Greg Wilson - What We Actually Know About Software Development, and Why We Believe It's True

Source.

Ser Barristan, Sample Chapter, from "Winds of Winter" (fan narrated)

Published on Oct 30, 2013
A fan reading of the Ser Barristan sample chapter from the upcoming Book 6 of A Song of Ice and Fire, George RR Martin.
Source.

IQ2US: Don't Eat Anything With A Face

According to a 2009 poll, around 1% of American adults reported eating no animal products. In 2011 that number rose to 2.5%--more than double, but still dwarfed by the 48% who reported eating meat, fish or poultry at all of their meals. In this country, most of us are blessed with an abundance of food and food choices. So taking into account our health, the environment and ethical concerns, which diet is best? Are we or aren't we meant to be carnivores?

IQ2US: Spy On Me, I'd Rather Be Safe

The NSA collects data on billions of phone calls and internet communications per day. Are these surveillance programs legal? Do they keep us safe? If not for the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, most Americans would be unaware of the vast amounts of information their government is secretly collecting, all in the name of national security. But whether you believe leakers are heroes or traitors, an important public conversation has finally begun, and we should ask ourselves: What tradeoffs are we willing to make between security and privacy?
As Benjamin Franklin might have asked, "Are we giving up essential liberty to purchase temporary safety, and thus deserving of neither?"

IQ2US: The Constitutional Right To Bear Arms Has Outlived Its Usefulness

“A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” –2nd Amendment
Recent mass shooting tragedies have renewed the national debate over the 2nd Amendment. Gun ownership and homicide rates are higher in the U.S. than in any other developed nation, but gun violence has decreased over the last two decades even as gun ownership may be increasing. Over 200 years have passed since James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights, the country has changed, and so have its guns. Is the right to bear arms now at odds with the common good, or is it as necessary today as it was in 1789?

IQ2US: Let Anyone Take A Job Anywhere

If we value a free market in goods and free movement of capital, should we embrace the free movement of labor? Reciprocal treaties would allow citizens of the U.S. and other countries to work legally across borders. Would the elimination of barriers in the labor market depress wages and flood the marketplace with workers? Or would the benefits of a flexible labor supply be a boon to our economy, all while raising the standard of living for anyone willing to work?

IQ2US: For A Better Future, Live In A Red State

While gridlock and division in Washington make it difficult for either party or ideology to set the policy agenda, single-party government prevails in three-quarters of the states. In 24 states Republicans control the governorship and both houses of the legislature, and in 13 states Democrats enjoy one-party control. Comparing economic growth, education, health care, quality of life and environment, and the strength of civil society, do red or blue states win out?

IQ2US: Break Up The Big Banks

To prevent the collapse of the global financial system in 2008, Treasury committed 245 billion in taxpayer dollars to stabilize America’s banking institutions. Today, banks that were once “too big to fail” have only grown bigger, with JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs holding assets equal to over 50% of the U.S. economy. Were size and complexity at the root of the financial crisis, or do calls to break up the big banks ignore real benefits that only economies of scale can pass on to customers and investors?

God is not a Good Theory - Sean Carroll

(Is "God" Explanatory) from the "Philosophy of Cosmology" project. A University of Oxford and Cambridge Collaboration.

Scott Lynch: Lies, Larceny, and Locke Lamora

The always wonderful Scott Lynch, author of The Gentleman Bastard series, recently spoke with me about his character Locke Lamora and how who the villain is can really depend on your perspective. (From suvudu)

Harrison Ford at the Maverick Spirit Award

Jack Gleeson aka King Joffrey

Mission Log Supplemental: Star Trek Into Bob Orci

Today, John and Ken take an extensive look at Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, the fandom and the work of screenwriter Bob Orci.

Repeat: LEGO Gets Leg Up On Toy Competitors

May 24, 2010

The Danish toy company LEGO sailed through the recession. The company that makes those brightly colored snap-together plastic bricks, announced its profits last year jumped more than 60 percent. LEGO's success is all the more remarkable when you consider that just a few years ago, the toy company was falling apart.

IQ2US: The U.S. Drone Program is Fatally Flawed

Remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, have been the centerpiece of America’s counterterrorism toolkit since the start of the Obama presidency, and the benefits have been clear.  Their use has significantly weakened al Qaeda and the Taliban while keeping American troops out of harm’s way.  But critics of drone strikes argue that the short-term gains do not outweigh the long-term consequences—among them, radicalization of a public outraged over civilian deaths.  Is our drone program hurting, or helping, in the fight against terrorism?

Games in Schools and Libraries: Episode 1

In this episode Giles and Don talk about the history of board games, as well as introduce some of the things they will be discussing in the Games and Schools and Libraries show. 

