David Bowie

Emerging ethical dilemmas in science and technology

As a new year approaches, the University of Notre Dame's John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values has released its annual list of emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in science and technology for 2014.

Gotta keep positive...

Obama Reckons with a Trump Presidency David Remnick via The New Yorker

Bernie Sanders: Where We Go From Here  Matt Taibbi via Rolling Stone

A Mathematician's Perspective on the Divide Vi Hart via YouTube

(btw, see Parable of the Polygons:  A Playable post on the Shape of Society by Vi Hart and Nicky Case)

Scientists are frantically copying U.S. climate data, fearing it might vanish under Trump via The Washington Post

Talking Back to Hate Speech, Explained. via Bill Moyers & Company

Freedom Act

House Passes USA Freedom Act to Curb NSA Spying

NSA Reform Falters as House Passes Gutted USA Freedom Act

Did Judge Who Tuled NSA Phone Dragnet Illegal Call Snowden a Whistleblower?

Study:  Congress Really Doesn't Care What You Think

Why Politicians Don’t Want Us To Think, But Opinions Are OK

The FBI Used to Recommend Encryption, Now They Want to Ban It

moon glow

Announcing the Web We Want

"Millions of people together have made the Web great. So, during the Web’s 25th birthday year in 2014, millions of people can secure the Web’s future. We mu

About Education

During the UN High-Level Political Forum I attended this morning the moderator of the event shared a quote with us...

Education is the transmission of civilization.  

Civilization is not inherited; it has to be learned and earned by each generation anew.

Consider education not as the painful accumulation of facts and dates and reigns, not merely the necessary preparation of the individual to earn his keep in the world, but the transmission of our mental, moral, technical and aesthetic heritage as fully as possible to as many as possible, for the enlargement of man’s and woman’s understanding, control, embellishment, and enjoyment of life: the pursuit of happiness.

If men and women are fortunate, they will, before they die, gather up as much as they can of their civilized heritage and transmit it to their children.

And to their final breath they will be grateful for their inexhaustible legacy, knowing that it is our nourishing mother and our lasting life.

~The Lessons of History, by Will and Ariel Durant

David Byrne & Neil deGrasse Tyson Explain the Importance of an Arts Education (and How It Strengthens Science & Civilization)

What do you think is the purpose of education?  

Some of my thoughts on that.... I believe that my job as an educator is to inspire students to be curious, passionate, and life-long learners.  Education is more than just preparing students for the workforce.  Educators share the simple yet sacred joy of learning.   See also, My Education Philosophy page

Related Links and Information

Is Human Progress Real or An Illusion?

View PDF of timeline image

The Big History Project

UN High-Level Political Forum Side Event:

ICT-Integrated Innovative Education for Global Citizenship to Eliminate Poverty

“I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles their outlook could be fundamentally changed. That all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified façade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or Communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied.” — Michael Collins, Gemini 10 & Apollo 11 astronaut More astronaut quotes on seeing planet Earth from space: http://www.spacequotations.com/earth.html

How to Incorporate More Play in Your Life

Elon Musk

Elon Musk, the Rocket Man With a Sweet Ride

Museum

Elon Musk pledges $1 million to help build Nikola Tesla Museum

The Oatmeal convinces Elon Musk to donate $1 million to Tesla Museum

Hyperloop  

MINISTRY OF INNOVATION / BUSINESS OF TECHNOLOGY Hyperloop—a theoretical 760 mph transit system made of sun, air, and magnets

SpaceX

After successful landing, SpaceX to sue Air Force to compete for launch contracts

Tesla Motors

FTC sides with Tesla, says it should be allowed to sell directly to consumers

New Jersey bars Tesla from selling cars directly

Why Elon Musk Just Opened Tesla's Patents to His Biggest Rivals

Corruption

Make No Mistake the FIFA War is Not About Football or Corruption via The Wire

FIFA Indictments Reveal Loretta Lynch’s Hypocrisy via Aljazeera America