Ye Esoteric Archive

Esoteric Archives, online source for all things old-school + occult-ey.

Slightly larger-than-you Brother

via the BBC:

biometric ID cards, and

bio-met passports.

Passports contain facial recognition data (distance between features, mainly), ID cards contain digital fingerprints and what have you. C'mon, no retinal scan? Wankers.

Ethics of Mars Colonization

via Slate: rational discussion of some of the impracticalities and ethical requirements for moving human life to Mars.

Sonar-Boy & Echolocation

via Slate: Child loses eyes very young, turns to clicking & listening. Yes, his name should be Matt Murdoch.

"Paranoid Style" in American Science

via Slate: Final installment of 3 linked features on the "paranoid style" of journalism, here used to demonize the scientific establishment.

Damn Pishtacos!

via Slate: False police reporting of Peruvian gang that harvests people for their fat, selling it to wealthy americans. Builds on 400-year-old legends of the "pishtaco"

History of Media Tech-scares

via Slate: printing press, early tv, and the internets