D&D Podcast: Ark of the Mad Mage, Pt 8

So far, the new intern has not quite worked out exactly as planned: there is a corporate system of reprimands for his behavior. Nonetheless, many lessons are learned as the adventure concludes!

The Group

• Jerry Holkins (Tycho from Penny Arcade): Omin Dran, CEO of Acquisitions Incorporated.
• Mike Krahulik (Gabe from Penny Arcade): Jim Darkmagic of the New Hampshire Darkmagics.
• Scott Kurtz (from PvP): Binwin Bronzebottom.
• Patrick Rothfuss (fantasy author): Viari.

IQ2US: The U.S. Has No Dog In The Fight In Syria

There are certain international crises that on their face demand the immediate and urgent attention of presidents. We all know them when we see them -- and so does the man in the White House. Saddam's invasion of Kuwait comes to mind -- an easy call. But there are other situations where the call may be tougher to make. Bosnia got a president's attention; Rwanda did not. And what about Syria -- now in the midst of a civil war and humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions. Certainly there are U.S. interests at stake, but are they vital interests? And what of President Obama's response so far: it has been deliberately limited, but should he go further, and with what sorts of options? Military intervention? Something else? Something less? One thing is certain: Syria is not one of those easy calls. It's what we're debating in Aspen, when we take on the topic: The U.S. has no dog in the fight in Syria.

D&D Podcast: Ark of the Mad Mage, Pt 6

Starting with a coin tossed into the Devourer of Magic, the party moves on to carefully considered negotiations with the djinn who helped construct Halaster's ark. Should they choose the chest with silver, gold or electrum bindings?

The Group

• Jerry Holkins (Tycho from Penny Arcade): Omin Dran, CEO of Acquisitions Incorporated.
• Mike Krahulik (Gabe from Penny Arcade): Jim Darkmagic of the New Hampshire Darkmagics.
• Scott Kurtz (from PvP): Binwin Bronzebottom.
• Patrick Rothfuss (fantasy author): Viari.

D&D Podcast: Ark of the Mad Mage, Pt 5

The heroes find a magic gem, a magic ring, and a magic lamp. It's a Magic Day in Undermountain!

The Group

• Jerry Holkins (Tycho from Penny Arcade): Omin Dran, CEO of Acquisitions Incorporated.
• Mike Krahulik (Gabe from Penny Arcade): Jim Darkmagic of the New Hampshire Darkmagics.
• Scott Kurtz (from PvP): Binwin Bronzebottom.
• Patrick Rothfuss (fantasy author): "V".

D&D Podcast: Ark of the Mad Mage, Pt 4

Wizards of the Coast and Penny Arcade proudly present the latest installment of the Acquisitions Incorporated Dungeons & Dragons saga! This rollicking series of podcasts chronicles the party's latest adventure, leading up to the Live D&D Game at PAX 2013. Join Mike Krahulik, Jerry Holkins, Scott Kurtz, and new intern Patrick Rothfuss as they wreak havoc in the Forgotten Realms and, in true heroic fashion, leave a crater-sized impact on the world. Bring on the laughter and the tears!

Patrick Rothfuss Answers Fan Questions

Prior to the San Diego Comic Con in 2011, we asked our readers to submit questions for author Patrick Rothfuss. During the convention, Pat sat down with Shawn Speakman to provide a few answers.

Jim Butcher Interviews Patrick Rothfuss

Bestselling authors Jim Butcher and Patrick Rothfuss stopped by the Suvudu booth during San Diego Comic Con 2011 to interview each other. In this video Jim Butcher interviews Patrick Rothfuss.

Learn more about Jim Butcher here: http://www.jim-butcher.com/

Learn more about Patrick Rothfuss here: http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/

Sci Fri: The Cheese Chronicles

How is cheese made? Liz Thorpe, cheese expert and author of The Cheese Chronicles, dishes on the business and science of cheesemaking in the U.S. Thorpe says chemistry can explain what makes stilton stinky and goat cheese gooey.

DR Show: State Laws On Abortion

The Texas legislature is moving swiftly on a bill that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks and impose new and costly rules on clinics performing the procedures. Yesterday, thousands rallied outside the Texas capital in protest. Last week, Democratic State Sen. Wendy Davis blocked the initial effort to pass the bill with a marathon filibuster that garnered national attention. But Texas is clearly on course to join a number of states which have passed legislation reducing women’s access to abortion and reproductive health services.

junk2

If auto-update is off, will doggcatcher still update feeds?

Game of Owns: Hodor and Friends

Game of Owns takes a break from its read-through of A Clash of Kings to welcome a special guest to the podcast… Kristian Nairn! Listen in as Kristian talks season 3, the books, and conventions… and there might even be a few season 4 teases sprinkled in there. Hodor!

