30 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Information Fertilizes Moral Growth
...a flow of information can fertilize moral growth. Scholars who have puzzled over the trajectory of material progress in different parts of the world, such as the economist Thomas Sowell in his Culture trilogy and the physiologist Jared Diamond in Guns, Germs, and Steel, have concluded that the key to material success is being situated in a large catchment area of innovations.306 No one is smart enough to invent anything in isolation that anyone else would want to use. Successful innovators...Folksonomies: information morality
Folksonomies: information morality
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notes30 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Pessimism in Predictions and the False Sense of Insecurity
You would think that the disappearance of the gravest threat in the history of humanity would bring a sigh of relief among commentators on world affairs. Contrary to expert predictions, there was no invasion of Western Europe by Soviet tanks, no escalation of a crisis in Cuba or Berlin or the Middle East to a nuclear holocaust.1 The cities of the world were not vaporized; the atmosphere was not poisoned by radioactive fallout or choked with debris that blacked out the sun and sent Homo sapien...Folksonomies: perspective pessimism
Folksonomies: perspective pessimism
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notes19 FEB 2015 by ideonexus
Oliver Sacks on Focus in the Last Months of Life
I feel a sudden clear focus and perspective. There is no time for anything inessential. I must focus on myself, my work and my friends. I shall no longer look at “NewsHour” every night. I shall no longer pay any attention to politics or arguments about global warming.
This is not indifference but detachment — I still care deeply about the Middle East, about global warming, about growing inequality, but these are no longer my business; they belong to the future. I rejoice when I meet gi... 1 notes
notes21 JUN 2014 by ideonexus
There is a mass exodus into the virtual world
The real world just doesn’t offer up as easily the carefully designed pleasures,
the thrilling challenges, and the powerful social bonding afforded by
virtual environments. Reality doesn’t motivate us as effectively. Reality isn’t
engineered to maximize our potential. Reality wasn’t designed from the bottom
up to make us happy.
And so, there is a growing perception in the gaming community:
Reality, compared to games, is broken.
In fact, it is more than a perception. It’s a phenom...Folksonomies: education gamification
Folksonomies: education gamification
1 notes
notes07 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
History of Science and Religion
Some people want to put warning stickers on biology textbooks, saying that the theory of evolution is just one of many theories, take it or leave it. Now, religion long predates science; it'll be here forever. That's not the issue. The problem comes when religion enters the science classroom. There's no tradition of scientists knocking down the Sunday school door, telling preachers what to teach. Scientists don't picket churches. By and arge—though it may not look this way today—science a... 1 notes
notesHow the Middle East was the center of scientific progress until religious fever took over it, the same is seen in Jewish and Christian cultures.
22 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Need to Get Off Foreign Oil
New technologies are advancing to the marketplace. but consumers can be wary of change. If they unequivocally demand alternatives to gasoline, for example, the marketplace will be activated, but ±ere is plenty of resistance to overcome. Recently, the president of Shell Oil, John Hoffmeister, expressed his views on world demand for energy and business opportunities ahead. Shell Oil's position, as Hoffmeister explained it, is ±at America will always need foreign oil even as it aggressively de...Folksonomies: environmentalism alternative energy
Folksonomies: environmentalism alternative energy
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notesGingrich argues that we cannot have an intelligent conversation on alternative energies and oil production unless we agree on this principle.
03 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
No One Will Join the Military to Fight the Zombies
Even if the coffers hadn’t been empty, if we’d had all the money to make all the uniforms we needed to implement Phase Two, who do you think we could have conned into filling them? This goes to the heart of America’s war weariness. As if the “traditional” horrors weren’t bad enough—the dead, the disfigured, the psychologically destroyed—now you had a whole new breed of difficulties, “The Betrayed.” We were a volunteer army, and look what happened to our volunteers. How man... 1 notes
notesThe volunteer military cannot find personnel after endless wars in the Middle East and the Government betraying soldiers by overextending their commitments prevents volunteers from being willing to sign up.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Evolution of Lactose Tolerance
One case involves our ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk.
An enzyme called lactase breaks down this sugar into the more easily
absorbed sugars glucose and galactose. We are born with the ability to
digest milk, of course, for that’s always been the main food of infants.
But after we’re weaned, we gradually stop producing lactase. Eventually,
many of us entirely lose our ability to digest lactose, becoming “lactose
intolerant” and prone to diarrhea, bloating, and cramps a... 1 notes
notesSome groups of humans evolved the ability to digest milk beyond infancy as their societies domesticated cows.
