Mr. Hartan's Science Class
"Knowledge is a reckoning . . . a way to assess your location, your true position, not a strategy for improving your position." -Walter Kirn-Archive for September, 2009
Doctored Videos Easily Manipulate Eyewitnesses
A person can witness an event in real life, see a doctored video of the same event, and then convince themselves that what they saw on the video is what actually happened, according to a recent study that casts doubt on the reliability of eyewitness testimony.
Psychologists set up an experiment where they filmed two people sitting side by side–one experimental subject and one researcher pretending to be a participant–playing a gambling game where they bet phony money on whether or not they could answer multiple choice questions correctly. They were told that the person with the most money at the end would win a prize.
After the game, the researchers edited the video of the experiment so it appeared that the under-cover researcher was cheating by not giving money back after making a losing bet. The results showed that almost half of the people who watched a doctored video of an event believed the video rather than their actual experience, and some were even convinced to testify as an eyewitness to the fictitious happenings [LiveScience]. They were told to sign the eyewitness statement only if they were 100 percent sure that their partner cheated. Nearly 40 percent of those that watched the fake video decided their partner was cheating and signed the statement. The researchers published their results in a recent edition of the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.
In an era of easily manipulated photo and video evidence, the researchers say their findings have major implications for law enforcement officials and policy-makers, adding yet more evidence that eyewitness testimony cannot always be accepted as fact [Wired.com]. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that prison inmates do not have a right to DNA testing, so for some criminal cases, law enforcement agencies may never know just how reliable eyewitnesses are. READ ON.
America’s Failed Model for the World?
Europeans keep asking me, has America lost its mind? From healthcare to its economy, the US is looking merely average
by Steven Hill
Europeans are shaking their heads over their American friends again. Whether talking to people in the street, in the cafés or to journalists or political leaders, everyone here asks me the same question: Has America lost its mind? Town halls filled with angry citizens, shouting at their elected leaders, some of them armed with guns and threatening signs? Besides the media spectacle of these neo-1776 revolutionaries, what is doubly perplexing to Europeans is the focus of the protests: healthcare. READ ON.
NYT: Find Water Polluters Near You
“Across the nation, the system that Congress created to protect the nation’s waters under the Clean Water Act of 1972 today often fails to prevent pollution. The New York Times has compiled data on more than 200,000 facilities that have permits to discharge pollutants and collected responses from states regarding compliance. Information about facilities contained in this database comes from two sources: the Environmental Protection Agency and the California State Water Resources Control Board. The database does not contain information submitted by the states.” Full Story »
The Parasite Hit List
Radiolab (9 September 2009)
After releasing [their] Parasite Episode [they] wanted to share some gloriously gross parasite videos that served to inspire us and Carl Zimmer.
More Parasite Videos From Carl Zimmer
Recommended video from Nature (these require downloads)
Discover’s gallery of mind controlling parasites
Aquascaping: Aquarium Meets Terrarium
Los Angeles Times (19 September 2009)
by Deborah Netburn
Aquascaping: Aquarium Meets Terrarium in Japanese Inspired Design Practice
"This is not your conventional fish tank," says Steven Lo, pictured above with his brother George. "It's like a three-dimensional painting." (Dave Getzschman / For The Times)
Further Reading: The Terrarium is Back, Revived for a New Generation
Death Masks of the Famous
By R J Evans of History (8 August 2009)
Courtesy of Socyberty.com
http://socyberty.com/history/death-masks-of-the-famous/
It was the tradition for many centuries for death masks to be made of monarchs, artists and politicians in the time directly after their demise. Take a look at the many faces of death. READ ON.
Ludwig van Beethoven
The Shaky Science Behind Forensics
2 August 2009
CSI Myths: The Shaky Science Behind Forensics by Brad Reagan
(Photograph by Christopher Griffith; styling by Megan Caponetto)
On Jan. 11, 1992, the jury in the murder trial of Roy Brown heard from a dentist named Edward Mofson. To establish his credentials, Dr. Mofson testified that he was certified in forensic odontology, belonged to six related professional organizations and did forensic consulting throughout New York state. He then explained that several months earlier he was called to the morgue in Cayuga County, New York, to analyze the body of 49-year-old Sabina Kulakowski. READ ON.
