Truth and Hammer

Author: Truth & Hammer

  • Playing Minecraft can boost creativity, study

    Playing Minecraft can boost creativity, study

    Playing Minecraft can boost creativity, study

    Contrary to the traditional belief that gaming is merely an addictive source of entertainment and diversion, recent research focused on rarely tested outcome: creative production.

    The study conducted by Iowa State University suggests that playing video games boosts creativity. Playing video games promote creative freedom and thus can increase creativity under certain conditions.

    Scientists compared the impact of playing Minecraft, with or without guidance, to watching a TV show or playing a race car video game. Those given the opportunity to play Minecraft without supervision were generally inventive.

    Minecraft is like a virtual Lego world. The game, which has sold more than 100 million copies, allows players to explore unique worlds and create anything they can imagine.

    Study participants were split into groups with some playing Minecraft and others playing a race car video game or watching TV.

    During the study, scientists randomly assigned participants and categorized into two groups. The one receiving instruction was told to play as creatively as possible.

    After 40 minutes of play or sitting in front of the TV, the 352 members completed several creativity assignments. To gauge innovative generation, they were approached to draw an animal from a world vastly different than Earth. Progressively human-like animals scored low for creativity, and those fewer human-like scored high. Shockingly, those taught to be creative while playing Minecraft were the least imaginative.

    Douglas Gentile, a professor of psychology, said, “It’s not just that Minecraft can help induce creativity. There seems to be something about choosing to do it that also matters. However, there’s no clear explanation for this finding.”

    Jorge Blanco-Herrera, lead author and former master’s student in psychology sao, said, “Being told to be creative may have limited their options while playing, resulting in a less creative experience. It’s also possible they used all their ‘creative juices’ while playing and had nothing left when it came time to complete the test.”

    Most video games encourage players to practice some level of creativity. For example, players may create a character and story for role-playing games or be rewarded for creative strategies in competitive sports. The researchers say even first-person shooter games can potentially inspire creativity as players think about policy and look for advantages in combat.

    Gentile said, “The research is starting to tell a more interesting, nuanced picture. Our results are similar to other gaming research in that you get better at what you practice, but how you practice might matter just as much.”

    Scientists noted, “based on these findings, it is important not to disregard the potential video games have as engaging and adaptive educational opportunities.”

    The study is published in the Creativity Research Journal.

    The post Playing Minecraft can boost creativity, study appeared first on Tech Explorist

    This content was originally published here.

  • WOW! Why do such ignorant people get an office and a voice? America-hating Jihad Rep Ilhan Omar Questions the Patriotism of American

    WOW! Why do such ignorant people get an office and a voice? America-hating Jihad Rep Ilhan Omar Questions the Patriotism of American

    It must be nice to know everything like she does.  I think she is a…Snowflake…so special.

    She claims to love this country more than anyone else – like the wifebeater who claims he loves his wife more than anyone else while thrashing her.

    2020 is coming down to the defenders/lovers of freedom versus the destroyers.

    Omar Questions the Patriotism of American-Born Citizens

    By Cameron Cawthorne, WFB, July 13, 2019:

    Freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) on Saturday questioned the patriotism of American-born citizens, claiming she “probably love[s] this country more than anyone who is naturally born” in the United States.

    Omar participated in a foreign policy panel at the liberal Netroots Nation conference in Philadelphia when she made her comment. Omar began her remarks by making light of her past anti-Semitic comments and the backlash that has resulted from them.

    “Something that I get criticized for all the time. It’s not what you think, so don’t gasp,” Omar said, prompting laughter from the panel and audience.

    “It is that I am anti-American because I criticize the United States,” Omar said. “I believe, as an immigrant, I probably love this country more than anyone that is naturally born and because I am ashamed of it continuing to live in its hypocrisy.”

    She went on to talk about how people ask her why she can’t be “more like an American,” noting how it “used to be a very positive thing.”

    “We export American exceptionalism, the great America, the land of liberty and justice. If you ask anybody walking on the side of the street somewhere in the middle of the world they will tell you, ‘America the great,’ but we don’t live those values here. That hypocrisy is one that I am bothered by. I want America the great to be America the great.

    Omar is the first Somali-American elected to Congress. She arrived in the United States when she was 12-years-old after she fled Somalia during a civil war for a Kenyan refugee camp with her family.

    This content was originally published here.

  • China imports from US plunge in June amid tariff war

    China imports from US plunge in June amid tariff war

    China’s trade with the United States plunged in June amid a tariff war with Washington over Beijing’s technology ambitions that has battered exporters on both sides.

