Games on the Treadmill with Shoe: S2E3 – Innovation Part II

Season 2, Episode 3.

IQ2US: Genetically Modify Food

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Genetically modified (GM) foods have been around for decades. Created by modifying the DNA of one organism through the introduction of genes from another, they are developed for a number of different reasons—to fight disease, enhance flavor, resist pests, improve nutrition, survive drought—and are mainly found in our food supply in processed foods using corn, soybeans, and sugar beets, and as feed for farm animals. Across the country and around the world, communities are fighting the cultivation of genetically engineered crops. Are they safe? How do they impact the environment? Can they improve food security? Is the world better off with or without GM food?

Source.

IQ2US: Legalize Assisted Suicide

 In 1994, Oregon voters passed the Death with Dignity Act, which legalized physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. Since then, it has become legal in 4 more states, including New Mexico, where the state court ruling that it is constitutional is under appeal. Is it, in the words of the American Medical Association’s code of ethics, “fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer”? Will these laws lead to a slippery slope, where the vulnerable are pressured to choose death and human life is devalued? Or do we need to recognize everyone’s basic right to autonomy, the right to end pain and suffering, and the right to choose to die with dignity?

Source.

Sam Harris - It Is Always Now

Full Lecture:

Sam Harris - Death and the Present Moment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITTxTC...

Music:

Moby - Blue Paper
http://www.last.fm/music/Moby/_/Blue+...

Source.

Sam Harris - Death and the Present Moment

 Published on Jun 2, 2012

A Celebration of Reason - 2012 Global Atheist Convention
13-15th April - Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre
Presented by the Atheist Foundation of Australia

http://atheistconvention.org.au
http://atheistfoundation.org.au

Sam Harris is a Co-Founder and CEO of Project Reason, a non-profit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. He received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA.
http://www.samharris.org/

Source.

GeekDad: Bounded Enthusiasm #9: Jennifer Holm and The Fourteenth Goldfish

Today’s episode of Bounded Enthusiasm is an interview with Jennifer Holm about her latest book, The Fourteenth Goldfish. Holm has written several books for kids, both novels and comics, and has won three Newbery Honors and an Eisner Award. Before reading The Fourteenth Goldfish to my kids, I knew about Holm primarily for Babymouse and Squish, two comics series she writes that are illustrated by her brother Matthew Holm.

Source.

IQ2US: Income Inequality Impairs The American Dream Of Upward Mobility

Income inequality has been on the rise for decades. In the last 30 years, the wages of the top 1% have grown by 154%, while the bottom 90% has seen growth of only 17%. As the rungs of the economic ladder move further and further apart, conventional wisdom says that it will become much more difficult to climb them. Opportunities for upward mobility—the American dream—will disappear as the deck becomes stacked against the middle class and the poor. But others see inequality as a positive, a sign of a dynamic and robust economy that, in the end, helps everyone. And contrary to public opinion, mobility has remained stable over the past few decades. If the American dream is dying, is it the result of income inequality? Or is disparity in income a red herring where more complex issues are at play?

Source.

JRE #413 - Dan Carlin, Daniele Bolelli

#413. Dan Carlin is an amateur historian and former radio talk show host. Carlin now hosts two popular podcasts available on iTunes, or through his website, to download: Common Sense and Hardcore History. Daniele Bolelli is an Italian author, professor, and martial artist. His books include Create Your Own Religion and On the Warrior's Path and his podcast called The Drunken Taoist is available on iTunes.

Source.

Tim Ferriss Show, Episode 20: Dan Carlin – Hardcore History, Building Podcasts, Creativity, and More

This podcast is brought to you by The Tim Ferriss Book Club, which features a handful of books that have changed my life. Here’s the list.
Now, on to our guest…
Dan Carlin is the host of my favorite podcast, Hardcore History.
But… what?! History?! I know. I thought the same thing. How could a history podcast have a cult following?
And yet it did. During research for launching The Tim Ferriss Show, I asked many of the top dogs on the iTunes charts: what is your favorite podcast? Almost without exception, the answer came back: Hardcore History.
Since then, I’ve become friends with Dan (and more obsessed with his show), and this episode explores all the questions I’ve been dying to ask him, including:
- His early experiments
– What has worked and what hasn’t
– His habits, rituals, and routines
– How podcasting became his full-time job
– His “radio” voice and how to find your own
– Creativity
– And much more…
I hope you enjoy it, and listen to at least one episode of Hardcore History. They’re amazing. I’ve included a few of my favorites below.

Source.

