Improbable Research

香蕉在线综合2019版Sheep facial recognition software is in the offing, suggests an October 22, 2019 news report in the New Zealand Herald:

香蕉在线综合2019版

The world’s first sheep facial recognition software, developed in Dunedin, is set to be prototyped this year.

Sheep NN, a project created by artificial intelligence and machine learning company Iris Data Science, has received a $40,000 grant from Callaghan Innovation towards the $100,000 project that will take the model to prototype by the end of the year.

(Thanks to Mason Porter for bringing this to our attention.)

“The objective . . .” of a 2018 research project from the Fashion Business School, London College of Fashion, and Dr Chris Gummer at Cider Solutions Ltd., Chilworth, UK, was “ . . . to assess the frequency and magnitude of combing forces on individual hairs against a hypothesis that fibres on a consumer’s head rarely experience significant loads during routine combing.”

So, what is the load on a human hair during combing?

“During combing, individual fibres may not experience any significant load and are unlikely to experience repetitive loads >10g “

See: Measuring the frequency of consumer hair combing and magnitude of combing forces on individual hairs in a tress and the implications for product evaluation and claims substantiation?in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, Volume 40, Issue 5.

BONUS: Does anti-ageing advertising have a future??by Dr Chris Gummer at Cider Solutions Ltd..

Image credit : Dante Gabriel Rossetti – Woman Combing Her Hair (1865)

Love is, to many researchers, so difficult to define that no one can grasp it scientifically.

BUT… some researchers are undaunted in trying to understand and control love. Perhaps preeminent among the dauntless is Robert J. Sternberg, professor of development at Cornell University.

Professor Sternberg’s web page proclaims:

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT:

If you’re interested in my theory of love and how to use research-based information to discover, maintain, and nurture the love relationship of your dreams, check out my new website here.

You’ll find lots of science-based information, ideas, and tools how to turn your dreams about love into reality.

Professor Sternberg professes a—perhaps the— Triangular Theory of Love.

Cited for Being Cited

Professor Sternberg’s web page explains, also, that Professor Sternberg is cited for being cited:

He has been cited?by ISI for being one of the most highly cited (top ? of 1%) among psychologists and psychiatrists.

A new study says, more or less, that dogs can count. The study bases this on indirect, fMRI data. You may find the evidence persuasive:

The study does not mention that there are many studies, done in many classrooms, showing that many people cannot count.

This new dog study is: “Canine sense of quantity: evidence for numerical ratio-dependent activation in parietotemporal cortex,” Lauren S. Aulet,?Veronica C. Chiu, Ashley Prichard, Mark Spivak, Stella F. Lourenco, and Gregory S. Berns, Biology Letters, December 2019.

Crunchiness Lost, Clever Contraptions to Trap Crooks, Shoe-Throwing at Weddings, Untied Laces Across the World, Moving Violations of Washing Machines, Stool Pigeons, Clothes for Clothes Shopping, Tanning Beds, Frozen Mammoth Meat, and Neurological Damage from Praying.

In episode #201, Marc Abrahams shows some unfamiliar research studies to Jean Berko Gleason, Richard Baguley, Robin Abrahams, Bruce Petschek, and Chris Cotsapas. Dramatic readings and reactions ensue.

Remember, our Patreon donors, on most levels, get access to each podcast episode before it is made public.

1. Jean Berko Gleason encounters:

“Crunchiness Loss and Moisture Toughening in Puffed Cereals and Snacks,” Micha Peleg, Journal of Food Science, epub July 29, 2015.

“A Study of the Effects of Water Content on the Compaction Behaviour of Breakfast Cereal Flakes,” D.M.R. Georget, R. Parker, and A.C. Smith, Powder technology 81, no. 2 (1994): 189-195.

2. Richard Baguley encounters:

Mike Hall’s “Drive-up Teller Window Protection Apparatus” (U.S. patent 3956997, granted 1976)

Louis J. Marcone’s “Dog-tracking Scent Dispensing System for Apprehending Burglars and the Like” (U.S. patent 4867076, granted 1989)

Philip David Jones, Alan Hickling, and Ruth Marjorie Hickling’s “Soft Restraining System” (U.S. patent application 20050240132, G.B. patent application 211771)

3. Robin Abrahams encounters:

“Shoe-Throwing at Weddings,” James E. Crombie, Folklore, vol. 6, no. 3, 1895, pp. 258–81.

4. Jean Berko Gleason encounters:

M?rth, Ingo (2007). ‘The Shoe-lace Breaching Experiment.’ Figurations: Newsletter of the Norbert Elias Foundation 2 (27): 4–6.

Elias, Norbert (1967). ‘Die Geschichte mit den Schuhb?ndern.’ Die Zeit, 17 November.

5. Richard Baguley encounters:

Conrad, Daniel C., and Werner O. Soedel (1995). ‘On the Problem of Oscillatory Walk of Automatic Washing Machines.’ Journal of Sound and Vibration 188 (3): 301–14.

Whiteman, Wayne E. and Kip P. Nygren (1999). ‘Basic Vibration Design to Which Young Engineers Can Relate: The Washing Machine.’ Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education, Charlotte, N.C., 20–23 June, session 3268.

6. Jean Berko Gleason encounters:

“Self-Control by Pigeons in the Prisoner’s Dilemma,” Forest Baker and Howard Rachlin, Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, vol. 9, no. 3, September 2002, pp. 482-8.

“Customer Service as a Function of Shopper’s Attire,” Pamela C. Regan and Veronica Llamas, Psychological Reports, vol. 90, no. 1, February 2002, pp. 203-4. The authors are at California State University, Los Angeles.

“Why Do Young Women Use Sunbeds? A Comparative Psychological Study,” B. Fiala, M. Kopp, and V. Gunther, British Journal of Dermatology, vol. 137, no. 6, December 1997, pp. 950-4.

7. Bruce Petschek encounters:

“Was Frozen Mammoth or Giant Ground Sloth Served for Dinner at the Explorers Club?” Matt Davis, Jessica R. Glass, Timothy J. Walsh, Eric J. Sargis, and Adalgisa Caccone, 2015 GSA Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, USA (1-4 November 2015), Paper No. 327-16.

8. Chris Cotsapas encounters:

Ilic, Tihomir V., Monika P?tter, Iris Holler, Günther Deuschl, and Jens Volkmann (2005). ‘Praying-Induced Oromandibular Dystonia.’ Movement Disorders 20 (3): 385–86.

Scolding, N. J., S. M. Smith, S. Sturman, G. B. Brookes, and A. J. Lees (1995). ‘Auctioneer’s Jaw: A Case of Occupational Oromandibular Hemidystonia.’ Movement Disorders 10 (4): 508v9.