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POPSWhen is a human a human? "Try this thought experiment: you’re walking down the street, and you see a building on fire. You enter it to help anyone out, and see it’s a lab. On one side is a five-year-old boy, and the other is a petri dish clearly labeled as having a dozen fertilized eggs in it. You only have time to rescue the boy or the eggs. What do you do? I would argue that it would be, ironically, an inhuman act to rescue the dish. Yet, according to the law if Prop 48 passes, you would have just chosen to let 12 human beings die to save one."
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POPSReligion & Voters Voting with your conscious or religious influence? Everything gets used to sway voters....one way or another....(crazy world)
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POPSExposing global injustice From the film maker: “I chose the title, ‘Call + Response,’ because when an issue comes your way, you’re going to respond. Even if it’s inaction, it’s still a response. I think one of our greatest downfalls, as a people, is that we make excuses, particularly that we’re ‘too busy.' Well, I wanted to respond immediately; this issue just hit me." “A New York Times article first brought human slavery to my attention in 2003, just before I went on tour in Russia. When I was over there, I met several girls who were acting as translators. They told me how were getting the same kinds of offers that I’d read about. It was like 'Wow, now I’m seeing it, how do I find a way to connect immediately?'" “I realized that two things were needed: re-learning the meaning of slavery was one. We’ve relegated it to history, as though it no longer exists but when people are sold against their will it’s the same thing and alive now more than ever. The second thing is...
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POPSTuring test, put to test next week. "I think the reason Alan Turing set this game up was that maybe to him consciousness was not that important; it's more the appearance of it, and this test is an important aspect of appearance.' "The test will be carried out by human 'interrogators', each sitting at a computer with a split screen: one half will be operated by an unseen human, the other by a program. The interrogators will then begin separate, simultaneous text-based conversations with both of them on any subjects they choose. After five minutes they will be asked to judge which is which." "a program needs only to make 30 per cent or more of the interrogators unsure of its identity to be deemed as having passed the test, based on Turing's own criteria"
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POPSCorruption and Conscious in China Although it at first seems appealing to have public officials take responsibility for the disasters that slip by one their watch, it may not be the best course of action. For instance, there was a baby food scandal in 2004, and the government reacted by holding people responsible - heads of companies and several public officials were executed. But now a similar problem is happening again. Why? Because by holding an individual responsible for what is a societal lapse, it allows everyone else to keep on doing business as usual without addressing the fundamental underlying problems. In the case of corruption or dereliction of duty, the communist party's punitive actions have not served as a deterrent, quite the opposite. Perhaps we should also consider this in our own context, for we all own a small part in the disasters we blame on our politicians.
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POPS The Sustainable Living Roadshow (SLR) Coming to a town near you. SLR @ Emory University Atlanta, GA. September 20/21, 2008. The Sustainable Living Roadshow (SLR) is a caravan of educators and entertainers who tour the country in a fleet of renewable fuel vehicles setting up off-the-grid eco-carnivals with experiential learning villages, empowering communities to utilize sustainable living strategies for a healthier planet. empowering communities to utilize sustainable living strategies for a healthier planet.
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POPSChandelier Cells Unveil Human Cognition "By triggering specific chandelier cells, the authors were able to elicit a precisely timed chain of electrical events in the neocortex. Additionally, the authors found that the synaptic pathways between chandeliers and pyramid cells are incredibly strong – much stronger than has been recorded previously in other mammals. This suggests that humans do possess different types of cells, and that our higher cognition isn't due to having larger cells. Although chandelier cells have been found in other species, they are more complex in humans. This raises the possibility that there are many things which attribute to higher cognition – different types of cells, and a complex circuitry, perhaps. This study by Tamas, et al, furthers the search for the answers to higher cognition, and more fully opens the door to questions of how our brains compare to those of other species."
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POPSFor safety-conscious New Yorkers: CraneWatch b.v0.8 An interactive social mashup site where New Yorkers can research construction sites in their neighborhoods, find current information on safety violations, report street-level observations, and submit news and photos. Very intelligent use of social web technology.
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POPSRemember = Reliving Very interesting findings. if it holds true to 'older' memories, then it raises a question; as the neural network molds and reshapes, so does our memories? if so maybe we can only remember who we are, rather than what we were...
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