31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Airplane VS Airship
The histo ry o f flying is a goo d example to loo k at in
detail fo r insight into the interactio n o f techno lo gy with
human affairs, because two radically different techno logies
were co mpeting fo r survival- in the beginning
they were called heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air.
The airplane and the airship were no t o nly physically
different in shape and s ize but also so cio lo gically different.
The airplane grew o ut o f dreams o f perso nal
adventure. The airship grew o ut o f dr...Folksonomies: culture technology
Folksonomies: culture technology
1 
notes
notes21 APR 2014 by ideonexus
Mathematics is one of humanity's great achievements
Mathematics is one of humanity’s great achievements. By enhancing the
capabilities of the human mind, mathematics has facilitated the development
of science, technology, engineering, business, and government. Mathematics
is also an intellectual achievement of great sophistication and beauty that
epitomizes the power of deductive reasoning. For people to participate fully
in society, they must know basic mathematics. Citizens who cannot reason
mathematically are cut off from whole realms of hu...Folksonomies: education mathematics
Folksonomies: education mathematics
1 notes
notesMathematical illiteracy is crippling.
27 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Post WWI vs Post WWII Human Civilization
After the horrific agonies of World War One, the progressive worldview was rejected both in America and abroad, partly due to narrow minded self-interest, but also because humanity was otherwise preoccupied. Like careening drunks, we commenced a long and horrible infatuation with ideologies — from communism and fascism to nationalist jingoism and every other "ism" imaginable. Hitler and Stalin were no more than particularly gruesome manifestations of this fever — a passion for simplistic visi... 1 notes
notesDr. Brin describes one world-society obsessed with "isms" against one vowing to rebuild civilization, even those of our enemies.
16 MAR 2013 by ideonexus
How the Computer Will See the World
We find all the no-life-support-wealth-producing people going to their 1980 jobs in their cars or buses, spending trillions of dollars' worth of pe¬ troleum daily to get to their no-wealth-producing jobs. It doesn't take a computer to tell you that it will save both Universe and humanity trillions of dollars a day to pay them handsomely to stay at home.
History's political and economic power structures have always fearfully abhorred "idle people" as potential troublemakers. Yet nature never... 1 notes
notesMillions of people wasting energy, driving to jobs that serve little purpose when they could be much more productive at home
08 JAN 2013 by ideonexus
The Problem with the "Atheist"
As I've said, I've never believed in God, which technically makes me an atheist (since the prefix "a" means "not" or "without"). But I have problems with the word "atheism." It defines what someone is not rather than what someone is. It would be like calling me an a-instrumentalist for Bad Religion rather than the band's singer. Defining yourself as against something says very little about what you are for.
That's my biggest objection to the wave of atheist book^ks and Web sites that have c...
1 Not only does it define someone by what they aren't, it also suffers from an incredible vagueness that tells people nothing about what a person thinks.
14 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Petitionary Prayer
I was raised in a culture of petition, inculcated from an early age with a repertoire of formulaic prayers addressed to God, his angels, or his saints. All of the prayers assumed a response: Here I am, Lord, deserving of your attention, favor, heating, forgiveness. Never did it pass my mind that my prayers were not heard. My education was hemmed about with a huge body of stories affirming God's intervention in human affairs. Had not every religious person experienced firsthand the power of pr... 1 notes
notesChet Raymo describes his experiences with prayer and reevaluating it after encountering science later in life.
01 FEB 2012 by ideonexus
The Origin and Evolution of Scientific Terms
It is interesting to note how many fundamental terms which the social sciences are trying to adopt from physics have as a matter of historical fact originated in the social field. Take, for instance, the notion of cause. The Greek aitia or the Latin causa was originally a purely legal term. It was taken over into physics, developed there, and in the 18th century brought back as a foreign-born kind for the adoration of the social sciences. The same is true of the concept of law of nature. Orig... 1 notes
notesHow terms migrate from science to science, changing their meaning as they go.
