Ylliks

People have been known to offer predictions about the future. And although alot of things did happen, many of those predictions were wrong. Dead wrong.

Here’s a list of the 87 worst.

Original via Digg

Great article on research of 2 men from Cornell University on just how skilled people THINK they are and the ACTUAL skill level of those people. And although agreeing with the outcome of the study, the writer of the article gives some good reasons why he thinks the research in itself is flawed.

What’s missing is another reason. Before testing subjects, the researchers came up with 4 predictions that they thought were going to be the outcome of the project. All kinds of research on the subject has proven that when having such an outcome in mind, the results of the tests will prove that existing assumed outcome.

One of the theories that support this line of thinking is that of the “Whoever pays gets the result”. Think of it like the research that is done to prove that smoking is/is not dangerous for your health. There have been cases that research (which was done on behalf of the tobacco industry) has shown that smoking was not as bad for your health as tests from other research (sponsored by the anti-tobacco lobby) showed. Here money is the key, because the researching facilities want to keep money from their respective clients coming in and the results will prove favorable for the people who pay them.

So whether it’s the money talking, predispositions or former results, research will mirror the same outcome that researches have in mind before the research actually begins. The same can be said about the outcome of the research done by those Cornell University researchers.

Original link by Digg

Staying a bit on the relaxing on/under/in balls, Animi Causa has created the “Feel Seating System” for your pleasure.

Just imagine comming home from a hard days work and lay your tired body on this seat to wind down from a day at the office. I think you could do worse.

Link by Gizmodo

Amidst the pairings of the teams competing for the NCAA title, a little piece of news dribbled down the wires: John Chaney, 24-year coach of Temple University, has decided to retire. With this retirement, college basketball will lose one of the finest basketball brains in the world.

Sure, his Temple Owls never won the national championship. Never even got to the Final Four, but they always were one thing: competitive. His teams resembled the man. A defense-first approach, helped by his outstanding match-up zone, with a never-say-die attitude, staying in games with scraping and hussling. And although he never had the change to work with the same talent as those coaches at schools like Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky or UCLA, he did win. A lot. Chaney is arguably the best coach never to go to the Final Four. 741 wins (516-252 at Temple), 2-time National Coach of the Year, 5-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and numerous Atlantic 10 regular and tournament championships. And a Hall of Famer to boot.

But the man wasn’t a saint. Nor did he claim to be. Just take his rigorous training sessions at 5 AM. Or the time he threatened to kill then Umass (now Memphis) coach John Calipari (they are now friends) or when he send a player out into a game to make a flagrant foul. He did mess up. But he took responsibility for it and paid his price for those indiscretions.

And responsibility was what he taught his players as well. He was the kind of guy who gave underprivileged kids a chance to succeed in basketball as well as life. Taking kids no other program even looked at. And because of that he wasn’t just a coach for most of his players: he was a father figure who they respected and looked up to. A teacher who taught them about life.

Chaney will probably be remembered for the times he messed up. But a great basketball mind has left the game and an even greater educator has stopped teaching. People who played for him or worked with him give him nothing but praise. His influence will be missed.