Sign language may be more efficient than spoken language

Almost 40 years ago, researchers discovered that although it takes longer to make signs than to say the equivalent words, on average sentences can be completed in about the same time. How can that be possible?

Today, Andrew Chong and buddies at Princeton University in New Jersey give us the answer. They say that the information content of the 45 handshapes that make up sign language is higher than the information content of phonemes, the building blocks of the spoken word. In other words, there is greater redundancy in spoken English than signed English.

Further details at MIT's Technology Review, via The New Shelton wet/dry.

How to make a billion dollars

STEP 1: Form a bank.

STEP 2: Round up a bunch of unemployed friends to be "bankers."

STEP 3: Raise $1 billion of equity. (This is the only tricky step. And it's not that tricky. See below.*)

STEP 4: Borrow $9 billion from the Fed at an annual cost of 0.25%.

STEP 5: Buy $10 billion of 30-year Treasuries paying 4.45%

STEP 6: Sit back and watch the cash flow in.

Further details at Business Insider, via The New Shelton wet/dry.

The Afghan War: $57,000 per MINUTE

And how much of that goes to the troops themselves?

...add up the yearly salary of a Marine from Camp Lejeune with four years of service, throw in his or her housing allowance, additional pay for dependents, and bonus pay for hazardous duty, imminent danger, and family separation, and you'll still be many thousands of dollars short of that single minute's sum...

So who gets all the money? Think about it...

Dilbert and Dogbert exchange Christmas gifts

A proposal to make hospitals disclose "facility fees"

"Most hospital-owned clinics in south-central Wisconsin charge the fees at least some of the time, at an average of $117... Patients who are aware of the fees can sometimes avoid them by going to other clinics... But most patients don't know about the fees, and some learn about them only after receiving their bills....

Pam Charles, of Beloit, said she went to the Park Street clinic complex next to Meriter Hospital to get second and third opinions on whether she needed surgery.

For both visits, she said, she parked in the same lot and used the same elevator. On one visit, she turned right. On the other, she turned left.

Her bill for the first visit, at a clinic owned by UW Health's doctor group: $216. The bill for the other visit, at a clinic owned by Meriter: $423, including a $157 facility fee from Meriter...

Hospitals have been allowed to charge facility fees under Medicare rules for years... the fees enable hospitals to recover some of the costs of their equipment and of meeting requirements that doctors' offices don't face, such as patient safety standards...

UW and Meriter have signs, brochures and letters explaining the fees, but none of the Madison hospitals tell patients about the fees when appointments are made, the hospital officials said..."

Above text from an article at the Wisconsin State Journal. The proposed legislation will also require insurance plans to disclose to patients whether they cover facility fees.

Is your house clean?

Credit.

Vintage mug shots

Selections from the book City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912-1948, posted at A Time To Get, via biancasunshine.

I find it fascinating just to look at those faces and wonder what the backstories are. More pix at the source links.

Re the death of Brittany Murphy

TYWKIWDBI tries not to cover "celebrity news," but the following paragraph from Salon is worth noting:

The coroner's notes allegedly claim a pharmacopia in Murphy's bathroom cabinet: Topamax (for seizures or migraines), methylprednisolone (a steroid), fluoxetine (an antidepressant), Klonopin (for anxiety), carbamazepine (for seizures or bipolar disorder), Ativan (for anxiety), Vicoprofen (pain reliever), propranolol (for hypertension, migraines or anxiety), Biaxin (an antibiotic), and hydrocodone (a narcotic pain reliever). Gone are the days of shameful crack pipes and empty gin bottles. "No alcohol containers, paraphernalia or illegal drugs were discovered," the report stated...

More at the link re "doctor shopping" and the risks of prescription drugs.

"Take a deep breath... Hold it..."

"WW1, France: radiographer captured on film in protective clothing and headpiece. Photograph by H. J. Hickman, ca. 1918.

That would be lead clothing, and it would feel like it weighed a ton. Send this photo to any of your medical friends who complain about having to wear a short lead apron when portable films are taken.

Via Uncertain Times, where there is something interesting every day.

TYWKIWDBI survives computer attack

I suppose one could call it an attempt at "denial of service," but it wasn't one of those coordinated multi-user assaults. Rather this was the work of one person. Someone who knew that last year I must have expended a thousand hours working my way through hundreds of worlds in Civilization III. That person gave me Civilization IV Gold Edition with the Warlords expansion pack for Christmas.

I was fortunate yesterday in being able to get away from the computer after only about 6 hours, after battling China, Greece, Rome, and Mali for the control of Africa. I'm ahead at the Renaissance.

Posted as a reminder that there are multiple factors that can interfere with blogging. We've just gone through a major winter storm; now come the football games. It's a tough world out there.

Merry Christmas/God Jul/Fröhliche Weihnachten

Illustration credit.

Are Alzheimer's disease and cancer inversely related?

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurology reports that elderly persons with Alzheimer's have a reduced incidence of cancer, and those with cancer are less likely to have Alzheimer's symptoms.

Those who had Alzheimer's at the start of the study were 69% less likely to be admitted to hospital with cancer than those free of the disease at the start.

And those with cancer at the study's start were 43% less likely to develop Alzheimer's than the cancer free.

There are biological reasons why this relationship could be causal:

"Alzheimer's disease and cancer are both characterised by abnormal, but opposing, cellular behaviour.

"In Alzheimer's disease, excessive cell death occurs, whereas cancer is characterised by excessive cell growth..."

However, it is also possible that the symptoms of one disease may mask or prevent the diagnosis of the other disease, so more studies are necessary.

"O LIttle Walled Town of Bethlehem"

On Christmas Eve, a traditional site faces harsh new realities.

Cover art from the Golden Age of science fiction

Pix above selected from a gallery of 43 images at Life.com.

How to behave in Afghanistan

"Forbidden! It is forbidden to enter any yards and houses of locals, look into the windows of their houses, into the eyes of women and talk with them."

"One shouldn’t take off their clothes, take a tan and swim in the public eye or nearby any residential buildings. Such a behavior is incompatible with national and religious habits of the Afghans and will be considered as an offensive activity."

Since it appears our military commanders are determined to repeat the Russian experience in Afghanistan, they might as well distribute to them the booklets that were given to the Soviet troops in the 1980s. The full booklet is reproduced at English Russia.