Subscribe to Feed            Add to your Favourites

“It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.” – Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)

Fresh Reads from the Science 'o sphere!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

林湘萍 (Yvonne Lim) vs 陈邦鋆 (Andie Chen)

I can't be the first person on the planet to have noticed this...














The resemblance is uncanny.

That. Same. Smile.













From the side, there are some differences.

Andie clearly has a more angular jaw and broader chin, but MAN... the positions of the eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth are spot on.

Did I mention that Yvonne Lim was a Star Search '97 finalist while Andie Chen was the '07 winner?

Or that both of them are Poly grads (albeit Yvonne was in SP while Andie was in NP)?

Oooh scary!
















It's the exact same smile I tell you... the way the smile line extends straight below the edges of the mouth.












As you can see, other facial features are pretty similar too.

I guess it doesn't help my case to point out that at 1.83 m tall, Andie is a towering 21 cm taller than Yvonne.



















Though you don't have to be Jedi Twins to have the same smile.


Would you like to know more?

- Andie Chen's photos

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Science Reporting By The Straits Times

Just read a science article in the Straits Times entitled "Brain Illness Leaves Woman Fearless." (ST 18 Dec 2010 Page C14)

The research study that is featured in the article (diminished fear experience of a woman with a genetic condition of the amygdala) is quite interesting, but what is even more interesting is how the Straits Times presented the news.

Since the ST article was edited mainly from an original article by Agence France-Presse (with some details from an Associated Press report added in), it is informative to compare the ST and AFP versions to see the differences.

