Patt Morrison schedule for Tuesday, August 21, 2012

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

1:21 – 1:39

Cell phones know where you’re going before you do

Did you forget which restaurant your 3 p.m. appointment is at? Maybe your phone can remind you. A group of computer scientists from the University of Birmingham in England have developed a formula that, through analyzing cell phone data of a person and their closest friends, could predict where a person would be at any given time within 60 feet. Though attempts to predict locations based on individual’s cell phone in the past were not very accurate, by including data from friends, results markedly improved. That way, if two people were driving towards a coffee shop they frequently met at, the formula would be able to predict they were heading there. The ability to track an individual could lead to advertising opportunities to track customers and efforts by law enforcement to track criminals, but privacy concerns are also a large part of the issue.

 

Guest:

UNCONFIRMED

Mirco Musolesi, computer science researcher at the University of Birmingham

 

 

1:41 – 1:59

Why are former MLB players dying earlier than their NFL counterparts?

When it comes to the effects of athletics on life-spans, most would expect physical sports like football or mixed martial arts could lead to shorter lives. Despite the rigorous athletic training and proper nutrition these sports require, the substantial hits athletes take in these sports could theoretically mean a shorter life after retirement compared to less physical sports. But in a recent story by Grantland, Bill Barnwell found that athletes who had played in the MLB were more likely to die than their NFL counterparts. 

 

Guests:

Daniel Engberg, columnist for Slate

 

UNCONFIRMED

Bill Barnwell, contributor to Grantland

 

2:06 – 2:39

OPEN

 

2:41:30 – 2:58:30

The prevalence of misquoting: what we think they said isn’t what they really said
In the classic movie Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart’s character never says “Play it again, Sam.” Really.  Look it up. What Bogey’s American expatriate, Rick Blaine, really said is "If she can stand it, I can. Play it."  The latter may be correct, but the former sounds better to our ears and therefore has been repeated in our society until it sounds right. The human brain’s penchant for order and consonance is also to blame, so it is not uncommon for famous quotes such as these to get tweaked over time. The information superhighway doesn’t discriminate; incorrect information can travel just as far and as fast as the truth on the Internet. Oft quoted sources like Shakespeare, Mark Twain, political figures, books, songs and countless movies all fall victim to our collective selective memories. So, why do misquotes become real quotes when released into the wild? How can we help ourselves from perpetuating something someone never said or wrote?

 

Guests:

TBD