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Comment: Re:supercapacitors are cool (Score 3, Insightful) 295

by overshoot (#43767959) Attached to: Charge Your Cellphone In 20 Seconds (Eventually)

the energy density [usc.edu] this supercap has is on par with batteries: 20Wh/kg

The grandparent quotes a battery capacity of 10 Wh. That's not remotely a 500 grams stuck into a corner of a cellphone. For comparison, my cellphone battery is 1650 mAh and 33 grams. That's 185 Wh/kg. I wouldn't call 185 and 20 "on par."

Comment: Re:Not to mention... (Score 2) 455

by overshoot (#43646329) Attached to: Why Your New Car's Technology Is Four Years Old

Take a consumer SSD and put it in a deep freeze to -50C look it still works!

See what the data retention is like after it's been parked for a few years in Arizona.

$EMPLOYER builds chips for the auto trade (and not just under the hood.) As a matter of fact, I design chips for the auto trade. And they are serious as death about data retention across temperature and have the hard data to show why. Those HDR (high data retention) chips cost more, and if there's one thing I've learned in almost 40 years of making semiconductors for the auto industry, they never spend a penny more than they have to. As far as they're concerned, every penny they spend has to be surgically removed from the CEO's nutsack.

Comment: Re:Both (Score 5, Insightful) 121

Otherwise, your blood sugar drops and you wind up eating to make up the calories.

If you're lucky. Sometimes someone gets unlucky and goes into insulin shock. If they're lucky, someone gets some sugar into them stat.

Sometimes they're unlucky and a cop tries smacking them around for driving (or walking, or sitting) drunk. This doesn't end well.

Comment: Re:Yes and no (Score 1) 276

by overshoot (#43539341) Attached to: Terrible Advice From a Great Scientist

That sounds mighty suspicious to me: I challenge you to offer any credible example where having maths is a liability.

In its simplest form, the hypothesis "X is caused by Y" (think peptic ulcers) is a simple concept exercise -- trying to express it in math is a distraction.

Testing the hypothesis -- even at the preliminary "does this pass the laugh test" stage -- is where the math becomes essential.

Comment: Re:Title and summary (Score 1) 276

by overshoot (#43510189) Attached to: Terrible Advice From a Great Scientist

there are plenty of interesting areas of study that don't require Calculus+ areas of math proficiency (sociobiology being one).

Good luck passing the quals in sociology without a boatload of statistics that engineers never see, including formal design of experiments. Biology, at least according to the biologists I know, is much the same.

Comment: Yes and no (Score 2) 276

by overshoot (#43509659) Attached to: Terrible Advice From a Great Scientist

Math is not necessary -- in fact it can be a serious liability -- in formulating hypotheses. For instance, much of sociobiology. On the other hand, it's indispensable for testing those hypotheses and sorting the valuable ideas from the attractive bullshit.

Which category holds much of sociobiology is a question beyond my own skills.

Comment: Temperatures (Score 2) 235

by overshoot (#43190279) Attached to: Smartest Light Bulbs Ever, Dumbest Idea Ever?

I just wish more came in 4000K rather than 3200K.

Most people use lighting at night, before going to bed. There's a fair bit of research to the effect that high-temperature light before sleep interferes with sleep quality.

Office lighting is another matter entirely -- there, high temperature light is not only good for vision but increases alertness.

You have all eternity to be cautious in when you're dead. -- Lois Platford

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