Radio emerges from the electronic soup

A self-organising electronic circuit has stunned engineers by turning itself into a radio receiver.


I’m not sure why they’re “stunned”, as they were hoping for a similar result from the experiment. Nevertheless, it speaks volumes about the randomness but eventual success of the evolutionary principles proposed by Darwin. It’s not too long now that we can expect to see such methodology used in any number of fields, not least medicine. To keep this post on-topic (I’ve been drifting) perhaps it could be used to breed a race of politicians who are interested in the survival of the species as a whole, not only in increasing their own power and bank balances.


Source: metafilter

If only it were true!

The case for regime change:



NEW YORK– Making the case for United Nations intervention against the United States, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami told the organization yesterday that military action will be “unavoidable” unless the U.S. agrees to destroy its weapons of mass destruction.


http://www.indybay.org/news/2002/09/151953.php  Source: skb and others


…somewhat nearer the truth: America’s real intentions



This war [on Iraq], should it come, is intended to mark the official emergence of the United States as a full-fledged global empire, seizing sole responsibility and authority as planetary policeman. It would be the culmination of a plan 10 years or more in the making, carried out by those who believe the United States must seize the opportunity for global domination, even if it means becoming the “American imperialists” that our enemies always claimed we were. …


Rome did not stoop to containment; it conquered. And so should we.


http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/opinion/0902/29bookman.html  Source: makethemaccountable.com


…and from someone with a good word for Empress-in-Waiting Tony’s stance:



“I appreciate what the prime minister [Blair] is trying to do in terms of bringing America and the rest of the world to a common position,” the former president said. “If he weren’t there to do this, I doubt if anyone else could.”


www.reuters.com  Source: google

Cooperating is good for you

New research reveals why people often cooperate with each other, even when it is not necessarily to their advantage to do so. A group of researchers based at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, found that when a woman is involved in a situation where she is cooperating with someone else, she experiences activation in brain areas that are also activated by “rewards” such as food, money and drugs.


This indicates that our bodies may have been somehow programmed to “tag cooperation as rewarding,” study author Dr. Gregory S. Berns told Reuters Health. “Which is good, because it probably keeps the social fabric of society together,” he added. Full story


Source: www.makethemaccountable.com

Random deeds

Well, I finally joined the Esso boycott, and here’s the proof:


Boycott Esso now!