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Self-reconfigurable modular robot. docs and videos. via notio.

“The Google model of development is more than just information sharing and the ability to switch projects. Here are the important points as I’ve seen…”

via notio.com science & technology, which has some great stuff.

Stephen Pinker has a new book out: “The Blank Slate”. From amazon… Synopsis In this title, Steven Pinker makes explicit the argument which has been a backdrop to his previous books and many other popular science titles. He argues that much of our social commentary, conventional wisdom, and academic orthodoxy is wrongly rooted in the doctrines of the noble savage (civilisation is the source of human corruption) and the blank slate (the mind has no innate structure; all thoughts and feelings seep into our heads from surrounding culture). He explores the impact of these notions on our attitudes to sexuality, ideology, political correctness and the arts, and insists that we need to be more honest about human nature.

Couldn’t agree with this more:

“Conversations are often the most productive aspects of my life–I think best when bouncing ideas around with other people, and it’s in such situations where I synthesize disparate notions and (occasionally) create something new. Such mental activity never happens alone–I rarely have the attention span to think through a problem in solitude.” (from peterme.com)

This is a problem at work at the moment, as everyone is stretched to max and doubling-up on tasks (or the thinking part of them) is not encouraged at all. Fffeh.