WHAT IS INFORMATION?

“The word information is derived from Latin informare which means “give form to”. The etymology thus connotes an imposition of structure upon some indeterminate mass. Allan & Selander (1985) have analysed how the word is used in Swedish language and find that this is probably the most widely used meaning of the word. Most people tend to think of information as disjointed little bundles of “facts”. In the Oxford definition of the word it is connected both to knowledge and communication.

Knowledge communicated concerning some particular fact, subject or event; that of which one is apprised or told; intelligence, news.

The way the word information is used can refer to both “facts” in themselves and the transmission of the facts.”

The rest: http://www.sveiby.com/articles/Information.html

Cyborg Rights ‘need debating now’

Cyborgs are alive and well today and asserting their rights, presenting society with a challenge that needs to be met head on, says one Australian expert.

More: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/06/04/2916443.htm

(can’t stop laughing … intellect regressing…)

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593#comment-648967

Melpo Mene – Jedi

“In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon’s hotel room in Toronto and convinced him to do an interview. 38 years later, Levitan, director Josh Raskin and illustrators James Braithwaite and Alex Kurina have collaborated to create an animated short film using the original interview recording as the soundtrack. A spellbinding vessel for Lennon’s boundless wit and timeless message, I Met the Walrus was nominated for the 2008 Academy Award for Animated Short and won the 2009 Emmy for ‘New Approaches’ (making it the first film to win an Emmy on behalf of the internet).”

“This photo is the result of a series of photographs taken by V. Rumyantsev every 10th day in the Crimea during which he tracked the course of the sun for a year [click on the photo to go to his blog]. The result is proof of the analemma. Considering that I can barely sustain interest in a sitcom for a season, it amazes me that anyone could pursue such a project with the hope of producing one photograph after a year’s work.”

via: http://www.icedteaandsarcasm.com/2009_11_01_archive.html

“To allow oneself to “wander without purpose” can be frightening because it challenges some of our most basic assumptions about life, about who we are as humans, and about our role in the world. From a Taoist point of view it is our cherished beliefs – that we exist as separate beings, that we can exercise willful control over all situations, and that our role is to conquer our environment – that lead to a state of disharmony and imbalance. Yet, “the Tao nourishes everything,” Lao Tzu writes. If we can learn to follow the Tao, practicing non-action,” then nothing remains undone. This means trusting our own bodies, our thoughts and emotions, and also believing that the environment will provide support and guidance. Thus the need to develop watchfulness and quietness of mind.”

More: http://www.jadedragon.com/archives/june98/tao.html

http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/#/2010/scor

Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships and how we act in the world.

The program of the search of extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a source of extinction risk. The main idea is that passive SETI is much more dangerous activity than messaging to stars because we could download Alien AI (that is a scheme of a computer and program to it) which will use the Earth to send its copies further. The following is based on two premises:
First is that extraterrestrial civilizations do exist in the distances which allow radio communication, but do not allow interstellar travel (which is from one thousand to one million light years).
Second is that artificial intelligence is possible as a self-evolving classic computer program.

500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art

Music: Bach’s Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 performed by Yo-Yo Ma

Nominated as Most Creative Video
2nd Annual YouTube Awards

For a complete list of artists and paintings visit http://www.maysstuff.com/womenid.htm

via: http://www.youmightfindyourself.com/