3 Men Get Bionic Hands

Advances in Prosthetics

 (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27024-men-have-hands-amputated-and-replaced-with-bionic-ones.html#.VO-QIi7CDIU

1)  How do we know what is true in science?  Is there evidence that this is a promising treatment for many amputees?  What percentage of a body can be replaced before questions of humanity arise?

2)  Why might a person in thee military view this differently than someone who is related to a person born with no arms?  Can I look at it from the recipient's viewpoint?  How is my own experience limited in this story?  How is it related?

3)  How is this connected to sports?  To the military?  Video Games?

4)  How would history change if famous amputees had bionic prostheses?  What if our government banned these prostheses?  What if the government diverted massive funding to researchers studying this?  

5)  Why is this significant?  Is there something more important I should be considering?  If this doesn't affect my life, whose will it impact?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can outline the development of prosthetics and predict future trends and their social impact.

2)  Students can consider "The Ship of Theseus" and draw connections to prostheitcs and ideas in transhumanism.

What Happens When You Stop Checking Your Phone? (Video)

Creativity Happens When You Stop Checking Your Phone

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/385434/creative-ideas-happen-when-you-stop-checking-your-phone/

-The Atlantic

1)  How many times is "too many times" to check your phone in a day?  How do you know?  What other relevant numbers would help us understand this issue?  Is boredom good?  How could you prove boredom and creativity are correlated?

2)  Why might parents feel differently about this than students?  Why might Nigerians feel differently about this than Canadians?  Whose perspective is most relevant in instituting a school-wide policy on mobile phone use?

3)  How is this connected to science?  How is this connected to math?  In what ways is this issue similar to the rise in popularity of printed materials?  How is it different?  Are doodling and checking Instagram related?

4)  What would happen if your school instituted a policy of "no mobile phones" in your school?  What if parents were held legally responsible for their  child's boredom levels?  What would happen if a "pro-boredom" campaign was instituted at your school?

5)  In what ways is this relevant in your life?  Do you think about your own phone use?  Do others comment on your phone use?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students monitor, chart and present their mobile phone use.  They develop plans for increasing or decreasing their current use as they see fit.

2)  Students write "alarmist" articles about older technologies where where they warn users of the potential effects of over-use (i.e. microwave, automobile, internet)

Man Growing an Ear on Own Arm...for Art

Man Growing an Ear on Own Arm...for Art

Image by Nina Sellars, courtesy Stelarc

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/02/stelarc_and_other_contemporary_artists_experiment_with_science.html 

1)  What evidence is most convincing that this is art?  What proof do we have that he is an artist?  

2)  Why might his artist friend feel differently about this than a deaf person?  Why might a Chinese person view this differently than an American?  How is my own experience limited in this story?  How is it related?

3)  How is this connected to the GMO food debate?  How is this connected to plastic surgery? Van Gogh?

4)  What would happen if we banned this for art?  Medical use?    

5)  Is this relevant more now or will it be in the future?  What is the long term effect of this modification?  Who is most affected by this?  

Extension Activities

1)  Students can research body modification through time or through cultures and propose future modification trends.

2)  Students can research about the limits of art and defend a policy limit to art or support for unrestricted freedom of expression.

Office Puts Chip in Workers' Skin

Office Puts Chip in Workers' Skin

Stock image.   (Shutterstock)
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31042477

1)  What evidence is convincing enough for you to trust the company that makes these?  What medical evidence would you look for?

2)  Why might the Swiss view this differently than Americans?  Would I change my opinion about this if I was 35?

3)  How is this connected to religion?  How is this connected to sports?  Crime?

4)  What if this was banned?  What if you could implant your phone?

5)  What are the long term effects of wearbale technology?  What are the larger impacts on the issue of Privacy.

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can research wearable technology through time.
2)  Students can debate the ethics of Google Glass.

Sub's Letter to Parents Sparks Debate

Kirksville substitute teacher scolds doctor, wife for daughter’s lunch which included marshmallows, pickles

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/stargazing/article8012370.html#storylink=cpy

(Justin Puckett/Facebook)
http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/stargazing/article8012370.html

1)  What evidence is most convincing in configuring a healthy lifestyle? What is the best way to determine thee truth in this story?  In what ways do we have access to that info?  What word used in the note is most convincing?  In the parents' post?

2)  Why might a grandmother feel differently about this issue than a parent? Why might Michelle Obama think differently than this doctor?  What are their motivations?

3)  In what ways is this connected to politics?  In what ways is this issue connected to psychology? Math?

4)  What if it was the regular teacher that wrote the note?  What if he'a doctor of nutrition?  Pediatrician?  Dentist?

5)  In what ways is this relevant?  What are the long-term effects of this note on the district?  The children?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students can develop a healthy diet using only processed/fast/junk foods.

2)  Students can research the limits of parenting philosophies as they relate to the well-being of children through recent examples.

Prank Caller Reaches UK Prime Minister

Prank Caller Reaches UK Prime Minister

(AP Photo/Peter Macdiarmid, Pool)
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-30977267

1)  What evidence would be compelling for a task force devising a policy for greater phone security?  Why would a Head of State need security for communications?  What evidence might be David Cameron have had that made him hang up?

2)  Why might PM Cameron's family have a different perspective on this issue than the Obamas?  Similar?  How is my own experience limited in this story?  How is it related? 

3)  How is this connected to hacking?  How is this connected to the NSA scandal?  How is this connected to science?  Twitter?

4)  What if the PM gave out his personal phone number to the public?  Would this story have been reported 25 years ago?

5)  Why is this story significant?  Why might this be remembered 10 years form now?  

Extension Activities:
1)  Students can research the "Phreaking" incident and chart it's significance to modern communications.

2)  Students can develop a spectrum of acceptable pranks and carry out a benign joke at school.

Worst Passwords

The List of Worst Passwords

(iStockPhoto)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/01/21/378852500/is-your-online-password-on-the-worst-password-list

1)  What evidence makes this story more funny than concerning?  What evidence would be most compelling in getting you to switch your passwords monthly?      

2)  Why might a Google executive view this differently than a member of the Tea Party?  Who would you want to have your phone's lock code the least?

3)  In what ways is this connected to math?  How might we connect this to psychology?

4)  How would internet use be different if there were no more passwords?  What if thumbprints were the only acceptable form of identification?  

5)  Is this more relevant to to the banking industry or social media companies?  What are the legal ramifications of hacked passwords?

Extension Activities:

1)  Students calculate the chances of discovering PINs and Passwrods accidentally depending on the numbers of variables.
2)  Students study the Enigma Project and connect its success to the Allied Victory of WWII.