Category Archives: cool

LNL: The Reading Brain – Proust and the Squid

 

 

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/the-reading-brain/3276794

The reading brain

Wednesday 2 April 2008 10:40PM

The development of reading brought radical changes to the functioning of the human brain, as well as to the evolution of human society.

What does our move into a digital and visual culture mean for the brain and its capacity for transformation?

Guests

Maryanne Wolf
Professor of Child Development and Director of the Center for Reading and Language Development at Tufts University, Boston.

Publications

Title
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain
Author
Maryann Wolf
Publisher
Harper Collins
Title
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain
Author
Maryanne Wolf
Publisher
HarperCollins

Credits

Researcher
Sarah Kanowski

Extremely cool $150 smartphone spectrometer

 

http://gigaom.com/2014/04/29/consumer-physics-150-smartphone-spectrometer-can-tell-the-number-of-calories-in-your-food/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/903107259/scio-your-sixth-sense-a-pocket-molecular-sensor-fo

Consumer Physics’ $150 smartphone spectrometer can tell the number of calories in your food

SCiO-In-Hand---900px

SUMMARY:The SCiO is a handheld molecular analyzer, developed by Consumer Physics, which pairs with a smartphone through Bluetooth LE. The Kickstarter launched Tuesday morning and a fully operational SCiO starts at $149.

Would you like to be able to look up the calorie content of the specific apple you’re eating? You could take it to a lab and run it through a spectrometer, but accurate spectrometers are huge, expensive machines that are often only owned by institutions and require training to use. A new startup, however, wants to make iteasy as running an app and pairing a bluetooth dongle.

SCiO

The SCiO is a handheld device that pairs with a smartphone through Bluetooth LE being developed by Consumer Physics, an Israel-based startup funded by Kholsa Ventures. It’s based on near-infrared spectroscopy, which means it reflects light onto an object, then collects and analyzes the light reflected back. The Kickstarter launched Tuesday morning with several funding levels: a fully operational SCiO starts at $149, but Kickstarter backers pledging over $300 will receive two years of guaranteed app upgrades.

While scientists and researchers use near-infrared spectroscopy on a regular basis, there are lots of consumers that would love to know more about the chemical composition of the world around them, whether it’s identifying the pills left in the back of the medicine cabinet or figuring out whether the fruit at the farmer’s market is ripe. Consumer Physics will offer both Android and iPhone apps, and also hopes to develop a platform upon which third parties can build their own apps.

Using the SCiO is simple: shine its blue light onto an object you want to analyze. In a few seconds, the associated smartphone app will take the spectrometer reading, send it to SCiO servers, analyze it and compare it to a database of known spectral signatures, and display the information in an easy-to-understand manner. In turn, the readings provided by users will make the spectral signature database more complete.

Consumer Physics has developed three different applications for identifying food, medicines, and plants. During a short demo, I saw the module return the percentage of fat and number of calories per 100 grams of cheese. The SCiO was also able to identify a number of different over-the-counter drugs and could distinguish between a Tylenol and a Tylenol PM. I did not see the plant application, but eventually, it should be able to measure leaf hydration and soil hydration and provide hydroponic solution analysis.

While the SCiO prototype is about the size of a large keyring, the actual module is much smaller. It’s closer to the size of a smartphone camera module, and could one day be included in a variety of forms, including wearables. Developer kits available through the Kickstarter for $200 offer bare-bones SCiO modules and come with CAD designs for 3D printers.

Although Consumer Physics, in addition to developing the hardware, is also populating the first databases and apps that work with the SCiO, hopefully other companies will build their own apps, using the developer kit available from Kickstarter. Personally, I’d love to see apps that would identify if a drink has been spiked with drugs. However, you might have to pay, especially for specific professional use-cases. Spectography is often used to identify gems, and CEO Dror Oren adds, “If someone wants to offer an application for diamonds that costs $1,000, that’s the kind of platform we want to build.”

Other companies working in the portable spectrometer space have also used the technology to track calories eaten and nutritional intake through a user’s sweat.

The first SCiO prototypes will ship in October and the Kickstarter is live now.

Hmmmmm….

seriously freakin’ weird what the kids are getting up to these days…

 

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mrloganrhoades/43-tumblr-comments-that-make-you-go-hmmmm

 

43 Tumblr Comments That Make You Go “Hmmmm”

“pigeons can just fly straight to disneyland yet here they are eating breadcrumbs off the pavement”posted on 

1. Allergies:

Allergies:

2. Deep thoughts:

Deep thoughts:

3. Fictional morning:

Fictional morning:

4. Shitty dolphins:

Shitty dolphins:

5. Disappointing playground:

Disappointing playground:

6. How to survive in the rainforest:

How to survive in the rainforest:

7. A million dollar idea:

A million dollar idea:

43 Tumblr Comments That Make You Go "Hmmmm"

8. How to win a debate:

How to win a debate:

9. The funky boogeyman:

The funky boogeyman:

10. Screw you, China:

Screw you, China:

11. Catch 22:

Catch 22:

12. Clap on, clap off:

Clap on, clap off:

13. A rough(age) day:

A rough(age) day:

14. Bagel graffiti:

Bagel graffiti:

15. Tiny astronaut:

Tiny astronaut:

16. Bumpy globes:

Bumpy globes:

17. Sweet dragon:

Sweet dragon:

18. Jungle river:

Jungle river:

19. Quick, easy and free:

Quick, easy and free:

20. Bug categories:

Bug categories:

21. Snail effort:

Snail effort:

22. Sick dog:

Sick dog:

23. Stupid pigeons:

Stupid pigeons:

24. That makes sense:

That makes sense:

25. Flawless chocolate logic:

Flawless chocolate logic:

26. A really, really good point:

A really, really good point:

27. Push it to the limit (physically and financially):

Push it to the limit (physically and financially):

28. Drag Queens:

Drag Queens:

29. Dial 666:

Dial 666:

30. Damnit Scooby:

Damnit Scooby:

31. Shh shh:

Shh shh:

32. Bedroom door bravery:

Bedroom door bravery:

33. Pokemom:

Pokemom:

34. Never gonna give you up:

Never gonna give you up:

35. Selling kids:

Selling kids:

36. Perfume commercials:

Perfume commercials:

37. Netflix dude:

Netflix dude:

38. Tater Tots:

Tater Tots:

39. At least there’s that:

At least there's that:

40. Worldy things:

Worldy things:

41. How dare you:

How dare you:

42. I don’t even know:

I don't even know:

43. Some M. Night Shyamalan shit:

Some M. Night Shyamalan shit: