Monthly Archives: February 2011

Movie: Inside Job or the story of a crime without punishment

Posted on February 28, 2011 by benvitalis

I don’t care much for Hollywood movies, but I watched on TV the “83rd annual Academy Awards” only to find out which documentary film will win and to hear reactions. The only 2 films I’m interested in are : “Gasland” … Continue reading →

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Inspire Kids to Take an Interest In Math

Posted on February 28, 2011 by benvitalis

I’m tired hearing people – especially kids – say, “I hate math” or “Math is not for me.” And, I’m also tired that other countries celebrate math and science while we – in North America – often portray them as … Continue reading →

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Playful Thoughts With Richard Feynman’s Puzzles

Posted on February 26, 2011 by benvitalis

I like Richard Feynman’s puzzles, because they are easy to state and understand, they give lots of food for thought, and they can be hard to solve. Try to solve each of the following puzzles on your own first, then … Continue reading →

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Should We Allow Students to Carry Guns on College Campuses?

Posted on February 23, 2011 by benvitalis

Or should college campuses be a gun-free zone? Could it lead to more violence, not less? Some will argue that if students at Virginia Tech had been armed in 2007, they could have stopped Seung-hui Cho’s rampage before it ended … Continue reading →

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Highlights Of Watson: The Smartest Machine on Earth

Posted on February 23, 2011 by benvitalis

Watch the story of Watson – the Smartest Machine on Earth, and how the IBM team behind the computer made history by dominating over Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings in jeopardy. I watched this film on NOVA | PBS, and … Continue reading →

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How Close Are We To Being Replaced By Robots?

Posted on February 18, 2011 by benvitalis

And what will be the positive and negative impacts on society as robot technology is improved? Will Small Step for Robots Lead to Giant Leap for Robotkind? BigDog and the Rise of Robots: Debrief With Miles O’Brien

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IBM Watson: The Next Grand Challenge

Posted on February 16, 2011 by benvitalis

In the tradition of IBM’s grand challenges such as Deep Blue with chess and Blue Gene with the human genome, Watson is the next scientific breakthrough with natural language processing on Jeopardy. NEW YORK (TheStreet) — IBM execs and Jeopardy! … Continue reading →

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Mass Bird And Animal Die-Offs – Why?

Posted on February 15, 2011 by benvitalis

Why is this happening? It seems that mass wildlife mortality are quite common I’ve been curious and been browsing the web ever since reports appeared on the web. Consider the following cases from around the world: (1) Dead Birds Fall … Continue reading →

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Time To Think About Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 15, 2011 by benvitalis

Why is Valentine’s Day celebrated on February 14? …. Read here In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, here is a math pickup line: “If I were a function you would be my asymptote – I always tend towards you” Do … Continue reading →

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Cheap vs. Expensive chocolate

Posted on February 14, 2011 by benvitalis

Does the more expensive chocolate taste better than its cheaper counterpart? http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/video/xe9u56Chocolate Taste TestUploaded by 5minFood. – Discover more life & style videos.

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