Words that are different or missing in either version are highlighted in RED (additional source marked with asterix).

~~~~~~~~~~

ST Version

Brain illness leaves woman fearless

WASHINGTON - United States scientists have discovered a woman with a rare brain disease that makes her afraid of nothing - not a huge snake lurking near her children, not a knife to her throat, and certainly not a horror movie.

The 44-year-old* woman cannot experience fear because of a condition that has destroyed the part of her brain - the amygdala - where researchers believe the feeling of fear is made.

Over the past two decades researchers have been analysing the woman, known as SM, for clues about her condition which they say could help them treat post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly in soldiers returning from war.

A study of her fearlessness was published online on Thursday in the journal Current Biology by University of Iowa researcher Justin Feinstein and colleagues.*

"It is quite remarkable that she is still alive," said Mr Feinstein. "The nature of fear is survival and the amygdala helps us stay alive by avoiding situations, people, or objects that put our life in danger," he said.

Instead of fear, SM, whose rare condition is known as Urbach-Wiethe disease, describes "an overwhelming feeling of curiosity."

The woman's eldest son, who is in his 20s, told researchers he could not ever recall seeing his mother afraid.

He said he remembered one event in particular from his childhood when he was playing with his two brothers and they saw a big snake in the road nearby.

"Well, mum just ran over there and picked it up and brought it out of the street, put it in the grass and let it go on its way," he said.

The woman also told researchers that when she was in her 30s, a man grabbed her and stuck a knife to her throat.

"She looked at the man and confidently replied, 'If you're going to kill me, you're gonna have to go through my God's angels first.' The man suddenly let her go," said the study, adding the woman then described walking calmly home.

Other experiments devised by the researchers - leading her through a haunted house where people dressed as monsters and ghosts sprung from the darkness, and showing her a series of scary video clips - fell flat too.

She considered the haunted house to be "highly exciting and entertaining", like the rush she gets from a roller coaster, Mr Feinstein said.*

Scientists believe she was once able to feel fear because she has described childhood memories of being afraid of the dark, and being once frightened by a dog.

Mr Feinstein said he hopes that SM's experience could help treat people with post-traumatic stress disorder, a problem he has seen in his work treating US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Their lives are marred by fear, often times unable to even leave their home due to the ever-present feeling of danger," he said.

"By understanding how the brain processes fear, we may one day be able to create treatments that selectively target the brain areas that allow fear to take over our lives."

*From AP report


AFP Version

Woman who knows no fear could offer brain clues

WASHINGTON - US scientists have discovered a woman with a rare brain disease that makes her afraid of nothing - not a huge snake lurking near her children, not a knife to her throat, and certainly not a horror movie.

The woman cannot experience fear because of a condition that has destroyed the part of her brain - the amygdala - where researchers say they believe the feeling of fear is made.

Over the past two decades researchers have been analysing the woman, known as SM, for clues about her condition which they say could help them treat post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly in soldiers returning from war.

"It is quite remarkable that she is still alive," said lead author Justin Feinstein whose study appears in the journal Current Biology.

"The nature of fear is survival and the amygdala helps us stay alive by avoiding situations, people, or objects that put our life in danger," he said.

"Because SM is missing her amygdala, she is also missing the ability to detect and avoid danger in the world."

Instead of fear, SM, whose rare condition is known as Urbach-Wiethe disease, describes "an overwhelming feeling of curiosity."

To test her reaction, researchers led her into an exotic pet store filled with spiders and snakes, animals she repeatedly said she "hates" and tries to avoid.

"Upon entering the store, SM was spontaneously drawn to the snake terrariums and appeared visually captivated by the large collection of snakes," the study said.

Asked by a store employee if she would like to hold one, SM agreed and then played with one for about three minutes.

"She rubbed its leathery scales, touched its flicking tongue, and closely watched its movements as it slithered through her hands," it said.

"Her verbal behavior revealed a comparable degree of fascination and inquisitiveness: she repeatedly commented, 'This is so cool!'"

When she reached for a tarantula, however, she had to be stopped because there was a high risk she could be bitten.

"When asked why she would want to touch something that she knows is dangerous and that she claims to hate, SM replied that she was overcome with 'curiosity,'" the study said.

The woman's eldest son, who is in his 20s, told researchers he could not ever recall seeing his mother afraid of anything.

He said he remembered one event in particular from his childhood when he was playing with his two brothers and they saw a big snake in the road nearby.

"Well, Mom just ran over there and picked it up and brought it out of the street, put it in the grass and let it go on its way," he said.

"I thought that was kind of weird."

The woman also told researchers that when she was in her 30s, a man grabbed her and stuck a knife to her throat.

"She looked at the man and confidently replied, 'If you're going to kill me, you're gonna have to go through my God's angels first.' The man suddenly let her go," said the study, adding the woman then described walking calmly home.

Other experiments devised by the researchers - leading her through a haunted house where people dressed as monsters and ghosts sprung from the darkness, and showing her a series of scary video clips - fell flat too.

"She reacted to the monsters by smiling, laughing, or trying to talk to them," the study said.

"She found the fear films to be exciting and entertaining, and in one case, she inquired about the name of the movie so she could rent it from the video store later that day."

Scientists believe she was once able to feel fear because she has described a childhood memory of being afraid of a dog.

They also note that "SM has never been convicted of any crime, but rather has been the victim of numerous crimes."

Feinstein said he hopes that SM's experience could help treat people with post-traumatic stress disorder, a problem he has seen in his work treating US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Their lives are marred by fear, often times unable to even leave their home due to the ever-present feeling of danger," he said.

"By understanding how the brain processes fear, we may one day be able to create treatments that selectively target the brain areas that allow fear to take over our lives."

Feinstein said science should look for PTSD treatments that "focus on ways to safely and non-invasively dampen amygdala activity," mainly through medication and psychotherapy.

~~~~~~~~~~

A significant portion of the original AFP article is omitted from the ST version.

Interestingly, the missing parts are mostly related to the downside of having practically no fear, such as the inability to detect and avoid danger, fascination with potentially dangerous animals, becoming a victim of crimes etc.

