Isn’t that one of the most awesome thing you’ve ever seen? If anyone understands the science behind what’s happening in the video, feel free to leave a brief explanation in the comments section below!
HOW TO: Speed Read
In the following video, Kris Madden will teach you a technique that should help you read faster, and I can attest that this works as explained. Those of you who had to go through huge amount of documentation for their studies at one point or another probably already know all about this, even though no one ever taught you directly. Check it out:
As Madden explains in the video, the secret is to teach yourself to stop vocalizing words with your larynx while reading. The data that enters through your eyes must go directly to your brain… but as simple as this may sound, it’s not. Try it for yourself, you’ll see.
Nerd Venn Diagram
A clever little Venn diagram that will help you determine which type of “nerd” you are.
In what category would you put yourself? Let us know in the comments!
The Tree of Life: The Story of our Humble Origins
Narrated by broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough, the Tree of Life is a six-minute documentary that retells the story of life on earth, from its very early days up the present era.
3D Short of the Day: Veni Vidi Vici
Veni Vidi Vici is a funny 3D short telling the story of an Antiquity-era geek that uses his brain to survive the hardships of a legionnaire in the Roman army. It was realized by Will Burdett and David Bryan as their final degree project in 3D Animation at the University Of Hertfordshire, UK.
Saturday Morning Humor: JPEG or PNG?
If you’re sometimes confused about which picture format to use when adding images to your blog or website, check this funny cartoon out:
With that said, this doesn’t mean that you should never use JPG files. Check out this old but still relevant article on sitepoint.com about the differences between the most popular picture formats.
[Via MUO]
There Will Be Balls Touching
This video won 2nd place in the short film competition at Assembly 2009, Finland’s big computer festival. I like the Coke/Mentos touch. See more videos from Assembly 2009 at GameSetWatch.
[via Metafilter]
Making sound visible through cymatics
In the following video, Evan Grant demonstrates the science and art of cymatics, a process for making soundwaves visible. Useful for analyzing complex sounds (like dolphin calls), it also makes complex and beautiful designs.
Electronic reader study raises serious economic questions
Despite the critical success of electronic reading devices such as Amazon’s Kindle, the gadgets may have a long way to go to reach the mass market. One research firm claims readers would have to be as cheap as $50 to really catch on, making subsidies a must.
Forrester Research interviewed 4,706 people and asked a series of questions about how people would respond to electronic readers at different prices, including taking into account the fact that a device priced too cheaply makes would-be buyers suspect it of poor quality.
The results showed that for most demographic groups, firms would need to charge between $50 and $99 to maximize the number of people who’d buy a reader. Of course, that isn’t necessarily the price which generates the most revenue or profit, though certainly in Amazon’s case a larger user base means more potential income through book and magazine sales.
Most strikingly, 86% of people felt the current cheapest price on offer, $199 for Sony’s Pocket Reader, was so expensive that it would deter them from buying.
It’s important to note that the survey was carried out online, which means it likely shows a higher level of interest in buying gadgetry than the population as a whole.
The over-pricing theory appears to back up a previous study that showed half of all Kindle owners were aged 50 or over. One of the possible explanations for that was that elderly people were more likely to have disposable income to buy such a device as something of a luxury good.
According to Forrester’s researchers, as things stand the initial wave of tech-lovers buying the devices will be followed by sales to well-paid avid readers, but after that the market will stall without substantial price cuts, likely to the point that manufacturers would have to sell the devices at a loss.
Considering Amazon already sells electronic books to Kindle readers at a loss (the difference going to the publisher), that could be financially tricky. Forrester suggests the answer may be to have the hardware costs subsidized by publishers in return for customers signing up to content subscriptions.
Loopa Gyroscopic Toddler Bowl
What do you get when you combine science and a conventional cereal bowl? A Loopa Gyroscopic Bowl! This amazing invention will keep your young kids from spilling their cereal all over the place, no matter what they do. The bowl is dishwasher safe and is easy to pick up and handle, even for small hands. Check it out:
[Loopa Toddler Gyroscopic Bowl – $9.99 on Amazon.com | Via Crunchgear]