The Talmud is a key text in Judaism recorded in the first or 2nd century CE over the course of 600 years. It is comprised of rabbinic discussions of the Oral Law, statutes not written in the Torah that were passed on through oral tradition from rabbis to students. Rabbis became concerned that the Oral [...]
Our lives can end at any moment. Even if we entertain the possibility of indefinite life by means of medical technology, we cannot escape the risk of being killed in any number of unexpected ways. Some have attempted to quantify this risk. The micromort is a concept introduced by Ronald Howard in 1980, which is [...]
The planaria experiment was entirely unique for me, having not been in a lab setting or taken biology in several years. It was also contrasting to the way we have studied the concept of immortality thus far in the course, through readings, lectures, podcasts and video platforms. To be able to see with my own [...]
With the ever-advancing technology of virtual reality and simulated experiences, one can be placed in an alternate space that feels and looks very, maybe too real. Through sound, 360-degree visuals, and even sensory stimulation, VR artists are toeing the boundaries of realistic computerized scenarios. We see such an invention being used as a new form [...]
We’ve discussed preservation before with Egyptian mummies, however, the “bog bodies” are a unique but related case. Their preservation was completely unintentional and a unique occurrence. Located in various countries in Europe such as the UK, Denmark, Ireland, Germany etc, the bodies date back to the Iron Age 800 B.C. to 200 A.D. The bodies [...]
Qin Shihuang, China’s First Emperor, ascended to the throne of the state of Qin in 246 BCE at the age of 13. During his 36 year reign, he defeated the kingdom’s neighbors, completed the Great Wall of China, and united the states in order to form most of modern day China. However, as soon as [...]
There seems to be a certain generational divide surrounding technology that becomes evident through nonchalant statements, as well as politicized social works likening social media users to sheep. While this is understandable to a certain extent -- this is a completely new form of social interaction-- there is a sense of exaggeration and eye-rolling that [...]
Jane is a sentient artificially intelligent network created by Science-Fiction writer Orson Scott Card and first appears officially in his book Speaker for the Dead. She was originally conceived as a computer fantasy game that analyzes the player in Ender’s Game. The game was designed to secretly map out the psyche of the players, providing [...]