Tagul, the new Wordle?

I don't yet know how I'd use Tagul, but it's nice. This seems to be based on my homepage, rather than the whole site. So, it's my last couple of weeks...

Olympic Museum, Lausanne (2009, Dec)

Last week, I was back in Lausanne and spent a couple of days in the Olympic Studies Centre at the International Olympic Committee Museum. I first visited the Olympic Studies Centre in Lausanne during the Winter of 2001, when I was researching the International Olympic Committee’s Medical Commission and Ethics Commission. The Ethics Commission had only just been established and I was able to attend its first press conference at the IOC HQ, which is a couple of miles west from the museum in Vidy. The OSC consists of a library where a wide range of Olympic related publications are held, along with the IOC’s archive, which provides access to its meeting minutes, correspondence and multimedia documentation. It’s such a beautiful location and an optimal working condition. If ever you get a chance to visit, take it.

The trip was pretty useful, managed to progress a lot of the research on Computer Games and Sport, which was v helpful. Also managed to catch up with Dick Pound briefly, who was in the museum's Olympic Studies Centre researching his latest book.

In case you’re wondering what the totem is all about in the picture above, they’ve just installed their Vancouver 2010 exhibition, which foregrounds the ‘four host nations’ dimension of their Games. This photograph is taken at the entrance to the museum. More photos here:

We Are The Real-Time Experiment (2009)

In September, FACT published its 20 year history, edited by Mike Stubbs and Karen Newman. I've written the concluding chapter for the book, which gives you a taste of what else is inside. If you like wht you read and are eager to learn more about the UK's leading new media art organization, pick up a copy here.

2029

By Professor Andy Miah, PhD

Published in Stubbs, M. & Newman, K. (2009) We Are the Real-Time Experiment. Liverpool University Press, pp.197-201

Past

In the summer of 2006, I moved from Glasgow to a flat in Toxteth, Liverpool, which did not have internet access. At the time, social media was quickly becoming a popularised practice, I was blogging regularly and FACT’s wireless internet access was free. It still is. As a result, my time in Liverpool began as a client of FACT, one of its many nomadic notebook bearing café goers. We sit in the corner, by the window - ideally with a plug socket in reach – looking out into the atrium. This seems as good a starting point as any to explain part of what FACT means to its community or to those who pass through Liverpool. It also explains why FACT is necessary and what it might accomplish in the future, which is what I want to consider in this concluding chapter.

Even in 2009, after half a decade of free public wireless capability, the United Kingdom, along with many other developed countries, still expects to charge the public for internet access. Yet, free wireless internet access should be regarded as a public good in the 21st century, a public space even, like a park or a bridleway. Internet access is something we should be able to take for granted and expect everywhere we go, without having to pay a fee. Indeed, over the last five years, cities around the world have begun to treat wireless Internet access in this way, free to all, but in the UK the realization of this notion remains elusive.

In London, Mayor Boris Johnson expressed that London should have wifi throughout the city by the 2012 Olympic Games. These are valuable sentiments, but the crucial word – free – is not particularly evident in the campaign. Even the sole restaurant to have free wireless at Euston station has now been swept into another fee-paying ISP circuit. Moreover, Internet dongles are now appearing in the high street, each one charging us far too much for far too little. The aspirations of digital culture have yet to be met, yet so much more could be freely available already. Audio should be free. Video should be free. FACT understands this and its café goers are loyal because of its persistence to deliver open access.

Being vigilant of new media culture – advocating its promise and berating its limitations – infiltrates FACT’s work. Indeed, my three years in Liverpool has shown me that these dual discourses of promise and scepticism pervade many spheres of work in the city. I think this is why the history of FACT is such a contested space. FACT is clearly an organization that arose from collaboration, sharing and opportunism on behalf of upcoming cultural leaders in the city at the time. In 2008, the Chair of the European Capital of Culture, Phil Redmond, described the year as something like a scouse wedding, an analogy that pervaded the year’s media. He described how the process begun with disagreements over how best to deliver an exciting cultural programme, but when the time came, everyone had a good time and it all went very well. This analogy might work for explaining queries into FACT’s origins – whether it was indeed a ‘Liverpool invention’, as Lewis Biggs interrogates here. Biggs’ ‘regionalism’ narrative of FACT’s birth, which demonstrated how it took place amidst considerable political unrest within the UK, reveals even further how FACT might best be thought of as a Liverpool art work, rather than an invention.

Liverpool’s port city and slavery heritage, along with its contemporary ghettoization requires its institutions to make community a central part of their work, which also explains how the birth of FACT fits here. These are endearing qualities of the city and they shape my own experience of it, living now in the 1960s bohemian district, sandwiched between the Asian, African and Chinese communities, with the two cathedrals, a synagogue and a mosque all a short sprint away.

Reading Laura Sillars’ prologue to FACT’s history, I was struck by thoughts about the immediate past, Liverpool’s Year as European Capital of Culture in 2008, which was my major reason for coming to the city. The questions Laura asks might also be asked of 2008, a year with its fair share of challenges. How has FACT’s past contributed to Liverpool’s contemporary art and cultural environment? During 2008, FACT consolidated its past by entering into the Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium (LARC) collaboration, itself a product of necessity in times of difficulty leading up to 2008. As one of the major eight cultural institutions in the city, FACT inevitably became – for some – more of an institution than a grass roots organization, though with the arrival of its newly appointed CEO Mike Stubbs it remains artist-led. As such, 2008 consolidated FACT’s role as a key venue for major cultural events in the city, as well as becoming an organization that could just as easily have the Secretary of State for Culture wandering around its atrium, as it might have the prizewinner of ARS Electronica. This speaks volumes about how FACT has adapted over 20 years, defining its trajectory, while also stopping at each juncture to consider its choices.

For any successful organization, a rise in status implies a danger of losing the intimate connection with core membership, due to the imposition of other obligations that emerge from major funding opportunities. Concern about such prospective loss, but more broadly of the change that surrounded Liverpool during 2008 seemed integral to all of FACT’s works throughout the year. In 2008, I was fortunate enough to be part of FACT’s conversations on its future. I recall one of the first artists’ workshops of the Human Futures programme, which brought such artists as Stelarc and Orlan together, though not just to talk about bioethics and bioart (see Hauser 2008). Instead, a significant part of our debates focused more on what arts organizations – and artists – should be doing at the beginning of the 21st century

Present

In 2009, the labour of these discussions bore fruit in the form of Climate for Change, FACT’s first exhibition for its UNsustainable year. Inviting local communities into the gallery space, FACT placed its creative vision in their hands, opening up a dialogue about its future and providing a space where the concerns of its peers could be heard. As an exhibition, its major art works were thus the people who inhabited the space, which brought new communities together and welcomed new publics into their fold. Yet, this was not just an exercise of public engagement or outreach. Rather, the exhibition’s thematic focus on ‘economics and sustainability’ issues, as Mike Stubbs explains in this volume, also demonstrates FACT’s desire to interrogate the conditions of contemporary mediatized and politicized debates about climate change, by linking them with broader issues of social and political unsustainability.

Throughout Climate for Change, I wondered what would be next for FACT. After all, what more can an arts organization do to support local communities than to hand over the gallery space for a period? Perhaps handing over the space permanently would be a more powerful gesture, but FACT’s communities are numerous, their audiences multiple – cinema goers, art lovers, café visitors, book shop browsers, bar quiz buffs, conference delegates, and so on (and even within each of these categories there is substantial variance). This composite audience is not unique to FACT. Actually, it may describe the conditions of being a 21st century arts and cultural institution, the kind of multi purpose media space that is arising in such places as King’s Place London, which opened in 2008. This is not to say that art is merely one of the things that FACT does. Rather, art – along with the two senses of creative technology mentioned by Sean Cubitt in this volume – pervades each of these other works. This is beautifully demonstrated in another 2009 work by Bernie Lubell whose bicycle powered cinema also takes FACT towards its next major intervention, a festival of new cinema and digital culture called Abandon Normal Devices or AND with aspirations of Olympic proportions.

Like FACT’s birth, AND is also the product of collaboration in the arts and new media sector, driven by FACT in Liverpool, Folly in Lancaster, and Cornerhouse in Manchester. Moreover, it arises partly from funds related to the Legacy Trust’s UK investiment in ‘We Play’, England’s Northwest cultural legacy programme for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The producers of the festival are working to ensure the investment extends well beyond 2012, hoping AND to become a key item in the national calendar. Here again, we see the duality of FACT’s identity at work – new cinema and digital culture – as an organization that champion’s new work and invites local communities to scrutinize it, as it does with its long-standing online community broadcast platform Tenantspin.

Abandon Normal Devices also lends itself to multiple, rich interpretations. It is an inquiry into the consequences of normalising processes - both physical and social – while also functioning as a conjunction, inviting the participant to invent associations: Body AND Economy, Art AND Health, Sport AND Culture. This cross fertilization of ideas offers a much needed opportunity to critically interrogate the Olympic period within the United Kingdom, as London 2012 prepares to host the Games for the third time (the first Modern Games city to have had this opportunity). After all, the idea of normality and our critique of it is implicit to the Olympic philosophy, which pivots on notions of individualism, nationhood, excellence and perfection. Indeed, this is prominent when observing how an athlete’s physique is being altered by technology, especially within disability sport. Very soon, it is likely that prosthetic devices will overtake the capabilities of their biological counterparts, thus transforming what it means to be the fastest or strongest person in the world (Miah, 2008, Wolbring 2008).[i] Indeed, in 2012 we might even see the first 100m sprint of the Olympics won by an athlete with prosthetic legs, signalling the beginning of the end of able-bodiedness as a privileged condition.[ii

The Olympic Movement is also wrestling with its future, as citizen journalists threaten the financial base of the Games by syndicating Olympic intellectual property and as the youth of the world – the Olympic Movement’s core community – shift their attention to video games and alternative sports, which have quite different values to their traditional counterparts. Already, there are major competitions around digital gaming with the first professional gamer, Fatal1ty, occupying central state. Cybersports are a part of this and many of the largest sports relying on digital technologies to constitute the training environment, taking sports into the digital arena.

As the first regionally devolved Olympics, FACT can have a major role in constituting the terms of this period, certainly in the Northwest, but perhaps more importantly by bringing together a national convergence of arts and new media with research into body economies (biotechnology, synthetic biology, AI, energy, etc). These processes have far reaching implications and might even signal the need to abandon traditional sports practices and re-interpret the Olympics once again. Artists can help here and their design of new technological encounters is demonstrative of this. Indeed, it is constitutive of the Olympic enterprise, which has always pushed the boundaries of technological excellence, from taking an Olympic torch underwater at the Sydney 2000 Games to using slow-motion for the first time in broadcasting.

Future

FACT’s birth coincided with that of the Internet, which Tim Berners-Lee conceived on 12 November 1990. One might even say that FACT’s birth occurred at the moment of the Internet’s conception. As the Internet reached maturity around the mid 2000s, the Web 2.0 era transformed the web into a prolific offspring machine, with new nodes arising daily and data-based societies emerging where content production and creativity reached pandemic levels. The next 20 years of both FACT and the Internet will be very different from their first, but it is clear that they will be intimately connected. We already see a glimpse of their promise in Mike Stubbs’ appeal in this volume to establish the Collective Intelligence Agency (CIA), which urges us towards better-networked intelligence, rather than just better-networked stupidity. Information now moves in different ways, both offline and online. Google is beginning to look like an outdated model of information distribution, as new modes of semantic or real-time searching arise through such platforms as Twitter Search.

The implications of this are profound and require organizations to understand that they are no longer the sole proprietors of their Intellectual Property, which includes their public relations and marketing. Consider the fake twitter hashtag that was used around the South by South West (SXSW) festival in 2009, created by people who did not have access to the festival. The prominence[iii] of this ambush media allowed the fringe community to create their own alternative experience. Unlike urls, nobody owns hashtags and, by implication, nobody can restrict their use (yet). Coming to terms with the reality of distributed IP will be a central part of allowing an organization to move from a Microsoft model to an Open Source model. The rise of web 2.0 platforms such as Facebook and Flickr demonstrate this, as communities take ownership of their institutions.

Understanding how best to deal with these challenges requires re-stating what FACT does. Roger McKinlay reminds us that FACT is not driven by technology, but the desire to make technology ‘invisible.’ It is an organization that endeavours to put people together and provide them with the means to realize the potential of new technologies. Such work also involves subverting the parameters of new technology, as demonstrated by Hans-Christoph Steiner’s iPod hacking session, which took place during his recent FACT residency as part of Climate for Change. These aspirations to democratize technology speak to both enduring and emerging dimensions of our posthuman future. Around the world today research programmes are exploring the link between biology and computing, which also describes the intersection of new media art and bioart, a key focus of FACT’s recent work. The prospect of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and the singularity have pervaded philosophical inquiries into cognition and neuroscience over the last decade.[iv]

It is, thus, highly appropriate that we consider, finally, what FACT might be doing precisely 20 years from now in the year 2029. According to Wikipedia – yes, it is also an encyclopaedia for the future – this will be the year when machine intelligence passes the Turing Test and will have reached the equivalent of one human brain.[v] What we cannot know yet is how this will come about. How much of this achievement will be brought about by collaboration between artists and scientists within mixed media laboratories such as FACT?