A quick survey of other new reports indicates that this danger of lacking fear is actually an important message from the researchers - here are some excerpts:

~~~~~~~~~~

1. Associated Press

a) Her case shows that the amygdala plays a key role in making people feel afraid in threatening situations, researchers say.

Her life history also shows that living without fear can be dangerous, they said.

b) She apparently hasn't felt fear as an adult, not even 15 years ago in an incident described by the researchers. A man jumped up from a park bench, pressed a knife to her throat and hissed, "I'm going to cut you."

SM, who heard a church choir practicing in the distance, looked coolly at him and replied, "If you're going to kill me, you're going to have to go through my God's angels first."

The man suddenly let her go. She didn't run home. She walked.

"Her lack of fear may have freaked the guy out," Feinstein said.

But it also got her into that situation in the first place, he noted. SM had willingly approached the man when he asked her to, even though it was late at night and she was alone, and even though she thought he looked "drugged out."

SM has also walked into other dangerous situations because of her lack of fear, and all in all, it's remarkable she's still alive, Feinstein said.


2. ABC News

a) S.M. also had exposure to fearful situations in her past. She was held up at gunpoint and at knifepoint and was almost killed during a domestic incident. S.M. told researchers she did not feel fear during these life-threatening situations. She was also aware that her inability to react to fearful stimuli was not normal.

b) S.M.'s case is also important to understand because the ability to experience fear and respond to it is essential to survival. The researchers believe that because she could not detect threats to her safety and avoid them, she wound up in numerous life-threatening situations.

"Indeed, it appears that without the amygdala, the evolutionary value of fear is lost," the authors wrote.


3. Time.com (Healthland)

a) The authors note that SM's response to what would normally be considered fear-inducing situations was not characterized simply by a lack of responsiveness, but rather a heightened arousal and interest. In other words, she practically courted danger.

b) The researchers stress that SM's condition is more a curse than a blessing: "[SM's] behavior, time and time again, leads her back to the very situations she should be avoiding, highlighting the indispensable role that the amygdala plays in promoting survival by compelling the organism away from danger. Indeed, it appears that without the amygdala, the evolutionary value of fear is lost."


4. Discovery News

a) That wasn't the only occasion that SM, who was living in the projects in a seedy part of town, got herself into a precarious situation. There was the time, for example, that a man approached her from behind, put a gun to her head, yelled "Boom!" and then ran away. She figured her attacker was a drug dealer whom she had repeatedly turned in to the police, but she didn't consider calling the cops after the incident.

"She described the situation as strange," Feinstein said. "She's not reacting in normal ways that anyone who had fear would."

b) "We don't suggest by any means to remove this area of the brain," Feinstein said. "We don't want a million SM's walking around getting in trouble. This one case highlights why we do need an amygdala."

Instead, it's possible that drugs or behavioral methods could quiet the amygdala just enough to free people whose lives have been taken over by fear.


5. Scienceblogs.com (Neurophilosophy)

a) SM has been studied extensively during the past two decades. Early investigations showed that her non-verbal visual memory was signficantly impaired but that otherwise she had an IQ in the low-average range. She also displayed inappropriate social behaviours, quickly becoming friendly with the experimenters and making sexual remarks, due to disturbed executive control. Subsequently, it was found that she was unable to recognize emotions in facial expressions, and a study published earlier this year showed that the brain damage had eliminated her monetary loss aversion - that is, she makes risky financial decisions that most of us would avoid because of a fear of losing money.

b) But based on interviews with her and her three children, the authors suggest that she probably has not experienced fear at all throughout the whole duration of her adult life, despite having encountered an unusually high number of traumatic and life-threatening events. Aged 30, she had a knife held to her throat by a drug addict while she walked through a park at night, but did not panic and walked away calmly when he let her go. She has also been held at gun point, was nearly killed in an act of domestic violence, and has been the victim of numerous crimes in the poverty-stricken area in which she lives.

~~~~~~~~~~

From these excerpts, it can be seen that all the above news articles - except for the Straits Times version - emphasize the researchers' point about the dangers of lacking fear.


Would you like to know more?

- The Human Amygdala and the Induction and Experience of Fear (Feinstein et al. 2010) Current Biology

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Right Round Round Round

Enjoy unsolved mysteries?

Here's one for you: why do people travel in circles when they can't see a fixed landmark?




Apparently, difference in limb lengths doesn't explain this behaviour (eg. driving the car) so this remains an unsolved question.

I wonder if you'll see the same circling movement if you make the blindfolded person lie down on a skateboard, so as to position the inner ear balance organs 90 degrees to the usual orientation.

Or if there is still circling if you give the subject a fixed auditory landmark, like a tall loudspeaker.

Via Mind Hacks.


Would you like to know more?

- A Mystery: Why Can't We Walk Straight? (npr.org)

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Beware Of Geeks Bearing Fembots

Latest development by Hiroshi Ishiguro's group: the Actroid-F.

Now attempting to bridge the uncanny valley with fast facial expressions!



