(Science)
I a little late with this but it is just too cool not to share. Kevin Kelly has some great examples of a new technique to obscure the identity of people who happen to appear in pictures of public spaces. Software is used to replace different areas of a given face using a “stock” library of other faces. The results are freaky cool.
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My wife introduced me to the psychological phase Extinction Burst tonight. If you are trying to eliminate unwanted behavior through conditioning, there is a period of time during which that behavior will significantly increase before dropping back down and eventually disappearing for good.
My favorite example is the elevator button. Let’s say you ride the same
elevator every day. You get in, you push the button for your floor, and
you’re rewarded by the doors closing and the elevator taking you to your
destination. One day you get in and push the button, and nothing happens.
Do you immediately say, “Oh, this must not work anymore, I’ll just take the
stairs to the 11th floor”? Or do you push the button again? And again?
And harder? And faster? And in special sequences? That’s the extinction
burst.
That’s a great phrase. Nifty concept too.
Ever heard of the Edge project? Their about page states:
The EDGE of Existence programme aims to conserve the world’s most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) species by implementing the research and conservation actions needed to secure their future.
Something about the phrase “Evolutionarily Distinct” really yanks at my imagination. Maybe there should be some sort of partnership between them and the game Spore?
The EDGE folks even chalked-up some math with which to calculate a ED score:
In order to calculate ED scores for each species, we divide the total phylogenetic diversity of a clade amongst its members. This is achieved by applying a value to each branch equal to its length divided by the number of species subtending the branch. The ED of a species is simply the sum of these values for all branches from which the species is descended, to the root of the phylogeny.
Got it?
I came to the above info via a Buzzfeed posting about the Long-eared jerboa, and what is believed to be the first video footage of them acting all cute and endangered (once there, don’t forget to scroll down for more).
