Comment pity 'bout the statistical methods (Score 1) 78
Regression to the mean is a bitch. Change scores are usually the wrong choice. https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/51/5/1604/6294759?login=false
Why the First Cowboy To Draw Always Gets Shot 398
cremeglace writes "Have you ever noticed that the first cowboy to draw his gun in a Hollywood Western is invariably the one to get shot? Nobel-winning physicist Niels Bohr did, once arranging mock duels to test the validity of this cinematic curiosity. Researchers have now confirmed that people indeed move faster if they are reacting, rather than acting first."
Submission + - Ubuntu switches default Firefox search to Yahoo (ubuntu.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Starting in Lucid, the default search engine for Firefox will be switched from Google to Yahoo. The switch has been made after Canonical "negotiated a revenue sharing deal with Yahoo!". Google will still be available as a choice. Since Yahoo search is now powered by Microsoft's Bing, does this mean Microsoft will be paying people for using Ubuntu?
Submission + - Republicans and Democrats do look different. (plosone.org)
quaith writes: It's not the way they dress, but the appearance of their face. A study published in PLoS One by Nicholas O. Rule and Nalini Ambady of Tufts University used closely cropped greyscale photos of people's faces, standardized for size. Undergrads were asked to categorize each person as either a Democrat or Republican. In the first study, students were able to different Republican from Democrat senate candidates. In the second, students were able to differentiate the political affiliation of other college students. Accuracy in both studies was about 60% — not perfect, but way better than chance.
Colliding Particles Can Make Black Holes After All 269
cremeglace writes with this excerpt from ScienceNOW:
"You've heard the controversy. Particle physicists predict the world's new highest-energy atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva, Switzerland, might create tiny black holes, which they say would be a fantastic discovery. Some doomsayers fear those black holes might gobble up the Earth — physicists say that's impossible — and have petitioned the United Nations to stop the $5.5 billion LHC. Curiously, though, nobody had ever shown that the prevailing theory of gravity, Einstein's theory of general relativity, actually predicts that a black hole can be made this way. Now a computer model shows conclusively for the first time that a particle collision really can make a black hole."
That said, they estimate the required energy for creating a black hole this way to be roughly "a quintillion times higher than the LHC's maximum"; though if one of the theories requiring compact extra dimensions is true, the energy could be lower.
First MySQL 5.5 Beta Released 95
joabj writes "While MySQL is the subject of much high-profile wrangling between the EU and Oracle (and the MySQL creator himself), the MySQL developers have been quietly moving the widely-used database software forward. The new beta version of MySQL, the first publicly available, features such improvements as near-asynchronous replication and more options for partitioning. A new release model has been enacted as well, bequeathing this version the title of 'MySQL Server 5.5.0-m2.' Downloads here."
Submission + - Bing Cashback can cost you money (bountii.com)
paltemalte writes: "Microsoft and various retailers have teamed up to bring you cashback on purchases made via Bings price comparison feature. There is a little snag though — it seems that when you have a Bing cookie living in your browser, some retailers will quote you a higher price than if you come with no Bing-cookie in your system."
Submission + - New Virginia IT Systems Lack Network Backup (timesdispatch.com)
1sockchuck writes: Virginia's new state IT system is experiencing downtime in key services because of a mind-boggling oversight: the state apparently neglected to require network backup in a 10-year, $2.3 billion outsourcing deal with Northrop Grumman. The issue is causing serious downtime for state services. This fall the Virginia DMV has suffered 12 system outages panning a total of more than 100 hours, and downtime hampered the state transportation department when a state of emergency was declared during the Nov. 11 Northeaster. Where was the oversight? Virginia's Secretary of Technology while the system was being implemented was Aneesh Chopra, who is now the federal CTO for the Obama administration.
Submission + - Aussie Minister 'backtracks' on Internet Censoship (theage.com.au)
gballard writes: After the constant furore raised by rights groups, ISPs and concerned citizens over the Australian Government's planned 'internet filter', it seems that Australia Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is finally backing down. In a recent interview, the Minister conceded that many of the sites blocked by the filter were legitimate businesses (including, in one case, a Queensland dentist's homepage) and changed his story on whether the planned filter would restrict 'Refused Classification' websites or use the broader (and more vague) criterion of 'prohibited'.
It's a positive step, but as the article above suggests, at the moment it's only one crack in the defences of a censorship plan with broad ramifications for Australian internet users.
In UK, 12M Taxpayers Lost With USB Stick 258
An anonymous reader tips a piece from the UK's Daily Mail that recounts another sad tale of the careless loss of massive amounts of private user data. "Ministers have been forced to order an emergency shutdown of a key Government computer system to protect millions of people's private details. The action was taken after a memory stick was found in a pub car park containing confidential passcodes to the online Government Gateway system, which covers everything from tax returns to parking tickets. An urgent investigation is now under way into how the stick, belonging to the company which runs the flagship system, came to be lost."
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