Findings from September 25, 2011

www.fastcompany.com/1636325/ibms-cityone-is-like-sim-city-except-the-solutions-are-real
I play a fair amount of video games, and it always gets me excited when someone finds a way to use the enormous manpower of the video gaming world for a positive benefit. It seems to me as though in the past year, policymakers have discovered this resource. This is one example, launched by IBM. CityOne is fun on its own, but it's even more rewarding to know that your solutions are being sent to people who can use what fixes you create in the real world, so that what you do in the private arena of your computer can help in the public world. If you like this sort of stuff, you might also be fascinated by the Navy's use of a video game to stop Somali pirates, or the recent discoveries in biology made through the use of a protein-folding game. As we get better and better at including technology in our lives, this sort of "crowd-sourcing," as Silicon Valley puts it, will become more and more popular, which I believe can only be for the best.


www.onlineschools.org/state-of-the-internet/soti.html
Just in case you didn't realize how big and powerful the Internet is getting, here's a site that will gladly remind you. The Internet is getting more and more powerful each day, and can have massive impacts, as the Arab Spring reminded us. Several non-governmental organizations, including Amnesty International, have subscribed to the belief that a free Internet without censorship is one of the best tools for combating repressive regimes, and the first infographic on the site shows us that repressive regimes know this, and attempt to combat it. However, it's nearly impossible to stop the Internet, for better or for worse, and sometimes there can be too much information revealed online, given that 12% of time online is spent on Facebook. One famous example of this comes from Justin Hall, an early blogger who eventually broke down on his final video log. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it, search "Dark Night Justin Hall" on youtube, and brace yourself.

www.forensicscience.net/organization_files/889/csi-infographic.jpg
I love CSI, I watch it all the time on hulu and have several seasons at home. However, it is worrisome when one hears about a person who is obviously guilty getting away with a crime because of a lack of DNA or fingerprint evidence. In reality, the majority of cases rely on detective work and interviews with witnesses, and rarely involve the forensic scientists unless necessary, and never in an interview. However fun it is to watch Horatio Caine drive around in his Hummer and make witty one-liners after shooting a suspect, we need to keep in mind that the shows are fun to watch because they are silly, not because they are true.