Clipmarks | wildcat's Comments

Why We're All Moral Hypocrites

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:59:09 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The researchers then "constrained cognition" by asking subjects to memorize long strings of numbers. In this greatly distracted state, subjects became impartial. They thought their own transgressions were just as terrible as those of others.

This suggests that we are intuitively moral beings, but "when we are given time to think about it, we construct arguments about why what we did wasn’t that bad,"

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Most of us, whether we admit it or not, are moral hypocrites. We judge others more severely than we judge ourselves.

Mounting evidence suggests moral decisions result from the jousting between our knee-jerk responses (think "survival instinct") and our slower, but more collected evaluations. Which is more responsible for our self-leniency?

a recent study presented people with two tasks.

One was described as tedious and time-consuming

the other, easy and brief.

The subjects were asked to assign each task to either themselves or the next participant.

They could do this independently or defer to a computer, which would assign the tasks randomly.

Eighty-five percent of 42 subjects passed up the computer’s objectivity and assigned themselves the short task – leaving the laborious one to someone else.

Furthermore, they thought their decision was fair

However, when 43 other subjects watched strangers make the same decision, they thought it unjust.

Tags: behavior, morality, psychology

The Illusion of Reality

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:21:26 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Science from the BBC.
Last episode in the ATOM series 2007

Clip Source: video.google.com

[Video]

Ordinary into Genius- Genes

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:40:18 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: io9.com

Scientists Identify Genes that Could Turn Ordinary People into Supergeniuses (or Mindless Drones)

It's clear that there's a specific set of genes responsible for brain development when you're in the womb, and that those genes affect your ability to learn later on. But now a group of researchers in the U.S. and Canada have identified those genes. And their discovery could represent the first step in tweaking brain development. It's possible that that knocking out some of those genes or adding extra copies of them to a developing baby could result in the tailor-made human minds of Brave New World: Some will be born to develop cutting-edge technologies, and others to be slow-witted and compliant.

Published this weekend in PLoS Genetics, the study is extraordinary not just because of its futuristic implications, but because of the cool new super-rapid system the researchers used to identify which genes are active during brain development. The technique is called RNA interference, or RNAi:

Tags: genetics, genes, dna, genius, drones

The Story of Stuff

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:19:16 GMT

clipped by: syncopath
clipper's remarks: you can watch it on site: www.storyofstuff.com
on youtube, google video and more ....

Clip Source: www.storyofstuff.com

What is the Story of Stuff?

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

The Story of Stuff - Ch.1: Introduction

[Video]

Who am I?

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:18:01 GMT

clipped by: wasted256
clipper's remarks: Think about it.

Clip Source: profile.myspace.com

Who am I? "Whomsoever you think, because it depends on you. If you look at me with total emptiness, I will be different. If you look at me with ideas, those ideas will color me; if you come to me with a prejudice, then I will be different. I am just a mirror. Your own face will be reflected."

Tags: philosophy, thinking

B- membrane: The computer of tomorrow

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:40:00 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Wow!

Clip Source: www.odditycentral.com

The computer of tomorrow

Conceived by Korean designer Won-Seok-Lee, the “B-membrane” is one of the most interesting PC prototypes I’ve ever seen.

The B-membrane looks nothing like a conventional computer, more like a spaceship or space station, but it is indeed a PC, able to project an image of your desktop on any surface you can point its omni-directional projector at, thus rendering even the slimmest LCD monitor useless. It also has a membrane keyboard and mouse that appear only when you need them too, and an optical drive.

The B-membrane isn’t useless even when it is shut-down, its smart projector turns it into an ambient light-effects system to spice up the look of your crib.

Tags: pc, computer, lcd, monitor, projection, desktop, invention, pioneer, korea, won-seok-lee

How the Declaration of Independence Changed the World

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:10:12 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

In between mouthfuls of hot dogs and potato salad, Americans on this July Fourth might actually ponder those famous phrases scrawled near the top of the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

When he penned the Declaration in 1776, Thomas Jefferson had an inkling of the consequences it held for the 13 colonies, who were announcing their intention to break free from the shackles of British rule. What he may not have anticipated, however, were the widespread effects his powerful words would also have around the world.

