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Science and Technology

Solitary confinement is torture

Jun 24, 2015 | , ,

Published: Daily Dot (June 24, 2015) The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution may not have as much political cachet as the First or Second, but it’s a safe bet you’re familiar with one of its most important phrases (italics added for emphasis): “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This brings us to Barrett...

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Emperor Vespasian and the Art of Making Choices

Apr 30, 2015 | , , ,

Published: Good Men Project (April 30, 2015) Matthew Rozsa shares a brief story from Roman history to teach a life lesson. ___ Whenever I discover an anecdote from ancient history that offers a clear lesson for the present, my inner history nerd rejoices at the opportunity to share my latest find with anyone who might offer me their attention. Much as you, dear reader, are doing right now. Which...

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Voting machine hack proves your ballot isn’t as safe as you think

Apr 18, 2015 | , ,

Published: Daily Dot (April 18, 2015) American democracy is quite literally under attack. Why aren’t we spending as much money as it takes to protect it? According to a security review published by the Virginia Information Technologies Agency earlier this week, the electronic voting machines sold to that state (as well as Pennsylvania and Mississippi) by Advanced Voting Solutions “operate with a...

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February 2015 Has Been A Historic Month for Science

Feb 24, 2015 | ,

Published: Pixable (February 24, 2015) This has been a historic month for science. Even if all scientific progress crawls to a stop this week, the knowledge we’ve already acquired since February 1, 2015 is likely to have a direct impact on all of our lives. Among the lessons we’ve learned: 1. The theory of the Big Bang may be false (Source: Flickr/nasamarshall) In a paper published by Physics...

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The biggest problem with virtual reality is us

Feb 23, 2015 | ,

Published: Daily Dot (February 23, 2015) Are we approaching the dawn of the virtual reality age? “You’re looking at the future,” declared Chris Cox, the chief product officer at Oculus VR, in reference to his company’s virtual reality headset being purchased by Facebook, “and it’s going to be awesome.” Recent reports indicate that the company is developing its own virtual reality version of the...

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Anti-vaxxers shouldn’t use my autism to justify their bad choices

Feb 18, 2015 | , , , ,

Published: Quartz (February 18, 2015) I still remember the first article I ever wrote about growing up with Asperger’s Syndrome. It was compelled (I’m reluctant to say inspired) by some of the controversial reports that circulated after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting claiming gunman Adam Lanza had an autism spectrum disorder. Two years later, confusion and misinformation about autism...

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3 Reasons Obama should make it illegal not to vaccinate your children

Feb 5, 2015 | , , , , ,

Published: Daily Dot (February 5, 2015) “The science is, you know, pretty indisputable.” Those were President Obama’s words in an interview with NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie earlier this week during which he urged parents to get their children vaccinated. While it’s tempting to praise the president for standing on the side of science, he has been inexcusably reluctant to fulfill his constitutional...

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