The Power of Magnetism

This month we go down to atomic scales and investigate the properties of magnetism. We investigate the different forms of magnet and magnetic materials to see how they work, what applications they have, how they can increase our understanding of phenomena such as superconductors and how properties can be made to change in a class of materials known as multiferroics!

Junk test

can you read this?

IQ2US: Cutting the Pentagon's Budget is a Gift To Our Enemies

Political gridlock in Washington triggered across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester, in March. As a result, the Pentagon was given six months to eliminate $41 billion from the current year’s budget, and unlike past cuts, this time everything is on the table. In 2011, America spent $711 billion dollars on its defense—more than the next 13 highest spending countries combined. But the burdens it shoulders, both at home and abroad, are unprecedented. Could the sequester be a rare opportunity to overhaul the armed forces, or will its impact damage military readiness and endanger national security?

IQ2US: The FDA'S Caution Is Hazardous To Our Health

The Food and Drug Administration, the oldest comprehensive consumer protection agency in the U.S. federal government, is charged with protecting the public health.  Under this mandate, it regulates drugs and medical devices for their safety and effectiveness.  But is it a failing mandate?  It’s long been argued that the FDA’s long and costly approval processes stifle innovation and keep life-changing treatments from the market.  But the question remains: when it comes to public health, is it ever okay to sacrifice safety for speed?

B.S. Report: Joe House and Andy Greenwald: 5/7

Seek to 44min.  Bill calls Joe House to talk NBA playoffs, then Andy Greenwald joins to talk 'Game of Thrones.'

PM 453: What Causes What? (Retry)

PM 453: What Causes What?

What causes what? The human brain is programmed to answer this question constantly. This how we survive. What made that noise? Bear made that noise. What caused my hand to hurt? Fire caused my hand to hurt.
We are so eager to figure what causes what — that we often get it wrong. I wore my lucky hat to the game. My team won. Therefore, my lucky hat caused my team to win.
On today's show we dive deep into the world of correlation and causation with Charles Wheelan, author of the new book, Naked Statistics.

PM 452: How Much Should We Trust Economics?

Three years ago, Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff published a study that quickly became one of the most famous, most talked about economics papers since the financial crisis. It got so much attention because it answered a basic question everybody was asking: How much debt is too much?
Reinhart and Rogoff looked at what had happened in many different countries over many years. And they found a what looked like a clear debt threshold: 90 percent. Average growth was much, much slower in countries with debt-to-gdp ratios over 90 percent.
The paper got a lot of coverage in the press. Politicians cited it in the U.S. and Europe.
Then, this week, a 28-year-old grad student and his professors published a startling finding: Reinhart and Rogoff had made a simple Excel error in one part of their study. The authors of the new critique also questioned other elements of the study and argued that, in fact, there is no debt threshold.
On today's show, we hear from the grad student who found the error. And we ask: How much should we trust economics?

PM 356: The Surprisingly Entertaining History Of The Income Tax

The U.S. has a really conflicted history with the income tax. For most of American history, there was no income tax at all. At one point it was ruled unconstitutional.
Today, income tax is the federal government's main source of revenue. That raises a question: How did something that was once so strange to us become so central?
The answer includes a few wars, a Supreme Court justice on his deathbed, and Donald Duck.

2013 Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate: The Existence of Nothing

The concept of nothing is as old as zero itself. How do we grapple with the concept of nothing? From the best laboratory vacuums on Earth to the vacuum of space to what lies beyond, the idea of nothing continues to intrigue professionals and the public alike.

Join moderator and Hayden Planetarium Director Neil deGrasse Tyson as he leads a spirited discussion with a group of physicists, philosophers and journalists about the existence of nothing. The event, which was streamed live to the web, took place at the American Museum of Natural History on March 20, 2013.

IQ2US: The GOP Must Seize The Center Or Die

2012 was a disappointing year for Republicans. The failure to win key swing states in the presidential election and surprising losses in the House and Senate have prompted some reflection. Was their embrace of small government, low taxes, and a strong conservative stance on social issues at odds with shifting American demographics? Or did the GOP embrace the right platform, but the wrong candidates?

THE STORYTELLING OF SCIENCE Part 2

Join the Origins Project at ASU for the final night in the Origins Stories weekend, focused on the science of storytelling and the storytelling of science. The Storytelling of Science will feature a panel of esteemed scientists, public intellectuals, and award-winning writers including well-known science educator Bill Nye, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, theoretical physicist Brian Greene, Science Friday's Ira Flatow, popular science fiction writer Neal Stephenson, executive director of the World Science Festival Tracy Day, and Origins Project director Lawrence Krauss as they discuss the stories behind cutting edge science from the origin of the universe to a discussion of exciting technologies that will change our future. They will demonstrate how to convey the excitement of science and the importance helping promote a public understanding of science. The panel discussion is sure to be a provocative and entertaining finale to our Origins Stories events. We look forward to seeing you there!

