World Food Day 2008 provides an occasion to once again highlight the plight of 923 million undernourished people in the world. Most of them live in rural areas where their main source of income is the agricultural sector. Global warming and the biofuel boom are now threatening to push the number of hungry even higher …
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Category:7 Holonics and Life
Internet use makes you smarter …
Well, at least it stops you going senile quite so soon. 🙂 Scientific research has demonstrated that browsing the web stimulates the parts of the brain involved in decision making and complex reasoning. In particular this helps older people stay mentally active. Of course there are other ways (like bridge) but the internet can be …
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Biomimicry wins Nobel prize
Biomimicry involves emulating nature in technology. A clever trick borrowed from jellyfish has earned two Americans and one Japanese scientist a share of the chemistry Nobel Prize. Read the report here.
Evolution is over and we’re living in Utopia.
An interesting perspective on how evolution of humans has ended: genetic mutations have declined, natural selection has been extinguished (by medicine and philanthropy) and may be being reversed, and biological differentiation has diminidhed by the density of humanity on the planet. Read Evolution is complete: so where do we go from here? from yesterday’s Telegraph.
Thinking recession … feeling it yet?
The past couple of weeks people have really started to pay attention to the dislocation of financial markets and their impact on the economies, especially those of US and Europe. People have started to say they think we’re in a recession. I’m afraid this is the beginning only. We will start to feel the pain …
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Obesity is in the mind.
New research suggests again that diet is important to physical condition. US researchers said poor diets may trigger a signalling system which prompts the body to consume even more. The research focussed on certain a protein that appears to influence inflammation. The BBC news report here reinforces the understanding that mental condition strongly influences the …
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Living in Hebron: A work of fiction. But only just.
A new film shows the reality of life for people in the middle east. A simple story of students breaking curfew to go to a school reunion it brings to life the tension and impossibility of humanity in the middle east. It will not be released till April, but this review gives a sense of …
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India bans smoking in public …
India has banned somking in public. This is a bold move. On the upside it will reduce deaths and illness from both passive and active smoking, will encourage healthier lifestyle and will also support a transition to a more enlightened social dynamic (as the “cowboy” image is depreciated). But it will not be easy to …
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IMD MBA top of EIU ranking
OK, so there’s a vested interest … but its nice to see my alma mater, IMD, top of the list 🙂 Also, it is good to see HKUST high up the rankings (11). Here’s the list.
Living in an upside-down world.
An excerpt from The Flip by David Rippe and Jared Rosen. The Bridge of Choice Imagine yourself standing on a bridge between two worlds. On one side of the bridge is an upside-down world. Why is it upside-down? It is upside-down because people have lost their intimate connection to the whole, and feel isolated and …
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