The issue at hand: a student with Asperger's Syndrome feels the teacher withholds recess breaks at a whim; the teacher feels that withholding recess is reinforcing the consequences of the student's actions.  From their personal viewpoints, each of them is correct.  Clearly, there is bad communication or signaling going on here.

Note I use the shorthand 'Aspie' for 'someone with Asperger's syndrome', itself either a form of high-functioning autism, or a related pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), and the term 'neurotypical' to describe someone who does not have Asperger's.

On Rules Processing

I have a love/hate relationship with advertising. Ads are specifically designed to manipulate people, and I hate being manipulated. On the other hand, I love using free services that are supported by ads.

Science 2.0, as you may have noticed, runs ads, and I've got no problem with that. In fact, those ads make me anywhere from $3 to $10 a month--which isn't really enough to feed my ice cream habit, though it's a worthy contribution.

But the video ads were getting a little too intrusive, according to both my own experience and comments from you, dear readers. I mentioned this to Mr. Science 2.0 himself, and learned I could opt out of ads on my blog by forfeiting future accumulation of my ice cream allowance. Done and done! 

Low power electronics and devices for active, modern lifestyles is getting edgy; the research is on for stuff that is wearable, epidermal, implantable - heck, even edible.

Smart skin, created by MC10, is an example of an 'epidermal electronic system. It contains micro-circuitry like transistors, sensors, transmitters and receivers that can get wrinkled, are bendable and stretchable, just like real skin, but retains damage-free function of all components.

Mention "Mass Extinction" and most people will immediately think of the extinction that killed the dinosaurs.

To be fair, this was pretty big, as far as extinctions go. Not only did it kill all of the non-avian dinosaurs, it also finished off the ammonites, belemnites, all of the large swimming reptiles, and many, many others. It's almost like all mammals being killed today.

So yes, pretty big. The K-T extinction, as it's called, ranks among the top 5 greatest extinctions in Earth's paleozoic history.

But it's peanuts to the P-T extinction.

To put it in perspective, at the K-T extinction, about 60% of life on Earth died out. At the P-T extinction, it was about 95%. So it's fair to say that this was when the Earth nearly died.

False equivalence was the big deal two weeks ago, with political advocates Googling for evidence that there might be a Republican with a science Ph.D. (and then ostracizing any found, in the name of tolerance and diversity) and generally out to debunk the notion that the left might have its own kooks.

Some genes appear to have an effect on lifespan. This shouldn’t be too surprising news. But now, a research team from Stanford has shown that there are epigenetic effects on longevity as well. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a beloved model organism in aging research, they have shown that some changes in chromatin states in a parental generation can affect the lifespan of their descendants.

A new photo of a nearby star and its orbiting companion shows the planet has a temperature like a hot summer day in Arizona.

If you're a man, no matter how funny you are, your wife thinks you are not.  Well, men, science is giving you the last laugh.

Sort of. Men are funnier than women, though mostly to other men, according to a psychology study from the University of California San Diego.  Men edged out women by 0.11 points out of a theoretically possible perfect score of 5.0, while about 90 percent of both male and female study participants agreed with the stereotype that men are funnier.

Freedom To Cheat?

Do the laws and constitutional safeguards which guarantee freedom of speech grant a freedom to cheat?  According to a basic principle of common law, freedom of speech ends where cheating begins.

Xavier Alvarez of Pomona, California has falsely claimed amongst other things: “I’m a retired Marine of 25 years.  I retired in the year 2001.  Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor."  That last statement was in direct contravention of the Stolen Valor Act, 2005, a federal law.  Alvarez has challenged that Act as imposing an unconstitutional limit upon freedom of speech.  The matter is to be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a few short hours, the World Series will begin between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals.  In the midst of all the talk of how offense is winning games this year (team Earned Run Average by starters in the post-season is over 5) and the strategic match-ups, there will be little attention paid to the belief engines in the skulls of individual players; their brains.