CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-13 08:05:38 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 7 +1s)

Particle and anti-particle simultaneously?
Meet Leo Kouwenhoven, who made one of those Majorana fermions

Remember the famous line, "To be or not to be, that is the question"? There is a third answer: To be AND not to be. That answer is a Majorana particle, which superimposes an electron with the absence of an electron. That's a unique type of particle, and one that could allow for some nifty calculations to be done in the world of the very small.

/via +Jenny Winder 

2013-05-06 15:42:14 (11 comments, 5 reshares, 17 +1s)

Forensic science: The next-generation "wanted" poster

While this artist still can call this very real and in-your-face feat art, one very obvious next-step would be to replace grainy, blurry mug shots of criminals with recreations based on DNA from crime scenes, guided by security cameras to determine if any potential DNA source is available in a crime scene. Of course, it wouldn't work for every criminal (depending on what precautions they might have taken), but it certainly could prove valuable in combination with already existing forensic tactics in terms of raising awareness and tracking down suspects and potential witnesses.

/via +Marshall Kirkpatrick 

2013-04-29 11:56:39 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 10 +1s)

Where the internet is headed: intelligence platforms
A service-oriented future, mitigating between people-centric and data-driven internet platforms.

This is a beautiful visualization from +Joachim Stroh (whom it seems is a master at creating such visualizations!) summarizing the divergent streams of Internet platforms we seem to have today, and what must happen in the future in order to provide more benefit to the Internet stakeholders and endusers.

The internet will need to turn into an intelligence platform More concretely, it will need to help people mitigate between data-driven platforms - such as the internet of things, or your health history, or your iTunes collection - and people-centric platforms - such as facebook, workplace intranet, job application sites, or MMORPG. 

What surprises me is that there is nothing listed there under 'intelligencep... more »

2013-04-24 02:46:41 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Twitter doing internal testing on a 2-Step authentication feature. 2-Step is the issue I raised earlier today when I learned that the AP was hacked.  Of all sites I can think of, it would have made sense for Twitter to have implemented 2-Step by now.

(Wired's headline is an oversell of this story. Ironically, the post is written by Matt Honan, the writer who shared his tale of the "epic hack" he suffered.)

2013-04-22 12:52:31 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 13 +1s)

The web is changing...

And search and SEO are changing with it. Take the jump for the full story: http://goo.gl/YKm7m

2013-04-16 20:04:13 (4 comments, 7 reshares, 22 +1s)

The permanent dismantling of large companies has begun...
How our society is going to be profoundly shakeen up as a result of corporate downsizing.

I've noticed the increasing shift of permanent jobs into freelancer or contractor jobs. And I can fully understand it from a business perspective. But I'd never, until now, stopped to consider what that might mean for society at large.

We're not just looking at a world in which individuals need to become entrepreneurs in order to avoid unemployment. We're looking at a social structure that is built upon the premise that people have stable jobs at an employer, and enterpreneurs are the 1% who get all sorts of exemptions. Our public social support system, taxation models, media licencing agencies, and litigation trolls are simply not designed to operate with an enterpreneurial population.

So, with the... more »

2013-04-15 03:57:23 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 28 +1s)

A red wood ant (Formica polyctena) battles a common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) - and wins!

When not defeating formidable enemies, the red wood ant also spends some free time working on earthquake prediction!  Quite an insect!

Check out the full story, which was presented on Apr 11th at the European Geosciences Union annual meeting in Vienna, http://goo.gl/JLtmm  and covered by  +LiveScience "Ants Lead the Way on Earthquake Prediction"

This photo, taken by Pawel Bieniewski, was a finalist entry in the 2006 International Garden Photographer of the Year Contest.

#stem #science #biology #geology #sciencesunday #earthquakeprediction #red_wood_ant #EGU  

2013-04-12 01:49:10 (15 comments, 5 reshares, 16 +1s)

Cyberwarfare: Hijacking aircraft

So, terrorists could theoretically bring a (modded) radio and smartphone on board, hijack an aircraft, and reroute it to the Pentagon. What now - electronic devices banned from on-board equipment lists in interest of public safety?

