July 2013

There were 10 posts published in July 2013 (this is page 1 of 1).

Memories, the new science suggests, are actually reconstructed anew every time we access them, and appear to us a little differently each time, depending on what’s happened since. Vision works in a similar way. The brain, it turns out, doesn’t consciously process every single piece of information that comes its way. Think of how impossibly distracting the regular act of blinking would be if it did. Instead, it pays attention to what you need to pay attention to, then raids your memory stores to fill in the blanks.

New research on how memory works is indeed very interesting. 

Apple hires ex-YSL to design its iWatch

Apple hires ex-YSL to design its iWatch

Search the world’s information, including webpages, images, videos and more. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Apple recently hired Paul Deneve to work on future products. 

My guess is that he is going to work on the iWatch and make sure it’s fashionable. Here, fashion is more important than with computers and tablets, since you are going to wear it around your wrist all the time.

This made me think that if Steve were alive, he would have had the last word on the design on the watch and not outsource it like this. Perhaps they are doing this because no one there is a good fit for this kind of design. 

In the right dose, ambition works wonders. It inspires you to achieve more, to stretch yourself beyond the comfort zone, and provides the motivation to keep going when the going gets tough. Rightfully so, ambition is universally revered.

But ambition also has a dark, addictive side that’s rarely talked about.
I just finished 2nd in the ultra-competitive LMP2 category of the greatest motor race in the world: 24 hours of Le Mans. That’s a monumental achievement by almost any standards, yet also one of the least enjoyable experiences I’ve had driving a race car — all because of ambition.

Armed with the fastest and most reliable car, the best-prepared team, and two of the fastest team mates in the business, it simply wasn’t possible to enter the race with anything less than the top step of the podium in mind. Add to that leading much of the race, and a storming comeback to first position after my mistake, it compounded to an all-out focus on the win and nothing but.

That’s exactly the danger of what too much ambition can do: Narrow the range of acceptable outcomes to the ridiculous, and then make anything less seem like utter failure. It’s irrational, but so are most forms of psychological addiction. You can’t break the spell merely by throwing logic at it.

Apologies for the long quote, but it was nicely written and David has got an interesting take on the concept, so here. 

Human genes not patentable according to the Supreme Court

Human genes not patentable according to the Supreme Court

The case involved Myriad Genetics Inc., which holds patents related to two genes, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, that can indicate whether a woman has a heightened risk of developing breast cancer or ovarian cancer.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the court, said the genes Myriad isolated are products of nature, which aren’t eligible for patents.

The high court’s ruling was a win for a coalition of cancer patients, medical groups and geneticists who filed a lawsuit in 2009 challenging Myriad’s patents. Thanks to those patents, the Salt Lake City company has been the exclusive U.S. commercial provider of genetic tests for breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Products of nature are not patentable, then maybe the market will not extend so far it won’t be controllable anymore. Indeed, this view is optimistic.