FYI Dept.: iTunes 8 Genius Test Results, Ad Frank Edition

So, contrary to my "Let the suckers do the beta testing" instincts, I upgraded to iTunes 8 in order to check out its new "Genius" function, a 'smart filter' that will take any song selection and "create a playlist of other songs from your library that go great together"(while also recommending songs to purchase from iTunes store).

Naturally I decided to push its limits and ignore the obvious. Being lazy and unscientific I limited the test to three playlists.

Playlist One tests how well Genius handles Nerd Soundtracks choices, with trigger song being "Captain Scarlet Main Theme (Stereo Version w/Narration)" (click images to enlarge):





Playlist Two tests how well Genius handles Cult Rocker Personal Friends From Boston:



Test Three is a triple bind - how well can Genius handle a selection that could either be JPop,Anime, or Superhero Muze?:



As you can see, Genius come out with a score of "Not Bad." For example, Playlist One's rather superb matching of Ifukube, Goldsmith, and Morricone goes seriously awry with the jump to Bernstein (and not Elmer).

Playlist Two disappoints with the obvious yet appropriate matching of Ad Frank and Bowie, but segueing from "Everything Counts" to "Atlantic City" gets points for ballsiness.

Finally Playlist Three resolves the Triple Bind by maniacally shuttling back and forth between genres resulting in such awesome song selections as "Take The Skinheads Bowling" into "Imperial March" from Star Wars into "Spider-man TV Theme" by the Ramones. Astounding.

Who wants to trade Genius Playlists?

Gamblers Do So Love The Buffet

It appears that there is a real connection 'twixt risk-taking, predation, and vegemaniarianism, at least in the 'it's just a theory' Simian part of the brain.

"Chimpanzees turned out to be big risk-takers, being invariably tempted to go for the grand prize even if this also meant frequent disappointment.

Bonobos, like humans, were strongly risk-adverse, and preferred to go for the fixed, dependable reward.

The chimps' love of risk is in keeping with previous findings. Compared with bonobos, chimpanzees are more patient, waiting longer to get their hands on a delayed treat.

And their risk-taking strategy is also confirmed by the fact that, unlike bonobos, they hunt, kill and eat colobus monkeys. If the hunt comes off, the group gets to feast on protein-rich colobus meat -- if not, they all go hungry.

The distinction is intriguing, because in many respects the two primate species are very similar, having diverged from a common ancestor less than a million years ago, which in evolutionary terms is recent.

They have similar body size and appearance and share much of the same behaviour and social hierarchy.

The difference, though, lies in their diet. Both apes feed heavily on fruit, but bonobos also tuck into herbaceous vegetation on the ground, which is a more reliable source of sustenance.

In addition, bonobos may also have access to larger fruit patches, facing less competition within a given patch than chimpanzees.

So what makes chimps gamble is a clever survival mechanism -- their food resources are less certain, which means they have learnt to cope with going for big or bust, say the authors, led by Sarah Heilbronner of Harvard University and Duke University, North Carolina."

Link to article in full here.

Guess that explains THIS: