2008 April - The Emergent Fool

A new prediction market site with a twist: your profits in the market get donated to the charity of your choice. I was concerned that it may look noble but that they might be profiting from the bid/ask spread, so I wrote and asked them. Here is their response: No fees, except the 5% on top of any funds put...

TED Talk: Aubrey de Grey...

Posted by Rafe Furst in TED on 04 21st, 2008 | 1 Comment

Avoiding aging ...

TED Talk: Jeff Hawkins...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Computation, TED on 04 15th, 2008 | 1 Comment

How brain science will change computing ...

Open Letter to Gotham Prize...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Alternative Institutions, Limits of Knowledge on 04 12th, 2008 | 1 Comment

The Gotham Prize is a laudable new effort to provide incentive for new approaches to cancer. In response to their recent announcement of their first awards, I have sent them the following open letter. If you would like to express your own opinion on the matter, I encourage you to provide your feedback to...

TED Talks: Wade Davis...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Culture, TED on 04 11th, 2008 | No Comments

Endangered cultures ...

Cancer Research Surprises...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Cancer, Evolution, Infection, Limits of Knowledge on 04 10th, 2008 | 2 Comments

Many people would admit to not understanding cancer well, but fewer people would admit to not understanding evolution well. Here are some challenges to our understanding of both. Starvation may help cancer treatment. “As little as 48 hours of starvation afforded mice injected with brain cancer cells...

TED Talks: Al Gore...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Agency, TED on 04 9th, 2008 | No Comments

New thinking on climate crisis ...

Notes from TED...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Agency, Alternative Institutions, Computation, Cooperation, Culture, Education, Emergence, Epistemology, Government, Levels, Limits of Knowledge, Models, Networks, Non-linearity, Poverty, Psychology, Social Networks, Society, TED on 04 8th, 2008 | 10 Comments

Here are some notes that I took at TED 2008. I have a bunch more on each of the speakers individually which I may post as time permits. Let me know if you want me to expand any of the notes below into a full post. ...

TED Talks: Iqbal Quadir...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Alternative Institutions, Poverty, Society, TED on 04 8th, 2008 | No Comments

Mobile phones fight poverty ...

TED Talks: Ken Robinson...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Education, TED on 04 6th, 2008 | 1 Comment

Schools kill creativity ...

TED Talk: Dan Gilbert...

Posted by Rafe Furst in TED on 04 6th, 2008 | No Comments

What makes us happy ...

TED Talk: Amy Smith...

Posted by Rafe Furst in TED on 04 4th, 2008 | No Comments

Simple lifesaving design ...

World's Best Powerpoint Presentatio...

Posted by Rafe Furst in Culture, Media, TED on 04 3rd, 2008 | 1 Comment

Some people would say “Best” and “Powerpoint Presentation” are oxymoronic in combination. But I disagree. Powerpoint and its digital slideshow ilk (e.g. Keynote) are a relatively new medium, and it is the job of the slideshow creator and the presenter to make the presentation kick...

TED Talk: Hans Rosling...

Posted by Rafe Furst in TED on 04 3rd, 2008 | No Comments

Two for one special… Debunking myths about the “third world” ...

TED Talk: Chris Abani...

Posted by Rafe Furst in TED on 04 2nd, 2008 | No Comments

For those of you who are enjoying these talks and want to check out more than one of my favorites per day, you can cut to the chase on my TED profile favorites page. You will have to register there, but it’s free to do so. Stories of Africa ...