Are Squirrels Smarter Than We Think?

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I miss the squirrels we had at the old homestead. No, that’s not hyperbole. Until two years ago the six of us lived in a 900 sf home my wife’s grandmother homesteaded for. But that’s beside the point. We had squirrels there. They chittered, ran about, tossed apples down at my girls when they tried to inhabit the hammock.

For those of you not from Utah, you might be wondering why this is such a big deal. If you’re from the East you might be thinking I’m nuts. But out West trees are few and far between, which means so are the squirrels. So we loved our squirrels, but then they got into our neighbor’s fifth wheel and he promptly killed them all.

Alas.

But here, for your pleasure, are squirrels using their god-given intelligence to do what they were bred to do–steal and eat.

Of course, they are squirrels.  Not quite geniuses yet.

One of my stories either needs a squirrel who steals candy bars or a character who is constantly setting up obstacle courses for the varmits.

Intelligence and Genetics

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Albert Einstein, an Ashkenazim Jew

Albert Einstein, an Ashkenazim Jew

I know that discussing genetic factors of intelligence is something many do not want to do because such notions have been used horribly in the past. And because there are groups who would like to continue such horrible abuses today.

However, it makes no sense to me to avoid such discussions. There are so many things, from mental illness to physical strength, that have genetic factors that it’s just stupid to ignore data that suggest intelligence also has such factors.

And so I offer you this paper from three folks at the University of Utah which “elaborates the hypothesis that the unique demography and sociology of Ashkenazim in medieval Europe [Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland in the west of Germany] selected for intelligence.”

It may turn out the hypothesis of these researchers is wrong. But you’ll never know even what they’re proposing without giving it a gander.

http://homepage.mac.com/harpend/.Public/AshkenaziIQ.jbiosocsci.pdf

Laboratory Grown Meats?

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How would you like to eat cuts from slabs of meat grown from stem cells?  

Give the cells some water, glucose and natural proteins. To make sure you have something that feels like meat you “exercise” the muscle with electrical pulses.

Gross? Maybe. But someone is thinking about it.

http://www.popsci.com/environment/gallery/2008-09/inside-vertical-skyscraper

As with all zing, post story ideas in the comments.

Australian Uses Oil Background to Harness the Seas

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This is a fantastic article summarizing some key issues with wave energy and the solution Alan Burns, an oil bloke from Australia, has come up with. It appears he’s taking lessons from his expertise in off-shore drilling (it’s safer to work on the bottom of the sea) and applying it to wave energy. It’s a must read.

http://www.popsci.com/kalee-thompson/article/2008-09/burning-tide

No ideas yet on how to use this in a story. If you have any, post in the comments section.

Wait, what if our hero is an inventor like Mr. Burns? Naw, what if we actually do go to the seas? It seems like a no-brainer. So we go to the seas. And our hero is the guy who is replacing parts. Humm, maybe. Of course, if our power generation is out there in the sea, then a perfect target for a terrorist is the pipe pumping the water in. Or what if they find a sea wreck while installing a huge one of these? And would the ocean floor suddenly become real estate? What kind of agent would sell it? Hummm

When the workshop works

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From a workshop participant at MountainCon:

I’m going to give a shout out to all the goodness I experienced. So if you don’t really care what happened at the con, you can stop after this paragraph and take this message away with you: Brandon Sanderson (who does Writing Excuses, has published several novels, and is the chosen one to finish Jordan’s Wheel of Time series) and John Brown (with a must buy novel coming up next year) are incredible teachers. If you ever get a chance to attend a class or workshop by any of them, don’t let it pass.

We loves to hear these things, Precious.

But we loves it just as much when we can make the students shiver with excitement: more here: http://www.amichopine.com/blog/?p=318

To those who missed this run of the 3 Things You Must Learn to Write Killer Stories Workshop, know I’ll be holding it again. Check back to see when.