Dr. Ronald E. McNair was the second African-American to work in space (the first was Dr. Guion “Guy” Bluford), and died with his Space Shuttle crew members when the Challenger exploded shortly after take-off in 1986. My alma mater, Texas Tech University, is one of 200 US universities that runs a McNair Scholars program for low-income, first-generation college students […]
Humankind as Plague
Big Think‘s Tauriq Moosa revisits Alan Weisman’s World Without People. Star Trek fans might recall Q’s first trial of humanity on The Next Generation. Moosa asks: how could we justify human existence to such aliens if evidence for our value is limited? Are We a Plague? Well, That Depends Climate change and imported disease may […]
Diversion for Trekkies
Perfect editing of Picard and the rest of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew from Youtube’s Jan Van den Hemel and Andrew Hussie:
When the Pilgrims Met the Borg (Stueart)
My friend Jerome Stueart recently shared his 2010 story “When the Pilgrims Met the Borg: Faith, Perfection, and the Assimilated Pilgrim.” It’s a fantastic mash-up of colonial America and the Star Trek universe, written in the voice and style of Plymouth colony’s William Bradford. My faith, it scares me. Its efficient, courageous march across the […]
Video: The Power of Outrospection
The 21st Century as the Age of Empathy? Check out Roman Krznaric in this RSA-Animated talk: The Power of Outrospection (ht: @FetzerInstitute)