Our consideration of FACT’s future must be also take into account Liverpool’s future. What will Liverpool look like in 2029? As Roger McKinlay reminds us in this volume, FACT’s first 20 years began during a recession. FACT’s next 20yrs begins in similar times and it is notable that, as Liverpool’s renaissance takes shape and it finds a way of emerging from 20 years of economic neglect, the largest global recession of the last 90 years hits the world. Nevertheless, Liverpool is a much more competitive place now for the visual arts. With new arts and cultural centres such as the Novas Contemporary Urban Centre, A-Foundation, an expanded Bluecoat centre and ever growing independent galleries, the Liverpool’s artistic renaissance is clearly underway.

Despite its name, the truth about what FACT was, is or will become remains elusive. It is still an artist led organization, but its art is not absent of responsibility, since it is also an institution that needs to have concern for such things as accessibility. There are additional opportunities that arise from this. FACT is beginning to play a more central role in shaping governmental policy, particular on digital culture and, in the future, this will surely be a stronger component of its work. It is also building a research capacity and a growing empirical base to align with this role. In so doing, it is also establishing a research Atelier – not a laboratory – proposing new models of undertaking practice based research and complementing this with more traditional forms. This work will help to reset the boundaries of research in the 21st century, back towards a stronger emphasis on arts-based knowledge. As a city, Liverpool is also well placed to support this process, having built legacy research into its year as European Capital of Culture – the first of any city to ring fence such funds around this programme. [vi] Indeed, it is perhaps one of the best-placed city within the UK and possibly Europe to build a model for cultural regeneration and it is apparent that London has similar aspirations for evaluating the impact of the London 2012 period.

From my position as a FACT Fellow, I occupy a space somewhere between the organization and my starting point in Liverpool, as its client. To this end, I perceive a tremendous self-induced pressure on FACT’s programme team to achieve broad, dramatic societal and creative impact through its work, expectations that are praiseworthy and highly ambitious. Yet, if they get even 80% towards those goals, they will have exceeded themselves. As such, I conclude with a pitch for what I would like to see next: a curatorial team established for an exhibition in 2029 or, better yet, 2049. I wonder if that has been done before.

References

Editorial. "Latest Twitter + Sxsw Trend #Fakesxsw." LA Times 2009, http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/03/latest-twitte-1.html.

Hauser, J., Ed. (2008). Sk-interfaces. Liverpool, Liverpool University Press.

Janicaud, D. (2005). On the Human Condition. London and New York, Routledge.

Kurzweil, R. (2005). The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology. New York, Viking Press.

Miah, A. (2005). "Genetics, cyberspace and bioethics: why not a public engagement with ethics?" Public Understanding of Science 14(4): 409-421.

Miah, A., Ed. (2008). Human Futures: Art in an Age of Uncertainty. Liverpool, Liverpool University Press.

Miah, A. (2008). Posthumanism: A Crtical History. Medical Enhancements and Posthumanity. R. Chadwick and B. Gordijn, Springer. 71-94.

Wolbring, G. (2008). One World, One Olympics: Governing Human Ability, Ableism and Disablism in an Era of Bodily Enhancements. Human Futures: Art in an Age of Uncertainty. A. Miah. Liverpool, Liverpool University Press: 114-125.

Zylinska, J. (2009) Bioethics in the Age of New Media. MIT Press.

[i] For example, consider the trajectory of Aimee Mullins, whose presence in fashion, film and sport has become iconic of the new enabled paralympian.

[ii] This was a possibility leading up to Beijing 2008, when Oscar Pistorius fought for his legal entitlement to compete. He has already appeared in other competitions, alongside so called able-bodied athletes. It is likely that his trajectory towards the London Olympics will be even stronger.

[iii] For example, the hashtag attracted such established media as the LA Times (2009) to report on it.

[iv] There is also more we might say about the relationship between biology and computing as prominent, competing discourses. As Dominique Janicaud (2005) explains, the bioethical has overtaken the digital as a public discourse, though so much of bioethics relies on digital configurations that it might be reasonable to subsume new media ethics within bioethics, as some authors have begun to explore (Miah, 2005; Zylinska 2009).

[v] This is based on Ray Kurzweil (2005) prediction, which derives partly from Moore’s Law.

[vi] There is, of course, the Liverpool City Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council research programme Impacts08, which draws on many local research collaborations. However, this evidence base also encompasses a range of additional research that has informed the city during these years, such as the City in Film project at Liverpool University and any number of community research projects that FACT and other organizations have implemented.

We are the Media

Tomorrow's presentation for the British Academy visit to my uni has inspired me to re-articulate my Olympic research on media activism. I'll cover a range of the salient points of the last 10 years of research, from Olympic disruption to full blown 'ambush media'. Everything I've discovered convince me  that the more powerful dimensions of media change are all about the opening up of traditional media to citizen reporting, but the trick is to ensure that a) the core professional dimensions of journalism are not lost and b) that the economic foundation of investigative journalism can be maintained. At present, we're not thinking enough about either and, while I'm fully behind the rise of online journalism - see recent on Huffington Post online surpassing Washington post online - we do need people to dedicate their whole careers to this work. Either we need to find a way to accelerate that process or better support the really great journalist we have among us: and there are many. So, this title 'We are the media', is one I've used before, but the 'we' here takes further account of the fact that our professional journalists are also part of our collective. So, here are the slides from the talk tomorrow. Enjoy. Comments appreciated! What can we do better in London for 2012?

[slideshare id=2644724&doc=miah2009wearethemedia-091203154944-phpapp01]

AMPLIFIED Leicester

I'll be speaking here next week on: Mashing-Up Computing & Biology: From Digital Bodies to Enhanced Humans "This presentation discusses the emerging era of human enhancement as an interface between cultures of computing and biology. It argues how the future of humanity will depend largely on its ability to accumulate biocultural capital, while faced with the environmental imperative to ensure sustainable adaptation."

DaDaFest

Speaking today at DaDaFest09 for a panel titled 'Art with an edge' with Debbi Lander, Tom Shakespeare and others.

Some notes from the day:

DaDaFest 2009-11-28

Alexa Wright, artist

Photography of people with acquired disabilities

Sky tv wer recording magnolia prize in 1998 - when they discovered I had won, they did not want to show the work

“Ok to show physical difference in a scientific context, but when it is in an artist context, it was somehow unacceptable”

“image of me the author of the work who incorporates the otherness that these bodies represent”

“inclination to desexualize people with physical disabilities”

Skin (2001) - research at hospital - medical photographs - not just documenting skin conditions, but beautiful photographs - led to a photo and  text work - skin as acceptable, social surface - interface between me and rest of the world - what happens when surface is not ‘polite’ - invu 10-12 people, photographed 5 - digital snap shots - fabrics to complement - re-appropriating medical photographs and inserting into different contexts - trying to make beautiful.

Noella - psorasis -

June -

Cover Story (2006) - installation  - work about the face - what it would be like to live without a legible or viable face - identity invested in the face - originally used in Norwich for UK Science week (2006) - needed to be accessible and function in public space - visual cue: a blob that slowly becomes a face - try to read the face: its age, gender, race, etc - to assign character in history - second video: taking fragments from people speaking about their faces and bring together, narrated by someone who has no unusual face

Q&A

Nazis used photography to identify profiles and types

The re-imaging of disability: Different art, different audiences, different artists

Tom Shakespeare

Disability is at heart of human condition

Happy for non-disabled artists to make work about disability

Instead of ‘disability’ use ‘predicament’

Traditional: art with disabled people

Representationa: art about disabled people

Radical: disability art by disabled people for disabled people

Individual: artis who happens to have a disability

Existential: art as a tool for thinking about disability, by anyone for anyone

John Keats - ‘negative capability’

Cathy Come Home - Ken Loach - homelessness - led to ‘shelter’ - art can bring home an issue in a way that academic may not

What do disabled people need? -understanding of shared humanity - recognition of social barriers - acceptance

Mona Hatoum (1998) Untitled (wheelchair) - clinical medical wheelchair - cannot self propel - uncomfortable - push handles are carving knives - disability, anger, relationships between carer and cared for - tool for thinking - title: does not prescribe

Julian Germain - bioethics, genetics - family photographs - generations - resemblance - single sex - all wearing same shirts - heredity write large - can see how genes determine them - personality

Christine Borland (2001) Progressive Disorder - drawings of young boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy - boy getting to his feet - from 19th C doctor -

Aidan shingler - www.oneinahundred.co.uk - Rorschach blocks - one is a butterfly - 1 in 100 experience schizophrenia - butterfly reflects the joy of the condition - psychiatrist often wear bow tie - ‘The Butterfly Collector  - commentary on psychiatry -

Elio Caccavalle - MyBio, Utility Pets - use art to think of futures - interested in genetically modified animals - xenotransplantation - how develop products to help negotiate bioethical challenges -

Tom Shakespeare, The Wrong Birth (after Fuseli), 2007 - original has a horse - in original, was a goblin - mistaken idea that night mare meant horse in your dream - concern that was about the fear of having a disabled child - in terms of prenatal diagnosis - every pregnancy is tested - now more aware of possibility of having a disabled child - whatever she chooses, have to take responsibility - didn't want to comment on it - just wanted to realize it - I didn't actually sit on her chest, we photoshopped it - image 1.5m wide - photography by Keith Patterson - Jack Lowe did photoshop -

Tom Shakespeare, The Good Death (after Mantegna), 2008 - dead Christ - limited tonal range - Christ laying on slab - early years of perspective - radically foreshortened -so much so that the man could have restricted growth

Tom Shakespeare, Figure with Meat (after Bacon), 2009 - from Velazquez pope on throne - most interesting part of picture is the meat - hard to access - meat markeing board sent these images.

Benefits of this work - explores, depends, challenges, interpret science for wider audiences - bring disability to mainstream - reveal emotional and relational - questions about ethics and responsibility, difference and identity - complex, nuances, simultaneous: show not tell

Not keen on notion of disability art

Reveal emotional and relational

Glenway Westcott comment on Walker Evans (1938): for me this is better propaganda than it would be if it were not aesthetically enjoyable. It is because I enjoy looking that I go on looking, until the pity and the shame are impressed upon me, unforgettably.

The Media: An Introduction (third edition)

New book chapter published here on 'The Body, Health and Illness' with Emma Rich. Edited by Daniele Albertazzi and Paul Cobley [kml_flashembed publishmethod="static" fversion="8.0.0" movie="http://www.andymiah.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/MiahRich2009Media.swf" width="600" height="860" targetclass="flashmovie"]

[/kml_flashembed]

[kml_flashembed publishmethod="dynamic" fversion="8.0.0" movie="http://www.andymiah.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Miah2009Media.swf" width="600" height="850" targetclass="flashmovie"]

Abstract:

This chapter discusses media representations of health and illness and offers a description of the ways in which media habitually represent the body. Issues such as disability, eating disorders, body image, genetic engineering, sexually transmitted diseases, mental disorder, cosmetic surgery, drug cultures, abortion, fertility treatment, euthanasia, gerontology, and so forth, are within the general remit of this chapter. However, it focuses on three main issues as exemplary: ‘beginning of life’, eating disorder, disability and ‘end of life’ issues. These examples, it will be shown, urge  consideration of the kind of ethical principles which might inform media representations.

http://www.pearson.ch/HigherEducation/Longman/1471/9781405840361/The-Media-An-Introduction.aspx

Digital Olympics

Today, for my Digital Olympics book, I'm focusing on issues of urban mobile culture. These images from The Cloud architectural project for London 2012 are great inspiration. Thanks to Graham Jeffery for the link. (PS: I think I've just found a book cover!)

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJ7GqDzyGA 600 400]

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games and New Media

Finishing book for MIT Press on 'Digital Olympics' and planning new media centres for Vancouver 2010 - the final chapter. I'll be working with a bunch of great people in Vancouver, bringing out a few people from the UK and trying to cover the culture, politics and media of the Games for the Huffington Post. I expect to be in Vancouver from around 17th Feb - 28th Feb. I'll also be available for interviews on the following topics:

• Doping
• The Olympics and the Digital Revolution
• Blogging and the future of media reporting at the Games
• Olympic Truce
• Olympic activism and protest
• The role of culture at the Olympics

Beijing 2008

While this is over a year old, I was just finishing a book proposal on the Olympics and fancied posting some of the images from last year.

Dr Beatriz Garcia (2009, Nov 16)

Speaking at CENTRE D'ART SANTA MONICA for the Centre for Olympic Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona. Mixing up the Cultural Olympiad and European Capitals of Culture.

Muscular monkeys prompt sports doping fears (2009, Nov 12)

Muscular monkeys prompt sports doping fearsLinda Geddes, reporter

A gene therapy that appears to bulk up muscle mass and strength in monkeys - reported today in Science Translational Medicine - will undoubtedly raise fresh concerns about the potential for gene doping in sport.

We already know that some athletes use drugs like erythropoietin to increase the amount of oxygen their blood delivers, and steroids to bulk up muscle mass.

The big advantage with gene doping is that it should be harder to detect. That's because it's difficult to test for a protein that the body already produces, especially when its levels naturally vary between individuals - which might explain why some people are inherently better at sports than others.

In the new study, Janaiah Kota and colleagues at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, used gene therapy to add extra copies of the follistatin gene into the leg muscles of monkeys. Follistatin has been previously shown in mice to block myostatin, a protein that decreases muscle mass, resulting in bulked up "mighty mice". Monkeys injected with the gene also seemed to bulk up, and when Kota's team analyzed their leg muscles with a device that measures force, they found that the muscles injected with the follistatin gene were also stronger than normal muscles.

