Is lego evil or just highly problematic? I can’t speak to the sexism, but I find the product tie-in model to be agitating. This is kind of cool, though.

People remain in prison for a crime we are still trying to figure out if it’s possible.

Nine stubborn truths about the brain that just won’t die.

One gallon of gasoline can power an iPhone for 20 years.

A critical look at anti-Jitney laws.

Is dynamic parking pricing not working?

Are biased refs good business? It’s common in wrestling entertainment for some local hero to win the title belt for the hometown crowd only to lose it again in short order.

I think this MIT program is awesome. Not only online courses, but certificates!


Category: Newsroom

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9 Responses to Linkluster: Atomic Elements

  1. Peter says:

    Referee bias may be part of the reason why the NBA has become so popular. By not calling traveling on superstars the refs helped facilitate the sort of fast-break action fans like.

  2. Samson J. says:

    I can’t speak to the sexism, but I find the product tie-in model to be agitating.

    I agree with that. I’m terribly disappointed that Lego ain’t what it was when I was a kid and it was my favourite toy. Good thing my mom still has all my old sets – now jumbled together, of course – for my kids to play with!

    Also, did you know you can buy individual pieces, the way I always wanted to but never could because the internet didn’t exist?

    People remain in prison for a crime we are still trying to figure out if it’s possible.

    That is really interesting, for a lot of reasons, but one that stands out to me is the issue of the ever-evolving scientific “consensus”. To be sure, the vast majority of doctors still regard it as a valid and reliable diagnosis. Yeah, so do I, and you know why? Because everyone else does, and it’s what I was taught. Most of what scientists “know” is like that.

    I think this MIT program is awesome. Not only online courses, but certificates!

    I’m telling you, online education is the future.

  3. Brandon Berg says:

    Should I be ashamed to admit that I just figured out the new Linkluster titles?

  4. trumwill says:

    Also, did you know you can buy individual pieces, the way I always wanted to but never could because the internet didn’t exist?

    Last I checked, eBay was an awesome place to get Legos. Many of which belonged to some theme at some time, I’m sure, but people selling off a lot for very cheap.

    To be sure, the vast majority of doctors still regard it as a valid and reliable diagnosis. Yeah, so do I, and you know why? Because everyone else does, and it’s what I was taught. Most of what scientists “know” is like that.

    Nutrition. How many times has everybody known something was good for you or bad for you. The egg is on a friggin’ swingset.

    I’m telling you, online education is the future.

    I definitely think it’s great that things like this are coming to fruition, even if it doesn’t end up shaking everything up. Harvard will always be harvard, Michigan will always be Michigan, but South By Southeast Mississippi State University – which charges the same amout as Ole Miss (or would if it were real) could stand to be replaced by Western Governors University.

  5. trumwill says:

    Should I be ashamed to admit that I just figured out the new Linkluster titles?

    Nah. It’s cool that you did at all.

  6. Bob V says:

    That is really interesting, for a lot of reasons, but one that stands out to me is the issue of the ever-evolving scientific “consensus”. To be sure, the vast majority of doctors still regard it as a valid and reliable diagnosis. Yeah, so do I, and you know why? Because everyone else does, and it’s what I was taught. Most of what scientists “know” is like that.

    This misses the point. The ever-evolving character of science is supposed to be the *good* part about it. If you want something that stays consistent, you are better off picking a religion. Science isn’t a good thing thing to study if you don’t want to be surprised and aren’t willing to let go of what you once believed for something else.

  7. David Alexander says:

    A critical look at anti-Jitney laws.

    It’s interesting to note that the “jitney” system that they’re describing seems to be a car service which is regulated, but legal with few bars to entry here in New York. Just call a number and which in a few minutes, a car is dispatched. Prices and levels of service vary with some being cheap $5 rides around the neighbourhood to $100 rides in a luxury car to the airport catering to the rich and those with corporate accounts. The latter is what put me through Catholic school…

    In New York City, the police routinely bust jitney drivers but thousands of them still operate with the approval of tens of thousands of customers.

    In this case, they’re talking about dudes with vans providing something similar to traditional bus service. FWIW, the main problem with letting anybody play bus driver is that when there’s an accident, said drivers lack the insurance to pay for their damages to other vehicles or their passengers. They could become legal and operate cutaway vans with commercial insurance, something that some drivers have done in New York and New Jersey, but that wipes away their profit except on heavily used routes.

  8. trumwill says:

    The ever-evolving character of science is supposed to be the *good* part about it.

    It’s not the evolving that we’re criticizing, if we’re criticizing anything. It’s the certainty that comes with consensus built upon… that very consensus. It leads to situations where they get it very wrong.

    But then, what’s the alternative? We go forward with what we know or we simply assume we know nothing. Some humility is good, but if we really have reason to believe that shaken baby exists, we probably should act on it. The article points out the downsides to doing so, however.

  9. trumwill says:

    David, you make some really good points.

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