What’s happening is that we might, in fact, be at a time in our history where we’re being domesticated by these great big societal things, such as Facebook and the Internet. We’re being domesticated by them, because fewer and fewer and fewer of us have to be innovators to get by. And so, in the cold calculus of evolution by natural selection, at no greater time in history than ever before, copiers are probably doing better than innovators. Because innovation is extraordinarily hard.

— Mark Pagel, fellow of the Royal Society and professor of evolutionary biology, in conversation with Edge.org

Video interview and transcript

Soon to be published is Pagel's book, Wired for Culture: Origins of the Human Social Mind.

Odd Socks is a short film directed by Sydney-based Australian filmmaker John Lagerlow. John and fellow collaborator, the film writer and sociologist, Julian Wood, wrote the screenplay. The pair describe the plotline as follows:

"An unemployed ex serviceman is offered a financial reward to deal with his equally unemployed Bohemian flatmate on behalf of a new government agency determined to bring welfare costs under control."

Narrated by awesome Australian satirist, actor and writer Jonathan Biggins; Dan Mccarton as the serviceman; and Henry Compton as his unemployed Bohemian flatmate. Set in a nearby dystopian future, the Australian Greens and Australian Liberal Party have formed a coalition known as "The Glibs", and the ideology of economic rationalisation is being taken to its logical extreme.  

A Principia Production in conjunction with film production students at TAFE Randwick. Released in  June 2011.

Photo: Ed Rushka's Los Angeles by Alexander Schwartz. Photo by Jo Sabin, using Instagram, in Brunswick Books, Melbourne.

It started with a question six months ago. My friend, Kamala, was planning a trip to Mexico last April and she wanted to spend time in Los Angeles. I have been to San Fransico but not LA so I asked a bunch of friends who adore LA for eat, play, stay suggestions. The tips are good and share-worthy, so here they are.

From Cath Stephens - writer, traveller, indie music obsessive and dress designer

"We only stayed for about 4 days, loved it. We stayed at the Bevonshire Lodge motel (Beverly Blvard/North Curson Ave) in Hollywood - it was quite cheap, clean (& had a pool) we just booked online for it - walking distance to Grove Markets & Melrose Ave. Awesome brekky/cafe just a coupla blocks west!

We hired a car and think this is essential as Hollywood is quite spacious!The blocks are LONG! We of course went to Hollywood Boulevard (at night, with all the lights) and checked out Sunset Strip (Viper room, Cat Club, Whiskey Au Go Go etc...all in a block or 3).

We drove to Venice Beach for a wander & check out all the freakers! Also drove to Malibu & up through the Hills. Spent a day at Universal Studios which was heaps of fun (but cost about $80 or so).

Also, if you're into music check out Amoeba Records!! And if you're into shoes: Fluevog Shoes on Melrose Ave i believe! Have fun! Wish i was going again!"

Tip: International drivers license is a must unless you have buckets of money to spend on cabs. Check the local music scene you'll definitely find something to suit your taste.

From Fleur Fletcher - web strategist, editor, foodie, traveller

"Yes, absolutely definitely hire a car! We stayed in Santa Monica which was great. (But we were there for a wedding, and that's where the wedding festivities were.) It might not be the most central place to stay - depending on what you plan to do. Although it does have beach :)

If you go to Venice (recommend), make sure you wander down Abbot Kinney Blvd. It has some great shops. Also go see the canals... you'll recognise them from lots of movies!

If you can, go see a LA Dodgers game. We picked up tix from TicketMaster I think.

For accommodation, maybe try and check out airbnb (www.airbnb.com). I think LA is one of those places where you need personal recommendations so staying with a local would be a plus. I'd try it next time I go there.

If you do get a car, drive up to Bel Air and have a sticky beak around the mansions. They're unbelievable.

We weren't there for the Rose Bowl markets (they're on once a month) - but I'd try to if you're into vintage.

 Find personal recommendations (or use Yelp or Foursquare) as LA's one of those places where the best restaurants are hard to pick out! Maybe check out the LA Time, Timeout LA or LAMag before you go so you can see what's on at the moment.

We didn't get to San Diego, but it's one of the things I really wish we'd done. It's meant to be a really nice city. And to get there, you get to drive down the coast, past Orange County etc."

Tip: Hire a car, visit Venice, Bel Air (just for laughs), take a drive up or down the coastal road and try Air BnB for accomodation.

From Andy Coffey - web designer, UX, traveller, painter, maker of the best guacamole

1. Ace Hotel in Palm Springs - where the celebs from the 1950s escaped for R&R
2. Farmers Market http://www.farmersmarketla.com/
3. Griffith Observatory: http://www.griffithobs.org/
4. Getty Museum: http://www.getty.edu/museum/
5. Cabs really really expensive so thin about hire car.

Tip: Hire a car (notice a theme here?!), check out Getty Museum, get out of town.

Please leave add more travel tips in the comments section. :)

My friend, photographer art worker, Garry Trinh made this visual guide book on Blurb inspired by his adventures in LA earlier this year.

Los Angeles. by Garry Trinh | Make Your Own Book

Via Craig Deakin aka Digital Desk. Original source: Read Write Web

I am really excited about the future of 'learning'. New education tools have enabled textbooks to move from expensive linear print editions to interactive digital platforms delivered on tablet devices like iPads, which incorporate the core content of the textbook with lectures, wikipedia, books, videos and more. Students can buy cherry pick purchase relevant book chapters and if they purchase the full text edition, they save 40% off the hard copy price. Not to mention the positive impact on the environment with less paper being consumed. 

Students can carry a library of course material in one device rather than breaking their backs with heavy paper-based textbooks. By taking a 'platform' approach in their partnerships with education publishers (McGraw & Hill for instance), companies like Inkling, turn books into real-time converstions where students, authors and teachers can interact around content. This enhances the learning process by making it dynamic and interactive. Students can also build their own notebook-come-study guide. Learn more and watch the co-founder, Matt Macinnis, of San-Francisco based startup, Inkling share his views on the future of the text book.

For more disruptive learning models see...

Khan Academy - open source learning is another disruptive model enabling anyone to learn through video content maths, physics, chemistry and more.

Learnable focused on delivering inexpensive courses for web design and online marketing professionals.

I am also interested in the notion of Language Learning As A Software Service, or LLAAS, a phrase my friend, Matt Ho, coined. Subscription based learning seems like a huge market opportunity for vendors and democratises learning for students.