Guest Thinkers — February 16, 2011

Disruptive technology

Scott McLeod

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

It may be friendly, but you still want to make sure there’s nothing breakable within reach.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

The letters "AI" appear with a glitch effect in multicolored pixels against a black background.

The Present

AI skeptic Gary Marcus on AI’s moral and technical shortcomings

The cognitive scientist argues the current AI environment is failing us as consumers and a society. But it’s not too late to change course.

An abstract illustration features a bell curve with red dots and a percentage labeled 49%. The background includes a monochrome portion of a face with wide-open eyes peeking below the curve.

Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: Bad at probability? That might be a blessing.

How black and white is your thinking?

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: Do gravitons need to exist?

Electromagnetism, both nuclear forces, and even the Higgs force are mediated by known bosons. What about gravity? Does it require gravitons?

Starts With A Bang

Gold, frankincense, and myrrh: one gift was made in a neutron star

When three wise men gifted baby Jesus with gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they had no idea one was made from colliding neutron stars.

Bright orange star surrounded by a dense field of smaller white stars in space.

The Past

How humanity discovered we’re all made of “star stuff”

Carl Sagan was far from the first to declare we are the children of ancient stars.

Up Next

Guest Thinkers

Don’t hold your breath

[cross-posted at Moving at the Speed of Creativity] One of the key beliefs of many edubloggers and educational technology enthusiasts is that digital technologies can, and should, empower students to […]