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Monthly Archives: January 2012
Scientists discover new element: governmentium
Oxford University researchers have discovered the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element, Governmentium (symbol=Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 … Continue reading
Posted in Humour
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Humour, sex and brains: what are the connections?
I don’t know if there is much research on humour. It strikes me as something hard to do since it is quite subjective but inevitably there are intrepid researchers who are not put off by this. I wonder have economists … Continue reading
Posted in Brain/Psychology, Humour, research
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Human capital and economic growth: taking the long view
Policy makers, educationalists and others often argue, at at least assert, that education is important (or indeed essential) for economic growth. It is a claim that is often made in the Irish context. When we are regularly told that the … Continue reading
Posted in Education
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The joy of pi
Pi is a great number with lots of history and mathematics associated with it. It also attracts unusual devotion. Ok you might say its not that great, its only just greater than 3, but if you were to write out … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Politics in Mouseland: some things never change
A colleague of mine pointed me to a speech made by a Canadian politican Tommy Douglas in 1944 about a fictional “Mouseland”. It is funny and perceptive and a reminder of how politics doesn’t seem to change in some respects.
Posted in Uncategorized
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Muffin makeover: the Harvard approach
If you are a muffin lover or there is a muffin lover in your life you may be interested to learn that a lot of low-fat muffins are not actually that healthy: aparently they are often low in healthy fats … Continue reading
Posted in Health
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The placebo restaurant: good food at a good price
We all want to go out and get fancy food but we don’t want to pay fancy prices. And whether we like it or not many people can’t distinguish between fancy and not-so-fancy food except by looking at the price … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Drink, feck, tax : whats the optimal sin tax?
A couple of recent correspondents in the letters columns of the Irish Times criticized a suggestion that the government should introduce a minimum price for alcohol or increase the excise taxes as the price would have no effect on consumption. … Continue reading
Posted in Health, research
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