The 20-watt brain

Popular Science: 'How Much Power Does The Human Brain Require To Operate?' "According to Kwabena Boahen, a computer scientist at Stanford University, a robot with a processor as smart as the human brain would require at least 10 megawatts to operate. That's the amount of energy produced by a small hydroelectric plant. But a small group of computer scientists may have hit on a new neural supercomputer that could someday emulate the human brain's low energy requirements of just 20 watts--barely enough to run a dim light bulb..." Read the rest here. Also see Discover "Brain-Like Chip May Solve Computers' Big Problem: Energy"

The Genius of Diversity

This NYT article explains the broader returns on inclusiveness that are sometimes dismissed as mere political correctness, using the case of athlete Oscar Pistorius of South Africa: 'Are High-Tech Prostheses Fair?'

"The whole point of athletic competitions is to marvel in the beauty that is the survival of the fittest. Of course, the human variation of Darwin’s mandate has always differed from the one that applies to the rest of nature. We long ago subverted it by creating conditions and culture where greater diversity is granted admission to more-level playing fields. (And, for our efforts, we get the music of a deaf Beethoven, the paintings of a severely disabled Toulouse-Lautrec as well as the marriage of Lyle Lovett and Julia Roberts.) It’s an Old World notion of human competition that sees it simplistically as Hobbesian; it’s really Jeffersonian. The progressive laws of culture are the brilliant work-around to the brutal law of the jungle. So sure, we’ll build access ramps, finance kneeling buses, design J blades and invent push-rim wheelchairs — not out of pity or political correctness but so that a wider range of human talent can enter the fray and win or lose..."

Read the rest here.

File under 'gadgets'

I'm going to scrutinize the product reviews when this is released: 'Hands On: enTourage eDGe eBook Reader Runs Android'. I think I like it.

ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS

It's official. Ad majorem Dei gloriam.

The Fall of The Wall

I don't have anything particularly profound to say on the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, other than to note how long ago those heady events seem, and yet how quickly the time since has fled by. I was a somewhat backward first-year undergraduate at Carleton University then, immersed in my pastiche of German, History, Poli Sci, and Classical Civ courses while working for minumum wage nights and weekends. But Arts & Letters Daily has posted a round-up of essays and opinions from noted commentators, which I hope to peruse at greater length in the near future:

"1989 was the biggest year in world history since 1945. It changed everything, says Timothy Garton Ash ... The Soviet Union, observes Josef Joffe, was the first empire ever to die in its bed ... A tyranny set in stone, writes Roger Kimball ... It was never a foregone conclusion, Anne Applebaum insists ... Berlin was the centerpiece of the Cold War, Fred Kaplan reminds us ... The end of the only world I ever knew, says Stefan Theil ... Gorbachev only wanted to the door an inch or two, writes George Jonas, but the wind caught it ... First U.S. envoy to united Germany was Robert Kimmit ... Communism took power away from the people, says Boris Johnson, but they took it back ... A Polish view from Adam Michnik ... Realists wrongly thought only war could defeat the Soviet Union, says James Carroll ... Communism had to die, says Rupert Cornwall ... The Wall showed Kennedy’s weakness, says Donald Kagan ... It was Reagan’s dovish side that did it, argues Peter Beinert ... the world changed, says Victor Sebestyen, on that wonderful night in Berlin ... I promised the Warsaw Pact countries not to intervene in their affairs, says Mikhail Gorbachev ... The world turns, but it should not forget, writes Conrad Black ... Communism was a dark comedy for Guy Sorman ... The will of the people, says James Baker is the final arbiter ... Gorbachev’s reforms, like those of some Tsars, came too late, says Mitchell
Cohen ... It’s good Gorbachev was weak, says Lech Walesa ... A grotesque tyranny, says Doug Bandow ... The GDR made citizens into prisoners, writes Henry Kissinger ... The Left wanted to pretend nothing had happened, writes John Vinocur ... For Robert Fulford Communism was a great con game ... The Wall can still be felt, like a phantom limb, says Michael R. Meyer ... Reagan’s speech was crucial, argues James Mann ... Intellectual walls remain, says Roger Scruton ... One of history’s finest moments, says Matt Welch ... Punk Rock helped tear down the Wall, says Tim Mohr ... Where is Russia today? asks Jonathan Brent ... The spoils of victory did not go to the U.S., argues Andrew Rawnsley, so much as to Europe ... NYT Op-Ed editors asked nine poets to remember the Fall of the Wall."

Roomba Pac-Man

I was just checking out these house-cleaning robots at Home Outfitters over the weekend. This morning I came across this video showing an alternate recreational application for these little units: 'Autonomous Roombas do Pac-Man right (video)'

Birth rate collapse and public K-12 education systems

The Globe & Mail: 'Low birth rates put hundreds of schools at risk of closing: Ontario will see an unprecedented number of school closings unless the province updates its funding models to account for the ever-shrinking school-age population, a report by an education advocacy group has found'

Everything sacred but religion

Rex Murphy, a long-time favourite commentator of mine, discusses the peculiar confluence of activist atheism and ideology-as-public-religion: 'Crucifix out, warming in'. "In this case, the European Court of Human Rights – in response to one complaint, from one atheist – told an entire country that has been the centre of world Christianity for 2,000 years to get rid of its most revered and cardinal symbol. It's the same old story: In the name of official tolerance, mandated intolerance..." Read the rest here.

