GAMING NOISE
“I WON! I won!” Or maybe not. Artfully engineered responses from games—and gambling hardware—are designed to encourage continued play through what researchers call “losses disguised as wins.” This concept is … Continue reading
THE ALPS: MOUNTAINS OF PROMINENCE
THE ALPS are more impressive than the Rockies. True, both have neat scenery, wonderful roads and great touring. But in the Rockies, you’re already starting from a mile high. It’s … Continue reading
PROPULSION FIGHT
THIS ISN’T the first time society gets to decide on personal mobility. Back at the previous turn of the century—the 19th to the 20th—the propulsion fight was among electricity, steam … Continue reading
ORCHESTRIONS
IF YOU’VE ridden a carousel, you’ve heard the music of an orchestrion. Think of this pneumatically controlled collection of pipes and percussion as sort of a high-level music box, but with … Continue reading
AESTHETICS OF JAPAN
IT SEEMS to me there are contrasting sides to Japanese aesthetics. The same fellow who appreciates the simplicity of rocks in carefully raked sand also derives pleasure from art forms … Continue reading
FUEL-CELL UPDATE
IT’S NO longer “if,” but “when” hydrogen fuel-cell cars and trucks enter the mainstream. In the past few weeks, significant news from distinctly different quarters corroborates this. These include yet … Continue reading
SINSHEIM AUTO & TECHNIK
THE SOUTHWESTERN German town of Sinsheim is about 50 miles northwest of Stuttgart, 22 miles southeast of Hockenheim’s Formula 1 circuit. In May 1999, I had been visiting the university … Continue reading
FREBERG’S U.S.A.
HAPPY JULY 4TH! A great way to celebrate our nation’s 237th birthday is with the satire of Stan Freberg. His two-volume CD set, Stan Freberg Presents the United States of … Continue reading
ONLINE HOOKUPS
I SPEAK here of hookups in the more permanent sense of the M-word—of marriage. A recent report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, June 3, 2013, proposes … Continue reading
CHEETAHS: SPORTS CAR FELINES
YOU’VE PROBABLY heard that the fastest animal in the world, with reported bursts of 70 mph, is the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). However, A.M. Wilson et al, reporting in Nature, 12 … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 