Culture

A scientific evaluation of Charles Dickens

Written by Mikhail Simkin on 21 March 2013.

Previously I discussed¹ my experiment that tested whether people can tell the masterpieces of abstract art from anyone’s doodles. People could hardly see any difference. But is this peculiar to modern art? Alas, it is not. Here, I show that the same thing happens with classical literature.

Keep your redshirt on: a Bayesian exploration

Written by Matthew Barsalou on 19 February 2013.

The idea of red-shirted characters being frequently killed in Star Trek: The Original Series has become a pop culture cliché. But is wearing a redshirt in Star Trek as hazardous as it is thought to be? To find out, casualty figures for the Starship Enterprise were compiled using the casualty list provided by Memory Alpha.

How many turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving?

Written by Jarad Niemi on 25 November 2010.

It's Thanksgiving in the US and I am preparing myself for a hearty meal of turkey, sweet potatoes and cranberries followed by pumpkin pie for dessert. I wonder to myself 'how many turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving?