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Eminent biologist E.O. Wilson has an ambitious idea to conserve and save the majority of life on the planet from extinction. He suggests that as the mass extinction of the natural world is among the greatest threats humanity faces, one that we have ourselves created.

With the rate of extinction at least 1,000 times higher than at any time in Earth’s history, the project explained in detail in his book, Half-Earth, offers an enormous solution to an enormous problem - that we conserve half the land and sea on the planet for nature, which would have the effect of protecting 85% of species from extinction.

In conjunction, The Half-Earth Project campaigns to build collaboration between experts, raising conservation efforts to a new level while enhance our resilience. With ‘science at its core and our transcendent moral obligation to the rest of life at its heart. In collaboration with our partners, we are working to power one of the grandest conservation efforts of our time, and provide the urgently needed research, leadership and knowledge necessary to conserve half the planet for the rest of life’.

By bringing together wide ranging fields of expertise the project hopes to comprehensively address the extinction crisis and support a culture that works together to protect life on earth for the future. 

The book, is available from Amazon here.

Sculptor Tim Linhart creates musical instruments from ice for performances in a giant igloo-like concert hall at Luleå, in northernmost Swedish Lapland.

From xylophone to cello, these beautiful instruments sound incredible and the listening environment is unique.

You can listen to the instruments here.

Or, take a look at this short video -

Koka Nikoladze is a sound artist and musician from Geogia, now living in Norway, who turns his hand to creating programmable music making machines from analog components.

This particular instrument sounds amazing and features both analog and electronic elements including an Arduino controller.

We hope to get Koka to come and play at a Tekku event in future and perhaps run a music box building workshop with us too.

You can learn more about Koka here.

cellF is an autonomous instrument made of a brain, composed of biological neural networks, and a body made of analog modular synthesisers. cellF uses actual neural networks bioengineered from the cells of its creator Guy Ben-Ary.

There is no programming nor are any computers involved. cellF exists and operates purely through the collaboration between biological matter and analog circuits. 

Watch cellF in action here:

Through Ben-Ary’s creation, the musician and instrument become one entity. 

cellF first performed a live set with Tokyo based drummer, Darren Moore . The drum sounds are fed into the neural network as electrical impulses. cellF then responds to these impulses by controlling the synthesisers, creating what Ben-Ary describes as, ‘an improvised posthuman sound performance’. Observes noted a very noticeable action, reaction and interaction between the human and the ‘other’ musician.

Ben-Ary’s external ‘brain’ has it’s own finite life cycle - while it is with us, it lives in a petri / MEA dish that houses a set of sensors. A surrond sound system of 16 speakers is placed around the room in relation to the sensors within the dish to deliver a spatial understanding to the audience relating to where in the 'brain' the sound has come from.

Guy has shown work at the Beijing National Art Museum, San Paulo Biennale and the Moscow Biennale. His work can also be seen in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In 2009, his work Silent Barrage was awarded an Honorary Mention in Prix Ars Electronica (Austria) and also won first prize at VIDA, an international competition for Art and Artificial Life.

More about Guy Ben-Ary and cellF can be found here: http://guybenary.com/work/cellf/

David Tong is a Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge. He studies the huge topic of Quantum Field Theory which affects many aspects of physics and mathematics. His work has covered quantum field theory related to string theory, supersymmetry, solitons, geometry, cosmology and condensed matter physics. You can read more about his research and publications here and find many of his lecture notes and teaching resources on various theoretical physics topics here.

According to our best current theories of physics, derived from the Standard Model, despite popular (mis)understanding, largely due to what we are taught in school, the fundamental building blocks of matter are not in fact particles, but continuous fluid like substances known as quantum fields. In the excellent lecture, David Tong offers a primer on the subject and explains what we know so far about these fields, and how they fit into our understanding of the Universe.

This video is part of the great work shared by the Royal Institution of Great Britain to showcase the very best in science. The Royal Institution is an independent charity dedicated to connecting people to the world of science.

We highly recommend spending time exploring the extensive video collection on the Royal Institution channel: http://richannel.org

Strange Beasts is a superb short film showing a possible future based in a speculative everyday (augmented) reality. Considering the capabilities of some of today’s technologies something like this could potentially happen soon.

