Fake 'eCard' emails have been arriving in spamtraps in various locations. The 'From:' field is badly done, with things like 'greetingcard.org' in the 'real name' portion, and completely unrelated addresses like pituitaryg@sanseigardens.com and unwholesomeev6@sgfglobal.com as the return address. That means it's easy to catch the fake before opening it, so it's probably a necessary feature in whatever means are being used to distribute the spam.

What's odd, though, is that while the text reads like a plausible eCard, the goal of the deception appears to be completely pointless:

I just received Your Social Security Statement in the mail. It makes this assertion:

Note: You currently pay 6.2 percent of your salary, up to $106,800, in Social Security taxes and 1.45 percent in Medicare taxes on your entire salary. Your employer also pays 6.2 percent in Social Security taxes and 1.45 percednt in Medicare taxes for you. If you are self-employed, you pay the combined employee and employer amount of 12.4 percent in Social Security taxes and 2.9 percent in Medicare taxes on your net earnings.

Claiming that the employer and employee ordinarily each pay half of the tax presupposes a model for the 'job market' that much too simple.

A Businessweek article The Smartest Superheroes provides a 'top ten smartest superheroes' list, as follows:

• Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic)
• Bruce Wayne (Batman)
• Tony Stark (Iron Man)
• Henry Pym (Yellowjacket, Ant-Man, etc.)
• Hank McCoy (The Beast)
• Bruce Banner (The Hulk)
• Barbara Gordon (Oracle)
• Peter Parker (Spider-Man)
• Charles Xavier (Professor X)
• Ray Palmer (Atom)

It doesn't appear as if they mean for these people to be in any particular order, although the first entry, Reed Richards, is the only one described as "one of the most intelligent comic book superheroes ever created" (isn't the point of the list that the other nine can also be described in the same way?). Obviously, the author Joseph Pisani didn't mean for his article to be taken too seriously, but there are some trends worth considering.

( Questions and considerations. )

• Intelligence in the Classroom: Half of all children are below average, and teachers can do only so much for them.
• What's Wrong With Vocational School?: Too many Americans are going to college.
• Aztecs vs. Greeks: Those with superior intelligence need to learn to be wise.

[8/24/2007 ETA: A Time Magazine article on same topic agrees with many of Murray's points]

I finally saw the series through the first season. For anyone (like myself) in the position of having to rely on DVDs for shows broadcast on the Sci-Fi channel, I have the following notes about the show (with minor spoilers):

Experimental science can be messy, but it's always exciting. Either the real world conforms perfectly to a script (confirming models and inspiring comic strips and t-shirts), or it varies in revealing ways, teaching the experimenter something new, or providing a lesson in humility by pointing out a flaw in experimental technique. A menu of risk and benefit, even (it seems) for the experimental economist.

soundtrack: Walking in the Air

I'm seriously considering getting a portable death ray. In the spirit of responsible scientific inquiry, I would shine it on things and see what happened. There was a child in the Spy Store in the Metreon doing essentially the same thing with a laser pointer. I might have commended him on his initiative and dedication to empirical methodology if he hadn't caught me in the eye with a specular reflection. In the future, perhaps visits to that store would best be done wearing appropriate eye protection.

I've already placed an order for interesting glowing substances and parts from United Nuclear. The chemistry labware they sell include a number things that would be nice additions to the kitchen, too. Cooking and chemistry procedures have a lot of overlap (a local lab supply carries the same Pyrex cookware as the local grocery store for just this reason), but cooking equipment is disappointingly imprecise, especially for preparing small portions or individual servings. Perhaps if I knew more about cooking I could find an excuse to buy a separatory funnel.

Having just finished The Big Chunk of Ice, I have been thinking about what characteristics combine to form a true 'mad scientist'. The list is clearly probabilistic, since even the most obvious mad scientists can lack a couple of the characteristics without losing the label. ( The defining characteristics for a mad scientist )

soundtrack: Jellyfish

The National Academy of Sciences has released a report which summarizes the current state of research into global warming. The full report costs money, but the 'executive summary' is free, and it looks like a reasonably authoritative place to begin if one wishes to understand the topic.