Interesting Stuff Thread

When more than 9,000 women ages 14 to 45 in the St. Louis area were given no-cost contraception for three years, abortion rates dropped from two-thirds to three-quarters lower than the national rate

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

Meanwhile,, something anyone would have guessed, free access to contraceptives sends abortion rates through the floor.

magicbastarder wrote: »

anything that is suitable to be made from the material the printer puts out, though, i assume (certainly with current technology). the ability to embed different materials does not seem available.

ninja900 wrote: »

But if there's ever a proposal to introduce it here, the usual suspects will be up in arms :rolleyes:

A letter handwritten by physicist Albert Einstein a year before his death, expressing his views on religion, will be sold on eBay this month with an opening bid of $3 million, an auction agency said on Tuesday.

Known as the “God Letter,” the correspondence offers insights into the private thoughts about religion, God and tribalism of one of the world’s most brilliant minds.

“This letter, in my opinion, is really of historical and cultural significance as these are the personal and private thoughts of arguably the smartest man of the 20th century,” said Eric Gazin, the president of Auction Cause, a Los Angeles-based premier auction agency, which will handle the sale on eBay.

“The letter was written near the end of his life, after a lifetime of learning and thought,” he added.

Einstein wrote the letter in German on January 3, 1954, on Princeton University letterhead to philosopher Erik Gutkind after he read Gutkind’s book “Choose Life: The Biblical Call to Revolt.”

“…The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation, no matter how subtle, can (for me) change this,” wrote the German-born scientist, who in 1921 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

For the first time, scientists have peered down to the level of a single electron and observed quantum states that had only been theorized before.

Researchers imaged the magnetic orbits of electrons called Landau levels, which were predicted in 1930 by Nobel Prize winner Lev Landau. These orbits represent the curved paths electrons travel when exposed to very strong magnetic fields.

Previously, scientists had confirmed the levels exist by measuring the changes in electric current that result when electrons switch from one Landau level to another. However, no one has been able to see these levels until now.

...

I have no failed examination experience of my own. However, once, when I was passing statistical physics, I started solving a problem in a way that Landau did not expect. Landau came, looked and said: “hmm.” Then he left. In 20 minutes he came back, looked again and said “hmm” in an even more dissatisfied tone. At that moment Evgeny Lif****z appeared, who also looked at my notes and shouted: “Dau, do not waste time, throw him out!” But Dau replied: “Let us give him another 20 minutes.” During this time I got the answer and it was correct! Dau looked at the answer, looked again at my calculations and agreed, that I was right.

Comedian Andrew Maxwell takes five British creationists to the west coast of America to try to convince them that evolution rather than creationism explains how we all got here. Stuck on a bus across 2,000 miles of dustbowl roads with these passionate believers, Maxwell tackles some firmly held beliefs - could the Earth be only 6,000 years old, and did humans and T-Rex really live side by side? It's a bumpy ride as he's confronted with some lively debates along the way, but by the end could he possibly win over any of these believers with what he regards as hard scientific fact?

Sulla Felix wrote: »

Evolution Graph