115 Articles tagged with: Science and Technology

• Public Opposition to Biotech Endangers Your Life and Health

  Do you want to be smarter, healthier, and live longer? Remarkably, a new Pew survey found that most Americans answer “No!” if it requires using certain new technologies. This is a wakeup call for scientists, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, trans… Read Article

• Five Ayn Rand Questions for Jay Friedenberg

  1) Tell us who you are? What’s the couple of sentence summary of what you do and what you’ve done?

  I am a professor of psychology at Manhattan College. I recently finished serving as chairperson for the department for a 10-year period and am … Read Article

• On Viewing Forbidden Planet on Its 60th Anniversary

  Science fiction reflects our hopes and fears for the future and, at its best, it offers an elixir of inspiration. On viewing the 1956 film Forbidden Planet on its 60th anniversary, you can see in its intelligent story, special effects, design, sou… Read Article

• “Man In the Place of the Gods: What Cities Mean.”

  AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR FREDERICK COOKINHAM ON HIS NEW BOOK Q: Tell us what your new book is about. What’s your thesis of Man in the Place of the Gods: What Cities Mean. A: It’s hard to say, because the book is so interdisciplinary. The short… Read Article

• Which Culture Can Make 120 Years Old the Prime of Life?

  Emma Morano, age 116, is the last person alive born in the nineteenth century. New cutting-edge technologies could mean that more than a few people born at the end of the twentieth century will be in the prime of life when they reach that age. But… Read Article

• Epilepsy and Consciousness

  When I was 21 years old I was diagnosed with epilepsy. Though the news was upsetting, I was relieved it wasn’t a brain tumor. But as I realized the seriousness of the diagnosis, I also came to appreciate how wonderful consciousness and the abili… Read Article

• Dishonest Attacks on Genetically Modified Organisms

  For those who take their health seriously, it’s always a challenge to determine which claims are true and which are fiction. This task is made more difficult by those who, either out of malice or shear ignorance, spread misinformation. One examp… Read Article

• Can Toyota and Reason Overcome Blindness?

  If you’ve shut your eyes at the ugly spectacle of political and cultural decline around you, look in the right direction and you’ll see what’s best in the world, including innovations from Toyota that are helping the visually impaired. 

  … Read Article

• Yuri’s Night Out: Celebrating 55 Years of Humans in Space

  Space enthusiasts mark April 12th as “Yuri’s Night Out,” a celebration of the first human in space: Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth in 1961.

  But Gagarin’s trip was courtesy of the Soviet government, which was hostile to the individu… Read Article

• Regulators Drive Away Hyperloop Transport at Hyperspeed

  In 2013, uber-entrepreneur Elon Musk open sourced his idea for a Hyperloop transportation system that could cut a six hour car or train trip between cities down to 30 minutes, faster than even most airline flights. But Knut Sauer, an executive for… Read Article

• Celebrating Andy Grove of Intel

  If you’re reading this piece, checking email, visiting Facebook, or tweeting, give a silent thanks in part to Andy Grove.

  Andy Grove arrived in NYC with only $20 and the clothes on his back.

  Andy Grove was one of the founders of Intel, … Read Article

• Happy Future Day!

  Stand up for optimism about the future today!

  Transhumanism Australia, a non-profit that promotes education in science and technology, has marked March 1 as “Future Day.” It wants this day celebrated worldwide as a time “to consider … Read Article

• SpaceX Sticks the Landing

  The rocket has landed!

  SpaceX, the rocketry startup founded by Elon Musk, succeeded on December 21, 2015 in bringing the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back to land after boosting a group of satellites into orbit. The impossible has be… Read Article

• Will Banning Genetic Engineering Kill You?

  One headline reads “British baby given genetically-edited immune cells to beat cancer in world first.” Another headline reads “Top biologists debate ban on gene-editing.” It’s a literal life and death debate.

  … Read Article

• On Viewing 2001: The First Transhumanist Film

  I recently saw 2001: A Space Odyssey again on the big screen. That’s the best way to see this visually stunning cinematic poem, like I saw it during its premiere run in 1968. The film’s star, Keir Dullea, attended that recent screening and aft… Read Article

• The Fourth GOP Debate: Sounding a Small Techno-Future Note

  The fourth GOP presidential primary debate is worth noting in part because Marco Rubio sounded a note on the topic of our techno-future, which should be a central theme for all the candidates. Sadly, the note did not grow into a symphony.

  … Read Article

• Steve Jobs (movie review
)

  If you’re a fan of Steve Jobs, the Apple co-founder and digital age revolutionary, you might find Steve Jobs the movie a bit hard to take. It shows the worst of the man.

  If you’re a fan of Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the screenplay portray… Read Article

• The Robots of Labor Day

  Fear of robots has been rising: not just fear of the sci-fi killer kind but also fear that robots will take our jobs.

  … Read Article

• Four Facts for Human Achievement Day

  July 20 is the anniversary of one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments, the first lunar landing.

  … Read Article

• How anti-individualist fallacies prevent us from curing death

  Are you excited about Silicon Valley entrepreneurs investing billions of dollars to extend life and even “cure” death?

  It's amazing that such technologically challenging goals have gone from sci-fi fantasies to fantastic possibilities.… Read Article