They hope the approach could eventually be used to treat the severe muscle weakness associated with neuromuscular disorders like muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis.

Indeed, the drugs companies Amgen and Wyeth are already experimenting with drugs called myostatin inhibitors in humans, with some promising early results.

Such studies have already prompted fears about the potential for myostatin inhibitors to be abused by athletes hoping to gain the competitive edge. If gene therapy can achieve similar outcomes in humans, such modifications will be even harder to detect.

The World Anti-Doping Authority has already prohibited the use of gene doping within their World Anti-Doping code, and while there is currently no hard evidence of athletes using gene doping to improve performance, there are strong suspicions that they will start doing so soon - unless someone figures out a reliable way of detecting it.

The Future of Doping - it's in the Genes! (2009, Oct)

The Future of Doping - it's in the Genes! <http://joepapp.blogspot.com/2009/10/future-of-doping.html> By Duane Corbett with an intro by Joe Papp

Last month here at Pappillon <http://joepapp.blogspot.com/2009/09/armstrongs-blood-values-deemed.html> , we revealed that one of Denmark's leading blood researchers believed that Lance Armstrong's blood values from the 2009 Tour de France were suspicious and could be indicative of blood doping <http://joepapp.blogspot.com/2009/09/armstrongs-blood-values-deemed.html> . We followed the story when the main stream media wussed-out (except for cyclingnews.com, where Shane Stokes made a valiant effort <http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/analysis-armstrongs-tour-blood-levels-debated> ), documented what others were saying, shared our own opinions, made scientific fact and proven theory accessible through this site, and, most of all, made it clear that we still believe doping is a problem in pro cycling and that Jakob Mørkebjerg's claims shouldn't be dismissed outright.

Not surprisingly, Lance Armstrong didn't agree, and he lamely offered a four-letter response via Twitter to the serious questions that Mørkebjerg's insights raised in the eyes of the public: "SSDD <http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/10/13/2009-10-13_lance_armstrong.html> ".

But is doping (and the talk of doping) in cycling really just the "same shit, different day," scenario that The Lance would have us believe? To explore that question more deeply, Pappillon's newest guest contributor Duane Corbett shares his thoughts on the potential for gene-doping to infect cycling:

With an investigation <http://velonews.com/article/99199/french-open-tour-investigation> into doping at this year's Tour already underway, and involving the Astana Pro Cycling Team and several others from the Tour's line-up, anti-doping authorities are likely considering just these scenarios as they try to determine what doping practices are currently en vogue - the same as were popular last year, some forgotten methodologies from the past, or new, as-of-yet unreported cutting-edge techniques.

Since there were no positive drug tests at the 2009 Tour de France it appears no one was doing the same stuff this year. However, several suspicious drugs were recovered at the race including sitagliptin (anti-diabetic), valpromide (anti-convulsant), telmisartan (anti-hypertensive), and quinapril (anti-hypertensive). It is important to note that the latter two may be linked to some of the old stuff as hypertension is a known adverse effect of blood transfusion.

Going into the 2009 Tour de France, many predicted <http://joepapp.blogspot.com/2009/07/2009-tour-de-france-predictions-micro.html> the practice of autologous blood transfusions to be present among riders. And why not? While tests have been developed to test for the use of synthetic EPO and homologous blood transfusions, there is still no definitive test for autologous doping; only the biological passport, which compares riders blood level records to permissible limits. So while the previous implementation of permissible limits may be seen as a green light, the biological passport may be seen as a speed bump.

Let’s quickly remind ourselves what someone’s blood samples would look like if they were transfusing themselves with their own blood. Where you would normally see a decline in red blood cells, hematocrit, and hemoglobin over the period of several days racing, someone transfusing themselves with their own blood would always have that same fresh and replenished baseline they started with. The only problem is so would someone with diarrhea <http://nyvelocity.com/content/features/2009/armstrong-tour-blood-values-suspicious> .

Now that the old stuff and the same stuff have been covered, what are the possibilities of new stuff? With the finding of such drugs like sitagliptin and valpromide, we can’t help but wonder what is, or what could be, going on right now that we don’t know about.

One of the biggest fears of anti-doping authorities is the introduction of gene doping. Dr. Theodore Friedmann, head of the World Anti-Doping Agency's gene doping panel has been quoted to say, “It will happen, but we don't know when.” Unfortunately, it may have happened already.

In 2008, scientists discovered orally active agents that genetically switch on an endurance gene signature that was shown to increase running endurance by 44% in sedentary mice. The first target of these drugs is PPARδ, a transcriptional regulator, and the second is AMPK, a serine-threonine kinase. Both PPARδ and AMPK contribute to metabolic reprogramming and are respectively targeted by the drugs GW1516 and AICAR.

A link to a brief video that would make anyone feel like a leading researcher on the topic is available here <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0403/03-pill-flash.html> . The research article in its entirety is available here <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6WSN-4T3W1NW-1-2&_cdi=7051&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F08%2F2008&_sk=%23TOC%237051%232008%23998659996%23695566%23FLA%23display%23Volume_134,_Issue_3,_Pages_367-548_%288_August_2008%29%23tagged%23Volume%23first%3D134%23Issue%23first%3D3%23date%23%288_August_2008%29%23&view=c&_gw=y&wchp=dGLzVzz-zSkzV&md5=39775faaea5f20eff1ebb08f614bdf9a&ie=/sdarticle.pdf> .

While these drugs have only been tested in animals, the gap in time since their discovery opens possibility for human interaction. Although we do not know if it is happening now, we do know that the era of gene doping, or new stuff, different day, is uncomfortably close. --Duane Corbett is a doctoral student in exercise physiology at Kent State University. His research, focused primarily on cycling, has previously examined the relationship between preferred pedal rates and perceived exertion, while current research involvement is examining the effect of cycling on Parkinson’s disease. A former collegiate cyclist, he is the founder of the current Indiana University of Pennsylvania Cycling Team.

How Fast Can A Human Run The 100 Meter Sprint? (2009, Aug 6)

How Fast Can A Human Run The 100 Meter Sprint? <http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/how_fast_can_human_run_100_meter_sprint>By News Staff <http://www.scientificblogging.com/profile/news_staff>  | August 6th 2009 12:00 AM | 6 comments <http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/how_fast_can_human_run_100_meter_sprint#comments>  | Print <http://www.scientificblogging.com/print/56557>  | E-mail <http://www.scientificblogging.com/forward/56557>  | Track Comments <http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/trackarticle/56557?destination=node%2F56557> Usain Bolt, sprinter from Jamaica, currently holds the world record in the 100 meter sprint with a time of 9.69 seconds.  Whenever new records are set, people ask 'what is the limit on human performance?'

So how fast can a human run?

Two econometricians from Tilburg University in the Netherlands, Professor of Statistics John Einmahl and former student Sander Smeets, say have calculated the ultimate records for the 100-meter sprint. The good news; there is still room for improvement in both the men's and women's times in the near future.

They used extreme value theory <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_value_theory>  to calculate by how much the current records for the 100 meter sprint could be improved.

Extreme-value theory is a sub-sector of statistics, which tries to answer questions about extreme events (which by definition are uncommon), using information about less extreme events. The theory is normally applied within the financial and insurance world to estimate the risk of extreme damage resulting from storms, earthquakes or the bursting of a dyke, for example, in order to calculate premiums.

With a little modification, they say it can apply to sports as well.

Einmahl and Smeets analyzed the records of 762 male and 479 female athletes. Each athlete was listed once, and the times were recorded between January 1991 and June 2008. Times run before 1991 were discounted on account of the inadequate doping controls before this date. The men's times varied between 9.72 and 10.30 seconds, and the women's from 10.65 to 11.38.

According to Smeets and Einmahl, the fastest time that the men are capable of sprinting is 9.51 seconds, which knocks 0.18 seconds off Usain Bolt's current world record. For female 100m sprinters, another 0.16 seconds can be knocked off the 10.49 run by Florence Griffith-Joyner, which would mean a time of 10.33. In a more cautious estimate (with a 95% confidence interval <http://www.stat.yale.edu/Courses/1997-98/101/confint.htm> ), the predicted times are 9.21 for the men and 9.88 for the women.

Sander Smeets studied Finance and Actuarial Sciences at Tilburg University and now works as a junior actuary at AZL, in Heerlen. John Einmahl is Professor of Statistics at Tilburg University.

Paper: 'Ultimate 100m world records through extreme-value theory <http://arno.uvt.nl/show.cgi?fid=95436> ', CentER Discussion Paper nr. 57

Mike Stubbs

  Mike's inaugurallecture was titled 'Anger is an Energy: connecting time and space through action, movement and memory'

Cambridge University

Today, I was in Cambridge at Corpus Christi for a debate about human enhancement and sport. Within the line up were Dr Alun Williams, Dr Thomas Petersen and world record breaking Paralympian gold medal winner Clare Cunningham, chaired by Michele Verroken

It was part of their 'Triple Helix' seminar series. Here was their brief:

"Hormones, vitamins, stimulants and depressives are oils upon the creaky machinery of life.  Principal item, however, is the machinery."  Martin H. Fischer

Sport is about pushing the human body as far as is physically possible. But what about scientific advancements that can surpass these limitations? The expanding spheres of molecular biology and materials science give more possibilities to extend human strength and endurance. To confuse issues further, there are a whole host of legal supplements that can enhance performance, and technology is improving sports equipment not just humans.

In the second of two debates examining human enhancement, join our panel of experts to discuss the impact science is having and will have on sport:

Words in Progress

This section offers a glimpse into my future writing. Most of my writing takes place gradually. I work on a number of manuscripts, which have their own trajectory. Eventually, when the time is right, they are published. Words in my 'insight' postings reflect what has yet to be worked up into full publications.

2010

JUNE 2010

• THE FOOTBALL: Thursday 10 June, 2010
• OUR FAITH IN SOCIAL MEDIA:  Saturday 12 June, 2010

MAY 2010

• THE POLITICS OF COMPROMISE: 16 May, 2010
• OLYMPIC MASCOTS: 20 May, 2010

FEBRUARY 2010

• THE ECONOMIC BLACK HOLE IN UNIVERSITIES: Tuesday 16 February 2010

JANUARY 2010

• PRIVACY ONLINE IS NEITHER DEAD, NOR DYING: Thursday 15 January 2010.

2009

DECEMBER 2009

• IMAGINING THE INTERNET: Friday 4 December, 2009.
• LAUSANNE: Monday 14 December, 2009.

NOVEMBER 2009

• MASHING UP: Monday 9 November, 2009.
• URBAN PLAN: Saturday 14 November, 2009.

JULY 2009

• THE ACADEMY: Sunday 19 July, 2009
• NM: Monday 27 July, 2009
• THE STORY OF THE RINGS:
• UTUOPIA AS NO PLACE: 28 July, 2009
• OLYMPIC: Friday 31 July, 2009.

JUNE 2009

• SUNSHINE: Monday 1 June, 2009
• SUN TAN: Tuesday 2 June, 2009
• LONDON OVERGROUND: Thursday 11 June, 2009
• SOME TIME: 22 June 2009.

APRIL 2009

• THE ANNIVERSARY: Thursday 9 April, 2009.
• CITY LIVING:
• BCN: Thursday 30 April, 2009

MARCH 2009

• SPAIN: Friday 20 March, 2009.
• WRITING FOR ME: Friday 27 March, 2009

FEBRUARY 2009

• IMPROVING IMPACT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: Wednesday 4 February, 2009.
• THE I IN ME: Thursday 5 February, 2009.
• PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL: Wednesday 11 February, 2009.
• THE LIFE STORY: Thursday 19 February, 2009.
• B: Wednesday 25 February, 2009.

JANUARY 2009

• MINT TEA (UTOPIA): Thursday 1 January 2009.
• WHIRLPOOL BATH:
• THE OLYMPIC TRUCE: Tuesday 30 January, 2009.

2008

JANUARY 2008

• POSTHUMAN DESIGN: Wednesday 9 January, 2008.
• FAILURE TO CARE: Wednesday 16 January, 2008.
• IF HUMAN ENHANCEMENTS ARE SOCIALLY DIVISIVE, IS THEIR ABSENCE A CONDITION OF UNITY? Thursday 16 January, 2008.
• VIRTUAL SPORT: Friday 24 January, 2008.
• HIGHLIGHTER: Tuesday 29 January, 2008.

FEBRUARY 2008

• MAKING CLAIMS ON CHINA: Tuesday 5 February, 2008.
• REMOVAL:
• SINKING IN: Wednesday 6 February, 2008.
• REALLY, FOR ME: Thursday 7 February, 2008.
• WHAT ARE PPTS? Wednesday 13 February, 2008.

MARCH 2008

• WORDS IN PROGRESS: Wednesday 5 March, 2008.
• INVISIBLE FIENDS:

APRIL 2008

• THE RSF: Monday 7 April, 2008

MAY 2008

• MEDIOCRITY: Monday 19 May, 2008.
• AFFLUENCE AND AID:
• MURAKAMI I: Wednesday 21 May, 2008.
• PISTORIUS I: Friday 23 May, 2008.
• MURAKAMI II:

JUNE 2008

• MURAKAMI II:
• DOES ART PROGRESS: Friday 29 June, 2008.

OCTOBER 2008

• IMPROVEMENTS:

NOVEMBER 2008

• MATHEMATICS, ART AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Saturday 15 November, 2008.

