November 2010
50 posts
Into The Wild | Jon Krakauer:
He had spent the previous four years, as he saw it, preparing to fulfill an absurd and onerous duty: to graduate from college. At long last he was unencumbered, emancipated from the stifling world of his parents and peers, a world of abstraction and security and material excess, a world in which he felt grievously cut off from the raw throb of existence…
He...
“Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come”
– Victor Hugo
Can Technology End Poverty? →
“Punishment isn’t made legitimate by the presence of an audience”
– Anonymous
“I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think...”
– Kurt Vonnegut
The Economist, Confidence Game:
The police are doing what they can, and software companies keep on tightening security. But spam is not just a hack or a crime, it’s a social problem, too. If you look beyond the computers that lie between a spammer and his mark, you can see all the classic techniques of con-man: buy this stock, before everyone else does. Buy these pills, this watch, cheaper than...
“There are truths which one can only say after having won the right to say them.”
– Jean Cocteau
Merging Science and Values →
I really love this. Great discussion on values and morality based on facts rather than superstition and religion. This isn’t to say scientific truths are dogma, something thats good for eternity; but rather a temporal, measurable entity that can be studied like anything else. As such, Harris argues values change with science.
“There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world. The fact...”
– Douglas Adams
Puddle Thinking
Richard Dawkins, euology for Douglas Adams:
Imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, “This is an interesting world I find myself in, an interesting hole I find myself in, fits me rather neatly, doesn’t it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!” This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually,...
“And, you know, politics aside, the success of Sarah Palin and women like her is...”
– The missing portion of Tina Fey’s acceptance speech, which was snipped by PBS from last night’s broadcast of the Mark Twain Prize ceremony.
Somewhere far far away... →
…theres a place with my name on it. This is paradise:
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
– Cicero
“You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is...”
– Robert Prisig
““Seven Blunders of the World”
1. Wealth without work
2....”
– Mahatma Gandhi
nom nom →
Gadgets →
Innovative new designs coming from MIT’s media lab including city-specific folding cars, eye exam devices via smartphones, and an updated version of the barcode that requires - no barcode.
Check It:
Concept for stackable city car. Read more here:
NETRA (Near-eye tool for refractive assessment): attaches to smartphones and runs a quick test on the strength of users eyes:
Ideas and...
Conans Back →
Jay-Z's Empire →
Great article on Jay-Z’s claim to fame. His book, Decoded, is coming out Nov 16. Here he’s describing his writing experience:
When you’re famous and say you’re writing a book, people assume that it’s an autobiography—I was born here, raised there, suffered this, loved that, lost it all, got it back, the end. But that’s not what this is. I’ve never...
Riches amongst Rags →
This is appalling and the article says it all. Here’s an excerpt:
What at first glimpse looks and sounds like a typical skyscraper is far from it – the Antilla is in fact a $1 billion family home built for India’s richest man (and Forbes’ fourth richest man) Mukesh Ambani, his wife, and three children. Constructed within a country estimated to have one-third of the world’s poorest...
Meditation →
Great article on the benefits of meditation. Its no easy feat but I’ve been practicing and the benefits are well worth it.
From the article:
Far from being simply a relaxed state, meditation is a period of heightened activity in the brain—one that can actually reshape your brain. People as diverse as David Lynch and the Dalai Lama have touted the benefits of meditation, claiming that it...
Changing Education Paradigms →
I don’t completely agree with Sir Ken Robinson’s position on ADD medications. Everyone reacts differently to the variety of medications on ADD and ADHD out there so while it may hamper the creativity and imaginations of some, it may enhance others. He raises some good points though, take a look though:
Musical Genius →
YO
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