Zack Lynch is author of The Neuro Revolution: How Brain Science Is Changing Our World (St. Martin's Press, July 2009).
Lots of interesting conversations occur daily in the blogosphere. Here are a few recent blogs that I would like to comment on:
1. Humanitarian Tom Munnecke blogs about a reality TV show for compassion. "For example, Mother Teresa was hospitalized in San Diego a few years back, and during her stay, she managed to convince her Jewish Cardiologist to volunteer at a clinic in Tijuana."
How about a reality TV show for Non-Profits called "Greatest Good"? It would be a mix of American Idol and the Apprentice where teams from across the country compete for $5m in funding for the idea that America thinks would make the greatest social impact. What do Americans really care about anyway? On a related note, reality TV winners have started new foundation, Reality Cares. I guess that's a step in the right direction.
2. Socialtext's Ross Mayfield eloquently details the value and difference that the Press, Blogs and Wikis play in social discourse. Let's use them all.
3. Virginia Postrel is as concerned as I am about Spain's political reaction to the Madrid bombings and the general European sentiment regarding terrorism, violence and the U.S. While many Spaniards changed their vote because they felt the ruling party was lying about who the real terrorists were (ETA not extremists), the result was the same, a win for terrorism. As one recent pundit has put it, Europe has Lost.. Speak up Kerry.
4. Marginal Revolution's Tyler Cowan asks, "Are financial bubbles good for economic development?" I would say "good" isn't the right question. As Carlota Perez explains in her seminal work, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital, financial bubbles have occurred about every 50 years over the past 250. They emerge as the goals of financial capital and production capital diverge around the second or third decade of each technological revolution. So whether or not they are good, I would suggest that we might see another around 2033.
As financial liquidity continues to increase, might we not expect more frequent "flash-bubbles"?
I would be interested to know if you can cite any evidence that "many Spaniards changed their vote" at all, aside from why they may have done so.
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