DECEMBER 2008

• ORIGINAL KNOWLEDGE: Monday 1 December, 2008.
• INJUSTICE: Thursday 4 December, 2008.
• FUTILITY SYNDROME: Monday 8 December, 2008.
• WALKING WITH ANDREW: Monday 15 December, 2008.
• WEB 2.0 – POLITICS AND LEISURE:
• WHAT’S NEXT?
• STARTING FROM ZERO: Wednesday 17 December, 200.
• MANIFESTO FOR ET ETHICS:
• A BROKEN SOCIETY: Friday 19 December, 2008.
• AMERICA: Saturday 20 December, 2008.
• LEAVING THIS TOWN: Sunday 21 December, 2008.
• UTOPIA: Sunday 28 December, 2008.

2007

JANUARY 2007

• NEW YEAR: Wednesday 3 January, 2007.
• DESIRE AND DISORDER: Monday 15 January, 2007.
• NEW MEDIA & BIOETHICS: Tuesday 16 January, 2007.
• PROMETHEUS PROSTHESIS UNBOUND: Sunday 28 January, 2007.
• THE STORY OF SOCRATES:
• MATTER OUT OF PLACE: Tuesday 30 January, 2007.

FEBRUARY 2007

• FILM THEORY: Wednesday 7 February, 2007.
• SNOW: Thursday 8 February, 2007.
• ANIMAL ENHANCEMENT: Saturday 17 February, 2007.
• A TOUCHING EXPERIENCE: Tuesday 20 February, 2007.
• SEARCHING: Thursday 22 February, 2007..

MARCH 2007

• MY ETHICAL CULTURE: Monday 5 March, 2007.
• IS SCIENCE FICTION UNETHICAL? Wednesday 7 March, 2007.
• THE IMMORTALITY OF IMAGINATION:
• COMPOSITION: Saturday 10 March, 2007.
• SLIGHTLY CRAZY: Friday 23 March, 2007.

APRIL 2007

• BRAIN SURGERY: Tuesday, 5 April, 2007.
• MY PROBLEM: Sunday, 15 April, 2007.
• OPTIMAL STATES:

MAY 2007

• TURNS: Tuesday, 8 May, 2007.
• WEB 3.0: Wednesday 16 May, 2007.

JUNE 2007

• MY CITY IN FILM: Thursday 7 June, 2007.
• ART WITHOUT ARTISTS:
• GLASGOW, SOLO:
• BE CREATIVE: Thursday 14 June, 2007.

AUGUST 2007

• PARACHUTES: Tuesday 14 August, 2007.
• ŽIŽEK ON ŽIŽEK: Tuesday 28 August, 2007.

SEPTEMBER 2007

• PASSING THROUGH: Friday 7 September, 2007.
• DEFINITELY NOT EUGENICS:
• ICH BIN EINE ESPANOLA: Monday 17 September, 2007.

OCTOBER 2007

• THE BANAL NON-FUNCTIONAL: Monday 8 October, 2007.
• THE IMAGE INDUSTRY: Wednesday, October 17, 2007.
• REFERENCE POINTS:

DECEMBER 2007

• ODE TO THE HAGGIS: Monday 3 December, 2007.
• MUST NOT DELETE: Thursday 6 December, 2007.
• HUMAN ENHANCEMENT I - WELFARE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: Monday 21 December, 2007.
• HUMAN ENHANCEMENT II - AND ECONOMICS:
• SCI-FI REALISM:
• HUMAN ENHANCEMENT III: Friday 28 December, 2007.
• HUMAN ENHANCEMENT IV – DESIGN, OPTIMIZATION AND PERFECTIBILITY:.

2006

JANUARY 2006

• EVERYDAY ETHICS – PERVASIVE EXCLUVISM OR THE NEED FOR AND VALUE OF ELITISM: Sunday 1 January, 2006.
• ANOMOLY:
• CRIME, MAFIA AND DOPING: Saturday, 21 January 2006.
• FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN AND FEAR OF THE PRESUMED KNOWN:
• SCIENCE, UTOPIA AND FUTUROLOGY: Monday, 23 January 2006.
• SCIENCE DOES NOT EXIST:
• WORLDS APART: DOPING, FOR OR AGAINST? Saturday 30 January, 2006.

FEBRUARY 2006

• CULTURAL SPECIFICITY, ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND ENHANCEMENT: Monday, 6 February 2006.
• THE PHYSICS OF NATURE: Monday, 7 February, 2006.
• VISIBLE NATIONHOOD: Tuesday 15 February, 2006.
• ABORT THE BAD BOXER: Saturday 25 February, 2006.
• THE PROBLEM OF ARTICULATED DIFFERENCES: Tuesday 28 February, 2006.
• REMAIN INVISIBLE, OR KEEP IT BRIEF:
• THE AT-RISK DISQUALIFICATION IN SPORT:

MARCH 2006

• MYCONTACTS.COM: Wednesday, 1 March 2006.
• LETTER TO A FRIEND: Friday, 10 March, 2006.
• A LETTER TO UTOPIA: Sunday, 12 March, 2006.
• INVU: Monday 13 March, 2006.
• YOU DON’T OWN THE EXPERTISE ON CONTENT: Tuesday, 14 March, 2006.
• SCREENS EQUALISE US:
• DOES EVIDENCE MATTER?:
• WORDS IN PROGRESS: Friday 17 March, 2006.

APRIL 2006

• THE ABSENCE OF A RULE: Thursday 13 April 2006.
• STUDIES OF PERFECTION: Saturday 15 April, 2006.
• KEEP WRITING:
• PENS:
• CHILDREN: Sunday 16 April, 2006.
• TECHNOLOGY, BIOETHICS AN SPORT:
• THE OFFICE AND PHILOSOPHY: Monday 17 April, 2006.
• MORE NOTES ON PERFECTION: Tuesday 18 April, 2006.
• PLATO WAS A JOURNALIST:
• HYPER-SWIMMING:
• PAST TENSE:
• SOCIETY: Wednesday 19 April, 2006.
• VIRTUE, EQUALITY AND OBLIGATION:
• CONCLUDING CYBERMEDICINE:
• FUNDAMENTALISM: Sunday 22 April, 2006.
• TECHNOLOGY’S DOMINION:
• VISIONARIES, ENTERPRENEURS AND EXPERTS:SOCIOLOGY: Tuesday 25 April, 2006.
• ADRENALINE:
• TECHNOLOGICAL FORMS: Wednesday 26 April, 2006.

MAY 2006

• DIGITAL SHIFT: Tuesday 2 May, 2006.
• MEMORY AND TRUTH:
• WHO’S WHO:
• THE HIGH ROAD: Thursday 4 May, 2005.
• BIG ISSUES:
• ENHANCEMENT AS THE ACCUMULATION OF CULTURAL CAPITAL: Friday 5 May, 2006.
• MOBIUS: Monday 15 May, 2006.
• WEB 2.0 AND THE DECEIT OF SIMPLICITY: Sunday 28 May, 2006.

JUNE 2006

• TWO WHEELS: Thursday 1 June, 2006.
• ADULT: Saturday 3 June, 2006.
• EU:
• WHEN ART NEEDS VIOLENCE: Thursday 8 May, 2006.
• HUMAN ENHANCEMENT TECHNOLOGIES IN SPORT: Tuesday 21 June, 2006.
• LETTING THE BODY BE:
• DON’T BLAME THE MEDIA:
• MOBILE INFINITE LOOP PROBLEM:

JULY 2006

• OLD FRIENDS: Wednesday 5 July, 2006.
• HETs: Friday, 7 July, 2006.
• NOTE TO SELF: Saturday, 8 July, 2006.
• NEW MEDIA AS MICRO-GLOBAL: Saturday 29 July, 2006.

AUGUST 2006

• MY WORDS: Tuesday 1 August, 2006.
• CREATIVITY: Wednesday 2 August, 2006.
• THE AESTHETICS OF TECHNOLOGY: Friday 4 August, 2006.
• BUSINESS CARD: Tuesday 22 August, 2006.
• SPACE: Wednesday 23 August, 2006.
• TOO MUCH GREY: Wednesday 30 August, 2006.
• FRESH AYR: Tuesday 29 August, 2006.

SEPTEMBER 2006

• GENETIC LOTTERY: Thursday 7 September, 2006.
• OF COURSE:
• IT’S MY LIFE:
• EVERYDAY TECHNOLOGY: Sunday 10 September, 2006.
• THE RECENT FUTURE: Tuesday 12 September, 2006.
• UNLOCATED: Monday, 25 September, 2006.
• SOME BODY: Thursday 28 September, 2006.

OCTOBER 2006

• TECHNOLOGY, CULTURE & SOCIETY: Thursday 12 October, 2006.
• THE WORLD AROUND ME: Thursday 19 October, 2006.
• LAST NIGHT WE WERE TOGETHER: Tuesday 24 October, 2006.

NOVEMBER 2006

• LIVERPOOL: Tuesday 7 November, 2006.
• TECHNOLOGY AS PROCESS: Wednesday 8 November, 2006.
• SMALL BLACK INSECTS: Saturday 11 November, 2006.
• MY TRAVEL MATES:
• A SENTIMENTAL ETHICS: Sunday 12 November, 2006.
• STILL ON THE SIDELINES:
• CELEBRITY AS A PREOCCUPTATION WITH THE PRESENT: Thursday 16 November, 2006.
• DISPLACED: Wednesday 29 November, 2006.

DECEMBER 2006

• YOU LUCKED OUT: Saturday 9 December, 2006.
• VERTICAL HOUR:
• FINAL POPULATION: Monday 25 December, 2006.
• LOCATING DESIRE: Tuesday 26 December, 2006.
• DESIRING BEAUTY: Friday 29 December, 2006.

2005

DECEMBER 2005

• TM: Tuesday 6 December, 2005.
• TESTING ENHANCEMENT:
• UNFRAGMENTED AUDIENCES: Saturday 10 December, 2005.
• I COULD HAVE BEEN: Wednesday, 14 December, 2005.
• MYGIFT.COM:
• TRAVELLING: Saturday 17 December, 2005.
• HOW GOOD SHOULD ONE BE, OR CAN WRONGDOINGS BE GOOD ACTIONS?
• SLIDING SCALES: Sunday 18 December, 2005.
• SUFFERING:
• INEVITABILITY: Monday 19 December, 2005.
• ALTERNATIVES TO TECHNOLOGY: Friday 23 December, 2005.
• ONE PENNY ON EVERYTHING: Monday 26 December, 2005..

NOVEMBER 2005

• FINDING THE DIGITAL: Tuesday 1 November, 2005.
• MY DIGITAL SCULPTURE: Monday 7 November, 2005.
• LANCE JUNIOR: Tuesday 22 November, 2005.
• PHILOSOPHY DEGREE BY LISTERV: Wednesday 30 November, 2005.
• HOW AUTONOMY LOST ITS FREEDOM: SELFISHNESS, COMMUNITY AND RIGHTS:.

OCTOBER 2005

• NEW SPACE: Sunday 9 October, 2005.
• IF I CAN SELECT FOR SEX, WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?: Tuesday 18 October, 2005.
• NORMALITY – INDIVIDUAL OR POPULATION? Monday 24 October, 2005.
• EVERYDAY ETHICS: Tuesday 25 October, 2005.
• GE AND THE LAW:
• CHANGE: Thursday 27 October, 2005.
• VISIONS OVER TIME:
• ROUTINE:
• ATOMS, INFORMATION AND GENES: Friday 28 October, 2005.

SEPTEMBER 2005

• AN INVITATION: Thursday 1 September, 2005.
• FLIGHT:
• MODERN GENETICS AND NAZI EUGENICS – A CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THIS COMPARISON:
• PLAYFUL INTELLIGENCE:
• WHAT ATHLETES WOULD DO:
• SURPRISE: Thursday 15 September, 2005.
• DOES REQUESTING ENHANCEMENT DISRESPECT THE PHYSICIAN?: Sunday 18 September, 2005.
• THE MEDIA GAME: Monday 19 September, 2005.

AUGUST 2005

• I’M SORRY, YOU WILL NEVER BE A GIRAFFE: Monday 1 August, 2005.
• LOOKING AT THE WORLD: Sunday 14 August, 2005.
• ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER:
• ABUSE: Wednesday 17 August, 2005.
• REVISITING DEMOCRACY: Monday 22 August, 2005.
• I AM AN AUTHORITY:
• DEMOCRATIC BY DESIGN:
• THE VIRTUAL:
• MALE:
• WHO WILL CHOOSE MY PARENTS?: 25 Aug, 2005.
• IS LOVE INSTRUMENTAL?: Friday 26 August, 2005.
• HATE: Saturday 27 August, 2005.
• IF THERE WERE NO RULES…: Tuesday 30 August, 2005.
• OPEN SYSTEMS, OR THE PROBLEM WITH INTERFERING WITH NATURE: Wednesday 31 August, 2005.

JULY 2005

• SUPERSEDING OUR PAST: Tuesday 5 July, 2005.
• VOICE: Sunday 17 July, 2005.
• IMAGINATION: Tuesday 26 July, 2005.
• TRANSCENDENCE: Thursday 28 July, 2005.

