Visual Evidence of Evolution in Technological Specimens

The first of these phones is from circa 1995 AD.  The latest version shown here is from 2008 AD.  Ironically, these pictures were taken via my latest phone (2010 AD), which now contains a 7 megapixel camera, at roughly 1/3 the width of the big black box shown on the far left.

If I had (originally bought) the fossilized remains of the specimens, I would also be able to show the similar extinction pattern of a variety of other species:

• Ipod
• Radio
• Camcorder
• GPS
• Alarmclock
• Phone
• Ukulele tuner
• Gameboy
• Flashlight
• Compass

The only thing that I now have is the Droid X...

Biology (Campbell) - Chapter 1

Principles of Biology

1) Emergent properties - living world has hierarchical structure, from molecules to biosphere.  Novel properties emerge as a result of interactions at lower levels.

2) Cell - basic unit of structure & function.  Prokaryotic (simple) and Eukaryotic (complex).

3) Heritable information - life relies on inheritance of information via DNA molecules.  Each DNA strand contains nucleotides (alphabet), which string together to form gene sequences

4) Structure & Function - form and function are correlated at all levels

5) Interaction with environment - organisms are open systems that exchange material & energy with surroundings

6) Regulation - feeback mechanisms regulate hemeostasis of organism to create relatively steady state - positive feedback is rare in nature

7) Unity & Diversity - wide range of horizontal organisms, but many/all organisms share similar traits

8) Evolution - key explanation of unity and diversity; differential reproduction via natural selection

9) Scientific Inquiry - observation, question, hypothesis, prediction, test

10) Science, Tech, Society - relationship of science and tech to society is critical

Safety & Sanity - Sacrifices at the Alter of Capitalism

Inflammatory headings notwithstanding...

More and more, I am of the belief that capitalism, though a system that has contributed immensely to the welfare of human beings (on average), is deeply flawed.  And the blemishes are unsightly enough, that society should think twice, thrice or however many times necessary, before we trust and hope that untethered free markets will be able to deliver us from the more unsavory aspects of human society that have plagued us since... forever (ie poverty, inequality, injustice, starvation, war, etc etc)...

Let me give you a perfect example of how twisted capitalism can be.  In our stock market, there are instruments (securities) that are created in order to facilitate the buying & selling of shares of our country's various economic enterprises (read, companies).  In addition, there are other economic instruments created to bring liquidity to various markets, for example the commodities market.  The key is this...

Whenever there is a need for a product, the market will create it... if we want more stock, prices will go up, companies will sell stock and prices will reach equilibrium... if we want more bonds, prices will go up, companies will sell bonds and prices will reach equilibrium... if we wanted more interest-rate-swaps... coffee-futures... etc etc

However, there is a major flaw in that statement.  The market does not create based on need.  The market creates based upon WANT.

Let me give you an example.  I will not name the specific security, but recently I found a prospectus for a newly created product, which now trades on the stock market.  Let me offer you some carefully selected excerpts from the prospectus of this product (a prospectus should tell you the characteristics and risks of a financial product... kinda like a nutrition label on food products)...

In almost any potential scenario the Closing Indicative Value (as defined below) of (product) is likely to be close to zero after 20 years...

The long term expected value of (produt) is zero.  If you hold your (product) as a long term investment, it is likely that you will lose all or a substantial portion of your investment.

I didn't make that up.  This product was created.  It is structured in such a way, that the 'long term expected value' is ZERO.  And people buy it.  If this instrument was sold in grocery stores, it would have a surgeon general's warning.  This is an instrument that nobody should need.  It kills people('s wealth).  But, it was created because there was a demand for such a product.  People wanted another instrument to make bets with, even if it's a terrible one.  Thank you capitalism.

(To be fair, it's not capitalism that's messed up... it's the participants.  Then again, to be fair, the same could be said for communism or any other -ism)