THE STORYTELLING OF SCIENCE Part 1

The Origins Project at ASU presents the final night in the Origins Stories weekend, focusing on the science of storytelling and the storytelling of science. The Storytelling of Science features a panel of esteemed scientists, public intellectuals, and award-winning writers including well-known science educator Bill Nye, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, theoretical physicist Brian Greene, Science Friday's Ira Flatow, popular science fiction writer Neal Stephenson, executive director of the World Science Festival Tracy Day, and Origins Project director Lawrence Krauss as they discuss the stories behind cutting edge science from the origin of the universe to a discussion of exciting technologies that will change our future. They demonstrate how to convey the excitement of science and the importance helping promote a public understanding of science.

Planet Money #449: The Hidden Digital Wealth In Your Pocket

We have secondary markets for almost everything. If you no longer want that old record or CD, you can sell it to a thrift store, used record store, or on Craigslist or eBay. But what about songs from your iTunes library you no longer want? Today on the show, the story of a company that tried to set up an online marketplace where people can buy and sell old mp3s, and what happened to them. It involves a law from 1976, a phonorecord, and a judge that quotes Star Trek.

Planet Money #448: Coney Island Back In Business

When Hurricane Sandy struck, it devastated businesses all over New York City. One area hit particularly hard was Coney Island, an iconic New York beach at the tip of South Brooklyn. At the time, we reported on the damage to a family-owned amusement park, Deno's Wonderwheel Amusement Park, home to the Wonder Wheel, bumper cars, and the Spook-A-Rama. We reported that the place was basically doomed. But it turns out, our report was a kind of premature obituary for the business. We return to the amusement park, about 5 months after the storm, and find things shockingly normal. Businesses like Deno's are back and some of them are thriving. On today's show, an economic case study. What brought Coney Island back so quickly?

The Takeaway: Can We Talk About Guns?

In a special episode of The Takeaway, host John Hockenberry will aim to get to the root of America's inability to openly discuss firearms by talking to those who most need to join this conversation: gun owners and enthusiasts themselves.

IQ2 US: Abolish The Minimum Wage

The first attempt at establishing a national minimum wage, a part of 1933’s sweeping National Industrial Recovery Act, was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1935. But in 1938, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law a minimum hourly wage of 25 cents—$4.07 in today’s dollars. Three-quarters of a century later, we are still debating the merits of this cornerstone of the New Deal. Do we need government to ensure a decent paycheck, or would low-wage workers and the economy be better off without its intervention?

All Things Considered: Sugar

Farm Bill's Sugar Subsidy More Taxing Than Sweet, Critics Say

IQ2 US: America Doesn't Need A Strong Dollar Policy

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 It’s often taken for granted that America needs a strong dollar. When the value of the U.S. dollar is strong relative to other currencies, it becomes attractive to investors and allows Americans to buy foreign goods and services cheaply. But in times of recession, are we better off with a weak dollar that stimulates U.S. manufacturing by making our goods cheaper and more competitive? Or will the loss of purchasing power and currency manipulation abroad, offset the potential gains?

Morning Edition: Earned Income Tax Credit

Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and Arthur C. Clarke

Stephen Hawking, Arthur C. Clarke and Carl Sagan (via satellite) discuss the Big Bang theory, God, our existence as well as the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

IQ2 US: Prohibit Genetically Engineered Babies

Imagine a world free of genetic diseases, where parents control their offspring’s height, eye color and intelligence. The science may be closer than you think. Genes interact in ways that we don’t fully understand and there could be unintended consequences, new diseases that result from our tinkering. But even if the science could be perfected, is it morally wrong? Would it lead to eugenics and a stratified society where only the rich enjoy the benefits of genetic enhancement? Or would the real injustice be depriving our children of every scientifically possible opportunity?

Morning Edition: Power Tools Fit For The Amish

White and Nerdy

Test 3

OCC Message: The Pecking Order, Pt 1

In Jesus' day, people were very focused on clothes, wealth and status. Good thing we don't worry about those things today...

Israel Can Live With a Nuclear Iran

Over the summer of 2012, despite increased international pressure and economic sanctions, Iran doubled the number of nuclear centrifuges installed in its underground Fordow site, stopping just short of the capacity to produce nuclear fuel. President Obama has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s call to draw a “red line” that would trigger U.S. military action. But what would the costs and benefits of military action be? Can Israel live with a nuclear Iran, or could the time be near for a pre-emptive strike?

Game of Thrones - Julian Glover