Uncle Roggoboggoli's Seven Most Important Ideas In The World
From WikiForGood
History Has A Direction -- Societies that don't cooperate with other societies tend not to flourish, and eventually are replaced. As a result, cooperation between nations tends to grow. So the long run will bring more cooperation. But then again, in the long run we'll all be dead.
In the Long Run, We Might Live Forever -- The 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three scientists who discovered a key mechanism governing cellular aging. When cells divide, their chromosomes are copied; but imperfections in copying the very end of the chromosomes usually leads to their shortening -- this is the main cause of cellular aging. However, cancer cells "can be considered to have eternal life," according to the Nobel committee. This is due to the ends of their chromosomes being protected by caps called telomeres. The caps are built by the enzyme telomerase, and cancer cells have lots of this enzyme protecting the ends of the chromosomes. Now that we know it is possible for cells to live 'forever,' perhaps we can slow, or stop, human aging.
You are an Ecosystem -- "The human body teems with so many microbes that they outnumber our own cells ten to one." The Body as Bacterial Landlord -- Trillions of Microbes Living in and on Us Cause Some Harm but Also Afford Protection, via the Wall Street Journal. While a bit tough on the ego, this idea promises to transform medicine. When we kill "germs" with antibiotics, we also tend to kill a whole bunch of other bugs that are not just along for the ride.
The Macroscope / Wisdom of Crowds -- First there was the telescope, then the microscope, now the macroscope. "If you want to see the climate, you gather data with hyperlocal weather stations maintained by amatueurs. If you want to see traffic, you collect info from automatic sensors placed on roadways and cars." (Wired Magazine, July 2009, Gary Wolf, Know Thyself) If you want to figure out how proteins fold, make an on-line game like Fold It. Need extra computing time for a big computation? Break your problem into parts and use BOINC to solve the parts using idling PCs around the world. Need to classify the shape of galaxies as spirals or disk shaped? Let the public do it. We can do it, yes we can!... with the Macroscope.
Conspicuous Expression -- is replacing conspicuous consumption: Why Facebook is more important to the environment than solar panels The growth of social networks indicates a fundamental shift in patterns of human behavior. The unsustainable practice of ever-increasing consumption of physical goods, and expressing oneself through what one purchases and displays, is being replaced by increasing consumption of virtual goods through virtual channels. This is good news for the sustainability of our economy.
Business is Evolving to Serve Society For example: "B" is for Beneficial: The B Corporation is a certification for businesses that are “purpose-driven” and that want to create benefits for all stakeholders (employees, the community, the environment), not just shareholders. To become a B Corporation™, you have to do two things: First, meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental standards via the B Rating System™. Second, amend your corporate governing documents to incorporate the interests of employees, community and the environment. Could this be the beginning of a more advanced form of capitalism that focuses on increasing quality of life rather than purely on profit?
