Here is founder of spacehack.org, Ariel Walden, presents a rather interesting talk on the possibilities of a more open source space/science community, taking the exclusivity of the field from governments and placing it into the hands of everyday people, whilst still helping to advance science and exploration.

It’s all very inspiring stuff and I’ve only manage to have a brief poke around the website, but man, I do love the thinking behind all these crowd sourcing projects lately.

Awesome.

Over the years I’ve accumulated heroes; people I look up to and admire both for their work and their conviction to what they believed in and worked for.  Foremost of these for me w0uld be Carl Sagan whose visionary belief, not just in science, but in mankind itself, gave voice to the historical achievement of humans as a species and a beautiful, reconnecting position for all of us to take on this planet and amongst the stars.

Today (or rather, yesterday…  time zones and relativity and what not aside) marks what would have been his 77th birthday; and his wisdom, insight and love is still missed.

These peacocks borrow human mating plumage, anthropomorphically showcasing our adaptations and natural orders as their own. They are made of fake fingernails, barrettes, nail polish, false eyelashes, and jewelry to represent the choices involved in biological processes that are unique to humankind.

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