That's just too weird to be true. Isn't it?
search
Try to wrap your mind around the stats involving Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite makes rats seek cats, but is it also altering the cultures of entire nations? Skewing the sex ratios of affected populations? Doubling the chances of traffic accidents?
Rats—like people—experience metacognition. To paraphrase Clint Eastwood, a rat's smart enough to know its own limitations.
Am I the only one amused by the fact that this was determined by a multiple-choice test?
During January's CES, John Atkinson and I attended a Furman Sound press briefing, where we became acquainted with the company's new line of power conditioners.
I enjoyed listening to Furman's Garth Powell discuss the importance of pure AC. I wrote:
He's as intense as some of the most beautiful music we've heard at the show, sharing his ideas with a conviction appropriate for song, and punctuating his lyrics with a clap of the hands and a fist into palm: "When that power comes through," he says, "BAM!"
And now I've just quoted myself. I'm not sure what…
I was reading Alex Ross's spot-on "Burying the Lede" this morning, when I followed a link to an essay he'd published in The New Yorker back in February that you simply must read.
Are scientists getting close to telepathy?
"The concept of keeping your thoughts private could be profoundly altered in the future."
A few days ago, I briefly mentioned the fact that our totally radical magazine is also available in digital attire. It was on my mind because Dave Jenne, one of the production dudes at Zinio (our digital publishing partner), had sent me the link to our April issue. Dave sends me an e-mail each month. And it goes a little something like this:
The Apr07 issue of Stereophile has been posted to the Publisher Approval site for your review. As a reminder, we are expecting to receive your final approval and post this issue by the dates below.
Final Approval by: 3/16/2007
Scheduled…
Timothy Mangan has a nice interview with Murray Perahia in the OCRegister. It's good to have him back performing.
When I worked at a classical label back in the '80s, I was talking to a Sony executive and complimented him on the success of Perahia's Mozart piano concerto series. He laughed ruefully, saying, "You have no idea how hard we had to work to make that happen. We released 8 LPs before even one of them was in the black. We kept releasing discs because we believed in Perahia."
Contrast that with today. I was talking to an A-list classical musician not long ago, whose label…
The Chronicle of Higher Education makes the case that Idol's popularity reflects "a hunger for realistic evaluation."
"Time and time again, contestants in the early episodes of this year's season whine obviously off key and then insist they are highly talented—in spite of the judges' protestations."