Hashtag politics: 4 key ways digital activism is inegalitarian

Many believe that the internet has made it easier for us to participate in political activism. But is that really true?

  • Protesting in person is costly in terms of money and resources; some people have children to take care of, jobs that can't be away from, or may not have time to attend a planning event.
  • The internet was supposed to be a way to sidestep this barrier to political activism. But this doesn't consider the other barriers preventing poor and working-class folks from participating in digital activism.
  • In particular, these people lack ASETs: access to computers, the skills to use them, the empowerment necessary to feel that using Twitter or other social media is for them, and the time to make use of digital platforms in an effective way.
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Physicists find new state of matter that can supercharge technology

Scientists make an important discovery for the future of computing.

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  • Researchers find a new state of matter called "topological superconductivity".
  • The state can lead to important advancements in quantum computing.
  • Utilizing special particles that emerge during this state can lead to error-free data storage and blazing calculation speed.
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How Silicon Valley went from conservative, to anti-establishment, to liberal

Silicon Valley started as a Republican stronghold. How did it turn so liberal?

  • From its inception right up until the 1980s, Silicon Valley, and particularly its leaders, were Republican leaning. Dave Packard, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard, was Richard Nixon's deputy secretary of defense.
  • This trend changes in the 1990s, when the techie generation who came of age during the Vietnam War and Watergate represent a more cynical and liberal class of leaders. In 1984, Steve Jobs admitted he'd never voted.
  • In the late '80s and '90s, politicians like Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Newt Gingrich start sitting down and talking with futurists, supercomputing specialists, and Turing Prize winners to understand how this world is evolving and how the innovative energy Silicon Valley could be harnessed to bring America into the 21st century.
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Study: most people would rather lose a job to a robot than a human

A surprising study reveals how people feel about being replaced by robots in their jobs.

  • Scientists in Germany find that most people would rather a robot replaced them in their job than a human.
  • On the other hand, most people would be upset if a robot took the job of a colleague.
  • People have different emotional reactions to being replaced by robots versus humans.
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So what’s the actual difference between Bitcoin and Altcoins?

  • Bitcoin has long been the king of the cryptocurrency market.
  • New coins and tokens have shaken up the status quo with unique use cases and innovations.
  • Bitcoin has responded with its own improvements, leading to a healthier market.
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