A HISTORY OF THUGS» The thuggee cult was, depending on the...

A HISTORY OF THUGS»

The thuggee cult was, depending on the source, either an ancient god-fearing ritualistic coven of assassins or a motley association of opportunistic Muslims and Hindus united in little beyond their crafty thieving. First alluded to in a Frenchman’s Indian travel diary published in 1687, these “cunningest” thieves used guile to gain their marks’ confidence. Then they would “use a certain Slip with a running-noose, which they can cast with so much slight about a Mans Neck, when they are within reach of him, that they never fail; so that they strangle him in a trice.” Later, when the Brits came, the brigands would be referred to as thugs, an Anglicized version of the Hindi word for “deceiver.”

U.S. WON'T STOP NATIVE AMERICANS FROM GROWING, SELLING POT ON THEIR LANDS

U.S. WON'T STOP NATIVE AMERICANS FROM GROWING, SELLING POT ON THEIR LANDS

HOW SHITEXPRESS - A SERVICE THAT ANONYMOUSLY MAILS POOP TO YOUR ENEMIES IN EXCHANGE FOR BITCOIN - MADE $10,120 IN 30 DAYS

HOW SHITEXPRESS - A SERVICE THAT ANONYMOUSLY MAILS POOP TO YOUR ENEMIES IN EXCHANGE FOR BITCOIN - MADE $10,120 IN 30 DAYS :

Shitexpress.com is a service allowing people to order a box with horse poop and send it anonymously to a person anywhere in the world. Apart from PayPal, we accept Bitcoin to ensure 100% anonymity of the buyer. Price: $16.95, including personalized message, packaging and shipping.

INFECTED: AN ILLUSTRATED CATALOG OF COMPUTER VIRUSES» The...

INFECTED: AN ILLUSTRATED CATALOG OF COMPUTER VIRUSES»

The Computer Virus Catalog is an illustrated guide to the worst viruses in computer history in which 20 artists from around the world interprets in their own unique style.

Philip Zimbardo: The Psychology of Evil

Philip Zimbardo: The Psychology of Evil

HOW EVERYONE GETS PAVLOV WRONG» In fact, much of what we thought...

HOW EVERYONE GETS PAVLOV WRONG»

In fact, much of what we thought we knew about Pavlov has been based on bad translations and basic misconceptions. That begins with the popular image of a dog slavering at the ringing of a bell. Pavlov “never trained a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell,” Todes writes. “Indeed, the iconic bell would have proven totally useless to his real goal, which required precise control over the quality and duration of stimuli (he most frequently employed a metronome, a harmonium, a buzzer, and electric shock).”

Pavlov is perhaps best known for introducing the idea of the conditioned reflex, although Todes notes that he never used that term. It was a bad translation of the Russian uslovnyi, or “conditional,” reflex. For Pavlov, the emphasis fell on the contingent, provisional nature of the association—which enlisted other reflexes he believed to be natural and unvarying. Drawing upon the brain science of the day, Pavlov understood conditional reflexes to involve a connection between a point in the brain’s subcortex, which supported instincts, and a point in its cortex, where associations were built. Such conjectures about brain circuitry were anathema to the behaviorists, who were inclined to view the mind as a black box. Nothing mattered, in their view, that could not be observed and measured. Pavlov never subscribed to that theory, or shared their disregard for subjective experience. He considered human psychology to be “one of the last secrets of life,” and hoped that rigorous scientific inquiry could illuminate “the mechanism and vital meaning of that which most occupied Man—our consciousness and its torments.” Of course, the inquiry had to start somewhere. Pavlov believed that it started with data, and he found that data in the saliva of dogs.

THE SECRET LIFE OF A CRIME SCENE CLEANER» How a transgender...

THE SECRET LIFE OF A CRIME SCENE CLEANER»

How a transgender Australian found her niche cleaning up after murders, suicides, and unimaginable filth of endless variation.

If you like this sort of thing - check out Charlie Huston’s gritty crime novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. It takes you waist deep into the muck and squalor of crime scene clean up.

Philip Zimbardo: The Psychology of Evil

Philip Zimbardo: The Psychology of Evil

HOW EVERYONE GETS PAVLOV WRONG» In fact, much of what we thought...

