ztraffer

I have been too absorbed with work to make any postings lately, but now that I have some free time, I want to talk about a momentous event: The switching on of the Large Hadron Collider (the most powerful particle accelerator ever built) last Wednesday. Why is this exciting? Aside from it being likely to change our fundamental understanding of the Universe, for someone like myself, who grew up reading science-fiction and day-dreaming about what wonders FTL, or anti-gravity, or wormhole technology, or force fields, (non-sensical or not) may bring, it feels like a re-awakening of hope that the future will arrive, not in tiny bits and pieces, but in a resounding, trumpet-blaring, triumphantly big chunk. For all of my life, there have been no major applied physiscs breakthroughs. We have basically two types of motors: electrical and chemical -stop counting. Electrical motors are about one century old; rockets are centuries old, internal combustion about century also, and jets (the cutti...

In a newspaper article, a reporter attempted to use this movie as an example to justify the doctrine of the current administration. In essence, that the end justifies the means. That if the only way to defeat our enemies is to play by their rules now and then -to become like them- then that's OK. I agree that extraordinary times require extraordinary measures. Herein lays the key: what we do makes us what we are. If you knowingly act like a bad guy, you are one. This is why there is a line that should never be crossed. The moment we do, we give up the higher ground, loose our credibility, and our identity. Is it worth surrendering our core values, to win a fight? Some would have us believe that it takes strength to do "what is necessary" -I believe real strength lies in abiding by your principles, no matter how hard, no matter what's at stake. It is giving up on those principles that makes us weak. America strengthens its enemies and weakens itself when it practices t...

During the past two terms of the current administration, the US has plunged from a relatively good situation -budget surplus, sympathy abroad after 9/11, environmental progress- to what seems like the dark ages: a huge deficit, an environmental policy deviced to favor the oil industry, lying its way into a war designed to funnel funds into contractors of all kinds, despised and ridiculed abroad as much as by its own citizens. Perhaps a positive note can be recovered from the catastrophe of the Bush administration: that many of those who, unquestioning, fell for the deceit that sank us into the current disaster, now know better. The eye-opening experience may perhaps explain the shift away from the right, and towards the center in the republican party. In any case, and regardless of the winner, both candidates are far closer ideologically and tactically than either one would ever admit in public. This, in my opinion, bodes well for the ability of the future president to get things past ...

Today, the United States of America celebrates its birthday. To me this should be celebrated in global brotherhood as one of the great milestones in human history as the begining of modern Democracy, not just American history. After all this idea was inspired by the thinkers that paved the way; by France and Britain, by the Roman Republic and classic Greece. This idea that the people should rule their own lives instead of a tyrant or a monarch, grew out of many minds, in many countries, until it found fertile ground in this young nation. It seems so obvious now, that even dictators pretend to be legitimate representatives of the people. Let's remember the high price paid for it by so many people in so many nations, and let's not forget that many more have yet to enjoy it. Let us, at least, be grateful for what we have.

The Speed of Dark Science is more than a collection of theories or dusty books in some academic library, it is a powerful force that can add a new dimension to your life. Once you experience the wonder of it, your view of the world has a new depth of perspective that stretches the mind. Science is a also a way of thinking. I am not a scientist, but no one needs to be one to experience this. You see, coming up with a new scientific idea is the hard part -but understanding that idea once it has been discovered, is something anyone can do. Science has the power to make you rich in a way that money never will, but it's free for the taking. For generations, scientist have been accumulating and perfecting knowledge, refining it, adding to it. Billions are invested in it; like a corporation in which workers and technicians and bureaucrats labor day after day to produce a profit -but you don't have to, you are the shareholder and all you have to do is reap the benefits. Isn't tha...

At first I didn't know it was a commercial, I couldn't figure out where it was headed. It sounded intriguimg, until I realized they were just talking about mobile phones, and the seriousness of it just made it amusing -but still, it appealed to the part of me who loves to search for trends. What will really make a difference, is not so much the "4th screen" itself, but mass mobile internet access and the radical ways in which it will change our lives, and our society.

I hope you were able to join the global campfire, a day when we got together to contemplate that peace is more than just hope.