Science & Society

Robopocalypse, see also here on Boing Boing, is a novel by roboticist Daniel Wilson, who foretells a global apocalypse brought on by artificial Intelligence (AI) that hijacks automation systems globally and uses them to wipe out humanity. Computers and no ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - Feb 6 2012 - 12:42am

Use by date?

In the USA, it is, I understand, a great insult to call a member of the fair sex a “Tub of Lard”. So folks from across the Pond may do a slight double-take when they read Tub of lard found fit to eat after 64 years ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Feb 4 2012 - 2:46pm

The Problem With Defining Life

The problem, in a word, is language. Carl Zimmer’s recent article Can Life Be Defined in Three Words raised just that issue. He referred to the many attempts that have been made by scientists to define what life is, and in doing so, unwittingly exposed som ...

Article - Steve Davis - Apr 28 2012 - 9:09pm

Technological Symbiosis

After reading Sascha's excellent article [Robopocalypse Now] regarding the effect and direction of robotic/AI development and its coevolutionary influences, it occurred to me that perhaps a shift in how we view such developments could promote a more i ...

Article - Gerhard Adam - Feb 6 2012 - 9:12pm

Sex Education Doesn't Work For Anyone, So Conservatives Are Stupid

" Sex education is failing to reduce adolescent birthrates in conservative states, according to a new study" begins a somber Livescience piece. Oooh, that's juicy. We all want to talk about how dumb conservatives are. And if it's a stu ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Feb 7 2012 - 8:13pm

The Rise Of Open Access Scientific Publishing

Accessing the absolute latest in scientific communications directly by the independent amateur or citizen scientist has been a financially daunting prospect for decades; practically impossible. ...

Article - Matthew T. Dearing - Feb 8 2012 - 10:02pm

Scottish Suicide: The Looming Crisis

Recent research examined suicide rates north and south of the border between 1960 and 2008 and revealed the widening gap in suicide rates between Scotland and England and Wales is largely due to the number of young Scottish men taking their lives. The suic ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 9 2012 - 5:00am

Why Are We Still Talking About Darwin?

If someone in 2012 wants to criticize Henry Ford because he didn't know everything about automobiles a century ago, it's a little silly. He knew what he knew given the science and the technology of his day- he revolutionized his field. Freud got ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Feb 12 2015 - 12:37pm

Alien Life- Will We Know It?

Will we recognise alien life if we find it? The answer to that is: if it’s a very basic life form we will only know it as living if it’s based on carbon and water. The reason for saying that is that you only have to look at the articles and comments ...

Article - Steve Davis - Feb 13 2012 - 1:48am

Engineered Pandemics? A Memo To Bird Flu Virologists

A note to bird flu virologists: Not all of you have been approaching of this whole engineered flu pandemic controversy quite optimally. It’s understandable that you weren’t prepared for all the attention. After all, you were only answering calls from bot ...

Article - Robert Cooper - Feb 14 2012 - 12:10pm