An article published by Saudi Arabia’s Arab News on the first day of Ramadan 2010 illustrates once again how simple, secular concepts that we take for granted can be challenged by political, religious or even commercial agendas. In summary: the … Continue reading
After a unusually grueling consulting stint that left me feeling burnt out, I found myself going through a motivational lull. Procrastination crept in, and I soon felt subject to the diktat of the ticking clock. I had lost my ability … Continue reading
I was recently the Divemaster in charge of leading two certified divers (both Advanced Open Water level) on a wreck dive, and experienced an unpleasant situation that I thought was worth sharing for the benefit of others. Continue reading
Could the development of ars technica (the art of technology) be made to fit into a framework that would not only reflect the technological progress made by humanity so far, but also be reasonably accurate at predicting our future as a species? Of course, one could argue that anything can fit into a framework, provided you tweak the framework enough to reach whichever conclusion you aim for. But sophism aside, is there some predictability to be derived from the history of mankind’s command of technology? Here are five proposed stages of technological development. Continue reading
Transhumanism will be more than a mere improvement of man through technology; it is going to bring an end to evolutionary randomness, the fundamental underlying principle which (coupled with natural selection) has driven the evolution of all organisms since the emergence of life on Earth (and quite possibly anywhere else in the Universe). Continue reading
The January 19, 2010 assassination of Hamas’ military wing commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel has turned into a remarkable PR opportunity for the local police. In just a few days, the investigative authorities of the UAE’s glitziest emirate were able to piece together the 19-hour-long chain of events that led to the killing, resulting in this riveting 30′ video that tells us a few things. Continue reading
September 1917. World War I has been ravaging Europe for three years when a 36-year old infantry medic by the name of Teilhard de Chardin takes part in the battle of Douaumont, France. There, knee-deep in the cold mud, exhausted from months spent on the battlefront, starved from weeks of short supplies, hundreds of thousands of men from both sides are waging the most epic and bloody battle of the Great War. 300,000 will lose their lives on this killing field over a matter of days, in a frenzy of deafening noise, blinding light and burning shrapnel. Continue reading
I killed 341 people tonight.
The first officer was a thirty-something I had never flown with before. He was a skinny guy with acne scars on his face – not quite the handsome type that would catch the stewardesses’ attention. With my salt-and-pepper hair neatly trimmed under my captain cap, the plain navy uniform that I had had custom-made and embroidered with the airline’s distinctive wings, and the suave demeanor of an experienced pilot who has seen it all in his thirty-plus years of flying, I am clearly the leader of the pack. Continue reading
As an atheist, I have often run across theists (believers) who had misconceptions about atheism; some believe that it is a dogma, just like any other faith. Others believe it is nihilism or even satanism under a different name. Most are just genuinely confused as to why someone would willfully choose not to believe in any deity. After several such encounters, I decided to put together an FAQ to answer their very valid questions. Continue reading
Unless you have been spending the past week spelunking in a deep, uncharted cave, you most likely heard about a 33-year-old Southern California mother of 6, Nadya Suleman, who thought it would be smart to have six additional crotchfruit frozen embryos implanted in her clown car womb last year (at least that one deep cave has been well charted). By the magic of fertility treatment that raises the odds of having multiple pregnancies, she gave birth last week to eight reasonably healthy babies, raising her kids count to a staggering fourteen, close enough to forming a rugby team (if shrimps had such a thing as rugby teams). Continue reading