04 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Genes versus Hormones in Homosexuality
It is clear, however, that the cause of homosexuality lies in some unusual balance of hormonal influence in the womb but not later on, a fact that further supports the idea that the mentality of sexual preference is affected by prenatal sex hormones. This is not incompatible with the growing evidence that homosexuality is genetically determined. The "gay gene" that I will discuss in the ext chapter is widely expected to turn out to be a series of genes that affect the sensitivity of certain t...Are the genes for homosexuality like the genes for height? Not a predetermined thing, but putting us in averages?
03 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Esther Dyson Describes the NIIAC
The NIIAC was a well-meaning attempt to collect a diversity of opinion to make sure the emerging "NII" was useful to all Americans, and it probably did more good than I suspected at the time ... The members included the usual suspects: a librarian; a grade school teacher; a communications workers' union official; the head of BMI, a copyright agency; several telecom executives; several "content" people, including a legal publisher and a music-company executive; and old lawyer fried of the Clin...This is the organization Al Gore formed to help formulate policy on how the fed could grow the Internet.