Hitler's Forgotten Library

Hitler's library was captured by the U.S. Army in 1945. Read the fascinating story of its origin and subsequent history. "You can tell a lot about a person from what he reads. The surviving—and largely ignored—remnants of Adolf Hitler's personal library reveal a deep but erratic interest in religion and theology."

Malcolm Gladwell

The great thing about New York Times book reviews is that they are often written by experts in the field or authors in their own right. This review of Gladwell's latest book is by Stephen Pinker, a world famous Harvard social scientist and writer.

Too Many Teachers?

It has become increasingly difficult to enter the teaching profession in Ontario. This article from the University of Western Ontario's Faculty of Information and Media studies tells why.

H1N1 (Swine) flu

H1N1 flu is on everyone's mind. If you would like to know more about the virus, the pandemic and how it fits into the larger picture of influenza infections, read this definitive article from MIT. You may also like to read about the horrendous 1918 Spanish flu, a similar strain, that killed at least three times more people than World War I.

Our First Ancestor?

In 1992 parts of a hominid skeleton were excavated in Ethiopia. After 17 years of study the scientific team has released its report. The remains are 4.4 million years old and are more primitive than the famous 3.2 million year old Lucy skeleton. See this article from National Geographic for details. Or here for the scientific papers.

Buried Treasure

An amateur "metal detectorist" in England has found the largest treasure trove of Anglo-Saxon gold objects ever discovered. The items date to the time of the Beowulf saga and some of them, like gold sword pommels, are identical to ones described in that work. Go to this BBC page for pictures and more information. See also the contemporary Sutton Hoo treasure.

Will Amazon.com Become the World's General Store?

Amazon.com now is much more than a bookstore. In fact it sells almost everything. This year sales of books, videos and music will generate less than half of its income. This has huge implications for other retailers. Will small specialty stores share the same fate as small book stores and be driven out of business by the online giant? With a high Canadian dollar and Canadian distribution Amazon is likely to be influential in Canada as well as the U.S.. Read an excellent summary article here.

The Next Computer Hardware Revolution : Netbooks

Thinking of buying a new laptop? You might want to wait a few months. Personal computers — and the companies that make their crucial components — are about to go through their biggest upheaval since the rise of the laptop. By the end of the year, consumers are likely to see netbooks the size of thin paperback books that can run all day on a single charge and are equipped with touch screens or slide-out keyboards. For $100 U.S.! Read a full article.

Canada vs the United States ; and the Winner is.....

American's sometimes see Canada as a source of humour; our accent, our weather. etc.. etc. However the last laugh may be on them. As this article points out Canada has some enviable features, especially during these days of struggling economies.

Facebook is 5 Years Old ; An Overview

Even in the age of Internet wonders, Facebook is a phenomenon. In the 8 months since August 2008 the membership has doubled from 100 to 200 million. Whether you are a Facebook veteran, or are still wondering what it is, this article has something of interest.

Why Geography is Harder than Physics

Read about how, for the last few years, some of the world's top physicists and mathematicians have gone to work in Wall Street, attempting to bring the predictive strengths of physics and mathematical models to the financial markets. As we have seen, the results have not been overwhelmingly successful. As in all the social sciences, the unpredictability of human behaviour has made highly accurate predictions problematic.

Barbie Hits 50

The iconic doll was first sold 50 years ago today (March 9) Read an interesting account of her history and /or some of the implications of matching her proportions to a real person.

Digital Divide : Teens and Digital Media

The prestigious Macarthur Foundation in the U.S is conducting a monumental $50 million study of young people and digital technologies. Early results show that "youth are developing important social and technical skills online — often in ways adults do not understand or value."
Read a 2 page summary or the whole 30 page white paper. (also available in hard copy at the Library)

Stephen Wiltshire; From Autistic Child to Famous Artist

The human brain is a mysterious "place", a fact no better illustrated than the case of Stephen Wiltshire. He was severely autistic as a child, but developed the amazing ability to draw accurate landscapes and buildings from memory, usually after having seen the original only once for a short time. He is now well known in the UK as an artist. Read an overview of his life and career in this medical journal article or in Wikipedia. Watch a remarkable YouTube video as he flies over Rome then draws a large panorama from memory.

Darwin's Birthday

Charles Darwin, arguably the 19th century's most influential scientist, was born 200 years ago on February 12, 1809. This article from the New York Times Science report gives a nice summary of why he was unique in his time and why much of his thinking is still relevant today.
For a larger overview, see this excellent New Scientist "Darwin's birthday" web page.

Who Really Writes Wikipedia Articles?

Popular wisdom has it that Wikipedia is written by a core group of a few hundred editors, begging the question how how so few individuals know so much. Research by Aaron Swartz reveals a much different story.

Bought Any One Cent Books Lately?

The author of this essay agonizes over the lure of buying cheap books on the Web against the knowledge that doing so may well hurt writers and traditional booksellers.