Archive for September 8th, 2012

September 8, 2012

Online Disinhibition Effect

Cyberpsychology

The core concept of the Online Disinhibition Effect refers to a loosening (or complete abandonment) of social restrictions and inhibitions that would otherwise be present in normal face-to-face interaction during interactions with others on the Internet. Because of the loss of inhibition, some users may exhibit benign tendencies; people may become more affectionate, more willing to open up to others, less guarded about their emotions and may speak to others about what they are feeling in an attempt to achieve emotional catharsis.

According to psychologist John Suler, this particular occurrence is called benign disinhibition. With respect to bad behavior, users on the Internet can frequently do or say as they wish without fear of any kind of meaningful reprisal. In most Internet forums, the worst kind of punishment one can receive for bad behavior is usually being banned from a particular site. In practice, however, this serves little use; the person involved can usually circumvent the ban by simply registering another username and continuing the same behavior as before. Suler calls this toxic disinhibition.

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September 8, 2012

Hot Sauce

List of hot sauces

Hot sauce refers to any spicy sauce made from chili peppers and other ingredients. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers. The peppers are infused in anything from vinegar, oil, water, beer and alcohol to fruits and vegetable pulp. Additional ingredients are often used, including those used to add extra heat, such as pure capsaicin extract and mustards.

Mexican hot sauce typically focuses more on flavor than on intense heat. The sauces are hot, but the individual flavors of the peppers are pronounced. Vinegar is used sparingly or not at all. Chipotles (smoked chili peppers) are a very popular ingredient of Mexican hot sauce.

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September 8, 2012

Brain Fitness

brain fitness

The term brain fitness reflects a hypothesis that cognitive abilities can be maintained or improved by exercising the brain, in analogy to the way physical fitness is improved by exercising the body.

Although there is strong evidence that aspects of brain structure remain plastic (changeable) throughout life, and that high levels of mental activity are associated with reduced risks of age-related dementia, scientific support for the concept of ‘brain fitness’ is limited. The term is virtually never used in the scientific literature, but is commonly used in the context of self-help books and commercial products which first came into play in the 1980s.

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September 8, 2012

Paul Bacon

We Bombed in New Haven

Paul Bacon (b. 1923), is an American book and album cover designer and jazz musician. He is known for introducing the ‘Big Book Look’ in book jacket design, and has designed about 6,500 jackets and more than 200 jazz record covers. His first big hit came in 1956 with ‘Compulsion,’ a novel by Meyer Levin.

This cover also marked the inception of the ‘Big Book Look’ that Bacon became known for. This look features a large, bold title, a prominent author’s name, and a small conceptual image. Instances of this ‘look’ include ‘Catch-22’ by Joseph Heller, ‘Visions of Cody’ by Jack Kerouac, and ‘Bullet Park’ by John Cheever, along with countless others.

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September 8, 2012

George Dantzig

George Dantzig

George Dantzig (1914 – 2005) was an American mathematical scientist who solved two unsolved problems in statistical theory, which he had mistaken for homework after arriving late to a lecture of UC Berkeley statistician Jerzy Neyman. Dantzig was the Professor Emeritus of Transportation Sciences and Professor of Operations Research and of Computer Science at Stanford.

Born in Portland, Oregon, George Bernard Dantzig was named after George Bernard Shaw, the Irish writer. His father, Tobias Dantzig, was a Baltic German mathematician and linguist, and his mother, Anja Dantzig (née Ourisson), was a French linguist. Dantzig’s parents met during their study at the Sorbonne, where Tobias studied mathematics under Henri Poincaré.

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September 8, 2012

Poka-yoke

 

Idiot proof

Poka-yoke is a Japanese term that means ‘fail-safing’ or ‘mistake-proofing.’ A poka-yoke is any mechanism in a lean manufacturing process that helps an equipment operator avoid (‘yokeru’) mistakes (‘poka’).

Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur. The concept was formalized, and the term adopted, by Shigeo Shingo as part of the Toyota Production System. It was originally described as ‘baka-yoke,’ but as this means ‘fool-proofing’ (or ‘idiot-proofing’) the name was changed to the milder poka-yoke. More broadly, the term can refer to any behavior-shaping constraint designed into a process to prevent incorrect operation by the user.

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September 8, 2012

¡Three Loco!

Riff Raff

¡Three Loco! is an comedy hip hop supergroup composed of Andy Milonakis, Simon Rex (Dirt Nasty), and Jody Christian (Riff Raff). The trio has self-proclaimed themselves as the ‘Holy Trinity of hip-hop.’ The three rappers are MTV alumni:

Andy Milonakis had a sketch comedy show titled ‘The Andy Milonakis Show’ from 2005 to 2007; Dirt Nasty was a VJ during the mid-1990s; and Riff Raff was a contestant on the second season of the reality show ‘From G’s to Gents,’ before being booted out during the second episode.  Their self-titled debut album is slated for release by Mad Decent in late 2012.

September 8, 2012

RiFF RaFF

Neon Icon

Jody Christian (b. 1985), best known by his stage name RiFF RaFF, is an American rapper and performance artist from Houston. He is signed to the Mad Decent record label. He is best known for his initial associations with Soulja Boy, and being a member of the comedy super group Three Loco with Andy Milonakis and Simon Rex.

Riff Raff started his social media involvement as a rapper on Myspace, using the name ‘Kokayne Dawkinz.’ His first public appearance was not as a rapper, but as a contestant on the 2009 MTV reality show From ‘G’s to Gents’ (season 2). Though he was eliminated from series on the second episode, he used this exposure to publicize his career as a rapper. Two years later, he was said to be signed to the Soulja Boy’s Stacks on Deck Entertainment label in 2011, and added ‘SODMG’ to his name for a period. This was later said to be false in an interview by Soulja Boy.

September 8, 2012

Barbie Syndrome

Body dysmorphic disorder

Barbie syndrome is a term used to describe the desire to have a physical appearance and lifestyle representative of the Barbie doll.

It is most often associated with pre-teen and adolescent females but is applicable to any age group. A person with Barbie syndrome attempts to emulate the doll’s physical appearance, even though the doll has unattainable body proportions.

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