    Interested in China?

    Imports of U.S. goods fell 31.4% from a year earlier to $9.4 billion, while exports to the American market declined 7.8% to $39.3 billion, customs data showed Friday. China’s trade surplus with the United States widened by 3% to $29.9 billion, potentially giving its critics ammunition to demand Washington take a hard line with Beijing.

    Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping agreed in June to resume talks on the fight over U.S. complaints about Beijing’s trade surplus and plans for government-led development of technology industries. That helped to calm financial markets but economists say the truce is fragile because the conflicts that caused talks to break down in May persist.

    Trade has weakened since Trump started hiking tariffs on Chinese goods last June. Beijing retaliated with its own penalties and ordered importers to find non-U.S. suppliers.

    Envoys talked by phone Tuesday in their first contact since Trump and Xi met in Japan, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said. It gave no details or a date for more contacts.

    “Our base case remains that trade talks will break down again before long,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report.

    China’s global exports sank 1.3% to $212.8 billion while imports fell 7.3% to $161.9 billion.

    Trade weakness has added to pressure on Xi’s government to shore up economic growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses.

    Washington is pressing Beijing to roll back plans for government-led creation of Chinese global competitors in robotics, electric cars and other technologies. The United States also wants other changes including cuts in subsidies to Chinese industry.

    Beijing agreed last year to narrow its trade surplus with the United States by buying more American natural gas and other exports but scrapped that plan after one of Trump’s tariff hikes. The Chinese government said in June that any purchases must be at a reasonable level, suggested Beijing was becoming more cautious about making big commitments before it sees what Washington offers in exchange.

    Trump accused Beijing on Thursday of backsliding on promises to buy more American farm goods. He said on Twitter that “China is letting us down.”

    Trump’s statement “highlighted how more speed bumps may remain in the road ahead,” said Craig Orlam of OANDA in a report. “While a deal makes sense for both sides this year, it’s far from guaranteed and could hit many more snags.”

    Chinese leaders express confidence their economy can survive the tariff fight.

    Importers of American soybeans and other goods are trying to switch to Brazilian, Russian and other sources, but supplies are limited and costs are higher. Farmers who use soybeans as animal feed have been told to switch to other grains.

    While American exporters have been hit hardest, Chinese industries including electronics that Beijing sees as its economic future have suffered double-digit declines in sales to the United States, their biggest market.

    Economists say even if a settlement with the U.S. is reached, China’s exports this year will be lackluster due to weak global demand, putting pressure on manufacturers that support millions of jobs.

    This content was originally published here.

  • Trump tells Dem congresswomen: Go back where you came from

    Trump tells Dem congresswomen: Go back where you came from

    Trump tells Dem congresswomen: Go back where you came from

    The president’s tweets seemed intended to exploit party tensions, but instead rallied the caucus against him.

    President Donald Trump, jumping into the middle of a feud among House Democrats, called out progressive congresswomen in xenophobic terms on Sunday, saying, “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

    While he didn’t mention them by name in his series of tweets, Trump was presumably targeting some of the caucus’s best-known freshman women of color: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.).

    Story Continued Below

    “So interesting to see ‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even have a functioning government at all), now loudly and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run,” the president wrote.

    Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Pressley were all born in the United States. Omar, a Somalian refugee, immigrated to the U.S. with her family in the early 1990s.

    “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” he added. “Then come back and show us how it is done. These places need your help badly, you can’t leave fast enough. I’m sure that Nancy Pelosi would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements!”

    Hours later, after dozens of assorted tweets and re-tweets, the president circled back to attack again.

    “So sad to see the Democrats sticking up for people who speak so badly of our Country and who, in addition, hate Israel with a true and unbridled passion,” he wrote. “Whenever confronted, they call their adversaries, including Nancy Pelosi, ‘RACIST.’ Their disgusting language ….. and the many terrible things they say about the United States must not be allowed to go unchallenged.”

    A new podcast series from POLITICO.

    By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

    If the posts were intended to exploit simmering tensions within the Democratic Party after weeks of messy public infighting, however, they instead gave embattled House Democrats a common opponent to rally against — the president himself.

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been at odds with some of the most liberal members of her caucus, and other top Democrats fired back.

    Pelosi said the president’s “xenophobic comments” were reaffirming his plan to make “America white again.” Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), the No. 4 House Democrat, said the comments were “a racist tweet from a racist president.”

    Other House Democrats also quickly weighed in, defending their colleagues, and Ocasio-Cortez turned the focus back on Trump’s immigration policies.

