Bruno Unna

Today I witnessed something I thought I would never see.

While traveling on the subway system, quietly listening to my music, the usual bastard with a cd player and a loud, loud loudspeaker, selling pirate music, came into the same wagon I was in. Stood by me and turned his music on. Incidentally, he saw me and my anger at his presence. In a matter of seconds, he turned off his music, and started keeping his cd player into the bag he used to carry the disks to sell.

At first I thought -although just for some moments- that I found a civic pirate. Perhaps one with little time in business, consciuous enough to keep silent at the vision of one as upset at his noise as I visibly was.

Then the man came. Tall, dressed like a civilian, with a newspaper in his hand, rapidly came to the place we were, and practically without speaking to the pirate, just indicated him to stand by him. And they descended from the wagon at the next station. The rest of the trip was very pleasant.

I only hope I'm begining to witness the waking-up of the authority. The sudden relevance of the civic action. I encourage the authorities to keep up that work.

Web 2.0 is coming of age and facilitating collaboration, participation and communication between users. It has opened up opportunities in media distribution and what Vinod Khosla calls media mangling. Personalisation has also started to fulfil its potential on the web and new startups are using this opportunity to launch businesses by pursuing VC funding. However, startups need to use the capital raised judiciously to avoid making the same mistakes associated with the growth of Web 1.0.

Vinod Khosla points out that mobile phones are becoming ubiquitous globally. Mobile phones are being used to help people learn English in India, China and France. Taking the topic of education further, Khosla proposes that all textbooks should be open source and easily editable - like Wikipedia - so that children can look at different versions of the same topic depending on their level of comprehension. He believes that this will help imbue the virtue of critical thinking in children. Khosla thinks that the open source idea can be extended to many things outside its traditional scope, such as seeds. Seeds can be specifically engineered to suit a region's particular environment and population requirements. This is not feasible today, however, because of patent protection.

When asked during the short Q&A session at the end of the show whether Google's relevancy of search results can be improved, Khosla responds by saying that this can be achieved through the collaborative filtering of search results. In response to other questions he explains why he suspects that the successful companies of Web 2.0 will be those that can increase the size of their audiences rather than those which try to control content.

Vinod Khosla was a co-founder of Daisy Systems and founding Chief Executive Officer of Sun Microsystems where he pioneered open systems and commercial RISC processors. Vinod serves on the boards of Agami, eASIC, Indian School of Business, Infinera, Kovio, Metricstream, Spatial Photonics, Xsigo and Zettacore.

Vinod holds a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, a Master's in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Robert Lang

Origami Artist and Theorist

The last decade of the twentieth century saw a revolution in the development and application of mathematical techniques to origami. Robert J. Lang describes how geometric concepts have led to the computer solution of a broad class of origami folding challenges and, as a consequence, enabled origami designs of astonishing complexity and realism to be developed.

As often happens in mathematics, a theory originally developed for its own aesthetic value has led to some surprising practical applications. In addition, it has shed light on long-standing mathematical questions and solved practical engineering problems. Lang gives examples of how origami has enabled safer airbags, Brobdingnagian space telescopes, and more.

Agile Web Development with Rails, version 2005-9-13, page 152. Used without permission. :)

The CartTest class highlights another case where the setup() method is useful. Both of the test methods need a Cart object. Cart is a model, but it's not actually stored in the database since it's not a subclass of ActiveRecord::Base. That means we can't use fixtures to load Cart objects because fixtures load objects into the database. Instead, we can initialize a @cart instance variable in the setup() method for all the test methods to use.

def setup
  @cart = Cart.new
end


So I have modified the automatically-generated unit tests for the inheriting models, removed the fixture invocation and replaced it with setup() methods.

Impressive what intelligent people can do with money and motivation.

Me parece que sería de muy, muy buen gusto escribir correctamente el nombre del comisionado en el título de la transcripción de su discurso de toma de posesión.

That's what I call a stupid way to die! But perhaps it's only natural selection doing its job.

Tom Kelley

Managing Director, IDEO

Dr. Moira Gunn interviews Tom Kelley, author of "The Ten Faces of Innovation -- IDEO's Strategies for Beating the Devil's Advocate. Tom is the managing direcor of IDEO, that innovative design firm known worldwide for its originality.

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Norman Packard

Pop!Tech 2005: It's Alive!

