Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
Inside the world of DIY synthetic biology. Where amateurs attempt genetic engineering in homemade labs. Will it lead to a wave of scientific breakthroughs, and valuable new life forms? Or a new generation of Dr Frankensteins?
For one thing, no more parking spaces. "In peak periods, virtually all cars will be on the roads driving people around. In off-peak periods, cars will still be on the roads, they’ll just pull over to the side of the road and stop"
The future has arrived: Two tetraplegics, paralysed and unable to speak, have regained some independence. They can control robotic arms by power of thought alone. Tiny electrodes implanted in the motor cortex work the magic
"Glancing at a photo of the Pebble smartwatch, you wouldn’t notice anything too different or special about it — it looks like an understated digital watch." But it's much more than that. This promises to be a watch unlike any other
Trip to a Swedish car test site reveals complexity of new safety sytems. “It is not difficult to automatically brake a car. That is easy. It is a difficult decision on when to brake and not to brake, when to warn and not to warn”
Media mogul Barry Diller on disrupting TV market. "Television wasn’t the destruction of radio. Cable wasn’t the destruction of broadcast networks. What happens is new alternatives come, and they live alongside whatever existed"
"As much as we think the old world of phone numbers may one day disappear, and we’ll eventually be calling each other through Facebook or something, the practical reality is that they won’t." They're a gold mine for web advertisers
On Netflix and their risky bet on original programming. "Extreme expenditures on content — a planned $3.7 billion over the next five years — represent either a massive protective moat or a hole deep enough to drown in"
Will we ever build an artificial womb? Complications exist, but lure is clear. "Ectogenesis comes with an irresistible hook: This technology would bring us closer to the day when motherhood and fatherhood mean the same thing"
Four college students plan to take on Facebook, with a decentralised social network. They hit Kickstarter for funds. It goes crazy. They make front page of the New York Times. 600k users join. Then comes the suicide
"When we disparage the digital environment as 'overwhelming', what we're also faulting it for is its lack of a narrative. The Internet moves, but it doesn't necessarily move forwards." It lacks a plot. But this may change
"Many people see geoengineering as a false solution to an existential crisis—akin to encouraging a heart-attack patient to avoid exercise and continue to gobble fatty food while simply doubling his dose of Lipitor." Are they right?
"We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10"
