Links for 11-10-2007
How to practice Islam in space, the persistence of words, phantom genitals, UK 2017 – Ubiquitous Surveillance, Negitivland on culture jamming …
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1 – Islamic scholars produce guide to praying at 17,000mph
“… how will Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, 35, pray towards Mecca when orbiting the earth at 17,000mph? In the closing days of the Muslim month of Ramadan, how will he observe the fast between sunrise and sunset?”
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2 – Maths shows why words persist over time
“Two independent research groups have found that words spoken more often have a survival advantage over their less-uttered counterparts. This is both in terms of their persistence through time and the grammatical rules that apply to them.”
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3 – Phantom genitals hint at gender in the brain
“Similar to the phantom limb syndrome, the sensation of a ‘phantom penis’ in post-operative heterosexual and transsexual men is providing insights into the how gender-specific body images are hard-wired at birth.”
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4 – UK 2017: under surveillance
“… they believe the key theme of the future will be “pervasive surveillance” [... and] that their glimpse of the future is “fairly conservative. The future spelled out in the report is nowhere near as dystopian and authoritarian as it could be.”"
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5 – Negativland Q&A: In the Future, Nothing Will Remain Intact
“There is no such thing as “intellectual property,” and the more we use this term the more we give credence to the notion that an idea can be owned. It can’t. That is a fiction, and we give it power by believing in it and acting as though it were true.”
