Happiness doesn't increase with growing wealth of nations, finds study | Science | guardian.co.uk
"With incomes rising so rapidly in [certain] countries, it seems extraordinary that no surveys register the marked improvement in subjective wellbeing that mainstream economists and policy makers worldwide expect to find," he said.
In the paper, Easterlin cites surveys from Chile, China and South Korea. In these countries, per capita income has doubled in less than 20 years but overall happiness does not seem to have followed the same path. In China and Chile, there appeared to be small drops in life satisfaction, but the numbers were not statistically significant. For South Korea there was a modest, again not statistically significant, increase in life satisfaction in the early 1980s, but it declined slightly from 1990 to 2005.
The results, he said, were "strikingly consistent": over the long term, the sense of wellbeing in a country's citizens did not go up with income. His work is published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Microsoft reveals Surface Windows 8 tablets | Technology | guardian.co.uk
I am very much of the opinion that tablets with good detachable keyboards will be an important sector (and am very happy with my ASUS transformer) -and interesting to see Microsoft thinks the same
Microsoft reveals Surface Windows 8 tablets | Technology | guardian.co.uk
While important to still catch the Ipad slick and easy tablet feel, with the devices becoming more and more powerful, and valid alternatives to laptops, then a keyboard becomes even more important. since what good is the power to run more programs etc. without the matching ease of controlling them? Of course for a lot of people browsing is all they need in a tablet...but there is more to variation than 16GB or 32GB ;-)
Microsoft reveals Surface Windows 8 tablets | Technology | guardian.co.uk
While important to still catch the Ipad slick and easy tablet feel, with the devices becoming more and more powerful, and valid alternatives to laptops, then a keyboard becomes even more important. since what good is the power to run more programs etc. without the matching ease of controlling them? Of course for a lot of people browsing is all they need in a tablet...but there is more to variation than 16GB or 32GB ;-)
Monday, June 18, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Everyday Stress Can Shut Down the Brain's Chief Command Center: Scientific American
Neural circuits responsible for conscious self-control are highly vulnerable to even mild stress. When they shut down, primal impulses go unchecked and mental paralysis sets in
Everyday Stress Can Shut Down the Brain's Chief Command Center: Scientific American
complete article : http://www.mc3cb.com/pdf_articles_interest_physiology/2012_4_10_Stress_Shut_%20Down_Brain.pdf
Everyday Stress Can Shut Down the Brain's Chief Command Center: Scientific American
complete article : http://www.mc3cb.com/pdf_articles_interest_physiology/2012_4_10_Stress_Shut_%20Down_Brain.pdf
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
The brain as peripheral
Neuroscience could mean soldiers controlling weapons with minds
Neuroscience breakthroughs could be harnessed by military and law enforcers, says Royal Society report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/feb/07/neuroscience-soldiers-control-weapons-mind
Neuroscience breakthroughs could be harnessed by military and law enforcers, says Royal Society report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/feb/07/neuroscience-soldiers-control-weapons-mind
- A growing body of research suggests that passing weak electrical signals through the skull, using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), can improve people's performance in some tasks.
- One of the report's most striking scenarios involves the use of devices called brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) to connect people's brains directly to military technology, including drones and other weapons systems.
- The US military research organisation, Darpa, has already used EEG to help spot targets in satellite images that were missed by the person screening them. The EEG traces revealed that the brain sometimes noticed targets but failed to make them conscious thoughts. Staff used the EEG traces to select a group of images for closer inspection and improved their target detection threefold, the report notes.
Apple likes Facebook on new iOS 6, but dumps Google from maps | Technology | guardian.co.uk
Apple likes Facebook on new iOS 6, but dumps Google from maps | Technology | guardian.co.uk
Interesting that Apple is making a bit of an alliance with Facebook...in clear opposition to Google. While it may be largely due to brainwashed brand loyalty, due to being hooked early, even though I worry about Google's vast data collection projects, emotionally I am more comfortable with them than with Apple, or especially Facebook. Ironically while my issue with Apple is it doesn't let me do enough, with Facebook it's a case of suspecting them of wanting to do too much with me, though ultimately both come across as restrictive, and for their own purposes, even if Apple's motives are more respectable (ensuring product consistency and quality) than Facebook's.
So it suits me, and entrenches my current feelings, to see Facebook and Apple join forces, since I then reject them both together. Not completely of course (I use Itunes and Facebook) but I wouldn't be as comfortable with having my facebook account integrated into my smartphone as much as my google account is (though Google is pushing my patience with G+ armtwisting).
Techwise my main interest currently is what happens in the TV market, and no news from Apple on that front. Though it does make sense that they would avoid the screen business, and go instead in the direction of set top box upgrades, since it matches their business model much better - expensive but open to regular upgrade with high added value. As long as not with added facebook as well :-)
Interesting that Apple is making a bit of an alliance with Facebook...in clear opposition to Google. While it may be largely due to brainwashed brand loyalty, due to being hooked early, even though I worry about Google's vast data collection projects, emotionally I am more comfortable with them than with Apple, or especially Facebook. Ironically while my issue with Apple is it doesn't let me do enough, with Facebook it's a case of suspecting them of wanting to do too much with me, though ultimately both come across as restrictive, and for their own purposes, even if Apple's motives are more respectable (ensuring product consistency and quality) than Facebook's.
