It's good to know we're not the only math geeks around. Many readers of the July issue report that they, too, are Living by Numbers—tracking their personal stats in pursuit of better health. "Couldn't agree more about the motivation factor in recording stuff like this," wrote one online commenter, who lost 25 pounds after building a Web site to track his weight, food intake, sleep, and so forth. "Being confronted by your progress either gives you a mental boost from how well you have done or a kick up the backside to put more effort in." If only our appetite for data could somehow lower our health-insurance premiums ...
Number Crunchers
I have heart disease and have been working with Nike+ for almost a year ("Living by Numbers," issue 17.07). To go from running outside on a sunny day to having to run on a treadmill for safety made working out a hell of a lot less interesting. It's hard to keep up the discipline to work out, but tracking my stats gives me a goal to shoot for. Nike and Apple have helped me stay alive.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by MFAULKNE
People who are really "living by numbers" are type 1 diabetics, who struggle every day to keep their blood glucose in range with carbohydrate counts, insulin doses, and exercise. Given the rapid development of continuous glucose monitors, perhaps Nike and Apple could team up with Medtronic to develop a hardware/software/social networking system similar to Nike+ but for diabetics.
Edward Aboufadel
Ada, Michigan
I think I prefer the old- fashioned philosophical meaning of "know thyself." Personally, I fear that data-tracking of this level will lead to a Gattaca-type state.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by HIMURA_KENSHIN
I wish Nike and Apple would open their APIs so that more free tools could be built around the Nike+ technology.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by TATARE99
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Just Prove It
With all due respect to Carl Sagan, the assertion that extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof is among the most unscientific statements I have ever heard ("Origin of Species," issue 17.07). It flies in the face of the scientific method by implying that there are different levels of proof depending on how likely the scientific community thinks the proposition at hand to be. Either you can prove something or you can't.
Greg Hokanson
Rochester, Minnesota
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The Cost of Free
I like attitudes that buck conventional wisdom, so "Waste Is Good" (issue 17.07) appealed to my rebellious soul. However, I took issue with one of Chris Anderson's points—"nature wastes life." When a dandelion lets go of those innumerable seeds, the majority may be wasted from the point of view of the dandelion, but for a wide range of creatures, from birds to decomposition organisms, those seeds constitute food. There is no such thing as waste in the closed system of nature. The analogy may or may not be relevant to Anderson's general thesis, but it's important to the birds.
Violet Snow
Teaneck, New Jersey
One small point: Anderson makes YouTube and Hulu out to be free. But I've never gotten "free" content on the Internet. In the past 10 years I've spent about $7,000 for Internet access. That's a boatload of cash to pay for free, don't you think?
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by UBERFU
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CIO of the USA
Opening the government's data vaults is a great idea ("And Data for All," issue 17.07). But there will always be some secret government data, and none of us should entertain hopes to the contrary. I nevertheless love the idea of openness cutting down on bureaucracy and, by extension, wasted tax dollars.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by DEREKRIS
Putting all federal information online is brilliant. It will save the government millions of dollars because we will no longer need a bureaucracy designed to deal with Freedom of Information Act requests. Plus, whenever someone asks for information, bureaucrats will be able to say, "Look for it online"—they won't even have to admit that the requested information exists. They can just tell people up front that the Web site contains everything. If something you want isn't listed, then you have to presume that it's either classified or it doesn't exist.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by SCABBYKNEE
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About Facebook
The young Mark Zuckerberg appears to be a cocky kid with a good idea who lost sight of reality ("The Great Wall of Facebook," issue 17.07). Will Facebook's search results be comprehensive and relevant to my location? I don't think so. I will be using Google for some time.
Michael Oakley
Gatineau, Quebec
Facebook's changes to its privacy settings killed my affection for the company. I respect Facebook's right to change the terms—it's a free service, after all—but it's revoking one of things I valued most about it and in the process ensuring that I trust it less. I'm sure that's exactly what its advertisers want—users who are less engaged and visit less frequently.
Yvonne Jones
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Facebook users should realize that to become profitable, the company will have to monetize all of that traffic in some way. That will most likely mean there will be eyeballs looking at all the personal data that users post.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by GGANNON
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Arr, Algebra!
Great piece on the economics of piracy—loved the concept, graphics, and data sources ("Cutthroat Capitalism," issue 17.07). Most of the equations were enlightening, but I did find one that doesn't work algebraically. In the section called "Pirate's Math: When to Attack," the "summation" of attacker's terms should be multiplied by Naval Response Time, not divided. Using the equation as published, a swift naval response would increase the likelihood of success, when of course the inverse is true.
Michael Brininstool
La Jolla, California
Container ships lack armed personnel or guns because they must dock in ports that prohibit carrying weapons.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by G4M3TH30RY
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Free at Last
In "10 Best Prison Breaks," (Start, issue 17.07), you forgot Vassilis Paleokostas, the Hellenic Robin Hood. He was sentenced to 25 years for robbery and escaped on a hijacked helicopter. He was recaptured—and escaped last February on another helicopter. It's like something out of Ian Fleming.
Leonid Boukas
Memphis, Tennessee
What about Sobibor? About 300 Jewish prisoners escaped in October 1943.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by LIMEY6
Mussolini's prison escape was pretty cool, even if Mussolini wasn't.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by THEOOB
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Catching Heat
"Datastream: Self-Ignition Temperatures" (Start, issue 17.07) gives the burning temperature for paper as 572 degrees Fahrenheit. One of my favorite books is Fahrenheit 451. I guess Ray Bradbury was wrong about the temperature at which books catch fire. You'd think, in a book that is so against information suppression, he would at least take the time to get the facts right.
Sam Wolk
Beverly Hills, California
One of the great things about literature is that it teaches us to avoid absolutes. The temperature at which something catches fire, for example, depends on the ignition method: A piloted ignition temperature is the temperature at which an object burns when a flame (a match, a Survivor torch) touches it. A self-ignition temperature is the temperature at which an object begins to burn when exposed to heat. We consulted Nicholas Dembsey, associate professor of fire protection engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, who said that a reasonable 'average' value ignition temperature for paper (depending on the composition of the sheets in question of course) would be 300 degrees Celsius—or 572 degrees Fahrenheit. Dembsey says the figure Bradbury used is correct as well, though it's at the low end of the range.
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Singularly Satirical
Wow! Ray Kurzweil really must be doing some amazing things to receive this kind of treatment ("Know Your Future," Start, issue 17.07). Why does society always rip on the pioneers until they're dead, and then they become great men? Ray Kurzweil is a great man now! Treat him as such.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by AXERXES
Fertile Minds
It will be too bad if in the year 2029 contraception is still being marketed as a woman's responsibility ("Found: Birth Control From the Future," issue 17.07) . Hopefully by then there will be more options available for men (and more non-pharmaceutical options in general).
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by MISTERDRUMMACHINE
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The Exploding Fresh Maker
Our June "How to ..." section featured a recipe that combined Mentos candy and Diet Coke to create an exploding cocktail. Not everyone who tried it achieved superior results. So Wired chemist-mixologists Daniel Dumas and Sabrina Crawford hit the local bodega for supplies and commandeered the kitchen to investigate. Several disgusting concoctions later, they discovered a foolproof formula. Freeze each Mentos in a barely filled ice cube tray, so the top of the candy sits above the water line. Fill a tall glass with warm Diet Coke and cheap rum and drop in the cubes of iced Mentos. Serve to your, uh, friend and back away—the drink will overflow in a few seconds.
