kandela - Slashdot User

Submission + - New Mark to make /sarcasm obsolete /sarcasm (telegraph.co.uk)

Submitted by kandela on Friday January 15, 2010 @09:47AM

kandela writes: The Telegraph is reporting that for a mere $1.99 you can download a new punctuation mark that will revolutionise communication online. The SarcMark, described as "a dot inside a single spiral line," is to be used just like a question mark or exclamation mark to indicate sarcasm. And for those worried that this company's unique invention may be shamelessly copied by eager and unscrupulous grammarians – grammarians being the type to quickly adopt new ideas without heed to proper procedure – fear not, the Michigan based company has applied for a patent to protect their invention.

Submission + - Synchrotron gets sci-fi writer in residence (www.cbc.ca)

Submitted by

kandela

on Friday January 09, 2009 @05:54PM

kandela writes: "CBC News is reporting that Nebula and Hugo award winning author Robert J. Sawyer is to become the first ever writer in residence at the Canadian Light Source synchrotron facility (see also their media release).

Sayer will spend two months at the facility, where he is hoping to be inspired by the everyday grind of scientists, "I spent a lot of time visiting science labs over the years, but it's always the VIP tour," he said in an interview Wednesday. "You are in and you are out in a couple of hours, and everyone has shown you all the things they want you to see but none of the day-to-day grind of the work as well. I want to get the flavour of that."

As a scientist who has worked at synchrotron facilities (and occasional sci-fi writer myself (page 4)), I'm excited to see what a professional can do with that environment for inspiration."

Submission + - Formula for Procrastination Found

Submitted by

kandela

on Saturday January 13, 2007 @10:03AM

kandela writes: "Science Daily and the Universtiy of Calgary report that Calgary academic Dr. Piers Steel has published a paper titled "The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure." in The American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin. In it he reveals that most people's New Year's resolutions are doomed to failure, most self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastination, and procrastination can be explained by a single mathematical equation.

From the article "Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task," Steel says. "Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more."

The research is apparently the culmination of 10 years work, however no indication was given of how much time was spent putting it off before it was begun."

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