The lives of parallel lines are uneventful: no sudden twists or unexpected turns disturb their single track monotony. And yet they dream of non-Euclidian space where rules are bent and of that infinite horizon where, at last, they’ll coincide. Concentric circles, on the other hand have no such hyperbolic hope. They know their limitations. Destined to be solitary cranks, they circumlocate, make roundabout excuses and observe their fellows from a distance. They never socialise.
The Science Creative Quarterly
From archive
TERRY TALKS: APPLICATIONS TO SPEAK (ONE WEEK LEFT!)
(a message from our sister site) THINGS TO AVOID WHEN SPEAKING PUBLICLY Egad! Is it already that close to October 6th! This is our deadline for applying to be one of the inaugural speakers of the Terry talks student conference. Well, the short answer is yes – in fact there is just under a week or so left. And in case this is brand new news to you – the Terry talks can be encapsulated in the following manner: “Imagine UBC’s most fascinating and engaging students coming together for a day, giving ‘the talk of their lives,’ sharing their ideas…
THE TITLE PRETTY MUCH SAYS IT ALL: EJACULATION AS A POTENTIAL TREATMENT OF NASAL CONGESTION IN MATURE MALES
Ejaculation as a potential treatment of nasal congestion in mature males (pdf) The Journal of Medical Hypotheses, 71(2), 2008. In which we learn that a trip to the pharmacy is not always necessary. – – – TEXT: Nasal congestion is defined by the blockage of the nasal passages usually due to membranes lining the nose becoming swollen from inflamed blood vessels [1]. This occurs when the nasal blood vessels expand in response to exercise, cold air, spicy food, even stress. Common causes of nasal congestion are common cold, influenza, Hay fever and chronic sinusitis [1], [2] and [3]. It impairs…
ANGRY WORDS FROM A GNOME WHO TO THIS DAY CONTINUES TO THINK THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT WAS ACTUALLY THE HUMAN GNOME PROJECT
It’s hard to believe that 17 years ago the Human Gnome Project formally began. It was quite frankly a great day for all of us gnomes as we thought we had finally gained the attention and respect we deserved as a community. But 17 years later, we as a community are disappointed, angry, full of resentment, and still addicted to nicotine. To our knowledge, of the roughly $3 billion worth of research funds given to the human gnome initiative, none of it ever actually went to fund “gnome” research. Instead, a sizable portion went to human research, and in an…
SOME NEW THINGS YOU CAN POTENTIALLY DO ON MARS NOW THAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE WATER SITUATION
Figure skating Margarita party. Canoe trip. Invest in waterfront property. Baptisms. Preparing juice from concentrate. Hot tubbing!
THEY ALSO SERVE WHO ONLY STAND AND WAIT
Mr. D. is one of those guys who is just nice. He’s far from gregarious, but everyone who meets him likes him. He’s quiet, reserved, and hates to complain. He’s had his share of medical problems over the last 80 years—emphysema, lymphoma, prostate cancer—all of which he’s treated as inconveniences. When he came into my office with his wife, he looked miserable. His back was hurting so badly that he couldn’t get comfortable. It had been like that for two weeks, but he didn’t want to bother me about it. I asked him the usual questions—any fevers, weakness, incontinence—all negative.…
A WRITING ACTIVITY: ARE YOU THERE HUMANS? IT’S ME, PLASTIC.
(pdf of this activity is available for download by clicking here) – – – This workshop aims to teach environmental and social responsibility while exercising student empathy by having students write letters from the point of view of inanimate objects or animals. Coincidentally, good writing habits and understanding of narrative techniques are developed in the process (but don’t tell them.) Who cares about the ecosystem? It’s boring. And it just sits there. It’s quite undeniable at this point: we’ve messed up the Earth pretty good in our time here so far. There’s carbon in the air and chemicals in the…
THROWING MONEY AWAY (A MODEST PROPOSAL)
(This is the third installment of the The Wasteful American series. To read the others, click here and here) – – – In America, it is a relatively common bit of trivia that producing a penny costs more than one cent (its street value).[1] Someday, we will likely follow Canada’s syrupy example and make coins out of iron-based metal blends so that their value at the checkout counter always exceeds their value when they are melted down (illegally) for the amusement of middle schoolers or the profit of bored, pyromanic cartel heads. But really, why make Mounties of ourselves with…
HUMAN GENE COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH CANCER OR DROID FROM STAR WARS?
1. p21RAS 2. C-3PO 3. CD45 4. p53 5. C-SRC 6. RIC-920 7. FOS-JUN 8. R2-D2 9. 8D8 10. C-MYC 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 are oncogenes: 2, 6, 8, 9 are droids from Star Wars.