3/14  Pi Day, School Walkout, Stephen Hawking, And More

Talk about timing...

It's amazing that it's been a year since Glen met with Snowden and the NSA landed in the headlines for violating our 4th amendment rights to privacy, a cornerstone of democracy.

Last week the USA Freedom Act passed in the house- doublespeak from our government that allows this abuse to continue. This week Snowden gave his first American Network TV interview.

Why does this issue of privacy and democracy matter so much? After all, "If you aren't doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide"?

----- excerpt from The Eternal Value of Privacy by Bruce Schneier-----

"Two proverbs say it best: Quis custodiet custodes ipsos? ("Who watches the watchers?") and "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Cardinal Richelieu understood the value of surveillance when he famously said, "If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged." Watch someone long enough, and you'll find something to arrest -- or just blackmail -- with. Privacy is important because without it, surveillance information will be abused: to peep, to sell to marketers and to spy on political enemies -- whoever they happen to be at the time.

Privacy protects us from abuses by those in power, even if we're doing nothing wrong at the time of surveillance.

and

"Too many wrongly characterize the debate as "security versus privacy." The real choice is liberty versus control. Tyranny, whether it arises under threat of foreign physical attack or under constant domestic authoritative scrutiny, is still tyranny. Liberty requires security without intrusion, security plus privacy. Widespread police surveillance is the very definition of a police state. And that's why we should champion privacy even when we have nothing to hide."

For the link to a short collection of other related articles, visit http://americanvirtueproject.wikispaces.com/readinglist

Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.

Arthur C. Clarke

Instagram

After holding out for so long, a friend of mine finally convinced me to get on Instagram.... So after giving it a try I thought I would post (on Flickr!) about the experience so far.... Read more over at Flickr

It's no Paris, or breakfast at the amazing hotel in Amman, but it's still pretty tasty! . . . Was supposed to be en route to Paris but the MLW (UNESCO) conference I was going to present at with members of the IDEL initiative was postponed. I was really looking forward to sharing our work and making connections. Plus getting a chance to revisit and have fun while I'm in town. And be a tourist with friends.... . . . We'll be presenting soon at the AJCU conference in June, and then meeting with Georgetwon right after 😁 . . . #warmbuttercroissant #darkchocolate #honey #fresh #raspberries #oranges #roastedwalnuts #roastedalmonds #extrasharpcheddarcheese #decafecoffee #epictripthesequelonhold #relaxingweekend #travelplans https://www.instagram.com/p/B9J-lFmlwjV/?igshid=b0lteutel5cq

Down the rabbit hole

A friend sent me a link to this article today: IBM Unveils a Computer that Can Argue

I don't know that I'd agree this computer is "thinking" and "learning" but it is impressive...  scary and impressive... personally though, while some scientists are trying to create artificial intelligence (did they not watch Terminator?!?!?!?!?!?), I think there's a good chance that the first true AI or AIs will actually come from the Internet.... 

Some food for thought:

Minding the Planet: From Semantic Web to Global Mind

some of the other places (in no particular order) that I wandered after visiting that article....

http://stko.geog.ucsb.edu/sw2022/sw2022_paper1.pdf

http://keet.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/some-ideas-about-what-the-semantic-web-will-look-like-in-2022/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_Data

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBpedia

http://mmt.me.uk/slides/iam121009/#(1)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_room

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_mind

http://longbets.org/1/

http://singularityhub.com/2011/04/04/kurzweil-is-confident-machines-will-pass-turing-test-by-2029-video-2/

Future vision

“Negropodamus” disses Internet of Things, predicts knowledge pills,

just to give you a little background...  this guy...  founded the MIT MediaLab...  he also gave a talk at the very first TED conference with 5 predictions....  after you read the article, watch the video and be prepared to have your mind blown (keep in mind, he made these predictions in 1984!!!)....  Nigroponte is one of those tech visionaries..  like Kurzweil.... ('the singularity guy'...  actually, there's a lot more to the singularity than good old Ray)

some sites futurists check out...

physorg.com singularity hub kurzweilAI

Science, not silence...

Science is more than a discipline, it’s a belief system.  It’s a way of looking at the world in wonder with insatiable curiosity.  Scientists value rationality.  They have a healthy sense of skepticism, they are critical thinkers.  They are using their time and energy to understand the world and make it a better place.  

They deal in evidence and facts.

Not politics and lies. 

I am THRILLED to hear that scientists are hearing the same call to action that many other groups are answering in these unsettling times...

The March for Science is a celebration of our passion for science and a call to support and safeguard the scientific community. Recent policy changes have caused heightened worry among scientists, and the incredible and immediate outpouring of support has made clear that these concerns are also shared by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Mischaracterization of science as a partisan issue, which has given policymakers permission to reject overwhelming evidence, is a critical and urgent matter. It is time for people who support scientific research and evidence-based policies to take a public stand and be counted.

ON APRIL 22, 2017, WE WALK OUT OF THE LAB AND INTO THE STREETS.

We are scientists and science enthusiasts. We come from all races, all religions, all gender identities, all sexual orientations, all socioeconomic backgrounds, all political perspectives, and all nationalities. Our diversity is our greatest strength: a wealth of opinions, perspectives, and ideas is critical for the scientific process. What unites us is a love of science, and an insatiable curiosity. We all recognize that science is everywhere and affects everyone.

Science is often an arduous process, but it is also thrilling. A universal human curiosity and dogged persistence is the greatest hope for the future. This movement cannot and will not end with a march. Our plans for policy change and community outreach will start with marches worldwide and a teach-in at the National Mall, but it is imperative that we continue to celebrate and defend science at all levels - from local schools to federal agencies - throughout the world.

#sciencemarch

MarchofScience.com

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See also my del.icio.us links or my flipboards or many of the content/curation pages on my weebly site...  in particular though, one of the greatest scientists of all times comes to mind (Post: Carl Sagan)

And that includes politicians!!   In one of my favorite videos of Carl, he speaks about  science, politics, and skepticism (here’s the short clip on that).

Op-Ed: Why we need scientists to run for public office now - via Ars Technica

Which is why it’s also exciting to see groups encouraging scientists to run for office.... 

We are members of the STEM Community, grassroots supporters, and political activists committed to bring innovation to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, aggressively advocate for real solutions to Climate Change and elect more STEM trained candidates to public office.

314Action.org

Update

Sensing New Threats, Scientists Entertain Political Ambitions

Why I’m Marching for Science

In Age of Trump, Scientists Show Signs of a Political Pulse

A lot of Americans don’t know a thing scientist.  We need to fix that

Excerpt:   This is the battle for the legitimacy of science, a battle we helped create because we still haven’t figured out how to show people what we do, why we do it, and why it’s important.  So we’ll march. And then we have to get to work. Going forward, we have to be stewards. We have to share without condescension and be patient and helpful as people balance uncomfortable truths. We have to integrate into our communities as voices on the ground. We’re people who care about the health and well-being of the human race. That’s why we sequester ourselves in our labs working for cures, or in front of computers trying to understand weather patterns, or out in the ocean, gathering samples of water, fish, and plants. But we have to do a better job of communicating if we want the default to be evidence-based policy for us, the people, and not for profit. I hope it’s not too late to reverse our failings.