    Democratic presidential candidates weighed in almost uniformly and just about universally in condemnation of the tweets. Republican congressional leadership did not address the subject.

    The early-morning tweets also ignited frustrations inside the president’s reelection operation, where officials spent the last week relishing the dust-up between Pelosi and the four freshman progressives.

    One person close to the campaign said Trump ruined weeks of messaging for his 2020 operation by uniting Democrats through their condemnation of his disparaging tweets. The infighting between party leaders and the four women — known as “the squad” — had “proved what we’ve been saying all along — that radical progressives are infiltrating the Democratic Party and pressuring their colleagues to embrace policies that are so far outside the mainstream no voter will entertain them,” this person said.

    Trump’s remarks are the denouement after an acrimonious week for House Democrats in which members publicly turned on one another over generational, ideological and racial divides. Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez traded barbs during the week, forcing other members of the caucus to take sides in what became a dayslong spat.

    Trump, who last week defended Pelosi after Ocasio-Cortez said the speaker was singling out women of color for criticism, seemed determined to exacerbate those intraparty strains on Sunday morning. But the speaker stood with the members of her caucus.

    “When @realDonaldTrump tells four American Congresswomen to go back to their countries, he reaffirms his plan to ‘Make America Great Again’ has always been about making America white again. Our diversity is our strength and our unity is our power,” she wrote on Twitter.

    The president did succeed in one way that Democrats themselves haven’t been able to figure out — how to tamp down the simmering party feud and come back together for what is expected to be a chaotic two weeks in the House before a lengthy August recess.

    Returning to the Capitol after the July 4th holiday, tensions were still simmering over an emergency border bill that nearly ripped the caucus apart. That divide was further exacerbated when Pelosi openly questioned the influence of “the squad,” prompting a series of fiery comments from the quartet, including Ocasio-Cortez.

    Pelosi then privately chided progressives, including taking a shot at Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, for tweeting criticism of their colleagues. Ocasio-Cortez then inflamed tensions by suggesting that Pelosi was purposefully singling out her and other women of color within the caucus to criticize.

    Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks prompted a sharp rebuke from some members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who said it was actually her chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, who was targeting people of color within the caucus.

    Weeks earlier, during the fight over humanitarian funding to address the border crisis, Chakrabarti compared moderate Democrats to segregationists in a now-deleted tweet. He has also publicly endorsed primary challengers to sitting Democratic incumbents, including members of the CBC.

    On Friday, things seemed to have at least publicly calmed down as members left the Capitol for the weekend. But the spat was seemingly reignited on Friday night after a House Democratic Caucus Twitter account run by staffers for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) targeted Chakrabarti in a late-night tweet.

    The four members of the self-described squad — Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, Tlaib and Omar — have been some of the most vocal critics of both Trump and their own party on the issue of immigration.

    Tlaib recently gave emotional testimony and characterized the Trump administration’s immigration agenda as governed by “a dangerous ideology.” She recounted stories of the migrants she met in custody and the conditions of the facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border. She was also joined by Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), who all toured border patrol facilities earlier this month.

    Speaking on Saturday at Netroots Nation in Philadelphia, Omar responded to critics such as Trump and Fox News host Tucker Carlson who have assailed her as anti-American.

    “I believe, as an immigrant, I probably love this country more than anyone that is naturally born,” the first-term congresswoman said.

    His tweets on Sunday were far from the first time Trump, a native of New York, treated political opponents as outsiders of uncertain loyalty. He cast doubts on the legality of Barack Obama’s presidency, supporting conspiracy theorists who claimed without justification that Obama was not born in the United States. During the 2016 campaign, he repeatedly denounced Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel (born in Indiana but of Mexican origin) and suggested Curiel could not rule fairly in a case involving Trump.

     

    Heather Caygle and Gabby Orr contributed to this report.

    This content was originally published here.

  • Finnish climate study found no evidence for man-made climate change claims

    Finnish climate study found no evidence for man-made climate change claims

    Researchers J. Kauppinen and P. Malmi of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Turku, Finland, have found that human contribution to a rise of 0.1°C in global temperatures over the past 100 years century is just 0.01°C., contrary to global climate doomsayers and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

    Kauppinen and Malmi stated in their research analysis paper, dated June 29, 2019, that they we will prove that GCM-models used in IPCC report AR5 fail to calculate the instances of the low cloud cover changes on the global temperature. That is why those models give a very small natural temperature change leaving a very large change for the contribution of the greenhouse gases in the observed temperature.