JUNE 2005

• STAND UP, SPEAK OUT: Wednesday 1 June, 2005.
• I DIDN’T MAKE MY CHOICE: Saturday 3 June, 2005.
• THE THING ABOUT S&M: Tuesday 7 June, 2005.
• DAISIES SHOULD NOT BE BLUE: Friday 10 June, 2005.
• TRADING SPACES:
• GRATUITOUS LOGIC OF NARRATIVE: Tuesday 14 June, 2005.
• WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN: Thursday 16 June, 2005.
• QUALITY OF LIFE-EXTENSION: Thursday 23 June, 2005.
• NASTY NICK: Tuesday 28 June, 2005.
• COMPULSORY: Wednesday 29 June, 2005.

MAY 2005

• WHAT IS POSSIBLE II?: Friday 6 May, 2005.
• UNCOMFORTABLE STABILITY: Saturday 7 May, 2005.
• ON LUCK AND BULLSHIT:
• NEARLY EVERYTHING:
• TYPING SPEECHES AS PRESENTATIONS: Friday 13 May, 2005.
• CELEBLOGGER: Sunday 15 May, 2005.
• KYLIE: Tuesday 17 May, 2005.
• THE ART OF LINE DRAWING: Thursday 19 May, 2005.
• THE FUTURE HAS CAUGHT UP WITH THE PRESENT:
• WHAT IF WE ARE NOT INTENTIONAL?: Thursday 26 May, 2005.

APRIL 2005

• THE VOICE OF THE DINNER LADY: Friday 1 April, 2005.
• HITLER AND THE POPE: Saturday 2 April, 2005.
• UP TO ZERO: Friday 8 April, 2005.
• FAITH, OR AN ARGUMENT FOR SIMPLICITY:
• I CAN’T GIVE YOU ANYTHING: Saturday 9 April, 2005.
• A BETTER LIFE:
• TROUBLE BEING HUMAN:
• THE FUTURE OF MEMORY:
• ES MI CULPA:
• ONE PER VILLAGE: Sunday 10 April, 2005.
• B:
• AN EXTRA TWENTY YEARS:
• ANOTHER BACK DOOR: Tuesday 12 April, 2005.
• A RIGHT TO INFORMATION: Wednesday 13 April, 2005.
• NATURAL TO WHAT?: Friday 15 April, 2005.
• I RELY ON YOUR IMAGINATION: Thursday 14 April, 2005.
• I KNOW I AM NOT YET DONE: Sunday 17 April, 2005.
• LIVESTRONG: Tuesday 19 April, 2005.
• ‘DO KEEP TEXTING IN YOUR BODY PARTS’: Thursday 21 April, 2005.
• WHAT IS POSSIBLE?: Tuesday 26 April, 2005.

MARCH 2005

• INSPIRATION: Saturday 5 March, 2005.
• KNOWLEDGE HIERARCHY: Monday 13 March, 2005.
• TEMPORALITY: Friday 18 March, 2005.
• ATOMISING THE TECHNOSOCIAL: Tuesday 22 March, 2005.
• T:
• WRITING:
• IMMORTALITY AND CELEBRITY:
• A COLLECTION OF WORDS:
• TECHNOLOGY:
• DUD:
• CHANCE AND FATE:
• WRONG PLACE: Wednesday 23 March, 2005.
• THESE WORDS ARE YOURS: Thursday 24 March, 2005.
• TO PEE, OR NOT TO PEE: Thursday 31 March, 2005..

FEBRUARY 2005

• THE PROBLEM WITH PROGRESS: Saturday 5 February, 2005.
• CYBORG, TRANSHUMAN, POSTHUMAN:
• THE LUXURY OF ENHANCEMENT:
• ENHANCEMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: Sunday 6 February, 2005.
• ANONYMITY CRISIS: Friday 25 February, 2005.
• SATURDAY: Saturday 26 February, 2005.
• WHEN LIVES INTERSECT: Sunday 27 February, 2005.

JANUARY 2005

• WHAT IS CRIME?: Saturday 1 January, 2005.
• POLITICAL CORRECTNESS:
• INDIFFERENCE: Sunday 2 January, 2005.
• DISTANT MEMORIES: Monday 3 January, 2005.
• POSTHUMAN ATHLETES: Tuesday 25 January, 2005.

2004

DECEMBER 2004

• SOPHIE: Saturday 18 December, 2004.
• STOMACHS: Saturday 25 December, 2004.

NOVEMBER 2004

• BURN THIS: Friday 12 November, 2004.
• DO YOU REMEMBER? Tuesday 16 November, 2004.
• BIOETHICISTS CANNOT BE PHILOSOPHERS: Monday 22 November, 2004.
• DR SUPER MARIO:
• POSTHUMAN BIOETHICS: Tuesday 23 November, 2004.

OCTOBER 2004

• TOO MANY WORDS: Wednesday 20 October, 2004.
• STILL SUPERMAN: Thursday 21 October, 2004.
• SIBLINGS: Saturday 30 October, 2004.

SEPTEMBER 2004

• SPACE: Friday 17 September, 2004.
• GRAND PROGRESSION: Tuesday 21 September, 2004.

AUGUST 2004

• ATHENS 2004: Wednesday 11 August, 2004.
• MUTANTS: Tuesday 24 August, 2004.
• YOU KNOW LIFE IS TOO SERIOUS WHEN…: Thursday 26 August, 2004

JULY 2004

• TESTING OUR DEMOCRACY: Sunday 4 July, 2004.
• CONTROVERSY CULTURE:
• POVERTY TOURISM: Saturday 10 July, 2004.
• EXTRAORDINARY MORAL DILEMMAS:

JUNE 2004

• MEDIA/ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS:Friday 4 June, 2004.
• SIMULATION OR DREAM?: Wednesday 9 June, 2004.
• OUR CULTURAL DEMISE: Sunday 13 June, 2004.
• DIGITAL CONSTRAINTS:
• AMERICA, AMERICA:
• TAKE EVERYTHING: Thursday 17 June, 2004.
• HISTORIC MOMENTS: Wednesday 23 June, 2004.
• A PARALLEL UNIVERSE:
• THREE KINDS OF SCHOLAR: Thursday 24 June, 2004.
• ETHICS OF APPRECIATION: Saturday 26 June, 2004.
• PARTY:

MAY 2004

• REALNESS – YAWN: Saturday, 1 May, 2004.
• CONTRASTS: Saturday 8 May, 2004.
• RECONCILING THE IMMORALITY OF SENSATIONS:
• SEX TOURISM: UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS IS IT ACCEPTABLE? Tuesday 11 May, 2004.
• REVISITING DEEP BLUE: Wednesday 12 May, 2004.
• CYBERSPACE: WHOSE UTOPIA WAS IT? Saturday 15 May, 2004.
• DOCTOR, CAN YOU FIX MY BROKEN HEART? Tuesday 18 May, 2004.
• THE JOURNALIST AS HERO: Friday 21 May, 2004.
• MORAL EXCEPTIONS: Monday 23 May, 2004.
• MOMENTS LIKE THESE: Saturday 29 May, 2004.

APRIL 2004

• POSTHUMAN WOES: Wednesday 7 April, 2004.
• TALKING ABOUT LIFE: Sunday 18 April, 2004.
• REMEMBERING TO FORGET:Monday 19 April, 2004.
• NOT ENOUGH TECHNOLOGY: Wednesday 21 April, 2004.
• LAW: Thursday 22 April, 2004

MARCH 2004

• EMPTY SPACE: Monday 1 March, 2004.
• GRATITUDE: Monday 15 March, 2004.
• CAPTURING TIME: Wednesday 17 March, 2004.
• BOREDOM: Sunday 21 March, 2004.
• FRIENDSHIP: Monday 22 March, 2004.
• BLOCKED:
• NEW METAPHORS FOR SCIENCE: Friday 26 March, 2004.
• SAUCHIEHALL ST:
• BALANCE:

FEBRUARY 2004

• CRYONICS AND DIMINSHED AUTONOMY: Thursday 5 February, 2004.
• POSTHUMAN PARANOIA: Sunday 8 February, 2004.
• SOMETHING NEW: Sunday 29 February, 2004.

JANUARY 2004

• LOYALTY AND DIMINSHED AUTONOMY: Tuesday 13 January, 2004.
• SCREAMING IN PAIN: Wednesday 14 January, 2004.
• ANTIBIOTICS AND GENETICS: Friday 16 January, 2004.
• CREATIVITY: SUNDAY 18 January, 2004.
• STUDENTS AND WEB RESOURCES: Thursday 22 January, 2004.
• POSTHUMAN: Saturday 24 January, 2004.
• BEING AUTHENTIC: Sunday 25 January, 2004.
• BEING ORIGINAL:
• THOUGHT: Tuesday 27 January, 2004.
• MISSING TOO MUCH: Wednesday 28 January, 2004.
• UNTITLED: Saturday 31 January, 2004.
• COMFORT:

2003

DECEMBER 2003

• UNPOPULAR CULTURE: Thursday 11 December, 2003.

NOVEMBER 2003

• DREAM: Sunday 2 November, 2003.
• NEW POSITIONS:
• SERIOUSNESS: Friday 21 November, 2003.
• HOME:
• MY BOOK: Saturday 22 November, 2003
• PHILOSOPHERS IN SPACE: Monday 25 November, 2003.

OCTOBER 2003

• ENOUGH: Monday 13 October, 2003.
• MY OWN PRESENCE: Thursday 30 October, 2003.

SEPTEMBER 2003

• HUMBLED: Monday 8 September, 2003.
• PAINFUL CONTESTS: Sunday 21 September, 2003.

AUGUST 2003

• FESTIVAL MEDICINE: Saturday 16 August, 2003.
• WHAT MAKES YOU CLICK?: Monday 18 August, 2003.

JULY 2003

• FAITH: Thursday 3 July, 2003.
• BECOMING POSTHUMAN: Friday 11 July, 2003.
• LEVELS OF CONFORMITY: Tuesday 15 July, 2003.
• WORDS: Wednesday 16 July, 2003.
• DISEMBODIED SINGULARITY: Sunday 27 July, 2003.
• PEER REVIEW – A PROPOSAL:

JUNE 2003

• THE PHILOSOPHER’S MOTHER II: Sunday 1 June, 2003.
• SHARING:
• OMNIPOTENT: Friday 13 June, 2003.
• DIFFERENCE: Friday 27 June, 2003.

MAY 2003

• SUPERHEROES IN DESPERATE TIMES: Thursday 1 May, 2003.
• SYMPTOMS OF A LIBERAL MIND: Friday 2 May, 2003.
• A BIG IDEA: Sunday 11 May, 2003.
• THE MEDICALISATION OF CYBERSPACE: Tuesday 20 May, 2003.
• INVISIBLE BIOGRAPHIES: Saturday 23 May, 2003.
• CITY LIFE: Monday 26 May 2003.
• PLAYING DOCTOR:
• REGENERATIVE MEDICINE, ARTIFICE AND THE NATURAL:

APRIL 2003

• CHOICES: Wednesday 2 April, 2003.
• RAW: Friday 4 April, 2003.
• 100MPH: Saturday 12 April, 2003.
• THE PHILOSOPHER’S MOTHER: Thursday 17 April, 2003.
• BEING RADICAL: Saturday 19 April, 2003.
• IMAGINATIVE BIOETHICS: Sunday 27 April, 2003.

MARCH 2003

• FREEDOM & RESPONSIBILITY: Tuesday 4 March, 2003.
• PHILOSOPHY & POPULAR MUSIC:
• ON CRITIQUE: Friday 7 March, 2003.
• GMA FOR NEW SPORTS:
• PHILOSOPHY, MEDICINE & JURISPRUDENCE: Monday 10 March, 2003.
• IDENTITY:
• GENETICALLY MODIFYING NEW SPORTS:
• MY BLOG, OR SEEKING CELEBRITY STATUS IN CYBERSPACE: Monday 17 March, 2003.
• CRASH: Tuesday 18 March, 2003.
• THE CONCEPTUAL ASSASSINATION OF STELARC: Friday 21 March, 2003.
• A COMPLEX THEORY ON AGREEMENT: Saturday 22 March, 2003.

FEBRUARY 2003

• ON ART & MEDICINE: Tuesday 11 February, 2003.
• GM CONCLUSIONS: Tuesday 18 February, 2003.
• REPUTATIONS: Friday 28 February, 2003.

JANUARY 2003

• BEYOND CRITIQUE: Sunday 5 January, 2003.
• NATIONALITY:
• CONSISTENCY: Wednesday 8 January, 2003.
• AUTONOMY: Sunday 12 January, 2003.
• MEDIOCRITY: Tuesday 14 January, 2003.
• PERSONHOOD: Wednesday 15 January, 2003.
• UFOS ARE TIME TRAVELLERS: Friday 17 January, 2003.

2002

DECEMBER 2002:

• AUTONOMY, DIGNITY, HEALTH, PERSONHOOD: Tuesday 3 December, 2002
• POSTMODERN: Thursday 12 December, 2002.
• ON THE DISSOLUTION OF DISCIPLINES IN BRITISH HIGHER EDUCATION: Saturday 14 December, 2002.
• BEING CULTURALLY LOCATED:
• CV BUILDING & RESEARCH: Thursday 19 December, 2002.

NOVEMBER 2002:

• NOTHING: Thursday 7 November, 2002.
• HYPERTROPHIES, MONSTROSITIES, AND TERATOMA: Monday 11 November, 2002.
• ANYTHING: Thursday 14 November, 2002.

OCTOBER 2002:

• WORDS: Wednesday 2 October, 2002.
• EMPTY ROOM: Wednesday 9 October, 2002.
• TRUTH:
• SALVATION: Monday 21 October, 2002.

