Peak Everything -- Why Everything Costs More Peak Oil -- No Longer the Right Question A Shell Oil geologist named M. King Hubbert predicted in 1956 that U.S. oil production would peak in the early 1970s. When is -- or was -- peak world oil production? The iconic Peak Oil example has inspired parlor-game questions about other resources. Peak Uranium -- Nuclear Risk Declines Post-Fukushima "Peak uranium" entered the lexicon with peak oil, coal and natural gas in 1956, when Shell Oil geologist Hubbert sketched out his famous resource bell curves. The world reached a uranium production peak in the 1980s, even as consumption climbed. The Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan last year scaled back global nuclear ambition dramatically and raised questions about nuclear power's future. Peak Population -- Driving the Race for Materials Population growth and rising affluence are fueling the fastest and largest modernization binge in history. Sushi eaters have over-indulged in one of the world's most delicious resources.
1920's Automobiles The rapidly growing automobile industry led by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produced new and better models every year to supply the insatiable public demand. Increased wages and lower cost vehicles made possible through mass production meant that cars became increasingly affordable, although 3 out of 4 cars were bought on installment plans. Roads that had been designed for horse transport began to deteriorate under the steadily increasing load of traffic. In 1906 local governments supplied 96 per cent. of the road funding. The funding problem for building and maintaining roads suitable for motor cars was largely solved by the introduction of a tax on gas. Roads (including wooden roads) had to be redesigned and rebuilt to accomodate the automobile, new road rules had to be introduced, standardized road signs erected, and methods of controlling traffic (like traffic lights) implemented in densely populated areas. 1920's Automobile and Road Transportation Resources Vintage Car Clubs
Three New Planets and a Mystery Object Discovered Outside Our Solar System Click on image for high-resolution file. Three planets -- each orbiting its own giant, dying star -- have been discovered by an international research team led by Alex Wolszczan, an Evan Pugh Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State, using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope. Penn State is a major partner in the design, construciton, and operation of this telescope, which is one of the largest in the world. In 1992, Wolszczan became the first astronomer ever to discover planets outside our solar system. Credit: Marty Harris/McDonald Obs./UT-Austin 26 October 2011 — Three planets -- each orbiting its own giant, dying star -- have been discovered by an international research team led by a Penn State University astronomer. The three newly-discovered planetary systems are more evolved than our own solar system. Observations of dying stars, their metal content, and how they affect the planets around them could provide clues about the fate of our own solar system. [ Katrina Voss ]
Arms and Armor—Common Misconceptions and Frequently Asked Questions | Thematic Essay Parrying dagger (pugnale bolognese), ca. 1550–75 Italian Partly gilt steel, brass, and wood; Wt. 15 oz. (425 g) Gift of Jean Jacques Reubell, in memory of his mother, Julia C. Coster, and of his wife, Adeline E. Post, both of New York City, 1926 (26.145.94) The field of arms and armor is beset with romantic legends, gory myths, and widely held misconceptions. Perhaps the most infamous example is the notion that "knights had to be hoisted into their saddles with a crane," which is as absurd as it is persistent even among many historians. The following text will attempt to correct some of the most popular misconceptions, and to answer some of the questions most frequently asked by the public during guided tours of the Museum's arms and armor galleries. Misconceptions and Related Questions Relating Armor Misconceptions and Related Questions Relating Edged Weapons 1. Second, it is wrong to assume that every nobleman was a knight. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Lincoln and the Civil War | Connections | The Metropolitan Museum of Art Harold Holzer1280852 Abraham Lincoln | 1863, printed 1901 | Alexander Gardner (American) | Gelatin silver print | Warner Communications Inc. Purchase Fund, 1976 (1976.627.1)8561024 Abraham Lincoln | 1863, printed 1901 | Alexander Gardner (American) | Gelatin silver print | Warner Communications Inc. Purchase Fund, 1976 (1976.627.1)1126820 Life Mask of Abraham Lincoln | 1860, cast 1886 | Leonard Wells Volk (American) and Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American) | Bronze | Purchase, Jonathan L. Cohen and Allison B. Harold Holzer1280852 I'm Harold Holzer, I'm the Senior Vice President for External Affairs at the Met, and I also write books about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
Psychologists chase down sleep demons UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- What do Moby Dick, the Salem witch trials and alien abductions all have in common? They all circle back to sleep paralysis. Less than 8 percent of the general population experiences sleep paralysis, but it is more frequent in two groups -- students and psychiatric patients -- according to a new study by psychologists at Penn State and the University of Pennsylvania. Sleep paralysis is defined as "a discrete period of time during which voluntary muscle movement is inhibited, yet ocular and respiratory movements are intact," the researchers state in the current issue of Sleep Medicine Reviews. Alien abductions and incubi and succubi, as well as other demons that attack while people are asleep, are implicated as different cultural interpretations of sleep paralysis. Brian A. "I realized that there were no real sleep paralysis prevalence rates available that were based on large and diverse samples," Sharpless said. Also working on this research was Jacques P.
