While Other Futurists Predicted Flying Cars And Robots Everywhere, Clarke Was More Interested In Where

Campaign Reform is the cornerstone of restoring our Republic

New Plugin Shows Exactly Where Your Congressperson's Money Comes From

We the People, and the Republic We Must Reclaim Lawrence Lessig TED Talk 2014

OpenSecrets.org AllAreGreen.us

Since the time I was in elementary school I wanted to become a marine biologist to study and swim with sharks.  Next summer I’m planning a trip to Australia and for my 40th birthday, *this* is what I plan on doing....  Check out the video here.  #dreamvacation

Great Whites circling the “ghost cage” video.  This was pretty amazing and would totally love to do this, but with a door that stayed closed!

2015 Fordham Law Review Symposium

Last week I attended this symposium on corruption at Fordham- it was fantastic!  

I would definitely recommend checking out Lawrence Lessig’s TED talk We the People, and the Republic We Must Reclaim  or my other links before viewing:

What is Corruption, How Should We Define It, and Why Is It Bad?  Panel Rick Hansen, Lawrence Lessig, and Zepher Teachout (starts at 25:00)

Preet Bharara gave the keynote 

Science, not silence...

Science is more than a discipline, it’s a belief system.  It’s a way of looking at the world in wonder with insatiable curiosity.  Scientists value rationality.  They have a healthy sense of skepticism, they are critical thinkers.  They are using their time and energy to understand the world and make it a better place.  

They deal in evidence and facts.

Not politics and lies. 

I am THRILLED to hear that scientists are hearing the same call to action that many other groups are answering in these unsettling times...

The March for Science is a celebration of our passion for science and a call to support and safeguard the scientific community. Recent policy changes have caused heightened worry among scientists, and the incredible and immediate outpouring of support has made clear that these concerns are also shared by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Mischaracterization of science as a partisan issue, which has given policymakers permission to reject overwhelming evidence, is a critical and urgent matter. It is time for people who support scientific research and evidence-based policies to take a public stand and be counted.

ON APRIL 22, 2017, WE WALK OUT OF THE LAB AND INTO THE STREETS.

We are scientists and science enthusiasts. We come from all races, all religions, all gender identities, all sexual orientations, all socioeconomic backgrounds, all political perspectives, and all nationalities. Our diversity is our greatest strength: a wealth of opinions, perspectives, and ideas is critical for the scientific process. What unites us is a love of science, and an insatiable curiosity. We all recognize that science is everywhere and affects everyone.

Science is often an arduous process, but it is also thrilling. A universal human curiosity and dogged persistence is the greatest hope for the future. This movement cannot and will not end with a march. Our plans for policy change and community outreach will start with marches worldwide and a teach-in at the National Mall, but it is imperative that we continue to celebrate and defend science at all levels - from local schools to federal agencies - throughout the world.

#sciencemarch

MarchofScience.com

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See also my del.icio.us links or my flipboards or many of the content/curation pages on my weebly site...  in particular though, one of the greatest scientists of all times comes to mind (Post: Carl Sagan)

And that includes politicians!!   In one of my favorite videos of Carl, he speaks about  science, politics, and skepticism (here’s the short clip on that).

Op-Ed: Why we need scientists to run for public office now - via Ars Technica

Which is why it’s also exciting to see groups encouraging scientists to run for office.... 

We are members of the STEM Community, grassroots supporters, and political activists committed to bring innovation to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, aggressively advocate for real solutions to Climate Change and elect more STEM trained candidates to public office.

314Action.org

Update

Sensing New Threats, Scientists Entertain Political Ambitions

Why I’m Marching for Science

In Age of Trump, Scientists Show Signs of a Political Pulse

A lot of Americans don’t know a thing scientist.  We need to fix that

Excerpt:   This is the battle for the legitimacy of science, a battle we helped create because we still haven’t figured out how to show people what we do, why we do it, and why it’s important.  So we’ll march. And then we have to get to work. Going forward, we have to be stewards. We have to share without condescension and be patient and helpful as people balance uncomfortable truths. We have to integrate into our communities as voices on the ground. We’re people who care about the health and well-being of the human race. That’s why we sequester ourselves in our labs working for cures, or in front of computers trying to understand weather patterns, or out in the ocean, gathering samples of water, fish, and plants. But we have to do a better job of communicating if we want the default to be evidence-based policy for us, the people, and not for profit. I hope it’s not too late to reverse our failings.

A major breakthrough.  

Cognitive creativity is inspiring artists like Alex Da Kid to make music unlike ever before. He used the emotional insights Watson found in millions of data points to create an original song about heartbreak. Now it’s your turn to see what Alex was inspired to do.

Watch the lyric video for Alex Da Kid’s ‘Not Easy’. →

Have Humans Already Conquered The Threat Of Extinction?

The Great Filter theory suggests that all advanced civilizations eventually destroy themselves before acquiring the capacity to colonize space — a notion that could explain why we've never been visited by aliens. But there may be another reason for the celestial silence. Yes, the Great Filter exists, but we've already passed it. Here's what this would mean.

The World Wide Web, AR, VR, and MR

 “Technologies like Magic Leap’s will enable us to generate, transmit, quantify, refine, personalize, magnify, discover, share, reshare, and overshare experiences. This shift from the creation, transmission, and consumption of information to the creation, transmission, and consumption of experience defines this new platform. As Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz puts it, “Ours is a journey of inner space. We are building the internet of presence and experience.”

We haven’t yet fully absorbed the enormous benefit that the internet of information has brought to the world. And yet we are about to recapitulate this accomplishment with the advent of synthetic realities."

The Untold Story of Magic leap, the World’s Most Secretive Startup by Kevin Kelly via Wired. This is a looooong article, but a must read.  

On a side note, Kevin Kelly (founding editor of Wired) is one of my favorite futurists.... check out some of his other stuff:

We Are the Web (Wired timeline/feature)

The Next 5,000 Days of the Internet (TED talk)  

One more must read from today’s surfing (much, much shorter!) is a piece from the NYT:  The Web’s Creator Looks to Reinvent It.  

See also The Internet Part II from my wiki for related info and articles as well as my page on Privacy.

Happy Carl Sagan Day!

Carl Sagan Day is celebrated on November 9 every year. Carl has inspired so many people with his teachings and today is the day that we celebrate his legacy.

My favorite links about Carl:

Carl Sagan’s last interview with Charlie Rose (Full Interview) Neil deGrasse Tyson - Carl Sagan Experience LOVE THIS Symphony of Science - ‘We Are All Connected’ (ft. Sagan, Feynman, deGrasse Tyson & Bill Nye) Why Carl Sagan is Truly Irreplaceable Lessons of Immortality and Mortality From My Father, Carl Sagan Take a Course or Two with Professor Sagan

The Power of Play