Comment Obligatory Simpsons quote (Score 1) 447
"...authorities say the phony pope can be recognized by his hightop sneakers and incredibly foul mouth"
Comment One in two (Score 2, Funny) 156
I don't understand where they got 23% from. There are two possibilities: either it is dark matter or it isn't. Therefore the probability is 50%.
Comment Re:MOD PARENT UP (Score 1) 392
Fluidic space, eh?
Apparently that episode of Voyager wasn't so retarded after all.
Comment Re:Call me pedantic but... (Score 1) 392
That's correct. This is effectly a consequence of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle (IANAP). If you knew there was nothing in the vacuum, you'd know its state precisely, which is forbidden by Heisenberg.
Comment Re:Actually, the Mandelbrot set is already 4D (Score 3, Insightful) 255
Good point. Hamilton was working on multiplying triples when he discovered the quaternions. Perhaps it can't be done in a sensible way.
Comment Re:Actually, the Mandelbrot set is already 4D (Score 1) 255
Ugh, I meant 3-space, sorry.
Comment Re:Actually, the Mandelbrot set is already 4D (Score 1) 255
They defined a way of multiplying points in 2-space equivalent to the "stretch and rotate" interpretation of complex multiplication. The formula for (x,y,z)^2 is given at the top of this page.
It doesn't have the same mathematical structure as the complex plane, but as the article suggested, it may be the case that the "stretch and rotate" property is all you need.
Placebo Effect Caught In the Act In Spinal Nerves 167
SerpensV passes along the news that German scientists have found direct evidence that the spinal cord is involved in the placebo effect (whose diminishing over time we discussed a bit earlier). "The researchers who made the discovery scanned the spinal cords of volunteers while applying painful heat to one arm. Then they rubbed a cream onto the arm and told the volunteers that it contained a painkiller, but in fact it had no active ingredient. Even so, the cream made spinal-cord neural activity linked to pain vanish. 'This type of mechanism has been envisioned for over 40 years for placebo analgesia,' says Donald Price, a neuroscientist at the University of Florida in Gainesville, who was not involved in the new study. 'This study provides the most direct test of this mechanism to date.'"
EU Paves the Way For Three-Strikes Cut-Off Policy 272
Mark.JUK writes "The European Parliament has surrendered to pressure from Member States (especially France) by abandoning amendment 138, a provision adopted on two occasions by an 88% majority of the plenary assembly, and which aimed to protect citizens' right to Internet access. The move paves the way for an EU wide policy supporting arbitrary restrictions of Internet access. Under the original text any restriction of an individual could only be taken following a prior judicial ruling. The new update has completely removed this, meaning that governments now have legal grounds to force Internet providers (ISPs) into disconnecting their customers from the Internet (i.e. such as when 'suspected' of illegal p2p file sharing)."
Comment Re:I haven't tested this thoroughly, but... (Score 1) 232
Euclid used that technique to show that there are an infinite number of primes, but it's not guaranteed to generate primes.
For example (2x3x5x7x11x13)+1 = 59x509
Comment Re:Umm... No. (Score 1) 245
Did you really have to title your post "Umm...No"? You're taking a totally unnecessary confrontational tone.
Right now, all we know is that some guy working at the LHC got arrested for possible terrorist activities. My point was that the reports are so vague that we don't even know if the LHC was an possible target. The papers are just trying to grab readers' attention by printing "LHC" and "Terrorist!" in the same article.
I'm afraid there's not much "Investigative Journalism" to be done here. It's just a matter of waiting around to find out what he's being charged with before kicking up a stink.
Comment Mod parent up (Score 1) 166
For a very smart reference to The Orb
Comment Re:so you don't have to DO anything anymore? (Score 1) 245
Let's not judge either way before all the facts are in and public, okay?
It'd be nice if the papers would hold off reporting on things like this until the facts are in and public. As things stand, they're spreading as much disinformation as information.
Comment Where is the summary getting two thirds from? (Score 4, Informative) 541
The summary is a little sensationalistic. It says 2/3 of parents are avoiding 'flu shots, whereas the article quotes 22% as the figure, with the remainder saying they would definitely vaccinate, or that they would try to vaccinate.
Microsoft, EU Reach Antitrust Accord 219
alphadogg writes "Microsoft appears to have reached an agreement with the European Commission that concludes an antitrust battle that has lasted a decade, Europe's top competition regulator said today. A proposal the company offered in July to address charges of monopoly abuse were dismissed as insufficient by the Commission, as well as by rivals in the software industry. But the latest iteration appears to have mollified the EC's regulator. 'We believe this is an answer,' said competition commissioner Neelie Kroes in a press conference. 'I think this is a trustful deal we are making. There can't be a misunderstanding because it is the final result of a long discussion between Steve Ballmer and me.' The new settlement offer addresses charges that Microsoft distorted competition in its favor in the market for web browsers, by giving its Internet Explorer browser an unfair advantage over rivals."
The Register points out this interesting quote from the materials Microsoft released on the subject: "Microsoft shall ensure that third-party software products can interoperate with Microsoft's Relevant Software Products using the same Interoperability Information on an equal footing as other Microsoft Software Products."
