Tag Archives | technology

$10 Million Prize If You Can Invent A Star Trek Tricorder!

By on January 13, 2012 in Economics, Science

Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize is offering a $10 million prize to the first person or team who can come up with a Star Trek Tricorder device: a portable device which can measure key health metrics and diagnose a set of 15 diseases (why just 15?–LeRoy).   Much progress has been made recently on doing quick [...]

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Scientifically Illiterate America

By on January 11, 2012 in Human Behavior, Politics, Science

Turns out that the overwhelming majority of America’s Protestant pastors don’t like none of that Darwan ape-man monkee bizness noncents!!   Poll: 7 in 10 pastors reject evolution  

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What should the brightest do?

By on December 12, 2011 in Economics, General Discussion, Human Behavior, Science

Since education is usually such a popular topic amongst this group I thought I would offer up the following excerpts from a piece in the 11 28 edition of The New Yorker by George Packer on Peter Thiel, a young investor who is keen on technological innovation. Thiel believes that education is the next bubble [...]

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Have They Found The Higgs Particle?

By on December 12, 2011 in Science

If these rumors are true, it will be a major advance in the world of physics. I thought Phil might find this interesting, since he has—at least on occasion—expressed some skepticism about the Higgs particle….   CERN set to report probable Higgs sighting this week

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Oil, Black Gold, Texas Tea

By on November 22, 2011 in General Discussion

Our world runs on oil. And by our world I mean the industrialized part of it. Even if much of our electricity is generated by coal, natural gas, nuclear and hydro, even our electicity generation would sputter out if the supply of oil diminished by any appreciable amount. Those monster power shovels that excevate the coal run [...]

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You’ll get a charge from this!

By on November 18, 2011 in Science

Here’s an item I received from EE Times. It is what I consider a major event: Researchers enhance battery electrode specs Nicolas Mokhoff 11/17/2011 11:57 AM EST MANHASSET, NY — A team of Northwestern University researchers has created an anode electrode for lithium-ion batteries that allows the batteries to hold a charge up to 10 [...]

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I’m A Believer. You Guys Are All Skeptics.

By on November 14, 2011 in Economics, International affairs, Science

Exclusive: Orbital solar power plants touted for energy needs By Jim WolfPosted 2011/11/13 at 8:16 am EST WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2011 (Reuters) — The sun’s abundant energy, if harvested in space, could provide a cost-effective way to meet global power needs in as little as 30 years with seed money from governments, according to a [...]

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Was The Industrial Revolution Inevitable?

By on November 7, 2011 in Economics, General Discussion, International affairs, Politics

Thought I would share with the folks here a discussion I have been having with one of our history teachers. Here is the email he sent out which initiated this discussion. I will append as a reply the email I sent to him.   This year’s senior class is the product of several years at [...]

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NASA Is Working On Tractor Beams!

By on November 1, 2011 in Science

1 November 2011 Last updated at 06:42 ET// Nasa examines ‘tractor beams’ for sample gathering The “tractor beam” approaches depend on precise shaping of the intensities of laser beams Continue reading the main story Related Stories Lasers can act as ‘tractor beams’ How to put a science lab on Mars US space agency Nasa has [...]

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Progress, the Python and Plato’s Chariot

By on October 8, 2011 in Human Behavior

Belief in Progress forms the dominant myth of industrial civilization. It infuses our dreams of a world of never-ending growth and a technological cornucopia pouring forth ease and comfort for billions of people. The python, however, represents the limits a finite world imposes on this dream and includes the Laws of Thermodynamics. Plato’s chariot provides an [...]

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