Where is the Origin of Life on Earth (SETI Institute)

To answer the iconic question “Are We Alone?”, scientists around the world are also attempting to understand the origin of life. There are many pieces to the puzzle of how life began and many ways to put them together into a big picture. Some of the pieces are firmly established by the laws of chemistry …

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Government and Society (Switzerland)

Switzerland’s constitution (modeled after that of the United States) was adopted in 1848 and substantially revised in 1874. A thoroughly revised constitution, approved by three-fifths of voters, entered into force in 2000, though the changes were mainly formal, with little alteration to the structure of Switzerland’s government. Because the old constitution had become immethodical and difficult to …

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The Four Pilars of Decentralised Societies (Johann Gevers)

his talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. What if we could rebuild our society in a way that works for everyone? Epochal changes are now underway that are radically transforming how society operates. Johann will describe this revolution, and how it will create vast new economic opportunities …

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The National Literacy Campaign in Ethiopia (Gudeta Mammo)

The World Conference of Ministers for Edu-cation on the Eradication of Illiteracy met in Tehran in 1965 to consider specifically the manner in which the national plans for eradi-cation of illiteracy could more effectively con-tribute to social and economic progress and to the objectives of the United Nations Develop-ment Decade. Read more

Lamarckism

Lamarckism, a theory of evolution based on the principle that physical changes in organisms during their lifetime—such as greater development of an organ or a part through increased use—could be transmitted to their offspring. The doctrine, proposed by the French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1809, influenced evolutionary thought through most of the 19th century. Lamarckism was discredited by most geneticists after …

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Evolution and Spontaneous Order

We know that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is accepted by natural scientists. It describes how biological systems spontaneously evolve by the mechanism of natural selection. But is a similar spontaneous evolution taking place in areas of social construction and cultural behaviour? Friedrich von Hayek argues that this is the case. He underlines the complexity …

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