The multiple eye blink demonstration from 1:26 - 1:33 is very impressive. To me, one major reason why androids today look so stiff is due to the sluggishness of the actuators.

People don't slowly move their heads and facial muscles into position; they sort of "snap" into it.

In that respect, the current Actroid-F appears to have the fastest motor response of any android so far. Older videos of the Actroid-F in April still show the slow eye blink and head movement, so something must have been enhanced since then, be it faster motors and/or software.

Also, I think there is one point in this video where the Actroid briefly slips across the uncanny valley.

It's at 1:46, when after repeating a series of mechanical-looking mouth movements, the Actroid suddenly shifts attention to the left in a snappy, human sort of way.

In that instant, the robot seemed to be alive.

Looking at the progress so far, this is merely a little taste of what is to come.


Would you like to know more?

- ACTROID-F: Android robot that coexists with human (AIST Channel)

Friday, October 29, 2010

Pick Your Brain For Some Loose Change... And Your Watch

Here's an intriguing Scientific American video that uses street magic to help illustrate some concepts in neuroscience.

Or is it using neuroscience to help illustrate some concepts in street magic?



Not surprisingly the street magician steals the show, after all, it's his job to capture your attention by being in your face, enthusiastic and funny.

Whereas the scientists appear standoffish and matter-of-fact.

This distinct contrast tells us that there's some showmanship going on here, and obviously it's the magician who's doing it.

Or is it?

via Mind Hacks

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Next Up, World Domination. But First, Here's A Song For You!

You know them pop stars - celebrities who don't play instruments, can't sing and can't really dance either.

Behold the next step in prepackaged, manufactured entertainment...



Whoa, that's almost... adorable.

As YouTubber anharmyenone grimly observed: "Skynet is a Japanese idol singer."

Verily I say, beware of Those with the half-bent knees and awkward head-shake.

Heh.

via Tokyo Mango

Update 24 Dec 2010: Video with clearer (less buzzy) sound quality and some close-ups of the robot - from AIST Channel.


Would you like to know more?

- The star: HRP-4C Gynoid
- The synthesized singing: Vocaloid Hatsune Miku
- The song: "出逢った頃のように" by EveryLittleThing

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Later!

Wow, it's been months since my last post! Currently I don't have the need to blog any more, and I'm often travelling regionally, so unlikely to have regular updates.

For the long time readers of Fresh Brainz, many thanks for your support in the past four years! Cheers and so long!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Many Or Most?

In Singapore, the mainstream media has often been criticized by our online community for biased, pro-ruling party reporting.

However, I think that even the mainstream media itself is not entirely homogeneous.

Compare these two news articles, both reporting on the response of Mr. S. Iswaran (Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry) in Parliament to questions about the Integrated Resorts.

Click on the headlines for the full articles:

1. No compromise to concept of IRs, with small portion for gambling (Channel NewsAsia 18 May 2010)

2. Too early to judge success of IRs: Iswaran (TODAYonline 19 May 2010)

Here are excerpts from both reports to highlight a small but crucial difference between them:

1. Channel NewsAsia - He also addressed concerns from opposition MP Low Thia Khiang that many Singaporeans were hitting the casinos. He felt there is a novelty factor at play, but pledged that agencies are monitoring the trends closely.

Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang said: "There are reports that most visitors to the casinos are actually Singaporeans, is that a concern of the government?"

Mr Iswaran replied: "Obviously we want to ensure that Singaporeans who choose to go to the casinos give due thought to that before they go in and not do it on an impulse — which is why we have a whole slew of measures that have been put in place.

"It would be fair to say that there is a novelty factor in place, and to say that whatever we see at play in terms of numbers, in terms of performance in the first few weeks and months is an accurate predictor of what will be happening 12 months, 24 months down the road, I think may be stretching the argument a little bit."

"I think what I can assure the member is that the agencies are monitoring the situation closely and I think once we have a better sense of the patterns and trends, then I think we will better know how the measures we have put in place are working."


2. TODAYonline - Opposition MP (Hougang) Low Thia Khiang asked if the Government was concerned that many of the casinos' patrons so far seem to be Singaporeans.

To this, Mr Iswaran replied that the "novelty factor" was at play and may not accurately reflect the situation one or two years down the road.