If anything: this demonstration proves two points:
1. Cyber attacks are the future warheads. Maybe we will see also cold war of cyber threats.
2. Every Software and Hardware manufacturer, regardless of branch, needs to use the wake-up call to think through the real impact that increasingly powerful smartphones could have on their Systems.

/via +Eli Fennell

2013-04-08 07:13:52 (17 comments, 2 reshares, 13 +1s)

Privacy promises, not followed through

Sigh... +LinkedIn is still giving away my email address to contacts I haven't authorized to see it. I thought it was just first degree contacts who'd get my professional address, but apparantly not... even second degree contacts could get my LinkedIn Notification address. In case you haven't gotten the hint: just another reason never to sign up with a valuable email address anywhere, unless it's a public address you want to be contacted at, no matter how much large corporations beg for it.

How it works:
1) Have a mutual contact
2) Have email notifications turned on
3) Have that mutual contact send an InMail to you and a bunch of other people you don't know and are not connected to.
4) Tada! Now every one of them has your email address on the "cc" line... and you have all of their... more »

2013-04-07 23:08:13 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Eye tracking as a context determinator

This is scary just as much as it is fascinating -eye tracking provides additional information that could be very valuable in human-machine interactions. Consider the possible uses:

advertising marketers would know which content on a page was most interesting, and the provider could push targeted ads based on that interest.

time spent on site websites would redesign their content dynamically to maximize the length of your stay on a site.

That second prospect is also scary: the internet is already known to be a time-sucker if you can't control yourself. Imagine how addictive it would be if facebook and google started adding those tactics!

/via +michael barth

2013-04-04 04:00:51 (0 comments, 7 reshares, 21 +1s)

Open education, and open education platforms too!

Stanford has released their online courseware platform, class2go, under open source and plans to fold it into edX (which was already also open source). It's great to see two giant institutions collaborating to make higher education universally accessible to interested persons - and not just education, but also the platform for doing so.

With that courseware platform open sourced, perhaps other higher education institutions will join the education revolution - a movement which realizes that knowledge is increasingly a universally accessible resource thanks to the internet, and that universities need to adapt their business model accordingly - student degrees isn't going to be their primary product in the future.

EdX: https://github.com/edx/XBlock

Class2go:... more »

2013-04-03 10:22:34 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 13 +1s)

The story of a Chess Grand Master that was trained to have an innate chess ability, by he father who believed that genius can be created in otherwise normal people. 

2013-04-03 01:41:54 (0 comments, 5 reshares, 11 +1s)

Quantum cryptography coming your way!
One step closer to ubiquitous quantum encryption

Researchers have demonstrated that you can receive (and decode) photons containing quantum information on a moving plane - the next step towards making quantum cryptography generally accessible.

Since the Chinese and Austrian teleportation demonstrations, we know we can teleport around the distance required to reach a satellite. Once photons are in orbit, teleporting between satellites is relatively easy - there's no atmosphere to interfere with transmission, and thus no data loss.

The latest research provides proof that we don't need to know the orientation when receiving the photon - it's polarization is sufficient to restore the Information on the receiving end. So putting the pieces together:we can teleport information to a satellite, receive it, and now need... more »

2013-04-02 12:35:06 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Online Banking, Phishing, Politics, and (lack of) Innovation

There has to be a better way to do this... politicians pushing phishing under the mask of making online payments in 'highly secure' environments - security guaranteed by double encryption (???) - acceptable for giving non-financial institutions your banking password.

Sigh... I do think that banks need to maintain the current policy of 'never trust anyone except your bank with your banking PIN and TAN.' But I also think that online commerce could be significantly simplified, if banks offered an OAuth-like API for Giropay as a standard across Europe. Why would that not be an acceptable, secure solution?

