June 25, 2012

There were 3 posts published on June 25, 2012 (this is page 1 of 1).

Shaffer: How much does your soul weigh?

The N&O’s Josh Shaffer takes a look at the upcoming experiments at the Rhine Center in Durham, attempting to weigh the soul. Shaffer calls it an “oddball” branch of science, but I prefer to call it “offbeat,” myself. It is science and no one knows what the experiments will find until they’ve been tried.

I look forward to the results!

DURHAM — For at least 100 years, the more oddball branches of science have struggled to answer this metaphysical head-scratcher: How much does the human soul weigh?

In 1907, a Massachusetts doctor named Duncan MacDougall settled on the figure of 21 grams – the average weight loss experienced by six terminal tuberculosis patients he strapped to a scale at the moment of death.

A dozen years ago, an Oregon rancher named Lew Hollander tried to measure the souls of one ram, seven ewes, three lambs and a goat. His findings: The animals actually gained weight as they shook off this mortal coil – anywhere from 18 to 780 grams.

Now this summer, the Rhine Research Center in Durham will host the latest experiment aimed at nailing down the intangible essence of mankind.

The method: 1.) Stand on a scale. 2.) Have an out-of-body experience. 3.) Record weight.

via Shaffer: How much does your soul weigh? – Shaffer – NewsObserver.com.

Scientists crack RSA SecurID 800 tokens

Remember when I said we are living in a world without secrets? The security tokens that provide two-factor authentication for a number of companies and organizations have been broken. Instantly, countless confidential files became unprotected.

In the age of globally-distributed mathematic expertise, high-speed computers, and Internet collaboration, codes and ciphers that once looked impenetrable now fall on a weekly basis.

Scientists have devised an attack that takes only minutes to steal the sensitive cryptographic keys stored on a raft of hardened security devices that corporations and government organizations use to access networks, encrypt hard drives, and digitally sign e-mails.

The exploit, described in a paper to be presented at the CRYPTO 2012 conference in August, requires just 13 minutes to extract a secret key from RSA’s SecurID 800, which company marketers hold out as a secure way for employees to store credentials needed to access confidential virtual private networks, corporate domains, and other sensitive environments. The attack also works against other widely used devices, including the electronic identification cards the government of Estonia requires all citizens 15 years or older to carry, as well as tokens made by a variety of other companies.

via Scientists crack RSA SecurID 800 tokens, steal cryptographic keys | Ars Technica.

Haves and haves-not

I learned two things this weekend:

  1. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison spent over $500 million buying himself a Hawaiian island, the island of Lanai.
  2. Only 0.58 percent of Liberians have electric service to their homes. The hydroelectric dam needed to increase supply needs $165 million in repairs.

I went to bed last night wondering how someone like Larry Ellison can purchase such a luxury when there are people in the world who consider electricity a luxury. Malcolm Gladwell said that 50 years from now no one will remember Steve Jobs but they will remember Bill Gates, because Gates’s wealth is being put to good use in charities working to improve health, among other things. Looks like people will be saying “Ellison who?” in the future as well.