"The agencies are monitoring the situation closely, and once we have a better sense of the patterns and trends, then I think we'll know how the measures (against problem gambling) we've put in place are working," he said.


If the Channel NewsAsia's direct quote is accurate, then Mr. Low actually asked if the government was concerned that MOST casino visitors appear to be Singaporeans.

He didn't ask if the government was concerned that MANY casino patrons appear to be Singaporeans, which is how TODAYonline paraphrased it.

MOST is not the same as MANY.

There is a difference because MANY refers to raw numbers whereas MOST refers to a proportion.

Over time, any foreign-owned casino that opens its door to native citizens will have MANY native visitors.

But if the casino was planned to be a tool for boosting tourism, then MOST of its visitors should be foreigners, not natives!

Otherwise it would have become yet another shiny new avenue for citizens to transfer their money to foreign corporations.

Interestingly, Mr. Iswaran did not dispute Mr. Low's observation; instead, he talked about the novelty factor and the need for more time to determine the trends, which seems to be a tacit acknowledgement of the current situation - if you read the Channel NewsAsia version, that is.

In contrast, that insight cannot be obtained from the TODAYonline version.

For any piece of news, I think it's a good idea to read a number of sources to get a better picture of what is going on.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Gong Fu, Noh, And A Magical Robot Unicorn

During the 1990s, the 80's must have seemed like the gayest decade in human history, with its big shiny clothes and big multicoloured hair.

Little did we realize that the 90's turned out to be even gayer than the 80's.

Ladies and gentleman, may I present to you the Year 1994:



And with the advent of free flash games, kids today are rediscovering the gayness of the 1990's all over again, one high score at a time...



Would you like to know more?

- The Gay '90's

- Robot Unicorn Attack flash game by [adult swim]

- I want to be a magical rainbow unicorn, chasing neon butterflies and flying dolphins through a purple marshmellowly land! OH YES!

- I am secure with my masculinity.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Can Science Answer Moral Questions?

Just watched an interesting TED talk by Sam Harris about how science can shed some light about questions of morality.

I like many of Harris' talks, and as a structuralist I agree with the overall premise that questions of morality can be investigated scientifically.

Thus I was looking forward to hearing his arguments; however, after listening to him I realized that I mainly disagreed with him instead!

Here, check it out first:



Eloquently articulated, to be sure, but I have so many disagreements with his view that... wow, where do I even begin?

1. "Values are a certain kind of fact. They are facts about the well-being of conscious creatures."

Firstly, I don't know which moral philosopher would agree with Harris' definition of "values", but dictionary.com defines "values" as "the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard."

In common language the term "values" has a very strong social component which is missing in Harris' definition - making "values" appear to be some kind of individual-level property.

This is a very big problem. There is a difference between the moral sense/personal principles of individuals and the social values of groups.

Harris makes it look as if social values can ultimately be reducible to neuroscience, which in my view is pitching it at the wrong organization level.

Secondly, how would you measure "well-being" in the context of social values?

There are many cultures that consider some amount of physical/psychological pain to be an important aspect of a person's development toward adulthood, or to be recognized as a legit member of society.

Even if someone was able to create some kind of standardized "well-being" metric, how would you convince other people to agree with it?

Take for example, our "civilized" culture in Singapore where children are subject to at least a decade of institutional education, usually longer.

It is a system which regularly inflicts pain of varying degrees.

Does anyone think that most teenagers want to be scolded by teachers/prefects, spend their holidays on homework/tuition, learn calculus/linear law, or train furiously/contort their bodies in order to get silver for their NAPFA test to avoid PTP during NS?

So are all these activities immoral?

2. "There are truths to be known about how human communities flourish - whether or not we understand these truths. And morality relates to these truths."

During the talk, Harris constantly emphasized human "flourishing".

Harris was trained as a biologist, as was I. From a biological perspective, the survival of a population can be easily measured - in terms of reproductive fitness, children per woman, population growth rates etc.

But how would anyone agree on what "flourishing" means, let alone how to measure it?

Take for example, the Spartan civilization in Ancient Greece.

Spartan society was highly structured, militaristic and brutal - from the cradle to the grave.

