This is, no kidding, one of the first deduction books I ever read. Or more exactly, observation book, because there weren't a whole lot of conclusions to be made. Just finding things.
Here's the basic info:
Title: I Spy by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick
Genre: Kids' puzzle/hidden object
Content Rating: 1
You have one goal in I Spy: find all the things hidden in the images. This is easier said than done, as the authors painstakingly created dioramas out of thousands of toys and objects just for this. It's the visual equivalent of listening to a well-conducted orchestra or running your fingers through a bag of dry beans.
There are multiple I Spy books, with themes such as fantasy, spooky night, island, etc. Most of the time I spent "reading" them, if you could call it that, I didn't even look for the things in the pictures, I just stared at the pictures and took it all in. I learned how to observe everything. Deduction-wise, this is a 0% deduction book and a 100% observation book. I highly recommend it for anybody working to develop a better eye for detail. Other than that, there's little to say about these books other than...good luck searching! That, and you will soon learn the feeling of "I found all the things but for some reason this one tennis ball is eluding me."
Monday, June 20, 2016
Friday, June 17, 2016
List #15--Fun Summer Deduction Activities
It actually doesn't feel that long ago I put out Deduction #4: Summer Deductions, although it was about 11 months ago. WoMD is, actually, a bit over a year old now! I think I'm one of the few deduction blogs on this site that's made it this far. (If you are a Blogspot deduction blogger and you have made it this far or farther and feel a need to correct me, please do so; I won't be offended.)
So, since it's summer where I am, here's a list of summer deduction activities:
Signing off,
SM
So, since it's summer where I am, here's a list of summer deduction activities:
- Figuring out what different kinds of plants and animals are--Where I live, the weather is super sunny right now and all the plants are in full bloom, not to mention dozens of animals are running around. Like, I saw a turtle in the middle of the street earlier today, not to mention squirrels everywhere. (The turtle was rescued from oncoming drivers by a friendly jogger.) If you can obtain a field guide to your area, or even a printable .pdf (most American species), it's always fun to spend some time looking around at your natural surroundings, and it will increase your perception for detail.
- People-watching during travel--Whether you're on vacation near or far, or even just in your hometown, it's always fun to watch people. Observe beach activities, sports tournaments, or even just a community different from your own where you are traveling.
- Family--If you're visiting family, look at their home decor a bit. Maybe you never knew your aunt liked snails that much. Naturally don't read their mail or anything like that, but take advantage of the opportunity to actually look at someone else's house, especially if you don't see them much.
- Reading books--If you have a lot of free time on a plane or bus, try reading a book about deduction! I will be reviewing a bunch soon and of course I also have that list (List #8). Some people will probably look at you kind of funny for looking over "I Spy" puzzles on the bus, but hey, it's slightly less frustrating than Candy Crush Saga.
- People-watching on the train/bus/plane--Anybody who's proposed that people should talk to people on the train is pretty much fighting a lost cause, because people have pretty much tried as hard as they can to not talk to each other on the train since trains were invented. Currently, it's smartphones/Kindles/whatever but even before that people read books and newspapers and probably played with whatever the Industrial Revolution equivalent of a handheld Nintendo device was. So if you're one of those 99% of people who doesn't want to talk to people in public but still wants to take a break from reading/smartphone/whatever, discreetly observe people. I've seen quite a few good outfits on the Metro.
- Going places that interest you--If you have any vacation time over summer, go to various places that you've always been curious about. You know, like that museum in your town you've heard good things about or even some historic site a few miles out from a time period that interests you. You can learn a lot about anything going to a new place, and who knows. It could be useful one day.
Signing off,
SM
Forensic Science Topic #1--Organic Analysis
This is the first post in a series on Forensic Science, one of approximately 3 tracks of study I have on this site. (Others being Deduction and Persuasion at the time being. I plan to introduce Body Language sometime, as well as Memory). My goal is to have as many tracks as possible, not to mention some as-yet uncategorized, unnumbered posts such as Mind Palace and Color Psychology in Persuasion. Here at WoMD I definitely need to organize a bit better!
The first topic is Organic Analysis. It is very important in detecting substances at a crime scene. Organic analysis uses methods from chemistry and biology to find different substances in a compound or mixture and compare unidentified substances from a scene to known ones.
If you have any chemistry background, you will know a bit about matter and compounds. For those unfamiliar, here is a simple description: Elements and Compounds
From there, we have organic compounds. An organic compound is any compound that contains the element carbon. All others are inorganic, and are therefore analyzed using different methods. Methods used for analyzing organic compounds include chromatography, electrophoresis, and spectrophotometry.