HOW EVERYONE GETS PAVLOV WRONG»

In fact, much of what we thought we knew about Pavlov has been based on bad translations and basic misconceptions. That begins with the popular image of a dog slavering at the ringing of a bell. Pavlov “never trained a dog to salivate to the sound of a bell,” Todes writes. “Indeed, the iconic bell would have proven totally useless to his real goal, which required precise control over the quality and duration of stimuli (he most frequently employed a metronome, a harmonium, a buzzer, and electric shock).”

Pavlov is perhaps best known for introducing the idea of the conditioned reflex, although Todes notes that he never used that term. It was a bad translation of the Russian uslovnyi, or “conditional,” reflex. For Pavlov, the emphasis fell on the contingent, provisional nature of the association—which enlisted other reflexes he believed to be natural and unvarying. Drawing upon the brain science of the day, Pavlov understood conditional reflexes to involve a connection between a point in the brain’s subcortex, which supported instincts, and a point in its cortex, where associations were built. Such conjectures about brain circuitry were anathema to the behaviorists, who were inclined to view the mind as a black box. Nothing mattered, in their view, that could not be observed and measured. Pavlov never subscribed to that theory, or shared their disregard for subjective experience. He considered human psychology to be “one of the last secrets of life,” and hoped that rigorous scientific inquiry could illuminate “the mechanism and vital meaning of that which most occupied Man—our consciousness and its torments.” Of course, the inquiry had to start somewhere. Pavlov believed that it started with data, and he found that data in the saliva of dogs.

THE SECRET LIFE OF A CRIME SCENE CLEANER» How a transgender...

THE SECRET LIFE OF A CRIME SCENE CLEANER»

How a transgender Australian found her niche cleaning up after murders, suicides, and unimaginable filth of endless variation.

If you like this sort of thing - check out Charlie Huston’s gritty crime novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death. It takes you waist deep into the muck and squalor of crime scene clean up.

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CAN YOU SPOT THE SNIPERS HIDDEN IN THESE PHOTOS?

CAN YOU SPOT THE SNIPERS HIDDEN IN THESE PHOTOS?

"Drones may kill relatively few, but they terrify many more. They turned the people into psychiatric..."

“Drones may kill relatively few, but they terrify many more. They turned the people into psychiatric patients. The F-16s might be less accurate, but they come and go.”



- Malik Jalal, a tribal leader in North Waziristan.

Much love, Loukanikos. A tribute graffiti, Athens, Greece. "Τα...

Much love, Loukanikos.

A tribute graffiti, Athens, Greece.

"Τα δακρυγόνα μαζί τα φάγαμε…" (we were tear-gassed together…)

(Source: rebeldog)

HALTING PROBLEM PROVES THAT A LETHAL ROBOT CANNOT CORRECTLY DECIDE TO KILL A HUMAN

HALTING PROBLEM PROVES THAT A LETHAL ROBOT CANNOT CORRECTLY DECIDE TO KILL A HUMAN

LINCOLN ROCKWELL’S HATE BUS George Lincoln Rockwell,...

LINCOLN ROCKWELL’S HATE BUS

George Lincoln Rockwell, center, self-styled leader of the American Nazi Party, and his “hate bus” with several young men wearing swastika arm bands, stops for gas in Montgomery, Alabama, on May 23, 1961, en route to Mobile, Alabama (via Vintage Photo LJ)

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HOW TO KICK A GUY IN THE BALLS: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE»

HOW TO KICK A GUY IN THE BALLS: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE»

The always excellent Bldg Blog has a great post about a fake...

The always excellent Bldg Blog has a great post about a fake town built in Gravesend, a suburb east of London, 'designed for use as an immersive staging ground for police-training exercises, fighting staged riots, burglaries, bank robberies, and other crimes.'

THE DAVY CROCKETTThis tactical nuclear recoilless rifle with a...

THE DAVY CROCKETT

This tactical nuclear recoilless rifle with a 0.01-kiloton payload was designed for use on conventional battlefields. The lightest nuke ever, it had a top range of 2.5 miles, which meant it stood a good chance of irradiating the very soldiers firing it. Starting in 1956, around 2,100 were produced; the Army deployed it until 1971.

Via 8 of the Wackiest (or Worst) Ideas for Nuclear Weapons