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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Chain Links"
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READER SCRIPT
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YOU GOT NAILED... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. HERE'S A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION: IF YOU DELETE ONE OF THOSE E-MAIL CHAIN LETTERS BEFORE YOU SEE IT, WILL A LOCUST PLAGUE STILL BEFALL YOU? OF COURSE NOT. IT'S A SUPERSTITIOUS TECHNICALITY--A CURSE LOOPHOLE. BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW DID THAT UNWANTED GUILT-TRIP END UP IN YOUR INBOX? WE'VE ALL GOT THAT FRIEND WHO WILL FORWARD ANYTHING, FROM A PETITION TO PET PICTURES. THIS GAME OF VIRAL "TAG--YOU'RE IT" CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY AND CARLETON COLLEGE RESEARCHERS. SO, THEY TRACKED AND PLOTTED THE JOURNEY OF A COUPLE OF PETITIONS KICKING AROUND THE INTERNET. THE TEAM FOUND THAT VIRALS DON'T REALLY SPREAD THE WAY THAT WE THOUGHT THEY DID--SAY, LIKE A COLD VIRUS THAT WE MIGHT PASS ON TO LOTS OF PEOPLE WITH WHOM WE COME INTO CONTACT. INSTEAD, THEY FOUND THAT PEOPLE ARE EXTREMELY SELECTIVE AS TO WHO GETS A FORWARDED MESSAGE--90-PERCENT FORWARD TO JUST ONE OTHER PERSON. THE FINDINGS HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETING, POLITICS, COMPUTER NETWORKING, AND OTHER FIELDS. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