/via +Kristian Köhntopp

2013-03-31 23:15:44 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 5 +1s)

Overcoming disease

Staying healthy is a very curious concept. Norbekov has an interesting perspective to it: We go to doctors not because we are sick, but because we want to pain reduction. And while I would assert that doctors do help make us healthy when we are sick, he does hit the largest hurdle in staying healthy on the head. Namely, ourselves: that 'nah, I'm too lazy to go excercise today', or 'but sugary food tastes so good', or any other countless number of excuses towards comfort and convenience, but not toward health, makes the difference between a healthy person and a chronically affected one. Wanting to be and stay healthy is the first step in healing, and goes a long way to being healthy again - as the placebo effect demonstrates for mild cases of illness. And it should certainly help with preventing diabetes onset, as well.

What is the health... more »

2013-03-30 04:04:25 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 24 +1s)

The gate to hell

Very interesting look into the hiatorical appreciation of the God of the underworld. Contemporary religion is far too positive - don't expect many Satan worshippers in mainstream religions - but it wasn't always the case: Pluto too enjoyed his share of devotion, together with all the other Greco-Roman gods. And the rituals are equally elaborate and with their own sense of "arcane mystery" (a.k.a. learning how to hold your breath).

For whatever reason, my first thought on seeing the picture of the cave: time to build a (Terran, Starcraft) methane collection plant.

/via +Scott Leighton

2013-03-27 11:09:46 (24 comments, 75 reshares, 213 +1s)

Cleaning up the seas in five years
...for profit, with almost no side effects

Ingenious - doesn't matter that he's 19 years old, the impact that this would have is enormous. Quoting from boyanslat.com:

Why move through the oceans, if the oceans can move through you? Fix the sea water processors to the sea bed, and save vast amounts of funds, manpower and emissions.

Not just that, but because the solution does not involve mesh nets, there's close to no bycatch. Further, the solution is self-supportive, being powered by solar and wave power, thus independent of external energy sources.

This concept is so efficient, that we estimate that by selling the plastic retrieved from the 5 gyres, we would make in fact more money than the plan would cost to execute. In other words; it's profitable.

/via +Tyger AC 

2013-03-25 15:10:57 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 13 +1s)

AI beat us in the quest to find the Holy Grail
Self-repairing electronics

The fabled Holy Grail is said to heal humans and grant them eternal life. But if and where and how to find it remains a mystery known only to Indiana Jones. Electronic chips, however, have already been granted self-healing powers, thanks to some Caltech students.

This will definitely affect everyday life: from space missions and more reliable communications satellites which could make good use of this sort of technology, as well as ubiquitous consumer electronics which tend to be subjected to environmental stress, like dropping your brand new smartphone on the floor.

/via +Darin R. McClure 

2013-03-22 12:33:06 (46 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Here's a European Citizens' Initiative asking the Commission to encourage an Unconditional Basic Income within EU countries. If you're an EU citizen at least 18 years old, go sign.

2013-03-20 23:26:46 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

New German Law expected: hand over your ID and password to the state, no questions asked

This looks like a bad draft turning into reality when the Bundestag wakes up... at least, for anyone concerned about online privacy. The worst parts seem to be:

1. Potential for any government worker to access an internet connection owner's name with a mouse click, given an IP address.

2. Potential for certain passphrases to be accessible, potentially granting access to (relatively low-secured) various mobile cloud services.

2013-03-20 17:55:18 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Annual visit to the mall

Going to the mall is usually nothing enjoyable. But once a year, we do go to the mall - not for shopping, though, but to watch the motorized, full-size Easter displays sponsored by Steiff. And the kids love it!

Looks like the Easter bunny is on his way!

2013-03-19 07:57:03 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

On stopping unconstitutional censorship practices

It's nice to see that someone in the US with sufficient authority is able to stand up to what amounts to effective censorship and potential data misappropriation. Let's hope this ruling doesn't get overturned!

Congradulations to the +Electronic Frontier Foundation on the successful case.

