Links
Picular - Google, but for Colors
Picular is a site that lets you search for words like “water” or “summer” and see a list of related colors. It seems to work by running a Google image search and extracting the primary color of that image.
This is the kind of project I love. It’s simple and easy to understand, but fun to play with.
Perils of Eroded Civic Knowledge Forewarned by Former Justice Souter
This is extremely important.A Striking Perspective on New York City Property Values | Metrocosm
Property values across the U.S., where the area of each state has been substituted for its total property value.The Night My Girlfriend Dissociated and Forgot Who I Was
Because of her dissociative identity disorder, I was a stranger in the eyes of the woman I loved.
Beautifully written, and a reminder that something like 50 First Dates is actually a terrifying situation.
Ricky Jay’s Magical Secrets
Ricky Jay is a legend, and is without a doubt one of my favorite magicians to watch. His shows leave you with a greater appreciation for the magician’s craft, rather than just the immediate illusion they present.Homer's Last Theorem
A look into the deep, dark, strangely complicated world of Simpsons mathematics.
I knew that Futurama has a lot of great mathematics involved, but I didn’t realize that it started in the Simpsons.
Pipino: Gentleman Thief — EPIC MAGAZINE — Medium
Magicians, Mafiosos, a Missing Painting, and the Heist of a LifetimeThe Time Everyone "Corrected" the World’s Smartest Woman
In 1990, Marilyn vos Savant correctly answered a probability puzzle in her column for Parade Magazine. And then, the world called her an idiot.
I still remember the chaos caused by the Monty Hall problem in our high school math class. Here’s my explanation for how it works.
- Your first choice could either be a car or a goat.
- If you picked the car, you will win the car by not changing your guess.
- If you picked a goat, the host will reveal the second goat. The last door left will be the car, so you are guaranteed to win if you change your guess.
- You have two possible strategies to win the car:
- Try to pick the car on your first guess, and don't change the guess.
- Try to pick a goat on your first guess, and change the guess after the host opens another door.
- The second strategy is better, since picking a goat is twice as easy as picking the car.
The best strategy is to try to pick a goat in round 1. Once the host has revealed the second goat, you are guaranteed the car by switching doors.
A Teenager’s View on Social Media — Backchannel — Medium
Very informative description of how teens and college students use the major social networksThe Rise of the Professional Cyber Athlete
Very cool profile of Scarlett, a professional StarCraftII player