

Via: Newmark’s Door

Wired reports on the latest research on human memory formation and what this may mean for the capabilities of future therapies and treatments:

• Memories aren’t permanent stores of information. Instead they are constantly updated so that they are made more relevant to our everyday experiences. Every time we access a memory we change it.
• The biochemistry of this process is now being understood. Some experiments carried out on animals have shown that it’s possible to make animals ‘forget’ specific memories. Using similar processes it might also be possible to significantly increase our memory capabilities.
• In the future it might be possible to take a pill that lets you forget parts of traumatic events. This might sound unnatural but we naturally do this every time we access a memory.
• At first these treatments would be used to help patients deal with crippling pain. Then it might be used to help drug addicts. After that its potential applications are limitless.
• Critics point out that our pain and experiences play an important role in helping us to learn. Moreover while in the past dictators have tried to re-write history books, now they could literally re-write the memories and recollections of individuals if such medicines became common place.

To read more about what science tells us about our memories, the recollections of those who experienced 9/11, and how to select which memories to erase read the five page report here.

Source: Wired

In The Prospect Ramachandra Guha writes that “the Republic of India is home to the most uplifting as well as the most depressing aspects” of democracy. In an article that looks at India’s experience with democracy so far he notes that:

• India’s size and diversity make it an unlikely candidate for democracy. Guha quotes Churchill predicting that India would “fall back quite rapidly through the centuries into the barbarism and privations of the Middle Ages”. Up until the late 60s analysts were predicting that India’s democracy would not survive.
• Yet today India is thought by individuals around the world to be an upcoming superpower.
• Whereas before international scholars were too pessimistic about India, today they might be too optimistic. Within India there is a growing sense that the country is in trouble.
• Guha outlines six challenges that the country faces:
  • Populations within India that want independence from the Republic.
  • A Maoist insurgency.
  • Religious fundamentalism.
  • Corrosion of public institutions.
  • Environmental Degradation
  • Economic inequality.
• Other countries have had to deal with a lot of the same issues, but had the opportunity to deal with them a few at a time. India is facing them all at once.

To read more about each of the challenges that India faces, why democracy can be thought of as a three legged stool, and what Guha ultimately concludes about the future of India’s democracy, click here.

Source: The Prospect

Via: Newmark’s Door

Salon has an “Ask the Pilot” column where Captain Patrick Smith answers questions from readers about airlines. This week’s article included a look at the meals that pilots get. Highlights include:

• Pilots are normally fed the same multi-course meal given to those in first and business class.
• Co-pilots are encouraged to eat different entrees to guard against cases of food poisoning.
• Airbus planes have a special table that pops out for pilots to enjoy their meals. Boeings do not, and because eating can sometimes be messy, pilots go into the cabin to finish their meal.

To read more about the dynamics of feeding pilots, as well as the surprising snacks given to passengers, and why the pilots and cabin crew are normally put in separate hotels click here.

Source: Salon

John Horn and Nicole Sperling at The LA Times took a look at the secretive organization that determines the winners of the academy awards. Some of the things they found include:

• There are almost 6000 voting members that decide who wins the Oscars.
• Among those members 94% are Caucasian. Blacks make up 2% and Latinos make up less than 2%. The academy is 77% male. The median age is 62, and 86% are over the age of 50.
• The older average age of the academy award voters might have been the reason why The Social Network – a movie about the latest trends in technology – lost out to The King’s Speech – a movie about the British Royal Family – for the Best Picture Oscar.
• There are three ways to become a candidate for selection to the voting committee:
  • Be nominated for an Oscar
  • Apply and receive a recommendation from existing members
  • Receive an endorsement from senior members of the committee
• Once you become a candidate, a vote is taken and you must win a majority to be offered membership. If you accept, then you receive lifetime membership.
• Lifetime membership means that the votes of some of the greatest stars such as George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg count for as much as individuals who have had less success, or have even left the industry entirely.

To read more about the Academy’s attempts to diversify itself, how the different branches integrate with one another, and why the voting process favours older individuals click here.

Source: Los Angeles Times

Via: Salon