/via +Jon Mallin 

2013-03-18 04:50:48 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

3D printed manufacturing

Look +Nils Hitze ! It's the dawn of 3D printed manufacturing for something more serious than just action figures. Which is quite exciting.

But even if the gun manufacture and sale licensing issues are solved, open questions remain (of course, that is no surprise):

1. How is patent rights to printed guns going to be resolved? Who is liable for infringement?

2. Who, if anyone, should regulate what can be printed and what not?

3. Does printing of products with a specific functionality necessitate possession of a certain license, even if the product does not match any previously known design?

...and so on...

2013-03-17 17:18:51 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 12 +1s)

It's our second Science Invitation Saturday. Last week we had fun with chromatography butterflies, this week it's dancing raisins!

2013-03-15 12:01:36 (0 comments, 12 reshares, 15 +1s)

Shaping your life: taking control of your world

There seems to be a close relationship between the environment you create for yourself, and your personal values.

Children, especially at a young age, are not able to shape their environment and circumstance, and thus their values reflect those of the environment and circumstance that their parents created for them. This is very dramatically reflected in Galimberti's series, and demonstrates the power that the situation and environment has in shaping a person's values. I tried asking my son, and he chose a xylophone and a pile of wooden cubes with letters and numbers on them: then again, I've purposely shaped his toy landscape somewhat unconventionally.

But why shouldn't the same applies to adults as well? Of course, with a key difference: adults are able to shape their environment, improving or... more »

2013-03-15 05:28:12 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Coding Autocomplete: Inverted indexing at Facebook

I know it's taboo to post about Facebook here... but this is an interesting description of how they implemented their autocomplete (typeahead) algorithm - an extended Unicorn instance. I'd guess Google's approach isn't too different, perhaps with other libraries.

2013-03-15 04:23:20 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

Convenient, or what? Developing a universal flu vaccine

I got hit by the 'real' flu this year: two days of high fever, partial vision loss and lack of balance, four days of bearable fever, and then another few days before I felt somewhat better. But that isn't motivating me to get the flu shot: the flu shot is a'best guess' at what viral mutations are going to be prevalent in the next flu season.

This alternative approach looks interesting though. It uses a different marker to train the body to recognize the influenza virus. That could mean, a flu vaccine which provides immunity against all influenza strains, not just a best guess at next year's popular mutations. A vaccine where you don't get the flu after getting the vaccine.


/via +michael barth

2013-03-14 01:08:20 (19 comments, 2 reshares, 11 +1s)

The long anticipated farewell to Google Reader

I've been expecting this for a while: reader makes very little sense in Google's revenue plan. Google's revenue lies in it's monopoly over the 'filter bubble effect' - Google alone decides what content users get to see and what not, through top-secret algorithms that undoubtedly involve a payment factor somewhere from content promoters. Added to that, things started looking fishy a year or two when reader development slowed down, 'features' started pushing google+, and everything competing to google+ in some way started vanishing.

But it does leave a large market gap open for someone to fill. I've moved my RSS feeds to an offline aggregator for some time now, but I'd still love to have a cloud-based reader replacement if I can find one with a decent, compact and convenient UI, and preferably... more »

2013-03-13 08:28:02 (5 comments, 15 reshares, 29 +1s)

Google Sets
Give it two examples, and Google's spreadsheet can make a list of almost anything. 

Create a new spreadsheet in Google Drive, type mazda in A1 and honda in A2 (the first column), highlight the two cells and then press Ctrl (or Option for Mac) while clicking and dragging the small blue box from the lower-right corner to select additional cells where to place the Google Sets results.

Yesterday +TechCrunch  reported that if you make a spreadsheet in Google Drive (Google Docs, formerly), enter and highlight the names of two beers, and pull down on the corner of the spreadsheet cell while holding Option or Control, the app will automatically fill the following cells with the names of other beers. The information is pulled, seemingly, from nowhere. It doesn't just work for beer, car brands, colors, states, or websites, as reported, but justab... more »

2013-03-12 04:47:16 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 4 +1s)

One of my coworkers informed me this morning that I am credited on CVE-2013-1776.

