tfdl

Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, is the physical impairment that makes it difficult to recognize faces, including one’s own. Once considered a rare brain disorder that was the result of a stroke or head injury, now thanks to the internet, many of those who suffer from this disorder are able to connect on-line, and researchers are beginning to learn just how prevalent it is.
Some data indicates that as many as 6 million Americans (roughly 2%) are face blind. One startling implications of this has to do with national security. Just how many screeners and ID checkers out there are face blind? No one knows.
Here is a link to the research site, faceblind.org. And Wired magazine has an extensive piece about one particular researcher in the field. Check it out here.

Posted by Edd at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We have all heard about the interrogation technique known as “waterboarding”, but few of us have seen it. A reporter for Current hired two former Navy SEALs to subject him to this technique while being filmed. If the US government does not sue this technique, one wonders why these SEALs are so proficient at it.
Compelling, and disturbing footage.

Posted by Edd at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mother Jones Magazine has a new article out that takes a fresh look at some recent research into global warming, and how we all really are in this together.
The author shares some hopeful anecdotes from some of the very far and near reaches of nature to show what kind of a mess we are in, and some ways for us to get out of this predicament without either becoming post toasties or popsicles.
Check it out here.

Posted by Edd at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

t4c (formerly known as think4change) is back in action after a few weeks’ hiatus. We have changed the name of this HigherPortal blog to avoid confusion between this one and a new one soon to be publishing regularly by The Whitman Institute. During the time this site was in quiet mode, I have been working on that new blog which will be up and running within the next week or so. In the meantime I’ve been thinking…

There is an undeniable shift occurring in the American culture. A kind of fracturing of fault lines that have been in place at least since the “Reagan Revolution” in the 80s. Fundamentalist thinking - long seen as monolithic by many of us on the progressive fault line – is now emerging as much more complex than readily apparent. This can be seen by the hardening of the positions of many conservatives around traditional Republican policy planks – gay marriage, embryonic stem cell research and so forth. Yet, there are other leaders within Evangelical traditions, while also being generally supportive of these policy issues, are now becoming more focused on concerns usually identified with the left – global warming, deforestation, global poverty and so forth.

It will be interesting to see how these new alignments from the conservative end of the political spectrum affect the liberal side of the equations. Will traditional coalitions on the left be able to hold together as they are “infiltrated” by elements of the right? Will there be a similar phenomenon on the far left in which they harden their positions and magnify the differences already apparent within the liberal specter?

Perhaps over the next few years we will see the first realistic opportunities for a multi-party political landscape to emerge in many years – maybe even since the founding of the republic.

Posted by Edd at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Breathing Earth

Simulations are powerful learning tools. This one, The Breathing Earth, is one of the most powerful we have come across in quite some time. When you click on it, you will have a real-time simulated picture of births and deaths globally. And you will also be able to see how much CO2 each country is emitting right about now.
Be careful. It is mesmerizing…

Posted by Edd at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We’re Back!!

We’ve been away for a few weeks catching up on other projects, and getting the Whitman blog ready for launch. There have been a few glitches, but “think4change.org” should be up and running very soon. We are pretty excited about our initial contributors – they really run the gamut of all the various interests and topics that the institute has been engaged with over the years.

More to come soon.

Posted by Edd at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)