Can blue cheese ever go bad?
Why does the BCS rating system still exist when it's so incredibly flawed?
Why is the human brain seemingly hard-wired to think that correlation and causation are the same thing?
What's so incredibly important about Iowa that our political process seems to continually start there?
Why do they call them "round" numbers when they're even? And why do we consider five and three to be "nice, round numbers" when talking about sets?
I count #5 and #6 as one question because they both include the phrase "round numbers." ;-)
The answer to #1 is that it already is bad.
@Charles -- that's my feeling too! But Lis swears by the stuff in her quiche recipes, and I had to admit that those are really tasty. But still... how can anyone justify eating moldy cheese?
"Can blue cheese ever go bad?"
Yes.
"Why does the BCS rating system still exist when it's so incredibly flawed?"
Because no one wants to take on the monumental responsibility of possibly creating something might suck just as bad despite best intentions.
"Why is the human brain seemingly hard-wired to think that correlation and causation are the same thing?"
Because that's the easy way to think about them because in most cases correlation and causation are the same thing. When there is pee on the rug and the dog is hiding during dinner, I'm going to guess the next door neighbor's kid isn't to blame. Just sayin'.
"What's so incredibly important about Iowa that our political process seems to continually start there?"
Have you seen "The Music Man"? If not, get the version with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. That'll give you an--Wait...were these questions rhetorical by any chance? Because these are getting harder as I go down the list.
@Philip -- but how do you tell it's gone bad? It's already moldy! (btw, no, these are honestly things I wonder about!) As for correlation and causation, I'd actually argue that it's well outside of the norm. It's sunny outside right now, and my cat is asleep in the window. Therefore, sun causes my cat to sleep. I think there's a whole lot more examples like that (which aren't as contrived), and I also think that humans have a penchant for believing them.
Aaron, you need a project. You have too much time on your hands. :)
@Bob -- in my defense, some of these aren't new ponderings of mine. ;-)
@Aaron: Yes, by definition, bleu cheese is already bad. But my wife and I have two ways we can tell. The first is that significant portions of the cheese begins to turn yellow. I don't know if you've ever seen really super old milk, but there comes a point when it goes yellow. Also, bleu cheese has that distintive "bleu" smell from the mold/fungus/acid/whatever, but the white is still creamy. If you've ever seen "creamy bleu cheese" you'll know what I mean; more mold means more stinky. If the creamy part begins to "turn", like it's going truly sour, then that's the other clue. It's the same sharp smell that milk has when it goes bad. When we notice either the discoloration or the sharp smell, it goes straight into the bin.
I like my dog pee analogy more, if only because I was able to mention dog pee on your blog and get away with it. That's funny (and a slow news day here at the office).
@Philip -- Aha! Thanks for the explanation! I'll test the theory on some month-old feta we have in the fridge. ;-)
And you are correct, you did mention dog pee on my blog and got away with it. In fact, you even got me to say dog pee on my own blog. And thus it shall be preserved on the web forevermore. :-P
@Aaron -- You want to check if your blue feta is off? I think you'll find the answer is yes, whatever colour the white bits are. Unless of course U.S. feta is a lot different from Greek ;-)
1) yes - and it's VERY obvious when it does
2) because it still exists - now there's an existentialist answer for ya !
3) we're not - it's just a common assumption :)
4) it's Iowa man ! ... they just set their primary to be earliest so they could be first
Same as why DIx Notch is the first poll to close so they can be "first"
5) 7+ or minus two I guess
Don't even get me started on the BCS. Next time you are in town we'll go out for a couple beers and discuss it.
oh ... how do you know when it's bad ? .... fur :)
So what _IS_ a BCS? British Computer Society? Bulgarian Cockroach Society? Belligerent Cockatoo Sex?
botched college standings :) (actually the Bowl Championship Series)
The ranking system they use for rating which team is #1, #2, etc in US colleges football
Instead of making the best teams in each of the various divisions around the country play each other to come up with a true ranking they rely on polls and other computer selections methods.
It's a grown ups version of "My team is better than yours. So there" :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowl_Championship_Series
I can't really comment on the cheese... I've eaten that kind of cheese, and even enjoyed it, but always left it up to someone else to tell me that it was OK to eat or not. I would never purchase the stuff, it goes against too much of what I was taught by my mother and later learned in microbiology... But then, eating sushi goes against what I learned in microbiology also so I guess it's all in what you choose to like and apply the necessary cognitive dissonance to get by.
I will chime in with sympathy about causal relationships though! I would extend the question to medicine and "alternative" medicine. Why does a person believe that an anecdote they heard from someone on the subway should apply to the entire population, but a population study including nearly everyone shouldn't apply to them? Personally I live in an evidence based reality and have yet to be disappointed.