Random Stuff

A Final 100 Funny Facebook Pages to ‘Like’

cfssufferer — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:26:35 +0000

This is my third and final list of 100 Facebook fan pages that I find funny (click on any page’s name and it will take you to that Facebook page)

1. That awkward moment when someone at NASA says “It’s not rocket science”

2. Naming your iPod “The Titanic” so it says “The Titanic is syncing.”

3. Those, “we shall never speak of this again…” moments

4. I’d run for my life if there’s a big fire at school. Not line up quietly.

5. Don’t let people push you around. Unless it’s in a wagon or something, because that could be fun.

6. if permanent marker was actually permanent, we’d all be screwed

7. “Baby On Board” Oh well I WAS going to ram your car but now I guess not…

8. The moment of doubt when walking through a metal dectector at the airport

9. “Lets all go clubbing!…” ” Yay, I Hate Seals!” “Wait… What?”

10. I knew jk meant just kidding. LOL jk I thought it meant joke.

11. Don’t tease fat kids, they have enough on their plates

12. doing the “im thinking real hard face” when the teachers looks at you

13. Holding your cat in the air whilst singing songs from The Lion King

14. www.fa –> ahhh internet, you know me so well

15. that awkward moment when you dont know if you should hug someone or not

16. Awkwardly walking in the same direction after saying goodbye

17. Mom says “Alchohol is your enemy”… Jesus says “Love your enemy”

18. Deliberately avoiding eye contact with the teacher so they won’t pick you

19. oooooo text message, nope just my leg randomly vibrating?

20. Putting “le” in front of a word makes it french

21. Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?

22. ‘I got arrested in town the other day’ ‘Why?’ ‘Possession of guns’ *Flexes*

23. Checking your symptoms on Google and accepting you’re going to die.

24. Pulling out gum in school is like pulling out crack in a rehab center.

25. What is the point of a white crayon?

26. 6 million sperm and u were the fastest?….

27. Checking the fridge every ten minutes to see if any food magically appeared

28. Friends are like trees. They fall down if you hit them with an axe.

29. If you tailgate me, I will intentionally slow down to piss you off.

30. I don’t care if they taste the same, a certain colour M&M just tastes better!!

31. Trying to delete useless characters in a text to make it under 160

32. “There are lots of weirdos out there.” ” Mom, i know. They’re my friends”

33. Woah, Bob the Builder and Barack Obama have the same catchphrase!

34. paper beats rock? ok,i’ll throw a rock at u & u defend urseself with paper

35. When buying a fake ID the decision is between McLovin and Muhammad

36. I Want To Die Peacefully Like My Grandpa, Not Screaming Like His Passengers

37. Your the reason why i wake up in the morning… LOL jk its coz of my alarm

38. What do you call cheese that isn’t yours? Nacho cheese.

39. that awkward moment when you can’t tell if a persons a boy or a girl.

40. “Press any key to continue, where’s the any key?” – Homer Simpson

41. If it wasn’t for synonyms on Microsoft Word, my essays would be crap.

42. I’m so good at sleep, I can do it with my eyes closed

43. growing your beard during exams to seek extra wisdom

44. Accepting the terms and conditions because that’s the only way to continue

45. Pardon me, Sir Gangster? Your trousers are descending.

46. The awkwardness of Nigeria vs Germany and the scoreboard says Nig-Ger.

47. ok, either my fb chat has broken or your writing me an essay

48. Not smiling in photos because you’re a complete badass.

49. I did my homework , LOL jk Google did!

50. I have amnesia.. LOL jk I have amnesia

51. “It’s not illegal, just frowned upon like masterbating on an airplane.”

52. Ever Notice you Never See Me or Superman at the same time?

53. Today my friend David lost his ID. Now we just call him Dav.

54. Good Grades, Enough Sleep, or a Social Life… Pick any two.

55. Dumping your girlfriend via powerpoint presentation

56. Dumping your girlfriend via Hangman

57. Sitting in the cinema, comfy then BOOM. human giraffe sits in front of you

58. Math. The only place where people buy 60 watermelons and no one wonders why

59. IM nO+ @ L1ttle TrYY|-|@rD l0L JK 1 Wr1t3 l1k3 th15

60. Do headphones just tie themselves in knots while we’re not looking?

61. stop microwave with 1 second to go……………….. feel like a bomb defuser

62. Stop complaining about our generation… Your generation raised us.

63. doesanyoneknowwhatthelongbuttonatthebottomofthekeyboardisfor???

64. How can I look it up in the dictionary if I don’t know how to spell it?!

65. The embarassing couple of seconds when automatic doors wont open for you

66. Why does the glue not stick to the bottle insidee ?

67. I wanted to send you something sexy but the mail man made me get out

68. Not knowing what to say when someone says “Im so fat”,and they actually are

69. “Yes Officer I did see the Speed Limit sign I just didn’t see YOU”

70. Who else thinks when the Monopoly Man was younger, he was the Pringles guy?

71. Realizing you borrowed the pen you’re sticking in your mouth

72. On a scale of 1 to Voldemort, how badly do you want revenge?

73. On a scale of 1 to Lord of The Rings, how much did you walk today?

74. writing somethin funny in google, then making out you searched there name

75. aint no mountain high enough to keep me from you babe, LOL jk u seen everest?

76. The awkward moment when you realise that Osama Bin Laden made 7 horcruxes

77. The awkward moment when Prince Will Realises Kate has a much hotter sister

78. The awkwardness of standing in an elevator with strangers.

79. Dear Osama, looks like I win, sincerely Where’s Wally

80. The awkward silence when Heidi from The Hills asks you if she looks good

81. Exploring Uranus

82. Stealthily locking your car door when you see someone sketchy

83. Spelling a word so bad that spell check cant even fix it

84. “I used the theasurus” “You signed your name as ‘Baby Kangaroo Tribbiani’”

85. I do something super good.. then i go and show someone, and i suck.

86. If tomatoes are fruit. Then isn’t ketchup technically a smoothie

87. Women’s Tennis: The Blind Man’s Free Porn

88. Osama Bin Laden – Coming soon to a beach near you.

89. Put blue Gatorade in a Windex bottle and drink that shit in public

90. Wearing your batman cape under your clothes just incase shit goes down.

91. Dumping your girlfriend via interperative dance.

92. Filling up $20.02 of petrol = winning, filling to $20.03 = rookie mistake

93. That mysterious toothbrush in the bathroom that nobody in your family uses.

94. Pretending to care about a teacher’s personal life, to waste time in class.

95. The awkward moment when the anti-piracy ad assumes you wouldnt steal a car.

96. AS A CHILD I NEVER GOT MY PEN LICENCE, THUS BEGAN MY CRIMINAL CAREER

97. I went outside once…The graphics were alright, but the gameplay sucked.

98. Where’s Kanye when my parents are giving me a long ass speech?

99. I’m Nice To The Weird Kid, So He Will Spare My Life When He Snaps

and finally, number 100. i once had a life … then some idiot came and told me to make a face book

Thanks for reading my third and final list of 100 funny Facebook like pages.

My first list of 100 Funny Facebook Pages to ‘Like’ can be found here: http://somerandomstuff1.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/100-funny-facebook-pages-to-like/

My Second list of 100 funny Facebook pages can be found here: http://somerandomstuff1.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/another-100-funny-facebook-like-pages/

Chooka Parker

cfssufferer — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:37:56 +0000

Chooka James Parker (formerly Ethan James Parker) is a recently turned 17 year old who has amassed a cult like following. He’s gained over 1 million youtube views, has moved the masses to tears and has single-handedly caused a paradigm shift in the field of classical piano. All of this on the back of a single performance on the TV show ‘Australia’s Got Talent.’ Behind the scenes and beneath the moustache, who is the enigmatic child that is Chooka?

Chooka is a product of the diminutive country town of Red Lion, Victoria. With a population of a shade over 300, this appears to be one of those secluded communities that house a population sign that is updated when a local ventures off into the metropolis. Chooka’s prestigious talent will inevitably cause him to ‘minus one’ from Red Lion’s welcome sign as he likely performs on the world stage. As Chooka exclaimed at his ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ maiden performance, pertaining to his home town, “It’s just got an old pub there. Someone’s using it as a house now.”

The name ‘Chooka’ will have the people at the syntax department of the Oxford English Dictionary fuming. Formerly Ethan, this farmhand states “When I was about eleven I think, I wanted to farm a million chooks, so some old lady decided to call me ‘Chooka.’” Chooka was homeschooled and is a fine advertisement of the potential benefits of being raised with no TV or internet. After spending hours working on his family’s farm, he retires to his piano each evening as a leisure activity- A refreshing change from pushy parent syndrome producing musical child prodigies.

His crescent moustache hovers ominously above his upper lip like digits poised aloft a toothy piano. Chooka’s skin radiates with a varnished porcelain veneer, dusky from a lifetime of labour beneath the punishing Australian sun. Stubble, perhaps with more of a semblance to bumfluff, protrudes from his sculptured chin line. An oversized charcoal-black akubra permanently casts a thick shadow across his eyeline, perpetuating this eccentric’s enigmatic expression. Beneath its brim, copper locks cascade freely with a similar texture and entanglement to the fleece that Chooka effortlessly sheers from his family’s sheep. He often sports flannelette or vanilla shirts with elaborate collars reminiscent of the bard. With an exaggerated Aussie country accent, his vernacular is littered with colloquialisms.

When Chooka lopes towards a piano, one senses that two negative magnet ends will rashly repel. As his posterior clunks down onto a wooden frame, his shoulders synchronically arc forward. As his calloused fingertips contact the basswood keys initially, first time Chooka listeners will inevitably cringe until the spectrum of notes in an unbridled manner are released into the heavens. Temporarily, despite the verisimilitude, one ponders whether a Bach CD is releasing such angelic sounds. After marvelling at Chooka’s poetic and spontaneous fingers, the situation becomes vivid- The contradictions, the broken stereotypes, the uniqueness, the impulsiveness. They all amount to a melodic nirvana. With the passion of an Italian footballer, the dissidence of Che Guevara, the incongruousness of a square circle and the aesthetics of a Goddess- Chooka plays the piano.

