--- title: "Fishrush" url: https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm --- # Fishrush [Front Page](http://www.fishrush.org) | [Weblog](https://fishrush.org/core.shtml) | [XML](http://www.fishrush.com/rss.xml) | [What is Fishrush](https://fishrush.org/about_origin.htm) | [Contact](https://fishrush.org/contact.htm) | [More...](https://fishrush.org/more.htm) #### Wednesday, November 05, 2003 ## Purchasing power parity "The theory of [Purchasing power parity](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity) (PPP) asserts that in equilibrium the exchange rate that will prevail between two countries will be that which equalizes the prices of traded goods in each country. Typically, the prices of many goods would be looked at, weighted according to their importance in the economy. Purchasing power parity exchange rates are useful for comparing living standards between countries. Actual exchange rates can give a very misleading picture of living standards. For example, if the value of the Mexican Peso falls by half compared to the dollar, the Gross Domestic Product measured in dollars will also halve. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that Mexicans are any poorer - if incomes and prices measured in pesos stay the same, they will be no worse off assuming that imported goods are not essential to the quality of life of individuals. Measuring income in different countries using purchasing power parity exchange rates helps to avoid this problem. One issue with PPP is, however, that most sources do not state the actual content of the PPP, which is statistically deceiving e.g. Countries at Economist. A simple and humorous example of a measure purchasing power parity is the ' [Big Mac index](http://www.economist.com/markets/Bigmac/index.cfm) ' popularised by The Economist magazine, which looks at the prices of burgers in McDonald's restaurants in different countries. " [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106802275738966613) ## Where the Cool Scientists Are [NYTimes](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE1DF1E31F93BA15753C1A9659C8B63) : "The string theorists on ''The Elegant Universe'' talk like stoners, and their ruminations are precisely as soporific and as wondrous as someone else's hallucinations usually are. With very little sheepishness the scientists confess to possessing a theory of absolutely everything. The physicist Brian Greene, the host, calls their big idea a ''blockbuster.'' He and his colleagues promote parallel universes and seven bonus dimensions beyond space and time. And as the series, a three-parter on PBS's ''Nova'' that begins tonight, gains momentum, the participants get even bolder, admitting that they are in thrall to an idea called ''M theory,'' where M stands variously for magic, mystery or matrix. " Elegantly Soporific "I sat down last night to watch the PBS television adaptation of Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe, with the vague plan that I would try to use it as the basis to say something about string theory here today. Alas, I dozed off in the middle of the second hour. The production was slick, and there was some good stuff, but they devoted about one minute in every five to recapping what they just said." ~ [Uncertain Principles Physics, Politics, Pop Culture](http://www.steelypips.org/principles/2003_10_26_principlearchive.php?show_id=106746103199099754#bk_10674610319909975) [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106802216720718791) ## Redesign ["Usability is overrated."](http://diveintomark.org/public/2003/11/diveintomark.org.html) : [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106802159397780613) #### Tuesday, November 04, 2003 ## Hyperlinks viewed as diffuse jumps in blog pools of undissociated dilute solutions Turgor "Turgor (also called turgor pressure or osmotic pressure ) is the pressure that can build in a space that is enclosed by a membrane that is permeable to a solvent such as water but not to solutes. A biological cell, for example a plant cell, contains ions, sugars, amino acids, and other substances. In a hypotonic environment, water flows across the plasma membrane into the cell (since the concentration of water is lower inside the cell than outside), causing it to expand. The cell wall of a plant cell restricts the expansion, causing the cell to press against the wall. The resulting pressure is called turgor."[ [1](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turgor) ] Meme "A T-phage cannot replicate itself; it reproduces by hijacking the DNA of a bacterium, forcing its host to make millions of copies of the phage. Similarly, an idea can parasitically infect your mind and alter your behavior, causing you to want to tell your friends about the idea, thus exposing them to the idea-virus. Any idea which does this is called a "meme" (pronounced `meem'). Unlike a virus, which is encoded in DNA molecules, a meme is nothing more than a pattern of information, one that happens to have evolved a form which induces people to repeat that pattern. Typical memes include individual slogans, ideas, catch-phrases, melodies, icons, inventions, and fashions.