More details: http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=701839
PoC exploit: https://gist.github.com/ryancdotorg/5136278

2013-03-10 00:47:13 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Our baking adventure: Brownies, according to +Meg L's recipie (Thanks Meg!):
http://megatonlove.blogspot.be/2010/02/redemption-by-chocolate-and-recipe.html

...absolutely scrumptious! And the recipie is idiot-safe: I managed not to turn them into a disaster, despite my non-traditional measuring methods. They were also very filling - after one small square for afternoon snack while they were cooling, my son wouldn't eat dinner.

We replaced the chocolate chips with mint-flavored chocolate lentils (or what is the name for smartie-shaped generic chocolates?), and skipped the coffee powder (coffee does not belong in little kids tummies).

On another note: G+ is awesome for connecting people, in particular discovering awesome folk and new things! But G+ is still bad at name suggestions when trying to + mention someone on mobile: I can't find the right Meg on the... more »

2013-03-08 13:33:03 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 11 +1s)

Whose kids do not eat fast food? Those from the food industry executives.

One reason they don’t eat their own products, is that they know better. They know about the addictive properties of sugar, salt and fat and they know how unhealthy it is. ➜ goo.gl/dDj0I & goo.gl/jhYKp

“If another country was doing this to our kids, we would be at war.” 

The Fallacies of Fat (Interview) ➜ goo.gl/o0wZ9
Sugar: The Bitter Truth (Video) ➜ goo.gl/XbjTJ
Sugar in diet linked to type 2 diabetes ➜ goo.gl/ErJzl
The Science of Addictive Junk Food ➜ goo.gl/otajf
How politics went soft on child obesity ➜ goo.gl/xk3QC

So why not simply label processed food such as cigarettes and alcohol?

Original image by McDonald's ➜ goo.gl/779jy

2013-03-08 03:46:14 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

GMO foods to hit EU shelves

Assuming they sort out the cheese labelling issues, the US and EU seem to have a rather game-changing free trade draft concerning food imports and exports. As far as I read in the article, it could, among other things, mean that GM foods end up on EU shelves, putting the onus on concerned consumers to actually look for miniscule labels indicating of what origin the foods are. Further, if GM foods continue to be subsidized from the US, this could lead to a price difference that makes it difficult for EU farmers to compete with, unless similar subsidies and productivity differences without GM seed are provided for.

However, I haven't had the time to track down and verify the exact state of the negotiations: it's possible that GM import licensing continues to be so heavily restricted and monitored, so that the changes aren't that dramatic.... more »

2013-02-24 19:58:28 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 10 +1s)

This interesting essay discusses the possibility of developing a monopoly on nanotechnology, and of the danger of nanotech weaponry.  I personally don't believe a monopoly on replicators is possible, especially IF they grow out of 3-D printer technology.  No one has a monopoly on that tech.

Once nanobots are included in the tech, it will be so easy to begin replicating the replicators, distributing to family and friends, and telling them how to replicate and distribute.  Long before any nation or corporation could even begin to take steps to protect rights to the tech, it will have spread around the world.  [Image of horse leaving barn before door is closed]

Nanoweapons are a different thing altogether and need a different discussion.

2013-02-24 18:21:38 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Spaghetti Bridge

Materials:
- uncooked spaghetti
- toy car (the heavier the better)
- two bowls

Instructions:
- put the two bowls far enough apart so that a piece of spaghetti will reach each bowl with a little overlap
- put one spaghetti between the two bowls.
- try to balance the car on the spaghetti. It probably won't work.
- See if the kids can do better! Rules are: only using spaghetti, the car must be standing on the spaghetti in the middle of the bridge, and no moving the bowls.