Piano child prodigies are dime-a-dozen yet Chooka is a rare breed even within the prodigy cohort. He states, “What I like to do is just make it all up on the spot, play what I feel.” This is doubly impressive as Chooka taught himself to play the piano and read music. “Dad used to teach me drums on an old paint tin. So I’ve always been tapping and Dad eventually said ‘we’ve got to do something about that.’ We bought a piano and I started tapping on the piano and that’s how I learnt piano.” Chooka only plays original pieces and never repeats a performance- some of the greatest compositions ever performed will never be heard again. Despite this, every eclectic yet well-ordered note, every bar that was never written down and each song shall be immortalised in the pantheon of the gods.

Chooka’s occa exterior masquerades a gentle soul, released into the world through the medium for which he will soon be famous. He resembles a morphed product of the fictitious Indiana Jones and a youthful Tom Selleck. This moustached maestro is nonchalant, unassuming and as down to earth as his unpolished boots. As Chooka begins his craft, a chiselled Rodin creation transforms into an animate flame.

The deep iceberg that is Chooka is yet to be fully understood- such is his hasty impression on the public scene however peculiar personal anecdotes have already garnered attention. For instance, after cleaning a companion’s house, Chooka was offered an object remaining within the abode- Chooka chose a Mozart CD. It was 2 years before he obtained a CD player to listen to the CD. He now boasts a collection of hundreds of classical CDs. His recent performance on TV show ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ was his virgin stage performance. He had mainly performed for his family in the past and had only been busking a handful on times in his miniscule town. His family had to borrow a TV to watch Chooka’s audition on the premier episode and as soon as his performance show had concluded, the family reverted back to their standard routine of listening to Chooka manifest music in person.

A literal interpretation of the ultimate line in Frank O’Hara’s ‘The Day Lady Died’ sums up Chooka the best. Chooka… “Whispered a song along the keyboard… and everyone and I stopped breathing.”

Chooka’s first public performance can be viewed below:

Another 100 Funny Facebook ‘Like’ Pages

cfssufferer — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 07:04:06 +0000

These are another 100 Facebook ’like’ pages that I find funny (click on any page’s name and it will take you to that Facebook page)

1. My mum thinks ‘lol’ means ‘Lots of Love’. She texted me: ‘Our dog died LOL’

2. “We now live in a society where pizza gets to your house before the police”

3. Last year 4,153,237 ppl got married but shouldn’t that be an even number?

4. Harry Potter’s a little unrealistic, I mean a ginger kid with 2 friends?!?!

5. A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing

6. Dear Mr underccover police car, i like your 5 extra antennas

7. Dear algebra, stop making me find your X! She’s not coming back…

8. Dear Iceberg, heard about global warming, karma’s a bitch. from Titanic

9. Looking at someones claimed doppleganger and thinking “you wish”.

10. on a scale of 1 to Spencer Pratt, how crazy was that?

11. When i die don’t write “R.I.P” on my grave… write “B.R.B”

12. neighbours are ok unless they have passwords on thier wireless internet

13. saying “You Had to be There” when you realize your story really isn’t funny

14. Mario is actively encouraging children to take psychotropic mushrooms.

15. No wonder Justin Bieber’s so pale, there’s no sun in the closet

16. Stroking my beard while pondering the mysteries of the universe

17. Friends are like potatoes… If you eat them, they die

18. The awkwardness when a woman doesn’t choose the iron in a game of monopoly

19. What do you call a man who joins pages about girls making sandwiches? Single.

20. I Put The Wrong Date On Papers So My Teachers Dont Know I Did It Last Night

21. I’d kill for the download speed the girl on the piracy advert gets

22. Saying random numbers when someone is counting to make them lose count

23. “We can still be friends” is like saying “Hey, the dog died but we can keep it”

24. “What Does IDK Stand For” “I Don’t Know” “OMG Nobody Knows”

25. ‘Hey, what time is it?’ ‘Time to get a watch’ ‘Time to get a better joke’

26. Naming your car and referring to it as a person

27. I just realized immature spells I’m mature.

28. seeing an old pic of urself & wondering why i was let out of the house

29. Of all the fishes in the sea, you had to pick a whale..? :\

30. University – Working hard 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, 2 weeks a year

31. THE WALK OF SHAME when u throw a paper at the garbage can and miss. . .

32. Using a window as a mirror then realising there’s someone on the other side

33. WHEN I READ CAPITALS, THERE IS A SHOUTING VOICE IN MY HEAD

34. Dear Buffy. We have a new assignment for you. His name is Edward.

35. I love it when someone’s laugh is funnier than the joke

36. theres a fine line between tan, and looking like you rolled in doritos

37. That one friend that walks into your house like its their home

38. I’ve Always Wanted to Spin Round in a Chair & Say “I’ve Been Expecting You.

39. TO A.L.C.O.H.O.L. THE CAUSE OF–AND SOLUTION TO ALL OF LIFE’S PROBLEMS

40. Who ever invented the “copy and paste” has saved many hours of my life.

41. you only live once, LOL jks, I’m a cat.

42. HAPPY BITHDAY QUEEN! lol jks.. thanks for the day offf

43. Imma let you finish.. LOL jks, I’m Kanye West

44. Here’s a gift of a wooden horse, LOL jks, im going to destroy your city

45. This LOL jks thing has gone way too far…….. LOL Jk, its just beginning

46. SHARK!! everyone get out the water! LOL JKS.

47. COD is the best game in the world, lol jks ever played mathletics?

48. ewwww its a dead zebra…LOL JK I’m Bear Grylls gobblegobblegobble

49. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!…aww you remembered?…ofcourse!, LOL JK Facebook told me.

50. IM RIDING SOLOOO, LOL jks my mums driving us.

51. “Hi, Can I help you?” “No, I just waited in line for 15 minutes to say hi.”

52. the point where it is too late to ask what someones name is

53. As a child I always wondered if the light in the fridge ever turned off.

54. Dear Noah, We could have sworn you said the ark wasn’t leaving till 5. Sincerely, Unicorns.

55. I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

56. My mind was blown when i found out “lol” looks like a drowning man!!

57. I Never Finish My Eraser Because It Is Either Stolen,Lost,or Cut In Half

58. You never see an Asian hobo.

59. I’m pretty sure i paid for a bag of chips, not half a bag of air

60. I hate it when I cant figure out which side of the blanket is the long side

61. At a movie theater which arm rest is yours?

62. ‘How old are you McLovin?’ ‘Old enough..’ ‘Old enough for what?’ ‘To party’

63. the awkward moment when your unsure if someone is a girl or a boy

64. Dear Voldemort, they screwed up your nose too? Sincerely, Michael Jackson

65. Let’s yahoo it. LOL jk google that sh*t! : D

66. The awkward moment created when you go for a hug and they go for a kiss.

67. The awkward moment when you yell “Slut” and every girl looks

68. The awkward moment when you realize your girlfriend is doing Movember too

69. That awkward moment when you get in the van and there’s no candy.

70. The awkward moment when an emo kid orders a Happy Meal from maccas

71. The awkward moment when you know more than the sex ed teacher

72. “The awkward moment when you yell out COD during sex instead of her name”

73. I wonder if Tom (the myspace guy) has a facebook?!

74. I don’t care if your son is 3, I’m not giving up this swing. Thanks.

75. When I Play Fighting Games I Press Random Buttons And Hope For The Best

76. Dear Encyclopedia, Hahahahahahaha. Sincerely, Wikipedia

77. I run away when I press a toy at a store and realize it wont stop making a noise

78. Wouldn’t it be ironic if you choked on a life saver

79. If you say gullible REALLY SLOWLY, it sounds like oranges

80. Hi I’m Troy McClure. You’re reading this in my voice

81. 111 111 111 x 111 111 111 = 12345678987654321 …Mind. Blown.

82. We only need 5,000,000 guys to join to vote Justin Bieber out of our gender

83. Move out of the way children I’ve been waiting 11 years to see Toy Story 3

84. I was owning on mario cart, then i realised i wasnt the top screen….

85. When the old peoples’ items on antiques roadshow are worth nothing

86. That awkward moment when santa has the same wrapping paper as your mum

87. A man is dying of Cancer. His son asked him: “Dad, why do you keep telling people you are dying of AIDS?” Dad: “So when I’m dead, no one will dare touch your mom”

88. Spazzing when you press play on your ip0d not knowing its on full volume

89. Being Unsure If You Should Believe The Answer Some One Wrote In The Book…

90. That one friend we all have who will get naked for no reason

91. “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” … It’s not? What the hell is it then?

92. I Have Also Slept With Tiger Woods

93. People who investigate strange noises in horror movies deserve to die

94. Coughing in front of smokers to make them feel guilty

95. When we were little,Why were we so scared of our parents counting to three?

96. My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch

97. The irony of not being able to open a pack of much-needed scissors.

98. The police never think it’s as funny as you do.

99. Loading ████████████ 99% … Failed . OMG . >: (

And finally, number 100. I like too many pages because their title makes me go, “That’s so true!”

Thanks for reading my second list of 100 funny Facebook ‘like’ pages.

My first list of ’100 Funny Facebook Pages to ‘Like’ can be found here: http://somerandomstuff1.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/100-funny-facebook-pages-to-like/

My third and final list of 100 funny Facebook pages can be found here: http://somerandomstuff1.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/a-final-100-funny-facebook-pages-to-%e2%80%98like%e2%80%99/

An Explanation of Each of the Experiments Within Bem’s ESP Study

cfssufferer — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 04:29:41 +0000

A scientific paper by Daryl Bem, a social psychologist, will imminently be published in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. What is significant about this paper is that it supports the case for extra sensory perception (ESP.) The paper also presents data that suggests that humans may be able to predict things before they happen. The paper has passed the peer-review process and has been accepted for publication. I am personally a sceptic but also someone who embraces the scientific method. Until these fascinating and perplexing results are consistently replicated, I will still be a sceptic concerning all matters ESP. Despite my own position, I have attempted to present the data from Bem’s paper in an objective manner. It should be emphasised that each of the experiments involved the participants predicting a future event. Below I have explained each individual experiment of Bem’s.

