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Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Saturday 7 March 2015

New app that analyses facial expressions will be able to tell if you're lying -

New app that analyses facial expressions will be able to tell if you're lying - 



You may actually have to tell the truth at your future job interviews thanks to new software that acts as a 'lie detector' by analysing your facial expressions. 
It has been created by American company ooVoo who believe it will be useful in the world of business and politics, according to the Telegraph.
Researchers fed a computer huge amounts of pictures showing human expressions - collected as part of a project on autism - to 'teach' it how to read emotions, Christopher Williams reported.
But even the firm behind the technology admits 'it is going to cause some worries for people' because of privacy issues.

It could also be used during financial negotiations to gauge if someone is going to commit to deal, according to ooVoo, which is working in partnership with a leader in perceptual computing and emotional analytics.
Affectiva's technology was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
The firm is also planning to use the app in retail to see how customers react to a particular product or display.
The company - whose web-conferencing app has been downloaded by over 100 million people worldwide - unveiled their new software at the mobile industry's biggest technology showcase in Barcelona this week.

Political pollsters are already planning to use it on a wide scale during the next US presidential election next year after testing it in the country.
With more and more employers interviewing potential candidates over video chat, it could be used to gather more information about their body language - and even if they are lying. 
The managing director of Myrian Capital who own ooVoo believes this would simply be 'another source of data' for employers.

He said: 'There are major implications of this , including privacy and it is going to cause some worries for people.
'But history shows these worries get addressed wither by regulation or people just getting used to things.'
More complicated and potentially controversial versions of the software are also in development. 

Read more - 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2984148/How-s-poker-face-New-app-analyses-facial-expressions-able-tell-potential-employers-lying.html

How ADHD Is Linked To A Failing Education System -

How ADHD Is Linked To A Failing Education System - 



This powerful animation is based on a TED talk by leading education expert Sir Ken Robinson, whose passion and knowledge about his subject matter may forever change your perspective on traditional schooling.

Robinson’s first TED talk was entitled ‘How schools kill creativity’, (JON IF THAT ONE IS PUBLISHED FIRST, PLEASE ADD THE LINK HERE) and is one of the most popular TED talks of all time. He has since given more lectures on how traditional systems of education are failing children around the world, and this fantastic cartoon sketch by RSA Animate does a great job of adding imagery to Robinson’s powerful message on ADHD.

Robinson calls the condition a “fictitious epidemic” and blames the huge rise in ADHD cases on two things: Firstly, what he calls “medical fashion”, and secondly, the huge failure of the education system to keep children interested in what they are learning.

Robinson’s main bugbear is that schools stamp out a child’s ability to think outside the box, not to mention their thirst for knowledge and love of learning. He speaks about how the current system of education was born, and how it bears no relevance whatsoever to the modern world we should be preparing our children for. Like fellow education expert Marty Nemko, Sir Ken believes that “Working hard and getting a college degree is no longer a guarantee of a good career.”

“The problem is, the current system of education was designed, conceived and structured for a different age,” he argues. “It was conceived in the intellectual culture of the enlightenment, and in the economic circumstances of the industrial revolution.” This system, claims Robinson, “Has caused chaos in many people’s lives.”



Robinson believes that ADHD is a by-product of this chaos, pointing out that the condition “has risen in parallel with the growth of standardized testing”. He questions whether the children who are being prescribed Ritalin to calm them down aren’t simply being anesthetized instead, adding that a focus on the arts (being present and fully alive) would be a much better solution to the problem of boredom and fidgeting in class. “Anesthetics shut your senses off and deaden them,” says Robinson. “We shouldn’t be putting [children] to sleep; we should be waking them up.”

Robinson cites a very interesting study which proves beyond a doubt that education is fundamentally at odds with divergent thinking (what you or I may refer to as ‘thinking outside of the box’). While 98% of 1500 kindergarten kids tested performed well at thinking of various ways to use a paperclip, five years later this had dropped to just 50% of the same group tested. It continues to deteriorate as the child goes through the education system.

Robinson makes an excellent case about how group work is a key part of socialization and education, highlighting the fact that traditional schooling teaches our children the very opposite lesson: “They spend years at school being told: ‘There’s one answer, it’s at the back. Don’t look and don’t copy’. Inside school that’s cheating; outside school that’s collaboration.”

In summary, Robinson makes a strong case for a paradigm shift in the way we educate our children. We need to stop assuming that age is the best way to group them. We need to stop focusing on standardized tests, stop drugging them, and focus on individual achievement and ability. And finally, we need to value creativity in the same way we value academia.



Read More: http://www.trueactivist.com/how-adhd-is-linked-to-a-failing-education-system/