This is hypothetical, the app I’m about to describe does not exist. However, it could exist, using existing technology and without any individual stakeholder having to pay very much. The biggest obstacle would be establishing cooperation between governments and other stakeholders to make it happen. Once it was fully up and running it could offer free, or nearly free, education to…
Basic Income Plus: A 21st century social safety net for everyone
Recently, the idea of a universal ‘basic income‘ has been popping up again. According to the Globe and Mail, Canada’s government is considering it as a way to fight poverty. In the United States, Silicon Valley types are embracing the idea and it seems to be growing in popularity, worldwide, among socialists and libertarians alike.…
Technology may not have revolutionized education yet, but it should have
There is a great deal of debate about whether or not technology will revolutionize education. To me the debate itself points out a problem. With the number of free and low-cost educational resources that technology has made available it should have, at least to an extent. The fact that it hasn’t points to a problem…
What you should know about Ebola (+video)
Viruses are scary things. Some of them are deadly but they are very small and invisible to the naked eye. The only defenses against them, even in states where you can openly carry firearms, are good hygiene, vaccines and your body’s natural defenses. That means that there is no way to be 100% sure that…
How much sleep do you actually need (science video)
No one I know gets ‘enough sleep’ as far as I know. There are always reasons not to or things keeping us up. But, how much sleep is ‘enough’? Part of it depends on genetics but for most people the answer actually is 7-8 hours/night. What you may not know is that there are potential…
Short video on how you, personally, are connected to the first life on Earth and the big bang
Carl Sagan famously said that ‘we are all star stuff’. While that sounds nice there are a lot of people out there who don’t know what that really means. This short video from Kurzgesagt explains all of that – exactly what kind of star stuff you are and how you personally are came from the Big Bang…
Quick Film School : A history of film in under 9 minutes
If you are interested in learning about the history of film but have a short attention span or if you’re sitting outside one of your first year film school classes waiting for a test, this short video from Cinefix will give you the quick and dirty history of film, from 65 CE until now in…
How to do Monty Python style animations with Terry Gilliam (video)
There was nothing more distinctive about the look of Monty Python’s flying circus than the animations of Terry Gilliam. Before going on to direct films like Time Bandits, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 12 Monkeys and the Zero Therum, Gilliam was a member of and did the animations for Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Unlike…
Things that you ‘know’ about the human brain that are wrong (science video)
People who are anti-science frequently say that “science is always changing its mind”, what is more accurate to say is that “science is always expanding what it knows”. This sometimes causes changes in conventional wisdom. It’s also true that many misconceptions have been created by people who don’t really understand science trying to explain science.…
Help Girls Rock Camp Toronto raise $15,000 for an after school program
In 2013, Girls Rock Camp Toronto held three sold out camp sessions and had a long waiting list of kids that never got in. Not only should this never happen but the kids should be able to come back every year. Girls Rock Camp has been one of my favorite things to happen in the…