Archive for the ‘futurism’ category: Page 641
Oct 11, 2018
Why Futurism Has a Cultural Blindspot
Posted by Xavier Rosseel in categories: futurism, space
In early 1999, during the halftime of a University of Washington basketball game, a time capsule from 1927 was opened. Among the contents of this portal to the past were some yellowing newspapers, a Mercury dime, a student handbook, and a building permit. The crowd promptly erupted into boos. One student declared the items “dumb.”
Such disappointment in time capsules seems to run endemic, suggests William E. Jarvis in his book Time Capsules: A Cultural History. A headline from The Onion, he notes, sums it up: “Newly unearthed time capsule just full of useless old crap.” Time capsules, after all, exude a kind of pathos: They show us that the future was not quite as advanced as we thought it would be, nor did it come as quickly. The past, meanwhile, turns out to not be as radically distinct as we thought.
In his book Predicting the Future, Nicholas Rescher writes that “we incline to view the future through a telescope, as it were, thereby magnifying and bringing nearer what we can manage to see.” So too do we view the past through the other end of the telescope, making things look farther away than they actually were, or losing sight of some things altogether.
Oct 10, 2018
Scary ‘Dynamoterror’ dinosaur discovered
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: futurism
The Tyrannosaurus rex may be among the most well-known and terrifying dinosaurs to walk the Earth, but a newly discovered relative may have been even scarier.
Dynamoterror dynastes, a variant of T. rex, was discovered in New Mexico in 2012 by a team of researchers, led by Western Science Center paleontologist Andrew McDonald. It has a slightly different bone structure compared to its successor cousin.
“Despite fragmentation of much of the axial and appendicular skeleton prior to discovery, the frontals, a metacarpal, and two pedal phalanges are well-preserved,” the study’s abstract reads. “The frontals exhibit an unambiguous autapomorphy and a second potential autapomorphy that distinguish this specimen from all other tyrannosaurids.”
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Oct 10, 2018
Scientists discover massive volcano graveyard hidden off the coast of Australia
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: futurism
It’s often said that we know less about what is hiding in Earth’s oceans than we do about what lurks in the depths of space. While that might be hyperbole, a new discovery off the coast of Australia certainly lends weight to the argument.
Hidden some 2,000 meters beneath the waves off the east coast of Australia, researchers stumbled upon something they didn’t even know was there: a massive volcano graveyard that they are calling the “Lost World” of extinct underwater volcanos.
Oct 10, 2018
Conservation and Compassion in the Age of Humans and Beyond
Posted by Steve Nichols in category: futurism
“Broadly speaking, a posthuman perspective would call into question the anthropocentric notion that humans are to be privileged over all other forms of life. Posthumanism generally aligns with a more ecological perspective that favors simultaneous coexistence with other species and consideration of the lives and experiences of other species. Posthumanism would thus resist the notion that humans are at the center of any given context and would instead posit that human society is composed of a web of interwoven, entangled relationships of humans, nonhuman animals, organic and inorganic matter, and so on.” https://www.psychologytoday.com/…/conservation-and-compassi… https://paper.li/e-1437691924#/
A new book called “Visualizing Posthuman Conservation in the Age of the Anthropocene” argues against human domination and favors peaceful coexistence with other species.
Oct 10, 2018
The Latest Prostheses Take Orders Directly From Your Nerves
Posted by Paul Gonçalves in category: futurism
New prostheses can perform dexterous motions, such as opening beers and grinding pepper, by learning how your specific nervous system gives orders.
Oct 9, 2018
Bioquark Inc. — Real Bodies Milano Exhibit — Ira Pastor
Posted by Ira S. Pastor in categories: aging, bioengineering, biotech/medical, cryonics, futurism, genetics, health, life extension, science, transhumanism
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Oct 7, 2018
‘Sea sludge’ could solve current problems with biofuels
Posted by Genevieve Klien in categories: futurism, sustainability
Strains of algae and fungi that produce their own oil could cut costs and increase productivity for biofuels of the future.
Oct 7, 2018
Saving the Planet One Modified Gene At a Time
Posted by B.J. Murphy in category: futurism
Throughout history, our species have come against great challenges which ultimately determined whether we survived or not. So far, we’ve made it to nearly the start of the third decade of the 21st century. And yet, even greater challenges stand before us today, forcing us, once again, to fight for our very existence.
Grand challenges stand before us that will ultimately determine whether we, as a species, will survive. With the help of science and technology, there may just be hope yet!