With excellent CGI and a skilful light touch - the film draws out attention to many of the issues that such a reality would raise. Visually impressive and possibly fun, there is a darker undertone reflecting on blind acceptance and mass adoption of anything new, and on loneliness.

This is certainly a future we could have - but do we want it?

Judge for yourself here:

Strange Beasts was written, directed and produced by Magali Barbé. Co-produced by: Red Knuckles, Peanut. imdb.com/title/tt5638002/

And If you're curious about the production process, more info can be found at - magalibarbe.com/

The archive of Alan Lomax is one of the greatest heritage resources created in the modern era. Without the pioneering recordings of Lomax, there is so much valuable music we simply would never have had access too.

This fantastic example, a low slung, low tuned delta blues locked into a solid groove, is an improvisation by Belton Sutherland. It was recorded at Maxwell's farm near Canton, Mississippi, September 3, 1978. 

Cultural Equity are the custodians of Lomax’s archive and say:

‘On November 2, 2001, the principle of cultural equity as a human right was affirmed in UNESCO's Universal Declaration of Cultural Diversity, which put defense of culture on a par with protection of the environment and individual rights. That cultural diversity is as essential for human survival as biodiversity was first stated by Alan Lomax, who was dismayed that mass communications and centralized education systems were crushing local languages and expressive traditions. Against objections that scholars shouldn't act as cultural arbiters, he maintained that folklorists and anthropologists could not ethically stand by while the world's cultural variety was "grayed out" by standardization, economies of scale, and powerful entertainment industries’.

We have much respect for the work of Lomax and Cultural Equity. As well as sharing with us this wonderful, priceless resource, their work remind us to consider - 

Without culture, who are we?

Have a listen and watch the video to the recording here:

Bird Sounds is collaborative AI experiment by Google Creative Lab, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Macaulay Library built using open source code.

This experiment uses machine learning to organize thousands of recordings of different bird sounds using only audio analysis technology putting the most similar sounds together.

The experiment was built by Kyle McDonald, Manny Tan, Yotam Mann, and their friends at Google Creative Lab.

For more info, take a look here:

https://aiexperiments.withgoogle.com/bird-sounds/view/

The harsh mountain environment in the Ladakh region of India, high in the Himalayas, experiences acute water shortages due to climate change. . .

Engineer Sonam Wangchuk has created these artificial glaciers, known as ice stupas, using a glacier grafting technique resulting in a simple and effective way to store water that will later be used to irrigate trees and crops.

The artificial glaciers are almost 40m high and can store up to 16,000 litres of fresh water which is much needed people and the cold desert environment of the region.

Sonam was one of the winners of the 2016 Rolex Awards for Enterprise in Environment and is using his prize money to build more ice stupas in the region.

Learn more about the project and the award here: 

http://www.rolexawards.com/40/laureate/sonam-wangchuk

Take care of new ideas - they can be fragile and may be destroyed before they’ve had chance to get going.

Without much thought, a great idea can be snuffed out in an instant. Many of the most powerful ideas in the world had frail beginnings.

It sometimes feels as though the good ideas are already out there just waiting to be revealed. That’s because they are. Nearly all ‘new’ ideas are reimaginings of older ideas. By recombining fundamental elements in different ways, new things emerge. This has certainly been a familiar experience for a number of people I've known and worked with over the years - maybe for you too?

Be rigorous with ideas and their recombinations - but don’t be rash - if it’s not for now, then keep it in the pot for another time, but do keep it. It will be useful eventually, either directly or obliquely. Maybe it just needs a different context or shaking up with a few other ideas into something new?

Take notes - collect stuff, hand written or digital, fill scraps of paper and sketch notes, annotate books or take clippings from magazines, newspapers and websites - whatever works for you.

Be like the fabled magpie (*they don’t really collect shiny things). Gather what catches your eye, even if you’re not sure why, or where it will fit in. . . especially if you’re not sure where it will fit in.

Trust me, it’ll come in handy.

/// KC

“For machines to be intelligent, that means taking good decisions. In order to take good decisions they need knowledge.”

Yoshua Bengio known for his work on artificial neural networks and deep learning, helps us understand this technology and separates the fact from the fiction about how these systems work and where they are heading.

