Ed Cottrell

  • Jumper Cables for the Mind

    Here’s one way to get those juices flowing: Jumper Cables for the Mind – NYTimes.com.  We’re already concerned about people enhancing their ability to access and process information using tools like Google Glass, and it’s already well-known that everyday activities like drinking a cup of coffee can enhance mental performance.  Now, we’re going to have…

  • Experience and Reason

    The following is Madison’s summary of a truly excellent speech by John Dickenson, a delegate from Delaware to the Constitutional Convention: Experience must be our only guide. Reason may mislead us. It was not Reason that discovered the singular & admirable mechanism of the English Constitution. It was not Reason that discovered or ever could…

  • Ridiculous Mountaintop Plane Landing

    I’m posting this just because it’s amazing.  Land it like a boss. h/t That Reminds Me: Didja Hear About The Mountain-Climbing Economists? | The Borderline Sociopathic Blog For Boys.

  • Loneliest Human

    The xkcd “What if?” blog has a great analysis of the people most eligible for the title of Loneliest Human.  Not that I ever thought I had even come close, but it makes my whole “6 miles from the nearest light bulb” (at Philmont Scout Ranch) thing seem way less impressive.

  • Passwords Done Wrong

    I recently changed a password at Citibank, and was greeted with this absurd guidance. Where to start? A 6-character password is ridiculously insecure, so that’s not great.  But the “must not” section is what amuses me.  The first and second bullets are perfectly fine.  The fourth one is very disturbing — how secure can a…