bonus prize!

The person who can come up with that solution and employ it is in line for a Nobel prize.

I wouldn't bet on Trump ever receiving that award.

Theoretically, science works great. However, as has already been noted, in the real world in certain fields, the pressure to publish something "substantial" combined with the inability to get grants for certain experiments because they aren't "trendy" right now causes scientists to self-limit the kinds of research they undertake, which is not at all great for increasing human knowledge.

Another problem is the "expert opinion" problem--when someone with little reputation in the field finds something that directly contradicts the "experts" in the field, they often face ridicule. The most famous recent case of this was 2011 Nobel Prize winner Dan Shechtman, who discovered a new type of crystal structure that was theoretically impossible in 1982 and was roundly criticized and ridiculed for it until a separate group of researchers many years later actually replicated his experiment and realized he had been right all along. This web page lists several more examples of scientists whose breakthrough research was ignored because it didn't match the "expert consensus" of the period.

Finally, in the humanities at least, one of the biggest problems in research that uses a quantitative approach (i.e. statistics) is that researchers apply a statistical method to their data, such a as a t-test, without actually demonstrating that whatever being studied follows a normal distribution (i.e bell curve). Many statistical tests are only accurate if what is being studied is normally distributed, yet I've seen a fair share of papers published in respected journals that apply these tests to objects of study that are quite unlikely to be normally distributed, which makes their claims of being "statistically significant" quite suspect.

There are other statistical methods (non-parametric) that you can use on data that is not normally distributed but generally speaking a test of significance on data taken from a normally distributed pool is going to be more reliable. As is noted in this video, the reason these kinds of mistakes slip through into the peer-reviewed journals is that sometimes the reviewers are not nearly as well-trained in statistical analysis as they are in other methodologies.

It seems really strange from an outside perspective. It isn't all that long ago - at least in my memory - when certain types of American were almost celebrating that they were willing to torture and maim people if they 'got their answers'. Even if some of those people were innocent, it was an acceptable price to pay.

When Ed Snowden came out and told us that our governments were spying on us, trawling through our data and tracking our entire history online and in reality through surveillance cameras. The majority of America was against Snowden (in all the polls I've seen) - in any other day he would have been given the Nobel peace prize and celebrated as an all-time hero that stood up to impossible odds just to give the human race full disclosure on their 'freedom'. That's the stuff of legend, the stuff that people should be talking about in 1000 years time like we talk about Genghis Khan or something. Instead he was treated like a traitor and forced to live in exile in Russia because it was the only country that wouldn't hand him over to the torturing, controlling, law-breaking bastards he'd just made to look very stupid..... Gee, I wonder why he didn't want to face "criminal proceedings"? Nothing to hide, nothing to fear - except if you cross the wrong people?

Not too long ago freedom WAS an acceptable sacrifice for security.

When a lunatic got hold of an automatic rifle, killed 50 people and injured another 50, the prevailing argument seems to be "Hey, hey, let's not over react here, we can't sacrifice our freedom because of one terrorist act."

The only difference in this situation is that it isn't about "other people's" freedom and "my security" any more. It is about "my" freedom and "other people's" security.

You probably weren't one of those people, but I think it's fair to preface my comment with that contradiction.

I accept you have a decent point in this case; people shouldn't lose their freedom because the FBI made a mistake. But that's not the question being asked, let's talk about the general case rather than this specific one. The question is does legislation exist that will make mass shootings less common in the US? And I think the answer is yes, but I also think that culture is the biggest factor, not just access to guns.

As an example of what I mean - what if there were legislation that limited his ability to get hold of the weapon, registered that he had expressed an interest with the FBI who could then investigate based on his history? And maybe some other legislation could make it harder in general for him to just go and borrow one of his friends', or steal one from a local lax firing range, or whatever other illegal means exist to get hold of one.... perhaps because there were less in circulation, or those that were in circulation were more stringently secured?

At the end of the day it might not stop him getting hold of one, but it might make it harder and he might have second thoughts or make a mistake and be caught if it were harder. Hell, at least then the families of the dead would be able to say that a CRIME was committed when this fucking lunatic who had been under investigation was allowed to get access to a weapon that could so easily kill or maim a hundred people.

from the source @ youtube:

The animated film, “#Justino,” features a security guard at a mannequin factory. Since Justino works the graveyard shift, he has very few chances to interact with his coworkers. With a little bit of creativity, Justino devises ways to connect with his colleagues by using the factory’s mannequins to create situations both amusing and moving. His coworkers appreciate his playfulness each morning, and find a way to repay his generous spirit in kind.

One new feature this year is social media activation. The factory, “Fábrica de Maniquíes El Pilar,” has its own Facebook profile reporting on its day-to-day activities. And we can follow Justino’s nights in real time via his Instagram account @justino_vigilante.

On Nov. 16, #Justino, from the animated short, became the No. 1 trending topic in Spain and No. 5 in the world on Twitter. The film exceeded 1 million views on YouTube within a day.

