links for 2009-12-27

"Forecasts satisfy a deep psychological need that we live in a somewhat predictable and controllable world," says Philip Tetlock, a professor of organizational behavior at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. "Those are essential stories. People just find the truth" — that the future is unknowable — "too dissonant."

Bob Twiggs is a rock star in the small satellite world. He invented the “CubeSat” satellite standard which has become a world-wide standard for pico-class satellites (satellites weighing 1 km. and under).