Juxtaposition of the day. Saw this piece in The New York Times about why there are no Big Ideas anymore:
We live in the much vaunted Age of Information. Courtesy of the Internet, we seem to have immediate access to anything that anyone could ever want to know. We are certainly the most informed generation in history, at least quantitatively. There are trillions upon trillions of bytes out there in the ether — so much to gather and to think about.
For a change of pace, here's a university study that might actually find something useful. Purdue professor Daniel K. Mroczek has received a $2.1 million grant to continue research he's done for 10 years on the link between people's moods and self-discipline and their physical health and longevity:
Bad news, all you joggers, dieters and fitness freaks:
People who live to 95 or older are no more virtuous than the rest of us in terms of their diet, exercise routine or smoking and drinking habits, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.
Turn out the lights, the party's over:
We've invented penicillin, space shuttles, computers and even artificial hearts, among many other wonders. So where will human intelligence go from here?
The answer, if certain scientists are correct, is nowhere.
Mankind's brain power has reached its peak and it is physically impossible for us to become any smarter, they say.
Well, I've been hooked both on both cigarettes and the Internet, and this sounds like total and absolute crap to me:
The majority of people feel upset and lonely when they are deprived of access to the internet, according to consumer research.
A new study has revealed that 53 per cent feel upset when denied access and 40 per cent feel lonely if they are unable to go online.
[. . .]
The best evidence yet that public opinion polling has been taken to ridiculous extremes:
Most Americans say they are pleased with the job God is doing these days.
Let's put Michele Bachmann's politics aside for a moment and argue about that another day. The big story in the last few days has been how debilitating her migraine headaches might be:
One former top Bachmann staffer, who denied being a source of the Daily Caller report, told POLITICO the congresswoman's migraines were so prevalent that the entire office and campaign staff — even interns — knew about the problem.
Today's nanny state report.
King County, near Seattle, passes a law that "appears to be the first of its kind in the state."
People who hope to beat the summer heat by swimming, floating or boating on rivers in King County must wear a life vest or face an $86 fine.