Small or deformed babies were left to die of exposure. Boys began military training at age seven - deliberately underfed to encourage them to learn the skill of stealing food.

By eighteen they were trained to kill members of the Helot minority; at twenty they were eligible for military service and they would remain on duty until they were 60 years old.

If a Spartan soldier lost his shield in battle and returned alive, it was assumed that he attempted to flee and thus was subject to punishment by death or banishment. Even mothers enforced the militaristic lifestyle that Spartan men endured!

Yet, for such a cruel and warlike society, Sparta was well-admired during its day, considered by many people - even some of its rivals in Athens - to be an ideal state free from the corruption of commerce and money. Spartan women also enjoyed more rights and equality to men than elsewhere during that time period.

In terms of survival as a group, Sparta managed to maintain its political independence for several centuries.

So did the Spartans "flourish"?

And how do we critique the morality of their societal practices scientifically?

**********

There are many, many other things that I disagree with, but it's late and I need to sleep.

Suffice to say that I am amazed to see how reductionist Harris' view is, and how much he is attracted by the concept of a universal morality - eg. continuum along a single dimension, fixed peaks and valleys in his "moral landscape".

I realize that the systems perspective is not immediately intuitive, and people, even science-trained people, like to see things along a simple spectrum of black and white, right and wrong.

This spectrum, especially for social values, cannot exist because of confounding variables such as short-term vs long-term benefit, individual vs group benefit, stability vs flexibility etc - there are multidimensional trade-offs that preclude simple optimality.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Ash By Any Other Name Would NOT Smell As Sulphurous

The Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland must surely count as one of the most unpronounceable volcano names in the world.

Nonetheless, the effects of its latest eruption can be easily communicated.

Check out this satellite photo by NASA:















Iceland is outlined on the upper left of the photo, spewing what looks like atmospheric diarrhoea towards northern Europe on the lower right.

Volcanic ash clouds gradually spread over Europe causing numerous cancelled airline flights in... SINGAPORE?!??

That's right.

About 6,000 travellers at the Changi Airport have been affected by flight disruptions in Europe, many of them stranded at the transit lounges due to insufficient hotel rooms.

According to the Straits Times, about one in two travellers at Changi are transiting through Singapore to destinations in Europe or North America.

Also in that news report - an affected traveller Mr. Ken Jones said: "I am resigned to what is happening. It is nobody's fault, I guess, but of course I am annoyed and frustrated."

Understandably he is annoyed, but Mr. Jones may also add "relieved" to his mixture of emotions if he only knew what happens when a jet aeroplane flies through a plume of volcanic ash at 900 klicks an hour.

On the 24th of June 1982, passengers and crew of British Airways Flight 9 had the terrifying experience of just how that feels like:



Ah, the imprecision of the English language - volcanic "ash" sounds harmless enough, but it is not the same sort of "ash" that you get from burning paper or cigarettes.

Volcanic "ash" is actually made up of tiny, irregular pieces of rock and glass.

Oh my.


Would you like to know more?

More satellite photos of the Icelandic eruption:
- NASA Observes Ash Plume of Icelandic Volcano (NASA)

News of passengers stuck in Singapore:
- Stranded in Singapore (Straits Times)

Full video of the British Airways Flight 9 incident:
- Air Crash Investigation - British Airways Flight 9 (Google videos)

Another imprecision of the English language:
- Seven Years Of Science (Fresh Brainz)

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

A Grey Lizard That Isn't Really Grey

Last month, during the Chinese New Year period, I was passing through a jogging track beside a canal in Ghim Moh when I spotted this little critter:















GREY LIZARD!

It had a surprisingly deep grey colour that matched the surrounding asphalt very well. If not for the fact that it was dashing across the track right in front of me, I would have missed it.

I think that its grey skin is a good camouflage to protect the lizard against predators, such as birds.

I don't know much about lizards, but I find its even grey tone surprising since I've only seen garden lizards in brown and green.

My first thought when I saw it was - maybe there is a selection pressure for "jogging track lizards" to be grey?















Here's the fellow next to a ten cent coin.

The lizard was about 3 cm long. It could be a juvenile, so the grey colouration could be a transitory feature.

Most scientists who study the evolution of animal features tend to focus on the adult form. That doesn't mean that the features of young animals are less important.

