Technology & Innovation — July 9, 2013

Airline Crash Statistics: We’re Going Down!

Flying is incredibly safe.

In the welter of sensationalist news stories rushing to cover this weekend’s catastrophic Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crash, the media has missed the forest for the trees. (Hat tip to my brilliant colleague Steven Mazie)

The real story? A new record!

When people want to diminish the likelihood of something, they call it “one in a million”.

But, with about 20,000 commercial flights a day, and the last multiple-fatality, major commercial airline crash occurring in 2001, that means that the current trend has the likelihood of being in a plane crash at around 87,600,000for the plane.

Given that only two of the several hundred passengers in this weekend’s crashed died, I have to say that I like those odds.

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Neuropsych

The 5-step “military method” for falling asleep in minutes

You’ll be able to sleep through a war.

a painting of a man standing next to a tree.

The Well

Eastern philosophy says there is no “self.” Science agrees

“Why are you unhappy? Because 99.9 percent of everything you think, and of everything you do, is for yourself — and there isn’t one.”

a drawing of a man standing next to a painting of a woman.

The Future

To fear AI is to fear Newton and Einstein. There are no “dragons” here.

Who’s afraid of utopia? AI doubters have cold feet. History can warm them.

a painting of a woman laying on a couch.

The Learning Curve

Why the pursuit of happiness leads to misery — and what to do about it

Impossible standards and poor self-understanding are making us miserable.

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Hard Science

The Carrington event of 1859 disrupted telegraph lines. A “Miyake event” would be far worse

We don’t know what causes Miyake events, but these great surges of energy can help us understand the past — while posing a threat to our future.

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