Monday, December 12, 2005

Most Stolen Identities Never Used. This is something I've been saying for a while, and it's nice to see some independent confirmation eliminating it until there's something else in its place. [Schneier on Security] 7:36:40 PM    comment []

"He was a funny motherf---er". Richard Pryor's friends and colleagues -- Gene Wilder, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and others -- share their first impressions of the comedic bad boy. [Salon] 7:36:21 PM    comment []

Sen. Eugene McCarthy remembered. Russell Baker, David Frost, Larry King, Gloria Steinem, Tip O'Neill and others recall their encounters with the legendary senator. [Salon] 7:35:57 PM    comment []

Bees recognize human faces. Scientists have demonstrated that honeybees can recognize human faces, sometimes for days. Adrian Dyer of the University of Cambridge and his colleagues trained the bees to associate photographs of particular human faces with a sugary treat. Later, five bees were able to pick out the right face from a group of others. The results of the study, reported in the Journal of Experimental Biology, may eventually aid the development of computer vision systems. From World Science: “Two bees tested two days after the initial training retained the information in long-term memory,” they wrote. One scored about 94 percent on the first day and 79 percent two days later; the second bee’s score dropped from about 87 to 76 percent during the same time frame. The researchers also checked whether bees performed better for faces that humans judged as being more different. This seemed to be the case, they found, but the result didn’t reach statistical significance. The bees probably don’t understand what a human face is, Dyer said in an email. “To the bees the faces were spatial patterns (or strange looking flowers),” he added... Dyer said that if bees can learn to recognize humans in photos, then they reasonably might also be able to recognize real-life faces. On the other hand, he remarked, this probably isn’t the explanation for an adage popular in some parts of the world—that you shouldn’t kill a bee because its nestmates will remember and come after you. Francis Ratnieks of Sheffield University in Sheffield, U.K., says that apparent bee revenge attacks of this sort actually occur because a torn-off stinger releases chemicals that signal alarm to nearby hivemates. Says Dyer, “bees don’t normally go around looking at faces.” Link to World Science article, Link to abstract in Journal of Experimental Biology [Boing Boing] 7:35:51 PM    comment []

Three from BNA News: P2P CLOGGER TO STOP PRACTICE OF PLANTING FALSE FILES A leading service that attempted to dissuade people from using file-trading networks like Kazaa, by planting millions of fake files online, is being shut down. Seattle-based Loudeye is shuttering its Overpeer division, effective immediately, in an attempt to bolster the parent company's bottom line. Overpeer rose to prominence in 2002, offering record companies and movie studios a way to discourage would-be file-swappers looking for hit music or films. MUSIC PUBLISHERS PLAN SUITS AGAINST ONLINE LYRICS SITES Warner Chappell, one of the largest music publishers, is leading a crackdown on websites that offer free song lyrics, scores and guitar licks. The firm has shut down a leading freeware operator, an Australian-based website called pearLyrics, by issuing a "cease and desist" letter from London, claiming it enabled people to copy and download copyrighted lyrics. [Telegraph] NBA TO CREATE DIGITAL ARCHIVE The NBA is setting out to create a digital archive of the entire filmed history of its games, from legendary contests between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers to seemingly meaningless late-season games between out-of-contention teams. The archive will be available at NBA.com. 12:17:23 PM    comment []

Kurdish youth hold key to power. World: Pop star drafted in as voters threaten to stay away in protest at living conditions. The stadium is packed, the speakers are blaring and legendary pop star Zakaria is bouncing around on stage, revving up the crowd with the hits that have made him a hero for local Iraqi Kurds. But when he pauses for some trademark audience participation, it becomes clear the star has not been flown in from his home in Sweden to shift CDs. Instead of rousing fans to sing along to his anthems, Zakaria has other numbers for them. "Seven-three-zero, seven-three-zero," he chants. The figure 730 is the official number assigned to the Kurdistan Alliance for this week's elections, the first under the new constitution ratified in October, and a landmark moment in Iraq's transition to democracy. The concert is part of an urgent last-minute push by Kurdish leaders to get increasingly disgruntled voters to turn out, the last steps towards democracy in Iraq: installing a full-time parliament and government in Baghdad.  . . . "Kurdistan is a young society; the vote of people under 30 is vital for us so we can achieve our goals in Baghdad," said Kosrat Rasoul, head of the alliance's election campaign and a senior Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader. Kurds would work to secure a "democratic, federal, pluralist Iraq", he said. Kurdish politicians have criss-crossed their mountainous homeland, hosting youth forums, appearing on talkshows and announcing projects to revive the education system. But it may be too little too late. The last few months have seen street protests and student strikes across Iraqi Kurdistan. Protesters have railed at everything from lack of electricity and fresh water in student dorms to corruption among local officials, spiralling housing costs and the control on daily life exercised by the two parties. The Kurds, who make up about 20% of the Iraqi population, have a lot at stake. They have enjoyed a period of peace and relative prosperity that Iraqis elsewhere have come to envy. Roads and hospitals are being built. The cities of Irbil and Sulaimaniya boast new international airports. Hotels are packed with visiting businessmen. But a poor showing at the polls could see Kurdish leaders losing the powerful political leverage they have wielded in Baghdad since the fall of Saddam Hussein. That could endanger plans to put as much distance as possible between the Kurdistan region and central government, as well as jeopardise ambitions to include the contested oil-rich city of Kirkuk within their federal entity. [Guardian Unlimited] 6:38:50 AM    comment []