[ [2](http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMIN.HTML) ]" Let's consider the improbable possibility that a meme takes a path equal to a Brownian motion via a blog pool viewed in the terms of an undissociated dilute solution. > The 'Elementary theory of Brownian motion' is one of the major investigations by Einstein on the Brownian movement theory in 1908. In this paper, the term "Brownian motion" is referred to as the irregular and unceasing movement of solid microscopic particles when suspended in a fluid medium. > > In an undissociated dilute solution, there is a process of diffusion(*), which is caused by the Brownian motion of the suspended thermal molecules. On the other hand, another process proceeding in the opposite direction of that of the diffusion one also occurs. This movement of suspended substances is brought about by osmotic pressure forces(+). > > The first step in the investigation of Brownian motion is to show how the process of diffusion depends on the distribution of osmotic pressure in the solution. The relationship between the diffusion and the mobility of the dissolved substance in the solvent is also to be found. > > In his investigation, Einstein explained the above relationships by using a cylindrical vessel containing a dilute solution of two different concentrations. A movable piston is used as a semi-permeable partition to divide the solution. This would allow both the diffusion and the osmosis processes to take place. Osmotic differences exist as a result of the variation in concentrations. This phenomenon creates an osmotic pressure force that brings about the equalization of the concentrations in diffusion. Therefore, osmotic pressure can be looked upon as the driving force in diffusion cases. A mathematical evaluation of this phenomenon, based on the kinetic molecular theory of heat, produced an expression for the diffusion coefficient. This coefficient was found to be independent of the nature of the solution except for the viscosity of the solvent and for the size of the solute molecules."[ > > [3](http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_95/journal/vol4/ykl/report.html) > > ] The evolution of the blog meme may not follow a continuous path, but, instead, be represented by diffuse jumps as can be viewed in this [example](http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/biomath/populate/diffuse.html) . The diffuse jumps may derive from blog hyperlinking. This is just a hypothesis ... and some blog theorists, "like physicists have this nasty habit of rediscovering mathematics from 30 years ago and claiming it explains the Universe"[ [4](http://www.leuschke.org/mt/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=3171) ] [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106800380277343054) ## this mission was a yawn "...this mission was a yawn -- a low-priority 'science' flight forced onto NASA by Congress and postponed for two years because of a more pressing schedule of construction deliveries to the International Space Station. The truth is, it had finally been launched as much to clear the books as to add to human knowledge, and it had gone nowhere except into low Earth orbit, around the globe every ninety minutes for sixteen days ... performing a string of experiments, many of which, like the shuttle program itself, seemed to suffer something of a make-work character -- the examination of dust in the Middle East ... [and] an exercise involving the extraction of essential oils from rose and rice flowers, which was said to hold promise for new perfumes ..." ~ [The Atlantic Monthly](http://www.theatlantic.com/) , Columbia's Last Flight, The inside story of the investigation and the catastrophe it laid bare, by William Langewiesche [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106799970237254473) ## Ranting Against Cant [Atlantic Monthly](http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/int2003-07-16.htm) : "I've been accused of 'bardolotry' so much that I've made a joke out of it. As I am something of a dinosaur, I've named myself Bloom Brontosaurus Bardolator. It's not such a bad thing to be. " [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106799884467459337) ## Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper [Breakfast Reduces Diabetes, Heart Disease](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/61/71457.htm) : "Mom was right in saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Researchers report that breakfast-eaters are far less likely to be obese or have diabetes or heart disease. A daily breakfast may reduce the risk of becoming obese or developing signs that can lead to diabetes -- called [insulin resistance syndrome](http://my.webmd.com/content/article/59/66846.htm) -- by 35% to 50% compared with skipping the morning meal, say researchers." [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106797626200480822) ## Chlorophyll Chlorophyll is the green [photosynthetic pigment](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthetic_pigment) present in [chloroplasts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloroplast) which provides the energy necessary for [photosynthesis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis) . The intense green color of chlorophyll is due to its strong absorbencies in the red and blue regions of the [electromagnetic spectrum](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum) , and