From self driving cars, to bots, to how we interact with computers and artificial intelligence - deep learning is behind it all.

A Truly Magical Moment. 2016.

Adam Basanta - http://adambasanta.com

We’ve followed the work of Adam Basanta for a while now. This interactive kinetic sculpture uses 2 x iPhone 4s, selfie sticks, aluminum, electronics and bluetooth chips.

‘Two lovers in the middle of the dance floor. They link arms and begin to spin. The room blurs as they stare deep into each other’s eyes.

This classic scene is found throughout modern romantic cinema, often shot from an over-the-shoulder and point-of-view cinematography. In A Truly Magical Moment, visitors can re-enact this “Magical Moment” using the contemporary communication tool for many long-distance relationships: Apple’s proprietary FaceTime technology.

Gallery visitors and online guests can use their iPhones or computers to video chat the two FaceTime accounts. When two guests connect one to each phone in a virtual “face to face”, the sculpture begins to spin, reaching dizzying speeds while romantic music plays in the background. At top speed, the background blurs and warps, while the image of your dance-partner remains in focus.

After 60 seconds of a “Truly Magical Moment” - a wordless, “genuine connection” with another person - the rotation slows down to a standstill, while a nearby digital counter keeps count of the amount of “Magical Moments” enabled throughout the exhibition.’

A lecture from Professor of Philosophy Christoph Cox tracing the history of sound art from the invention of audio recording in the late 19th century to the genre-bending compositions of John Cage to the explosion of sound installation in the 1960s. Cox surveys a range of sonic practices, revealing how they resemble and resist approaches in the visual arts.

He is the author of Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music and his new book Sonic Flux: Sound Art and Metaphysics is due soon.

There is a secret in this painting of John Dee (1527–1608/9) by Henry Gillard Glindoni (1852–1913).

Scientists, using an X ray to investigate the history of the painting, showed that underneath the current image, Dee had originally been depicted in a circle of human skulls. It is not known why Glindoni chose to represent Dee this way, nor why he later painted over the image.

The hidden skulls can be seen here:

John Dee was an extraordinary and intriguing figure in British culture. Known as an adviser to Elizabeth I, an occult philosopher and magician. Dee straddles both mainstream and esoteric history.

Regarded as an excellent scientist and first rate thinker, his modern reputation is sometimes questioned due to his associations with sorcery and magic. However, his influence and intellect should not be overlooked. Dee was a respected polymath and during his life, he was very well connected with figures of power and many intellectuals across Europe, from royalty to astronomy pioneer Tycho Brahe.

His ‘sorcery’ included the magnificent creation of a giant flying mechanical dung beetle that carried an actor into the air in an impressive theatrical display. It is often suggested that Dee was also the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Prospero.

An innovative, elegant and affordable approach to mine clearance. This life saving design was created by Massoud Hassani.

The first major global knowledge sharing technology was language. The next evolutionary step was the development of writing and of course, we all know from there that the big technological leap was the invention of the printing press which enabled the mass distribution of writing.

This was the beginning of the democratisation of knowledge.

Mass distribution of ideas became possible, and with it, all our vocabularies expanded - not just the number of words we know but the 'vocabularies of possible ideas' themselves.

Through sharing, more could be imagined. More became possible. More could be thought. More could be done.

Though the power and control of the presses remained with their owners, this eventually led to the opportunity you, or anyone with Internet access has today to share ideas freely - complete with the largest distribution network in the history of the world.

Ideas are all around us, but out of reach in other people's heads. Unless shared, they remain as unused potential.

Sharing an idea, opens it to scrutiny, discussion, review and reworking. An unshared idea is useless to the rest of us.

Sharing releases its power as a flexible thought unit, making it available for collaborative development, consideration, use, reuse, and reinvention. If it remains in your head, what good is that? Shared with others, it has the potential to become more than a single mind can make it.

When we stop thinking of ideas as 'our' possessions, and we stop thinking of them as fixed, they become more powerful. Through sharing, ideas become malleable flows of thought that we can collaboratively shape in new, previously unimagined ways.

Why not get some of your ideas out there? See what you can do when they combine with others - do they play nicely?

(If not, you've always got the choice of moving on to something new - or collaborating with others to develop and improve the idea together).