Posts
Here is one of the most important lectures you can ever listen to:
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Trading Spaces
The last post was lacking commentary... just to let you know I am not slacking, the truth is I am getting ready to trade spaces.
Not ready for prime time (as if this blog is), but I am setting up a much more sophisticated blog space on my own server.
Soon to be a cool site....
www.scientificfoundation.com/blog
Not ready for prime time (as if this blog is), but I am setting up a much more sophisticated blog space on my own server.
Soon to be a cool site....
www.scientificfoundation.com/blog
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Copy right, or copy wrong – where is digital rights management leading us?
The democratic process which creates laws to regulate technology cannot possibly keep up with the evolution of technology. This could turn out to be one of the greatest challenges to our freedom which we will have to face over the next hundred years.
Books have traditionally been a tangible asset which we could pass on from generation to generation. Copyright has traditionally protected books, and authors, and told us that upon purchasing a book, it was ours to own, read, and pass on as we saw fit. Book burning, or the destruction of books, has become the ultimate symbol of anti-intellectualism. George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’ was published in 1949 and described a world in which the government could re-write history at will, and at their convenience. In 1953 Ray Bradbury published 'Farenheit 451' which described a world where the government could come in and destroy books at will.
The world of audio and digital books has changed the way information is exchanged, and has disempowered us all. If the publishing corporations get their way, upon purchasing these new forms of media we are demoted from an owner of that material to a user of the material. Purchasing an audiobook from i-tunes involves agreeing to a licensing agreement which contains more words than many of the books they sell. Digital rights management software will allow publishers to retract and destroy published information at will, under the guise of copyright protection, without due process. Think Farenheit 451. Think 1984. Think of the implications.
There is a place for copyright. Authors and ideas need protection. Lawyers and large corporations are creating systems which allow for the destruction of books, the retraction of information under the guise of protection. They are endowing themselves with rights not yet bestowed to them by any court by asking us to agree to the terms of large documents that none of us have the time or energy to read.
The state of California has recently made a move to scrape text books for e-books. There are many advantages to the system, but, without proper regulation we are potentially allowing companies the rights to change and retract the information that educates our youth instantaneously.
A concept such as evolution could be removed from the classroom with a push of a button – with no trace or evidence left behind.
Books have traditionally been a tangible asset which we could pass on from generation to generation. Copyright has traditionally protected books, and authors, and told us that upon purchasing a book, it was ours to own, read, and pass on as we saw fit. Book burning, or the destruction of books, has become the ultimate symbol of anti-intellectualism. George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’ was published in 1949 and described a world in which the government could re-write history at will, and at their convenience. In 1953 Ray Bradbury published 'Farenheit 451' which described a world where the government could come in and destroy books at will.
The world of audio and digital books has changed the way information is exchanged, and has disempowered us all. If the publishing corporations get their way, upon purchasing these new forms of media we are demoted from an owner of that material to a user of the material. Purchasing an audiobook from i-tunes involves agreeing to a licensing agreement which contains more words than many of the books they sell. Digital rights management software will allow publishers to retract and destroy published information at will, under the guise of copyright protection, without due process. Think Farenheit 451. Think 1984. Think of the implications.
There is a place for copyright. Authors and ideas need protection. Lawyers and large corporations are creating systems which allow for the destruction of books, the retraction of information under the guise of protection. They are endowing themselves with rights not yet bestowed to them by any court by asking us to agree to the terms of large documents that none of us have the time or energy to read.
The state of California has recently made a move to scrape text books for e-books. There are many advantages to the system, but, without proper regulation we are potentially allowing companies the rights to change and retract the information that educates our youth instantaneously.
A concept such as evolution could be removed from the classroom with a push of a button – with no trace or evidence left behind.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The last season of Lost
My roommate has been going through old Lost episodes often displaying more focus and attention than Tiger Woods at a bikini contest. It is part of a concerted effort to finish all 6 seasons in time to watch the final episode in real time.
It has allowed me to refresh my memory of seasons past.
Watching the old episodes of Kate and Sawyer locked in primate cages reminded me of a story I recently heard... a story involving the difficulties of keeping primates locked up, and of the fine lines between non-human primates and humans.
Check this out.....
Follow the link and click on the play button.
It has allowed me to refresh my memory of seasons past.
Watching the old episodes of Kate and Sawyer locked in primate cages reminded me of a story I recently heard... a story involving the difficulties of keeping primates locked up, and of the fine lines between non-human primates and humans.
Check this out.....
Follow the link and click on the play button.
Emergence
I have been working with my friend Rabab AbdulAziz Khodary to initiate cross-cultural discussions on brain disorders.
Please click here to read my most recent article.
Please click here to read my most recent article.
Monday, May 3, 2010
The other side of the story
I wish all Canadians would take a few minutes to listen to this. Please click on the Thomas King link below. This is a great story teller telling a sad story about the politics and history of our nation. A story that many of us would prefer to ignore.
How quickly we tend to forget history.
Thomas King is a senior fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto, and a professor of English and native literature at the University of Guelph.
Please click here to hear Thomas King
How quickly we tend to forget history.
Thomas King is a senior fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto, and a professor of English and native literature at the University of Guelph.
Please click here to hear Thomas King
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)