10 non-work-related items that I found fun or interesting

John Rawlings’ 1940s colour fashion shots via HOW TO BE A RETRONAUT by Chris
“John Rawlings (1912-1970) was a Condé Nast Publications fashion photographer from the 1930s through the 1960s. Rawlings left a significant body of work, including 200 Vogue magazine and Glamour magazine covers to his credit and 30,000 photos in archive.”
Wikipedia
All 31 images: Corbis and you can find them here.
Thank you to The Fashion Spot
Aside from the lady lighting a cigarette the main thing I noticed was the age of the models – none of your sweet young things, nor were they skeletons loosely covered in skin in those days.

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Terrorist methods are widely available – a manual lists 14 “simple tools” to wage violent jihad. So why are there so few Islamist terrorists?… more

The Psychology of Signs via Big Think by Big Think Editors
In general, it seems, we’re pathetically obedient to signs, lining up where we’re told to, walking where we’re told to walk, just because it’s printed on a sign. Studies suggest “invoking norms” is a very effective tactic: to get people to reuse hotel towels, tell …
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Inside Antarctica’s ice caves via Boing Boing by Maggie Koerth-Baker
Kayla Iacovino is a PhD student who works on Antarctica’s Mount Erebus, the southernmost volcano in the world. Ironically, for a volcano, Erebus is also home to some truly stunning ice caves, carved out of nearby ice and snowpack by hot, volcanic gases. If you've ever watched Alien vs. Predator and wondered what it would really be like to go spelunking beneath the Frozen Continent, I’d recommend checking out the collection of photos Iacovino posted to the Science Friday website last winter.
You can also find more shots of the Erebus ice caves and fumaroles – towers of ice that form when moist gases from beneath the snow hit the freezing Antarctic air – at a gallery curated by the National Science Foundation and New Mexico Tech.
Iacovino photos found via Clifton Wiens
Stunning is the only word that can possibly be used about these photographs. I have, of course, realised that in these posts I overuse such words as awesome and stunning but if I didn’t think something was really good, interesting or whatever then I wouldn’t be including it.

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Militant atheism offers a simplistic reading of religious belief, says James Wood. In reality, our beliefs fluctuate. We are all flip-floppers... more

Sex, drugs, and 16th century witches via Boing Boing by Maggie Koerth-Baker
The amazing true history of witches on drugs.
Some of the comments are as interesting as the original article.

The Mathematics of Changing Your Mind via 3quarksdaily by Abbas Raza
John Allen Paulos in the New York Times Book Review:
Sharon Bertsch McGrayne introduces Bayes’s theorem in her new book with a remark by John Maynard Keynes: “When the facts change, I change my opinion. What do you do, sir?”
Bayes’s theorem, named after the 18th-century Presbyterian minister Thomas Bayes, addresses this selfsame essential task: How should we modify our beliefs in the light of additional information? Do we cling to old assumptions long after they've become untenable, or abandon them too readily at the first whisper of doubt? Bayesian reasoning promises to bring our views gradually into line with reality and so has become an invaluable tool for scientists of all sorts and, indeed, for anyone who wants, putting it grandiloquently, to sync up with the universe. If you are not thinking like a Bayesian, perhaps you should be.
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via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Freedom and democracy are incompatible, says Peter Thiel. His solution? Build a libertarian utopia off the coast of California... more

In Praise of Being Overconnected via Big Think by Big Think Editors
Before taking time out with family on summer weekends, the advice that author Bruce Feiler received from all corners was to switch off his mobile devices and spend time away from the Internet. He did just the opposite. “"During weekends this summer, I would pursue the … more

Ancient Egyptians: They’re just like us! via Boing Boing by Maggie Koerth-Baker
Egyptian mummies were coiffed for the afterlife with the help of animal fat-based hair gel. Bonus moment of cultural weirdness: The article linked here seems to ignore the fact that styling the hair of the dead isn’t just some odd thing the ancient Egyptians did. In fact, it’s a common facet of modern Western burial practices. (Via Rowan Hooper)

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