The Only Graph You'll Ever Need

The folks over at the Journal of Irreproducible Results have come up with another winner!

 

Click on the graph for embiggerment.

Links to the runner-ups can be found at  http://www.jir.com/graph_contest/index.html#OneGraph.

Update: After posting this, I realized that this was several years old but decided that it did not matter.  Since this is the graph that proves all theories, it works now, i.e., in the future from then, just as well as it would if it had been discovered yesterday.

The World of the College Class of 2013

Most students entering college for the first time this fall were born in 1991. Where are they coming from? What is their mindset?

Thanks to The Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2013 we can get an inkling of some potential communication barriers.  Hopefully, forewarned is forearmed.

Below are some of my favorites from the list:

• For these students, Martha Graham, Pan American Airways, Michael Landon, Dr. Seuss, Miles Davis, The Dallas Times Herald, Gene Roddenberry, and Freddie Mercury have always been dead.
• Earvin "Magic" Johnson has always been HIV-positive.
  
• Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.
• Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.
• The European Union has always existed.
  
• There has always been a Cartoon Network.
  
• They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
  
• We have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.
  
• There have always been flat screen televisions.
  
• Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
  
• Most communities have always had a mega-church.
  
• Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.
  
• Nobody has ever responded to “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”
  
  

Sometimes, Humor is the Best Alternative Medicine

Comedian Dara O'Briain was unknown to me until this clip began showing up.  Obviously, I've been missing quite a bit.  Here's his take on homeopathy and related looniness.  (Warning: the clip contains industrial strength language so children may wish to cover their parents' ears.)

You can find more of his work on YouTube.