Golden section for bladder stones
THE term âfruitlooperyâ was coined in this column to describe product promotions that deploy sciency words â such as quanta or tachyons â wildly out of context. We think reader Kim Travis may have extended this definition by finding a boundary condition for fruitloopery, in a paper entitled âThe rapid establishment and implications of a melamine-induced standardized bladder stone model in miceâ (Food and Chemical Toxicology, ).
âThe key to establishing a standardized melamine-induced animal bladder stone (cystolith) model,â the paperâs abstract begins, âis to determine the most appropriate daily dose of dietary melamine, which is unknown.â Weâre with them so far. Then they propose their formula for the âappropriate daily doseâ, relating it to the âLethal Dose 50â (LD50) â the dose that kills half the mice. They say âthe daily dose may be close to the LD50âs golden sectionâŠâ Eh?
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We understand the use of the âgolden sectionâ â â in aesthetics, particularly the design of Georgian building facades. We find âgolden section theoryâ mentioned on websites describing schemes for â and regular readers will know of Feedbackâs fascination with chimpanzeesâ (25 June 2011) and astrologersâ (20 August 2011) ability to outperform such schemes. We also find it in numerological discussions that have even more of a fruitloop nature, relating to pyramids and stuff.
This just shows why itâs vital for scientists to stick to plain language in their papers: 0.618 of the killing dose means just that. Talk of the golden section is liable to set off fruitloopery alarms â not only Feedbackâs.
ISNâT this a bit drastic? Jonathan Stratford was shocked by Googleâs apparent intention to execute workers whose behaviour it disapproves of. The famous web search engineâs much trumpeted revised privacy policy states: âWe restrict access to personal information to Google employees, contractors and agents who need to know that information in order to process it for us, and who are subject to strict contractual confidentiality obligations and may be disciplined or terminated if they fail to meet these obligations.â
THE Technology Strategy Board â the UKâs national innovation agency â has just announced the new name for its Technology Innovation Centres. David Cleevely thinks a suitable title could have been, for example, Turing Centres, or perhaps Maxwell Centres, but the board has opted for⊠Catapults.
According to the website promoting them (), âCatapults bridge the gap between universities, research and technology companies⊠Catapults are opening up the airwaves so that everyone can access the latest technologies, share ideas and collaborate.â
This sounds suitably forward-looking and dynamic. Unfortunately, Feedback canât get rid of the image of a grubby little boy in short trousers running away from a house, catapult in hand, after accidentally firing a pebble through a window.
The last thing âcatapultâ conveys to us â and David seems to feel the same way as we do â is cutting-edge 21st-century technological innovation.
âRobert Knight is intrigued by the sign outside a shop on Mutley Plain, Plymouth, UK, that reads: âTattoo while you wait.â Robert wants to know what the alternatives might beâ
IS THE UKâs Royal Mail employing heavy irony to get its messages across? Perry Bebbington sends us a scan of a letter his company recently received with a Royal Mail postmark that says, quite clearly, âPlease remember to write theâ, followed by a series of smudges that we can only convey as âxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxâ. The smudges are followed by the post office URL ââ, which is nice and clear again.
Feedbackâs very patient squinting seems to confirm Perryâs guess that the illegible words are âpostcodeâ and âclearlyâ. Perry suggests that Royal Mail is deliberately making the message about clear postcodes almost unreadable in order to ram home what it is trying to tell us.
THE specification for the Eizo S2243W computer monitor at offers âZero Watts When Turned Offâ. In case we donât understand this, the web page goes on to explain: ââŠwhen turned off via the main power switch, it consumes no electricity at all.â âWith innovations like this,â says Bob Brewer, âwe need have no fear of climate change.â
WHILE in a department store, Raine Hunter sought help from a member of staff behind a till, only to be told: âIâm not at this till at the moment.â âLeft uncertain of her position,â says Raine, âwe tried to calculate her velocity.â
FINALLY, reader Robert Watson sends us a photo of a sign on a tank under a portable air conditioner in a cafĂ© in Newcastle, Australia. It says: âEmpty when full.â This appeared maddeningly contradictory, until we realised it is an instruction.
