Do Titles Mean Anything?

Do Images Mean Anything?

We analyze the operations that form the conceptual foundation of traditional database: the determination and matching of the meaning of a record of data. With a careful definition of the “meaning” of a piece of data, we show that matching can be naturally defined. We then analyze whether a similar concept can be applied to image databases. We argue that several concepts, that led to image datab...

Do scientific publications change anything?

Website hits as a measure of influence T he ''simple'' answer is it all depends on who you want to influence, what you want to change, and by how much. It may also depend on how optimistic or lucky you are. But the best answer is that it is surprisingly difficult to be certain one way or the other. Journal papers have several audiences: other scientists, clinicians, policy makers, the media, an...

Do Strong Web Passwords Accomplish Anything?

We find that traditional password advice given to users is somewhat dated. Strong passwords do nothing to protect online users from password stealing attacks such as phishing and keylogging, and yet they place considerable burden on users. Passwords that are too weak of course invite brute-force attacks. However, we find that relatively weak passwords, about 20 bits or so, are sufficient to mak...

Anything you can do I can do better.

Newly introduced drugs or treatments may not be substantively more effective than current therapies, but these drugs or treatments may have distinct advantages in terms of lower costs or fewer or less severe side effects. Demonstrating the utility of a novel treatment is thus unlike usual hypothesis testing, in which researchers seek to prove that treatments differ (i.e., that one treatment is ...

The Standard Metre: Has It Anything to Do With The Contingent A Priori