The Charlottetown Accord 17 years on

Chantal Hébert on the missed opportunities presented by the Charlottetown Accord, and the danger of letting public outrage drown out debate and deliberation: 'Charlottetown, 17 ans plus tard'. I remember the public mood at the time. Cool-headed debate was hard to come by in the post-Meech political environment, and there was a huge groundswell throughout the country that was not only opposed to concessions to Quebec nationalism, but also opposed to literally anything that originated from Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Queen of Canada

The Globe & Mail's Jeffrey Simpson calls for the end of the monarchy in Canada: 'No offence, Prince, but our ties to the monarchy should end'

Like most anti-monarchy arguments floating around, this one is based on personalisms - namely the collective lack of enthusiasm for Charles relative to Elizabeth. To his credit, Simpson doesn't flog the ethnic and "representational" arguments against the monarchy. The British monarchy was actually never about ethnicity or being representative of popular demographics.

I'm a legitimist, so I would be disappointed if the United Kingdom ever abolished the British monarchy. That said, I'm not as wedded to the idea of the Canadian monarchy as I once was. But I have serious doubts about Canada's ability to re-open the constitution on something so fundamental without unleashing the potent centrifugal forces simmering in this country. And there remains the issue of how to select the new head of state, and whether that selection process will result in anything more satisfactory, legitimate and symbolically resonant than what we currently have. Besides, the current Governor General is functioning admirably in her role.

Old Burying Ground

Some haunting black & white photos over at the Mirth blog of Halifax's venerable cemetery, the Old Burying Ground. The size of half a city block, the colonial burial ground beside the Atlantic Ocean is one of the oldest in North America and is the resting place of some 12,000 people - the vast majority of whom rest in unmarked and overlapping plots. Photos after the jump: 'Dark & Light'.

"Cultural Genocide"?

Good grief, first they (hard-core sovereigntists) didn't want Paul McCartney to sing at Quebec City's 400th anniversary celebrations last summer (because he's British) - now this: 'Quebec sovereignty group wants apology from Prince Charles: Societe St-Jean Baptiste asks British heir to throne to atone for 'cultural genocide' of francophones in North America before visit to Canada'.

International students as revenue generators

Big business for universities: 'International Students Contribute Over $6.5 Billion to Canadian Economy'. The full report is here.

"The report estimates that total expenditures by international students while they study here (tuition, accommodation, living costs, travel and discretionary products and services) resulted in a $6.5 billion infusion to the Canadian economy in 2008. Expenditures of international education students have now surpassed exports of coniferous lumber ($5.1 billion) and coal ($6.1 billion). (Note that this amount does not include exports of education services, which were not part of the scope of the study).

The report also finds that these international students generated about $291 million in government revenue in 2008 and created economic activity that sustained employment for 83 000 Canadians..."(source)

Launch success

A successful launch yesterday of the Ares I-XPhoto credit: Chris O'Meara/AP

Sci-Fi vs Li-Fi

io9: 'The Secret History of Science Fiction'.

Non-latin characters for internet domains

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is preparing to approve availability of internet domain names that make use of non-latin characters, including characters used in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek and Hindi, via Engadget: 'ICANN set to allow non-Latin characters in domain names, half the world rejoices'. Read more on the ICANN website here.

The role of apostolic nuncios

From the National Post: 'The Vatican's Man in Canada'

"The apostolic nuncio is generally thought of as ambassador of one state to another, but that is not quite right. The Vatican City State does not have diplomatic relations with any country. Diplomatic relations are with the Holy See.

What's the difference? The Holy See is the legal expression of the pope's role as universal pastor of the Church. States maintain diplomatic relations with the supreme authority of the Catholic Church, which is recognized as a sovereign power in international law.

In the life of the Church, the Vatican City State is an utter novelty, only 80 years old, and it exists really for one purpose, which is to ensure that the sovereignty of the Holy See is respected; the universal pastor is not a subject of any civil power. It is the recognition in international law that the state does not have competence to govern the Church.

Canada is one of 177 countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the Holy See, and the nuncio is the equivalent of the ambassador. But nuncios are not concerned with trade agreements or consular affairs; their task is to speak for the liberty of the Church and the dignity of the human person, human rights and the common good. That's their job vis-a-vis the state, but in fact their main work is within the Church.

The nuncio is the principal link between the Catholic bishops in a particular country and the Holy See, providing communication and reports in both directions. Most important of all, the nuncio prepares the dossiers for the nomination of bishops. He recommends candidates to Rome for the pope's decision, but given the vast number of dioceses around the world, Rome relies to a very great degree on the advice of the nuncios..."

Read the rest here.

Open Source resource

I've added osalt.com ("Open Source as Alternative") to the right sidebar in the Science & Technology section. It's an online directory of open source analogues to commercially available software.