Meditation found to increase brain size Mental calisthenics bulk up some layers By William J. Cromie Harvard News Office People who meditate grow bigger brains than those who don't. Researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found the first evidence that meditation can alter the physical structure of our brains. Brain scans they conducted reveal that experienced meditators boasted increased thickness in parts of the brain that deal with attention and processing sensory input. In one area of gray matter, the thickening turns out to be more pronounced in older than in younger people. "Our data suggest that meditation practice can promote cortical plasticity in adults in areas important for cognitive and emotional processing and well-being," says Sara Lazar, leader of the study and a psychologist at Harvard Medical School. The researchers compared brain scans of 20 experienced meditators with those of 15 nonmeditators. Study participants meditated an average of about 40 minutes a day.
Table of contents (With last update date) Cover Foreword (August 13, 2009) Part 1. Preface to part 1 (April 12, 2000) Chapter 1. 1.1. 1.6. 1.7. Chapter 2. 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 2.4. 2.5. 2.6. Chapter 3. 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 3.4. Chapter 4. 4.1. 4.2. 4.3. 4.4. Chapter 5. 5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 5.4. 5.5. 5.6. 5.7. 5.8. 5.9. 5.10. 5.11. 5.12. 5.13. 5.14. 5.15. 5.16. Chapter 6. 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.6. 6.7. 6.8. 6.9. 6.10. 6.12. Part 2. Preface to part 2 (October 17, 2010) Chapter 7. 7.1. 7.2. 7.3. 7.4. 7.5. 7.6. 7.7. 7.9. 7.10. Chapter 8. 8.1. 8.2. Chapter 9. 9.1. 9.2. 9.3. 9.4. 9.6. Chapter 10. 10.1. 10.2. 10.3. 10.4. Chapter 11. 11.1. 11.2. 11.3. 11.4. 11.5. 11.6. 11.7.The victim/victimizer polar pair 11.8. 11.9. 11.10. Chapter 12. 12.1. 12.2. 12.3. 12.5. 12.6. 12.7. Chapter 13. 13.1. 13.2. 13.3. 13.4. 13.5. 13.6. 13.7. 13.8. 13.9. 13.10. 13.11. 13.12. 13.13. Chapter 14. 14.1. 14.2. 14.3. 14.4. 14.5. 14.6. 14.7. 14.8. Chapter 15. Chapter 16. 16.3. 16.4. 16.5. Part 3. Preface to part 3 (November 18, 2009) Chapter 17. 17.1.
Sleep-deprived people make risky decisions based on too much optimism | Scie... DURHAM, N.C., and SINGAPORE -- The powers that be in Las Vegas figured out something long before neuroscientists at two Duke University medical schools confirmed their ideas this week: Trying to make decisions while sleep-deprived can lead to a case of optimism. The scientists showed, using a functional MRI, that a night of sleep deprivation leads to increased brain activity in brain regions that assess positive outcomes, while at the same time this deprivation leads to decreased activation in the brain areas that process negative outcomes. Sleep-deprived individuals in the study tended to make choices that emphasized monetary gain, and were less likely to make choices that reduced loss. It has been shown that lack of adequate sleep impairs our ability to make decisions, but this has often been attributed to sleep deprivation's effects on attention and memory, and the inability to integrate feedback in an effective manner. The study was published by the Journal of Neuroscience on March 8.
Academic Earth | Online Courses | Academic Video Lectures 10 Websites To Make You Think | The Online Learning Blog from Study2U Supposedly browsing the internet requires more brain power than watching television. Although judging from some of the websites we’ve come across that assumption is cast into doubt. Here’s some of the sites we like that might get your brain to sit up and listen. Ted A conference that started in 1984 bringing together experts in technology, entertainment and design quickly grew into so much more. New Scientist The New Scientist website carries new articles from the magazine as well as the NS archive of over 76,000 pieces. Big Think The Big Think website is a collection of ‘global thought leaders’ who offer their thoughts and analysis on world events and other important developments. Café Scientifque ‘for the price of a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, anyone can come to explore the latest ideas in science and technology’ Breathing Earth This fantastic website by David Bleja demonstrates CO2 emissions and world population growth in real time on a global map. Arts & Letters Daily How Stuff Works