The Einstein Strikes Back

So apparently theories of so-called "dark matter" have all been based on explaining anomalous experimental data that turns out to just be rounding errors.

Now F I Cooperstock and S Tieu of the University of Victoria have reworked the problem using general relativity in place of Newtonian gravity, and they find no need to assume the existence of a halo of exotic dark matter to fit the observed rotation curves.

(via Slashdot.)

Preaching to the Choir

So you're saying irrational belief is a bad thing?

RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.

According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.

I never would have guessed.

(via Pandagon.)

Klik

I humbly submit to you, the reader, that Klik is the most important usability advancement in the history of Linux since SLS slapped together the first distribution. With one giant leap, installation of desktop applications reaches near-parity with Mac OS X and leaves Windows in the dust. It's truly a revelation. Now if I could only figure out how to make it work with Gentoo (and yes, I'm aware of the irony).

Objective Media

Some days, I blame the media most of all.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

I recently finished reading Susanna Clarke's novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and I must confess I feel largely unsatisfied. This is not to be confused with lack of closure, as I feel sacharine, tidy endings are generally the most unsatisfying, and this certainly wasn't one of those. On the whole I don't regret reading the thing, however, much like the case of Neal Stephenson's trilogy The Baroque Cycle, I know of people who only got partway in before abandoning the book and I honestly wouldn't be comfortable arguing they made the wrong choice. The story was certainly better than the vast majority of dreck published these days, but I doubt I'll be pushing a copy into anyone's hands anytime soon, nor can I really ever see rereading it.