Tag Archives: Myth

The Golden Ratio: Design’s Biggest Myth

The golden ratio is total nonsense in design. Here’s why.

In the world of art, architecture, and design, the golden ratio has earned a tremendous reputation. Greats like Le Corbusier and Salvador Dalí have used the number in their work. The Parthenon, the Pyramids at Giza, the paintings of Michelangelo, the Mona Lisa, even the Apple logo are all said to incorporate it.

It’s bullshit. Read more »

Five Computer Security Myths, Debunked By Experts

Five Computer Security Myths, Debunked by Experts

 

Some computer security myths and stories that keep getting passed around, even though they’re clearly not true. We sat down with computer security experts to separate fact from fiction.

Title image made using Maksim Kabakou (Shutterstock) and iadams (Shutterstock). Additional photos by Alexandre Dulaunoy, snurre86, woodleywonderworks, and Håkan Dahlström

We know there are still some computer security stories that everyday users continue to believe, even though they have either been long debunked, or because they keep getting spread around.

We sat down with computer security and forensics experts Frederick Lane and Peter Theobald to get to the truth behind some security myths we’ve all encountered on a regular basis.

Myth #1: No One Would Want To Hack Me, I Don’t Have Anything Worth Taking

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30 Life Hacks Debunked

 

Food Myths and Facts

“Sugar is toxic.” “Don’t eat after 7 pm.” “Avoid all white foods.” “Going gluten-free or low-glycemic is the best way to lose weight.” “All of the nutrition is in the skin of fruits and veggies.”

The statements above are like magnets – pulling us in as we walk past the magazine rack or, worse yet, when we walk down a supermarket aisle. Consumers are hungry for miracle cures and easy ways to get healthy and slim without making much of an effort to get there. But buyer beware: Not all of the so-called “facts” you read about are true and, in fact, some food myths harm more than help.

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WWII Propaganda Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help See in Dark

The science is pretty sound that carrots, by virtue of their heavy dose of Vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene), are good for your eye health. A 1998 Johns Hopkins study, as reported by the New York Times, even found that supplemental pills could reverse poor vision among those with a Vitamin A deficiency. But as John Stolarczyk knows all too well as curator of the World Carrot Museum, the truth has been stretched into a pervasive myth that carrots hold within a super-vegetable power: improving  your night-time vision. But carrots cannot help you see better in the dark any more than eating blueberries will turn you blue.

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