Chromatography separates mixtures into their different ingredients by bringing them from one place to another. It is often used with unknown mixtures of illegal drugs. The substance is attracted to something that stays in one place and is moved by another substance.
For example, gas chromatography moves one gas towards a liquid through another gas. It takes place in a device called a gas chromatograph (x) which includes a detection device. This detector creates a chromatogram, which is a graph comparing recorder response with time.
If an item is a solid, a process called pyrolysis will be used in order to decompose it into different gases. For heat-sensitive items, high-performance liquid chromatography, which works at room temperature, is used. Thin-layer chromatography, in which the substance is attracted across a solid plate, is used for solid and liquid items.
Electrophoresis is similar to thin-layer chromatography, only it uses electricity rather than a moving liquid to move the substance. This is often used for blood, proteins, and DNA. An electrophoresis process used to compare DNA samples for similarities and differences is called a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR for short.
Spectrophotometry measures the light absorption spectrum of a substance. It is similar to chromatography in that the light absorption spectrum of a substance, like the distance traveled of a chromatographed substance, can be compared to a known substance. A spectrometer is far more complex than a chromatography device and would take much longer to describe, so here's a more in-depth description: Spectrometer. Mass spectrometry allows for a completely unique pattern to be made for a substance while others are less exact. Chromatography is often done before or alongside spectrophotometry.
Although spectrophotometry and electrophoresis require expensive lab equipment and probably some training to use, chromatography can be done at home.
At-Home Chromatography
What You Need:
-paper towels
-black pen or marker
-disposable cup
-water
Instructions: Fill the cup with water. Tear the paper towel into strips, and use the marker to draw a line across the bottom of each one. Hang each strip on the side of the cup so that it dips into the water. Let it sit awhile. Observe the paper towel strips.
(Though I don't like to give away all the results of a science experiment that I am instructing somebody on, it is important to know a bit of what will happen. The black ink will separate into different sections.)
That should be enough information for the first topic! Next, I will likely cover inorganic analysis, as it seems to be the most rational transition.
Signing off,
SM
The first topic is Organic Analysis. It is very important in detecting substances at a crime scene. Organic analysis uses methods from chemistry and biology to find different substances in a compound or mixture and compare unidentified substances from a scene to known ones.
If you have any chemistry background, you will know a bit about matter and compounds. For those unfamiliar, here is a simple description: Elements and Compounds
From there, we have organic compounds. An organic compound is any compound that contains the element carbon. All others are inorganic, and are therefore analyzed using different methods. Methods used for analyzing organic compounds include chromatography, electrophoresis, and spectrophotometry.
Chromatography separates mixtures into their different ingredients by bringing them from one place to another. It is often used with unknown mixtures of illegal drugs. The substance is attracted to something that stays in one place and is moved by another substance.
For example, gas chromatography moves one gas towards a liquid through another gas. It takes place in a device called a gas chromatograph (x) which includes a detection device. This detector creates a chromatogram, which is a graph comparing recorder response with time.
If an item is a solid, a process called pyrolysis will be used in order to decompose it into different gases. For heat-sensitive items, high-performance liquid chromatography, which works at room temperature, is used. Thin-layer chromatography, in which the substance is attracted across a solid plate, is used for solid and liquid items.
Electrophoresis is similar to thin-layer chromatography, only it uses electricity rather than a moving liquid to move the substance. This is often used for blood, proteins, and DNA. An electrophoresis process used to compare DNA samples for similarities and differences is called a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR for short.
Spectrophotometry measures the light absorption spectrum of a substance. It is similar to chromatography in that the light absorption spectrum of a substance, like the distance traveled of a chromatographed substance, can be compared to a known substance. A spectrometer is far more complex than a chromatography device and would take much longer to describe, so here's a more in-depth description: Spectrometer. Mass spectrometry allows for a completely unique pattern to be made for a substance while others are less exact. Chromatography is often done before or alongside spectrophotometry.
Although spectrophotometry and electrophoresis require expensive lab equipment and probably some training to use, chromatography can be done at home.
At-Home Chromatography
What You Need:
-paper towels
-black pen or marker
-disposable cup
-water
Instructions: Fill the cup with water. Tear the paper towel into strips, and use the marker to draw a line across the bottom of each one. Hang each strip on the side of the cup so that it dips into the water. Let it sit awhile. Observe the paper towel strips.
(Though I don't like to give away all the results of a science experiment that I am instructing somebody on, it is important to know a bit of what will happen. The black ink will separate into different sections.)
That should be enough information for the first topic! Next, I will likely cover inorganic analysis, as it seems to be the most rational transition.
Signing off,
SM
News and Views
Okay, that title sounded like some sort of watered-down political television programming.
