This may just be the best TED Talk video I’ve seen: listen.com/Rhapsody founder and extremely funny person (and soon-to-be debut science fiction author) Rob Reid examines the math behind the claims made by the copyright lobby and explains the mindbending awesomeness of the sums used to justify SOPA, PIPA, ACTA and the like. Here’s Ars Technica’s Ken Fisher discussing Reid’s philosophy…
Continue reading… “Copyright Math: the best TED Talk you’ll watch all year”
Pharmaceuticals found to be more harmful than beneficial?
There’s always that part at the end of drug commercials that goes something like: if you develop sausage fingers, webbed feet, or a three-week erection, call your doctor! But as exhaustive as those auctioneer-style lists sound, they barely scratch the surface when it comes to the side effects pople are actually experiencing.
Stanford researchers created an algorithm that identified 1,332 drug side effects not currently listed on labels. They estimate that each drug has 329 adverse reactions on average, nearly five times the 69 currently listed…
Continue reading… “Drugs cause about five times more side effects than realized”
Linus the Long Haired Wonder Horse put on quite a show!
Have you ever seen a horse with such a luxurious mane? Linus the Wonder Horse was born in 1884, the result of careful breeding for long hair. Linus was exhibited with a circus act, with promotional materials declaring he was of the “Oregon Long-Haired Wild Wonder horse” breed. His mane was 14 feet long, and his tail 12 feet long!
Continue reading… “Linus the long haired wonder horse”
Sony Xperia Sola
Sony has just come out with another Android mobile that is both unique and possibly groundbreaking as it carries technology that is a first to smartphone arena. Sony has just announced the Xperia Sola, a revolutionary smartphone that comes with cool new technology called “Floating Touch”. This enables the user navigate the web and alter wallpapers (for now) without actually touching the mobile screen. So will this wave of the finger set a new trend for mobile across the globe? (Video)
Continue reading… “Sony Xperia Sola’s groundbreaking floating touch screen technology”
Robo-Glove
The Human Grasp Assist was designed through a collaboration between GM and NASA – and also known as Robo-Glove or K-Glove – the device is based on grasping technology initially developed for the hands of the space-going Robonaut 2. Essentially a power-assisted work glove, Robo-Glove is designed to minimize repetitive stress injuries in both astronauts and autoworkers. (Video)
Continue reading… “Robo-Glove a power-assisted glove designed by GM and NASA”
Book art by Brian Dettmer
If you think cutting up books can only be a destructive process, then you have never encountered the art of Brian Dettmer. Dettmer uses knives, tweezers and surgical tools to carve out books one page at a time to create these works of art. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Amazing book carvings by Brian Dettmer”
Two women collect food waste beside an industrial dumpster at the main food market in Madrid.
Today, cleaning your plate may not help feed starving children, but the time-worn advice of mothers everywhere may help reduce food waste from the farm to the fork, help the environment and make it easier to feed the world’s growing population.
Continue reading… “30 to 50 percent of food produced in the world is thrown away”
New species of frog in the jungle — New York’s concrete jungle.
Biologists are amazed at having uncovered a new species of frog in the jungle — New York‘s concrete jungle.
Continue reading… “New frog species discovered in NYC”
Joe Engressia Jr.
Joe Engressia Jr. was the father of phone phreaking. In the 1950s, the blind 7-year-old realized that his high-pitched whistle could control the phone system. Over the years, he learned the electronic language of clicks and tones and tapped into a network of phone freaks around the country, most of whom had previously phreaked in solitude…
Continue reading… “Story of the first phone phreak”
Another new discovery in China.
Your family tree just got wider. Scientists have analyzed fossils found in China, and deemed them to be from a new human species unlike any ever identified before; say hello to your long-lost cousin.
The skull, originally unearthed in 1979 in the Guangxi Province of China, has only now been fully analyzed (talk about procrastination, right?). It turns out that it has thick bones, extremely prominent brow ridges, a very short, flat face, and also lacks our typically human chin. “In short, it is anatomically unique among all members of the human evolutionary tree,” explains researcher Darren Curnoe to New Scientist…
Continue reading… “Scientists have identified a completely new human species from China”
From YouTube user FONentertainment comes a performance of what Alex Santoso calls “…the best piece of music ever written in the history of mankind.”
Continue reading… ““Dueling Banjos” on Tesla Coils”
A yellow slime mold’s map of the US compared to the map of major roads.
A yellow slime mold has invaded the world’s highways, spreading from capital cities to the furthest reaches of the transport network and devouring everything in its path. The infestation was unleashed by Andrew Adamatzky, a researcher of unconventional computing at the University of the West of England in Bristol, along with colleagues from universities around the globe.
Continue reading… “Slime mold follows the world’s highways”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.