5IT, 12/9
1. Cell simulation just got $100 million from Paul Allen and a new institute in Seattle.
"The institute’s plan is to engineer many different cell lines and determine how different cellular components respond to stimuli such as infection or exposure to a drug. These data will then guide the construction of computer models aimed at predicting how cells operate under various conditions, and all the information gained will be made available online. The institute will also distribute its cell lines so that other scientists can build on its work."
"We were humbled when cultural workers, artists, designers and techies offered their labor and love to expand #BlackLivesMatter beyond a social media hashtag. Opal, Patrisse, and I created the infrastructure for this movement project—moving the hashtag from social media to the streets. Our team grew through a very successful Black Lives Matter ride, led and designed by Patrisse Cullors and Darnell L. Moore, organized to support the movement that is growing in St. Louis, MO, after 18-year old Mike Brown was killed at the hands of Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. We’ve hosted national conference calls focused on issues of critical importance to Black people working hard for the liberation of our people. We’ve connected people across the country working to end the various forms of injustice impacting our people. We’ve created space for the celebration and humanization of Black lives."
3. A playable parable of segregation.
"Our cute, adorable segregation simulator is based off the work of Nobel Prize-winning game theorist, Thomas Schelling. Specifically, his mathematical model of racial segregation found in Dynamic Models of Segregation.We built on top of his model, by showing how adding a small cultural demand for diversity can help desegregate a neighborhood. In other words, we gave his model a happy ending. Schelling's model is a convincing demonstration of how innocent-seeming rules can create very undesirable outcomes, but of course real-life situations are more complicated."
4. Designing South Sudan's iconography.
"Huddled around a computer running CorelDraw, the nine-member committee bonded during long nights away from their families, turning around the successive versions of the design as rapidly as possible. In every round, all 28 cabinet ministers were required to comment, essentially to function as art directors, making consensus an elusive goal. ‘Drop the wings… turn the head to the left…’. Still, after weeks of debate, the National Legislative Assembly ratified the final design in June, barely four weeks before Independence Day."
5. A peculiar definition of freedom.
"You can’t form a meaningful connection with a female character in the game. But if you want to commit acts of horrifying violence against women as so many of the game’s players do, GTA gives you no shortage of opportunities. There are those who say that GTA is a game about freedom, a world in which you can go anywhere and do anything. But it’s not. You can’t paint your house, for instance, or cook dinner for your wife."
Today's 1957 American English Language Tip
couchant. Lying down, esp. of an animal.
The Credits: 1. nature.com 2. feministwire.com 3. ncase.com 4. worksthatwork.com / @bldgblog 5. agameofme.tumblr.com
Innocent-Seeming Rules