From our weekly #experimentday

2013-02-18 12:09:36 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

RAPEX is the EU rapid alert system that facilitates the rapid exchange of information between Member States and the Commission on measures taken to prevent or restrict the marketing or use of products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers with the exception of food, pharmaceutical and medical devices, which are covered by other mechanisms.

Since 1 January 2010, as regards goods subject to EU harmonisation regulation, the system also facilitates the rapid exchange of information on products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of professional users and on those posing a serious risk to other public interests protected via the relevant EU legislation (e.g. environment and security). Both measures ordered by national authorities and measures taken voluntarily by producers and distributors are reported by RAPEX.
... more »

2013-02-13 17:08:03 (2 comments, 5 reshares, 8 +1s)

Cyberwarfare: A new black market for the 1%?

The amount of cash likely involved for zero- day vulnerabilities is staggering. And it's a market that very few have access to, and very far from transparent. Not just that, but it has huge implications affecting the lives of almost everyone. This sounds like the perfect setup for... the next cash cow for the 1%. Or do you think otherwise?

/via +michael barth

2013-02-11 13:09:00 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

When learning new stories, the software actually perceives the intersections with other tales in its memory. When it can find connections, Xapagy uses the previous experience to predict what will occur in the rest of the story. In this way, the computer is adding new material to the story based upon predictions and memories. This is the closest they have come to instilling creativity in AI.

When Xapagy is confronted with missing words, it fills them in with its own language based upon what makes grammatical and contextual sense.  Researchers in AI see this as a tremendous advance, and with enough stories in its memory, they believe Xapagy will be able to generate unique stories of its own.

2013-02-10 17:36:21 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

No #experimentday this week... kiddies too sick to explore. :(

What's experiment day about?
I'm posting our weekly toddler science experiments this year - simple things to do at home to explore the world and it's wonders! Click on the hashtag (above) to read more; they are being posted in the Science for Kids community.

2013-02-06 23:18:41 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 9 +1s)

Single-supplier security systems are the new critical point of failure

Quick, R2D2! It's surprising that star wars didn't have adaptive self-repairing bots patching discovered vulnerabilities in real time. Then again, hackers were always a step ahead of security. It also raises some interesting questions on how far we go with technological reliance for security measures. Are we building an implicit single source of failure in operational critical systems? Do we need to consider multiple hardware suppliers as a best practice to minimize the risk of a single vulnerability allowing security systems to be compromised for critical areas? Cybercrime could just get more exciting...

2013-02-05 01:03:22 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

The latest in enhancive technology: using filtering to augment colors, and change our perceptions

This is quite fascinating. A color-enhancing lens - by enhancing certain colors - claims to solve color blindness, at least partially. Note that from a technical perspective, this is a no-brainier and does not restore normal vision: you get the same result if you take a color- blind test and tweak the rgb curves in Photoshop. But the fascinating aspect comes from filtering. Augmentative eyewear that filters and amplifies what we see is quite similar to the way services like Google use profiling to amplify certain targeted ads, and the posts that make it through to the 'all posts' stream.

Augmented information has the power to change the way we act and the way we think. This is, at least, what the eyewear can claim to do: augmenting certain colors means we see... more »

2013-02-01 05:09:21 (8 comments, 6 reshares, 11 +1s)

2013-01-28 07:30:53 (7 comments, 3 reshares, 13 +1s)

Updated 'Your Google World' architecture diagram. I've called it Winter 2013 as it defiantly doesn't feel like spring yet. This was jointly developed with +Thomas Power . +Denis Labelle do please share this updated version.

2013-01-27 04:07:21 (6 comments, 2 reshares, 16 +1s)

What ever happened to concern over data abuse?

There's something fundamentally wrong with sending government-issued IDs in copy to anyone without a need to know, and that who is clearly defined in law. Example: hotels may copy down the details of persons who stayed (ID number, name, nationality etc) but not take a copy of their passport. A bank may have a copy of the passport for validation when opening an account but this copy must be destroyed once validation is complete. And I can understand why: if you have a copy, you have the signature, photo, and all details needed to steal a person's identity. You course also use the copy to do things - like open accounts, close accounts, manipulate government records - in that person's name.

