Here are this week's best news, stories and memes on the topic of tomorrow. Miss something? Add it to the comments below :)
E.O. Wilson has a fascinating op-ed on how altruisim and selfishness evolved as advantageous traits in humans and what the future of this inner conflict holds. He says, "We will find a way eventually to live with our inborn turmoil, and perhaps find pleasure in viewing it as a primary source of our creativity."
If aliens attack, Americans trust President Obama more than Romney to handle the situation. [HuffPo]
"Generational warfare" is a term thrown around too often these days, but David Leonhardt has a hyperbole-free column on the dangerous divide that has opened between old and young. He concludes of the younger generation, "They wish the country would devote more attention to its future, especially on education and the climate. They, of course, will have to live with that future." Read the whole thing here.
The phrase "uncanny valley" has been popping up a lot (IEEE, The Verge, PC Magazine, NY Times). It refers to the point at which a technology's helpfulness veers from useful to creepy. Check out Wikipedia's entry on it and then the IEEE link for the full translated version of the 1970 paper that brought the meme into existence.
A Back to the Future hoax spred like wildfire on Facebook this week. In BTF II, Marty McFly traveled to October 21, 2015, but someone mocked up an image of the Delorean's dashboard to make it look like he traveled to June 27, 2012. A LOT of Facebookers thought they were in the future, but alas, it's still the past ;)
And on June 30th, a "leap second" will be added to the day due to the Earth slowing down slightly. Enjoy the extra moment's rest. Literally.