AUGUST 2002

• DIGNITY: Tuesday 6 August 2002.
• MORAL BADNESS: Wednesday 7 August, 2002.
• STRUCTURE: Saturday 10 August, 2002.
• SUPER-SPECS: Tuesday 13 August, 2002.
• WHY BIOETHICISTS LOVE SPORT (AND WHY YOU NEVER KNEW IT):
• THE PROBLEM WITH POLITICS: Friday 23 August, 2002.
• DOWNLOAD: Sunday 25 August, 2002.
• COSMETIC ENHANCEMENTS: Thursday 29 August, 2002.

JULY 2002

• PARTIAL HUMANS: Monday 1 July, 2002.
• ANSWERING QUESTIONS: Wednesday 3 July, 2002.
• BCN: Friday 5 July, 2002.
• MEDICALISATION, ETC: Thursday 18 July, 2002.
• GP: Tuesday 23 July, 2002.
• 3 WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT: Wednesday 31 July, 2002.

JUNE 2002

• WHAT´S WRONG WITH EUGENICIDE?: Monday 3 June, 2002.
• POST-HUMANISM: Friday 7 June, 2002
• TV HAS MORE RIGHTS THAN ATHLETES:
• ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT GAMERS:
• WEBSITE AMBITIONS:
• LEVY, FOOTBALL, AND GAME PLAYING: Monday 10 June, 2002
• SPAM!: Saturday 29 June, 2002
• A THEORY OF TIMING: Sunday 30 June, 2002

MAY 2002

• SPORT & MEDICINE?: Friday 17 May, 2002
• CAN YOU SPARE ANY CHANGE?:
• FRANKENSTEIN WAS HUMAN: Wednesday 22 May, 2002
• MEDIA AND BIOETHICS:
• DO I WANT A CREDIT CARD?: Wednesday 29 May 2002.

APRIL 2002

• IDENTITY: Tuesday 9 April, 2002
• SEX OR CIGARETTES? AN INQUIRY INTO (IM)MORAL PREFERENCE: Wednesday 18 April, 2002

JANUARY 2002

• IN BETWEEN: Monday 7 January, 2002
• HIT 'SPACE' TO CONTINUE:
• NOT SUPER-HUMAN, NON-HUMAN:
• BETWEEN BRILLIANCE AND IDIOCY:
• A WEBSITE FOR PAPER: Tuesday 8 January, 2002.
• COMMUNICATION REFERENCE DATABASES:
• DID EINSTEIN PAINT WALLS?:
• AGAINST INTERACTION:
• DISTINGUISING TEXT AND IMAGE:
• ETEXTS RECREATE LEGENDS:
• A LITTLE HUBRIS: Wednesday 9 January, 2002.
• CIRCULAR TEXT:
• A DECADE OF BRITISH TV COMEDY: Thursday 10 January, 2001.
• HYPERBLINK:
• GRAMMAR IN CYBERSPACE:
• DISAPPEARANCE: Monday 14 January, 2002.
• UNTITLED: Wednesday 16 January, 2002.

2001

DECEMBER 2001

• HIGHER EDUCATION: Tuesday 11 December, 2001.
• CYBER SINGLE: Wednesday 12 December, 2001.
• PLAYER: Thursday 13 December, 2001.
• A GRAND THEORY:
• AUTHORS GET PAID:
• CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS ONLINE:
• CONCLUSIONS: Saturday 15 December, 2001.
• EVERY WORD AS HYPERTEXT: Monday 17 December, 2001.
• PRENATAL PARENTAL FREEDOM: RIGHT OR PRIVILEGE?: Friday 28 December, 2001.
• LESS SET IN OUR WAYS:
• ENDNOTE, ENDMEMORY: Saturday 29 December, 2001.

NOVEMBER 2001

• PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT: Tuesday 6 November, 2001.
• WHY AREN'T THERE SWIMMING CONTESTS WITH FLIPPERS: Thursday 8 November, 2001.
• FRAMING THE QUESTION: DRUG USE IN SPORT: Thursday 8 November, 2001.
• JOURNAL REVIEW: Friday 16 November, 2001.
• REAL-LIFE SEX: Saturday 24 November, 2001.
• ON ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION: A PARTICULAR KIND OF LIBERTY: Saturday 24 November, 2001.
• THE JOURNAL IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL: Sunday 25 November, 2001.
• WHAT IS A HOMEPAGE: Sunday 25 November, 2001.
• NEW POSITION: Thursday 29 November, 2001.

OCTOBER 2001

• THESIS: ARISTOTLE VS. HEIDEGGER ON TECHNOLOGY: Monday 1 October, 2001.
• SI: Wednesday 3 October, 2001.
• MICROSOFT OR MICROFOSSIL?: Wednesday 3 October, 2001.
• THE ENGLISH GIRL: Wednesday 17 October, 2001.
• THE INVISIBLE ATHLETE: Tuesday 23 October, 2001.
• RE-LOCALISING THE OLYMPIC GAMES: Friday 26 October, 2001
• HARMS AND GM: Monday 29 October, 2001.

SEPTEMBER 2001

• I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT: Tuesday 4 Setember, 2001.
• SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE:
• THE MORE PEOPLE THAT DISAGREE, THE BETTER:
• NOTES FROM A WHITE, MIDDLE-CLASS, HETEROSEXUAL, MALE, FROM ENGLAND:
• I CANNOT DO ANYMORE: Wednesday 26 September, 2001.

AUGUST 2001

• THESIS - STARTING AGAIN: Sunday 12 August, 2001.
• THE LOGICAL ENDS OF PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT: Sunday 12 August, 2001.
• THESIS: Monday 20 August, 2001.

JULY 2001

• SEXUALITY: Tuesday 3 July, 2001.
• THE PROBLEM WITH OPPOSING SECTS: Monday 9 July, 2001.
• FAIR ALL THE WAY DOWN?: Monday 9 July, 2001.
• PASSION AND RESTRAINT: Thursday 19 July, 2001

APRIL 2001

• ON MEMORY: Monday 9 April, 2001.
• WHEN CAN ONE BEGIN TO SPEAK?: Friday 13 April, 2001.
• WITHOUT A PLAN: Friday 20 April, 2001.

MARCH 2001

• THOUGHTS, QUESTIONS, AND TIME: Wednesday 7 March, 2001.
• MY BACKGROUND AND EXPERTISE: Wednesday 28 March, 2001.

FEBRUARY 2001

• SELF WORTH: Thursday 1 February, 2001.
• UNABLE: Sunday 4 February, 2001.
• M: Sunday 4 February, 2001.
• THESIS: Monday 5 February, 2001.
• CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS VS. ETHICS: Tuesday 6 February, 2001.
• MY ACADEMIC WRITING: Tuesday 6 February, 2001.
• UNDERSTANDING HOW TO USE MY ARTICLES: Tuesday 6 February, 2001.
• TIME TO REFLECT: Wednesday 14 February, 2001.

JANUARY 2001

• FINALLY: Monday 8 January, 2001.
• EMOTIONS REVISITED: Monday 8 January, 2001.
• ISOLATION: Monday 8 January, 2001.
• UNCHAIN MY HEART: Wednesday 10 January, 2001.
• NIETZSCHE'S VIRTUE: Thursday 11 January, 2001.
• ENLIGHTENMENT AND RATIONALITY -
• WHAT'S NEXT?: Thursday 11 January, 2001.
• A PERIOD OF INDECISION: Thursday 11 January, 2001.
• ON THE TEMPORALITY OF EMOTIONS: Thursday 11 January, 2001.
• ANIMAL RIGHTS AND ANIMAL WRONGS: Wednesday 17 January, 2001
• ON CRITICISM: Thursday 18 January, 2001.
• PRACTICAL ETHICS?: Saturday 20 January, 2001.
• JUSTICE AND FAIR PLAY: Saturday 20 January, 2001.
• IMAGINE: Saturday 20 January, 2001.
• YOU DON'T DESERVE ANY OF THEM: Tuesday 23 January, 2001.
• INTUITIVE VS. CRITICAL REASONING: Thursday 25 January, 2001
• HOW MUCH HAS CHANGED: Wednesday 31 January, 2001
• CHRISTMAS: Wednesday 31 January, 2001

2000

DECEMBER 2000

• WEBCAMS: Thursday 7 December, 2000.

NOVEMBER 2000

• THE VALUE OF NOTHING: Saturday 11 November, 2000
• WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO BE A MILLIONNAIRE?: Thursday 30 November, 2000

SEPTEMBER 2000

• THIS IS WHAT IT IS ABOUT: Sunday 3 September, 2000
• WHY DIVISION IS NECESSARY: Tuesday 19 September, 2000

AUGUST 2000

• LIMITING HUMAN REPRODUCTION: Thursday 17 August, 2000.
• RIGHTS, INTERESTS, AND CONSCIOUSNESS: Friday 25 August, 2000.

JULY 2000

• WHAT IS WRONG WITH PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT IN SPORT?: Tuesday 4 July, 2000
• THE IMPLICATIONS OF GENETIC COUNSELLING ON HEALTH: Thursday 6 July, 2000.
• GETTING IN THE ZONE: Thursday 6 July, 2000.
• WHAT IS REAL? HOW DO YOU DEFINE REAL?: Friday 7 July, 2000.
• FEELINGS: Thursday 6 July, 2000.
• INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER ONE: Wednesday 12 July, 2000.
• THAT'S NOT ME: Thursday 20 July, 2000.

JUNE 2000

• NOTHING TO SAY: Thursday 1 June, 2000.
• BEING UNTO ONE: Sunday 25 June, 2000.

APRIL 2000

• RESPONSE TO TAMBURRINI: Wednesday 5 April, 2000.
• LET'S ENGINEER WINGS!: Sunday 9 April, 2000.

MARCH 2000

• SYNTHESISING TECHNOLOGY, SPORT AND BIOETHICS: Sunday 4 March, 2000.
• WHAT KINDS OF ENHANCEMENT ARE WORTHWHILE TO PURSUE?: Sunday 12 March, 2000.
• WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO SAY THAT A HUMAN BEING HAS BEEN ENHANCED?: Sunday 12 March, 2000.
• WHAT WOULD YOU PREFER, A BOY OR A GIRL?: Sunday 26 March, 2000.
• MAKING A MARK - JUSTIFIABLE ENDS: Sunday 26 March, 2000.
• THE MAKING OF TRADITION: Monday 27 March, 2000.

FEBRUARY 2000

• THE OSTENSIBLE ANIMAL: Friday, 4 February, 2000.
• WHAT IS HUMAN?: Friday 5 February, 2000.
• NANDROLONE - CAN'T WE LET THIS ONE SLIDE?: Thursday 10 February, 2000.
• LET THEM TAKE DRUGS: Thursday 10 February, 2000.
• SPORTING SIMULATORS - BETTER THAN LIFE?: Saturday 12 February, 2000.

JANUARY 2000

• PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT: Sunday 9 January, 2000.
• TO WHAT EXTENT/OUGHT...IS THIS THE QUESTION?: Sunday 9 January, 2000.
• VIRTUAL SPORT: Monday 10 January, 2000.
• WEBCAMS: Tuesday 11 January, 2000.
• SUGGESTING CAUTION - A COP OUT: Saturday 15 January, 2000.
• THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT & PROMOTING ABORTION: Saturday 15 January, 2000.
• ANY OTHER JOB: Sunday 30 January, 2000.

1999

DECEMBER 1999

• LIBERAL HUMANISM AND GENETICS: Wednesday 1 December, 1999.
• THE VIRTUAL ARGUMENT: Thursday 2 December, 1999.
• CRITICISING THE VIRTUAL POSITION: Sunday 5 December, 1999.
• EARNED ADVANTAGE IN SPORT:Monday 6 December, 1999.
• THESIS PLAN: Monday 6 December, 1999.
• SOMETHING NEW: Wednesday 8 December, 1999.
• BIOETHICS AND SPORTS ETHICS - TOO MUCH FOR ONE PHD?: Monday 13 December, 1999.
• RETURNING TO CHESS: Wednesday 23 December, 1999.
• THE CHIMPANZEE'S RIGHTS: Friday 24 December, 1999.
• COMPUTER GAMING, CHESS, AND VIRTUAL SPORT: Friday 24 December, 1999.
• FINISHING THE BOOK: Monday 27 December, 1999.
• SHOTGUN PHILOSOPHY: MILLENNIUM: Wednesday 29 December, 1999.

NOVEMBER 1999

• THE LOW-USER WEBSITE: Wednesday 3 November, 1999.
• STUDENT LIFE: ETHICS, VALUE AND THE UNSPEAKABLE: Wednesday 3 November, 1999.
• THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL BASIS OF ENHANCEMENT: Friday 5 November, 1999
• WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?: Friday 5 November, 1999
• IS RISK SUFFICIENT?: Monday 8 November, 1999.
• WHAT COUNTS AS ENHANCEMENT?: Monday 8 November, 1999.
• CAMERAS IN TOILETS: Tuesday 9 November, 1999.
• THE DAY DEFINITIONS TURNED ON US: Thursday 11 November, 1999.
• THE CONCEPT OF 'AWARD': VALUE IN CYBERSPACE: Tuesday 16 November, 1999.
• DEFINING A BACKGROUND: Wednesday 24 November, 1999.
• STRIVING FOR UTOPIA IS MORALLY UNSOUND: Thursday 25 November, 1999
• REGULATING THE INTERNET TO PROTECT OUR DIGNITY: Tuesday 30 November, 1999.