The Declaration of Independence didn't just change the course of American history, but created a ripple effect that nudged a host of other nations toward independence, making a revolutionary poster boy of Jefferson in the process.

The Enlightenment

Tags: declaration of independence, world, jefferson

Ernest Hemingway’s Top 9 Words of Wisdom

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:53:55 GMT

clipped by: revenantdm
clipper's remarks: Hemingway was an amazing man - a rare talent. Sometimes happy, sometimes morose but always entertaining We may never know what made him decide to take his own life (outside of despondency), but we can learn from the ultimate "tough man.'
Hemingway's Cabana is still preserved as it was in Cubs. He was a personal favorite of Fidel Castro and a cultural icon to the people of Cuba.

Clip Source: www.positivityblog.com

Ernest Hemingway’s Top 9 Words of Wisdom

“The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.”

1. Listen

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”

2. Take the first step.

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”

3. Keep your eyes on where you are going.

“Never mistake motion for action.”

4. Just do.

“The shortest answer is doing the thing.”

5. Do. Fail. Learn. Do.

“The first draft of anything is shit”

6. Find strength through your tough times.

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”

7. Don’t get hung up on the small things in life.

“The man who has begun to live more seriously within begins to live more simply without.”

8. Don’t let your imagination hold you back

“Cowardice … is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.”

9. Don’t judge

“The writer’s job is not to judge, but to seek to understand.”

Tags: advice, wisdom, top, list, hemingway, writer

Singularities Enough, and Time

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:57:57 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: A fascinating take by Jamais Cascio, clear headed and to the point

Clip Source: www.openthefuture.com

• There may be developed computers that are "awake" and superhumanly intelligent. (To date, there has been much controversy as to whether we can create human equivalence in a machine. But if the answer is "yes, we can", then there is little doubt that beings more intelligent can be constructed shortly thereafter.)
• Large computer networks (and their associated users) may "wake up" as a superhumanly intelligent entity.
• Computer/human interfaces may become so intimate that users may reasonably be considered superhumanly intelligent.
• Biological science may provide means to improve natural human intellect.

You don't have to believe in godlike super-AIs to see that this kind of intelligence enhancement can lead to some pretty significant results as the systems get more complex, datasets get bigger, connections get faster, and interfaces become ever more useable.

Tags: singularity, technology, future

10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:34:22 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

Although the brain-computer metaphor has served cognitive psychology well, research in cognitive neuroscience has revealed many important differences between brains and computers. Appreciating these differences may be crucial to understanding the mechanisms of neural information processing, and ultimately for the creation of artificial intelligence. Below, I review the most important of these differences (and the consequences to cognitive psychology of failing to recognize them): similar ground is covered in this excellent (though lengthy) lecture.

Difference # 1: Brains are analogue; computers are digital

Difference # 2: The brain uses content-addressable memory

Difference # 3: The brain is a massively parallel machine; computers are modular and serial

Difference # 4: Processing speed is not fixed in the brain; there is no system clock

Difference # 5 - Short-term memory is not like RAM

Difference # 6: No hardware/software distinction can be made with respect to the brain or mind

Tags: computers, brains, metaphors

Principia Cybernetica Electronic Library

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:42:34 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: pespmc1.vub.ac.be

Principia Cybernetica Electronic Library

This electronic library provides free, downloadable copies of basic books on cybernetics and systems science.

There are relatively few good books on the domain of cybernetics and systems. Moreover, many of those books are out of print, and therefore difficult to find. As part of the Principia Cybernetica mission of making cybernetics and systems thinking better known, we have decided to republish some of these books electronically, so that everybody can profit from their ideas. Most of the books we selected are broad in scope, non-technical, and require little or no mathematics.

Tags: principia cybernetica, electronic library, cybernetics, systems science

Meet Peter Higgs, father of the 'God Particle'

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:25:11 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: To many people, the sole purpose of the LHC is to find the famous Higgs boson. James Randerson met the self-effacing man behind the legend

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peter Higgs rarely gives interviews. The 79-year-old might be a shoo-in for a Nobel prize if the LHC finds evidence for the fundamental particle he proposed in 1964 - known as the Higgs boson or, more colourfully, the God Particle - but he is a reluctant rock-star scientist, too self-deprecating to even refer to the particle by name. He prefers to call it the "boson named after me".