We must remember that the environment starts to act against an animal, even before it was born!

If an animal cannot survive its youth, it cannot become an adult.















When I took a close-up photo of the lizard, I realized that it wasn't really grey!

The scales were in a mottled pattern of light and dark brown, and coupled with the fact that the lizard appeared to be moulting, the resultant colour from a distance was a dull, dark grey.

It made me ponder about the concept that quantitatively different features at the component level can result in qualitatively different features at the system level, ie. emergence.

After all, if you try to find a novel "grey gene" on this grey lizard, you might end up finding nothing! It might have been the combination of expression level changes to existing brown colour genes and opacity of the scales that contributed to its overall grey appearance.

Well, that's too much speculation for one day.

So I left the lizard, which had remained frozen in that position for minutes on the asphalt and didn't leave even after I had walked several metres away.

Survival instinct or excessive fear?

Seconds later, a bicycle zipped by that same spot.

I didn't look back.


Would you like to know more?
- Tertiary color (Wikipedia)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Minister Pay To Increase By 8.8%

Despite the raging debate among citizens about the government's performance regarding the foreign talent policy, HDB price spike, losses by Temasek Holdings and GIC etc., looks like the government has decided to raise the salaries of ministers yet again in this year's Budget.

Committed to going green (TODAYonline)
by Teo Xuanwei 05:55 AM Feb 23, 2010

Excerpt:

"Salaries for political appointments - ministers, ministers of state and parliamentary secretaries - are estimated to be $58.28 million, or 8.8 per cent higher than last year."

Ministers in Singapore are already the highest paid politicians in the world, earning over a million dollars a year and beating their counterparts in other countries by a large margin.

Check out this graph that compares the salary of the Prime Minister with prominent leaders of first world countries:



















It is shockingly inappropriate timing to raise their salaries while our country has barely recovered from the recession, and the sustained recovery of the global economy is still in doubt.

Some commenters on sociopolitical blogs say that this pay hike suggests that the government is not confident of winning the next general election and thus is increasing their salaries while they can.

Alternatively, it is also possible that the election will not be held this year after all, since it is inconceivable that the government would make such an insensitive move shortly before the election.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Le mariage est il la tombe de l'amour

Another piece of biting satire from the Onion News Network, this time parodying the same-sex marriage controversy in California, USA:



Ha ha ha... imagine the total chaos that would result when they try to enforce the law.

What is the legal definition of love (or lovelessness) anyway?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Gravity Is Just A Theory

Evolution is just a theory. You know what else is just a theory?

Gravity.



There you have it, an object that rolls uphill - "Gravity" has been debunked.

Now buy my snake oil!


Would you like to know more?
- Defying gravity: The uphill roller

Sunday, February 07, 2010

Singapore Airshow 2010 Gallery

Just came back from Changi Beach with some photos of the flight display this year.

Unlike last time, this afternoon the weather was excellent with blue skies and puffy white clouds.

One of the star attractions, the F-111, flew during trade days, but it seems to be grounded due to technical problems so there were only four jet aircraft in the air today.

Also, there were no aerobatic teams participating this year, so the display was pretty short.

F-16



















Pulling Gs while descending. Note the plume of condensation over the wings.



















Barrel roll, trailing a cockscrew-shaped stream of smoke.













Making a near pass.

A-10













From a distance, the A-10 doesn't look menacing at all. It resembles a UAV...













Also, despite the fact that it is a fearsome tank-killer, its quiet engines and relatively slower speed compared to the other jets makes it appear rather sedate.



















Pulling a tight turn and showing the business end of the machine - the 30mm Avenger cannon, visible as a dark bump on the aircraft's nose.

T-50



















In contrast to the A-10, the nifty Korean built T-50 jet trainer is both loud and speedy.













I think the Singapore Air Force is deciding between the Korean T-50 and the Italian M-346 for its new generation of advanced trainers.













Here it comes again for one more pass, just as the portside smoke generator runs out of smoke.

M-346













Fast and agile, the M-346 is also a superb trainer. It's not as fast as the T-50, but it uses two engines, a redundancy which is a good safety feature in a trainer aircraft.













Trailing streams of condensation from its wingtips as it pulls a tight turn to complete the performance.

