Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Promo: 20th Century history from the Monitor. Our new Historic Archive lets you search for and read history as it unfolded in the pages of The Christian Science Monitor. More than 4 million articles cover everything from World War I to Vietnam. Here's a tiny sample of what you can find: More topics to explore: sinking of the Titanic, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Columns by John Gould, America's Bicentennial celebration, the Vietnam war, and many more. The Historic Archive contains digitally-scanned images from the 1908 through 1980. Articles from 1981 to present are in the CSMonitor.com current archive. [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories] 8:59:56 PM    comment []

Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) Ranking of World Universities. My more detailed commentary on these rankings is here. Because the focus there (at my law school site) is on U.S. universities, let me record here the peer evaluation of some non-US universities (why I'm only reporting the peer score... [Leiter Reports] 8:57:20 PM    comment []

The Return of Intelligent Design. So the Kansas Board of Education voted (6 to 4) to include "intelligent design" in the science curriculum in Kansas schools. Yes, I'm outraged,too, but in actuality "intelligent design" has been taught in schools across the country since the late 1940s - courtesy of the Moody Institute of Science (division of the Moody Bible Institute) who had been releasing such science films to schools. One such film is "Carnivorous Plants." On the surface, this film may seem like an average biology film, but like most of films from the Moody Institute of Science, there is an ulterior motive. While revealing the complexity of nature, their films would end with the film saying that this complexity was part of God's plan rather than evolution. Originally, these films were made to use the wonders of science (described as the wonders of God's creation) to attract people to Christianity, but the discounting of evolution sowed the seeds for the modern "intelligent design" movement. Streaming file of "Carnivorous Plants" (courtesy of Internet Archive and AV Geeks) [Stay Free! Daily] 8:56:18 PM    comment []

Intelligence Center Is Created for Unclassified Information. Intelligence officials announced the creation of the Open Source Center, to analyze information from the Web, newspapers and other unclassified sources around the world. By SCOTT SHANE. [NYT > Washington] 8:56:10 PM    comment []

Program and Presentation Descriptions for MLS Gaming in Libraries Symposium. We’ve finalized the program for the MLS Gaming, Learning, and Libraries Symposium and added the descriptions of the presentations we have so far. We should have the last of the info posted in the next day or two. It’s amazing how fast the time goes when planning the day’s events! Registration is still open, so sign up today! [The Shifted Librarian] 7:24:38 AM    comment []

Stat Geek Hits Nothin' but Net. A basketball-obsessed statistical consultant to the Seattle SuperSonics analyzes unusual patterns to gauge talent and give the team a competitive edge. By Hugo Lindgren of Wired magazine. [Wired News] http://www.basketballonpaper.com/ 7:24:20 AM    comment []

Required reading. "Gates, Jobs, & the Zen aesthetic." Key quote: "Restraint is a beautiful thing." (via: Seth Godin) [rexblog: Rex Hammock's Weblog] 7:23:51 AM    comment []

Bees are very smart insects. Researchers from University College London (UCL) have shown that bees are able to solve complicated color puzzles. Their findings may soon lead to the design of sophisticated visual systems for autonomous robots. Links: short version, long version [Smart Mobs] 7:22:13 AM    comment []

Switching Colleges Is Common but Takes a Toll, Study Finds. A new survey has found that college students who switch schools or take courses at more than one school are less engaged in the intellectual and social life of their campuses. By KAREN W. ARENSON. [NYT > Education] 7:21:45 AM    comment []

Grokster Goes Down. In a surprise move, the company settles a piracy lawsuit by taking down its file-sharing service. A new fee-based version of its software will be available from a new parent company. IPod Gets Own BitTorrent Tracker. Podtropolis is devoted to iPod-friendly video, movies and music launches. Plus: At a reunion of the Homebrew Computer Club, Steve Wozniak recalls his early hacker days. From Leander Kahney's Cult of Mac blog. Stem-Cell Hopes Hit Home. When South Korean stem-cell star Hwang Woo-suk put out a call for research volunteers last week, thousands of paralysis patients lined up in hopes of being selected -- and possibly cured. Here's one of their stories. Commentary by Steven Edwards. [Wired News] 7:21:27 AM    comment []