Monday, January 23, 2012

Future Tech:

Could you imagine a world where solar panels were not only useful and efficient, but the norm? A world without any need for coal or oil fueled power plants far away pumping power all over the country to satisfy the needs of the people and instead have each person or community create and provide their own energy, only for the cost of grid and panel upkeep? This would be the Quantum Age. There was a discovery years ago that has been puzzling scientists everywhere. In 2007, a group of scientists found that photosynthesis is based in quantum mechanics. In fact, photosynthesis is most likely one of the most important adaptations of life to manipulate light (and space time as most know it). It is quite literally the basis of life as we know it. Yet we still do not know how it works, not properly at least.
Anyone who has taken an introductory biology class will know that there is much about photosynthesis that we do know. We know all the proteins and chemical changes, all the inputs and outputs, and much more. Yet the process of converting light (in wave form) into an electrical charge has all but escaped us. Sure photovoltaic cells use light to create a electrical charge but it is on such a macro scale when compared to the quantum computations of authentic photosynthesis.
One of the largest barriers for the development of solar cells with this tech is simply that there is much to learn about quantum computation and manipulating waves. There have been teams that have stopped light and sound but most of the other theories are purely theoretical. As this field is advanced more and more (quantum mechanics) there is a bright future ahead of us. The scale of technology is rapidly approaching quantum levels where even computers will be implementing quantum mechanics to make better and faster machines.
Soon enough we will grow out of the byte age and enter the quantum age. bending the laws of nature to grow, learn and prosper.

Sources:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=when-it-comes-to-photosynthesis-plants-perform-quantum-computation
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7137/full/446740a.html
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v446/n7137/full/nature05678.html

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Thoughts on Being

What is it that connects two brains. We surely have the ability to connect with people but we surely are separate. But in reality it is this myth that we have created in order to judge well and quickly. The self reflective process is an interesting philosophical topic to address. It seems apparent that the only real separation between humanity and the rest of mammals is the separation between mind and body, between the experience of living and of life itself. It is the basis of cause and effect. Brain growth could very well be the cause of the log of cause and effect that is the human experience. we are right away given names, labeled, organized, put to work, and told it is this thing called "life".

RE:Race, America, and white folks

http://www.bloodyshrubbery.com/
My friend just posted an interesting article on his blog on race, and I thought I would take the change to put down some thoughts. First off, don't know everything about race and its role in my life but I do know that I, being a white male of northern European decent, have benefited from racism. That much is pretty much undeniable, but although I have benefited from the institutionalized state of racial inequality I do not support the moral justifications of many in civil right movements. Many times, the stated goal (which i support wholeheartedly) is to create an even playing field in terms of race in the economy. This come across for the most part as promoting 'whiteness' in a Black, Latino, Asian, etc. community. This is unacceptable to me. I believe the very thing we need to be fighting against is the very concept of 'whiteness' and what it means to us. Over the history of the United States, there have been campaign after campaign to assimilate immigrants into the concept of 'white'.
(not me, hopefully ever)

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Net Neutrality

The webs are abuzz with the upcoming SOPA legislation and its implications for freedom on the internet. Although it looks like the people's voices have been heard, as Obama's White house released a statement which says that he does not support this legislation and will not sign it if it passes in congress. Read the full statement here. Yet, in the same statement, a new legislation to extend US sovereignty to the computers of foreign citizens and companies is promoted. I do not think this is a good path for the US government to go down. We are every day looking more and more like an empire, a form of government I do not support.

Looking Forward

   We are going somewhere. That I know for sure. Where are we going? this question seems to be on everybody's mind, from the environmental movement's vision of flooded cities to empiricism's nuclear war with Iran, everybody seems to know how the world is going to fail, collapse, and run itself into the ground. As a result everybody is running around pointing fingers, laying blame, and protesting. I am not one to discount protesting, but it must have a cause and therefore a purpose. As we can see with the recent, and sadly continuing, Occupy Wall Street protests a movement without a clear cause and leverage will fail. What am i trying to say here you ask? well my good sir or madam, I do declare that now is not the time for blame and punishment but for change and action. You all know the idiom "lead by example", yet we always seem to point to others to change before we will and justify out stalwart defiance of our own morality with blame and finger pointing.