This talk may be well equal to a harsh awakening for uncritical users of the internet! According to Swedish author and journalist Andreas Ekström, it is a philosophical impossibility to ever get unbiased search results. “Behind every algorithm is a person with a set of personal beliefs no code is ever able to eradicate completely.” He explains the power structures of the digital revolution by stating the example (a.o.) of Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who blew up government buildings in the city of Oslo and killed a large group of kids on the island of Utøya. Around 80 people died that day in 2011. Specialists knew that the next thing Breivik would do was to google his own name, a predictable act of vanity. Nikke Lindqvist, a Swedish web developer and search engine optimization expert in Stockholm, understood that immediately and lanced a highly effective campaign. This video talk tells us that we are not helpless after all!
Oman: Crossing the Empty Quarter revisited
Responsibility, self-dependence and endurance are the magic keywords: the example the Sultanate of Oman is setting this December is of a practical but none-the-less spectacular nature. Predominantly addressed to young nationals, an adventure of Crossing the Empty Quarter previously undertaken in 1930, will now be reenacted to detail. The intended benefit: to symbolically illustrate to the young generation how to adopt the requirements of a rapidly changing world and to pursue their goals with ambition.
The most astonishing lesson for adolescents to be learnt may perhaps be, that survival is actually possible without an almighty digital device glued to one’s cheek. In all likelihood, internet reachability is limited in a quarter as empty as the one named Rub al Khali.
Palm Springs pays tribute to Frank Sinatra
The list is long, impressive, reliably star-studded and makes the hearts of veteran fans pound faster even from a distance: Hollywood celebrities such as Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis Jr., Liz Taylor, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Kirk Douglas all resided in Palm Springs – or paid frequent visits to it – at some point during their remarkable careers. Especially dearly remembered is Frank Sinatra – ol’ blue eyes – whose 100th birthday the destination is celebrating this year. Reason enough for the city to concoct a host of events surrounding the historic anniversary of its still much-revered former resident.
Another sounding name associated with Palm Springs is Albert Einstein’s; the great physician’s attention had not merely been directed at perishable stars on a twinkling cinematic firmament – but at the entire universe created to outlast time.
New York City in winter
“There are endless reasons to love New York City in every season, but something special happens when the snow falls – from Lunar New Year celebrations in Flushing and the tree lighting in Rockefeller Center, to watching the Polar Bear Club brave the frigid waters on Coney Island. People from around the world feel the pull of New York City…,” raves Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Yet, it can get pretty chilly in New York City in winter and even a metropolis of this caliber is confronted with receding visitation numbers especially during the months of January, February and March, a typically slower period of travel. In order to counteract this trend and to stimulate and expand winter arrivals to its five boroughs, NYC has unleashed the large-scale promotional campaign unlock nyc. To make the destination more affordable for global travellers, NYC entices its future clientele with hotel room discounts of 22 per cent on average plus attractive dining and theatre deals during the first term of the year.
TED Talk. Emilie Wapnick: Why some of us don’t have a true calling
You have varied interests, are blessed with subtle potential in a number of fields and a rapid learner? You have changed jobs often because you got bored quickly? Well, then perhaps you are what Emilie Wapnick calls a „multipotentialite“ – a person well-versed in a wide range of disciplines. Multipotentialites are never glued to their comfort zone, readily take on new challenges, are used to being beginners and thus, not afraid to start from scratch – over again. The most intriguing and valuable part may be ascribed to synthesis: by combining two or more areas, something new is being created at the intersection. And this is where innovation happens.