But on to the views:
This blog has recently reached 616 views, 53 of which have been this week! Readers, old and new, thank you for all of your support. This may not seem like a ton of views but for a relatively new deduction blog this means a lot. : )
And of course, the news:
Since it's summer where I live, I will be spending a lot more time in the great outdoors! I plan to put up some information about animal and plant identification because that may aid in deductions. If you want to share any area-specific resources I would love your input!
Enjoy the weather! I know it's not summer everywhere right now, but I love summer, winter, spring, and fall almost equally so all weather is good weather to me.*
Signing off,
SM
*Especially rain and fog, but that's not really season-specific.
But on to the views:
This blog has recently reached 616 views, 53 of which have been this week! Readers, old and new, thank you for all of your support. This may not seem like a ton of views but for a relatively new deduction blog this means a lot. : )
And of course, the news:
Since it's summer where I live, I will be spending a lot more time in the great outdoors! I plan to put up some information about animal and plant identification because that may aid in deductions. If you want to share any area-specific resources I would love your input!
Enjoy the weather! I know it's not summer everywhere right now, but I love summer, winter, spring, and fall almost equally so all weather is good weather to me.*
Signing off,
SM
*Especially rain and fog, but that's not really season-specific.
Friday, June 10, 2016
Update and Intro to Book Reviews
I'm back! I'm alive! Miss me?
Okay, I did, like, disappear for a couple of months here.
Anyways, I should be back on schedule here; many of the big projects I've been spending time on will be finished soon.
So here's what you have to look forward to:
-Book reviews! I have recently obtained a whole lot of books related to deduction, persuasion, psychology, and forensic science. I will review them on this blog.
Now, some of my standard transparency/disclaimer stuff:
-Nobody is paying me to say anything about these books. These authors do not even know that I am reading these books, much less reviewing them. They could probably not care less what I say about these books because they have better things to worry about, like writing more books.
-If anybody ever does pay me to say anything about any of the books, gives me free copies (including advanced reading copies), or anything else that would add sufficient subjectivity to my reviewing, I will clearly write that. After all, they are depending on me for advertising here if they're doing that.
-I do not necessarily endorse everything about a book, an author, and/or the author's other activities and books. If an author writes/says/does/insinuates something in a book that somebody would consider significantly offensive, I will post that in the review. I do not necessarily agree with anything an author says or does unless I say so.
-If you would like to purchase any of the books, I encourage you to get them from your local library or support your local independent bookstores. I believe in giving back to the community and that's how I've gotten many of my favorite books.
That said, another important topic: forensic science!
I recently obtained a used forensic science textbook and am now curious and obsessed. I will be posting some things about different processes, etc. used to obtain evidence.
Short(er) disclaimer:
-If you try anything at home, PAYOR.
-Read up on all equipment, chemicals, etc. before you try an experiment.
-I am not responsible for any forensic science experiments you do.
-I will be posting instructions and results of my experiments. If you face a problem, particularly anything dangerous, please please please let me know so I can add a safety warning!
Stay tuned for more deductive reasoning!
Signing off,
SM
Okay, I did, like, disappear for a couple of months here.
Anyways, I should be back on schedule here; many of the big projects I've been spending time on will be finished soon.
So here's what you have to look forward to:
-Book reviews! I have recently obtained a whole lot of books related to deduction, persuasion, psychology, and forensic science. I will review them on this blog.
Now, some of my standard transparency/disclaimer stuff:
-Nobody is paying me to say anything about these books. These authors do not even know that I am reading these books, much less reviewing them. They could probably not care less what I say about these books because they have better things to worry about, like writing more books.
-If anybody ever does pay me to say anything about any of the books, gives me free copies (including advanced reading copies), or anything else that would add sufficient subjectivity to my reviewing, I will clearly write that. After all, they are depending on me for advertising here if they're doing that.
-I do not necessarily endorse everything about a book, an author, and/or the author's other activities and books. If an author writes/says/does/insinuates something in a book that somebody would consider significantly offensive, I will post that in the review. I do not necessarily agree with anything an author says or does unless I say so.
-If you would like to purchase any of the books, I encourage you to get them from your local library or support your local independent bookstores. I believe in giving back to the community and that's how I've gotten many of my favorite books.
That said, another important topic: forensic science!
I recently obtained a used forensic science textbook and am now curious and obsessed. I will be posting some things about different processes, etc. used to obtain evidence.
Short(er) disclaimer:
-If you try anything at home, PAYOR.
-Read up on all equipment, chemicals, etc. before you try an experiment.
-I am not responsible for any forensic science experiments you do.
-I will be posting instructions and results of my experiments. If you face a problem, particularly anything dangerous, please please please let me know so I can add a safety warning!
Stay tuned for more deductive reasoning!
Signing off,
SM
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