IQ2US: Mass Collection of U.S. Phone Records Violates the Fourth Amendment

 Some say that the mass collection of U.S. phone records is a gross invasion of privacy. Others say that it is necessary to keep us safe. But what does the U.S. Constitution say? "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Is collection of phone records a “search” or “seizure"? If so, is it “unreasonable”? Does it require a particularized warrant and probable cause? These are among the most consequential—and controversial—constitutional questions of our time.

Source.

IQ2US: Flexing America's Muscles In The Middle East Will Make Things Worse

The rise of ISIS, the disintegration of Iraq, Syria’s ongoing civil war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the promise and peril of the Arab Spring...  What role should America play in the Middle East? For some, America’s restraint has been a sign of disciplined leadership. But for others, it has been a sign of diminished strength and influence. How do we strike a balance between our national interests, moral obligations, and the maintenance of world order? Are we simply recognizing the limitations of our power, or does this embattled region require a bolder, more muscular, American presence?

Source.

Emma Watson UN Speech

Source.

IQ2US: Embrace The Common Core

In K-12 education, there is nothing more controversial than the Common Core State Standards, national academic standards in English and math. Adopted by more than 40 states, they were developed, in part, to address concerns that American students were falling behind their foreign counterparts and graduating high school without the necessary skills for college and the workforce. But is this the reform we’ve been looking for? Has the federal government overreached and saddled our schools with standards that have been flawed from the start? Or will the Common Core raise the bar and improve the quality of our children’s education?

Source.

Jim Holt: Why does the universe exist?

Published on Sep 2, 2014

Why is there something instead of nothing? In other words: Why does the universe exist (and why are we in it)? Philosopher and writer Jim Holt follows this question toward three possible answers. Or four. Or none.

Source.

J.J. Abram's Cancelled SUPERMAN Film

Published on Aug 21, 2014
An exert from The Weekly Planet (linked below) on the J.J. Abrams' penned, Superman: Flyby.

Source.

George Martin. Robin Hobb, Jane Johnson - LONDON 19 August 2014

This is an interview conducted by Jane Johnson with Robin Hobb and George RR Martin on the week of the release of Robin's new book "Fool's Assassin". The interview was conducted in front of a room of roughly 900 people at the Freemasons' Hall in Central London on 19 August 2014

Source.

IQ2US: Individuals and organizations have a constitutional right to unlimited spending on their own political speech

Is independent political speech the linchpin of our democracy or its Achilles' heel?   For democracy to work, some say, citizens (and corporations, and unions, and media outlets, and other voluntary organizations) must be allowed to express their views on the issues, candidates, and elections of the day. This proposition, they say, is exactly why the First Amendment protects the freedom of speech and of the press. On this view, restrictions on independent political speech undermine and subvert our constitutional structure.  But others take a different view: If everyone can spend as much money as they like to express their political views, then some voices will be amplified, magnified and enhanced — while others will be all but drowned out. On this view, it is this inequality of influence that subverts our constitutional structure — and restrictions that level the playing field actually enhance rather than abridge the freedom of speech.

Source.

IQ2US: Death Is Not Final

If consciousness is just the workings of neurons and synapses, how do we explain the phenomenon of near-death experience? By some accounts, about 3% of the U.S. population has had one: an out-of-body experience often characterized by remarkable visions and feelings of peace and joy, all while the physical body is close to death. To skeptics, there are more plausible, natural explanations, like oxygen deprivation. Is the prospect of an existence after death “real” and provable by science, or a construct of wishful thinking about our own mortality?

Source.

IQ2US: Millennials Don't Stand A Chance

Millennials—growing up with revolutionary technology and entering adulthood in a time of recession—have recently been much maligned. Are their critics right? Is this generation uniquely coddled, narcissistic, and lazy? Or have we let conventional wisdom blind us to their openness to change and innovation, and optimism in the face of uncertainty, which, in any generation, are qualities to be admired?

Source.

IQ2US: More Clicks, Fewer Bricks: The Lecture Hall Is Obsolete

Is the college of the future online? With the popularity of MOOCs (massive open online courses) and the availability of online degree programs at a fraction of their on-campus price, we are experiencing an exciting experiment in higher education. Does the traditional classroom stand a chance? Will online education be the great equalizer, or is a campus-based college experience still necessary?
Brought to you in partnership with the Richard Paul Richman Center for Business, Law, and Public Policy, a joint venture of Columbia Business School and Columbia Law School.  The Richman Center fosters dialogue and debate on emerging policy questions where business and markets intersect with the law.
Source.

