Edible Microchips, Biometric Identity Systems And Mind Reading Computers

As technology continues to advance at an exponential rate, will we someday find ourselves living in a “scientific dictatorship” where virtually everything that we do, say and think is monitored and controlled by technology?  To many of you that may sound like a wild assertion, but just keep reading.  Our world is changing faster than ever before, and scientists have some absolutely wild things planned for our future.  As you read this, they are feverishly developing edible microchips, cutting edge biometric identity systems, and mind reading computers.  Many futurists envision a world where someday nearly all humans are embedded with microchips and have thousands of tiny nanobots living inside of them.  The idea is that we can “take control of our own evolution” and use technology to “improve” humanity.  But very few of those futurists address the potential downsides.  The truth is that all of this technology could one day be used by a totalitarian government to establish a dystopian nightmare where nobody has any liberties and freedoms whatsoever.

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http://crisisboom.com/2012/01/19/edible-microchips-biometrics/#more-9882

Los Alamos National Laboratory - Is sustainability science really a science?

Los Alamos National Laboratory, 

http://www.lanl.gov/news/releases/is_sustainability_science_really_a_science.html

Los Alamos and Indiana University researchers say yes

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, November 22, 2011—The idea that one can create a field of science out of thin air, just because of societal and policy need, is a bold concept.  But for the emerging field of sustainability science, sorting among theoretical and applied scientific disciplines, making sense of potentially divergent theory, practice and policy, the gamble has paid off.

In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Santa Fe Institute, and Indiana University analyzed the field’s temporal evolution, geographic distribution, disciplinary composition, and collaboration structure.

"We don’t know if sustainability science will solve the essential problems it seeks to address, but there is a legitimate scientific practice in place now," said Luís Bettencourt of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Santa Fe Institute, first author on the paper, "Evolution and structure of sustainability science.

The team’s work shows that although sustainability science has been growing explosively since the late 1980s, only in the last decade has the field matured into a cohesive area of science. Thanks to the emergence of a giant component of scientific collaboration spanning the globe and an array of diverse traditional disciplines, there is now an integrated scientific field of sustainability science as an unusual, inclusive, and ubiquitous scientific practice.

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Miller-McCune Media - Study: Ethical People More Satisfied With Life

University of Missouri economist Harvey James finds a relationship between life satisfaction and low tolerance for unethical conduct.

Miller-McCune Media, November 19, 2011

http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture/study-ethical-people-more-satisfied-with-life-36792/?utm_source=Newsletter188&utm_medium=email&utm_content=1122&utm_campaign=newsletters

“The just man is happy, and the unjust man is miserable,” Plato declares in The Republic. A noble thought, to be sure, but Socrates’ most famous student didn’t have data to back up his belief. Harvey James, on the other hand, does. The University of Missouri economist finds a relationship between life satisfaction and low tolerance for unethical conduct. He discussed his findings, first published in the journal Kyklos, with Miller-McCune staff writer Tom Jacobs.

The research
“I found a correlation between how people responded to ethics questions and their satisfaction with life. As part of the 2005-06 wave of the World Values Survey (which examines attitudes around the globe), respondents were asked in face-to-face interviews: On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your life? There were also four ethics questions that ask how acceptable or unacceptable they felt a particular practice is: claiming government benefits to which you are not entitled; avoiding paying your fare on public transportation; cheating on taxes; and accepting a bribe.

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ScienceDaily - Is a Stranger Trustworthy? You'll Know in 20 Seconds

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111115103510.htm

ScienceDaily (Nov. 15, 2011) — There's definitely something to be said for first impressions. New research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests it can take just 20 seconds to detect whether a stranger is genetically inclined to being trustworthy, kind or compassionate.

The findings reinforce that healthy humans are wired to recognize strangers who may help them out in a tough situation. They also pave the way for genetic therapies for people who are not innately sympathetic, researchers said.

"It's remarkable that complete strangers could pick up on who's trustworthy, kind or compassionate in 20 seconds when all they saw was a person sitting in a chair listening to someone talk," said Aleksandr Kogan, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral student at the University of Toronto at Mississauga.

Two dozen couples participated in the UC Berkeley study, and each provided DNA samples. Researchers then documented the couples as they talked about times when they had suffered. Video was recorded only of the partners as they took turns listening.

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