Oh man. I’m not going to say anything about this one, lest I put too fine a point on it:

Munching Swedish Beaver Causes Blackout

Epic. Thanks to MN for the link.

Photo by sherseydc.

The eggheads at GE’s Global Research Nanotechnology lab have come up with some new superhydrophobic materials. While this undoubtedly has a variety of important industry applications, all you need to know is that it makes water bounce. To the high-speed camera!

Cool. I need to get a three-piece suit made of this stuff. Then I can go to the beach and blow. People’s. Minds. Via Gizmodo.

The long knives are sure out for capitalism these days. From a financial system in crisis to the inexplicable idiocy of CEOs, the opponents of our gonzo market have much to celebrate.

As for myself, I’m a fan of the free market. It’s good for me, good for liberty, and, provided we make the appropriate public interventions to ensure nobody is screwed over, the least onerous of the available options. Still, with the system teetering on the brink of meltdown, it’s as good a time as any to take a look at some of its most cherished assumptions.

Take this study from the University of Arizona. It argues that specialization does not improve individual productivity in any colonies. Fans of Adam Smith will recall that specialization is a pretty important part of his theory of capitalism. He argued, in his iconic pin factory example, that workers who focus on a particular task are more productive than generalists. Ants don’t agree. Said researcher Anna Dornhaus:

My results indicate that at least in this species, a task is not primarily performed by individuals that are especially adapted to it (by whatever mechanism). This result implies that if social insects are collectively successful, this is not obviously for the reason that they employ specialized workers who perform better individually.

Something to think about. Would we be more economically effective if we had a lot of skills, as opposed to a narrow job description? Specialization is the foundation of modern mass manufacturing, which is currently in a sorry state. So would greater generalization help us get the economy moving again?

Probably not on its own, since our economy is considerably more complex than an Ant hill. But as we move into an uncertain future, we can’t really afford to overlook anything. Even the humble ant.

Photo courtesy of PHGCOM.

Greedy auto execs, Hitler’s lone gonad, and sweet mammoth rides. Welcome to Thursday, all.

World

• Conrad Black is seeking clemency from outgoing President Bush. Yeah right. I’m this is the best time to be pardoning white-collar criminals.
• A man tries to pay his utility bill with a drawing of a spider. Hilarity ensues.
• A Toronto blogger has been arrested in Tehran, accused of spying for Israel. That’s not good.
• Turns out, Hitler really did have only one testicle.
• Why the auto industry is really in trouble.
• Watch the complete PBS documentary on Jonestown here.

Media

• Michael Savage may the worst person in the whole world.
• The Digital Youth Research project has released its final report. It’s all about how kids informally learn through ICTs.
• Harvard Square’s iconic Out of Town News is set to close.

Science & Tech

• Scientists have revealed the Mammoth genome. Next up: Mammoth rides for all!

Pop Culture

• The Daily Telegraph does a round-up of the world’s finest conspiracy theories. Big ups for including the Philadelphia Experiment.
• GnR’s Chinese Democracy is now available on MySpace. Now I’ve seen everything.