Groups of people are uncannily accurate at guessing the number of beans in a jar, the weight of a steer, and the like. In fact, the bigger the group, the more accurate its collective guess — a principle known as the Condorcet Jury Theorem.… Story continues … “The idiocy of crowds.”

This interactive Google Maps mashup shows how much different parts of the world will get flooded by a 1-7 1-14 meter rise in sea level. Navigate to the part you’re interested in and tell the app how much to raise the ocean, and a blue overlay covers up the parts that will get inundated.… Story continues … “Flood maps.”

Most shocking thing I learned last weekend: A huge Antarctic ice shelf disintegrated over a 35-day period in 2002, much to the surprise of the scientists tracking it. This shelf, designated Larsen B, was about 700 feet thick and covered 3,500 square km — about the area of Rhode Island.… Story continues … “20 more feet.”

What I think of as the Microsoft approach to product development is to cram as many features as possible into each product. Interface is an afterthought: All those features exist primarily for the benefit of the feature list, not the user, so who cares if the feature is buried three menu levels deep?… Story continues … “Is the Microsoft way the only way?”

What does your computer do when it’s asleep? Well, if you’re the giving type, it might be searching for intelligent life in the universe, helping find a cure for schizophrenia, or perhaps trying to fold some proteins.

Scott Draves has a different idea.… Story continues … “What androids dream of.”