Thursday, December 05, 2013

the science of hate

if there is a science of love, of course there is a science of hate.
where does it come from, the ability to despise others enough to annihilate them?
if we can understand the science behind it, perhaps the destructive outcomes of hate (if we don't see it coming, will certainly surprise us with its power) can be reduced ?

lots of books tell us "how to get to Yes"
it's overdue for a hard look at the source(s) of hate.

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Science-of-Hatred/143157


Wednesday, December 04, 2013

discover antibiotics by crowdsourcing research

Help Identify New Antibiotics at Home with The ILIAD Project

Be part of the first Massively Multi-Scientist Open Experiment (MMOE) by performing experiments at home to help identify antibiotics.

two factor authentication for fb, gmail and a reminder

Last week someone tried to reset my facebook password.  Twice.
It was not I,  but I got the email with the reset link.   Both times.

So I looked into how to protect the account.

Today's news http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/04/technology/security/passwords-stolen/index.html?section=money_news_international  tells me it's time to share some ways to protect your fb account.

Facebook#1
The first thing to do is enable "login notifications".  You can read on it here on fb's help pages: http://www.facebook.com/help/162968940433354/ .  What this does is if anyone uses your name and password, to log on to your fb account, you will get an email indicating that this happened, and from which IP address.    If you log in from a computer or location where you have previously logged in, nothing happens (no unnecessary email).     You can see a list of the known locations listed as "Recognized Devices" on that settings page.    In short, logging in from any device other than the ones you already have on the list, will generate a notification email.

Facebook#2
The second thing that can be useful is to enable "Login Approvals".   This requires you to install the fb app on your smartphone, and works as follows:   if your userid and password are used to log in to fb from a device that is not previously recognized, you will be required to enter a number code generated by the fb app on your smartphone, or as a backup, you can either print some one-time use codes or have fb email the code to you.   These codes are short lived and are not useful after a very short time.
See http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9243428/Protect_your_Facebook_account_from_hackers_with_two_factor_authentication and
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2036252/how-to-set-up-two-factor-authentication-for-facebook-google-microsoft-and-more.html .

Google
For google and related accounts, gmail, drive, youtube, and other related products,  google will send a number code to your smartphone, or backup, or call a voice line before allowing a logon from an unknown browser.   As with fb you can print and carry with you some one-time use codes.  Read and follow directions here:  https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/180744?hl=en .   If you happen to use google to log on to other services (example:  https://developers.google.com/accounts/docs/OpenID), you do need to take additional steps to do that.

Finally a reminder to keep the password to your email as safe as you can.   I made this xtranormal video in April 2012, and the advice is still applicable.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL6K1B0AyNQ  Enjoy !

Sunday, December 01, 2013

music and your brain

any time in our lives, music enhances our lives
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/why-music-makes-our-brain-sing.html?_r=0

Why Music Makes Our Brain Sing

Baptiste Alchourroun
By ROBERT J. ZATORRE and VALORIE N. SALIMPOOR
Published: June 7, 2013

MUSIC is not tangible. You can’t eat it, drink it or mate with it. It doesn’t protect against the rain, wind or cold. It doesn’t vanquish predators or mend broken bones. And yet humans have always prized music — or well beyond prized, loved it.

In the modern age we spend great sums of money to attend concerts, download music files, play instruments and listen to our favorite artists whether we’re in a subway or salon. But even in Paleolithic times, people invested significant time and effort to create music, as the discovery of flutes carved from animal bones would suggest.

So why does this thingless “thing” — at its core, a mere sequence of sounds — hold such potentially enormous intrinsic value?

[read the rest at the link above]

stop unfounded positive thinking delusion and be vigilant

positive thinking might be a good thing, and I am overall an optimistic and hopeful person.  but by itself unfounded, unrealistic expectation is a delusion.

from the article:
Why The Religion Of 'Positive Thinking' Needs To Be Burned At The Stake
There's "positive thinking" and then there's something else entirely. RSA Animate created this beautiful clip from a talk by journalist, author, and activist Barbara Ehrenreich — and it's golden! 
Darth Vader shows up at 2:15 to dispel the myth of "The Secret." At 4:10 is one of the key causes of the financial meltdown that led to the Great Recession. At 7:00, she hits on something that keeps us alive — if we're paying attention!
http://www.upworthy.com/why-the-religion-of-positive-thinking-needs-to-be-burned-at-the-stake-5
or directly on yt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5um8QWWRvo#!

the full lecture is http://www.thersa.org/events/video/archive/barbara-ehrenrich-smile-or-die

This not from the division of EMC that makes security dongles, it is a charitable organization
http://www.youtube.com/user/theRSAorg?feature=watch
The RSA is a 258 year-old charity devoted to creating social progress and spreading world-changing ideas. For more information about our research, RSA Animates, free events programme and 27,000 strong Fellowship.
Find out more about the RSA at http://www.thersa.org
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