We need to shed our prehistoric policymaking practices and turn to evolution for guidance, argues David Sloan Wilson.
For almost everyone, evolution is about fossils, dinosaurs and human origins. But it should also be about governance, education, health, peace and virtually every other public policy issue relevant to human welfare.
Why is evolutionary theory missing from the toolkit of politicians and their expert advisers?
plus
The Evolution Institute
28 December 2009
27 December 2009
This Cyborg Life
Aimee Mullins asks: Racing on Carbon Fiber Legs, How Abled Should We Be?
Advantage is just something that is part of sports. No athletes are created equal. They simply aren't, due to a multitude of factors including geography, access to training, facilities, health care, injury prevention, and sure, technology.
"It makes me twitch when we talk about 'a level playing field.' No two athletes are the same genetically and environmentally, and the mental and emotional factors they've endured in their life are relevant in their performance, too. The only reason athletes today are better than those of decades ago is because of science and technology: We know exactly what and when to feed our bodies for maximum energy, we have lighter shoes and better bikes and new rubberized track surfaces and (legal) supplements and altitude training. We are upping the ante each Olympic year with 'smarter' design of an athlete's tools, both inside and outside the body."
"Let's think about Tiger Woods having not one, but two LASIK surgeries to achieve 20/15 vision, when what we consider the best of natural vision to be is a mere 20/20. Before his first LASIK surgery, Woods had lost 16 straight tournaments. Immediately following the surgery, he won 7 of his next 10. Advantage through technology, or not?"
Maybe our acceptance of Tiger's LASIK super vision is really answered in the question, "Can everyone have access to it?" In other words, perhaps because the average citizen out there on the street can get laser surgery, it's okay for Tiger to get it, too, whereas the nature of a bionic prosthetic is still viewed as exclusive
Advantage is just something that is part of sports. No athletes are created equal. They simply aren't, due to a multitude of factors including geography, access to training, facilities, health care, injury prevention, and sure, technology.
"It makes me twitch when we talk about 'a level playing field.' No two athletes are the same genetically and environmentally, and the mental and emotional factors they've endured in their life are relevant in their performance, too. The only reason athletes today are better than those of decades ago is because of science and technology: We know exactly what and when to feed our bodies for maximum energy, we have lighter shoes and better bikes and new rubberized track surfaces and (legal) supplements and altitude training. We are upping the ante each Olympic year with 'smarter' design of an athlete's tools, both inside and outside the body."
"Let's think about Tiger Woods having not one, but two LASIK surgeries to achieve 20/15 vision, when what we consider the best of natural vision to be is a mere 20/20. Before his first LASIK surgery, Woods had lost 16 straight tournaments. Immediately following the surgery, he won 7 of his next 10. Advantage through technology, or not?"
Maybe our acceptance of Tiger's LASIK super vision is really answered in the question, "Can everyone have access to it?" In other words, perhaps because the average citizen out there on the street can get laser surgery, it's okay for Tiger to get it, too, whereas the nature of a bionic prosthetic is still viewed as exclusive
The Human SuperOrganism
Bugs Inside: What Happens When the Microbes That Keep Us Healthy Disappear?
The human body has some 10 trillion human cells, but 10 times that number of microbial cells. Some researchers think of our bodies as superorganisms.
With rapid changes in sanitation, medicine and lifestyle in the past century, some of these indigenous species are facing decline, displacement and possibly even extinction. In many of the world's larger ecosystems, scientists can predict what might happen when one of the central species is lost, but in the human microbial environment - which is still largely uncharacterized - most of these rapid changes are not yet understood.
The human body has some 10 trillion human cells, but 10 times that number of microbial cells. Some researchers think of our bodies as superorganisms.
With rapid changes in sanitation, medicine and lifestyle in the past century, some of these indigenous species are facing decline, displacement and possibly even extinction. In many of the world's larger ecosystems, scientists can predict what might happen when one of the central species is lost, but in the human microbial environment - which is still largely uncharacterized - most of these rapid changes are not yet understood.
21 December 2009
To Be or Not To Be
Buckminster Fuller said:
I know that I am not a category.
I am not a thing — a noun.
I seem to be a verb...
I know that I am not a category.
I am not a thing — a noun.
I seem to be a verb...
16 December 2009
Authenticity
Alan Alda is credited as saying....
"Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself."
"Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself."
07 December 2009
ART
"Amidst the attention given to the sciences and how they can lead to the cure of all diseases and daily problems of mankind, I believe that the biggest breakthrough will be the realization that the arts, which are conventionally considered 'useless,' will be recognized as the whole reason why we ever tried to live longer or live more prosperously."
John Maeda, via Jason Silva's essay
"Why Science Needs To Bring Sexy Back"
"...the scientific community was failing to elicit a sense of awe and wonder out of people. You can't win the hearts and minds of the masses unless you inspire them -- you must lift their spirits and enliven their hearts. We have to give people emotional experiences. Science can always use better art direction: scientific progress and discovery must be presented to the world in a way that excites and titillates people's sense of what is possible."
plus: from the archives
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcohen/3384240690/
John Maeda, via Jason Silva's essay
"Why Science Needs To Bring Sexy Back"
"...the scientific community was failing to elicit a sense of awe and wonder out of people. You can't win the hearts and minds of the masses unless you inspire them -- you must lift their spirits and enliven their hearts. We have to give people emotional experiences. Science can always use better art direction: scientific progress and discovery must be presented to the world in a way that excites and titillates people's sense of what is possible."
plus: from the archives
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcohen/3384240690/
30 November 2009
Stigmergy
Stigmergy is a form of self-organization. It produces complex, apparently intelligent structures, without need for any planning, control, or even communication between the agents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmergic
Stigmergic Collaboration: The Evolution of Group Work
An “invisible hand” effect results from the several efforts of individuals and small groups working independently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmergic
Stigmergic Collaboration: The Evolution of Group Work
An “invisible hand” effect results from the several efforts of individuals and small groups working independently.
LOVE
"One has to expand the concept of love beyond the limits of the couple."
Michael Hardt at European Graduate School EGS 2005
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hardt
Michael Hardt at European Graduate School EGS 2005
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hardt
23 November 2009
The Pansy Project
http://thepansyproject.blogspot.com/
Artist Paul Harfleet revisits city streets planting pansies at the site of homophobic abuse. Each location is photographed and named after the abuse received.
http://www.thepansyproject.com/
Artist Paul Harfleet revisits city streets planting pansies at the site of homophobic abuse. Each location is photographed and named after the abuse received.
http://www.thepansyproject.com/
22 November 2009
21 November 2009
The DAWN CHORUS
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said: "...people are communicating publicly. It is untrue that we are becoming more isolated because of these tools, I think we are connecting more and we are finding new ways to do good."
"A friend of mine asked me, 'what do you hope people will say about Twitter in five or 10 years?' and my answer to him, which I was surprised to hear myself say, was that I hope people will not consider Twitter a triumph of technology, instead that they will consider it a triumph of humanity."
"The idea that the open exchange of information can have a positive global impact. If people are more informed then they become more engaged and if they are more engaged then they can become more empathetic."
"A friend of mine asked me, 'what do you hope people will say about Twitter in five or 10 years?' and my answer to him, which I was surprised to hear myself say, was that I hope people will not consider Twitter a triumph of technology, instead that they will consider it a triumph of humanity."
"The idea that the open exchange of information can have a positive global impact. If people are more informed then they become more engaged and if they are more engaged then they can become more empathetic."
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