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Monday, October 24, 2011

Occupy Wall Street


Is Occupy Wall Street a force for anything? Thus far, its nebulous demands have made it seem like an opportunity for the unemployed, on their 99 weeks of UI, to get together and have lunch. Or is the media helping to make it seem that way?

Let's discuss what OWS means now and what it could mean in the future. Might this be a movement that leads to real change? Do we want real change? 


Realistically, what can we hope for? And what are potential bad outcomes? How destabilizing a force could it be?



Suggested watching:

Monday, October 10, 2011

Transcendent Man: Documentary & Discussion


Transcendent Man: Documentary & Discussion

(Posted by Emily Effner)

"Transcendent Man" is a documentary directed by Barry Ptolemy, that introduces the life and ideas of Ray Kurzweil, the renowned futurist who journeys the world offering his (relatively controversial) vision of the future. The idea he has made popular is called the "Technological Singularity", and it refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. As this suggests, it means downloading the human mind and potentially living forever... and all within the 21st century.

These are pretty spectacular predictions, but are they really that spectacular in light of the rate of technological development?

How do you think this would affect society?

Even if people were given the option to live forever do you think they would?


The "Future of Technology" is a huge meaty discussion topic that we don't expect to tackle in one session, but thought that a viewing of the documentary and short discussion would be, A) Fun and B). A good start for additional discussions on technology.

"Transcendent Man" Official Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjhB6J23Qjs&feature=related


Cancer - a biography

Cancer

(Posted by Pedro Sousa)

Is cancer merely the next domino to fall in the wake of the advances of modern medical science, before we can claim our inevitable immortality, or is it an intrinsic part of a complex living creature, as inseparable from us as the very code that gives us life?

In The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee writes a biography of Cancer, a story that spans from ancient times to these modern times. Only a master storyteller can make a book on a topic, as dry as the history of the human understanding of cancer, read as though it were a thriller.

Bohemian discussion:

What do you think about making engaging but non-technical books a part of a teaching curriculum as a way to get students excited about a subject?

Given the examples in this book and throughout history of medical experts being so horribly wrong, when can you trust an expert? When is it appropriate for an expert in an area to mock a quack that could potentially do harm to the public?

Given that the experts were often so wrong, to what degree should medicine be more open to new ideas and willing to investigate possibilities that seem far-fetched to the experts. At the same time, resources are finite, and there is a point of diminishing returns to investigating every theory. There are also many theories that have potential to do significant harm to the public put are constantly being put forth by quacks. Where should we draw the line?