Just returned from giving speeches about artificial Intelligence and other fututure wonders/fears, for GE and Viacom. But there's time to squeeze in - for the weekend - a posting that's not about the U.S. political civil war. And hence...
Lest the media's obsession with bad news suggest that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argues in an interview that things have actually gone a lot better over recent centuries, and at an accelerating pace. "A shift in the summum bonum, or the highest good, towards loose humanism, where life is better than death, education better than ignorance, health better than sickness," he says, "is what I believe we are seeing currently."
Lest the media's obsession with bad news suggest that the world is going to hell in a handbasket, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argues in an interview that things have actually gone a lot better over recent centuries, and at an accelerating pace. "A shift in the summum bonum, or the highest good, towards loose humanism, where life is better than death, education better than ignorance, health better than sickness," he says, "is what I believe we are seeing currently."
Why do more highly educated people veer toward liberalism? The Pew Research Center recently released a study showing that nearly a third of those who went to graduate or professional school maintain liberal views on social, economic and environmental matters, whereas this is true for just one in 10 Americans generally. "An additional quarter of postgrads have mostly liberal views. These numbers reflect drastic change: While professionals have been in the Democratic column for a while, in 1994 only 7 percent of postgrads held consistently liberal political opinions,” reports Neil Gross in The New York Times.
This might have been interesting as the introduction to an article about the topic. But the article failed to explore this thread in more depth.Though one thing is clear -- highly educated people are more cognizant of time horizons that encompass a recognition of change.
The world was different in the past. That is not just a reason for nostalgia but also for recognition that change will continue. (The kind of disruptive change that makes science fiction by far the most pertinent literature of our era.)
Liberalism is an attempt to harness and steer change. Hence it is not leftist per se... Marx thought that steering history was futile! It is this belief that we can refashion ourselves and society using tools of discourse and/or science that makes the educated liberal.
Liberalism is an attempt to harness and steer change. Hence it is not leftist per se... Marx thought that steering history was futile! It is this belief that we can refashion ourselves and society using tools of discourse and/or science that makes the educated liberal.
Well... yes... compassion and empathy, too. But it is no accident that free enterprise, markets, entrepreneurship - all desiderata that supposedly the right cares about - do far better when liberals are managing the state. Sorry, it is a blatant and overwhelming fact, Jack.
== Looking to the Future ==
 |
| 'Vessel' by Heatherwick Studios |
Escher comes alive? An amazing concept for a structure to be built in New York’s Hudson Yards development. “Named ‘Vessel’, the interactive structure by Thomas Heatherwick is intended to be climbed, explored, and experienced. comprising 154 interconnecting flights of stairs.” Fascinating conceptual design. And yet, I have to wonder about disabled access.
And why each of the 80 landings could not subtly vary in theme? Perhaps with gardens or planters or nano-display spaces for artists or science quirks? Sure, the architect would hate the “clutter.” But there will be an elevator. Know that. And a spiral descent ramp. Two of them. One for wheelchairs and one for skateboarders! I know how it could be done without much clutter.
And why each of the 80 landings could not subtly vary in theme? Perhaps with gardens or planters or nano-display spaces for artists or science quirks? Sure, the architect would hate the “clutter.” But there will be an elevator. Know that. And a spiral descent ramp. Two of them. One for wheelchairs and one for skateboarders! I know how it could be done without much clutter.
The Journal of Posthuman Studies is a fully peer
reviewed, multidisciplinary journal developed to analyze what it is to be human
in an age of rapid technological, scientific, cultural and social evolution.
Editors include James Hughes, University of Massachusetts, late of the
Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.
Some of the
topics in this wide-ranging podcast:
0:47 Who's
doing the heavy lifting of creating the future?
8:13
Imagination the great tragedy and boon of human nature
11:24 Science
one of the four great pillars that freed us from the "Great Delusion"
15:35 When
did you go from astronomer to writer?
24:23 Where
are we going in the life sciences?
27:13 A
contrarian on immortality
33:00
Renunciation, stopping the forward rush of science
37:46
"The American Revolution stuns me."