Before the experiments
Prior to the experiments, participants were asked to self evaluate themselves based on two statements. 1. ‘I am easily bored’ and 2. ‘I often enjoy seeing movies I’ve seen before.’ Respondents were asked to rate, based on a 5 point scale, these statements across the spectrum from ‘very untrue’ to ‘very true.’ These questions categorised the participant into either a stimulus seeking group or a non-stimulus seeking group. Several past psi studies have concluded that there is a correlation between extraversion and psi performance. It has been speculated that the extrovert searches for stimulation due to a susceptibility to boredom.

Experiment 1

This first experiment was titled ‘Precognitive Detection of Erotic Stimuli’ and involved 100 Cornell undergraduate students. Prior to the test, each participant undertook relaxation for a 3 minute period. The test commenced with two curtains appearing on the computer screen- one on the left side and one on the right side. At this stage, neither curtain had an image behind it. The participants were instructed to predict which curtain would have an image behind it. This image would appear behind the curtain after the participant recorded their guess. The specific curtain with the image behind it would be selected randomly by the testing apparatus and would be independent of the participants’ choice. In essence this test involved using erotic images in posterity as reinforcement to the participants to correctly perceive the future position of the erotic images themselves. Non-erotic, neutral, positive, negative and romantic (non-erotic) pictures were inter dispersed amongst the erotic pictures.

This first experiment involved a total of 36 trials. The psi hypothesis of this experiment was that the future position of the erotic image would be selected significantly more often than by chance (50%.) It is important to emphasise that this was indeed a test of precognition as the position of the image and the nature of the image were not determined by the computer until after the participant made their guess. This was a test of predicting a future event.

Results

The participants in this first experiment correctly selected the future location of the erotic images ‘significantly’ more frequently’ than the chance 50% rate. Overall, the future position of the erotic images was selected with a 53.1% success rate. This was in contrast to the future location of the non erotic images being chosen with 49.8% accuracy. Those ‘stimulus seeking’ individuals selected the future position of the erotic picture at a rate of 57.6%.This same group selected the future location of non-erotic images 49.9% of the time. The participants who were low in stimulus seeking selected the future location of the erotic image at a 49.9% success rate. They also selected the future position of the non-erotic image with 49.9% success.

Summary of Experiment 1

Step 1: A left and a right curtain are shown.

Step 2: The participants guess which curtain will have an image behind it.

Step 3: A computer randomly selects which curtain will have an image behind it.

Step 4: An image is shown to the participants from behind one of the curtains.

Result: The future position of the erotic images was selected significantly more than the future position of the non-erotic images

Experiment 2

The second experiment was titled ‘Precognitive Avoidance of Negative Stimuli’ and involved 150 undergraduate Cornell students. Before the experiment, each participant was involved in a 3 minute relaxation period. The experiment started with two identical yet mirror image pictures being shown on the computer screen. The participants were asked which picture (or rather which flipped orientation of the picture) they preferred. These pictures were not arousing pictures and were considered to be neutral. Following the participants’ preference selection, the computer randomly chose one of the two images to be the ‘target.’ When the participant chose the future target picture, a positive picture was subliminally flashed on the screen 3 times for an exposure period of 33ms. When the participant chose what the computer randomly determined to be the non-target picture, an arousing negative picture was subliminally flashed on the screen 3 times for a period of 33ms.

This experiment involved 36 trials. A ‘hit’ was considered to be selecting the future target which consequentially made the participant avoid the subliminal, negative picture. The hypothesis for this experiment was that the participants would select what would be the future target on significantly more than 50% of the trials. It must be emphasised that the computer determined the ‘target’ after the participant chose their picture and this was independent from the participants’ choice.

Results

Four different methods were used to analyse the results due to the nature of the experiment. Overall, the target was predicted by the participants on 51.7% of occasions. This was a ‘significant psi performance.’ The hit rate of low stimulus seekers was between 50.7% and 50.8%. This contrasted the hit rate of high stimulus seekers which was between 53.5% and 53.6%.

Summary of Experiment 2

Step 1: Two identical mirror image pictures are shown to the participants

Step 2: The participants select which image they prefer

Step 3: The computer randomly selects one of the two images

Step 4: If the computer selected image matches the participant selected image, then a positive picture is subliminally flashed on the screen

Step 5: If the computer selected image is different from the participant selected image, then a negative image is subliminally flashed on the screen.

Result: The future computer selected image was selected by the participants significantly more than the non-computer selected image

Experiment 3

In order to understand this experiment, it is important to be aware of psychological priming experiments. These experiments involve a positive or negative word flashing up on the screen. This is followed by a picture appearing on the screen. Participants are asked to judge as quickly as possible whether the image is a positive or negative image. Generally, respondents respond quicker if the original word on the screen is of the same nature as the image on the screen. For instance, if both the word and the image are positive, then participants will generally respond quicker than if the word is negative and the image is positive. If the word and the image are of the same nature, it is known as a ‘congruent trial.’ If the word and image are of different natures, then it is known as an incongruent trial.

The third experiment was titled ‘Retroactive Priming I’ and involved 100 Cornell undergraduates. Prior to the experiment, participants experienced a 3 minute relaxation period. The experiment was divided into two sections- the retroactive priming trial and the forward priming trial. The retroactive priming trial involved each participant being shown an image on their computer screen. The participants then had to indicate as quickly as possible whether the image was ‘pleasant’ or ‘unpleasant.’ Following their selection, a word would flash up on the screen. This word would be randomly selected by the computer after the participant had indicated the nature of the image. This word would either be a positive word such as ‘beautiful’ or a negative word such as ‘ugly.’ This first part of the experiment (retroactive priming) involved 32 trials.

The second part of the experiment featured the forward priming aspect. This involved the standard priming procedure during which a positive or negative word was flashed on the screen and then the appearance of an image. The participants then answered as quickly as possible whether the image was pleasant or not. This forward priming part of the experiment also featured 32 trials. In both portions of this third experiment, the participants’ response times were being measured and were of merit.

Results

Several methods were used in this study to analyse the response times. These methods are standard priming analysis methods were not post hoc methods used by the study authors. This first analysis method involved a 1.5 second cut off criteria (this excluded those trials in which the participant took longer than 1.5 seconds to select the nature of the image.) Using this method on the forward primes, the participants were 23.6 ms faster at answering congruent trials than incongruent trials. This is a typical priming result. The same method used on the retroactive primes yielded the result that the participants were 15.0 ms faster at responding to future congruent trials than future incongruent trials.

Using the 1.5 second cut off method, 64.9% of participants were faster at congruent forward priming as opposed to incongruent priming. 60.8% of participants were faster at congruent retroactive priming as opposed to incongruent retroactive priming. The individuals’ stimulus seeking level did not correlate with higher priming scores in either the forward or retroactive experiments.

Summary of Experiment 3

First Part of the experiment

Step 1: A pleasant or an unpleasant image is shown to the participant

Step 2: The participant indicates as quickly as possible whether the image is pleasant or unpleasant

Step 3: The computer randomly selects a negative or positive word and flashes it on the screen.

Result: Participants were significantly faster at indicating whether an image was pleasant or unpleasant if a corresponding (negative or positive) word was later shown to them.

Second part of the experiment

Step 1: The computer randomly selects a negative or positive word and flashes it on the screen

Step 2: A pleasant or an unpleasant image is shown to the participant

Step 3: The participant indicates as quickly as possible whether the image is pleasant or unpleasant

Result: Participants were significantly faster at determining whether an image was pleasant or unpleasant if a corresponding word (positive or negative) was shown before the image.

Experiment 4

The fourth experiment was titled ‘Retroactive Priming II’ and included 100 undergraduates for Cornell. This experiment was almost identical to experiment 3 with only one major and two minor differences. The minor differences involved slight changes to the length of time certain parts of the experiment appeared on the participants’ computers. The major difference involved the pairings of the words with their appropriate picture. In experiment 3, the word that appeared before or after each picture (depending on the part of the experiment) was random and didn’t necessarily have a specific relation to the picture. For instance, in experiment 3, a basket of fruit could have been shown and the priming word accompanying the basket of fruit could have been a random word such as one of; beautiful, ugly, friendly, threatening etc. In experiment 4, the priming word was appropriately paired to the image. For instance, the basket of fruit could have had only the positive priming word ‘luscious’ or negative priming word ‘bitter’ appearing before or after it. In this experiment (number 4) the computer randomly selected either the one negative priming word or one positive priming word to accompany each image. Other than these changes, experiment 4 was a replication of experiment 3.

Results

The results of this experiment were very similar to the results of experiment 3. Using the 1.5 second cut off criteria, the forward priming experiment resulted in participants being on average 27.4 ms faster on congruent primes than on incongruent primes. Using the same method, the retroactive priming experiment showed that the participants were 16.5 ms faster at answering congruent primes as opposed to incongruent primes. Like experiment 3, there was no correlation between being a stimulus seeking individual and the priming effect for either the forward or retroactive experiments.

Summary of Experiment 4

First Part of the experiment

Step 1: A pleasant or an unpleasant image is shown to the participant

Step 2: The participant indicates as quickly as possible whether the image is pleasant or unpleasant

Step 3: The computer randomly selects a negative or positive word that matches the image and flashes it on the screen. For instance a basket of fruit would match either luscious (positive) or bitter (negative.)

Result: Participants were significantly faster at indicating whether an image was pleasant or unpleasant if a corresponding (negative or positive) word was later shown to them.

