Science
Amazing Time-Lapse Movies from the International Space Station
24.04.12 | 23:35 •
Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth."
This gorgeous time-lapse video starts in the dark of the Gulf of Mexico and flies by the night lights of Florida, DC, NYC, and up past Newfoundland. At the end, you are rewarded with the green dance of the Aurora Borealis. Warning: loading the video takes about 30 seconds. See lots more here.
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The Last Generation?
17.06.10 | 15:50 •
Peter Singer, a professor of bioethics at Princeton, wrote a stimulating piece for the Times’ new “The Stone” blog which addressed reproduction and the future of the planet. Over 1200 people responded, many furious with Singer’s seemingly aloof posture. At the end of the essay he posed a handful of provocative philosophical questions:
I highly recommend reading this piece and the followup Singer felt obliged to write after so much feedback. As a recent father, I struggled with the moral implications of bringing a child into a world that certainly will be more complicated, overpopulated, and polluted than mine was when I was born.
If a child is likely to have a life full of pain and suffering is that a reason against bringing the child into existence?
If a child is likely to have a happy, healthy life, is that a reason for bringing the child into existence?
Is life worth living, for most people in developed nations today?
Is a world with people in it better than a world with no sentient beings at all?
Would it be wrong for us all to agree not to have children, so that we would be the last generation on Earth?
I highly recommend reading this piece and the followup Singer felt obliged to write after so much feedback. As a recent father, I struggled with the moral implications of bringing a child into a world that certainly will be more complicated, overpopulated, and polluted than mine was when I was born.
Water, Water Neverywhere
12.03.09 | 15:18 •
Max's Placenta
26.08.08 | 23:10 •
Solar Energy Meet Fuel Cells Via Photosynthesis
01.08.08 | 16:17 •
Bees, Like Humans, Are Overworked
05.06.08 | 21:29 •