Category Archives: SFF Thought Starters

Sep 11

Interesting, if a little wordy.

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Interesting, if a little wordy.

Why do people confuse “adopt” and “adapt”?

Originally shared by Winchell Chung

The politics of space mining – An account of a simulation game

Highlights

•The realization of space exploitation will disrupt world politics.

•The simulation highlighted the political tensions and different interests.

•Inclusive international process is needed to reach fast adaptation.

•Creative mechanisms are needed to allow sharing of new global wealth.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576516311584

Sep 09

I personally think this article’s perspective is somewhat naive.

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I personally think this article’s perspective is somewhat naive. It also tries to have it both ways: Decentralization will solve problems because people will be able to figure out the truth for themselves; and also it’s important to have experts trained in science within government, because non-experts are no good at figuring out the right thing to do with science and technology.

Originally shared by Singularity Hub

Outdated Evolution: Updating Our Governments to Cope with Disruptive Technology https://suhub.co/2QhaSZC

Sep 06

Roboats.

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Roboats.

Originally shared by Judah Richardson

It’s a milestone that shows the technology for unmanned boats is robust enough to carry out extended missions that can dramatically cut costs for ocean research, border security, and surveillance in rough or remote waters. They’re part of wider efforts to develop autonomous marine vessels such as robotic ferries and cargo and container ships that could be operating by the end of the decade, outpacing attempts to commercialize self-driving cars.

https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada/Robot-boat-sails-into-history-by-finishing-Atlantic-crossing

Aug 31

There are a lot of exoplanets that are probably water worlds, too.

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There are a lot of exoplanets that are probably water worlds, too.

Via Winchell Chung.

Originally shared by Ciro Villa

Life on “Water Worlds”

“The conditions for life surviving on planets entirely covered in water are more fluid than previously thought, opening up the possibility that water worlds could be habitable, according to a new paper from the University of Chicago and Pennsylvania State University.

The scientific community has largely assumed that planets covered in a deep ocean would not support the cycling of minerals and gases that keeps the climate stable on Earth, and thus wouldn’t be friendly to life. But the study, published Aug. 30 in The Astrophysical Journal, found that ocean planets could stay in the “sweet spot” for habitability much longer than previously assumed. The authors based their findings on more than a thousand simulations.”

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-08-worlds-life-analysis-idea-requires.html

https://phys.org/news/2018-08-worlds-life-analysis-idea-requires.html

Aug 31

Consumer polls, particularly about food, are notoriously poor predictors of actual behaviour, it should be noted.

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Consumer polls, particularly about food, are notoriously poor predictors of actual behaviour, it should be noted. Until these products are widely available, we won’t know what the uptake will be like.

Originally shared by Singularity Hub

Would You Eat ‘Meat’ from a Lab? Consumers Aren’t Necessarily Sold on ‘Cultured Meat’ https://suhub.co/2NE0oBN

Aug 31

Fiber optics, rather than wires, because of the environment of the implant.

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Fiber optics, rather than wires, because of the environment of the implant.

Originally shared by Judah Richardson

Engineering researchers at the University of NSW Sydney have been granted almost $500,000 by the US Navy to develop chips that enable ‘neural interfacing’, or direct communication between brains and machines.

For now one-way communication is the goal, but the researchers hope to enable two-way communication for feedback from artificial limbs or more complex input from computers.

The team has already developed what they call “optrodes” – pixel-like sensors on a chip that pick up the brain’s electrical signals.

https://www.itnews.com.au/news/us-navy-taps-unsw-to-develop-brain-machine-interface-511667