Second part of the experiment

Step 1: The computer randomly selects a negative or positive word that matches the image and flashes it on the screen

Step 2: A pleasant or an unpleasant image is shown to the participant

Step 3: The participant indicates as quickly as possible whether the image is pleasant or unpleasant

Result: Participants were significantly faster at determining whether an image was pleasant or unpleasant if a corresponding word (positive or negative) was shown before the image.

Experiment 5

In order to understand experiment 5, it is imperative to understand what a standard ‘mere-exposure experiment’ entails. A mere-exposure experiment begins with a participant being shown a picture subliminally by it appearing on a screen for a short period of time at regular intervals. This image is known as the ‘habituation target.’ Following the exposure to the subliminal habituation target, two very similar pictures are shown on the screen statically and side by side. One of these pictures is the habituation target and the other is a similar picture to the habituation target.

The fifth experiment was titled ‘Retroactive Habituation I’ and included 100 Cornell undergraduates. Prior to the experiment, the participants were subject to a 3 minute relaxation period. This fifth experiment was a retroactive version of the aforementioned mere-exposure experiment. The participants in experiment 5 were shown two similar and static images that appeared on their computer screen side by side. They were asked to indicate which picture they preferred. After the participant selected the preferred picture, the computer randomly selected one of the two pictures that was now the habitation target. This habituation target was then flashed subliminally on the screen several times for a 17ms period.

Experiment 5 featured only negative pairs of images as well as neutral control images. The retroactive hypothesis was that the study participants would prefer and hence select what would in the future be randomly deemed the target image on more than 50% of occurrences.

Results

When negative picture pairs were shown (as opposed to the neutral and control pairs) the participants selected and hence preferred what would be the future target 53.1% of the time, which constitutes a significant result. Women selected the future target picture 53.6% of the time while men achieved this feat on 52.4% of occasions. The neutral and control pair targets were selected 49.4% of the time.

Summary of Experiment 5

Step 1: Two similar images appear on the computer screen next to each other (either 2 negative pictures or 2 neutral pictures)

Step 2: The participants select which image they prefer

Step 3: The computer randomly selects one of the two pictures and flashes this image on the screen subliminally

Result: The participants selected the same negative image (from a pair of negative images) that the computer would randomly select significantly more than the same neutral image (out of a pair of neutral images) that the computer would select.

Experiment 6

Experiment 6, titled ‘Retroactive Habituation II’ was identical to experiment 5 except for 1 major and 2 minor changes. The major change involved the introduction of an erotic image pair trial. This changed the retroactive hypothesis to predict that participants would prefer the target picture on less than 50% of erotic trials. This was due to an erotic positive image being involved as opposed to experiment 5’s negative image. The first of the 2 minor changes involved an improvement on experiment 5 by determining if any image, comprising a pair had been preferred frequently. Consequentially, frequently selected images as part of pairs from experiment 5 were replaced with new images. The second minor change involved the introduction of gender specific negative and erotic images.

Results

Both of the retroactive hypotheses held up. The negative image aspect of experiment 6 resulted in 51.8% of participants retroactively selecting and hence preferring the future target image. The erotic image aspect of the retroactive study had a hypothesis that less than 50% of target images would be preferred. This hypothesis was fulfilled as 48.2% of target images were selected. The neutral, control target images were selected on 49.3% of occasions.

Summary of Experiment 6

Step 1: Two similar images appear on the computer screen next to each other (either 2 erotic pictures, 2 negative pictures or 2 neutral pictures)

Step 2: The participants select which image they prefer out of the two similar images

Step 3: The computer randomly selects one of the two pictures and flashes this image on the screen subliminally

Result: The participants selected the same negative image (from a pair of negative images) that the computer would randomly select significantly more than the same neutral image (out of a pair of neutral images) that the computer would select. The participants selected the same erotic image (from a pair or erotic images) that the computer would randomly select significantly less than the same neutral image (out of a pair of neutral images) that the computer would select.

Experiment 7

The seventh experiment was titled ‘Retroactive Induction of Boredom’ and included 200 Cornell undergraduates. Prior to the test, participants undertook relaxation for a 3 minute period. This seventh experiment involved two similar pictures appearing side by side on the participants’ computer screens. These image pairs ranged from mildly negative to mildly positive. The participants were asked to specify which image they preferred. After the selection was made, the computer randomly chose one of the images as the ‘target.’ This image was then flashed on the computer screen. Unlike the previous experiments, the image was flashed in such a manner as to make the participant conscious of the image being flashed. This flashing process involved the image being visible (and filling the entire screen) for a period of 0.75 seconds followed by a blank screen lasting for 0.25 seconds. This flashing process was repeated 10 times. Each participant partook in 24 trials of experiment 7.

The hypothesis for this experiment was that those participants within the high stimulus seeking group (which was also the high boredom prone group) would get bored of the same mildly positive and mild negative images and hence show a significant degree of dislike for the retroactive target image. This test design was based on a peripheral result from experiment 6- a result that suggested retroactive boredom may be due to repeated neutral stimuli.

Results

Due to the nature of this test, the hypothesis was that a target image selection percentage would be significantly less than 50%. Overall, across all participants, the hit rate was below 50% but not significantly. 49.1% of sessions involved the selection of the eventual target image. The participants who were deemed as high in stimulus seeking achieved a hit rate of 47.9% which was a significant result. The remaining participants achieved a hit rate of 50.1%.

Summary of Experiment 7

Step 1: Two similar images appear side by side on the participants computer screen

Step 2: The participant selects which of the two images they prefer

Step 3: The computer randomly selects one of the two images and flashes it on the computer screen in a manner that the participant is conscious of the image

Result: There was no significant difference between participants selecting the same image that the computer would select or selecting the image that the computer wouldn’t select.

Experiment 8

The eighth experiment was called ‘Retroactive Facilitation of Recall I’ and included 100 Cornell undergraduates. Prior to beginning the test, the participants undertook the standard 3 minute relaxation process. The experiment began with participants being shown a common noun for a period of 3 seconds. This process was repeated 47 times making the number of words each participant saw total 48. The participants were asked to visualise the physical manifestation of each word when each word appeared on the screen. It should be noted that the words came from 4 different categories; foods, animals, occupations and clothes. After the 48 words were shown, the participants completed a recall test during which they had to type all of the words that they could remember (regardless of order.)

Following the recall aspect of the test, the retroactive aspect of the experiment began. This involved the computer randomly selecting 6 words from each of the 4 categories (this was a random selection made from the 48 words on the original list.) The 6 words from the first category then appeared on the screen and the participants had to retype these words in an empty slot. This task was repeated for all 4 categories. In total, the participant had to type each of the 24 words. These 24 words were known as practice words.

Results

Due to the nature of experiment 8, the results constitute a different format to the previous 7 experiments. All of the previous experiments involved a result figure in the 0% to 100% range, with 50% being chance. Experiment 8 involved a range from -100% to 100%, with 0% being the chance score. A positive percentage shows that more practice words (the 24 words shown to the participants which they had to type out after they took the test) were recalled than non-practice words. The average score for all trials was 2.27%. This score supports the hypothesis that practicing a set of words after completing the test improves the ability to recall words in the original test. Those in the high stimulus seeking group scored a mean of 6.46%. This was compared to those in the low stimulus seeking group scoring at the chance level of -0.90%.

Summary of Experiment 8

Step 1: A word (a common noun) appears on the participant’s screen for 3 seconds

CAT

Step 2: This occurs with another 47 words

Step 3: The participant has to recall as many words as possible by writing them down (with no regard for their order.)

Step 4: The computer randomly selects 24 of the 48 words- these 24 words are known as practice words

Step 5: The 24 practice words appear on the participant’s screen and the participant types them out in an empty slot.

Result: The randomly selected practice words were recalled by the participant significantly more accurately than the non-practice words. This was despite the participant only dealing with the practice words after the recall test.

Experiment 9

The ninth and final experiment was titled ‘Retroactive Facilitation of Recall II’ and was almost identical to experiment 8. 50 Cornell undergraduates participated in this experiment. The only change to experiment 8 was the addition of a new practice exercise immediately following the recall test. This exercise involved the participants being shown a random selection of 24 of the 48 words. These 24 words comprised 6 from each of the 4 categories; food, animals, occupation and clothing. Each of these practice words was shown for a period of 3 seconds. The 6 food words were shown first (one by one) followed by the 6 animal words, the 6 occupation words and finally the 6 clothing words. It should be noted that this exercise of showing the participants the 24 practice words occurred after the participants tried to recall as many words as possible from the original list of 48 words that they were shown.

Results

Like experiment 8, the results from this experiment fall into the range from -100% to 100% with 0% being a change score. A significant positive score supports the hypothesis of retroactive recall. Overall, the mean score was 4.21% which was a significant result and supports the hypothesis that showing words after a recall test, enhances the recall of words in the original test itself. There was no significant difference between those participants who were high in stimulus seeking and low in stimulus seeking. High stimulus seeking participants achieved a mean score of 4.47% and those who were low in stimulus seeking scored a mean score of 4.09%.

Summary of Experiment 9

Step 1: A word (a common noun) appears on the participant’s screen for 3 seconds

DOG

Step 2: This occurs with another 47 words

Step 3: The participant has to recall as many words as possible by writing them down (with no regard for their order.)

Step 4: The computer randomly selects 24 of the 48 words- these 24 words are known as practice words

Step 5: The 24 practice words appear one by one on the participant’s screen for a period of 3 seconds

Step 6: The 24 practice words appear on the participant’s screen and the participant types them out in an empty slot.

Result: The randomly selected practice words were recalled by the participant significantly more accurately than the non-practice words. This was despite the participant only dealing with the practice words after the recall test.

The 20 Most Famous People Who Have Lived In Adelaide

cfssufferer — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:06:43 +0000

1. Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson holding the two Oscars that he won for Braveheart

Gibson is an actor, director, producer and screen writer whose most famous films include; Mad Max, the Lethal Weapon series, Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ. He won two Oscars for Braveheart, in the categories of Best Picture and Best Director. Gibson lived in Adelaide for a short period of time during which he joined the State Theatre Company of South Australia and shared a $30 per week apartment with his soon-to-be wife Robyn.