    This is the reason why IPCC has to use a very large sensitivity to compensate a too small natural component. Further, they have to leave out the strong negative feedback due to the clouds in order to magnify the sensitivity. In addition, this paper proves that the changes in the low cloud cover fraction practically control the global temperature.

    The climate sensitivity has an extremely large uncertainty in the scientific literature.

    The smallest values estimated are very close to zero while the highest ones are even 9 degrees Celsius for a doubling of CO2. The majority of the papers are using theoretical general circulation models (GCM) for the estimation. These models give very big sensitivities with a very large uncertainty range. Typically sensitivity values are between 2-5 degrees.

    IPCC uses these papers to estimate the global temperature anomalies and the climate sensitivity.

    However, there are a lot of papers, where sensitivities lower than one degree are estimated without using GCM.

    The basic problem is still a missing experimental evidence of the climate sensitivity.

    Low cloud cover controls practically the global temperature. It turns out that the changes in the relative humidity and in the low cloud cover depend on each other. So, instead of low cloud cover we can use the changes of the relative humidity in order to derive the natural temperature anomaly. According to the observations 1 % increase of the relative humidity decreases the temperature by 0:15°C.

    The IPCC climate sensitivity is about one order of magnitude too high, because a strong negative feedback of the clouds is missing in climate models. If we pay attention to the fact that only a small part of the increased CO2 concentration is anthropogenic, we have to recognize that the anthropogenic climate change does not exist in practice. The major part of the extra CO2 is emitted from oceans, according to Henry`s law. The low clouds practically control the global average temperature.

    During the last hundred years the temperature is increased about 0:1°C because of CO2.

    The human contribution was about 0:01°C.

    The full 6-page report/diagrams can be found here.

    This content was originally published here.

  • Attracting Wildlife to Your Backyard

    Attracting Wildlife to Your Backyard

    When people ask me how to attract birds, bees and butterflies to their backyard, my answer always begins with planting native plants. What do I mean by native plants? A plant is considered native if it has existed in an area or habitat and was not introduced by humans. Native plants have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife for thousands of years and, in turn, offer the best habitat. Adding native plants can help make your yard a great place for wildlife!

    Attracting birds begins with thinking about what birds eat. What would they be looking for if you were to see them in a forest preserve? Native plants can offer three main food sources for birds: seeds, fruits and insects. Planting a variety of natives that can offer all three of these foods throughout the year will get you the most bang for your buck when looking to attract birds to your backyard. 


    Insects that birds like to snack on are easy to attract to your yard, since they go by the saying, “If you plant it, they will come.” Insects that birds like to snack on will naturally be attracted to the natives you plant. Consider adding fruit shrubs like red osier dogwood, American hazelnut or serviceberry. Cup plant can be a great addition to a sunny garden. Birds not only love the seeds, they are also attracted to the water the cup plant holds in its leaves and will use it for both drinking and bathing.     
    dogwood-Alan-Anderson

    Red osier dogwood

    When using native plants to attract butterflies to your yard, consider both nectar plants and host plants. Adult butterflies eat nectar plants and young caterpillars eat host plants. Native milkweeds are the go-to host plant for attracting monarch butterflies. However, many other butterfly species benefit from host plants, too. Spicebush, Golden Alexander and pussy toes are all plants that native butterflies will use as host plants. When planting host plants, keep in mind that these plants are going to be heavily munched on so planting more is always better! A few butterfly-loving nectar plants include common ironweed, purple joe pye weed, purple prairie clover and coneflowers.

    Pale purple coneflower

    What about other pollinators? Native bees are incredibly efficient pollinators, but they’re not the only pollinators in town. Don’t forget about other pollinators like moths, hummingbirds, flies and beetles. Providing native plants that overlap in bloom times greatly helps all pollinators. Plants such as common boneset, yellow giant hyssop, royal catchfly, New England aster and nodding wild onion are a few good pollinator species. Planting species of plants in clumps rather than a single plant is beneficial to pollinator wildlife.

    Nodding wild onion
     

    When adding native plants to your yard, it benefits all wildlife, not just the ones you may be interested in seeing. All native plants mentioned in this post will be available to purchase at the District’s native plant sale on May 10 and 11 at Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook. A few more ways to help bring wildlife in to your backyard include limiting your use of pesticides, providing a water source such as a birdbath and providing shelter or nesting boxes for birds or other pollinators.

    This content was originally published here.

