Brookes’ Bytes

A study, published March 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that goodness spurs goodness: A single act can influence dozens more. In a study designed to see whether tiny acts of kindness have larger consequences, the researchers have shown that generosity is contagious.

This was done via a small game in which people were divided into groups of four, given 20 credits each, and asked to secretly decide what to keep for themselves and what to contribute to a common fund. That fund would be multiplied by two-fifths, then divided equally among the group. The best payoff would come if everyone gave all their money — but without knowing what others were doing, it always made sense to keep one’s money and skim from the generosity of others.

Only at the end of each game did players find out what the rest of their group had done. The game was run again and again, each time mixing group members and keeping their identities anonymous, so that decisions were never personal.

And when one person gave, others in their group tended to be generous during the next two rounds of play. Recipients of their largess became more generous in turn, and so on down the chain. When a punishment round was added — players could spend their own money to reduce the rewards of selfish players — generosity lasted even longer.

According to the the researchers, the explanation lies not in calculations of odds and rewards, but in simple behavioral mimicry: Monkey see, monkey do, human style. When people are irrationally generous, others follow suit.

Nothing stops us here, and I am like the John McClane of IT.

Nayt and I are going to be moving into a new place soon. I’m excited for the changes this will give our small little family unit. There are so many pros that listing them all will seem silly, but never-the-less, here are some: we will have an extra bedroom for crafts and guests to stay over, a dishwasher! hallelujah!, a YARD which means gardening and fun activities, more space to accomodate more than two guests at a time in our home COMFORTABLY, a washer and dryer in the basement that won’t cost $40 bucks a month to wash our clothes in…and I could go on.

So, despite the odious task of needing to pack and move things when it’s cold and potentially snowy here in Ohio, I am excited to embark upon this new journey of ownership. We’ve not had to maintain a lawn before. This could prove interesting.

The major regret I personally have in leaving the Clifton area is two-fold: we will be far away from Indian take-out (boo) and when Lauren starts at UC, it will no longer be prudent for us to invite her over. I like having my sils (sister-in-laws) over from time to time. They are fun people. And it’s been nice providing an escape from DAAP for Meg, even if she comes over just to appease me. Hehehe.

Anyway, we hope to have moved into the new place by April 1st. So, there you go, an update from Jes!

I saw this in facebook, and I thought it needed to be shared.

as seen on facebook

Someone really needs to publish some rules for this version of chess.

I love myself some Penny Arcade. Today’s comic is worth mentioning because it combines two thing I love. The iPhone and World of Warcraft. For those not familiar this is a commentary on Blizzard’s recent announcement to develop an auction house app.

I, like most other LOST fans, have been trying to figure out how things are going to be resolved, and I’ve come up with something I think is pretty plausible.

I’ve come to believe that not only are The Others caretakers of The Island, but they’re facilitators to make sure that in case the balance of The Island shifts, that they have some means to correct it.

Now, I have NO idea what circumstances will lead to this, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that since Jacob is now dead, rules on the island are going to shift pretty dramatically, and the only way to stop bad things from happening is to get rid of the Man in Black. I think that’s the likely focus of this season.

Since the balance has to be retained, they’re going to need replacements? But who?

I think that Widmore is finally going to get his wish. He’s going to come back to the island, and gain some control. I think that in the end, it’s not going to be what he expects. I believe that he’s going to take the place of the Man in Black, and he’s really not going to like it.

Jacob’s replacement? Now, logically, I think it would have to be Locke… the big downside of this theory is that he’s not alive. But, who said that he has to be alive? Who ever said that Jacob and the Man in Black are alive? Maybe Ben’s “killing” Jacob wasn’t really a death in the classic sense, but just a dispersal of whatever being Jacob was?

I kinda ruled out Ben, simply because I don’t think he’s the right guy to replace either of them… although it would be pretty ironic to have Widmore and Ben be in the eternal struggle on the island. Perhaps everything Ben has recently gone through will make him the right candidate?

So, what do you think? Off base? Right on? Somewhere in between?

The iPad seems like a handy little device – the major complaints I hear tend to be about what a person specifically wanted out of the device. One of those big complaints is whether the iPad can double as the equivalent of a Cintiq – the thing to keep in mind is that that simply isn’t the market Apple is going for. Like the iPhone and the iPod before it, they’re going for the broadest possible demographic, and they’re aiming to create a general platform rather than a task-specific device like a Kindle or a Cintiq. It’s up to companies like Adobe to adapt to the device now that it’s on the market. That’s just how Apple rolls.

I will say one thing – comics are coming to the iPad! UNDOUBTEDLY. And this is really exciting. Comics have been gaining popularity for the last couple of years, especially because of Hollywood – it’s cool to read comics these days, partially because they’ve been brought to the mainstream with an appeal that eluded them in the past. The iPad is just another way to make comics more palatable for a larger audience, and unlike the iPhone, the iPad doesn’t force a comic to conform to a particular device. This makes it EASY. Someone definitely saw the iPad coming, and they’ve got all those publishers lined up and ready to go. Or – crossing my fingers – comics will be in the new iBook store! I can only hope comics find their digital home in a book store like they found their physical home in Barnes & Noble and Borders.

I hope someone can adapt the iPad to work as a Cintiq, because that would be amazing – and I’m willing to wait to see it happen. But in the meantime, exciting things are still afoot.

The population of this country is 300 million.

160 million are retired.

That leaves 140 million to do the work.

There are 85 million in school.

Which leaves 55 million to do the work.

Of this there are 35 million employed by the federal government.

Leaving 15 million to do the work.

2.8 million are in the armed forces preoccupied with killing Osama Bin-Laden.

Which leaves 12.2 million to do the work.

Take from that total the 10.8 million people who work for state and city Governments. And that leaves 1.4 million to do the work.

At any given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals.

Leaving 1,212,000 to do the work.

Now, there are 1,211,998 people in prisons.

That leaves just two people to do the work.

You and me.

And there you are,

Sitting on your ass,

At your computer, reading jokes.

Nice. Real nice.

Do you think that people have become fat, lazy, ADD, ADHD, OCD, etc… because of the rise of internet usage?

Discuss in the comments. Go.