2. Sir Donald Bradman

Sir Donald Bradman walking out to bat at the MCG during the third test versus England in 1936/1937. He went on to score 270 runs in what has been rated as the greatest test innings of all time.

Bradman was an Australian cricketer and widely considered to be the greatest batsman of all time. His test match average of 99.94 is thought to be the greatest statistical achievement in any major sport. Bradman lived in Adelaide for a large part of his life which included playing for South Australia’s domestic cricket team throughout the years 1935-1949. He died in Adelaide in 2001.

3. Rupert Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch on the cover of TIME Magazine.

Murdoch is the chairman and CEO of News Corporation and has an estimated net worth of $6.2 billion. He lived in Adelaide for a short period of his life during which he started his first newspaper.

4. Julia Gillard

The Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard, addresses parliament.

Gillard is the current Prime Minister of Australia and the first female to hold this role. Gillard was born in 1961 and her family immigrated to Adelaide in 1966. She attended school and University in Adelaide until she moved to Melbourne in 1981.

5. Lleyton Hewitt

Lleyton Hewitt celebrates winning the Wimbledon men’s singles final in 2002

Hewitt is a tennis player who was formerly ranked number 1 in the world. He is the youngest person to have held the number 1 ranking, achieving this feat during 2001 at the age of 20. He won the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002. Hewitt held the world’s number 1 ranking from November 2001 until June 2003 for all but 2 weeks. He was born in Adelaide in 1981 and has resided there for the majority of his life until he recently moved to Sydney.

6. Bon Scott

AC/DC play at the Ulster Hall in 1979. Bon Scott appears in the centre of the picture.

Scott was the lead singer of the band AC/DC until he died during 1980 in London. AC/DC’s first album following Scott’s death, ‘Back in Black’ was a tribute to Scott and became the second best selling album by any band or singer in history. A 2004 issue of ‘Classic Rock’ rated Scott as the number one ‘frontman’ of all time ahead of the likes of Freddy Mercury. He moved to Adelaide in 1970 and lived there for several years.

7. J M Coetzee

J M Coetzee receiving his Nobel Prize in 2003.

Coetzee is an author and academic who has twice won the Booker Prize and has also been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He is a leading advocate for the animal rights movement and often depicts the reality of South Africa’s apartheid. Coetzee was born in South Africa and has lived in Adelaide since 2002.

8. Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush holding the Oscar that he won for Best Actor.

Rush is an actor who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Australian schizophrenic concert pianist, David Helfgott. He played this role in the film ‘Shine’ which also won Rush a swag of other awards including a BAFTA and Golden Globe. Rush lived in Adelaide for a short period of his life during which he joined the State Theatre Company of South Australia

9. Jimmy Barnes

: Jimmy Barnes performs for Cold Chisel

Barnes is a singer and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band, Cold Chisel and is currently a solo performer. He has achieved 14 Australian top 40 albums as part of Cold Chisel along with 13 chart reaching solo albums encompssing nine number 1s. Barnes was born in 1956 and his family immigrated to Adelaide from Scotland in 1961.

10. Anthony LaPaglia

: Anthony LaPaglia in ‘Without a Trace’

LaPaglia is most famous for his role as Jack Malone in the TV series Without a Trace. He appeared in 9 episodes of the sitcom Frasier and won an Emmy for this role. LaPaglia was born in Adelaide in 1959.

11. Sir Douglas Mawson

Sir Douglas Mawson

Mawson was most famous for his explorations of Antarctica between 1911 and 1914. He was almost killed during one of these trips when a sledge and a man accompanying him fell down a crevasse. Mawson and Mertz walked 500km to base to survive and this process involved them eating their huskies. Mertz died during this 500km trek and Mawson spent weeks hiking and eventually arrived at the base. The first permanent Antarctic base was named after Mawson and his face was featured on the Australian $100 note. Mawson was born in 1882 and became a lecturer at the University of Adelaide in 1905. He consequentially spent the majority of his life in Adelaide.

12. Howard Florey

Howard Florey

Florey won a shared Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine in 1945 alongside Fleming and Chain for the extraction of penicillin. Fleming was the person who originally observed the unique properties of mold that make it suitable for penicillin while Florey and Chain developed mold into a useful treatment. It is considered that Florey’s involvement in developing Penicillin has saved over 80 million lives worldwide. Florey was born in Adelaide in 1898 and studied medicine at the University of Adelaide until he moved to Oxford. Florey died in 1968.

13. Geoff Ogilvy

Geoff Ogilvy holds the 2006 US Open trophy aloft.

Ogilvy is a professional golfer who won the US Open in 2006 and has also won the World Golf Championship three times. Ogilvy was ranked as the 3^rd best golfer in the world during 2006. He was born in Adelaide in 1977.

14. Paul Davies

Paul Davies presents a speech

Davies is a physicist who specialises in theoretical physics, cosmology and astrobiology. He is also the author of many philosophy based physics books that make these topics accessible to the layman. Davies was born in 1946 in London and held a post at the University of Adelaide for several years

15. Sir William Lawrence Bragg

: Sir William Lawrence Bragg performs an experiment

Bragg was a physicist who discovered the Bragg law of X-ray diffraction. This law makes it possible to determine the precise position of the atoms inside a crystal based on the manner in which the X-ray is diffracted by the crystal lattice. This discovery earned him the Nobel Prize in 1915, which he shared with his physicist father. To date he is the youngest winner of a Nobel Prize, receiving this honour at 25 years of age. Bragg was born in Adelaide in 1890 and attended school and University in Adelaide until 1908 when his father accepted the chair of physics at University of Leeds.

16. Terence Tao

Terence Tao (aged 11) pictured at the front, stands among the rest of the Australian International Maths Olympiad team

Tao is a mathematician who won the Fields Medal (the mathematical equivalent of the Nobel Prize) in 2006. Tao was a child prodigy who attended University maths classes at the age of 9. He was assessed to have an IQ of between 220 and 230 at the age of 11/12. He is still the youngest winner of a gold medal in International Mathematics Olympiad history, winning this award at the tender age of 13. Alongside Ben Green, he proved that there is an arbitrarily long progression of prime numbers. Tao has been labelled the ‘Mozart of mathematics’ and is considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians in the world. Tao was born in Adelaide in 1975 and attended school and university in Adelaide before moving to the US in 1992.

17. Sir Mark Oliphant

Sir Mark Oliphant

Oliphant was a physicist who played a central role in the initial demonstration of nuclear fusion and consequently the development of the atomic bomb. He also co-discovered deuteron, triton and helium-3. Oliphant became a staunch opponent of nuclear weapons and was also a humanitarian. He was born in Adelaide in 1901.

18. Stuart O’Grady

Stuart O’Grady dons the yellow jersey in The Tour De France

O’Grady is a professional cyclist who has won two world championships, an Olympic gold medal, three Tour De France stages and has ridden second in the points classification aspect of the Tour De France on four separate occasions. O’Grady has won a swag of other races and tours and is predominantly a sprinter, starting his career on the track. He was born in Adelaide in 1973.

19. Scott Hicks

Scott Hicks

Hicks is a film director who is most famous for directing the movie, Shine. He has won an Emmy award and been nominated for an Oscar. He was born in Uganda in 1953 but has lived in Adelaide since the age of 14.

20. Andy Thomas

Andy Thomas wearing his space suit

Thomas is a NASA astronaut and an aerospace engineer. He has been involved in many spaceflight missions and was the first Australian born astronaut to enter space. Thomas was born in Adelaide in 1951 and became an American citizen in 1986 in order to gain entrance into the NASA astronaut program.

About this list

‘Famous’ is defined as “celebrated: widely known and esteemed.” This definition makes the concept of an individual compiling a ‘most famous’ ranking list quite problematic. To avoid the subjectivity that ‘most famous’ lists imperatively contain, this list is ranked based on a formula that I compiled that incorporates several quasi-objective measures of ‘fame.’ The first of these measures involves the “widely known” aspect of the ‘famous’ definition. This was accounted for by a Google search of each individual’s name assuming it was a unique name. For those members of the list with a common name, several Google searches were performed in which different specific fame associated key words were searched for alongside the individual’s name. The number of Google search results approximately correlates to fame in a tautological manner. The second component of my formula accounted for the magnitude and breadth of the individual’s achievements. This was determined by assessing the length of each member’s Wikipedia page, in terms of number of words. Wikipedia pages are written according to very precise standards in which only notable achievements are mentioned and the longer the Wikipedia entry, generally the greater the achievement. The final aspect of my formula was designed to counter the era centric component of the internet. Those who reaped fame prior to the internet’s advent were disadvantaged by my formula hence I skewed the results based on the timeframe in which the individual was at their most famous.

This list was designed with an international perspective in mind hence those Adelaide residents who are only famous within the bounds of Australia were excluded from this list. I subjectively chose the ‘most famous’ 20 Adelaide residents and my aforementioned formula ranked them. Due to my own biases and areas of interest, some famous Adelaide residents may not have been included in the list. Some contemporary famous Adelaide residents possibly should have been included in my subjective list, including Teresa Palmer and Ben Folds. The eclectic fields in which the 20 Adelaide residents achieved fame mean that some readers of the list will be more familiar with some names than other names. Cultural relativism may also influence the reader of this lists familiarity with the 20 Adelaide residents. For instance, Sir Donald Bradman is likely to be well known in India and not so well known in the US. I must emphasise again that although this list contains a quasi- objective element, due to my formula, fame can only mainly be considered as a subjective concept. Without interviewing every person on the planet, or at least a fair cross country sample, it is impossible to rank this list accurately.

What Letters Comprise the Mysterious ‘Taman Shud’ Code?

cfssufferer — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 04:11:42 +0000

An image of the actual code

The ‘Taman Shud’ case is one of the world’s most baffling real-life mysteries. A man was found dead (from an unknown cause) on a beach in Adelaide, Australia on December the 1^st 1948. He appeared to be aged in his mid 40s, was well dressed and was of a physically fit stature. He had no form of identification on him and all of his clothing labels had been removed. He had checked in a suitcase with some eclectic belongings at the Adelaide railway station however all clothing labels within the suitcase were removed.

A thorough search of his body eventually led to a piece of torn out paper being found in a hidden trouser pocket. The piece of paper contained the words ‘Taman Shud. ’ ‘Taman Shud’ loosely translates to ‘the end.’ These words are the closing words of a book of poetry by Omar Khayyam called The Rubaiyat. A local professional found this very book on the back seat of his car with the words ‘Taman Shud’ torn out the night before the mystery man was found dead. Laboratory results confirmed that this very book matched up to the piece of paper located on the deceased man.

On the back page of the book, a mysterious code was printed. It contained what is seemingly unrelated letters. The actual code can be found in the picture at the top of this article. This code was found over 60 years ago and to this day no-one has cracked it. Many professional code crackers have tried however all have failed.

In the back of the book found in the professionals car was also a telephone number. It belonged to a retired nurse who lived only a few kilometres from where the body was found. The women claimed to have had previously possessed a copy of The Rubaiyat however gave it to a former lover. The women claimed to have not known the deceased man.

To this day, the identity of the mystery man, his cause of death and reasons behind his death remain unknown. Despite extensive worldwide efforts over the past 60 years to identify him, his identity is still a mystery.

I have only given a brief outline of some of the features of the case however for a greater overview with many more specific details please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Shud_Case

This is an image of the code with a flipped contrast.

The Code

The handwritten code found in the back of The Rubaiyat may hold the key to this perpetually perplexing and paradoxical puzzle. When The Rubaiyat was found on the back seat of the professional’s car, the code was compiled of faint pencil markings. It is thought that a policeman investigating the case traced over the code in an ink pen.

Many of the letters in the code are ambiguous. I will attempt to determine the actual letters that make up the code. I have created a simple notation that will help me indicate which letter in the code I am referring to. This notation includes the five lines in the code. These lines are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 corresponding to the top to bottom order of the lines. Line 2 is the crossed out line. Each line comprises a number of letters. These letters will be numbered from left to right in ascending order. For instance, the fourth line seems to start with M, L and I. M will be letter 1 for that line, L will be letter 2, I will be letter 3 etc. My notation will comprise two numbers. The first number refers to the line and the second number refers to the letter within that line. For instance if I am referring to the Q from the fourth line, I will write (4, 10.) This is due to the Q being the 10^th letter along the fourth line.

The First Line

The first letter (1,1) of the code is ambiguous. It has an identical structure to (3,1.) (1,1) slightly resembles but is unique from the 5 ‘Ms’ within the code. The ‘Ms’ within the code are composed of four pencil strokes while (1,1) is composed of six pencil strokes. (1,1) resembles a ‘W’ however two parallel lines are placed on the peripheries of the ‘W.’ I believe that the weight of evidence indicates that (1,1) is a ‘W’ however due to the uniqueness of the shape of (1,1) it is possible that (1,1) is a foreign letter or a symbol. It should also be noted that (1,1) contains a faint (possibly pencil) marking beneath it. This (pencil) marking is indistinct however looks similar to an ‘M.’ Upon zooming in on (1,1), the faint marking seems to have two apexes. The first apex is located between the peak of the first parallel line of the ‘W’ and the top part of the W that resembles an isosceles triangle, minus the base. The second apex of the faint ‘M’ is located on the right hand side of the right vertical line comprising the W, only a small distance from the apex of this line. The middle trough of the faint M seems to be slightly beneath the right trough of the W. The faint M seems to begin to the left of the base of the W. The M seems to end in a similar position to the right base of the W. The faint M is also slanted to the right and has a striking resemblance to the M at (4,1.) This faint M may be a pencil marking that the police officer did not over trace in ink pen. It may possibly be an error within the code, as the writer of the code may have erroneously written an M instead of a W and then in the absence of an eraser, the writer may have drawn over the M with a bolder W.

(1,2) seems to be an R and the only R within the code. (1,3) appears to be a G. The only other possible G in the code is at (5,11.) The figure at (1,3) is different from the figure at (5,11) in that it has a curl at its peak. I believe (5,11) is largely ambiguous however (1,3) is almost definitely a G. There is a small possibility that (1,3) is a ‘6.’ (1,4) appears to be an ‘O’ (oh) although it is slightly slanted, unlike (2,5) and (4,6) therefore it may be a distinct symbols such as a ‘zero.’ (1,5) is an A, which is the most frequently occurring letter within the code. (1,6) resembles a ‘B’ however unlike the Bs at (1,8), (3,3) and (4,5) it is not drawn beginning from left of the apex of the vertical line of the B. Similar to the Bs in the code, its bottom section is significantly larger than its top section. The base of (1,6) also seems to be unique in that it is horizontal and possibly lacking a continuum from the bottom curvature of the B. The base of (1,6) is therefore possibly a distinctive brushstroke. The other Bs within the code contain a continuous curvature that comprises the bottom part of their letters. It is possible that (1,6) is an (8) however the weight of evidence points towards it being a B. (1,7) is an ‘A’ however the part of the ‘A’ that is normally composed of a horizontal strikethrough contains a curved, slanted stroke. (1,8) is a B. (1,9) is a D and the only D within the code. The D is formed by an exaggerated curvature and broadness that is disproportionate to the length of its vertical component.

The Second Line

The second line is the crossed out line. This line starts with the letter M at (2,1.) This M is one of the smallest letters on the page and nestled only slightly below (1,1.) It is conceivable that the writer of this code did not appropriately judge the amount of space they would require hence the crammed up letters within the second line. It is also conceivable that the second line was written as an afterthought however this is unlikely due to the similar nature between line 2 and the beginning of line 4. This indicates that line 2 was originally misplaced. (2,2) seems to be an L however it has a unique curvature of the base of the L. (2,3) is an I. (2,4) is an A and the only A to have its horizontal line actually horizontal to both the actual letter and the page itself. (2,5) seems to be an O (oh) although it is not slanted like the O at (1, 4) which leaves the possibility open that it is a zero. (2,6) at first glance looks like an L however upon zooming in, it is clear that the horizontal line that masquerades as the bottom stroke of the L is actually the brushstroke that is crossing line two out. Further evidence that (2,6) is an I is that the other Ls in the code have a curved base. Also the vertical component of the letter extends beyond the trough of the horizontal line, indicating that distinct two brush strokes would be required to write the letter. All of the other Ls have two brush strokes however the pencil does not leave the paper for these strokes. It is interesting to note that all of the letters within line two are written almost perfectly in line below the first six letters of line one. This ‘lining up’ does not occur anywhere else within the code.

The Third Line

(3,1) has the same general form as (1,1.) (3,1) is unique from (1,1) in that two distinct lines join the right trough of the W component of the letter to the right vertical line. (3,1) therefore slightly resembles an N however it is too dissimilar to the N at (3,8) to be considered an N. (3,1) is a very cumbersome looking letter and its uniqueness from known English letters and other letters within the code point towards the possibility that either this letter was a foreign letter, a symbol or the writer of the code had not written many Ws before possibly due to the code writer’s mother tongue not containing the letter W. It is unlikely that (3,1) is an M due to the number of strokes comprising (3,1) in comparison to the Ms in the code. Overall I believe that the evidence suggests that (3,1) is a W however the writer did not form the letter in an orthodox manner for whatever reason. (3,2) is a T. Ts seem to be the most consistently formed letter within the code with little diversity among its form. (3,3) is a B. Interestingly the four or five Bs within the code each have some variance among their formation. (3,4) is an I. (3,5) is an M. (3,6) is a P although its vertical stem beneath the trough of the curvature is quite short, or conversely, the curvature is exaggerated. Within the curvature of the P at (3,6), a line hangs down from the apex of the P. This line is disjointed at one end and seems to be composed of a distinct stroke from the other two P brush strokes. Several possibilities exist to explain this ‘superfluous’ stroke. Firstly, it is conceivable that the code writer accidentally made a mark on the page that coincidentally began at the apex of the P. A second scenario involves the police officer who traced over the code making an error in this process. A third possibility involves the stroke having some cryptographic relevance that is unbeknownst to me. The thinness of this extra stoke suggests that it was due to an unintentional error as opposed to a purposeful motive. It is interesting to note that this possibly superfluous brushstroke parallels the curvature of a segment of the P to its below and right. (3,7) is clearly an ‘A’ however a dot is located in its bottom right quadrant, beneath the horizontal line component. There are several other similar dots amongst the code that at least superficially appear to be placed haphazardly. These occur between (3, 10) and (3,11) also two in a close proximity on the right of (4, 7) and one above (5,6.) A final dot may be present on the bottom and top right corner of the letter at (5,3.) These dots may be caused by some innocent imperfection on the paper itself, accidentally by the code writer or the police officer tracing over the code or have some deeper meaning that eludes me. (3,8) is an N and the only N within the code. (3,9) is an E and the only E within the code. This may be significant as E is the most commonly occurring letter in the English language, with a frequency of 12.7%. The next most frequent letter is T at a 9.1% occurrence. This suggests that the code does not directly contain letters from any place within the words. The letter E occurs as a first letter of English words at a relative frequency of 2%. This evidence is more consistent with the code being an initialism. (3,10) is a T. (3,11) is a P however with a slightly different composition to the P at (3,6.) The P at (3,11) contains a hyperbolic arc that protrudes sharply from the vertical stem of the letter. The same curvature can be observed with the D at (1, 9.) This D was also the last letter of a line hence this exaggerated curvature may be a personal idiosyncrasy indicating the end of a line.

