The Rise Of Nationalism In The U.S.

This is Steve Bannon, one of President Trump's advisors and head of the Breitbart news organization. Many have argued that the "Far-Right" is non-existent in today's America, but it seems that Bannon's publication has helped give rise to a Far-Right, Nationalistic group of people in the U.S. today. The so-called, "Alt-Right" movement that voiced it's support for Donald Trump during the election is a white-nationalist group that has now gained serious traction. Is this the type of person you want in the ear of the most powerful man in the world?

What's Next in Science?

Here is a TED talk where Eric Haseltine discusses the speculation that has spurred beautiful, revolutionary science throughout history, science that opens our eyes to entirely new universes. This is not science that takes baby steps, it is science that takes enormous leaps. In this talk, Haseltine passionately takes us to the edges of intellectual pursuit with two ideas- one that's already made history, and another that's digging into one of humanity's biggest questions with admirable ambition (and a healthy dose of skepticism from many).

Technology, the Empathy Killer

Most of us spend quite a bit of time with our technology, and while some experts argue that we are developing better social networking skills and thus enhancing technological empathy, I think all this online time is weakening our face-to-face human contact skills. Many people, particularly young teens, gain social support through their hours of texting and social networking, but does that person who averages more than 11 hours each day using technology look you in the eye when you have a conversation? I know when someone maintains eye contact, I have a greater sense that he or she is listening and interested in what I have to say. But that rarely happens as people use there phone or think it's weird or awkward to look at someone when they are talking. Dating apps are also killing empathy as they are being used more and more today. Tinder is the biggest contender. Tinder is one of the biggest and most widely used dating apps today. It allows users to meet other users around them and by only seeing pictures, decide if they want to match with them and if they other person also matches with them, they get a message saying that they both matched. That was the original purpose of the app, it is now widely used for one night stands and hook ups.

Children in the Industrial Revolution

At the start of the industrial Revolution there was no legislation about working conditions in mills, factories or other industrial plants. They simply had not been needed before. As factories spread rapidly the owners of mills, mines and other forms of industry needed large numbers of workers and they didn't want to have to pay them a high wage. Children were the ideal employees therefore! They were cheap, weren't big enough or educated enough to argue or complain and were small enough to fit between tight fitting machinery that adults couldn't get between. Children soon ended up working in all types of industry. Parents were quite willing to let children work in mills and factories as it provided the family with a higher income. Nowadays lots of children have Saturday jobs or part time work after school. They might work as shop assistants, have paper round or even work in creative jobs and design jobs. these jobs are carefully controlled and the government has made laws saying how long children can work for, what types of job they can and cannot do and what the minimum age for working is.

Government Surveillance

Here is an interesting TED talk where privacy researcher Christopher Soghoian sees the landscape of government surveillance shifting beneath our feet. He says, there have now been over the last few years an industry of companies who provide surveillance technology to governments, specifically technology that allows those governments to hack into the computers of surveillance targets. Rather than intercepting the communications as they go over the wire, instead they now hack into your computer, enable your webcam, enable your microphone, and steal documents from your computer.

Technology in Warfare

Technology and war go hand in hand. In America and many other countries, we run on a government first policy, meaning that the government gets new technology first, then  allows it to the general public. The drones that are ever so popular today were originally used to watch over the battlefield or scout an enemy base. The best of security is also used by the government to ensure victory in the cyber war so our information cannot be stolen by hackers. The pentagon is one of the most encrypted places to exist, only few people have broken into the pentagon, and most of them did it just to say that they have broken into the pentagon or are paid to try and brake in so that they can fix the system by the way they got in.

Everyone and the Government Are Watching

When you download a new app on your phone and open it for the first time, you will be prompted with a message saying what permissions it needs to run on your phone. This permissions can run from accessing the internet to accessing your contact and from making calls to using the microphone and/or camera while the app is active. Not many people actually read what this says, they just select accept and carry on with their business, but the app developer can be recording or even looking at you when you are using the app and you do not even know! The problem with that is if you notice the app wanting to have an odd permission, if you decline the app permission, it will not work instead of just not using the permission. If it is an important app that you need, then you have no control over it because you need to have it and cannot stop it from having those permissions which allows developers to gain and sell information.