Hiatus

"A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials." Chinese proverb.

The time has come for some further polishing and refinement.  It is time to focus more on the trials of research and scholarship in order to further develop the knowledge and ideas behind the content presented here on this blog.

AND SO,  There may not be any posts for the coming months in '09 BUT rest assured that in the future more thoughts and ideas on Technacy, sustainability and human judgement will be posted towards the end of the year. 

Please CHECK BACK periodically OR  SIMPLY SUBSCRIBE to the RSS feed so you will be receive updates without having to check back.

YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND USEFUL INFORMATION through the blog.  There still remains the LINKS to published articles and news items, the live news feeds still tick over at the bottom of the page,  and the search bar that will help search and locate related themes and topics on the web.

A technological phoenix emerges from the ashes

Okay, now this TED-talk offers something to think about

Unless it is how One makes their living, It can be difficult amidst the day-to-day hum drum to really take an holistic long-view; Without this kind of vision we risk becoming egocentric and arrogant about our own position in contrast to other groups of people; being bigoted about the way other's have and do live; and we might be blind to the unfolding possibilities occuring under our noses.

In the 1950s or thereabouts there were some scholars considering the emergence of transhumanism- This talk shows it is all becoming a reality in our life-time. Though events and things rarely occur exactly as expected in detail however, a robust perspective can offer principles and patterns of things to be expected.

There is an issue to consider. That the insidious influence of industrialised thinking on education systems has trained, and NOT educated, consecutive generations preventing them from perceiving and making wise judgments about the future. And as this talk shows, we may be on the verge of new evolutionary stage where humans use their technology to control their own evolution.

To survive the impending era may require a new way of thinking and educating about technology, to see it as a complex and dynamic activity occurring at various scales. I would argue that technacy offers a means to educate young minds to understand technology for this impending future.

Its not about whether its right or wrong [though it is an issue to consider] but its about enabling young minds to have the mental tool-box to navigate this future safely and comfortably, without being naive and/or bigoted.

Exploring natural disasters with technacy: first of a new theme

Now this news article below is an interesting idea. Thanks to an increase in human technological capability, human activity is able to modify the natural environment on a larger scale than was possible in time past.  Indeed it might be possible to list numerous similar events throughout history.  This will be the first of a theme where the logic of technacy can be followed in human influence on natural events. As articles and cases are found they will be posted under a similar heading.

Scientist says dam may have triggered China quake

(AP) -- Pressure from a dam, its reservoir's heavy waters weighing on geologic fault lines, may have helped trigger China's devastating earthquake last May, some scientists say, in a finding that suggests human activity played a role in the disaster.

Solar Powering the way forward

Some interesting observations about the future for Solar power as a source of energy.  The comparison is being made with the computer chip; increase in power and reduction in cost over time.

Whereas alternatives such as "clean coal" and "next generation" nuclear have yet to be costed in reality, solar provides real-time evidence of its reducing costs and increasing capacity.

The figures cited in this science alert [Solar power's steep learning curve]  indicate that in california during the 1980s the cost reduced on average 11% per year from 25cents/kWh [energy] to around 12 c/kWh.

IT it also cited that prices from 1980- 1995 for Photovoltaic energy dropped 35%, wind power 18% in contrast to Coal at 3% per year.

"In both concentrating solar power and solar photovoltaics, three factors are at work. The first is research and development of better technology. The second is manufacturing economies of scale. The third is the drive toward ever larger installations. Taken together, the three create a juggernaut of lower prices."