i-eclectica.org

I am not a mathematician, nor a physicist nor any other kind of scientist - I simply find this animated model elegant and beautiful. I took it from a blog by Luboš Motl, according to whom it represents K3, a compact complex mathematical surface which in this incarnation also links to string theory. The name K3 is derived from a couple of sources: three algebraic geometers, Kummer, Kähler and Kodaira, and the third highest peak in the world after Mount Everest and K2. For more information on the above model and why it is not exactly what it is supposed to be, go to Luboš Motl’s blog.

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Now playing: Kanye west / Through The Wire
via FoxyTunes

How fascinating to watch this brief conclusion Cheney came to in 1994 and the exact opposite position he took in 2003. The external circumstances had not really changed, which makes it pretty clear that the Bush administration knew exactly what would or at least could happen if they’d invade Iraq; that in turn seems to lead to the conclusion that the neocons simply lied to the world. Nothing new really, just another interesting proof.

The video can be found on the MoveOn.org site, an organisation worth supporting (it seems) if you are an US citizen or permanent resident.

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Now playing: Kanye west / Stronger
via FoxyTunes

Some webmasters have started to ban Firefox users from viewing their sites to avoid ad blocking extensions—which makes no sense, but stay with us here. If you happen to stumble onto one of these sites you will get forwarded to a message that reads:

The Mozilla Foundation and its Commercial arm, the Mozilla Corporation, has allowed and endorsed Ad Block Plus, a plug-in that blocks advertisement on web sites and also prevents site owners from blocking people using it.

Fortunately there is help - no need to switch off Adblock; just use User Agent Switcher, an open source extension that changes how Firefox identifies itself to visited web sites. It’s not a solution that works 100% because some sites can use a number of methods to detect the browser, some of which the extension does not support; overall though it seems to work quite well.

UAS installs itself as a menu items under tools; the toolbar button though needs to be added manually after installing it and reloading Firefox.

[via Lifehacker]

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Now playing: Kanye west / The New Workout Plan
via FoxyTunes

I was talking to my mate Harry today about my almost incredulity that an official rap video in this day and age would have words like ’shit’ scrambled. Well, while we were chatting, Harry googled and found on Bad Science what seems to be an official document on what the BBC deems to be swear words. Given that words like shag, piss off, Jesus Christ and Jew made it onto the list, I guess nothing should surprise me anymore.

I always wonder which part of society actually sits judgment over linguistic expressions. It certainly would be a conservative element, not just in the political but also in the sense of wanting to conserve s.th., like some ideal of purity or sacred standard. It certainly is not the section of society that represents the dynamic element of cultural evolution (like the younger generations), nor is it a section with a broad based and inquisitive tolerance (even though of the politically correct might think of themselves as such). While probably sharing a general concern about s.th. like the ‘decay’ of language or even culture/society, most likely though there is not much homogeneity amongst the language police, e.g. they can be found in conservative as well as progressive circles.

And there’s probably a whole list of motivations behind their preservation thoughts and actions, with the fear of the unknown residing at the deepest level and being expressed in dogmatic rigidity, a clinging to the supposed ‘good old times’, selective forgetfulness when it comes to what the world was like when they were young, a lack of understanding of the importance of rebelliousness in societal structures and certainly an inability or unwillingness to see the importance of context. For example, there is a difference between a black rapper identifying him or herself with the expression ‘nigger’ and a white supremacist using the same term. Creating a list like the one below, even if it is done through so-called research, is therefore fucking stupid for people who supposedly know how to apply their intellect - using it to devise policies is inexcusable for an organisation that claims to represent pluralist society.

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Now playing: Kanye west / Jesus Walks
via FoxyTunes

An addition to the Child Rebel Soldier post: Kanye West’s ‘Stronger’, featuring Daft Punk, a single from his Graduation Day album. Unfortunately this is the official version which throttles words like “fuck” and “shit”. Who in today’s world would listen to rap and be offended by the use of such words, I wonder!?!