2 + 2 = 5

Brain Power: Why Do Humans Only Use Ten Percent?

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

True or False?

Is it a fact that we only use 10 percent of our brain capacity? No this is a myth. There has never been any scientific proof to support this claim. We use 100 percent of our brain but not all at the same time. It is an accepted opinion that while we may not live up to our full potential that does not mean we have diminished brain functioning. Brain scans performed during scientific research reveal activity in all centers of the brain at different times. The brain sends messages to the central nervous system that run our mental and physical processes. If 90 percent of the brain was inactive the physical processes such as seeing, breathing and feeling sensation would be lost similar to what happens when the brain is injured.

Why is This Such a Popular Quote?

One opinion is that this saying resulted from a misquote from philosopher William James. His statement referred to laziness and not inability. Advertisers like to use this statement to sell educational products. They fool consumers into thinking if they buy the program they will be smarter than they were. It is true that the brain is a very complex organ and science still has a lot to learn about its functions and abilities.

Corrections Industries: The Endless Cycle Of Imprisonment

admin — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The United States prison system is where those who have broken the law spend their sentence. For many of them it is life behind bars and for others it is only a few years. For a select few, they will find themselves back behind bars because they keep committing similar crimes. The endless cycle of imprisonment becomes a way of life for some criminals. They get out and taste a few months of freedom and end up back in prison. This cycle does not make any sense for people who are on the outside looking in. Why would a person who has been released from years behind bars want to find themselves there again?

The answer is not so clear cut as many people seem to think it is. Some prisoners commit the same crimes because it has become a way of life for them. Others may not know how to function in the system outside of the bars of prison. Steps have been taken to help criminals learn the acceptable way of life in society. For some, it has helped and yet others, not so much. Time will tell if there is a better way of handling prison releases and keeping them out of jail.

Why The Flying Car Doesn’t Exist Yet

admin — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There are so many reasons why we do not have flying cars yet. While we do have the technology to complete this task, it takes more than just making a flying car to be able to release it out to the public.
What first comes to mind when you thinking flying anything, is a plane. Just like flying a plane, you’d have to get your pilot’s license on top of a driver’s license for a flying car. Once you’ve done that, then you’d have to get clearance to be able to fly wherever it is you want to go; which also means letting someone else tell you where and when it’s okay to land.
Another thing that flying cars would need (again, going back to planes) are pathways in which it can and cannot travel; and you don’t want to collide with airplanes either. Just think how tedious it would be to have to contact the FAA every time you need to go to work!
While the cars from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Grease, and Back to the Future seem fanciful and would be nice to own, a lot of work must be put into the creation and distribution of such amazing inventions.

Crop Circles: The Theories

www.2plus2equal5.com — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There are a lot of things to wonder about in the world Satellite vs Dialup? Coffee versus tea? Where did Jimmy Hoffa go? But one of the persistent mysteries of the universe is the plethora of crop circles that keep popping up around rural England. Here are a few of the most popular theories
Pranksters: There are more than a few people that think all the crop circles have been created by midnight pranksters as young as 12. The groups would vary from place to place but they’ve got everything figured out down to the “boarding” technique.
Publicity: Some say the farmers themselves are responsible for the circles just to get themselves on the local news but it’s doubtful one man or woman would be able to create such massive lines without help.
Aliens: The obvious go-to for weird, unexplained circumstances, some people hold firm that the circles are landing spots for alien craft or that they’re used as coded messages for the aliens to communicate with as they fly over earth. The real pity is that we may never know.

The Placebo Effect: Mind Over Matter?

admin — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Placebo Effect: Mind Over Matter? How do we know that certain things have the effect that they purport to have? It is possible that many of these effects can be attributed to something called the placebo effect. A placebo effect usually refers to a medical treatment that deceives patients into thinking that the treatment will provide positive results but the medication actually does not have the agents to provide the desired change. For instance, a doctor may recommend a patient to consume a specific brand of sugar pills every morning in order to combat the afflictions associated with mental fatigue. The faith in the doctor is what may actually be producing positive results. The validity of various treatments are confirmed when large groups of people believe that specific medical treatments are effective. As more reports of people getting positive results appear, more people will believe that different treatments will help in curing various afflictions, and it is the reports that make the treatments valid. What causes the positive change in patients? Many people pay money for services or medication that does not have the necessary agents to cause the desired change, but change still occurs. What proof is there for the effectiveness of these interventions? Perhaps it is the person choosing to put faith in a specific intervention that encourages positive change.

The Most Mind Boggling Trades in Sports History

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

-The Red Sox Trade Babe Ruth to the Yankees for Cash
Okay, so this wasn’t exactly a trade, but it was probably the most famous transaction of baseball history. With Babe Ruth demanding more money and the Red Sox not wanted to pay it (owner Arthur Franzee also needed funding for some of this Broadway plays), the team sold Ruth to the Yankees for 125,000 in cash and a 300,000 loan in 1919. You can safely say that the two teams went in opposite directions, with the Yankees winning 28 World Series since and the Red Sox taking over eight decades to get to another one. And Ruth, well, he became a pretty decent player.

-The Lakers Trade Shaquielle O’Neal to Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and a future first-round draft choice
O’Neal apparently didn’t want to play for the Lakers anymore. Fine. What makes this trade so mind boggling is that the Lakers were willing to break up a team that had just gone to the NBA Finals and could have easily won three of four more titles (they had already won three previous one with virtually the same team). While it made no sense at the time, it worked out for both teams as the Heat won a title in 2006 and the Lakers have one two straight coming into this season.