So, who regulates the use, storage, and potential sharing of these documents once shared with the private sector in a completely... more »

2013-01-24 05:42:47 (10 comments, 8 reshares, 19 +1s)

Are we ready for organic (and quantum) computing?

The sci-fi touch to non- traditional computing still seems somewhat distant, even though it's already on our doorstep and only a matter of time before these technologies become affordable: your future computer could be in form of a microorganism, and online banking ciphers we use today could be cracked with trivial effort. These are already reality today. The only thing preventing mainstream use is their high cost.

But it also raises some interesting questions. Is 'protection because of it's high cost' really such a good protection? It's moving us into a very tiered, caste society with lots of potential for power- hungry abuse. Are we ready for organic computers, injected borg- like into our bodies? Adenoviruses used for medical treatment are just a trivial example of what future 'computers' could... more »

2013-01-21 06:44:17 (34 comments, 1 reshares, 13 +1s)

How should active and listed information play a role in our lives?

I'm in a working conference in Brussels for the next few days with a pile of think tanks and some important European Commissioners. So I may be quieter than usual - but I'd also like to pose our question to anyone interested in weighing in, and perhaps also shape the direction of Europe's digital policy.

Active vs. Listed information
Active information is information in a given context, which enables, inspires, and directs our activities. So 'hunger' and 'the closest restaurants are a, b, and c' may lead to me going to a instead of wandering aimlessly down an alley.

Listed information is the overwhelming amount of content available in books, databases, and posts like this one. Itself, the information has no impact - but inject it into a context, for example... more »

2013-01-16 07:41:21 (23 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

A Toddler's Tale: Armageddon

Trying to interest my 3-year-old for something other than science is proving to be quite challenging. Literature is obviously not of significant interest. After pushing him to create his own story, he came up up with this tale:

A comet came and hit the Earth. It broke the Earth and made a big hole, and magma came up and boom! The Earth was so hot, like the sun, and made a solar flare. But there was no aurora. Then it was black and all the plants died and all the people.

... other than the lack of sufficient energy in the Earth's core to cause a solar flare (I suppose you could argue that the comet was heavily magnetized, which could trigger a mass ejection upon impact), I must admit, it's not too scientifically implausible. But since I haven't been able to teach him about energy levels yet, not bad!

2013-01-14 12:16:00 (7 comments, 4 reshares, 26 +1s)

Efficient Lighting

It's ugly, but cool: a 100-Watt incandescent equivalent in LED lighting, with a consumption of just 12 Watts. I personally find 60W equivalents perfectly adequate for household needs, but for those few cases where more light is required, it's nice to know that there are alternatives. The next best bulbs at this lumen category clock in at 20-22W, from Siemens (Osram) and Phillips respectively. Definitely not the lighting you want in traffic lights on cold winter days (unless there's frost-melting technology installed in the light).

Now, when is the pretty version of these lights coming out?

/via +Randy Culler 

2013-01-12 06:37:48 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Unbreakable, bendable display?
TL;DR: Youm + root + Android = awesome gadget!

I wonder what the precise organic composition of that display is. It sounds quite appealing, and just'organic' sounds too mysterious.

/via +Wayne Radinsky

2013-01-11 14:22:24 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

What is politics today?

Most certainly, an unusual candidate. But I'm drawn to the symbolism more than anything else. He stands for people fed up about the hopeless mess that politics is in.

How did politics get to a position where it is as despised and ineffective as it is today? What ever happened to a 'system of checks and balances', such as 'independant' branches like the judiciary branch impose on the legislative branch?

... and even if the rise of an economic elite with the power to fund lobby campaigns, influence political decisions, or suppress the voices of particular people, are we looking at a system failure of the system we created, or a human failure, as in nature's inborn way of saying 'time to rebalance'?

/via +Clare Cosgrove