A national tradition since 1812, Spaniards look forward to the annual Christmas lottery even if it means standing in line for hours to purchase the tickets. Nicknamed El Gordo, which means “the fat one,” prizes are valued up to more than €2.2 billion, making it the biggest lottery prize in the world.

It’s common to “share” the lottery by buying “participaciones,” or “shared tickets” at offices, with friends and family, and at bars. The belief is that the Christmas lottery is unique because it’s one that Spaniards participate in together, and if they win, they win together.

*talks

She was still *happy. You can always sell/donate the won prizes anyways.

What episode was she in? I kind of want to see it!

Had a math teacher who thought it was funny to mix in two of these millennium prize problems into a test. It brought some students to tears as they thought they were going to fail. A few of us recognized what they were, but most were still pulling out their hair at the end of the period. The teacher's justification was, it would teach us how to identify problems that could not be solved. Unfortunately more than one student was still trying to solve the first MPP and left the remaining 80% of the test blank.

I won a Palm III as 1st place prize for a Quake tournament my freshman year of college. The final match was so close and frantic. (top 3 scores were 33,31,29) Quake II was already out at the time, and going back to Q1 deathmatch was much faster pace.
I brought my headphones and a 3M Precise Mousing Surface with me, both which gave an advantage. Ah Glory Days.

Acceleration is a big factor if you're doing any evasive maneuvering, because turning scrubs speed and you have to gain it back, preferably fast. It's not everything, but it matters.

Don't get me wrong, I do admit there are interesting, possibly unique, even useful features of the F-35, I just don't see any need for it, and certainly not at the price. When was the last time an American was shot down in a jet fighter?

My main issue with this plane is that it's sold as a replacement to nearly ALL other planes, which it had to be because of it's price tag. It doesn't do most of it's 'jobs' as well as the planes it replaces, is incredibly more expensive than they are, and they weren't in need of replacement in the first place, so why did we have this $1.3 trillion poorly performing jobs program for the aerospace industry during an economic crisis? We had much better things to spend that money on, and killing this plane project would not make us a whit less safe or ready.

Nice, I like that idea, a swarm of jammer drones to eliminate all electronic advantages. I'll put your name in the hat for the evil super genius prize this year.

Agreed, the 1 on 1 fighting scenario is not the plan anymore. That doesn't mean it never happens though, or won't ever happen in the future, and as Americans we want/expect to win every single time.

That's certainly your choice. I'll roll the dice any day if it means bacon. I respect your right to take or avoid the risks you wish until you try to remove my right to make my own choice.

It would be nice, but no, wild boar are notoriously dangerous and aggressive, and also incredibly destructive and fertile, I don't think a sterilization program would work for many reasons. What they really need is a huge, repeating, mass hunt with big prizes (to get enough people to join for a clean sweep) so they actually eradicate them. Leaving them alive in the wild, even if neutered (which I don't think could work on pigs, since one missed female can repopulate so quickly) means years of horrendous destruction of the already endangered habitats in Hawaii.
BUSTED!!! I knew it. I've wanted to ask one of you...do pigs know what to say to someone who says to them "When pigs fly"?
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A: 2009 buddy....swine flu.

Hes more open about his lies. Thats about it.
There have been many revelations about politicians which showed that they are liars and often pretty much criminals and even mass murderers. I myself remember having huge hopes in Obama, and then he turned out to be no better than Bush in his foreign policy. Giving him the peace prize was much worse than some "Trump products", because it was from other people. He pretty much conned them into giving him that prize. Just look at what we have today all over the world. So I still dont see much difference.

"The pinnacle of motor sport met the pinnacle of winter sports" and jumped the shark on Red Bull's retarded string of perceived amazing stunts.

Next up... A trans turtle space fairing balloonist vs. the world championship BLT sandwich making Badminton player in a duel of wits as they race to the top of Olympus Mans on the red planet. The first competitor to the top must chug a jar of pickled mushroom bell bottoms to claim the prize of most inane competition.

Join us on Sunday with Marv Albert in his lingerie to take in this one of a kind Redbull bullshit competition.

Seriously, this is starting to feel like the strange crap Wide World of Sports put out in the 70's.

ive never been to the middle east, but for various reasons had friends from several different countries in and around the area. i think the answer is simple: muslims, like christians, jews, mormons are not all alike (ok not sure about the mormons!), and even if you have a st augustine or a ghazali saying thats how it should be there will always be those who disagree, vocally or quiet like. Hes right that the culture changed, and he's right that its tragic that arab scientists are basically the butt of a joke, but i think its difficult to ommit that the peak of arab science also coincided with a peak in their power and resources. How many african nobel prizes are there in that period? or from indigenous peoples? Im not saying they are stupid, just that its difficult to get an award for cutting edge top notch science when you are at a serious deficit in resources.

Alone in the category of overrated drummers who prize technical ability and a massive kit over groove and feel.

Give me John Bonham any day. Or even Dave Grohl.

Hell, I'd rather have Animal!