Philippe Matthews Show Guru Advice, Author Reviews, Tech Reviews, Entertainment News

Given the ubiquity of automated teller machines (ATMs) in most Western countries, it may be difficult to envision places in the world where people have never set foot in a bank much touched an ATM. Efforts to change this are often stymied not only because locals are unfamiliar with the concept of financial services but also because they are semi-literate or illiterate, making the use of an ATM challenging.

The quadratic equation may have instilled horror in many of us. But for some five to seven percent of the population even basic math--like the concept of the numbers five and seven--causes anxiety. You may never have heard of the disorder called dyscalculia, yet it’s as common as dyslexia, according to research in the journal Science .

(PhysOrg.com) -- UCLA researchers have redefined the concept of a microscope by

David Arrick thinks most cupcakes are pretty froufrou. His New York City company, Butch Bakery, makes manlier desserts. Its cupcakes, which sell for about $4.25 each, come in 12 flavors, including Home Run, a peanut butter cupcake topped with banana cream and crumbled bacon, and Beer Run, a cupcake made from chocolate, beer, and crushed pretzels

The two tech behemoths go toe-to-toe over trademark issues, with dueling language experts and claims bordering on absurdity. Microsoft fired back at Apple this week in the on-going dispute over the trademark of the coveted compound term, "App Store." The dueling legal briefs shows the depth of the age-old rivalry and also reveals a fascinating look into the hair-splitting world of trademark. Microsoft's latest argument is, essentially, that Apple cannot own "App Store" anymore than a large food retailer could lay claim to "Grocery Story," since its the very descriptor needed to discuss what a group is.

(PhysOrg.com) -- While most people know that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, this concept is proving even truer in the world of stock trading. In a world where buying low and selling high means all the difference, racing the speed of light between to different financial markets can mean greater profit.

This is a promotional blog post. I was asked to cover the SXSW Film Festival screening of Morgan Spurlock's new documentary, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold , which attempts to take a meta-look at the concept of product placement via a documentary funded entirely by product placement, because of promotional considerations: Fast Company, my employer, is featuring Spurlock, his movie, and his take on the concept of "selling out vs. buying in" as a story in the April issue

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the classical world, information can be copied and deleted at will. In the quantum world, however, the conservation of quantum information means that information cannot be created nor destroyed. This concept stems from two fundamental theorems of quantum mechanics: the no-cloning theorem and the no-deleting theorem.