January 2012
61 posts
Online echo chambers: A study of 250 million...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Today, Facebook is publishing a study that disproves some hoary conventional wisdom about the Web. According to this new research, the online echo chamber doesn’t exist. This is of particular interest to me. Via slate.com
“No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a...”
– Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time, vol. 1 (p. 60 of the edition pictured) as quoted in:
Pieces Of Light: The madeleine moment
“Who’s There?” Is The Self A Convenient Fiction?
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future For a long time people thought that the self was unified and eternal. It’s easy to see why. We feel like we have an essence; we grow old, gain and lose friends, and change preferences but we are … Via whywereason.wordpress.com
Why do we still believe when we know it’s probably...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future It’s not about the benefits we gain from believing in this or that. Or the supposed reality of the objects these beliefs describe.
It’s all about cost. Via questionablemotives.wordpress.com
“By and large, digital books and readers have given people a new and convenient...”
– Our Digital Book Future: Turning A New Virtual Page In Human Evolution - Forbes
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“Thus in the transition to the global brain we will see both trends operating...”
– Cliff Joslyn on the Global Brain
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““The way we experience space is no longer only about our physical surroundings;...”
– Sci-Fi-Infused Videos Show Off Keiichi Matsuda’s Vision of the Future | Underwire | Wired.com
Sci-Fi-Infused Videos Show Off Keiichi Matsuda’s...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future We are living in the future — Keiichi Matsuda knows that. Working from London and Tokyo, the 27-year-old designer and filmmaker creates innovative videos that blend architecture, virtual reality, social networking and sci-fi, offering a glimpse into how augmented reality could play out in the coming years.His two most recognized films,...
“If you think that mathematical objects are not in time, and mathematical objects...”
– What Happened Before the Big Bang? The New Philosophy of Cosmology - Technology - The Atlantic
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What Happened Before the Big Bang? The New...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Last May, Stephen Hawking gave a talk at Google’s Zeitgeist Conference in which he declared philosophy to be dead. In his book The Grand Design, Hawking went even further. “How can we understand the world in which we find ourselves? How does the universe behave? What is the nature of reality? Where did all this come from? Traditionally...
Could the Internet Ever Be Destroyed? | Is the...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future The Internet is so vast and interconnected that it would be impossible to destroy completely; however, there is much about it that could be ruined or lost. Via livescience.com
“Our phenomenology has a rich and specific structure. It is unified, bounded, and...”
– D.Chalmers as quoted in:
The New Atlantis » What Consciousness Is Not
Managing Collective Intelligence-If you think...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future […] Chapter 9A live experiment in collective intelligence!
If you think knowledge is power, you aren’t living in the real world. Knowledgechanges so fast that if you try to hold onto it, you end up with nothing. To get power,it is much more effective to share knowledge and thus build the basis for a reputation.If people think you have key...
» Is Marriage Outdated? - Psych Central News
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Is it a sign of the times that researchers suggest the longstanding belief that marriage conveys unique physical and psychological benefits is outdated? A new study, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, finds that marriage provides few additional benefits compared to couples living together. While researchers did discover marriage and...
“The magic of art is in the accessibility to singular states of sight and...”
– Xaos: The Aesthetic Ground part 3
“When we speak of the “middle” in a hard medium, what we see is the center in a...”
– Fantastic post from Xaos #Polytopia
Xaos: The Aesthetic Ground part 3
Cognitive scientists develop new take on old...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Why did language evolve? While the answer might seem obvious — as a way for individuals to exchange information — linguists and other students of communication have debated this question for years. Via physorg.com
Study shows that kids, unlike adults, think...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Growing up with the Internet gives today’s children a very unique view on the way the world works — one that is vastly different from that of older generations.
These kids, the ‘digital natives,” are raised with modern technology deeply embedded into their lives, and form a natural understanding of its benefits. This deeply rooted acceptance...
“Trans Luminal mail is a repository of letters written by unknowns to unknowns,...”
– Wildcat: The Trans Luminal mail archives The Flow of Openings TLMAP 088011 SciFi
(new Sci-Fi project of mine)
“Perhaps no one was more eloquent about the true purpose of reading than French...”
– Socrates’ nightmare - The New York Times
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Melancholy Elephants by Spider Robinson / best...
If you have never read the short story Melancholy Elephants by Spider Robinson you will do well to do so now, concerning the future of copyright / probably the best science fiction story ever written on this important subject and of course highly pertinent today.
go read it here >
Melancholy Elephants
by Spider Robinson
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Can A Scientist Define "Life"? By Carl Zimmer |...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future In November 2011, NASA launched its biggest, most ambitious mission to Mars. The $2.5 billion Mars Science Lab spacecraft will arrive in orbit around the Red Planet this August, releasing a lander that will use rockets to control a slow descent into the atmosphere. Equipped with a “sky crane,” the lander will gently lower the one-ton Curosity...
