A former hedge fund manager who bought a drug company has hiked the price of a generic drug 55x to pay for the purchase. The drug was $13.50 a dose but is now $750.00. It costs $1 to produce. The drug treats toxoplasmosis and is widely used by sufferers of AIDS. So clearly Martin Shkreli, …
Continue reading For some it’s not about people, nor ethics; just numbers.
Author:astraea
Education For Today – first cut
Here’s a presentation synthesising ideas about education for today’s world. Please get in touch if you have questions or comments. The slides may be downloaded here as a pdf. Also available on YouTube.
Computers in school do not improve results. Doh! It’s about culture.
OECD research shows that frequent use of computers in schools is more likely to be associated with lower results. Among 70 countries, heavy investment in information and communications technology have seen “no noticeable improvement” in Pisa test results for reading, mathematics or science. This is not surprising. As with any technology, it can be “good” …
Continue reading Computers in school do not improve results. Doh! It’s about culture.
Cyborgs are coming to take your job, especially if you’re young.
The prospect of your job being automated is increasing. The convergence of neuroscience, computing, biology and engineering has already made robotic prosthetics a reality and everyone carries a small thinking machine so that they can remember phone numbers, birthdays etc (media device/phone). We are certainly choosing a future in which we don’t work. We haven’t …
Continue reading Cyborgs are coming to take your job, especially if you’re young.
What is consciousness?
What does it mean to be human? The answer lies between the physical and the metaphysical (spirit), somewhere in the mind, but it might be unknowable. However, it is possible to get closer to knowing yourself, and as Socrates observed two and a half millennia ago, that it the foundation of meaning in life. This …
Continue reading What is consciousness?
Everyone is good, but our world is unethical. How come?
Everyone is good, yet somehow the product of our civilisation is often pain and suffering. More people are becoming aware that something needs to change and are even doing something about it. Simply talking about the challenges is a start, while others initiate changes in behaviour such as what they eat or wear. But engaging …
Continue reading Everyone is good, but our world is unethical. How come?
You have the power to change the world. Choose!
Words by Charlie Chaplin. Contemporary images. The choice is clear. Have you chosen yet? Or are you still chasing the machine? Choose humanity, while the choice remains … The Great Dictator‘s Speech (1940) I’m sorry, but I don’t want to be an emperor. That’s not my business. I don’t want to rule or conquer …
Continue reading You have the power to change the world. Choose!
Common Sense in 5 Minutes
We joined an eclectic group at Voice Box at the end of June. We were asked to talk for five minutes about Common Sense, a book about people, planet and profit by a venture capitalist. Here is the edited version of the video showing the slides more clearly. Enjoy! Thanks to Jaspar for great camera …
Continue reading Common Sense in 5 Minutes
Cosmic synchronicity in a hay field.
We baled today. It was wonderful. It started a bit later than planned because the normal school run delay was compounded by an emergency breakdown of a client’s computer .,.. The field was rowed around noon and then square baling started. Padraig would arrive at 3pm to round bale. I needed 200 square bales for …
Continue reading Cosmic synchronicity in a hay field.
Common Sense in 5 minutes
I’ll be doing Voice Box at GBS Visual Centre next Thursday 25 June at 7.30pm. The idea is to do Common Sense in 5 minutes (apparently the bell rings when time is up. 😉 ) It will be a challenge, but fun. Now to squash the book in to 5 minutes before next week …! …
Continue reading Common Sense in 5 minutes