We can requote it. We have the keyboards.

Studies done on human babies under one year of age show that they have a concept of number up to three. (Source: ... I forget, but it's one of Keith Devlin's books.) These studies are based on the idea that babies stare longer at things that aren't expected -- so if you show them one object, then a second object, then hide them both and then reveal two objects, they are less surprised than if one object plus one object becomes three objects.

However, starting with four, the "innate math" of the brain fails. Everything after the number three is invented by human civilization. This is more remarkable when you consider that language IS innate to the human brain -- normal humans anywhere will develop a complete language, vocabulary and grammar with past and present tenses even if they aren't taught it by adults. (Source: my own head. I'd actually like to know if this is authoritative.)

The practical upshot of this is: yes, math is hard. The human brain isn't designed/evolved to do it at any level beyond "one, two, three, lots."

Considering the cult of ignorance North Korea has maintained among its own people for decades, this is probably exactly what the locals believe.

For the same reason that FaceTime has to look like an old-school movie camera, or the YouTube app is an old brown tube television, or the Contacts app is an old leather address book, or the "Phone" icon is an old telephone handset, or the clock app is an old analog circular clock....

It's all about instant recognition. A yellow spiral notepad says "notepad" instead of "word processor", which is probably what Apple doesn't want it to be used as.

But you do need to be on a data plan for a cell phone provider, and as far as I know, OS X desktop only supports wi-fi or ethernet networking.

A moon rocket is so expensive that only one country in the history of the world has ever built them, and they stopped after a few years when they realized no one was racing them anymore.

That's the best part, though -- it's the proteins in the ECM that make it work, apparently by attracting native stem cells, so the ECM is species-neutral. Got a problem with using a pig? Get it from a cow, or a human donor.

Agreed. Jailbreaking the OS is like signing a release before you skydive out of an airplane: you're admitting you don't want to play it safe and voluntarily take on all possible risks yourself.

Copyright law goes hand-in-hand with patent law. Patents govern who can make those actual products. China's flagrant disrespect for patent rights is almost as bad as their disrespect for copyright, and it means that if other countries manufacture in China, they have to assume their designs will be stolen and pirated sooner or later.

Like it or not, there should be SOME incentive for innovators and creators to continue to innovate and create, without having to rush to be first to market in order to make any money on it.

Android may have more software features, but the hardware is a little behind. The only true Android OS for a tablet requires hardware that costs at least $100 more than a comparable iPad.

And that's not even looking at the differences in their app libraries.

Finally, it'll be possible to buy an iPad or iPod Touch and use (and upgrade) it without syncing it to a PC. This was a big issue, for instance, for people (like my wife) who want an iPad as a second computer but whose first computer is too old to run iTunes 10. (She solved that problem by taking it back to Best Buy and having them start it up.)

Nintendo gives the 3DS a switch to turn the 3D off completely. They've basically told developers that it's a gimmick, not an essential gameplay feature, and that they shouldn't make games that rely upon this feature.

Given that's the case, why would most developers stick their neck out to use it at all? Without a must-have exclusive game, Nintendo will always have trouble getting people to replace their DSi with something that costs almost twice as much.

Paying $8 a month isn't a hardship and you're contributing to our culture by paying those who produce our entertainment rather than leeching and not giving back for what you receive.

Sums it up nicely. For years we've been complaining that we'd gladly pay a reasonable fee for unlimited streaming, and not only does Netflix finally deliver that, it does it on more internet-enabled devices than any other provider.

There was one episode of ST:TNG from season 1 that I never, ever got to see the beginning of. No matter how many times it popped up in syndication and reruns, I always tuned in just after the title sequence.

I'm not sure how, but I believe this is related to the phenomenon where, when there's a popular syndicated show you almost never watch, on the rare occasions that you do tune in you always see the same episode.

May be a good time to post Neil Gaiman's blog entry on why George R.R. Martin is not your bitch.