OCTOBER 1999

• AN OBJECTIVE PERSPECTIVE ON GENETIC ENGINEERING: Monday 4 October, 1999.
• EXPECTATIONS ON THE ENGINEERED CHILD: Thursday 7 October, 1999
• THE PERFECT BODY: Sunday 10 October, 1999.
• WHAT IS THE HUMAN?: Monday 18 October, 1999.
• SHOULD PARENT'S BE ALLOWED TO ENGINEER THEIR CHILDREN?: Wednesday 20 October, 1999.
• ARE GENES US?: Thursday 28 October, 1999.
• ARE GENES U.S.?: Sunday 31 October, 1999.

SEPTEMBER 1999

• THE INTRODUCTION TO GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES AND SPORT: Thursday 16 September, 1999.
• IAPS 1999: Sunday 26 September, 1999.
• DIFFERENCE AND THE OTHER IN WESTERN CULTURE: THE CYBORG: Sunday 26 September, 1999.
• THE CYBORG:

AUGUST 1999

• ON THE ADEQUACY OF JUSTICE: Thursday 26 August, 1999.
• JUSTICE IN EREWHON: Thursday 26 August, 1999.

JULY 1999

• FIDELITY AND CYBERSEX: Thursday 1 July, 1999.
• MULTIPLE IDENTITIES, VIRTUALLY ME: Sunday 4 July, 1999.
• SHOULD HUMAN CLONING BE ALLOWED?: Monday 5 July, 1999.
• VIRTUAL REALITY, GENETIC TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS EQUIPMENT, ET CETERA: Monday 5 July, 1999.
• ANONYMITY IN CYBERSPACE: Sunday 11 July, 1999.
• HORSE RACING AND HUMAN LIMITS TO PERFORMANCE: Sunday 11 July, 1999.
• FROM RECORD TO RITUAL?: Wednesday 21 July, 1999.
• WHAT CONTEXT FOR PERFECTION?: Thursday 22 July, 1999.
• THE OVERUSE OF HUXLEY'S BRAVE NEW WORLD: Wednesday 27 July, 1999.
• 'PLAYING GOD' IN A 'BRAVE NEW WORLD': Wednesday 27 July, 1999.
• ON THE SIGNIFICANCE/INSIGNIFICANCE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SPORT: Saturday 31 July, 1999.

JUNE 1999

• MARGINAL INFLUENCE: TECHNOLOGY IN SPORT: Saturday 5 June, 1999.
• LEFTIST INFLUENCE: Sunday 6 June, 1999.
• THE IMPLICATIONS OF MY RE-EVALUATING OF CYBERSPACE: Sunday 6 June, 1999.
• FOCUSING ON THE POST-HUMAN: Tuesday 8 June, 1999.
• CHANGING IDENTITY IN CYBERSPACE: Thursday 17 June, 1999.
• VIRTUAL REALITY: THE PICTURE: Sunday 20 June, 1999.
• GENETIC PROSPECT AND THE UNIQUE ATHLETE: Monday 21 June, 1999.
• THE MATRIX: Thursday 24 June, 1999.
• ARE WE REALLY CYBORGS ALREADY?: Wednesday 30 June, 1999.

MAY 1999

• LENGTHENING THE LIFE-SPAN OF AN ATHLETE: Saturday 1 May, 1999.
• MY REDUCING OF TECHNOLOGY: Tuesday 4 May, 1999.
• 'REAL', 'NATURAL' & 'INTEGRITY': Sunday 9 May, 1999.
• IMMORTALITY VS AFTERLIFE: Sunday 9 May, 1999.
• KANT AND THE GOODNESS OF GOOD WILL: Wednesday 19 May, 1999.
• GENETIC ENGINEERING AND DRUG USE IN SPORT: Thursday 20 May, 1999.
• THE IMBALANCE OF TECHNOLOGY IN TENNIS: Thursday 27 May, 1999.
• THERE HAS GOT TO BE A LIMIT: Friday 28 May, 1999.

APRIL 1999

• PREPARING: Thursday 1 April, 1999.
• DONE: Thursday 8 April, 1999.

MARCH 1999

• HEADACHED: Friday 5 March, 1999.
• BREASTFEEDING: Friday 26 March, 1999.
• THE AMAZON RESEARCHER:Monday 29 March, 1999.
• ARE THE CLAIMS MADE ABOUT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXAGGERATED?:
• WE ARE STILL HUMAN!: Monday 29 March, 1999.
• CRYONICS AND RELIGION: Tuesday 30 March, 1999.
• POST-EVOLUTIONARY ETHICS AND THE TRANSHUMAN CONDITION: Tuesday 30 March, 1999.

FEBRUARY 1999

• SCREENING REALITY: Wednesday 24 February, 1999.
• CYBER-SEX: Wednesday 24 February, 1999.

JANUARY 1999

• THE WINDOW: Wednesday 6 January, 1999.
• VIRTUALLY NOTHING: Thursday 7 January, 1999.
• VIRTUALLY VIRTUAL: Friday 8 January, 1999.
• THE BODY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION: Sunday 10 January, 1999.
• TECHNOLOGY; A WOMAN'S BRAVE NEW WORLD: Sunday 10 January, 1999.
• VIRTUAL REALITY: LIBERATING THE LEISURE PURSUIT?: Monday 11 January, 1999.
• LISTEN TO THE TEACHER: Thursday 21 January, 1999.
• HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ATHLETE: Sunday 24 January, 1999.
• VIRTUAL ATTENTION SPANS: Wednesday 27 January, 1999.
• HUMAN RIGHTS AND GENETIC SCREENING: Wednesday 27 January, 1999.

1998

DECEMBER 1998

• THE THOUGHT POLICE: Wednesday 2 December, 1998.
• HOW IT ALL TURNS OUT: Wednesday 9 December, 1998.
• HUMAN RIGHTS: THE TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGE OF SPORT: Monday 14 December, 1998.
• SPORT, CRYONICS, AND IMMORTALITY: Tuesday 15 December, 1998.
• VIRTUAL REALITY: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE: Tuesday 15 December, 1998.
• COMMUNICATING IDEAS: Wednesday 16 December, 1998.
• 404 NOT FOUND: Thursday 17 December, 1998.
• WHICH PHILOSOPHY?: Thursday 17 December, 1998.

NOVEMBER 1998

• IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?: Friday 20 November, 1998.
• MOSQUITO COAST AND CRYONICS: Monday 23 November, 1998.

OCTOBER 1998

• THE FEEL OF A BOOK: Sunday 4 October, 1998.
• HE REALLY BELIEVED HE WAS BLESSED: Sunday 4 October, 1998.
• SOMETING LACKING: Sunday 18 October, 1998.
• THE FAMILIAR STRANGER: Wednesday 21 October, 1998.
• THE 'SUPERMAN' PARADOX: Saturday, 24 October, 1998.
• CREATIVITY:
• HTTP: Tuesday 27 October, 1998.

SEPTEMBER 1998

• DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT PRINCESS DI?: Wednesday 2 September, 1998.
• BEING AND TECHNOLOGY: Thursday 3 September, 1998.
• HOW MUCH IS ONE LIFE WORTH?: Friday 4 September, 1998.
• AUTOMATA VS CYBORGS: Wednesday 9 September, 1998.
• WHY WOULD CYBORGS BE PREFERENTIAL TO AUTOMATONS?: Wednesday 9 September, 1998.
• WHAT DOES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MEAN FOR THE PROSPERITY OF AUTOMATONS?: Wednesday 9 September, 1998.
• VIOLENT EXTREMES:Monday 14 September, 1998.
• HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?: Saturday 19 September, 1998.
• I HAD A DREAM: Sunday 27 September, 1998.
• WRITING, WRITING, WRITING: Sunday 27 September, 1998.

AUGUST 1998

• PROCESSED LIFE: Sunday 2 August, 1998.
• THE IMAGE: IS IT CLEAR ENOUGH?: Thursday 13 August, 1998.
• TOUR DE FRANCE: Tuesday 18 August, 1998.
• SENSATIONALISING THE ENHANCEMENT: Sunday 23 August, 1998.
• NOTHING COMPARES: Sunday 23 August, 1998.
• HOW MANY TIMES CAN THEY HURT ME?: Monday 24 August, 1998.

JULY 1998

• A QUESTION OF LOCATION: Sunday 12 July, 1998.
• THE REALITY OF U.S:
• EXTREME EXPERIENCES:
• BECOMING:Tuesday 21 July, 1998.
• DELEUZE & MEMORY:
• "WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?":
• THESIS REVISITED:
• NOT OUT TONITE:
• THE RIDE: Friday 31 July, 1998.

JUNE 1998

• REALITY AND EPI: Monday 8 June, 1998.
• ANOTHER GOOD IDEA: Tuesday 9 June, 1998.
• MANUFACTURING MY WORK: Wednesday 17 June, 1998.
• CREATIVE WRITING: Sunday 21 June, 1998.

MAY 1998

• REEVALUATING SPORT: CHESS RULES!: Tuesday 5 May, 1998.
• NOTHING TO SEE HERE: Tuesday 26 May, 1998.
• INTRODUCTION TO PAPER 1:

APRIL 1998

• MECHANICAL EVOLUTION: Friday 3 April, 1998.
• THE TREADMILL:
• UNCERTAIN: Wednesday 8 April, 1998.

MARCH 1998

• DIRECTION: Sunday 8 March, 1998.
• KINDS OF TECHNOLOGY: Monday 9 March, 1998.
• PARENTAL SERVICE:Tuesday 10 March, 1998.
• THE RANDOMNESS OF TEXT: Monday 16 March, 1998.
• AN AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE?: Monday 23 March, 1998.
• MEDALS AND MORONS:
• THE MONEY:
• DARWIN, GREATNESS, AND THE NEED FOR BACKGROUND: Saturday 28 March. 1998.

FEBRUARY 1998

• THE SPORT OF CHESS: Tuesday 2 February, 1998
• THE PAST: Sunday 8 February, 1998.
• CIRCLE OF KNOWLEDGE: Friday 13 February, 1998.
• JEAN BAUDRILLARD:
• FEMINISM - WHAT LITTLE I KNOW:
• THE EXPERIMENT: Monday 16 February, 1998.
• PROPORTIONAL BEAUTY:
• ALWAYS CHANGING:
• THE SUCCESS OF DECEITFUL SPORTS: Wednesday 18 February, 1998.
• MECHANICAL BOREDOM:
• NECESSARILY HUMAN SPORT: Friday, 20 February, 1998.

JANUARY 1998

• EMOTION: Thursday 1 January, 1998.
• PROPOSAL THOUGHTS: Thursday 1 January, 1998.
• TIME MAXIMISATION IN LEISURE: Friday 2 January, 1998.
• THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HUMAN ERROR IN SPORT: Friday 2 January, 1998.
• RACE: Sunday 4 January, 1998.
• PLANNING A THESIS:Thursday 6 January, 1998.
• PC DEPENDENT:
• RE-STRUCTURING SPORT: Tuesday 27 January, 1998.
• ENDURING CORRUPTION IN SPORT:
• THE FRAGMENTED OVERMAN:
• THE CYBERSPACE AGE OR STILL PRIMITIVE MAN?: Thursday 29 January, 1998.
• ATHLETE, OVERMAN, PRISONER:
• THE USE AND ABUSE OF "VR":

1997

DECEMBER 1997

• THE FUTURE OF SPORT: AN ACCESSIBLE TEXT: Monday 1 December, 1997.
• DOES TECHNOLOGY MAKE COMPETITORS EQUAL OR UNEQUAL?: Monday 1 December, 1997.
• IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE: Wednesday 3 December, 1997.
• WHEN DID IT ALL START?:Thursday 4 December, 1997.
• AN EASY TASK FOR THE TECHNO-THEORIST: Thursday 4 December, 1997.
• IS ANYTHING ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN SPORT?: Thursday 4 December, 1997.
• THE INEVITABLE RE-DESCRIPTION: Tuesday 9 December, 1997.
• WHAT IS A CYBORG ANYWAY?: Tuesday 9 December, 1997.
• SOURCES OF THE SELVES: Sunday 21 December, 1997.
• THAT THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE TRUTH: Monday 22 December, 1997.
• TRUE IDENTITIES: Tuesday 23 December, 1997.
• CHOOSING FROM EQUAL ALTERNATIVES: Tuesday 23 December, 1997.
• THE QUEST FOR EXCITEMENT: Tuesday 30 December, 1997.
• BEYOND TECHNOLOGY: Wednesday 31 December, 1997.

NOVEMBER 1997

• ABORTION: Monday 3 November, 1997.
• THE EXTREME SPECTACLE: Wednesday 5 November, 1997.
• SOMEONE HAS ALREADY SAID THAT (ENTRY 1): Saturday 8 November, 1997.
• REFLECTION ON REFLECTION: Tuesday 11 November, 1997.
• THE POSSIBILITY OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Tuesday 18 November, 1997.
• CURRENT STATUS IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Wednesday 19 November, 1997.
• THE PROBLEM WITH 'SIMULATION': Wednesday 19 November, 1997.
• TECHNOLOGISING SPORT TOWARDS THE EXTREME SPECTACLE: Friday, 21 November 1997.
• WHY PERFORMANCE SPORT IS NIHILISTIC: Sunday, 23 November 1997.