“Space may not be smooth and continuous. Instead it may be digital, composed of...”
– Is Space Digital?: Scientific American
Synthetic Biology: Key Field of the Future
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Synthetic biology is a field of science that has been emerging in the last few years and could have a significant future impact with the potential to pro-actively manage biology and reshape many industrial sectors. Specifically, synthetic biology or bioengineering is the creation of living systems from nonliving chemicals designed on a computer;...
Sexual Freedom - an interview with VenusPlusX/ Are...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Are we ready for global-wide sexual liberation? Is accelerated social and technical progress possible without it? VenusPlusX commits itself to these provocative questions. Are we ready for global-wide sexual liberation? Is accelerated social and technical progress possible without it? VenusPlusX commits itself to these provocative questions....
Discovery Could Lead to an Exercise Pill - A newly...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Researchers have discovered a natural hormone that acts like exercise on muscle tissue—burning calories, improving insulin processing, and perhaps boosting strength. The scientists hope it could eventually be used as a treatment for obesity, diabetes, and, potentially, neuromuscular diseases like muscular dystrophy. In a paper published online...
TechCrunch | Do We Need Doctors Or Algorithms?
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Eventually, we won’t need the average doctor and will have much better and cheaper care for 90-99% of our medical needs. We will still need to leverage the top 10 or 20% of doctors (at least for the next two decades) to help that bionic software get better at diagnosis. So a world mostly without doctors (at least average ones) is not only not...
“We will soon be able to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman and...”
– “Abundance” and “Radical Abundance”: Upcoming Books By Peter Diamandis and Eric Drexler
“You probably hate the idea that human judgment can be improved or even replaced...”
– The Surprising Path Of Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch
“When I finally grow up I wish to be a philosophical virtual God, and the reason...”
– Wildcat: When I finally grow up I wish to be a philosophical virtual god PVg heres why
A friend just reminded me to continue writing this piece, so I will.. eventually..
“We are neural beings,” states Berkeley cognitive scientist George Lakoff. “Our...”
– Brainy Trees, Metaphorical Forests: On Neuroscience, Embodiment, and Architecture | Neuroanthropology
Brainy Trees, Metaphorical Forests: On...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Inspiration and interpretation are inevitable. As metaphor is basic to what we do, so emerging results in neuroscience will be taken well beyond the intentions and even meanings of their authors. Much caution and critique will be needed. Yet at the same time, I want to preserve a space for this other mantle, from science to art and humanism. To...
Resurrecting extinct proteins shows how a machine...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future By bringing long-dead proteins back to life, researchers have worked out the process by which evolution added a component to a cellular machine, Nature News Blog reports. The result, they say, is a challenge to proponents of intelligent design who maintain that complex biological systems can only have been created by a divine force. Cells rely on...
Deconstructing Utopia in science fiction: irony...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Utopian formulations, in some form or another, formed the basis of science fiction (SF) at its inception (1) and can be said to still lie at the root of most SF texts. Thomas More’s initial conception of an ideal society that exists in a space and time that is both ou topos (no place) and eu topos (happy place) is frequently played out in...
Science Mag Launches Fiction Spinoff-MIT's...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future Technology Review, MIT’s science magazine for consumers, is branching out into science fiction with a new annual publication called TRSF.The new 80-page pub, available in paper and electronic form for $7.95, contains 12 stories of the near future from such authors as Cory Doctorow, Joe Haldeman and Pat Cadigan. Technology Review has...
Astronaut to lead starship effort-ormer astronaut...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future The Pentagon’s premiere research agency has chosen a former astronaut to lead a foundation that is designed to take humanity to the stars. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) and Nasa are sponsoring the project, known as the 100-Year Starship. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to go into space, was notified last...
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The Case of the Missing Polygamists | The Primate...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future There is no greater mystery in human evolution than the origins of our sexuality. Following the trail of clues available researchers have independently concluded that humans evolved through systems of monogamy, polygamy, as well as polyamory. However, only one can be the culprit. Like a detective interrogating multiple suspects, the solution...
Internet Access Is Not a Human Right'Technology is...
Via Scoop.it - Knowmads, Infocology of the future FROM the streets of Tunis to Tahrir Square and beyond, protests around the world last year were built on the Internet and the many devices that interact with it. Though the demonstrations thrived because thousands of people turned out to participate, they could never have happened as they did without the ability that the Internet offers to...