-The Dallas Cowboys Trade Herschel Walker and Four Draft Picks to the Minnesota Vikings for Jesse Solomon, David Howard, Isaac Holt and Eight Draft Picks Over Three Years
So what do you get in return for an aging running back who never had another quality season in the NFL? How about draft picks that turn out to be Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, Darren Woodson and Clayton Holmes, which lead your team to three Super Bowls. Maybe hindsight is 20/20 but from a sheer talent standpoint, this trade was mind boggling.

Popular Sayings that Just Don’t Make Sense

admin — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I don’t know about you, but when it comes to sayings that don’t quite make sense, there seem to be a lot of them. Admittedly, some of them are regional – you have to be from that area to really get the gist of them – but others are well-known no matter where you are. They seem to span the whole U.S. The problem is that a lot of the time, they don’t actually mean what they’re used for. Oh, sure, you understand them, but if you really think about it, they just don’t quite click.

Here’s one: “ by the skin of your teeth,www.healthyteeth.org/.” When did teeth get skin? Someone’s in need of a dentist appointment or a good brushing. “I have a frog in my throat.” Circus trick gone horribly wrong? “Cat got your tongue?” Yes, because I often let my pets steal my body parts for fun and profit. “It’s raining cats and dogs!” Do insurance companies even cover that type of thing?

Of course we know what they mean: a small margin, a sore throat, a quiet person, a torrential downpour… We get it. But couldn’t we find a better way to say it than something rather nonsensical?

Yogi Berra: The Confucius of Confusing

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As a player, coach and manager, Yogi Berra’s achievements stand alone. With 13 World Series rings (10 as a player, 3 as coach), 15 All-Star selections, three AL MVP awards, his 8 uniform number retired by the Yankees, and induction into the Hall of Fame, as well as holding World Series records for most Series (14), career games (75), at-bats (259), hits (71), doubles (10), singles (49), games caught (63) and most putouts (457). When Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history (1956) his catcher was Yogi Berra.

Despite these accomplishments, Berra is probably better known for his infamous nonsensical quotations. Perhaps his most famous “Yogi-ism” is “It ain’t over ’till it’s over”, in response to his Mets’ chances in the 1973 NL pennant race. Several books have been published chronicling Berra’s most remembered quotations. Some other memorable “Yogi-isms” include: “You can observe a lot by watching”, “90 of the game is half mental”, “What time is it? You mean now?”, “Pitching always beats batting ” and vice-versa”, “The future ain’t what it used to be”, “Never answer an anonymous letter”, “I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous”, and “I can’t concentrate when I’m thinking.”

Not Morons, Oxymorons

www.2plus2equal5.com — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:13:15 +0000

Some people will always need a source of credibility to take hold to any idea or concept. You know what, we give. But according to the dictionary (what could possibly be more authoritatively correct?), contradictory terms can be used in conjunction, or so says the definition of “oxymoron.” Enjoy a few of our favorite oxymorons, proving one phrase at a time that no two concepts are completely mutually exclusive. Jumbo Shrimp – A literally little reminder that everything is relative. Sure, shrimp may mean small, but this particular prawn is still jumbo when compared to its popcorn brethren. Better Half – What is a half but an equal part of something else? Hopefully, this doesn’t knock your significant other down a peg or two. It’s simply meant to be an example of how emotion can make rationalization illogical. Civil War -Take a lesson from history. At least 620,000 soldiers would argue the conflict could have been handled in a more courteous, civilized manner. Designer T-Shirts – Until Ed Hardy finally sells his last shirt, apparently some people are still willing to believe such a thing exists. Economic Stability -If you are hoping for an end to the Great Recession you better use a little left brain. Economics is a naturally cyclical science, thus cannot be stable. That is, unless, you want it to bottom out entirely. You can’t get more stable than zero. Instant Classic – Should something only being around for a little while preclude it from being timelessly awesome? If you said yes, congrats, you hate babies, puppies and kittens.Dressy Casual – In layman’s terms, it means be comfortable but don’t look comfortable. You’ll probably only run into this when asked to RSVP to something, but remember, brides and pregnant women are generally allowed to not make sense. Almost Done – Don’t worry, this our last sentence, but notice as you pan across these words you aren’t completely finished, are you? Well, now you are.

Make Your Mind Work…

www.2plus2equal5.com — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 23:09:46 +0000

Riddle 1 A man leaves home going in a straight line. He takes three lefts and he’s back at home. As he approaches home, he sees two men in masks. Who are they? Riddle 2 Waiting in line for a popular night spot you notice the bouncer is requiring some sort of coded password in order to be admitted. The bouncer greets the first person in line with “8″ to which he responds “5,” then walks into the club. When the second person in line approaches, the bouncer says “6″ to which she replies “3,” then walks into the club. The third person in line matches the bouncer’s “4″ with a “4,” before following suit inside. As you approach the bouncer looks at you and says “1.” What number will get you inside the club? Riddle 3 You are trapped in a room with no doors and no windows, just a table and a mirror. How do you get out? (disclaimer: creative word play required)(Continue on for hints and answers…)

Hint: Riddle 1 No one lives at home.

Hint: Riddle 2 No math beyond basic counting is required.

Hint: Riddle 3 Apologies, this one’s pretty dumb (Last chance to figure things out for yourself…)

Answer 1 – The catcher and the umpire

Answer 2 – 3 (1 has 3 letters, o-n-e)

Answer 3 – Step 1: Look in the mirror and see what you saw. Step 2: Take the saw and saw the table in half. Step 3: Use the two halves to make a whole. Step 4: Jump through the hole (it works phonetically)