Today is World Philosophy Day. From the UNESCO site: “World Philosophy Day was introduced in 2002 by UNESCO to honour philosophical reflection in the entire world by opening up free and accessible spaces. Its objective is to encourage the peoples of the world to share their philosophical heritage and to open their minds to new ideas, as well as to inspire a public debate between intellectuals and civil societ ... continue reading

This is brilliant. Even if it doesn’t get used a lot immediately, building a repository of all these scanned objects is a really interesting idea and opens the potential for people to at least get some idea of them even if they cannot visit the museum directly. Smithsonian museum artifacts can now be 3D printed at home – Technology & Science – CBC News ... continue reading

“These Are the Good Old Days” – http://www.achewood.com/index.php?date=11082013 Achewood § November 8, 2013 ... continue reading

More than Joe Clark’s commentary, this article covers a few people’s perspectives on how the Harper Conservative government cannot produce ideas nor evaluate good policy (foreign or domestic) because of its overbearing control. Joe Clark book takes on Harper government’s ‘almost adolescent’ tone – World – CBC News ... continue reading

Worthwhile read on the problems with many new copyright and so-called “intellectual property” regulations. The title is a bit misleading though because, while this problem may be exacerbated by some trade deals, it’s not necessarily the trade deal that is to blame. How trade deals threaten modern culture ... continue reading

Interesting read on Spain and austerity measures. To Hell and Back: Spain’s Grotesque Recession and Its Surprising New Economy ... continue reading

This quote alone makes me curious about this Bujalski movie ‘The chessboard is the world, the pieces the phenomena of the Universe’ Computer Chess: Geek, gaming and retro-tech movie of the year ... continue reading

I like this debate on the state’s secularism/religious neutrality but it’s too bad the PQ government has wasted the opportunity by introducing such a poorly thought out charter. They could have done something really valuable and instead came up with a biased piece of legislation, which does a bad job setting foundations for keeping religion at bay from unduly influencing the state. This CBC article was ... continue reading

I love these points. It’s so frustrating to hear/see “intellectual property” everywhere. Economics 101 For Newcomers To Discussion On Sharing – Falkvinge on Infopolicy ... continue reading

Good article. Facebook’s promotion is not so appealing here, and the best line, to me, is Madrigal’s conclusion “…we shouldn’t have to worship web products, or the people who make them, or the values they hold, to use the Internet.” What Internet.org’s Promo Video Cut From the Kennedy Speech It Quotes ... continue reading

Great idea: to build a library of utility that includes the necessary information to recreate all the bits of know-how we’ve developed throughout civilization. Even if stop using some things now because of, for example, new technology, we might still need to know how we once did it, for that day in the future when something unexpected happens. » Toward a Manual for Civilization – Blog of the Long Now ... continue reading

The headline of this story doesn’t do it justice. It’s a fascinating case of synaethesia, which the person acquired after suffering a stroke. Rare condition makes James Bond theme music ‘orgasmic’ for man who suffered stroke ... continue reading

Douglas Engelbart’s Unfinished Revolution | MIT Technology Review ... continue reading