Artificial Intelligence

AI

Pandemics

Now that H1N1 has passed, I fear that we will become complacent about disease. I have heard people talk about media hype and profit motives for the warnings about the flu. My perspective is far different.  Pandemics have the real potential to kill far more people than the things we tend to worry about- like terrorism. Now there are advances that can help to provide vaccines against some of the worst diseases known to man. We live in an exciting era in which more and more advances for health are possible. Please watch the following.

Wow! The democracization of Technology!!

Stewart Brand espouses 4 environmental heresies

The originator of the Whole Earth Catelogue hopes to convince us that 4 environmental heresies are exactly what we need to change our planet for continued survival. He speaks of urbanization and that the rise of the west is over. His opinion is worth considering.

Synthetic life is a reality

The known universe

Here's what scientists know of our universe. This is an amazing presentation for helping us understand proportions.

Eating to Prevent Cancer

Savants

Stephen Lewis talks about the realities

Protection of women

Mysteries of the Brain

Neuroscience of Emotion- Phillipe Golden

Justice, Law and Philospophy

Justice. What is the right thing to do?


I have embedded the first in a series of twelve lectures on the philosophies of justice. Michael Sandel is a Harvard professor who has an interesting and approachable teaching style. I watched all twelve of the lectures and learned a lot. If this is of interest, please watch the 54 minute lecture below and you can find the rest on Youtube.

Teaching Math in a New Way- Dan Meyer

Henry Markham and the Brain's Cortical Columns

Evergreen of Life

This is a beautiful animation about our confidence in the earth to heal after a man made disaster. We all hope it continues to be true.

A quick review of Calculus

How Bacteria Talk to each Other- Awesome Presentation

This woman is a naturally engaging speaker and has so much facinating information to share. Bonny Bassler of Princeton!

Next Generation Bacteria Killers

This man is not a gifted speaker but he appears to be a very gifted scientist. He has come up with a way to get our bodies to seek out and destroy bacteria! Wow- Kary Mullis has something to say!

Ensuring a Greener Future by storing the seed of the World

Jonathan Drori – Storing seeds for the future

How to Grow your Own Fresh Air - Step by Step Instructions

How to grow your own fresh air

Stainglass architecture and interesting teaching video 5 minutes

Clean Water! Made Easy!

One answer to a major world problem

Social Experiments to Fight Poverty- Esther Duflo

2009 MacArthur fellow Esther Duflo is pushing the field of development economics by studying specific causal relationships that lead to or perpetuate poverty. She looks at close-to-home issues: household behavior, education, access to finance and health. At MIT, she's the founder and director of the Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a research network that evaluates social programs. It's concerned less with wide-ranging policy than with specific questions. Sample: If schoolkids could get their uniforms for free, would attendance go up? What's an effective way to reward mothers for immunizing their babies? Randomized trials offer new insights toward creating global equity and prosperity. Her work may blur the lines between economics and activism, but it's a role Duflo not only considers comfortable but vital.

What Does Algae Bloom Look Like? Why is it a Problem?

Phosphates and Eutrophication (?)

Phosphate compounds have been used in consumer and industrial detergents for decades. In the early 1990’s as environmental concerns became more prevalent, phosphates containing detergents were targeted as a contributor to surface water euthrophication. If you were wondering what the heck that was, here is an explanation:
Eutrophication is the process of enrichment of waters with nutrients and subsequent production of large scale algal “blooms”. The nutrients responsible for this process include carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, silica, trace metals, and other minor nutrients. Of the total amount of phosphorous produced each year for North American use, about 70% is used in agricultural fertilizers and animal feeds. A recent Minnesota study showed that less than 3% of the total phosphorous discharged into surface waters originated from consumer and commercial detergents products. Because it is easier to pass laws limiting phosphate in detergents than in animal feed, human food, and fertilizer; many states have passed legislation banning or limiting the use of phosphate in certain detergent products. Every little bit helps.

Dean Kamen- First the Segway and now replacement arms! Nice work!

"Lots of people talk and dream about changing the world. But inventor Dean Kamen is actually doing it."


CBS News







Video of the arm

A Planet in Ecological Debt

Are We Brave Enought to Listen to Every Perspective?

Music With Original Presentation.

Wright's Insights

Wright draws from multiple disciplines -- including science, religion, history and politics -- in his search for big-picture perspectives on today's problems  A Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, Wright also hosts an interview series with celebrated thinkers at Meaningoflifetv.com. Wright's newest book, The Evolution of God, explores the history of the idea of God in the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

"Taken together, "The Moral Animal," "Nonzero" and "The Evolution of God" represent a powerful addition to modern thought."

Wall Street Journal

Mahatma Ghandi