I like these points on a “sagacious approach to thinking” relative to garnering knowledge. It’s a provocative comparison of East/West culture. #philosophy The Last Sage Of Europe | Dragons and Pandas | Big Think ... continue reading

Elephant empathy Distressed elephants get ‘hugs’ from pals – Futurity ... continue reading

We use the term “archives” in a bunch of ways. Not everyone understands quite the same thing. This is a bit more poignant in the popular digital context as this article shows. The role of “the professional discipline” in archives and digital archives | ArchivesNext ... continue reading

From the article “…while nobody would ever call reading a “new” method for improving the mind, recent scientific studies have confirmed that reading and intelligence have a relationship so close as to be symbiotic.” Can Reading Make You Smarter ... continue reading

The people of this town are going to put their chronotypes into a database and experiment with a change in how the town operates. The article says: “In a hypothetical future world where Bad Kissingen succeeds in letting all of its citizens and visitors live out their chronotypes, the societal benefits would be huge. The town as a whole would be more creative, happier, and more alert. Social interaction would ... continue reading

Inuit throat singing granted special designation in Quebec – Aboriginal – CBC ... continue reading

I’m really enjoying the responses to this year’s Edge question “What scientific idea is ready for retirement?” I haven’t finished reading them all yet but one that stuck out for me was Sam Harris’s “Our Narrow Definition of #Science” where he makes a good case for science not being distinct from human rationality. The series of responses form a great menu of thought a ... continue reading

Google is working on this contact lens that can monitor blood sugar levels based on tears. This would be such a great advance for managing #diabetes. Of course, I can imagine many other uses for such a technology too. Introducing our smart contact lens project ... continue reading

Super article on bitrot, the implication for long term digital storage, & how new filesystem features can ward it off. Bitrot and atomic COWs: Inside “next-gen” filesystems ... continue reading

Remnants from Antarctic exploration, a century ago. Box of cellulose nitrate photographic negatives pulled from the ice and conserved by New Zealand’s Antarctic Heritage Trust. » Lost century-old Antarctic images found and conserved – Blog of the Long Now ... continue reading

One-way to Mars? What a tempting but difficult decision. Seventy-five Canadians make it to second round of selections for one-way mission to Mars ... continue reading

Informative letter “Clearing up misconceptions about librarians” in response to a +Montreal Gazette op-ed. Letter: Clearing up misconceptions about librarians ... continue reading

Thoughtful, clear perspective on drug prohibition and the varying degrees of ending it. Allowing It All ... continue reading