Category Archives: Questions Rarely Asked

“Antebellum Islam”

Posted on December 26, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

That is the title of this intriguing paper by Khaled Beydoun, a law professor at Barry University. Here is an excerpt from Professor Beydoun’s abstract: America’s first Muslims were slaves. Social scientists estimate that 15 to 30 percent of the … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Law, Questions Rarely Asked | Leave a comment

Piano-shelf

Posted on December 21, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Is this art or a wasteful prank? Hat tip to Weikardzaena (via reddit) for the pic.

Posted in Art, Questions Rarely Asked | 2 Comments

Los Angeles Bay (circa 3014 A.D.)?

Posted on December 16, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Major props to Jeffrey Linn for creating this series of future sea rise maps. Also, check out his whimsical website spatialities.com.

Posted in Maps, Questions Rarely Asked | Tagged Los Angeles, Sea Level | Leave a comment

Why …

Posted on December 7, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

What does Google prediction spit out when you type the word “why” on Google search? Here’s what we got when we tried this little experiment from our home in Orlando, Florida at approximately 2am EST on 7 December 2014:

Posted in Questions Rarely Asked, Web/Tech | Tagged Google prediction, Google Search, why | Leave a comment

“The location of academic knowledge”

Posted on December 1, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

That is the title of this data visualization courtesy of the Oxford Internet Institute. (By the way, you may click on the diagram for a larger version.) Question: If we were to map the number of retractions or fake peer reviews (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Questions Rarely Asked | Leave a comment

Historical contingency (Louisiana edition)

Posted on November 30, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

What if Napoleon had sold Louisiana to Britain or Spain instead of the USA?

Posted in History, Maps, Questions Rarely Asked | Tagged Louisiana | Leave a comment

Toys and gender

Posted on November 27, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

My wife and I are hoping our daughter Adys Ann (left) will love to play with a creative, science-inspired toy like Lego’s particle accelerator (see film clip above) when she is a little older. In any case, here’s another reason why … Continue reading →

Posted in Bayesian Reasoning, Games, Questions Rarely Asked | Tagged Adys Ann Guerra, LEGO, Particle Accelerator, Toys | 2 Comments

Why vote?

Posted on November 12, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Pay especially close attention to Congressional District #12. (Click on the map above for a larger version.) In addition, check out this damning map of “Gerrymander index scores” across the U.S. (Hat tip to rhiever for the pointer.) Why do people still vote when … Continue reading →

Posted in Cheating, Deception, Law, Maps, Questions Rarely Asked | Tagged Gerrymandering, voting districts | Leave a comment

Turing Trials?

Posted on October 28, 2014 by F. E. Guerra-Pujol

Is the current legal system broken or in need of repair? Instead of an endless number of motions, costly discovery, and randomly-selected jurors, why don’t we try a different method of resolving legal disputes, one based on the Turing Test in computer … Continue reading →