Fred's Finds: Fred TV

The Human Eye



1-hour video from Berkeley on how the human eye works.

The Armenian Genocide



A genocide denied or ignored by most of the world, esp. by Turkey. Needing Turkey as an ally, the U.S. does not want to accept or recognize that this event took place. View this BBC film and you decide.

Brain Controlled Humanoid Robot

"We have developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) for high-level control of a humanoid robot. The BCI allows a human subject to command the robot, via brain activity, to pick up a desired object and bring it to a desired location...The robot walks up to a table containing two objects and conveys the images of the objects to the human. The BCI infers which of the two objects the human wants and communicates this choice to the robot. The robot picks up the selected object and proceeds to the center of the room. The human then selects a destination for the object (again through brain activity) and the robot brings the object to this destination location."

Not sure where this stuff is going but clearly it is cutting edge and, like the Net, will play a central role in our lives. Just thinking of the potential for military use is sufficient to see the roles it might play. But then, and perhaps more important, these robots will take out the garbage for us and save me time to watch a nice fight at some professional ball game. Make sure you view the videos.


Fora TV

This is a pretty good collection of videos and speakers. You can also download in a variety of formats, such as PSP, iPod, pdf, etc.

"Every day, poets, authors, policy experts, activists, madmen, government leaders, visionary thinkers speak in public, hosted by institutions such as nonprofit councils, bookstores, universities, or public spaces. If you're lucky, their remarks will be covered by the press, edited and compressed, and hard to find when you want it.

But you can't be there. You can't express your opinions. You can't chat with other likeminded or different-minded listeners. You can’t easily search for similar content, study background material, read the transcript.

ForaTv enables a new, global media opportunity by aggregating a daily range of events, produced and electronically shipped by institutions or freelance producers, from around the world."

Free Science Online

Seen this site before, but some of the new material is very good. Cognitive Computing, Consciousness, Science Philosophy and Mind Video Lectures Series opens with funny video of humorous ads online. Check listings for each available lecture.