September 3, 2010
MKULTRA was the code name for a covert, illegal CIA human research program, run by the Office of Scientific Intelligence. This official U.S. government program began in the early 1950s, continuing at least through the late 1960s, and it used U.S. and Canadian citizens as its test subjects.
The published evidence indicates that Project MKULTRA involved the use of many methodologies to manipulate individual mental states and alter brain function, including the surreptitious administration of drugs and other chemicals, sensory deprivation, isolation, and verbal and sexual abuse. The CIA poured millions of dollars into studies examining methods of influencing and controlling the mind, and of enhancing their ability to extract information from resistant subjects during interrogation.
Posted in Politics, Science |
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September 3, 2010
Contact juggling is a form of object manipulation that focuses on the movement of objects such as balls in contact with the body. Although often used with ‘toss’ juggling, it typically involves the rolling of one or more balls on the hands and arms to create visual illusions without releasing the props into the air. It is divided into three main techniques: body rolling (manipulating one or more props around the hands, arms, and body), palm spinning (manipulating two or more balls in the open hand so that at least one ball is in motion), and isolation (manipulating a ball so that it appears to be suspended in place).
Some of the manipulations have been performed for centuries, but contact juggling in its modern form originated with a routine called ‘Light’ developed by Michael Moschen in the 1980s. He received high regard from the international circus community for his range of innovative new techniques, and was awarded the MacArthur genius grant in 1990.
Posted in Art, Games |
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September 3, 2010
The albedo [al-bee-doh] of an object is a measure of how strongly it reflects light from light sources such as the Sun. It is therefore a more specific form of the term reflectivity. Albedo is an important concept in climatology and astronomy, as well as in computer graphics.
Posted in Language, Science |
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September 3, 2010
A hype cycle is a graphic representation of the maturity, adoption and social application of specific technologies. The term was coined by information technology research and advisory firm Gartner.
Posted in Money, Technology |
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