Good Fact

Euro-centric Thinkers Humbled

- Adam Clare

In every science text book I’ve seen only European thinkers are praised for their discoveries and this was to go unquestioned. As a result of my education I take great pleasure when those who wrote the books (so to speak) are proven horribly wrong. It boils down to the fact I like seeing credit given to those who deserve it.

Sir Isaac Newton is credited with discovering a cornerstone of modern mathematics, but in reality a group of Indians made that discovery 250 years before Newton!

The team from the Universities of Manchester and Exeter reveal the Kerala School also discovered what amounted to the Pi series and used it to calculate Pi correct to 9, 10 and later 17 decimal places.

And there is strong circumstantial evidence that the Indians passed on their discoveries to mathematically knowledgeable Jesuit missionaries who visited India during the fifteenth century.

That knowledge, they argue, may have eventually been passed on to Newton himself.

Don’t Pirate Entertainment, Borrow it!

- Adam Clare

With the ability to download almost anything (they’re still working on downloading foodstuffs) there is no reason to go to your community library. Or is there?

Certainly there is! Libraries are the oft-forgetten piracy centres of convience. No longer do you have to search BitTorrent sites for movies when you can get them legally.

CNet reminds us that libraries are a haven of free information:

Libraries are offering more free search services, database access, articles, photos, eBooks, audiobooks, music and museum passes than ever. Chances are you are buying, subscribing to, or stealing something you can get for free with a library card.

Less Corruption in Developing Nations

- Adam Clare

More often than not, rich countries state that they’ll only give aid to countries with ‘good governance,’ whatever that means. To me it seems like a vague term, nonetheless this vague term is now more vaguely applied – and that’s a good thing!

The World Bank, which itself suffers from not-so-good governance, has released a report saying that good governance is on the rise and corruption is on its way out in developing nations. This means that more nations are qualified to receive more aid if they want to.

Reflecting on the report’s findings, Kaufmann added: “The good news is that some countries, including the poorest ones in Africa, are showing to the world that it is possible to make substantial inroads to improve governance.”

From the It’s-About-Time-Department

- Adam Clare

Good things happen every day a zillion times a day, sometimes people get to experience those good things before others. Today I found out about two such things:

1. Women’s rights in Sierra Leone have improved thanks to new laws that protect women. Other countries already have such laws in place and it’s great to see yet another country support equality.

2. Taiwan is going to replace their streetlights with LEDs in a US $7 million initiative to cut power consumption of the lights by 85%. LED streetlights are nothing new, but I have no idea if this is the first time that there has been a LED replacement program that is this big.

Cities Are Great!

- Adam Clare

cityPeople ought to live in urban centers to ensure the world develops in a good way according to a new United Nations report. People are already drawn to urban centers for employment, lifestyle, and education so it makes sense for politicians to plan for cities to continue growing. By embracing cities we can prepare for the future and make it a little better.

There are many economic, social, and environmental advantages to concentrating people and the services and jobs they need in close proximity to one another. The higher intensity of economic activity in cities favors jobs and income. In addition to this, proximity and concentration allow for governments to more effectively and inexpensively provide social services, infrastructure, and amenities to their citizens, the report explains.

Personally, I love living in the city because there is so much more awesomeness than in the suburbs and way more to do and experince than in the country, what’s your take on urban-centricism?

Photo by domcisme.

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