A recent article in The Economist chronicled the downturn in the popularity and standing of democracy over the last fifty years. In the first half of the twentieth century democracy (“government by the people”) was the gold standard, and was riding a wave of adoption worldwide. Democracy, national pride and economic success appeared to go… Read more I want what he’s having… Trump’s envy of Putin’s large(r) hands?
When you get down to it, evolution is a self-perpetuating process of learning from mistakes (and occasional serendipitous good fortune). Survival of the fittest… Mammals developed the ability to propel themselves out of the water on their flippers — and away from the gaping, razor-toothed, mouths of the sea-dwellers looking for their next meal. The… Read more Man and Beast
Anthropologists believe that the big breakthrough for our species, about 85,000 years ago, was the invention of language. Language made it possible for our ancestors to collaborate more closely, share knowledge and pass it down through generations. Most importantly it also gave them the ability to formulate abstract thought, allowing them to play out “what… Read more God yes, religion no…
Who is the creator of everything…. Who surpasses all religions…Who has no chosen people…no favourites… He does not ask for offerings or devotions… He asks only that we work to improve ourselves and love and nurture all His creatures. His hope is that we will make him proud for our achievements and our behaviour—as a… Read more There is one God…
High ranking among the scenarios that could explain the missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370 is that a frantic effort to subdue an attempt by passengers to storm the plane’s cockpit led to the catastrophic decompression of the aircraft, killing all aboard. The plane then, under the control of its flight computer, flew on as a… Read more Did Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 fly for over six hours with no living crew?
It is indeed ironic that the title of a mayor is “His (or her) Honour” because honour is at the very top of the list of words that should not be used in the same sentence as Rob Ford. Of course the same holds true for “the Honourable” Senators Mike Duffy, Pamela Wallin and Patrick… Read more The Honourable Mayor Rob Ford – a Canadian wish for Christmas
I only realized that the island of Milao could have real importance to anybody when I received a blog comment from Christian Holata of Vienna, Austria. Christian drew my attention to the Zeitgeist movement and the Venus Project. When I did some research I found that the core recommendation of those two projects is that… Read more What we can learn from the island of Milao
(third in a series of articles entitled “Will our species pass the BIG intelligence test?) Ray Kurzweil said in his book The Singularity is Near, “A more intelligent process will inherently outcompete one that is less intelligent, making intelligence the most powerful force in the universe.” But what do we mean when we talk about… Read more What the Wall Street Protests are telling us
(the second in a series entitle “Will our species pass the BIG intelligence test?) It makes sense, when you think about it. There should be a test of worthiness before a wannabe spacefaring species takes flight. Think of what the colonizing Europeans did to the native peoples in Africa and North and South America; and… Read more Will we ever journey to the stars?
(the first of a series of articles on this subject) From the time man first realized the immensity of our universe, scientists have been wondering why we have not yet found any evidence of intelligent life somewhere out there. As our telescopes and related technology have improved, the mystery has deepened—because the odds against our… Read more Will our species pass the BIG intelligence test?