Particle physicist Peter Higgs, who in 1964 proposed the existence of a fundamental particle – now known as the Higgs boson – that gives all matter its mass.

Finding the Higgs boson is probably the only thing many people outside physics know about the impending experiments at Cern. And until recently, the man behind it has been as mysterious as the missing particle.

In April, Higgs visited Geneva for a peek at the LHC before it was super-cooled with liquid helium, ready for the near light-speed buzz of the first proton beam around the ring.

Tags: science

The Web Knows How

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:29:35 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: and again where is clipversity?

Clip Source: www.technewsworld.com

Just about any practical task -- from changing a motorcycle's oil filter to the proper care and feeding of a pet monkey -- can be found on the Web on sites like WikiHow and Howcast. The sites vary widely in their approaches. Some limit their offerings to in-house video clips, while others employ a wiki model and make themselves completely open to revisions from anyone.

Terri Rossman considers herself a visual learner. So when the 52-year-old marketing professional wanted to learn a new knitting stitch, she turned to the Web.

"I searched for 'knit bobble stitch' on Google and I found a video of someone doing it," said Rossman, who lives in the Detroit area. "It was perfect for me."

The Web has become the place where people go to learn new tricks. Traffic to sites like eHow.com and WikiHow.com have doubled over the past year, according to figures from ComScore Networks, while start-ups such as Howcast.com and Findhow.com, a search engine to find "how-to" content, are entering the field.

Tags: web, net, knowledge, learning

Oliver Sacks: Certified Rennaisance Man

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 05:49:04 GMT

clipped by: ouyangwulong
clipper's remarks: After a long spell of academic inclination towards specialization, it is refreshing to see at least one university leaning back towards recognizing breadth.

I've long enjoyed Sacks, not because he writes challenging, detailed pieces - he has placed himself squarely in the current of popular science, or at least, made his science popular. What I admire is his earnest interest in so many subjects, without pretense. He uses his expertise as a window through which to view the stunning breadth of the human landscape, rather than as a microscope to focus on the esoteric minutiae that defines the careers of many less creative, less humanistic researchers.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Oliver Sacks Joins Columbia Faculty as ‘Artist’

Attracted by his breadth of interests, ranging from schizophrenia to music, Columbia University has appointed Oliver Sacks, the neurologist and writer, as its first Columbia artist, a newly created designation.

The new appointment will allow Dr. Sacks, the author of 10 books and a frequent contributor to The New Yorker, to range freely across Columbia’s departments, teaching, giving public lectures, conducting seminars, seeing patients and collaborating with other faculty members. Many of the details of his appointment have yet to be worked out, but among other things, he will be teaching in the university’s creative writing department as well as at the medical school.

Tags: oliver sacks, neurology, art, columbia university

The Duplicates Paradox

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:38:52 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Personal identity is perceived as continuous through time. Yet this perception cannot be instantaneous, and must be based on memory. Given the fact that memories can be forgotten, altered or even fabricated, the question arises as to whether memories are essential for personal identity. Certainly no specific memory seems necessary for identity, but a perception of a continuity of the memory process is often believed to be. Subjective experience involves not just memory, but thoughts, desires, feelings and personality. Even when subjectivity is focused on the "outside world", this focus necessarily has a point of view. Any attempt to describe personal identity impersonally will lose an essential element. A self has both sensation and will.

Clip Source: www.benbest.com

The idea that personal identity (mind, self, will) is entirely contained in the molecular and biological structure of the brain (ie, is entirely material) implies that a duplicate identity could be created that is identical in every way except physical location

It is said that most molecules in the body are replaced every few years, presumably also including the molecules of the brain. This implies that the exact atoms and molecules of which our identity is constituted are not essential to that identity. Thus, lives and minds are much like a candle flame -- life, consciousness and selfhood continues with a material basis despite the fact that the exact material (atoms and molecules) change.

Personal identity is perceived as continuous through time. Yet this perception cannot be instantaneous, and must be based on memory

Tags: mind, philosophy, duplicates, paradox