GOOD

The GOOD 100: Numenta

Brain Mapping Jeff Hawkins built his career (and his fortune) as the inventor of the Palm Pilot and the Treo. In 2005, he...

 GOOD
10.10.09

Brain Mapping

Jeff Hawkins built his career (and his fortune) as the inventor of the Palm Pilot and the Treo. In 2005, he co-founded the company Numenta to pursue his lifelong goal: understanding and modeling the human brain, so as to make artificial intelligence smarter. Hawkins believes that the essence of human intelligence is recognizing regular patterns-in sounds, or images, or ideas-and using them to predict the future. This understanding of the brain as a pattern-recognition machine means Numenta's technology could be used to make sense of other astoundingly complex data sets. Software developed by Numenta is already being used by a California energy company to monitor electric grids. In the future, Numenta's work could help us better understand weather patterns, financial markets, and ourselves.

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Infographics

In 2020, the Baltimore Museum of Art will only obtain art made by women

Pixabay

Two years after its opening in 1914, the Baltimore Museum of Art acquired a painting by Sarah Miriam Peale — its first work by a female artist. More than a century later, one might assume that the museum would have a fairly equal mix of male and female artists, right? But as of today, only 4% of the 95,000 pieces in the museum's permanent collection were created by women.

The museum is determined to narrow that gap, and they're taking a drastic step to do so.

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Culture

'High Castle' producers destroyed every swastika used on the show and the video is oh-so satisfying

via Chela Horsdal / Twitter

Amazon's "The Man in the High Castle" debuted the first episode of its final season last week.

The show is loosely based on an alternative history novel by Philip K. Dick that postulates what would happen if Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan controlled the United States after being victorious in World War II.

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Politics

The World Health Organization declares war on the out of control price of insulin

via Alan Levine / Flickr

The World Health Organization is hoping to drive down the cost of insulin by encouraging more generic drug makers to enter the market.

The organization hopes that by increasing competition for insulin, drug manufacturers will be forced to lower their prices.

Currently, only three companies dominate the world insulin market, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi. Over the past three decades they've worked to drastically increase the price of the drug, leading to an insulin availability crisis in some places.

In the United States, the price of insulin has increased from $35 a vial to $275 over the past two decades.

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Health

Italian council chamber floods—just after council rejected climate change measures

Andrea Zanoni/Facebook

Oh, irony. You are having quite a day.

The Italian region of Veneto, which includes the city of Venice, is currently experiencing historic flooding. Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro has stated that the flooding is a direct result of climate change, with the tide measuring the highest level in 50 years. The city (which is actually a collection of 100 islands in a lagoon—hence its famous canal streets), is no stranger to regular flooding, but is currently on the brink of declaring a state of emergency as waters refuse to recede.

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The Planet

All the whales have finally been released from the 'whale jail' in Russia

Since the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, whale populations have been steadily recovering. However, whales in the wild still face other dangers. In the summer of 2018, four Russian companies that supply aquariums with marine animals captured almost 100 beluga whales and killer whales (aka orcas). After a public outcry, those whales are swimming free as the last of the captive whales have been released, the first time this many captured whales have been released back into the wild.

In late 2018 and early 2019, a drone captured footage of 11 orcas and 87 beluga whales crammed into holding pens in the Srednyaya Bay. The so-called "whale jail" made headlines, and authorities began to investigate their potentially illegal capture.

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The Planet