Future Technologies Advisory Group
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Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation
The Harvard Business School Working Knowledge has a very interesting article on "Open Source Science: A New Model for Innovation": In a perfect world, scientists share problems and work together on solutions for the good of society. In the real world, however, that's usually not the case. The main obstacles: competition for publication and intellectual property protection. Is there a model for encouraging large-scale scientific problem solving? Yes, and it comes from an unexpected and unrelated corner of the universe: open source software development. That's the view of Karim R. Lakhani, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School with an extensive research background in open source software communities and their innovation and product development strategies. His latest research analyzes how open source norms of transparency, permeable access, and collaboration might work with scientists. What he and his coauthors discovered: "broadcasting" or introducing problems to outsiders yields effective solutions. Indeed, it was outsiders—those with expertise at the periphery of a problem's field—who were most likely to find answers and do so quickly... More on Prof. Lakhani's blog.
11/27/2006 Permalink/comments
Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism
At its inaugural press conference on November 14, the newly established Washington, D.C. office of the Center for Inquiry released the text of a "Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism." The Declaration is endorsed by over 50 prominent scientists and scholars. This important document serves as a clarion call for improvements in scientific understanding, support of scientific inquiry and the use of secular principles in the formulation of public policy. The text of the Declaration is set forth here. We are concerned with the resurgence of fundamentalist religions across the nation, and their alliance with political-ideological movements to block science...11/18/2006 Permalink/comments
New Scientist: James Hughes on "What comes after humans?
The New Scientist has published a short article by James Hughes on " What comes after humans?" in its 50th anniversary edition, where they have decided to tackle the truly big questions, with the help of some of the leading lights in science. The article is a concise introduction to transhumanism from its origins in Diderot's D'Alembert's Dream to modern transhumanist thinking on human enhancement and current policy debates. Almost half a century after Julian Huxley, brother of Aldous, coined the term "transhumanism" for the idea that we should use technology to transcend the limitations of our bodies and brains, transhumanism has become a real possibility, pointing the way to an unbelievably transcendent future that would have been unimaginable even to Huxley. The choices we make today are deciding an answer to the question "What comes after human civilisation?". Read more...11/17/2006 Permalink/comments
New Scientist - US scientists weigh up election results
New Scientist - US scientists weigh up election results: Along with the colours of the political map, Tuesday's midterm elections will change science in the US. Researchers in a broad range of disciplines, from embryonic stem cells to climate change, stand to benefit from the tide of voter anger that has swept Republicans out of power in the US House of Representatives and the Senate, handing control to the Democrats, according to latest reports. Democrat representative Nancy Pelosi, who is set to become speaker of the House, has already promised to broaden the types of stem-cell research allowed with federal funds in the first 100 hours of her majority leadership, which is set to begin in January 2007. Missouri voters also approved an amendment to the state's constitution sanctioning human embryonic stem-cell research by a 51% majority. (See Stem-cell researchers welcome midterm results).
11/10/2006 Permalink/comments
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