Sam Harris on the fifth anniversary of Christopher Hitchen's death. Missing Hitch It has been five years, my friend. Five short years since you taught us how to die with wisdom and wit. And five long ones, wherein the world taught us how deeply we would miss you. Syria. Safe spaces. President Trump. What would you have made of these…
I think that there’s a pretty good chance we end up with a universal basic income, or something like that, due to automation. I’m not sure what else one would do?
Thirty Years ago today, Elie Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I remember this well. His words resonated for a young teacher... ... and the boy asks: "What have you done with my future..." And then I explained to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remain silent. And that is why I swore never…
Always timely People who don't want you to think are never your friend Links TheraminTrees A study in Logic - Burn the Witch!
The good news: child mortality has fallen in every single country over the past few decades. 4 million fewer children died before their fifth birthday in 2015 than in the year 2000. The bad news: according to a detailed study published in The Lancet, despite remarkable progress in the improvement of child survival between 1990 and 2015, the Millennium Development Goal…
The MIT Media Lab Macro Connections group, has done some stella work on visualising network associations over their time. You should visit the Global Language Network or the Human Development Index Tree [2010] They build tools to transform data into stories. The Clinton Circle, maps emails from Hillary Clinton, John Podesta and the DNC in the United States.. Certainly topical! The data…
Leanna Garfield writing in BI this week outlines how the the New Zealand-based robotics company, Scott Technology Limited is developing fully-automated meat processing bots, which can extract different cuts from lamb, pig, and beef carcasses. Many meatpacking companies believe using this type of technology (rather than human workers) will make processing more efficient. Garfield points out: The world’s largest meat production company, JBS, is already investing in it. As NPR reported, the Brazil-based corporation bought a controlling…
70 years ago #today in 1946, White Sands Missile Range scientists launched V-2 No. 13 & took the 1st pictures of Earth from space, 105 km up pic.twitter.com/a1hvMchR2x — NASA History Office (@NASAhistory) October 24, 2016
Earlier this year, a World Bank report found that water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, could hinder economic growth, spur migration, and spark conflict. [Ya think?] However, most countries can neutralize the adverse impacts of water scarcity by taking action to allocate and use water resources more efficiently. Among the findings, key items include: Water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change,…