The Fourth Line

(4,1) is an M and similarly to (1,1) it has a (pencil?) mark beneath the ink pen letter. This mark beneath (4,1) is not as distinct as the (1,1) mark and it is possible that this mark is actually a pareidolia. The entire page is full of imperfections, grey nuances and fold marks hence it is conceivable that the mark beneath (4,1) is not relevant to the code and only a spurious occurrence. There are two main arguments against the mark being spurious. The first involves the texture, colour and width of the mark at (4,1) as it is almost identical in these aspects to the mark beneath (1,1.)The second argument involves the positioning of the mark at (4,1.) After zooming in, it becomes apparent that the mark is located approximately half way up the right peak of the letter. The mark cuts across this peak to form a quasi A-shape in the top-right quadrant of the letter. The dark background texture of this section of the page makes the mark almost indecipherable in the top-left quadrant of the letter. The opposing end of the mark appears to run alongside the right side of the right post forming the letter. It is possible that the police officer tracing over the code failed to accurately stylize the letter or perhaps omitted tracing over the mark, considering it irrelevant to the letter formation. The actual ink letter at (4,1) seems to clearly be an M. The letter at (4,2) is an L. (4,3) is most likely an I however its slanting nature and over proportionate length relative to the other letters amongst line four leaves the possibility open that it is a forward slash (/) or even a means of indicating a space or new line. (4,4) is an A and unique in that it has the right slope finishing higher than its left slope. This idiosyncratic letter style occurs on two other As within the code at (1,8) and (4,9.) The A at (4,4) is the only A within the entire code to have its horizontal stroke not touching one of the A’s isosceles triangle like slopes (in this case the left slope.) The horizontal stroke of (4,4) appears to be of a proportionately accurate length for the ‘A’ however transposed to the right. (4,5) is a B and the only B within the code to have a distinctive curvature following on from its bottom arc. This curvature makes this B one of the most uncharacteristic letters within the code. To have such a unique extension of the B that unmistakably curves beyond the letter itself approximately 120 degrees raises two separate possibilities. Firstly, it is conceivable that a different person wrote this letter B and not the other Bs. Secondly it is possible that this letter is not a B at al. If one removes the vertical stroke comprising this letter at (4,5) that does not perfectly join with the rest of the rest of the curvature then one is left with what resembles a ‘3.’ It is possible that what appears to be the stem of the B is actually the number ‘1.’ The symbol at (4,6) resembles an O (oh) however it too is possibly a number, in this case zero. If this hypothesis is correct, the number would read ‘130.’ This may indicate the time 1:30 or perhaps an address. What is doubly striking about this section of the code is the two lines that run above a section of line four, beginning at (4,5) which indicate an emphasis on this number/time/letter combination. (4,6) is either an O (oh) or a zero and this symbol has a cross directly above it. The centre of this cross is positioned almost exactly above the apex of the ‘O’ at (4,6.) the bottom two peripheries of the cross extend to almost perfectly in line with the apex of the ‘O.’ This cross above (4,6) may have further relevance in that the letter beneath it may be of some extra importance. It is of course conceivable that what appears to be a cross is in fact not a cross. The two lines comprising the symbol may represent a crucifix on its side. Another object it may represent could be a person. There are an ambiguous number of lines comprising this symbol. There are two distinct lines forming the slanted cross however the two quasi-parallel lines running across the page merge into this cross symbol. The possibility arises that one of these quasi-parallel lines ceases at the positive sloped (from bottom left to top right) line. What continues may be distinct and actually one of the legs of the stick figure person. This theory gains credence when the bottom quasi-parallel line is examined in a zoomed setting. Across four or five x-coordinate pixels, the bottom quasi parallel line intersects with the positive sloped line forming the cross-like symbol. Across the distance, the ‘continuation’ of the line is dropped by two pixels. Also the only part of the entire bottom quasi-parallel line that has a negative slope is the part that protrudes from the left of the cross, possibly forming the leg. Although only a theory, this is significant considering the manner in which the Somerton man was found- Lying against a beach wall. If the symbol is indeed of a person, the two quasi-parallel lines may represent the beach wall.

There is a large space between (4,6) and (4,7) and this is the largest gap between any two consecutive letters/symbols within the code. This may indicate a new line, space or separate section of the code. (4,7) is an ‘A’ and the only ‘A’ within the code to have a definite curvature of the horizontal stroke although the ‘A’ at (5,7) has a small curvature. (4,8) seems to be an ‘I’ and is more proportionate to its adjacent letters than the ‘I’-like symbol at (4,3.) (4,9) is an ‘A’ with a continuation of its horizontal stroke almost twice beyond the right slanted stroke of the A’s extremity. (4,10) is a Q and perhaps the most important letter within the entire code. The relative frequency of the letter Q occurring in an English word is 0.095%. The relative frequency of Q beginning an English word is 0.173%. In other terms, we would expect less than 1 in 500 words to begin with the letter ‘Q.’ The Q at (4,10) is the only Q within the code. It is also unique in its formation. The other rounded Os within the code are perfectly formed in that the stroke ceases exactly in the same position where the stroke began. The Q at (4,10) is not only disjointed in its ‘O’ part but also the brushstroke continues beyond the zero degree, northern point in a rather careless and haphazard fashion. As the letter Q is comprised of two independent brushstrokes, one being the letter ‘O,’ it is rather intriguing to note the atypical ‘O’ comprising the Q at (4,10.) Another piece of evidence supporting the atypical ‘Q’ style involves the width of the ‘O’ component of the Q exceeding all of the other Os within the code. The positioning of the Q at (4,10) provides evidence that is was written by a different person due to the peak of the Q being located on a far higher position on the page than the previous letters within line four. (4,11) is one of the most ambiguous letters/symbols on the page. (4,11) is often considered to be a ‘C’ however the vertical component that has been formed with a separate stroke to the curvature of the C provides evidence against it being a ‘C.’ Generally a ‘C’ is written with one stroke of the pencil however within the code this symbol has been written with two strokes, as is clear when the symbol at (4,11) is zoomed in on. Upon close inspection, the vertical component of the symbol surpasses the apex of the curvature of the ‘C.’ A further argument against this symbol being a C involves the solitary vertical line itself. For a ‘C’ to be drawn it is commonplace to not include any vertical components although a small portion of the population may include two vertical proponents- One protruding from each end of the curvature of the ‘C.’ The fact that the writer of this code falls into neither of these categories amplifies the theory that this was either not a ‘C’ or perhaps the writer of the code was not familiar with writing Cs perhaps due their primary language not containing the letter C. If the letter at (4,11) is not a ‘C,’ then it may be a letter from a foreign country. Another possibility involves (4,11) being a symbol such as a cents symbol or possibly a part of the quasi-parallel line picture. The other three completed lines all end with exaggerated and large letters and this end of line four is one of the smallest few letters within the code that is also compact in form. The formation of the letter Q at (4,10) is more consistent with an end of the line letter as it is exaggerated and large in size.

The Fifth Line

The letter at (5,1) is another ambiguous letter that is often assumed to be an ‘I.’ The other ‘Is’ within the code are all composed of a single vertical stroke however the letter at (5,1) is composed of a continuous stroke comprising two lines. (5,1) was most likely drawn starting from the top of the left stroke until the bottom of the left stroke then a continuous receding stroke back to the top right completing the letter. This is most analogous to the letter ‘V’ as opposed the letter ‘I.’ There are no other Vs or similar letters to (5,1) within the code for comparison. (5,2) is a T and (5,3) is also a T, both Ts of an almost identical form. (5,3) is an M and along with the T at (5,3) the biggest letter in the code. (5,5) is another T and also similar in form to the Ts at (5,2) and (5,3.) (5,6) appears at first glance to be an ‘S’ however it is the only letter of its type in the entire code. As opposed to orthodox ‘S’ style, this symbol at (5,6) contains a bottom straight component, along with the curvature component of standard Ss. Interestingly, if one removes the bottom straight component of the S, one is left with an almost exact replica of the symbol at (4,11) that resembled a ‘C.’ It is conceivable that the writer of this code had the idiosyncrasy of writing a superfluous vertical stroke to the apex of their ‘Ss’ and ‘Cs.’ The uppermost vertical component of this symbol at (5,6) is written with a separate brushstroke to the rest of the symbol. In other words, the writer had to remove their pencil from the page to add this part of the symbol. There is the possibility that this symbol at (5,6) is indeed an ‘S’ however there is also a chance that it is actually a symbol or even a foreign letter. (5,7) is an A and is rather shaky in form, compared to the other As within the code. (5,8) is an M however like the Ms and Ws at (1,1), (3,1) and (4,1), it seems to have a superfluous component. This component is the arced line between the trough of the M’s formation. The end of this arced line is nebulous as it appears to merge in with the left stem of the M. This peculiarity involving several Ms and Ws in this code is most perplexing and suggests that perhaps the writer of this code was not accustomed to writing these letters in his native language. Another possibility involves these aforementioned Ms and Ws having a meaning distinct from their direct letter meaning. (5,9) is a letter that resembles an ‘S’ however it is distinct from the letter at (5,6) in that it has a mark through its centre as opposed to an extra vertical component protruding from its apex. The bottom vertical component of (5,9) is of a similar length and has a similar angle to the symbol at (5,6) however is unique in that the top curvature is much more smaller and more compact. The evidence suggests that this symbol at (5,9) is a unique symbol from the one at (5,6.) It is conceivable that one of these symbols is an ‘S’ however it is unlikely that both are Ss drawn by the same person. (5,10) is a T. (5,11) is one of the most curious letters within the code. The extension of the horizontal component of the ‘A’ at (5,12) makes (5,11) an ambiguous letter. Only one ‘A’ within the code, the one at (5,7) has a horizontal extension exceeding its left limit and only by a small portion. It is therefore unlikely that the horizontal line at (5,11) entirely belongs to (5,12.) If one assumes that at least part of the horizontal line belongs to (5,11) then the letter resembles a G however the G at (1,3) is very different to the letter at (5,11.) The G at (1,3) has a curved peak that extends almost vertically while the letter at (5,11) has no peak and stops sharply at an almost horizontal position. Also the horizontal aspect of the G at (1,3) is quite lengthy although the width of the actual letter may be partly responsible for this phenomenon. If one assumes that (5,11) is a ‘C’ then the problem arises as to why the unique extended horizontal component of the ‘A’ at (5,12)? Also, this letter is very different from the only other possible ‘C’ in the code at (4,11) which indicates that one of these letters is not a ‘C.’ The letter at (5,12) is an ‘A’ and the only ‘A’ within the code to have a slope protruding from the base of the bottom right stem. This ‘A’ also has an extended horizontal component. These unique factors may be due to the end of the line and indeed code nearing, as it has already been suggested that the letters near the end of the line become more exaggerated within this code. The final letter in the code at (5,13) is ambiguous and seems to be either an ‘R’ or a ‘B.’ The only other ‘R’ in the code is located at (1,2) and has been written with a downwards vertical stroke followed by an upward vertical stroke- without the pencil leaving the page. This letter at (5,13) only has one stem stroke and is also unique from the R at (1,2) due to its sharp protruding upper curvature compared to (1,2)s rounded curvature. The letter at (5,13) therefore seems to resemble a ‘B’ more than an ‘R.’ The extended pencil stroke at the base of the B at (5,13) is consistent with the other lines having an exaggerated letter style towards their ends. The B at (5,13) has this extended pencil stroke underlining the A at (5,12) and part of the G at (5,11) raising the possibility that this part of the code indicates a separate function such as a place name, initials or an important piece of information. I believe the consistency concerning the ends of the lines containing exaggerated letters makes the most likely option that the B at (5,13) is only extended due to ‘the end’ of the code.