40:55 BONUS:
The author reads from Existence
== Tools for the future ==
Looking toward a better future... education reformer Marc Prensky has an interesting new book out from Teachers College Press: Education to Better Their World: Unleashing the Power of 21st Century Kids. “Marc Prensky offers us a lucid, inspiring, optimistic, doable, and crucial blueprint for how we can build a future with the schools that children desperately need.”
The Fidget Cube. This cube offers useless
buttons designed to keep your hands busy. It seems to have struck a nerve... They asked for $15,000 on Kickstarter and got
$6 million. Two more days to get one...
Wow… I’ve become pretty
good at Power Point… it helps with half of my livelihood. Still, this new Slidebot tool takes things to
a new level, using quasi AI to find images on the web suitable for whatever
text you are typing. Yeah. cue Twilight zone music. But I intend to try it. And you can export those slides into Power Point or other familiar systems.
== not about the election! ==
== not about the election! ==
The California legislature and Gov. Brown just approved legislation requiring a conviction prior to asset forfeiture.
I often hold up California as the dynamic leader in U.S. governance… e.g having the best election laws in the country, that have reduced radical partisanship, encouraging pragmatism and negotiation and yes, even with the minority of moderate republicans. It helps that Gov. Jerry Brown – while liberal and dynamic and busy, is also skeptical of meddlesome over-reach for its own sake. He vetoes pretty often. All told, California is an utter refutation of the Foxite song that “divided government that does nothing is best.” Idiots.
And yet… here’s a bill Jerry shoulda trashed. California's new 'Sale of Autographed Memorabilia' law requires a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) for any signed item worth more than $5. Failure to issue the COA could make the seller liable for ten times the value in damages. This will be hard on booksellers.... though I imagine it was targeted at Sports Memorabilia and Movie schlock and books may get a pass.
The law is dumb and troglodytic. If provenance is a problem, some piece of paper won't solve it. Instead, take a PICTURE each time you sign an item and file the jpeg using a correlation app that will find that specific item by the shape of your signature - different each time! Much easier to do and to comply with the law and it can actually work! Correlating and verifying. Best of all it is not a stone-age 20th century "solution." Dingbats.
Fortunately, this is California. The law will be amended next year. Then amended again till the public and stakeholders care too little to make much noise. It is called real, functioning democracy. Democrats do it. Imperfectly! And it helps to have a Jerry Brown!
What this kind of bill demonstrates is that the Democratic-Republican divide is not left-vs-right… dems often DE-regulate much more than GOPpers do.
No, it is manic-vs-depressive. The Democratic run CA legislature rushes about in a frenzy, adapting the state's laws to 21st Century conditions (it’s their job!), then modifying the modifications under comment/complaint from citizens and companies… then getting more feedback in public hearings and modifying again… Busy, busy, busy. And sometimes drawing vetoes from the liberal-but-pragmatic chief executive. (For the most part, it's good or neutral stuff.) Sure, manic is vexing, sometimes, like this silly autograph bill.
No, it is manic-vs-depressive. The Democratic run CA legislature rushes about in a frenzy, adapting the state's laws to 21st Century conditions (it’s their job!), then modifying the modifications under comment/complaint from citizens and companies… then getting more feedback in public hearings and modifying again… Busy, busy, busy. And sometimes drawing vetoes from the liberal-but-pragmatic chief executive. (For the most part, it's good or neutral stuff.) Sure, manic is vexing, sometimes, like this silly autograph bill.
But we move forward. Unlike the depressive side, as the Republicans have made 20 of the last 22 years of the U.S. Congress utterly useless, unable to pass even a basic budget! Unable to hold hearings about pressing matters or even issue subpoenas… except In pathetically partisan-nonsensical witch hunts. The nastiest but above-all laziest Congresses in U.S. history. Except for trillions of gushing tax gifts to the rich, and awful wars, can you name any accomplishments?
Sorry. Politics again. I yearn for an odd numbered year.
Sorry. Politics again. I yearn for an odd numbered year.
