Whuffie Stream

singularitarian:

Materials that emit visible light after being exposed to sunlight are commonplace and can be found in everything from emergency signage to glow-in-the-dark stickers. But until now, scientists have had little success creating materials that emit light in the near-infrared range, a portion of the spectrum that only can be seen with the aid of night vision devices.

Though Americans pay lip service to the idea that “all men are created equal,” as Jefferson put it in the Declaration of Independence, we have always taken huge inequalities for granted. Obviously, some of us are smarter, stronger and prettier than others. Jefferson’s point is that the playing fields of society should be level enough for us all to participate in games that are essentially fair.

Now, again, the shock waves from the contradiction between our ideals and our practice are destabilizing our world. The Occupy Wall Street movement calls attention to the “1 percent” who control 40 percent of our wealth, and a rigged political system that protects their interests. The other “99 percent” include not just the unemployed, the marginal and the ill but the whole middle class.

In America protests are spreading to other cities and college campuses. But the issue is world-wide. In the UK, demonstrators call attention to the disparity between the support government has given bankers and the drastic cuts in social benefits for students, workers and ordinary citizens. The Arab world is marked by challenges to the hegemonic power of its ruling class. In Spain, the “indignatos” have taken to the streets. Israelis are camping out in Tel Aviv. Indians protest corruption in Dehli. Dozens of protests are erupting.

The old privileges were held in place by convictions, largely unconscious, that the inequalities were non-negotiable. That is, they were wrong and galling, but they could not be challenged. Several powerful psychological reasons stood in the way. People tend to protect themselves from failure by not trying to do what they believe they can’t accomplish. They also fear feelings of hopelessness, especially if their anger ends up making them feel even more impotent. Finally, they fear destabilizing the accommodations they have made with their own communities. It’s hard to go out on a limb in front of your neighbors. Now, however, new forms of collective awareness make change seem possible.

The perfect climate for a new monetary paradigm of social capital? Perhaps some sort of blending of bitcoin and your social profile?

brycedotvc:

Last week there was a quote that surfaced in a few posts related to the funding round announced by Codecadmy (in which OATV participated). The quote was from Douglas Rushkoff:

As we move into an increasingly digital reality, we must learn not just how to use programs…

utnereader:

A new survey indicates that the majority of Brits would agree with their government or service providers shutting down social media during an outbreak of civil unrest in their country.

Security firm Unisys conducted a survey to gauge the attitudes of the British public towards the authorities and social media. They put their questions to 973 British citizens aged 18 and up via telephone between September 2-7 2011.

Surprisingly, 48 percent responded that they “completely agree” with the idea that “providers should temporarily shut down social networks to prevent coordinated criminal activity” during an outbreak of violence or civil unrest, and that number rises to 70 percent when including those who “agree somewhat”.

(via All Twitter)

Right…

singularitarian:

OLEDs (organic light emitting diodes) have revolutionized screens and displays of all sorts – including televisions and telephones. Up until recently, the most efficient way to produce, bright, long-lasting OLEDs was to use glass – but researchers have been hard at work putting that technology on flexible, lightweight plastics.