We’ve written before about online healthcare resources. Google is now entering the arena in a big way with a service that will store medical records and allow patients to access them from anywhere, according to Reuters. Called Google Health, the site is still in development, though initial screenshots are available, and currently goes by the codename “Weaver” — and is . . .
For anyone who still thinks that pennies are worth saving (and haven’t yet been convinced by Dubner’s and others’ arguments), now there’s a reason to stop using them altogether: they might get you in trouble at school. NBC10 local news reports that 29 eighth-graders were given two days of detention after using only pennies to pay for their $2 lunches. . . .
Limiting child access to TV and Internet can lower their weight. (Earlier) Is online therapy the future of mental health treatment? Is Google recession-proof? (Earlier) 140-year-old math problem solved. (Earlier)
Media employees have plenty to complain about these days — layoffs, dropping revenue, and of course, accusations of bias. But now there’s a place for frustrated journalists to vent: AngryJournalist.com. It’s an anonymous message board with no dates, locations, or any identifiers save a number. Here’s a recent post: I’m angry because after a Sunday when I wrote the A1 . . .
Even if you don’t care one bit — and this probably describes the vast majority of Americans — you have probably heard by now that a Great Format War has been fought, and apparently won. The HD-DVD format for DVDs, backed by Toshiba, has lost out to Sony’s Blu-ray format. To be sure, there are some caveats. In this Computerworld . . .
Times metro reporter Jennifer 8. Lee has turned her fortune cookie explorations into a book: The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food. The book goes beyond just cookies, according to its Web site, which promises a look at the “enduring mysteries of Chinese cuisine through a mix of in-depth research and entertaining personal anecdotes.” No word . . .
Treasury Secretary in favor of axing the penny. (Earlier) Free books online: the debate continues. (Earlier) Are lawsuits the next phase in the fight against global warming? (Earlier) Reducing class sizes isn’t enough to fight achievement gap.
Who will win in Texas? The MySpace poll. (Earlier) Do fewer ad-clicks really matter for Google? (Earlier) Can everyone learn from online classes? (Earlier) Company charges for “privilege” of stopping junk mail-outs to customers. (Earlier)
We’ve seen it before: companies turning to the general public to mine ideas for solutions to internal problems. Now there’s a central location for companies to solicit creative ideas from anyone with an Internet connection: Innocentive.com. The site lets “seekers” (i.e., private companies, government agencies, and nonprofits) solicit help from average Joes on issues from product development to engineering and . . .
Player similarities in the NBA: a network diagram. A “Who’s Who” of modern physicists. How accurate are most psychology experiments?. Military experts fear “robotic terrorism.”
The Seattle Times reports that a bill has been introduced in Washington state that would require convicted D.U.I. offenders to use fluorescent-yellow license plates for a year after their driving privileges are restored. The bill’s sponsors see the license plates as a means of informing law enforcement that the driver has a history of D.U.I.s, and a signal to other . . .
New study tries to predict sources of future pandemics. (Earlier) “The Subprime Primer”: a mortgage crisis in illustration. What’s the worst company in America? Cast your vote. The white lies of Consumer Reports‘s undercover shoppers.
Is the Internet really filled with pedophilic sexual predators lurking in a social network or chat room near your child? Not necessarily, according to 3 nationwide surveys done by the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. The first two surveys consisted of responses from 3,000 teens who use the Internet in 2000, and . . .
Is Wikipedia more accurate than we think? (Earlier) Parentonomics to be published in Australia. Olympic athletes permitted to blog at the 2008 games. Does working in solitude lead to greater productivity?
Jessica Hagy has been entertaining us on her own blog and this one. Now, her book (named, appropriately, Indexed) is available for purchase. On the front cover, there’s the following blurb from Dubner (which probably doesn’t matter, but we’re quoting it anyway): With just a few circles, arrows, and tart words, Jessica Hagy makes more sense of the human condition . . .
