MAKE presents: The LED on Vimeo
This is so incredibly geeky...it is wonderful!
Archive for 'Science'
Give me a jaunty tune…
CERN Rap from Will Barras on Vimeo
Although highly informative (and entertaining?) I was hoping for more of a jaunty tune. The LHC could give us an incredible opportunity to better understand our place in the Universe. A rap just doesn't cut it. Other suggestions anyone? Maybe this? A little obvious, but certainly a classic...
Start-up date for Large Hadron Collider: September 10
CERN Press Release – CERN announces start-up date for LHC
Beyond a general concern about the end of the universe as we know it, nothing new to report here...just an excuse to post this great shot from inside the LHC.
Martian Skies
Martian Skies - The Big Picture - Boston.com
I've always had a fascination with space exploration. I grew up watching reruns of the original Star Trek, might have been one of the only people to really dig Space: 1999 and watched Carl Sagan's Cosmos with the companion book in hand (I think I was 11 years old). So, when NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander landed on Mars this past May, the news coverage got me sucked in. With the promise of hi-res images coming from the mission's home page, I knew I would have ample access to photographic eye-candy for the next year or more.
What I didn't really account for was the above, albeit rough, video loop of dust devils on the planet's surface. Taken out of context, the topic is mundane; the images are underwhelming. But this is Mars. MARS!...and we're getting to see movement on an alien landscape. It almost buckles my knees when I think about it.
Catching up on TEDTalks
I have been negligent of late in spreading the good words coming from TED. Here are the latest TEDTalks that have been made public.
Jonathan Harris shows some really amazing user interfaces with "We Feel Fine" and "Yahoo! Time Capsule."
Economist Emily Oster discussing the impact of investing in ones own health and AID in Africa.
Will Wright gives a preview to his newest game, Spore.
Rives explores the apparent conspiracy around 4am.
And David Bolinsky beautifully illustrates the life of a cell.
Follow the links here or watch them on my VodPod @ appliedthinking.
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life) Project Launched
An announcement came today that E O Wilson's wish from the TED prize was just funded and the project launched - The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). The shear scale of this project (to catalog ALL life on Earth), not to mention its impact on how we conceive of the world around us, both confounds and exhilarates me. What follows is Chris Anderson's announcement and a link to the EOL site.
Oh...and please, as Chris suggests, watch the video...it left me with goose bumps.
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Dear TEDizens,
Those of us in Monterey this year watched in awe as E O Wilson unveiled his inspiring TED Prize wish to create an Encyclopedia of Life. (If you weren't there, you can see it here.)
In Washington DC this morning, the first big step in that dream came true. Five major scientific institutions, backed by a $50m funding commitment led by the MacArthur Foundation, announced the launch of a global effort to launch the Encyclopedia. Ed Wilson described today's announcement as a dream come true.
As Ed hinted in his speech back in March, a broad-based effort to plan the launch was already underway at the time he made his TED Prize wish. But he called on us to assist the effort, I am proud to tell you that members of the TED community played a key role in realizing what happened today.
In particular I'd like to salute the effort of Avenue A-Razorfish who in three short weeks were able to visualize a stunning design for the Encyclopedia and incorporate it in a video that is the centerpiece of the newly launched website. Please take two minutes (and it is literally two minutes) right now to watch this video. It does a spectacular job of explaining the purpose and vision behind the Encylopedia. It is here at www.eol.org. This work was done entirely pro bono, and is a wonderful example of the TED Prize at work. Everyone at the launch today was blown away by it.
The video includes spectacular photography, some of it contributed by TEDster Frans Lanting. And the website address itself was contributed by an individual inspired by Ed's wish. Programmer Ray Ratelis owned eol.org, a valuable web address which he freely contributed to the project.
Many more TEDsters are meeting next month to assist the project in brainstorming its architecture, technology and design. It's proving an exhilarating example of the power of collaboration.
There are already many stories up online about the Encylopedia. Here's the official announcement.
Huge kudos and thanks to Ed and to Avenue A-Razorfish and to everyone else embarking on this journey.
My best,
- Chris Anderson, TED Curator
TED — Day Two — John Maeda
"Simplicity is about living with more enjoyment and less pain."
TED — Day Two — Nathan Myhrvold
TED — Day One — Steve Pinker
"Why are so many people so wrong about something so important?"
