moxy

The efficiency of this machine is make-or-break; if it becomes feasable to use in an arid environment, and it's also cheap to produce, this could be world-changing. My intuition, on the other hand, tells me that this is a long time away from becoming ubiquitous, if it ever does. For one, it uses electricity, and environments which are able to support an electrical system usually can also support plumbing. Though it could make for an interesting addition to an environmentally-friendly home.

I think you're underestimating the limitations of LaTeX. There is more to its functionality than small caps and ligatures. While that may be the topic of this article (which does a fantastic job at weighing the pros and cons of each typesetter/processor), that still does not detract from the vast capability of LaTeX's ability to process equations, particular formats, tables, etc.

Well certainly that's because politicians are not scientists. Assuming we had infinite money and resources, scientists would not need to request grants from institutions.

In a perfect world, we would have no need for politicians because all desires would be maintained and there would be no competition over resources. A politician's job is to serve the greatest vocal majority, or the welfare of the people as a whole (if the majority is not acting in their own best interest).

However, science is squashed by these vocal majorities, as well as by politicians who don't understand the importance of the undergoing scientific research. I believe that it is ignorance which is the greatest enemy of science, not politics.

It's a shame that we have to resort to pandering in order to receive funding.

Now, while I submitted this article because I feel it is important to disseminate this information, I do have a few qualms with it.

For one: "The research suggests that the development of a legal drug that contains certain properties similar to those in marijuana might help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease."

There already is a drug that contains properties similar to marijuana -- it's marijuana. While it may not be legal at the present time, I believe that it is important to, instead of attempting to find a synthetic alternative (which would be far easier to mass produce/sell/market/monopolize) attempt to reconcile the discrepancies within the pro/anti-cannabis legislature to better suit the needs of our current condition.

That said, I was even more disappointed with the article's implication that marijuana is "immoral."

I feel as if these students are forced to adjust to the conditions of their academic system, rather than challenge what they might believe to be fallacious. As a scientific objectivist, this struck me at my core.

Which also reminds me of a comment I just read about the singularity coming within 20 years. It just shows us how limited and distorted our vision of the future of science truly is.

It's simply a question of the rate of diminishing returns when using a program such as LaTeX to typeset. I must say that I prefer Word largely for school-related documents; however, I have been known to write up a report-or-two in LaTeX as well. The final output is superior to what Word can produce, though there are few circumstances wherein it is truly worth the extra time and effort to typeset in such a program.

I can recall an article I read a few months ago, where a couple of researchers took data from an instant messaging service and found that there was, on average, a ~6.6 degree separation between parties.

Just found it. Here you go: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7539329.stm

The singularity is always 20 years ahead.

I feel like these personality tests could essentially delineate any combination of letters and have the user feel as if the judgment represents them. All people are multifarious in the sense that we each share both introverted and extroverted characteristics, albeit usually at different times, and within different circumstances. These words have come to describe behavioral patterns that are not nearly as trenchant as we have come to assume they are.