Some Puzzles About the Universe

cfssufferer — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 08:27:34 +0000

I pose three interesting questions relating to the enormity of the universe and man’s conception of space on a macrocosmic scale.

Questions

1. Imagine that a pole stretched across the diameter of universe. I am sitting at one end of the pole and Mr X is sitting at the other end of the pole. Now, I push my end of the pole. How long would it take for Mr X’s end of the pole to move?

2. If I have a piece of paper that is 0.1mm thick, how many times would I have to fold it in half for its thickness to exceed the diameter of the Universe? For example, after 1 fold it will be 0.2mm thick, after 2 folds it will be 0.4mm thick etc. After how many folds will it be greater than 100 billion light years thick? This is obviously not feasible in practice for many reasons including the low maximum number of times that paper can be folded in half. Excluding these practical limitations, what is the number of times that a piece of 0.1mm thick paper needs to be folded in half to exceed the Universe’s diameter? The diameter of the entire Universe (as opposed to visible Universe) is a contentious figure. For ease of calculation let us assume that it is 100 billion light years.

3. Imagine that you have a piece of string that is placed around the circumference of the universe in a circle (let’s call this X.) You then add an extra metre of string to X and now have a slightly larger circle (let’s call this Y.) You know have two very large circles composed of string. Circle X has a circumference 1 meter less than circle Y. In the diagram below, circle X is the black circle and circle Y is the blue circle. How far away is A from B?

Answers

1. Contrary to macroscopic based “common-sense,” the pole does not move instantaneously. When I push my end of the pole, a wave (similar to a shock wave) is sent through the atoms in the pole. Every material has its own speed of sound. This pole will move at the speed of sound of the material that makes up the pole. It will therefore take an inconceivably long amount of time for Mr X’s end of the pole to move- he will be dead before it moves.

2. It is first necessary to standardize the units of distance. 100 billion light years is equal to 10^24 km. A 0.1mm thick sheet of paper can fit 10^7 times into the 1 kilometer standardized distance. This results in 10^31 sheets of 0.1mm thick sheets of paper needed to be stacked on top of each other to span the Universe’s diameter. In Microsoft excel, the answer will be reached if one types in a box =LOG(10^31,2)

Microsoft Excel will spit out the results 102.9798. This number should be rounded up to 103 as one can’t perform a fraction of a fold. This means that approximately 103 folds of a paper in half are required for it to span the diameter of the Universe. The low result of 103 occurs due to the exponential increase in thickness when the paper is folded. Due to the contentious precise diameter of the Universe, the precise number of fold is probably in the 100 to 104 range.

3. Most people expect the distance between A and B to be some very tiny fraction of a millimetre. This is not the case. The distance between A and B is actually 15.93 cms. It does not matter what size circle X and circle Y are, as long as 1 meter in circumference is added onto circle Y, then circle Y will always be 15.93 cms away from circle X. For instance, imagine if I were to get a pea and place string around the circumference of it. Imagine that I then obtained string 1 meter longer than the string around the pea and placed it outside the pea’s circumference, in a circle. The distance between the two placed pieces of string would be 15.93 cms. This was the same figure as the universe answer! The same answer holds true for any circumference.

Needless to say, these questions are theoretical questions and there are obviously countless logistical and scientific laws prohibiting these practical occurrences. Consequently, objections such as “the pole will break because it’s too long” do not suffice as the intended answer.

Psychic Magic Trick That The Auidence Won’t See Coming

cfssufferer — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 07:28:52 +0000

One of the problems with the majority of magic tricks that attempt to prove “psychic abilities” involves the need for special equipment. There are many magic “psychic ability” tests online however the majority of these tests rely on simple algorithms that only fool a small fraction of people. Today I stumbled across what is possibly the most fool-proof and effective “psychic ability” magic trick online.

The basic idea behind the test involves the magician (you) sitting behind the computer and the audience member sitting 6 feet behind the computer, watching the screen. The person on the screen will ask the audience member to choose from one of five shapes. The circle, the cross, the wavy lines, the square or the star. The person on the screen will then reveal the same shape as the audience member every single time.

The trick involves the magician controlling the computer’s mouse. The video automatically pauses and the audience member is told to say the name of the shape out loud. This is where the magician springs into action. The play button that appears in the centre of the screen automatically is cleverly divided into 5 parts. The top left corner, the top right corner, the bottom left corner, the bottom right corner and the middle. The video will show the person on the screen selecting a different shape depending upon where the magician clicks on the central play button.

If the magician clicks:

The top left: a circle is chosen

Top right: a cross is chosen

Bottom left: wavy lines are chosen

Bottom right: a square is chosen

Middle: a star is chosen.

It is up to the magician to memorise these correlations. It is then as simple as waiting for the audience member to say out loud which shape they have chosen and consequentially the magician clicks the corresponding part of the play button. The video will then show the person on the screen choosing the same shape as the audience member every single time.

The video that appears below explains the trick and how to perform it.

The video of the actual trick that is to be shown to the audience member can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/pages/esptest

Impossible Colours

cfssufferer — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 10:02:10 +0000

Some people can see the colour blue-yellow if they try and cross their eyes and make the plus signs line up. This is a pseudo colour and really patchwork comprising yellow and blue

I came across an interesting article today on Wikipedia about “impossible colours.”

The article can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_colors

An equally as interesting article about on Wikipedia about “imaginary colours” can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_color

After reading these article, I began to recall a seemingly unrelated philosophical problem called the ‘Molyneux’s Problem.’ This is essentially: “If a man born blind can feel the differences between shapes such as spheres and cubes, could he similarly distinguish those objects by sight if given the ability to see.”

Combining these articles, I wonder if a blind man who has been born blind can imagine colour. Is this analogous to people with normal vision trying to imagine impossible or imaginary colours?

The Toughest World Cup Groups for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, South Africa

cfssufferer — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:32:18 +0000

This is an updated version of the “Toughest World Cup Groups” list using the 26^th of May, 2010 rankings. These are the last rankings given out before the World Cup begins.

1. Group D

Germany: 6

Serbia: 15

Australia: 20

Ghana: 32

Average ranking of group =18.25

2. Group C

England: 8

USA: 14

Slovenia: 25

Algeria: 30

Average ranking of group =19.25

3. Group H

Spain: 2

Chile: 18

Switzerland: 24

Honduras: 38

Average ranking of group=20.5

4. Group B

Argentina: 7

Greece: 13

Nigeria: 21

South Korea: 47

Average ranking of group =22

5. Group E

Netherlands: 4

Cameroon: 19

Denmark: 36

Japan: 45

Average ranking of group =26

6. Group A

France: 9

Uruguay: 16

Mexico: 17

South Africa: 83

Average ranking of group = 31.25

7. Group G

Brazil: 1

Portugal: 3

Ivory Coast: 27

North Korea: 105

Average ranking of group =34

8. Group F

Italy: 5

Paraguay: 31

Slovakia: 34

New Zealand: 78

Average ranking of group =37

The above rankings from 1-8 indicate the toughest World Cup groups (1) through to the easiest World Cup groups (8.) The number next to each country is their soccer ranking. The average ranking of the group is simply an average number of the 4 countries soccer rankings. Although this page is titled ‘Toughest World Cup Groups,’ this term ‘toughest’ is ambiguous, depending on from whose point-of-view you are determining ‘toughest’ from. For instance, are you determining it from a hypothetical 5th countries point-of-view that is joining each group? It is difficult to determine ‘toughest’ from the point-of-view of one of the countries within the group because then the question arises, ‘from which one within the group.’ This seems arbitrary to choose one country within the group.

The above ‘Toughest rankings’ of 1-8 are also not an entirely accurate description of ‘toughness.’ For instance, imagine a group had countries ranked 1, 2, 3 and 154 in it. (Although this is impossible due to the pots system.) The average ranking for this group would be 40 and this group would hence be ranked number 8 and ‘easiest’ in the above list. It is clear that from the way the World Cup roster works in terms of qualifying for the 2nd round that this group would actually be very tough.

This is less of a concern as each group in the World Cup comprises one team from each of 4 pots. These pots tend to give an approximately homogenous distribution of rankings.

In conclusion, please be aware that this above list is by no means a perfect indication of ‘toughness’ as this is an ambiguous term in terms of point-of-view. Also the ‘Average ranking of group’ measure of toughness (as above) is problematic in the sense that an obviously very tough group can be ranked as easy.

Note that the country rankings are from the 26th of May 2010 and are the FIFA World Rankings. They can be found here: http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=0&rank=193