Be More Than You Can Be

Posted on March 13, 2007

Wired news reports about a number of technologies being developed by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) designed to enhance human performance.

The human being, a Darpa fact file proclaimed in April 2002, “is becoming the weakest link in Defense systems.” Strengthening that chain meant “sustaining and augmenting human performance,” as well as “enabling new human capabilities.” Darpa was going to figure out how to build a better soldier.

The technology ranges from a glove that can significantly raise or lower your core body temperature in a matter of minutes to energy drinks that have shaved 3% off the times of world-class cyclists. However, the coolest technology by far is a method being developed by biochemist Mark Roth that allows humans to go into a hibernation-like state, temporarily suspending all bodily functions (including heart-pumping and breathing), immediately after a fatal wound, allowing them time to receive medical attention before they are then “awakened”.

Weird.

Read this before you blast your co-worker with hate mail

Posted on February 20, 2007

Have you ever mis-interpreted an email or text message sent to you? Since the dawn of e-communication, it has been apparent that you just can’t accurately convey or interpret tone or attitude in text-based correspondence. In face-to-face communication we receive visual cues from body-language and detect meaning in tone of voice. This subliminal dialogue sets the rules of engagement for our verbal dialogue in every normal social interaction.

In a very interesting New York Times article, the author introduces us to the field of Social Neuroscience– the physical happenings in the brain during social interaction– and the break-downs in the system when we interface via computers and other forms of electronic communication.

Bottom line: next time, before you react to that malicious email from a co-worker with one of your own, think about what you are going to say and give yourself some time (at least a few hours) to reconsider your message before hitting that send button.

“Holy Space Banana, Batman!”

Posted on February 6, 2007

It’s a…. a….. space banana?

A Geostationary Banana Over Texas, to be exact. That’s right. Wired News reports that a Canadian artist, in an artistic expression of the kookiness of American politics, is going to fly a 300m long helium-filled banana over the Lone-Star State.

This is one high-tech banana. César Saez says his million dollar astro-fruit will employ advanced technology to keep its banana-shape and steer itself across the Texas sky in a boomerang-like motion. To observers on the ground the banana will appear roughly 1/4 the size of the moon.

“Real Reasons” for Space Exploration

Posted on January 29, 2007

Why do humans (and more specifically, Americans) place so much value in space travel and exploration? The answer is hard to explain, but in a speech given at the Quasar Award Dinner in Houston last week, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin differentiated between “acceptable” (or logical) and “real” (or not-so-logical but most-compelling) reasons we desire to explore the depths of space.

Real Reasons are intuitive and compelling to all of us, but they’re not immediately logical. They’re exactly the opposite of Acceptable Reasons, which are eminently logical but neither intuitive nor emotionally compelling. The Real Reasons we do things like exploring space involve competitiveness, curiosity and monument building.

Griffin likened the work put into space exploration to great medieval cathedrals of Europe and the ancient pyramids of Egypt– projects of monumental size begun by men who knew they’d not live to see the final product.

We owe Western civilization as we know it today to that kind of thinking – the ability to have a constancy of purpose across years and decades.

A transcript of the speech can be found here. It is a fascinating and inspiring read. Enjoy.

Props to Josh Butcher for sending this to me.

A Lizard’s Immaculate Conception

Posted on December 21, 2006

Just in time for Christmas, a Komodo dragon in London will hatch 8 babies from eggs she fertilized without the help of a male counterpart. Flora is the largest known animal to undergo a process known as parthenogenesis– the growth and development of an embryo without fertilization by a male. The implications of this event are astounding, and will change the way we look at the development and growth of a species.

CNN Article here

Hawking warns “We must escape Earth”

Posted on December 1, 2006

The long-term survival of the human race is at risk as long as it is confined to a single planet… Sooner or later, disasters such as an asteroid collision or nuclear war could wipe us all out. But once we spread out into space and establish independent colonies, our future should be safe.

- Stephen Hawking

In a discussion with BBC, Stephen Hawking declared we (humans) must leave the planet in the near future to ensure the survival of our species.

Article Here

The Science of Coffee

Posted on November 1, 2006

This is probably one of the most interesting scientific articles I have every read. I love coffee. I am not an addict. I average probably 5 cups a week. But when I do drink coffee, I enjoy the really good stuff. This article, from the June 2002 edition of Scientific American, discusses the science and complexity of espresso. It is not available for public view, so I have purchased it in PDF format, and posted it for your viewing pleasure.

Get it here

I’m sure I’m violating some kind of copyright or term-of-use here, but I’ll wait until I get the cease-and-desist order to take it down.

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