Would you like to know more?
- Singapore Airshow 2008 Gallery

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

A Teen Who Looks Like An Old Woman

Zara Hartshorn is a 13-year-old who lives in a poor neighbourhood in northern England.

Life there is difficult enough, but Zara is experiencing an even tougher problem...



She has lipodystrophy, a rare genetic condition involving the loss of fatty tissue, resulting in the wrinkled skin that makes her look much older than she really is.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Partial Solar Eclipse 15 Jan 2010

My blog stats is showing a significant spike of visitors looking for information about the solar eclipse tomorrow, so here are some details about the event organized by the Science Centre (click the heading to go to their site):

IYA Partial Solar Eclipse

Event Name: International Year of Astronomy Partial Solar Eclipse
Date: 15th Jan (Fri)
Time: 3:30pm - 5pm
Venue: The Observatory @ Omni-Theatre
Fee: Free admission (No pre-registration required)
Come join us as a partial solar eclipse makes its appearance over Singapore! A galore of fun & exciting activities await you!

**********

For those of you who intend to observe on your own, the eclipse starts at around 3 pm, greatest coverage (less than 1/3 of the solar disk) at around 4.30 pm and ends shortly after 5 pm.

Remember the usual precautions (eg. avoid looking directly at the Sun). Pinhole cameras and eclipse glasses are the safest ways to view the eclipse.


Would you like to know more?

About tomorrow's solar eclipse
Solar eclipse of January 15, 2010 (Wikipedia)

About last year's solar eclipse
Solar Eclipse In Singapore

About the next solar eclipse visible from Singapore
Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016 (Wikipedia)

Monday, January 11, 2010

Introduction To Jean Baudrillard

Here's a superb primer by globalbeehive to the work of Jean Baudrillard - French sociologist and philosopher best known for his book Simulacra and Simulation, which was misinterpretated by the popular movie, The Matrix.




To a science-trained person, postmodernist philosophy can be very annoying due to the abundance use of metaphors and abuse of scientific jargon.

Moreover, I strongly disagree with the view that the world is fundamentally unknowable - even if "objectivity" can never be reached in practice, we can still distill a high level of intersubjectivity, which for many purposes is good enough knowledge to generate testable predictions and create technologies.

Even so, I think that Baudrillard's observations about the modern consumerist culture are spot on, especially his view on the "sign value" of objects.

Globalbeehive puts it this way:

"For Baudrillard, the sign value is much more important. So you don't just buy a computer to use it, but you also buy a computer in order to prove to the others, in a capitalist system, to make them believe that you are participating in it and have a certain status in it."

Oh my, that is really eerie!

Have you ever wondered why people put up those "Made on a Mac" badges?

Wondered why people spend a quarter million dollars on sports cars, only to drive them through city streets with a 50 km/h speed limit?

Why people spend tens of thousands on high-end audio systems that sound practically the same as those costing ten times less?

The yucky aesthetics of the Bohemian fashion trend in early '09? Bubble skirts? Croc shoes?

Well... now you know!

The consumer doesn't just consume the brand, she also gets subsumed by the brand, and the identity of the person becomes inextricable from the products that she brandishes as signs of her status.

Baudrillard's view on "hyperreality" is also very interesting.

From my perspective, hyperreality is a systems-level, socio-emergent trait that can become more compelling than factual reality.

Hyperreality can be created by distorting or exaggerating certain aspects of factual reality such that it becomes more "real" to the people than reality. This can be reinforced by constantly repeating the message ad nauseum (eg. through media bombardment) and eventually through the mechanism of "normalization of deviance" the people accept the hyperreality as the authentic version.

Or as Baudrillard would say:

"The simulacrum is never that which conceals the truth - it is the truth which conceals that there is none. The simulacrum is true."

This concept is not only of great importance to systems theorists, it is also important to those who are involved in creating the perception of value, for example politicians and sales/marketing people.

**********

I know this is quite a heavy topic to start the New Year with, but heh heh heh... get used to it.

It's going to get even heavier.


Would you like to know more?

About Jean Baudrillard's ideas:
- Excerpt from Simulacra and Simulation (Stanford) *Warning: postmodernist language!

About hyperreality in society:
- War between Business and Science