Tetraphobia

I was taking to a work colleague the other day, and he mentioned that Chinese people have an aversion to the number four. The word for the number four in Chinese is very similar in sounding to the word for death, and as a result people don't like the number four. After hearing this I decided to do a little Googling of my own to substantiate this claim, and what I discovered, was that there is actually a named phobia for people with an aversion or fear of the number four. It is called Tetraphobia. It is most commonly a superstition in South East Asian countries for the very reason my colleague mentioned, because the number four sounds similar to death.

I also discovered that in Chinese cultures other numbers are considered positive or negative based on how they sound. The numbers two, three, five, six, seven, eight and nine are considered positive due to their links with other Chinese positive sounding words. In addition to the number four, the numbers five six and seven can are often considered unlucky numbers due to their similar sounds to negative words in the Chinese language. You will notice that some numbers appear on both positive and negative lists, which I assume is why most Chinese people believe the aversion to certain numbers to be a simple superstition. However I have noticed that even people who believe certain things to be superstitious still don't open their umbrella inside or walk under a ladder. So I guess regardless of how silly some people may consider particular superstitions, there are always others that believe and some that deride in public but believe in secret.

If you wish to read more about why each number is considered lucky or unlucky, check out the Wikipedia article.

Essays can be marked by computer software

I was reading online a while ago about a computer program that had been created to make the work of marking hundreds of essays less time consuming. The program is called Qualrus and is being trialled at the University of Missouri to mark sociology essays. Apparently the computer software is able to give students, who upload drafts of their essays online, detailed feedback within seconds. It does this by comparing previous work that has been loaded and submitted by students and information entered by the course tutor. It can pick up word patterns used by the student to determine whether their arguments are sound and then give the essay a numerical score, based on the weight that instructors place on certain sections.

According to the professor who created the software, it is quite accurate and there are rarely instances where they disagree with the feedback given by the computer program. If this trial is successful then programs such as this could greatly reduce the amount of hours that instructors spend marking essays and would enable students to get instant feedback on their essays as frequently as they desire. I personally am wary of programs that can think too much, mainly because I seen too many terminator films, however if this program has continued success and can be adapted to other areas of learning, then I think the creator will worth millions in years to come!

If you would like to read more, check out the BBC News online.

Qantas flight fuelled by cooking oil

I was talking to a co-worker the other day and she told me that Qantas had recently powered one of their flights using cooking oil. I was surprised as I had not read about this aviation feat. So when I  returned home I decided to Google it to discover more. It turns out that Qantas, with financial assistance from the Australian government, is researching alternative fuel sources for the aviation industry, and that they had recently trialled a one off flight between Sydney and Adelaide powered by used cooking oil. 

Apparently the cost of the oil is four times that of conventional fuel, because the used cooking oil has to be refined in order to make it a viable fuel source. Since the United States of America is the only country where a refinery with that capability is located, the refined oil had to be imported, which is a major reason why the oil is so expensive. However the trial flight was run to test the fuel in use and the trail was not expected to be cost effective. The pilot reported that the used cooking oil performed relatively the same as normal jet fuel, with the exception that it lasted longer than normal jet fuel. It is hoped that this trial will support the case that a refinery capable of producing this used cooking oil product, to be used as jet fuel, should be built in Australia. This would reduce the cost of this alternative fuel source and hopefully bring us closer to making flights more sustainable than they are currently.

This new revelation has given me a rare glimpse of the future, in order for Qantas to source the amount of used cooking oil it requires to fly it's planes, I think it will have to start feeding passengers deep fried foods on all it's flights. I can imagine their menu's now, deep fried mars bars, snickers, pizzas and ice creams would feature and I think it would get to the stage where Jetstar would have to start giving people free deep fried food just to use enough cooking oil to justify the flight. So if this occurs we are in for a future where will be able to fly the globe with less damage to the environment, but we will all have to get plenty of exercise at our destinations in order to justify the deep fried feasts on board our flights!

Apples float but pears don't

I have long used the expression and often heard others use the expression, "you need to compare apples with apples," when describing making like comparisons between two subjects. Recently after watching QI, I discovered a good example why comparing two different fruits can give you two wildly varying outcomes. In the case of the apple and the pear, when you place an apple in water it floats, however when you place a pear in water it sinks. I previously did not know this even though I grew up in a major fruit growing region. It also solves the question why people bob for apples but never for pears.  Now this does not mean that all apples will float and all pears will sink, as they say, there is a exception to every rule. So you may find that some pears will float, whilst some apples will sink. However as a general rule you will find that apples float more often than not and pears sink more often than not.

Now why do you ask, does an apple float and a pear sink? It is all to do with the water & oxygen content, a pear is a denser fruit and has a higher water content, it is also unable to absorb much oxygen once it has been picked, which results in it being unable to float. However an apple has the capacity to continue to absorb oxygen even after it is picked, which means it contains more air and is therefore less dense and has a lower water content, thus enabling it to float. This is also the reason why an apple is able to stay fresh longer than a pear, because the apple still absorbs oxygen once picked, the apple in effect can breathe, which enables it to stay fresher longer, the pear is unable to absorb much oxygen, so cannot breath, which results in it decaying faster.

Elephants can paint

I was having a discussion with some friends over lunch the other day, and the topic came up about elephants being given paint brushes and a canvas on which to paint. Apparently the elephants are creating great works of art. Prior to this conversation I had never even heard of the concept of an elephant painting but I was interested in the topic when I learnt of it. I later did a Google search and found that there is a National Elephant Institute in Thailand which has people who are devoted to developing elephant art. It is believed that the elephants are aware of what they are creating and the only assistance they receive is from a human who loads the specially modified brushes (modified so that they can hold the brush in their trunk to paint), hands them to the elephants and reloads the brush with paint when the elephant runs out. However the colours used for the paintings are chosen by humans, so the only thing that the elephant really does is paint the brush strokes on the canvas.

I have had a look at the elephant art gallery online and, aside from the fact that an elephant has painted the particular picture with its trunk, I don't see anything remarkable about the paintings. To me they are just painted lines on a page. I am however amazed that the elephants know what to do with the paint brushes and can contain their brush strokes to the canvas, I guess the only thing that disappoints me is that elephant doesn't choose the colours itself. Since it is a human who chooses the colours, it seems to me that it is a human deciding what colours would look best together on the canvas, the elephant is really just the means of getting the paint onto the canvas. It is for this reason that I don't consider the elephant paintings to be art, even though the fact that the elephant can perform this task is fairly remarkable.

If you are interested in viewing some elephant art check out The Elephant Art Gallery website.