Information Links

Beijing’s Olympic Building Boom. We’ve been reading about China’s construction plans for years, and wondered whether all those huge buildings will be ready in time for the 2008 Olympics. Now those buildings are opening for business, one by one.

An interesting study used MRI technology on the brains of jazz musicians while they played. Certain areas were turned off or off when they began to improvise, leading to some insights on creativity.

The “T Rex of the Ocean” was the biggest sea reptile on record at 50 feet. The new pliosaur species is nicknamed The Monster.

Can scientists dance? You bet they can, especially when they are illustrating their dissertations.

See an awesome collection of creative bookshelf designs. I want them all!

Waclaw Sierpinski was the mathematician who first described the math fractal that became known as the Sierpieski carpet. Andrew Pike has created a tile mosaic portrait of Sierpinski using Sierpinski carpets! (via Dump Trumpet)

The Best Way to Study: Practice Tests.

You’ve probably seen the Lamp/Lamp from designer Hironao Tsubui. It sells for ¥2,100, or about $20. But you can make your own with a steady hand and the proper glue! There is some question about how safe this is. (via the Presurfer)

A Very Blue Building. (via Dump Trumpet)

The Science of Fairy Tales. It turns out that some of that magiuc stuff is really possible -except for the “happily ever after” part, of course. Bad Astronomy has some more suggestions for this topic.