In one of his posts today, New York criminal defense lawyer Scott Greenfield writes about the error rate for drug-sniffing dogs: More to the point was the dog hits simply aren't anywhere nearly as worthy of credit as courts have held. Consider whether it would be equally acceptable for a cop to flip a coin in order to establish probable cause to search. For a dog whose … [Read more...] about Some Dog-Sniffing Math
Science
What OS Did The Matrix Use?
Now we know for sure. The Matrix was originally developed using Linux. Oh sure, it looks all loving and caring now, but plug that box into the Internet, let it read all about socialism and soon enough humanity will be hunted down in our sewer-submarines and end up plugged into Linux controlled wet squishy cocoons while we dream about hot chicks in black leather beating up cops … [Read more...] about What OS Did The Matrix Use?
Why Philosophers Shouldn’t Argue Physics with Stephen Hawking
The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed by Roger Scruton, an English philosopher, titled "Memo to Hawking: There's Still Room for God". (Sorry, it's behind a paywall.) He attempts to refute Hawking's premise that no God is needed to create a universe from nothing.Immanuel Kant, who believed that Newton's laws of gravity are not merely true but necessarily true, … [Read more...] about Why Philosophers Shouldn’t Argue Physics with Stephen Hawking
Powers of Ten
I first saw the Powers of Ten short on Carl Sagan's Cosmos. (If you don't know who Carl Sagan was, please don't tell me. It will just make me feel terribly old and sad.) Way back in the ancient mists of time the Museum of Science and Industry setup a kiosk looping the video and I stood watching it over and over for as long as I could. That video had a big impact on how I viewed … [Read more...] about Powers of Ten
Bite me, Bambi!
Or, How Eating Habanero Peppers Proves I'm Smarter Than Other Mammals. It's chili pepper harvesting time again! While most Chicagoans seem enamored with growing tomato plants, I think habanero peppers should be the crop of choice. OK, to be honest, I'm actually too lazy to grow my own, but I have a couple of friends and a neighbor who go through the effort and I reap the … [Read more...] about Bite me, Bambi!