Category: Science and Tech

Mathematics Brain?

It seems that there are three types of people in the world: those born with a brain for Math, and those born without it.  Oh that’s only two.  Well there you go.  According to recent research as reported in a Daily Mail article, “being good at mathematics may be entirely pre-destined – you either have it or you don’t.”  But the flip side is that just because you are good at mathematics, will not necessarily mean you have overall intelligence.

<h2>US Research</h2>

This research was carried out in America, with psychologists from John Hopkins University in Baltimore having tested four-year-old children who had not yet been taught any mathematics.  Two hundred kids had to look at blue and yellow dots in flashing groups on a computer screen and say which color they saw the most. They then had to add up items of a page and work out which of two numbers was higher or lower and read numbers.  Other tests included multiplication and thereafter a verbal test since “language and math abilities are thought to be linked through general intelligence.”


The researchers were trying to work out if mathematical skills formed an integral part of one’s capacity to perform better in all sorts of other tasks as well.  It was found that the kids who performed best in the dots test were also those who were the best at mathematics. Dr. Melissa Libertus led the study that was published in the Developmental Science journal.  She said, “some children looked like they had better number sense simply because they had better math instruction.”  Libertus concluded, “one of the most important questions is whether we can train a child’s number sense to improving his future math ability.”

The results, published in the journal Developmental Science, showed that children who got the best score in the dots test were also the most competent at the maths tests.

Meet Shrek, The Furless Wombat Baby

Australians, unlike the rest of the world, are currently dealing with the winter season in full fury. The Kilmore Wildlife Rescue Center near Melbourne has collected numerous baby animals who were orphaned, as shorter days mean more cars and animals on the road at the same time.

A particularly unique case is Shrek, the furless wombat baby who relies on blankets to keep warm. One of eleven young animals to be rescued this week, Shrek lost her mother to a car and will need to be taken care of for the next two years.

Shrek lost her hair as a result of stress and lack of nutrition, just like another bald wombat that was rescued in Melbourne in the past.

For more pictures, visit the Daily Mail.

Darkest Galaxy Discovered

Segue 1 has just been discovered by scientists and is thought to be the darkest known of galaxies.  According to a report in The Daily Mail, it has been described as “a treasure trove of around 1,000 ancient, small and dim stars located just outside the Milky Way.”  It mainly comprises a huge cloud of dark matter, “decorated with a sprinkling of stars.”

The Segue 1 was originally found using a ten-meter Keck II telescope in Hawaii two years ago by Maria Geha, a researcher from Yale University and Joshua Simon from the Carnegie Institute, Washington.

Segue Stars

According to the Scientists, the Segue 1 has around 3,400 times more mass than its visible stars can account for. When it was first discovered it seemed that the stars were all moving in unison but were part of a diverse group (as opposed to being just a bunch of similar-type stars that had been pulled out of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy).  But some scientists working at Cambridge University, begged to differ.


According to one of the group of researchers, Dr. Simon, they found that, “if the 1,000 or so stars were all there was to Segue 1, with just a smidgeon of dark matter, the stars would all move at about the same speed.”  But different information from the Keck, found the opposite to be the case.  It found that, “instead of moving at a steady 209km per second relative to the Milky Way, some of the Segue 1 stars are moving at rates as slow as 194km per second while others are going as fast as 224km per second.”  This means, according to Dr. Geha, that the Segue 1 has to contain much more mass “to accelerate the stars to those vehicles.”

This research has been published in the Astrophysical Journal.

 

Big Brother is Watching You

Tool to Track Photo-Taking

In America, spies are currently working on the development of a tool that will enable computers to identify where a photo was taken.  The project is being run by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (IAPRA).  According to an article in The Daily Mail, the reason for this tool is mainly for the military to have the capacity to “track down terrorists who are in hiding in remote regions.”

The way it will work is by scanning photos of the targets into a computer that will be able to speedily return “an exact match for the terrorist hideout.”  Thereafter troops will be sent to that area to capture the target.

Changing Terrorist Targeting

If this works and goes ahead, it could actually “revolutionize” terrorist targeting by various intelligence agencies.  The photos and tapes will be gleaned from Al Qaeda, Taliban and other such terrorist organizations.  The filming often originates in “remote caves or barren hillsides in the depths of the Middle East.”


Bin Laden Capture

One example given of how effective and helpful the tool will be, is the Bin Laden case.  According to the scientists behind this development, had this tool been available years ago, his capture may have happened much earlier.  Without the tool, the situation is as follows:  intelligence analysts are forced to find the place where a photo was taken through a grueling analysis of its every detail.

Potential Problems

Currently, it is not known how this tool will actually work.  What might be problematic is the fact that currently the computer may have too many images in its database which will lengthen the process of finding the match.  However, if this tool advances further, then it will be able to “deduce the air pressure from the photograph and link it to a region with similar conditions at the time the photograph was taken.”  But we shouldn’t jump the gun as even the IARPA is realistic in its knowledge that something like this is unlikely to be available until 2016.

Say Bye-Bye to Car Stereos

It seems that car CD players could very possibly soon become obsolete.  Car manufacturer Ford is hoping to bring car entertainment into the digital age with its new cars.  By doing this, it will enable drivers to get their music, digitally, through the Internet.  According to a Daily Mail report, Ford has “become the first mainstream manufacturer to scrap the in-car CD multichanger.”

Focus Plugged-In

The Ford Focus will now come complete with a USB socket that will enable “digital music players to be plugged in.”  It will be equipped with a Sync “infotainment hub.”  This will ultimately lead to Wi-Fi options through a dongle.  Therefore, everyone will be able to use their iPods, iPhones, etc.  According to Ford’s Global Trends and Futuring manager, Sheryl Connelly, this is important if Ford wants to “keep up with the needs of its customers.”  She said, “in-car entertainment technology is moving digital more rapidly than almost any other element of the vehicle experience.   The in-car CD player – much like pay telephones – is destined to fade away in the face of exciting new technology.”


CD Sales Plummeting

The move really makes sense since anyway sales of Ford’s car CD players had been on a long-term decline, which is pretty much the same as where disc sales are holding.  Just last year CD album sales dropped around 12.4 percent in the United Kingdom, simultaneous to an increase in digital versions by 30.6 percent.

3D Smartphones Not So Smart?

It may be the latest in gadget equipment, but according to a report in The Daily Mail, they might actually be causing eye damage as well as headaches.  What happens is, the screen is requiring additional focus from the eyes to be able to “adjust to the distance of the content.”  This is known as “vergence-accommodation.”  Through experiments, it seemed that people were encountering discomfort when they saw short distance displays “in front of the screen rather than behind it.”

Significant Discomfort

According to Professor Martin Banks, an optometrist, “discomfort associated with viewing stereo 3D is a major problem that may limit the use of technology. We hope that our findings will inspire more research in this area.”  Increasingly, businesses are now using 3D technology for putting commercials on huge screens and cereal boxes.  Some furniture stores are even helping people make their selections through “an immersive online 3D experience.”


More 3D Usage

Currently there is now a 3D commercial for the iPad.  It seems that there is no blip in trying to find innovative ways to use 3D.  Anything digital – TVs, movie theaters and digital billboards – are getting 3D content.  But now there is evidence to suggest this could be problematic to the viewer.  These results were published in the Journal of Vision.