Syhnthetic Biology

What makes something alive and where is the boundary between a machine and a life form? Can a system such as the internet be considered alive, since it is self-maintaining, self-reproducing and evolving? Can a cell that was created from whole cloth in the lab still be considered life?

These questions are aroused in this talk by Norman Packard of ProtoLife, who is creating "synthetic biology" - artificial living cells made of non-living material. ProtoLife is exploring the possibilities to create "designer" life, for example, cells that are programmed to create hydrogen. The goal is make tiny living machines that can be used for medical and other applications.

This talk was from the It's Alive! session at Pop!Tech. The other speaker in this session was Theo Jansen. The question and answer period can be heard at the end of Theo Jansen's talk.

Once again, Julio dragged my attention to something interesting. Thanks, Julio!

This time, it is a series of 6 tests to help a person find out whether his/her brain is male or female.

With some reserves, I find it interesting. My results:

Part 1

Angles

This task tested your ability to identify the angle of a line by matching it with its twin. This is a spatial task, which looks at how you picture space.
Your score: 10 out of 20
Average score for men: 15.1 out of 20
Average score for women: 13.3 out of 20

What does your result suggest?

If you scored 0 - 12: You have more of a female brain. Scientists believe that people with a female brain find it more difficult to judge the slope of a line because they're not wired for spatial tasks. In past studies, 65 per cent of people who scored in this range were women.

If you scored 13 - 17: You found this test neither hard nor easy. This suggests your brain has male and female traits when it comes to spatial ability.

If you scored 18 - 20: You have more of a male brain. On average, men outperform women in this task and those with more mathematical knowledge tend to score quite high as well. In past studies, 60 per cent of the people in this range were men.

Interestingly, men's testosterone levels fluctuate through the seasons and studies have shown that men's scores are lower in the spring, when their testosterone levels are at their lowest.

Do our cave dwelling ancestors offer us any clues about why men and women score differently on this task? Find out more.

Spot the difference

This task tested your ability to identify which objects changed position. You lost points, if you incorrectly identified objects.
Your score: 29%
Average score for men: 39%
Average score for women: 46%

What does your score suggest?

If you scored between 0 - 33%: You may have more of a male brain. Scientists say men tend to under perform in this task. The corpus callosum, the part of the brain that links the right and left hemispheres, is a fifth larger in women. This means women can process visual and other signals at the same time more easily than men. There is also a theory that oestrogen levels in women give them an added advantage in spatial memory.

If you scored between 34 - 66%: You may have a balanced female-male brain.

If you scored between 67 - 100%: Those with a female-type brain generally score in this range. Your ability to remember where objects are may serve as an advantage to you when you're trying to find your way around places. You're more capable of recalling landmarks to get from one place to another.

Part 2

Hands

You said your right thumb was on top when you clasped your hands together.

Right thumb on top: This suggests the left half of your brain is dominant. Many studies have tried to establish whether there is a relationship between handedness and brain dominance. Some scientists believe that if you are left brain dominant, you would be more verbal and analytical.

Left thumb on top: This suggests the right half of your brain is dominant. Some studies theorise that as a right brain dominant person, you may excel in visual, spatial and intuitive processes.

However, these theories are debatable and leave much to be said about the small percentage of people who are ambidextrous.

Part 3

Emotions and Systems

This task looked at whether you prefer to empathise or systemise.
Empathising

Your empathy score is: 7 out of 20
Average score for men: 7.9 out of 20
Average score for women: 10.6 out of 20

What does your result suggest?

Empathisers are better at accurately judging other people's emotions and responding appropriately. If you scored 15 and above, you are very empathic and would be an ideal person to comfort people in a time of crisis. Women in general are better at empathising.

Systemising

Your systemising score is: 17 out of 20
Average score for men: 12.5 out of 20
Average score for women: 8.0 out of 20

What does your result suggest?

Systemisers prefer to investigate how systems work. A system can be a road map, flat pack furniture, or a mathematical equation – anything that follows a set of rules. A score of 15 and above suggests you're good at analysing or building systems. Men in general are better at systemising.

Scientists are keen to learn more about people who score high or low on both tests. They want to find out whether or not empathising and systemising are linked. Is a possible to make yourself more empathic?

Some scientists claim that our empathy and systemising abilities can be traced all the way back to prehistoric times. Find out more.

