Monday, March 26, 2007
'Speaking in Tongues': A Near Brain-Death Experience
Scientific inquiry is just starting to peek at what most enlightened observers have long seen in charismatic Christian sectists that perform the 'gifted' art of glossolalia, or 'speaking in tongues', in that these peculiar practitioners of palatine pummeling retard their level of brain function by burbling this babble, or glossolalia, during their communes with The Great Orator.
As ABC's Nightline recently reported, a team of University of Pennsylvania scientists with too much time on their watch have provided, through CAT-like vision, our first proof that the frontal lobes responsible for a glossolalist's past capacity to reason turns to gloppolioleo -- a new neurobiological phenomenon of regression that morphs highly differentiated neurons in higher level cerebral mechanisms toward basally-recessive, brain-stemmy globuloids that integrate input only for purposes of mass hysteria.
Sort of telencephaly turned paleocephalicy. Atavism, if you will.
Labels: Focus on the Frontal Lobe, science, science news, spooferisms, tribalism
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Abe's Paean to Pi: Finding Pi's 'Nth' Decimal via Newton
Welcome all to Abe Linkum's salute to today's honoree, the transcendental constant Pi. Most people don't know that every March 14th is devoted to Pi since 3.14 is a rough estimate of its value. It's Pi Day!Some people know that the number of non-repeating decimals in Pi is infinite and that many geeks try to out match each other this time of year by either attempting to recite sequentially the most decimals of Pi, or try to become the one person with the supercomputing access needed to set the record for the longest string of computed decimals -- currently set at a little over one-trillion.
Abe has done a little investigation of Pi and has concluded that one could employ Newton's Method for estimating roots of equations, such as y = sin x, to calculate the nth decimal of Pi. And by using this simple technique, huge additional quantites (exponential?) of Pi's decimals will spew out of your computational apparatus, be it a Cray supercomputer or a Crayola crayon, with each successive estimation.
Abe has drawn a rough graph of y = sin x along with three iterations of Newton's Method, demonstrating that each successive iteration comes nearer to the root of y = sin x. (X1, X2 and X3, respectively.)
The equation for Newton's Method: xn+1 = xn - f(xn)/f'(xn), also serves as a handy algorithm for you, the calculator.
And that, since the curvature of the graph y = sin x in nearly nil as it approaches its root, Pi, the amount of decimals added by, say, the estmation Xn-1 versus Xn-2 will be astronomical!Enjoy, all ye Geekazoids. Happy calculating! Don't forget to include Ole Abe when you go to accept your Fields Medal.
Next time in scence news at Abe Linkum: Abe explains the accelerating universe!
Labels: mathematics, science news
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Last Bush Neuron Saved by Stem Cell Funds!
In a frantic effort to save the last withering neuron last seen floating somewhere in a cavity where the Commander-in-Chief's pons used to reside, Karl Rove, given the legal go-ahead by Generalisimo Gonzalez through a flimsy signing statement fully endorsed by dead-ending supporters, established a top secret Pentagon account -- hidden, always hidden from his social conservative base -- to fund emergency embryonic stem cell research focused to attain the specific therapeutic benefits for Bush's neuron.
Labels: Bush, science news, stem cells