Swimming the Tiber

An incisive take on Rome's outreach to Anglicans/Episcopalians: 'On the pope’s outreach to Episcopalians'

"The basic issue has never been women priests nor even the ordination of practicing homosexuals. These two issues, as serious and divisive as they may be, are simply the more newsworthy symptoms of a pathology that has gone in and out of remission for some 400 years, and that was fated to return with a fatal virulence upon the demise of British culture.

The basic issue that has eroded the Anglican Communion is what has been eating away at its foundations for 400 years: how ecclesiastical authority is to be understood. Since the 16th Century, two very different understandings of authority have engaged in a tug-of-war within the Church of England and the larger Anglican Communion.

One understanding is that the church is determined and shaped by Catholic tradition. Anglicans committed to this understanding of authority have sought to be faithful to that which has been believed by Christians everywhere and at all times. And while these Anglicans would admit that a correct discernment of Catholic tradition is often difficult, they have always considered their church bound by this tradition.

The second understanding of authority, while often respectful of Catholic tradition, proceeds from the Protestant principle of private judgment. This understanding may (and often does) appeal to Scripture and the Holy Spirit. And as long as it was rooted in a coherent culture, this understanding seemed to possess a theological coherence of sorts. But when it is torn from the soil of a coherent culture, as has occurred over the last century, the roots of this understanding are seen to be what they always were: the occasional opinions of whatever happened to be the prevailing majority.

The first understanding of church authority is that Christian revelation presents us with an objective truth to be pursued. The second understanding believes that if there ever was a Christian revelation, it presents us only with an approximation of whatever God may (or may not) be. That such a house divided has managed to stand for 400 years is an odd testament, I suppose, to the power of British culture. But an ethos can hide incoherence for only so long.

And it is this incoherence that Pope Benedict XVI now seeks to address. Benedict is acknowledging nothing less than the integrity of those Anglicans who have always understood themselves rooted in the Catholic tradition. And, at the same time, he seeks to provide them with a structure by which they may be incorporated into the universal church, without having to jettison a rich devotional patrimony."

Read the rest here. Via A Conservative Blog for Peace (linked on right sidebar).

Stephen Hawking's successor named

Stephen Hawking, Lucasian Professor of Mathamatics until earlier this month, now has a successor in that esteemed academic appointment: physicist Michael Green, a pioneer of string theory.(hat tip to the Daily Galaxy, linked on right sidebar)

What's good for the goose...

Reason Hit & Run (linked on right sidebar) on the inconsistent exhortations over at the much-admired and highly influential Daily Dish blog: 'Andrew Sullivan and the Online Activist Class'

Facebook and the deceased

Facebook's new policy for the on-line profiles of deceased users: 'Facebook to keep profiles of the dead'.

"The Plan"

SciFi Scanner interviews Edward James Olmos, who directs the new Battlestar Galactica direct-to-dvd feature, The Plan, which is being released tomorrow: 'Actor Edward James Olmos Explains How Battlestar Galactica Leads to Blade Runner'.

The Last Supper...in Rubik's Cubes

A novel recreation of da Vinci's iconic masterpiece using 4,050 Rubik's Cubes:
via BoingBoing.

Plato in space

The New Atlantis (linked on right sidebar) comments on Neal Stephenson's novel 'Anathem': 'Plato in Space'

"Anathem presents us with a familiar unfamiliar world and in so doing opens a door to asking such questions. We think we know the best ways, if necessary, to limit developments of science and technology, but Stephenson makes us wonder whether our easygoing ethical individualism is adequate to both our growing power over nature and ourselves, and to the force and dignity of the impulse to know that stands behind our science. We think we know what historical progress means, but Anathem makes us wonder whether progress without truth is anything more than change, and whether truth does not render progress superfluous. Is not wonder the beginning of philosophy?"

University enrollment up

Economic refugees are taking shelter on campus: 'University enrolment jumps, reflecting bad economy: Increase, felt in all regions, was most dramatic at the graduate level'. It will be interesting to see how this breaks down by program/faculty. I noticed a few cynical comments on the article referencing tuition profits, but really universities have been big losers in the economic downturn, which has seen their endowments shrink. That said, government has certainly stepped up with funds for infrastructure and operational grants.

Geoblocking

The Globe & Mail: 'Media-hungry Canadians seek access to geoblocked Hulu, Spotify'

Re-inventing public education for boys

UPDATED 2009/10/22: 'Trustees divided over dividing the sexes'
..........................

It's about time...provided the project doesn't become another shill for politically correct social programming: 'An all-boys public school for Toronto?' I agree in principle with the idea, I'm just wary of creating yet another learning ghetto for boys. Even the best intentions can go wrong.

Open Access on campus

The Tyee: 'Canadian Universities Closed Minded on Open Access'

When science and ideology meet

'B.C. health official considers supervised rooms for crack addicts'

Evidence please, doctors.

On Canada's Learning Game Plan

Or lack of one: 'Canada failing in university grad stakes'

New exoplanets discovered

BBC news: 'Scientists announce planet bounty'