  • Why Not! Go Crowd of UFO fans seeking to ‘raid Area 51’ hits 1 MILLION despite US Air Force warning

    Why Not! Go Crowd of UFO fans seeking to ‘raid Area 51’ hits 1 MILLION despite US Air Force warning

    No we are talking!  A real raid to learn something.  If the immigrants can storm our boarders and not get shot so anyone can storm Area 51 and come out with all kinds of benefits.
     If even a small fraction of those UFO lovers show up to try and break ‘them aliens’ free from the secret desert facility, the ‘Area 51 raid’ joke risks spilling into one of the largest civil disobedience events ever in the US.

    “We can move faster than their bullets,” the creators of the intentionally farcical event claim. But with over a million alien fans now registered as ‘going’ – and nearly the same number in reserve, just ‘interested’ in the raid – the US Air Force could find itself facing off against an unprecedented number of unarmed individuals.

    We would discourage anyone from trying to come into the area,” an Air Force spokeswoman previously said, expressing hope that UFO enthusiasts understand that an attempted breach of a military installation is no laughing matter. Despite the very real threat that the authorities would have no choice but to use force in case of a real mass invasion, the special meme forces – either desperate to get to the bottom of US government secrets or just bored – are keeping the #Area51memes hashtag alive.

    view

     

  • Carjacker beaten to death after stealing car with small kids inside

    Carjacker beaten to death after stealing car with small kids inside

    Philadelphia police say a carjacking suspect has died after he allegedly stole a car with three children inside and was chased down by their parents Thursday night.   The incident occurred just after 9 p.m. at 29th and Dauphin Streets in Strawberry Mansion. Investigators say the 54-year-old suspect stole a car with three children inside and was chased down by the children’s mother and her 25-year-old boyfriend. The pair eventually caught up with the car and pulled the suspect from the driver’s seat. A fight broke out and police say other men from the neighborhood jumped in. The suspect was taken to the hospital where he later died. The mother and her boyfriend are cooperating with police and are being questioned by homicide detectives. The district attorney’s office will decide if any charges will be filed. The other men who jumped in the fight were not located. The mother’s boyfriend is the father of two of the children.

    view

  • 12th American To Die In Dominican Republic Went Unreported For Months

    12th American To Die In Dominican Republic Went Unreported For Months

    Topline: Tracy Jerome Jester Jr. died in March while on vacation in the Dominican Republic, a death previously unreported despite nine mysterious American tourist deaths since April (and 11 in the past year) in the island nation.

    • The 31-year-old Georgia resident died of “respiratory illness,” following a day of sightseeing, according to his mother, Melody Moore. Jester Jr. was vacationing with his sister when he suddenly began to vomit and complained he couldn’t breathe, and she reported he was vomiting blood shortly before succumbing to his illness.
    • Moore confirmed Jester Jr. was diagnosed with lupus. No toxicology report was ordered as he died before other tourist deaths reported in the news media.
    • According to the U.S. State Department, there is no “uptick” in the number of American deaths in the Dominican Republic despite recent media attention. “We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen in the Dominican Republic in March 2019. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family for their loss. Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we do not have additional information to provide,” said a spokesperson in a statement.
    • “I would like to know the truth,” said Moore about her son’s death. According to ABC News, she reached out to the FBI for help but hasn’t yet met with the agency.
    • U.S. House representative and Dominican native Adriano Espaillat (D-New York), visited the island nation from July 1 through July 6 and met with officials and tourism executives to discuss the safety of American visitors. Espaillat made six recommendations as a result, including a call to increase standards for monitoring the quality of food and alcohol.

    Key background: The FBI conducted toxicology tests on three of the victims. Despite reports they would be released, they are not ready yet, or have not yet been made available. Similarities between some victims’ autopsy reports and symptoms prior to death raised questions about what’s actually happening in the Caribbean nation. Three victims reportedly had an alcoholic drink immediately prior to their deaths, prompting the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana (where two of those victims died) to remove the liquor dispensers from their minibars. More suspicious incidents, like the woman violently beaten at a resort and a group of high schoolers falling violently ill, are also unexplained.

    Critical fact: The Dominican Republic is rated a two out of four on the U.S. State Department’s travel warning scale, last updated April 15. “Exercise increased caution due to crime. Violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide, and sexual assault is a concern throughout the Dominican Republic,” reads the advisory.

    view

  • Maine Wilderness Living Challenge Day 1 of 8 Days Of Only Catch and Cook Survival

    Maine Wilderness Living Challenge Day 1 of 8 Days Of Only Catch and Cook Survival