"Beneficial Retirement" of Senior Philosophers. Moral philosopher Saul Smilansky at Haifa University in Israel writes with the following interesting remarks: I thought that you might be interested in a topic of concern to our profession, that I've recently raised in a short paper in Ratio called "The Paradox of Beneficial Retirement". It should be easiest to explain the issue by thinking about philosophical jobs: in every junior jobs search we've had in my department, we have had applicants in double figures. Half aren't very good, and maybe 3-4 will get a job in another research university in Israel (there are just 5 of those!). This means that every few years a number of promising young philosophers won't find good jobs. And some potentially excellent candidates will not pursue their studies even up to that level, knowing that "few die and none retire". But at the same time there are in every department philosophers who are not as good, and are closer to retirement.  Were they to leave their jobs earlier, those younger philosophers would be able to get in, to the benefit of the department, the students and the profession. I don't know the American scene very well (my only lengthy presence in the US as an adult was two years ago during a sabbatical at Rutgers, whose graduates should do very well in the job market), but I suspect that - apart from the numbers, of course - the situation is similar. My argument is an "argument from integrity", suggesting that professionals who are below average (the left side of the bell curve) should consider leaving their profession, since (given certain plausible assumptions) if they leave, they are very likely to be replaced by someone better than themselves. Perhaps you will be interested in airing this "dark secret" of our profession. It has recently been taken up in the economics blog "marginal revolution" (though most of the economists who responded did not get the argument and were uninterested in the philosophical and moral aspects, and many were simply nasty. It's an interesting sociological document.) The situation in the U.S. isn't always as stark--partly because the awarding of lines isn't always tied to retirements, and partly because a retirement doesn't necessarily guarantee a line (sometimes the "line" is given to another unit).  But I wonder what philosophers think of the issue raised by Professor Smilansky? [Leiter Reports] Not a new issue, natch, but may yield some engaging discussion over at Brian's blog. 6:32:41 AM    comment []

Highly Recommended: Open Access News [unmediated] 6:30:58 AM    comment []

Finding a needle in a haystack of data. Researchers from Case Western Reserve University have created new statistical techniques to isolate useful signals buried in large datasets coming from particle physics experiments. Their method could be applied to a broad range of applications, like discovering a new galaxy or monitoring transactions for fraud. Links: short version, long version [Smart Mobs] Curious. I wonder what the false positive risks are with this? Different for physics and for law enforcement, of course. 6:30:38 AM    comment []

Reminder: "Life Trumps Blogging". Reminder: Life trumps blogging. At least it does for most sane, balanced people. -- Walt Crawford While this blog is not quite dead (yet?): Family trumps blogging. Health trumps blogging. Work trumps blogging (unless blogging is your life or work, ...). As a tool, blogging isn't something "everyone" needs to do, and it isn't something that you need to keep doing even when it no longer meets your needs. I gained a few readers from the DMCA events recently, many of whom promptly left again (sorry folks). If work and health permit, there are still a few essays I want to write and post. But life/health/work have to trump blogging. [Infothought] Seth, I want you to have a good life. But I'd be happiest if that were consistent with you blogging about your research. 6:30:32 AM    comment []

Handhelds Go to School. School districts integrate PDAs, laptops and remote-control clickers into curriculums as they try to engage students used to instant messaging and interactive games. Some wonder if these 'digital natives' will grasp the basics. [Wired News] Digital natives. Twice so far this week. 6:28:48 AM    comment []

Should I leave grad school to be an activist?. I love teaching radical philosophy. But when is it time to practice what I teach? [Salon] 6:28:43 AM    comment []