Still skeptical (even after evidence like this) about Levitt and Dubner’s conclusion in Freakonomics that having a real estate agent sell your home won’t necessarily result in a higher sale price? Stanford economist B. Douglas Bernheim and Stanford grad student Jonathan Meer provide further evidence in their working paper, “How Much Value Do Real Estate Brokers Add? A Case Study.” . . .
Is use v. non-use of social networking sites leading to “digital inequality”? (Earlier) Study finds crowds can be influenced by 5% minority. Incarceration rates for crack-cocaine users on the rise. (Earlier) Biofuels expert named among the “fastest growing” jobs of 2008. (Earlier)
Last week, we solicited your questions for Google chief economist Hal Varian. Here are his answers. Thanks to Hal for his generosity and to all of you for the good questions. Q: Google’s recent announcement that it will be investing in energy research suggests that management now thinks it can earn better returns from investing in fields other than its . . .
MediaPost reports that nearly 70 percent of online shoppers read at least 4 reviews of a product before purchasing it, while almost a quarter of people check eight reviews or more — good news for anyone who writes all those Amazon reviews. Still, this statistic begs the question: do online shoppers necessarily read more reviews than offline shoppers?
Prenatal lead exposure linked to male obesity. (Earlier) Researchers test Iraqi teenagers’ self-esteem. Cities in Japan, Sardinia, California boast the world’s longest-living populations. Helvetica makes list of “Top Ten new releases to inspire social change.” (Earlier)
A few weeks ago, we solicited your questions for Dubner and Levitt. The high quality and enthusiasm of your response gave us the idea to make the Freakonomics Q&A an ongoing feature. So starting today, the Levitt/Dubner Q&A will run regularly, and will be based on your first set of questions as well as any new questions that you leave . . .
Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia sociologist and author of “Gang Leader for a Day,” is back once again for a seventh report after watching “The Wire” with a group of gangland acquaintances. His past reports can be found here. The Thugs were bored. Episode 7 failed to move them. “Too slow,” griped Shine. “They’re making us wait,” said Orlando. “See, that’s when . . .
A breakdown of current inflation psychology. VP of biofuels company to chat online about ethanol production. (Earlier) The link between women’s hairstyles and the Japanese economy. Tech pioneer predicts human-robot marriages to happen in the next 50 years.
It’s identity theft meets Internet dating: the Wall Street Journal reports that would-be online suitors are lifting other people’s profiles and posting them as their own. For example, Thierry Khalfa, a 44-year-old Frenchman, found himself dumped by Marjorie Coon, 48, after she discovered that he had copied exactly the profile of Mike Matteo, a 47-year-old screenwriter in Tampa, Fla. After . . .
Online music sales to pass CD sales by 2012. (Earlier) Scammers take advantage of “death bonds.” Music found to aid recovery for stroke victims. Are identical twins really genetically identical?
Mayor Ken Livingstone of London is urging his citizens to forego bottled water in light of the drag it puts on the environment. Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York has done the same. Others, meanwhile, have taken the further step of an outright ban on bottled water. Your thoughts?
Can big businesses lead us to a cultural revolution? Does the human “inactivity bias” make economic sense? (Earlier) Michael Shermer discusses The Mind of the Market. (Earlier) A guide to betting on the Oscars.
N.I.H. and the E.P.A. to collaborate on testing chemicals for toxic effects. (Earlier) The 10 most fuel-efficient luxury cars. (Earlier) A guide to optimizing caffeine consumption. “Plagiarius Award” developed for the best product knockoffs of the year.
Obesity linked to higher cancer risks. (Earlier) The Wii continues to dominate the industry. (Earlier) Is human sexuality an “evolutionary arms race”? How should corporations approach philanthropy? Becker and Posner speak. (Earlier)
Airbus to open flying casinos? (Earlier) The physiology of kissing. Study finds that love may cause “blindness” to other potential mates. Scammers use online dating sites to defraud unsuspecting singles. (Earlier)
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