So it suits me, and entrenches my current feelings, to see Facebook and Apple join forces, since I then reject them both together. Not completely of course (I use Itunes and Facebook) but I wouldn't be as comfortable with having my facebook account integrated into my smartphone as much as my google account is (though Google is pushing my patience with G+ armtwisting).
Techwise my main interest currently is what happens in the TV market, and no news from Apple on that front. Though it does make sense that they would avoid the screen business, and go instead in the direction of set top box upgrades, since it matches their business model much better - expensive but open to regular upgrade with high added value. As long as not with added facebook as well :-)
Monday, June 11, 2012
Is the future of drugs safe and non-addictive? | Science | The Guardian
Is the future of drugs safe and non-addictive? | Science | The Guardian
extract :
extract :
- could or should we vaccinate people to protect them from developing an addiction in the first place, just as we do today with vaccines for polio and whooping cough? Is it violating somebody's human rights to take away their choice to experience pleasure from a drug at some point in the future?
- We may be able to make better recreational drugs too. I have carried out research on replacing ethanol in "alcoholic" drinks with a safer alternative, such as a benzodiazepine; ideally these drinks would be impossible to get drunk on, producing a moderate buzz with no increase in effects at higher doses, and could be switched off at the end of the night with a "sober pill".
- We might be able to make alcohol safer by combining it with chemicals that stop it affecting certain receptors. Ideally, we would develop an alcohol that targets just Alpha-2 or 3, giving us the sensation of relaxation and enjoyment without the negative effects.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Stuxnet and Obama
Stuxnet: the worm that turned Obama into a hypocrite? | Technology | The Observer
"revelations raise some thorny issues, of which two immediately spring to mind. One: does Obama's duplicity – publicly espousing the internet as a space that is unpolluted by cyberwar and cyberespionage while covertly sponsoring a cyberweapon like Stuxnet – fatally undermine America's credibility as a defender of internet freedoms?
Or should it be seen as a defensible exercise in realpolitik – on the grounds that using software to sabotage Iran's nuclear ambitions would cause less collateral damage than an Israeli airstrike? And two: given that (a) software like Stuxnet could bring our entire industrial infrastructure to a halt, and (b) the likelihood that any piece of malware will escape into the wild, should we treat cyberweapons like biological weapons and ban their use entirely?"
"revelations raise some thorny issues, of which two immediately spring to mind. One: does Obama's duplicity – publicly espousing the internet as a space that is unpolluted by cyberwar and cyberespionage while covertly sponsoring a cyberweapon like Stuxnet – fatally undermine America's credibility as a defender of internet freedoms?
Or should it be seen as a defensible exercise in realpolitik – on the grounds that using software to sabotage Iran's nuclear ambitions would cause less collateral damage than an Israeli airstrike? And two: given that (a) software like Stuxnet could bring our entire industrial infrastructure to a halt, and (b) the likelihood that any piece of malware will escape into the wild, should we treat cyberweapons like biological weapons and ban their use entirely?"
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Drone wars and state secrecy – how Barack Obama became a hardliner
Drone wars and state secrecy – how Barack Obama became a hardliner | World news | The Observer
" He was once a liberal law professor who campaigned against the Iraq war. Now, according to revelations last week, the US president personally oversees a 'kill list' for drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. Then there's the CIA renditions, increased surveillance and a crackdown on whistleblowers. No wonder Washington insiders are likening him to 'George W Bush on steroids'"
The dark side of Poland and Ukraine
Euro 2012: antisemitic echoes that threaten celebration of football | World news | The Observer
What is most bizarre is the antisemitism in Poland, despite there being virtually no Jews (for the obvious reason), but still horrific.
" Perhaps that's to be expected given the catastrophic destruction visited on the two countries, but it has led many to a world-view that is a perversion of the golden rule: do unto others as others have done unto you.
It is most visible in the culture surrounding football. Racism, xenophobia, Jew hatred, all manifest themselves at the footie. Why this hatred should be so strong has social historians grasping for answers.
Jan Olaszek, of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, says: "People don't know history. They know stereotypes." This is what lies behind one of the strangest phenomena of contemporary Polish life, what Olaszek calls "antisemitism without Jews".
Poland was the centre of the Holocaust. There are virtually no Jews left in the country, yet antisemitism persists. This is what Olaszek means by stereotypes. "Some Poles think all Jews were communists."
What is most bizarre is the antisemitism in Poland, despite there being virtually no Jews (for the obvious reason), but still horrific.
" Perhaps that's to be expected given the catastrophic destruction visited on the two countries, but it has led many to a world-view that is a perversion of the golden rule: do unto others as others have done unto you.
It is most visible in the culture surrounding football. Racism, xenophobia, Jew hatred, all manifest themselves at the footie. Why this hatred should be so strong has social historians grasping for answers.
Jan Olaszek, of Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, says: "People don't know history. They know stereotypes." This is what lies behind one of the strangest phenomena of contemporary Polish life, what Olaszek calls "antisemitism without Jews".
Poland was the centre of the Holocaust. There are virtually no Jews left in the country, yet antisemitism persists. This is what Olaszek means by stereotypes. "Some Poles think all Jews were communists."
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