Assorted Links for 2/20/2010 Saturday, Feb 20 2010
random 1:24 pm
Scientific research indicates human athletic performance has peaked
Corporations, agencies infiltrated by botnet
Dolphin cognitive abilities raise ethical questions, says Emory neuroscientist
Synchronized flying robots could paint pictures in the sky (w/ Video)
Millimeter-scale, energy-harvesting sensor system developed
Nanodiamonds Produce ‘Game Changing Event’ for MRI Imaging Sensitivity
The Onion: U.S. Economy Grinds To Halt As Nation Realizes Money Just A Symbolic, Mutually Shared Illusion
CNN: Bill Gates and the “Nuclear Renaissance”
Telegraph: Christians to debate impact of high-profile atheist scientists
Michael Graham Richard: Science is the Only News
“Science is the Only News*
Hey, do I look like I come here to be told that the world is round?
While a useful and understandable rhetorical technique for showing the importance of science, Stewart Brand’s assertion is demonstrably wrong. You ignore political and cultural shifts, cyclical or not, at your own peril.
I don’t think Brand is saying that those other things aren’t important or should be ignored, just that they aren’t truly “news” to humanity.
He’s awfully disparaging about them in the quotation. I see it as an expression of extreme materialism. As with debates about genes versus environment, I say the proper approach takes both science and politics/culture into account. The latter can’t possibly be static or strictly cyclical with the former continually advancing. The two interact endlessly and the results (at any given time) matter. But as transhumanists we should all already know this.