1. ROBOCOP, COMING TO A WAR-ZONE NEAR YOU
A few weeks ago, my friends and I watched Robocop at the cinema. Despite what people have said about it being 'dour' (compared to the original 1987 Robocop) - well, I still really enjoyed the film. I just love seeing predictions of future technology being played out on a big screen. The social ramifications. The romantic ramifications. The testing of humanity ('Is it worth fighting for? Is it worth dying for?' - Morpheus from Matrix Reloaded, it was on TV last night hehe). I love this stuff.
When we came out of the cinema, my friend told me that he didn't think anything like Robocop would ever become reality. Something about it looking too ridiculous and being a far-fetched idea. I was like 'Hmmm...' But in my mind, I was like '....WHAAAAAAT?' If anything, Robocop is our impending future. America already has drones in Syria and South Korea has Samsung robots (Samsung Techwin SGR-A1) guarding the Korean DMZ. Android models are already in the making at universities like Princeton and MIT. So dude, what are you even on about.
To give you a better idea of what's being developed and how far 'killer robots' or 'military robots' have come, here are two really awesome articles:
Should A Robot Decide When To Kill?: The Ethics of War Machines - The Verge
(includes an informative video worth watching)
As Military Robots Increase, So Does the Complexity of Their Relationship with Soldiers - Newsweek
2. THERE ARE SO MANY A**HOLES IN THE LAW FACULTY
In what may be slightly unrelated to the article...
Medical students are ultimately trained to help each other out, to work towards a common goal of helping and caring for people in need. Law students, on the other hand, are ultimately encouraged to be legendary assholes - to be uber competitive, emotionally detached and sometimes, grossly entitled. I say this because almost every medical student I have met so far has been talkative, engaging, extremely friendly and very mature. But I've met more than a handful of law students who have spent entire conversations rattling on about themselves or just being super fake-friendly. I don't feel like they're actually interested in you, rather they come off very condescending, and it's not uncommon to meet one with a serious superiority complex. Of course, I've met wonderful people in law - but it's also the law faculty that has the most horribly immature, loud-mouthed, super entitled, egocentric, smart people - it's scary. As one of my friends said, it's like the law faculty made a point of enrolling all the smart jocks (he was referring to the male student population).
Sometimes – unfortunately – being an asshole is the way to get ahead - The Guardian
From Tom Perkins to Tim Armstrong, high-profile obnoxiousness is everywhere. And with good reason, sadly: there’s evidence that acting dislikeably can boost your status
3. QUEEN YUNA
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/sport/winter-olympics/sochi-2014-controversy-as-russian-adelina-sotnikova-upsets-korean-favourite-kim-yuna-to-snatch-figure-skating-gold-medal-20140221-334z4.html#ixzz2u8D86zFx
THE CONTROVERSY!
Rumours of corruption from the judging panel. Everyone saying Kim Yu-Na was robbed of a gold model. Sotnikova's performance vastly inferior, says ...like, everyone. A petition on Change.org to give the gold medal to the rightful winner (not Sotnikova) gaining something like 700,000 signatures in 7 hours. Well, don't take my word on the stats. But it currently (7.30pm EST) has:
Almost 2 million votes.
And how cool is this? Earlier this afternoon, if you Google searched Yuna Kim, Google would return with 'Yuna Queen'.
4. HOW THE MEDIA FAILED WOMEN IN 2013
A must watch video brought to you by The Representation Project, if not to lol when 'Miley Cyrus' comes up