because of these absorbencies the light it reflects and transmits appears green. It is capable of channeling the energy of sunlight into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis. In this process the energy absorbed by chlorophyll transforms carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen. Chemical structure Chlorophyll is a [chlorin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorin) pigment, related to the [porphyrin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porphyrin) containing iron compound known as [Heme](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heme) . At the center of the ring is a magnesium ion. The side chains vary somewhat between the different forms of chlorophyll found in different organisms - chlorophyll a is always present, but chlorophylls b and c also occur in various groups. Evidence for chorophyll It can be shown that chlorophyll is vital for photosynthesis by destarching a variegated plant's leaves and exposing it to light for several hours. Variegated plant leaves have green areas which contain chlorophyll and white areas that have none. When tested with iodine solution a colour change showing starch present is only evident in regions of the plant that were green and therefore contained chlorophyll. This shows that photosynthesis does not occur in areas where chlorophyll is absent, and therefore supports the theory that the presence of chlorophyll is a requirement for photosynthesis to take place. Chlorophyll consists of two forms, A: C66H72O5N4Mg and B: C66H70O6N4Mg In both cases the magnesium atom is central in the molecule. See also: images of [Common structure of chlorophyll a and b](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chlorophyll_structure.png) , an image of the [Absorbance of light of chlorophyll a(green) and b(red)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chlorophyll_spectra.png) and " [Why do leaves change color in the fall?](http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20031104.html) ". Source: [Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll). [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106795345152616344) ## Hitchhiking Vietnam [PBS](http://www.pbs.org/hitchhikingvietnam/animal/index.html) : "The Hanoi zoo has placards above all of the animal cages, explaining each animal's name, habitat, life span, breeding habits, and usefulness to man. 'Pharmaceutical value' is listed under almost every animal. " [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106795254981178014) #### Monday, November 03, 2003 ## The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group... [Everything in Moderation](http://www.everythinginmoderation.org/2003/11/the_effect_of_severity_of_initiation_on_liking_for_a_group.shtml) : "I've got my hands on an abstract for a paper about difficulty of initiation into groups. According to Aronson, E. & Mills, J. (1959). The effect of severity of initiation on liking for a group. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 59, 177-181. there's a direct correlation between how difficult the process of initiation is and how much people will like the group once they have entered it." [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106788835162254437) ## Basal Metabolic Rate [Discovery Health](http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html) : "You expend energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. Thus your Basal Metabolic Rate is the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day - a tempting idea for some. If you've noticed that every year, it becomes harder to eat whatever you want and stay slim, you've also learned that your Basal Metabolic Rate decreases as you age. Likewise, depriving yourself of food in hopes of losing weight also decreases your BMR, a foil to your intentions. However, a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise can increase your BMR, improving your health and fitness when your body's ability to burn energy gradually slows down. " [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106788777970407432) ## the Monopoly? [binarytoybox](http://www.binarytoybox.com/archives/000461.html) : "As far as I’m concerned, when people start saying things like “With that kind of clout, the discount retailer can exercise considerable influence over the kinds of titles that find their way into consumers’ hands…” [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106787626862038541) #### Saturday, November 01, 2003 ## What's Google Really Worth? [BW Online](http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2003/tc20031030_7074_tc024.htm) :Some on the Street say the search engine's IPO might fetch $25 billion. Use a different yardstick, and that sum seems [way too high](http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2003/tc20031030_7074_tc024.htm) " [¶ Link](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm#106768825186605232) --- ### Archives [10/01/2003 - 10/31/2003](https://fishrush.org/2003_10_01_archive.htm) [11/01/2003 - 11/30/2003](https://fishrush.org/2003_11_01_archive.htm) [Much better Websites than this one](https://fishrush.org/links/blog.htm) | [XML](https://fishrush.org/rss.xml) | [Powered by Blogger](http://www.blogger.com)