Eyes

This task tested your ability to judge people's emotions.
Your score: 8 out of 10
Average score for men: 6.6 out of 10
Average score for women: 6.6 out of 10

What does your result suggest?

If you scored 0 - 3: Do you think you're good at judging how another person is feeling? Your score suggests this doesn't come to you quite so naturally.

If you scored 4 - 6: Your result suggests you have a balanced female-male brain and find it neither easy nor difficult to judge people's emotions.

If you scored 7 - 10: Your result suggests you are a good empathiser, sensitive to other people's emotions. Women generally fall into this category.

Professor Baron-Cohen at the University of Cambridge says that people usually perform better than they expect to on this test.

Men often think a person's eyes are sending signals of desire when that's not the case at all.

Part 4

Fingers

We asked you to measure your ring and index fingers. Your ratios came to:
Right Hand: 0.98
Left Hand: 0.98

Average ratio for men: 0.982
Average ratio for women: 0.991

It's thought that your ratio is governed by the amount of testosterone you were exposed to in your mother's womb. The ratio of the length of your index finger to the length of your ring finger is set for life by as early as three months after conception. Even during puberty, when we experience intensive hormonal changes, the ratio stays the same.

Men generally have a ring finger that is longer than their index finger, which gives them a lower ratio than women, whose ring and index fingers are usually of equal length.

Studies have found that men and women with lots of brothers generally have more masculine finger ratios.

Part 5

Faces

This task looked at how you rate the attractiveness of a series of faces. The images you looked at were digitally altered to create slight differences in masculinity.

Your choices suggest you prefer more feminine faces.

Highly masculinised male faces possess more extreme testosterone markers such as a long, broad and lower jaw, as well as more pronounced brow ridges and cheekbones.

Interestingly, women's preferences are said to vary across the menstrual phase. A more masculine face is preferred during the 9 days prior to ovulation, when conception is most likely.

A typical 'attractive' female face possesses features such as a shorter, narrower, lower jaw, fuller lips and larger eyes than an average face.

Part 6

3D shapes

This task tested your ability to mentally rotate 3D shapes.

Your score: 11 out of 12
Average score for men: 8.2 out of 12
Average score for women: 7.1 out of 12

What does your result suggest?

If you scored 0 - 6: Do you find yourself having to physically rotate a map to point in the direction in which you're travelling? This might explain why you scored in the lower range in the 3D shapes test. Twice as many women as men score in this category. Previous studies suggest that those with a female-type brain or with an arts background fall into this range.

If you scored 7 - 9: In past studies, 50 per cent of the people who scored in this range were women and 50 per cent were men.

If you scored 10 - 12: Are you an engineer or do you have a science background? People with these skills tend to score in this range. Past studies have concluded that people in this range have a more male brain.

Nearly a third of men who took this test got full marks, whereas less than 10 per cent of women managed the same. Find out why.

Words

This task looked at your verbal fluency.

Your score: you associated 7 word(s) with grey and you named 7 word(s) that mean happy. We are assuming that all the words you entered are correct.
Average score for men: 11.4 words total
Average score for women: 12.4 words total

What does your result suggest?

If you produced 1 - 5 words: You are more of the strong, silent type with a male brain. You probably find it easier to express yourself in non-verbal ways, preferring action rather than words.

If you produced 6 - 10 words: Most people in this range have a female-type brain.

Women are said to use both sides of the brain when doing verbal tasks while men mainly use their left side. Studies have shown that girls develop vocabulary faster than boys. This difference in brain power is caused by levels of pre-natal testosterone. Find out more .

Ultimatum

This task asked you how you would divide money.

If you had to split £50 with someone, you said you would demand £30

So far on the Sex ID test, men have demanded 51.6% (£25.80) of the pot and women have demanded 51.0% (£25.50), on average.

What does your response suggest?

Sex differences are small in this task. Demanding less than 60% of the pot (ie £30) is more typically female. Demanding more than 65% of the pot (ie £32.50) is more typically male.

Scientists believe that people with lower testosterone levels tend to take fewer risks so they are probably more willing to keep less for themselves. Those with higher testosterone levels tend to drive a harder bargain and are less compromising.

Men's testosterone levels fluctuate over the seasons and are at their lowest levels during the springtime. This is said to influence their bargaining power.

¡Mabela ya recuperó sus datos de usuario y contraseña para escribir en su «blog»! Espero ver muchos «posts» suyos muy pronto.