Category Archives: arts and culture

The Hyberbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project

Posted on 2008-03-05 by alan

“Holding theorems in their hands” is a blog post about the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Project. It’s a wonderful story about collaboration on many levels and across many interest groups – and with beautiful images to boot. I saw it … Continue reading →

Posted in arts and culture, biology, mathematics | Leave a comment

Grammar Needs Abandoned?

Posted on 2007-11-13 by alan

Columnist Jan Freeman defends the habit, common in some regions, of using the past participle in place of the gerund or infinitive phrase – ie saying “t’lawn needs cut” rather than “the lawn needs to be cut”. The main issue … Continue reading →

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Public Domain Under Attack

Posted on 2007-10-29 by alan

Why a Great Music Site Died :: Mediacheck :: thetyee.ca

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Times Less

Posted on 2007-10-21 by alan

In Do the math – The Boston Globe columnist Jan Freeman dismisses objections to the common usage of “three times less than” to mean equal to one third of. But the Merriam-Webster editors (per JF) are completely off base if … Continue reading →

Posted in education, language, mathematics | Leave a comment

Leaning Tower Illusion

Posted on 2007-08-12 by alan

My friend Gerry Pareja forwarded a link to this story from ‘Improbable Research’ about the first prize winner in the Neural Correlate Society’s 2007 Illusion of the Year contest. The image certainly is pretty cool. But to test the explanation … Continue reading →

Posted in arts and culture, photography, psychology | Leave a comment

Basskin Misrepresents Media Levy

Posted on 2007-08-10 by alan

David Basskin, Director of the CanadianPrivate Copying Collective, has written a letter to the Star in response to Michael Geist’s earlier comments about the media levy and its prospects of its being extended to mp3 players and perhaps even computer … Continue reading →

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Media Company Thieves Coming Back For More

Posted on 2007-08-02 by alan

In TheStar.com – entertainment – Tax on MP3 players may return, David Basskin, director of the Canadian Private Copying Collective, is quoted as saying: “When you have bought a CD, you don’t own the music – you own the copy … Continue reading →

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Even the New Yorker Gets it Wrong

Posted on 2007-07-27 by alan

ok, This may be a picayune comment in the context of a serious issue, but in David Remnick’s Letter from Jerusalem: The Apostate: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker he refers to Avram Burg’s “flouting of the fact that he … Continue reading →

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The Chronicle: 7/13/2007: Banishing the Ghosts of Iran

Posted on 2007-07-14 by alan

Commenting on the arrest of Haleh Esfandiari in The Chronicle: 7/13/2007: Banishing the Ghosts of Iran, Fatemeh Keshvarz says “We all wish Esfandiari to be freed, but the danger is that we will color all of Iran…” and goes on … Continue reading →

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