OCTOBER 1997

• CONTRACTING TIME AS A MEANS TO LIMITLESS LIFE: Monday 6 October, 1997.
• NO TIME TO REFLECT: Tuesday 21 October, 1997.

SEPTEMBER 1997

• THE NORMALISATION OF SPORT: Monday 8 September, 1997.
• THE PURSUIT FOR OBJECTIVE SUCCESSES: Wednesday 17 September, 1997.
• TECHNOLOGY IN SPORT IV: ARTICLE NO 1.1: Sunday 29 September, 1997.

AUGUST 1997

• PUBLICATION THOUGHTS: Friday 1 August, 1997.
• THE FUTURE OF SPORT: AN INTRODUCTORY ARGUMENT: Monday 4 August, 1997.
• BEGINNING T RESEARCH: Tuesday 5 August, 1997.
• TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE: A RETURN TO FORMS: Tuesday 12 August, 1997.
• THE GREAT PHILOSOPHER (OF A KIND): Friday 15 August, 1997.
• TRUST - WHO MUST YOU?: Friday 15 August, 1997.
• A FUTURE FOR SPORT?: Wednesday 20 August, 1997.
• A POKER FACE, BUT NO HAND: Friday 22 August, 1997.

JULY 1997

• PHILOSOPHY AND ITS VALUES II: Wednesday 2 July, 1997.
• DESCARTES' MIS-MISTRUST: Friday 4 July, 1997.
• THE COMFORT SOCIETY: Wednesday 9 July, 1997.
• THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SPORT: Thursday 17 July, 1997.
• MACHINE DOMINATED SOCIETY?: Sunday 20 July, 1997.
• OBJECTIVITY:
• WHAT SHALL I READ?: Monday 21 July, 1997.
• THE PURSUIT OF CONSISTANCY: Tuesday 22 July, 1997.

JUNE 1997

• PHILOSOPHY AND ITS VALUE: Tuesday 17 June, 1997.
• STANDARDISATION: Monday 23 June, 1997.

MAY 1997

• HUMAN NATURE I: Tuesday 20 May, 1997.
• ARISTOTLE ON HUMAN NATURE: Monday 26 May, 1997.

APRIL 1997

• EVALUATION: Thursday 17 April, 1997.
• ABORTION: Thursday 17 April, 1997.

MARCH 1997

• EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY: Thursday 6 March, 1997.
• FINAL LAP: Friday 7 March, 1997.

FEBRUARY 1997

• TECHNOLOGY IN SPORT II: Saturday 8 February, 1997.
• TECHNOLOGY IN SPORT III: Saturday 8 February, 1997.
• POST-MODERN, NOT ARTIFICIAL: Sunday 9 February, 1997.
• THE SCIENCE OF PHILOSOPHY: Sunday 9 February, 1997.

JANUARY 1997

• SPORT PHILOSOPHY QUESTIONS: Wednesday 1 January, 1997.
• AESTHETICS AND SPORT: Wednesday 1 January, 1997.
• ETHICS AND OTHERS: Wednesday 1 January, 1997.
• CONCLUSION: Thursday 2 January, 1997.
• TECHNOLOGY IN SPORT I: Wednesday 8 January, 1997.
• AUTONOMOUS EXISTENCE:Monday 20 January, 1997.

1996

DECEMBER 1996

• ARTIFICIALITY: Monday 2nd December, 1996
• THE "NUCLEAR": Sunday 15th December, 1996.
• PERFECTION REIGNS:
• THE COMPUTER CONTINGENCY: Tuesday 17 December, 1996.
• MEANINGFUL SPORT PHILOSOPHY: Thursday 19 December, 1996.
• 'BRANSON BALLOONING': Sunday 22 December, 1996.
• SHALLOW MEANING: Friday 27, December, 1996.
• DEFINITIONAL MEANING: Saturday 28 December, 1996.
• SPECIFIC MEANING: Sunday 29 December, 1996.
• WHAT IS MEANINGFUL?: Sunday 29 December, 1996.
• MOVEMENT/LIFE: Sunday 29 December, 1996.
• ASSOCIATED UNIVERSALS: Monday 30 December, 1996.
• ETHICS IS SPORT PHILOSOPHY: Tuesday 31 December, 1996.

NOVEMBER 1996

• CHICKEN OR THE EGG?: Sunday 10 November, 1996.
• SACRIFICE VS PRESENT LIVING: Thursday 14 November, 1996.

OCTOBER 1996

• THE SOVEREIGNTY OF REASON: Friday 4 October, 1996.
• THE SOVEREIGNTY OF REASON: Sunday 6 October, 1996.
• COMPETITION IN YOUTH SPORT: Tuesday 8 October, 1996.
• THE FUTURE OF SPORT: Wednesday 23 October, 1996.

SEPTEMBER 1996

• DEFYING ONE RATIONALE: Sunday 1 September, 1996.
• INTELLECT AND INFINITE REGRESS: Monday 2 September, 1996.
• POWER, HISTORY, & THE GAMES: Friday 6 September, 1996.
• PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: FROM A TO B: Wednesday 11 September, 1996.
• ESTABLISHING THE RELATIONSHIP: Sunday 15 September, 1996.
• WRITING: THE SKILL (REF): Friday 20 September, 1996.
• FAIRNESS: Monday 23 September, 1996.

AUGUST 1996

• LIMITATIONS OF LANGUAGE: Saturday 3 August, 1996.
• OBSERVABLE MINDS: Thursday 15 August, 1996.
• VISUAL INFORMATION: Saturday 17 August, 1996.
• CHAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF ESSENCE: Monday 26 August, 1996.
• ERROR OF MEASUREMENT: Tuesday 27 August, 1996.
• REEXAMINING THE ISSUE: Wednesday 28 August, 1996.
• EXPERIENCE VS PERCEPTION: Thursday 29 August, 1996.

JULY 1996

• JUSTIFYING THE PURSUIT: Monday 1 July, 1996.
• THE MIND AND BODY OF SCIENCE: Friday 5 July, 1996.
• CHANGING THE GAME: Sunday 7 July, 1996.
• GREED DESTROYS PERFECTION: Monday 8 July, 1996.
• A NEED FOR QUALITIATIVE STUDY: Sunday 14 July, 1996.
• STRIVING FOR UNITY: Monday 15 July, 1996.
• KNOWLEDGE FROM REHEARSAL: Tuesday 16 July, 1996.
• SPORT DEVELOPS INTELLECT: Wednesday 17 July, 1996.
• MISLEADING INTUITION: Saturday 20 July, 1996.
• HUMANITY AND THE DIVINE: Monday 22 July, 1996.
• INTERPRETIVE EVALUATIONS: Monday 29 July, 1996.
• RECIPROCITY & CO-DEPENDENCE: Tuesday 30 July, 1996.
• DEFINITIONAL FALLACY: Wednesday 31 July, 1996.

JUNE 1996

• INITIAL THOUGHT: Saturday 23 June, 1996.
• MANUFACTURED REALITY: Monday 24 June, 1996.
• MASTERING THE TOOLS: Tuesday 25 June, 1996.
• AGGRESSION & WINNING: Thursday 27 June, 1996.
• WORK & SIGNIFICANCE: Friday 28 June, 1996.

MIT, Harvard and Nostalgia

In 2005, I was invited to speak at Harvard Law School. I had a few days around Cambridge and Boston and dedicated a page on my website to what I found. In the transition to my new site, this page recreates that experience. The new Stata building at MIT is reminiscent of Gehry's other recent work, particularly Bilbao's Guggenheim. It also has the wild techno-organic quality of Edinburgh's Holyrood, designed by the late Enric Miralles. The first day I visited the campus was so beautiful that the reflection on the panels was dazzling. I was told that this building was very controversial, partly due to its  design being noncontextual. All images are now on flickr

Harvard University

I didn't spend much time looking around the university, which seems to consist of a strange mix of ancient grandeur and tourist fiesta. However, when you get into the campus, the atmosphere is much more calm and reflective. Even if you dont read, it feels like you should go to find a library.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

I spent a few hours on a couple of different days walking around the campus. I was lucky enough to have a friend to give me a guided tour, who is working in a elite sport technology centre, on product design and development.

From BALCO to Bioethics, Harvard Law School

The symposium was organised by Dan Vorhaus in the Ethics, Law and Biotechnology Society and was hosted by the Harvard Law School and a range of other sponsors. The panel consisted of myself, Professor Dan Brock, Dr Olivier Rabin (WADA), and was chaired by Dr Gil Siegal. There could not have been a better venue for this debate, since there is so much work to be done on the legal dimensions of gene doping. For more details about this meeting, visit the bioethics and sport blog.

Cambridge & Boston, MA

Staying in between MIT and Harvard places you a little outside of Boston. The subway is very quick, but it helps to stay at a location near to one of the stations. I spent a day looking around Boston, the usual hot spots. The Institute for Contemporary Art around Back Bay is worth a visit. A small space, but some good work. If you stay in Cambridge, it is worthwhile residing around Harvard Square, which is a very active place with lots of nice bars. Unfortunately, it is not cheap!

Edinburgh Biomedical Ethics Film Festival

I'll be part of 2 panels on Eugenics, the first movie is GATTACA. Here's the full programme"

Eugenics: Science Fiction or Future Reality?

Biomedical Ethics Film Festival on the topic of Eugenics 20-22 November 2009 – Edinburgh Filmhouse - 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9BZ Box Office Tel: 0131 228 2688

Should society create the perfect human race? Is this already happening? Why should parents not seek to have the perfect child? These are some of the questions which will be asked in a three-day biomedical ethics film festival taking place in Edinburgh between the 20th – 22nd of November 2009. At the end of each film, a discussion will be taking place with a panel of 3-4 invited experts in bioethics, science, law, medicine and politics who will support, but not take over, a debate lasting 30-45 min with the general public attending the film.

Friday the 20th of November 2009 – 17.45 hrs

Homo Sapiens 1900 - Swedish Documentary in English Directed by Peter Cohen (1998) - 88 min

This documentary reflects the birth and rise of the eugenics movement in the early 20th century. At this time, it was generally accepted in a number of countries including Germany and Russia to justify ‘weeding out’ those individuals who were considered as an undesirable burden to society. Saturday the 21st of November 2009 – 13.00 hrs

My Sister’s Keeper - Drama, USA (2009) - 109 min

Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian Fitzgerald (Jason Patric) have just been informed that their young daughter Kate will die of leukaemia. Because of this, the doctor suggests that the parents try an unorthodox medical procedure to create a new child in a test-tube who would be a perfect match, as a cell and tissue donor, for Kate. However, at age 11, and when this new child is asked to also give a kidney to her older sister, she decides to sue her parents for the right to decide how her body will be used.

Sunday the 22nd of November 2009 - 13.00 hrs

Gattaca - Drama, USA, Director: Andrew Niccol (1997) - 112 min

In a future society, the wealthy can choose the genetic makeup of their children and people are designed to fit into whatever role is decided before birth. But one of the natural non-improved young men, Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), who has several serious defects, develops a different outlook on life with his pre-ordained fate.

Sunday the 22nd of November 2009 - 15.45 hrs (Three short films)

Eugenic Questions – Documentary Directed by Angel-benito Garcia-Anta (2009) - 15 min.

What are some of the questions being asked by members of the general public in Scotland about eugenics? This short documentary, made specially for the film festival, will seek to understand some of the issues raised.

Who's afraid of designer babies? - BBC Horizon Documentary (2005) – 50 min

What is a 'designer baby' and can we really make one today? This edition of Horizon aims to cut through the hype and distortions to get to the truth. The film looks at three techniques often linked to alarmist headlines about designer babies: preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), gene therapy and cloning. The documentary asks if any of these technologies will really give us the ability to hand-pick the genes of our children.

The Gift - BBC adaptation of the play of the same name (1995) - 38 min

Ryan is a carrier for a genetic condition that will kill his big sister. When he grows up to become a geneticist, he finds that both he and his wife are at risk of having a child with a severe genetic disorder. Thus, they decide to choose which embryo will develop into their child. However, when Ryan selects an embryo free from the debilitating gene, he also secretly opts for a child with special athletic abilities. Once discovered, Ryan’s actions prompt conflict and anger.

The film festival is organised in partnership with: (1) the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics,

(2) the Edinburgh Filmhouse (venue for the event), (3) the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland Branch of the British Science Association and (4) the ESRC Genomics Forum at

Review Essays

Miah, A. (2005) Virtually Posthuman, review of Virtual Worlds by Pramod Nayar, Delhi: SAGE, 2004. Media, Culture & Society, 27(4), 626-630. Miah, A. (2006) Doctor, Can You Fix My Broken Heart? Journal of Medical Humanities [in press].

Miah, A. (2005) Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet by Lisa Nakamura, London and New York: Routledge (2002). Media, Culture & Society, 27(1), 145-147.

Drake, P. and Miah, A. (2004) Playing on the Level: Digital Games Research Association Inaugural Conference Media, Culture, and Society, 26(6), pp.906-909.

Miah, A. (2002) Trigger Happy: The inner life of video games by Steven Poole, Fourth Estate (2001), Media, Culture & Society, 24(6), 855-856.

Miah, A. (2000) Dying to win: Doping in sport and the development of anti-doping policy by Barrie M.J. Houlihan, Strasbourg, Council of Europe Publishing (1999), Sport Education and Society, 5(1), 92-94.