PRACTICE 2013: The Art of Strategy

Panelists: Brad Muir, Soren Johnson, and Keith Burgun
Moderator: Frank Lantz

Strategy games occupy a special place in the hierarchy of game design as the clearest expression of the ideal of "interesting decisions". In this panel, three designers working in the strategy realm discuss their approaches, discuss the specific challenges of designing strategy games and talk about the creative possibilities and future directions of the genre.
For more information on Practice: Game Design in Detail visit gamecenter.nyu.edu/practice

Source.

IQ2US: Affirmative Action On Campus Does More Harm Than Good

Affirmative action, when used as a factor in college admissions, is meant to foster diversity and provide equal opportunities in education for underrepresented minorities. But is it achieving its stated goals and helping the population it was created to support? Its critics point to students struggling to keep up in schools mismatched to their abilities and to the fact that the policy can be manipulated to benefit affluent and middle class students who already possess many educational advantages. Is it time to overhaul or abolish affirmative action? 

Source.

IQ2US: Russia Is A Marginal Power

Disarming Syria. Asylum for Edward Snowden. Arming Iran. Deploying troops to Crimea. Is Vladimir Putin flexing his muscles, while our own president fades into the background of world politics, or is it all a global game of smoke and mirrors? Russia is one of the world’s largest oil producers and has the power of veto on the U.N. Security Council, but it remains an authoritarian state, rife with corruption and economic struggles. Is our toxic relationship something to worry about, or is Putin’s Russia fading in importance?

Source.

IQ2US: The President Has Constitutional Power To Target And Kill U.S. Citizens Abroad

With the drone strike on accused terrorist and New Mexico-born Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen, President Obama has tested the limits of the executive branch’s powers. Does the president have constitutional authority under the due process clause to kill U.S. citizens abroad, or is it a violation of this clause to unilaterally decide to target and kill Americans?

Source.

DR Show: The Political Crisis In Ukraine

Moscow's foreign minister today vowed Russian troops would remain in Ukraine until the political situation normalizes. Major world powers condemned Russia's occupation over the weekend of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to be in Kiev tomorrow as a show of support for Ukraine's embattled interim government. U.S. and E.U. leaders are discussing sanctions and other options to pressure Russia to withdraw. U.S. officials say military intervention is not one of the options under consideration. Guest host Tom Gjelten and a panel of experts discuss the latest developments.

Source.

IQ2US: Snowden Was Justified

Has Edward Snowden done the U.S. a great service? There is no doubt that his release of highly classified stolen documents has sparked an important public debate, even forcing what could be a major presidential overhaul of the NSA’s surveillance programs. But have his actions—which include the downloading of an estimated 1.7 million files—tipped off our enemies and endangered national security? Is Snowden a whistleblower, or is he a criminal?

Source.

Something From Nothing Broadcast 8

Streamed live on Dec 15, 2013

Game Designers talking about game design.

Source.

Game of Owns: Episode 195 – Holy Drogon

February’s second Sunday brought forth a monster in your heroic hosts, please enjoy this special episode in the wake of dumbfounded excitement for HBO’s Ice and Fire: A Foreshadowing. Bring on Season 4!


Discussion Topics
Amazing, amazing feature
Glorious Brienne
DROGON and the GOAT
Steady OMGoT moments
Following up the Red Wedding
Tyrion and Jaime
Even better sets
Reads the Tweets

Bill Nye Debates Ken Ham

 Streamed live on Feb 4, 2014

Is creation a viable model of origins in today's modern, scientific era? Leading creation apologist and bestselling Christian author Ken Ham is joined at the Creation Museum by Emmy Award-winning science educator and CEO of the Planetary Society Bill Nye.

Source.

IQ2US: Obamacare Is Now Beyond Rescue

With the disastrous launch of the HealthCare.gov website, critics of the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” were given more fuel for the fire. Is this political hot potato's inevitability once again at stake? And is the medical community really on board with the law, or resisting (rewriting?) it from the sidelines?

Source.

WPR: Lessons Learned From Dying, Civil Rights In Wisconsin, Dungeons And Dragons

Judith Siers-Poisson and Rob Ferrett talk with a guest about the lessons he learned about living...from dying.  They'll also talk about...

Source.

MoDevEast 2013 - Jason CranfordTeague

Master the Mobile Market

Now in its third year, MoDevEast will be bigger than ever, drawing more than 500 developers, designers, marketers and managers in for essential training and futurecasting—across four distinct tracks:

Mobile in the Enterprise • User Experience + Design • Marketing + Monetization • Mobile Development

Regardless of your discipline, ModevEast is a must-attend mobile gathering to connect you with mobile experts and hundreds of your peers for two intensive days of learning and thought leadership.

Source.