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New Turin Shroud secrets Killer drugs in your home The smartwatch revolution … and 100-million-year-old spiders! history
Aussie inventions that changed the world
human body
are you a closet psycho?
internet ›› Who is watching you online? Can they control what you think? Is the web the new world superpower?
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Nature
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the internet: a n ew world power The internet is already the most powerful empire in the world and will shape the future of humanity like nothing else before it. But how does this digital superpower work? Who governs it – and who has most to fear from it? 13
china versus the web
The Chinese blogger and journalist Michael Anti has declared: “No other state fights as determinedly against the power of the internet as China does.”
I
magine a state that’s only 22 years old, but which already has 2.5 billion inhabitants. A state that has the best infrastructure in the world at its disposal, ensuring that every individual citizen feels part of a wider community. A state that can affect the prosperity levels of every other country on the planet; that helps to decide how power is distributed, where wars break out, and how those wars are conducted. A state that knows more about its citizens than any secret service. A state that barely feels the need to comply with international law. Where anarchy reigns – and yet there’s barely any violence. Above all, it’s a state that will soon eclipse China and the USA to become the world’s premier superpower. Welcome to the internet.
WHO’s in charge of the internet? In August 1991, a new era began: the Soviet Union collapsed, and the USA became the world’s sole remaining superpower. The USSR’s communist political system was decimated; from the rubble, new and smaller states emerged. But what the White House, FBI and CIA all failed to notice was that, in the shadows of the massive upheavals taking place on the world stage, a new empire was coming into being; an empire growing at a faster rate than anything that had preceded it. On 6 August 1991, the computer scientist Tim BernersLee published the first ever text to appear on a website, and made this document accessible, globally, via the internet. He can be considered, then, the official state founder of what would later become the superpower known as the world wide web. He also managed to side-step a centuries-old law declaring that a state must be comprised of three elements: a territory, a government and a people. Indeed, the internet has neither a government nor a territory; it exists and operates exclusively through its people – and those people are spread out across the globe. Although separated geographically, these citizens are connected by keyboard taps and mouse clicks. All of them are free to enter and to exit the empire 14
of the internet whenever they want. At the same time, the internet operates far more openly than the USA, China or Russia does: freedom of expression, freedom of information, equality – other states took centuries to achieve what the internet managed in just a few years. But what exactly makes this system so powerful? How does the internet world power operate? And why are dictators not the only people afraid of it?
WHY IS THE INTERNET THE SUPERPOWER that CHINA FEARS THE MOST?
It’s the biggest wall in the world; it’s insurmountable, and it’s invisible: The Great Firewall of China – also known as the Golden Shield – is widely considered to be the largest security project in the world, and it has just one aim: to protect China from invasion by the internet. None of the world’s most popular websites are available in China, so the likes of YouTube, Twitter and Facebook remain without influence in the world’s most populous country. China’s ruling elite have spent well in excess of $750 million enforcing an incredibly comprehensive system of censorship upon their fellow countrymen. It’s a sum of money that shows just how seriously the Chinese government takes the threat of the internet as a superpower. They know that the USA, Russia or Europe are of no real danger to them, as these states are far too dependent on economic collaboration with China to attempt to enforce change in the country. “Only the internet is in a position to do such a thing,” says web analyst Michael Anti. “No other power can >
The 50 Cent Army: how can 500 million internet users be manipulated? China has erected a gigantic firewall to defend itself against an invasion by the internet, while simultaneously creating its own state-controlled equivalent. All online communication is controlled and monitored via vast servers in Beijing – foreign servers are forbidden. To ensure the 500 million users of the ‘Chinanet’ remain loyal to the government, the Communist Party makes use of the so-called 50 Cent Army, a security force that few know exist, despite it employing around 300,000 men and women. 50 Cent Army operatives receive their orders via email, then spread throughout the Chinanet to push the Communist Party doctrine with comments left on blogs and forums. These web manipulators get paid approximately 50 Chinese cents (about 7 cents) for every contribution. If a commenter criticises the government on a website, the 50 Cent Army immediately strikes back, playing down the country’s woes, defending government policies and praising the world-beating achievements of China’s leaders. Any negative content is attributed to covert interference by Western governments.
THE GOOGLE EXPERIMENT
One search, two outcomes: request images of “Tiananmen Square” using Google Images within China and you’ll be given photos of the square itself, and of the various buildings located there (far left). If you input the same search request outside of China, you’ll get images of the famous protests of 1989 (near left). Reason? Google is censored in China and controlled by servers in Beijing. 15
Google facebook yandex baidu
yahoo mailru unknown
The most powerful websites in the world This shows which websites were most frequently used in which countries in 2012. While Google is the most powerful website overall, in North Africa and the Middle East Facebook is the most used. China and Russia have their own search engines.
mobilise so many people at short notice. When China’s citizens begin to emigrate onto the internet, it will be the beginning of the end of the Communist system. After all, we’re talking about 500 million people – the largest virtual community in the world.” The Chinese government knows this, but they also know that if they shut off the internet completely, they risk inciting a revolution. “What would happen then,” says Anti, “is something along the lines of what China’s leaders saw happening in Syria, Tunisia and Egypt when those countries turned off the internet.” China therefore employs a strategy known as “block and copy”. As powerful as it is, the censorship provided by the Golden Shield firewall would only ever temporarily hold off an invasion by the internet. Instead, the Chinese government has come at the problem from a different angle. “They’ve essentially ‘copied’ the internet,” explains Michael Anti, “and then used it to created a sort of intranet within the internet.” Within this governmentapproved facsimile of the internet, there are social networks, Twitter-like platforms and video-uploading services – only here, Facebook has become Renren, Twitter is Weibo, and YouTube is Youku; Renren alone has 200 million active users. All websites are controlled by government servers in Beijing and every posting, 16
every inputted search and every uploaded photo is scanned by 50,000 civil servants with the help of complex, powerful algorithms. This way, the government can maintain tight control over any of its citizens who visit the internet, while at the same time allowing them to feel that they’re able to share and connect. And yet, it’s beginning to seem like the Communist Party of China underestimated the internet – because within the censored ‘Chinanet’, a powerful army of micro-bloggers has formed and, using code words and encrypted messages, is striking subtle blows against the oppressive online censorship while promoting the notion of freedom of expression within Chinese society. Even the world’s most advanced firewall system is powerless to defend itself against these faceless soldiers – because the enemy is already deep within China’s borders. But it’s not only the Communist Party of China that fears being infiltrated via digital routes, and resorts to monitoring its population’s every online movement. The broader internet state itself employs an army of shadowy agents who monitor the web’s population; secretively gathering personal information on them, then analysing that information before sharing it with others. There are thousands of these digital spies active on the internet. But who do these operatives work for? And who are they spying on – and why? >
How anonymous is our web activity?
The web represents the largest collection of data ever assembled. Every day, Google processes more than three billion queries; 4.5 million photos are uploaded onto Flickr; 400 million emails are sent by Gmail users; while, staggeringly, three days’ worth of video is uploaded onto YouTube every minute. All of this material is analysed and processed, much of it by Google, which controls huge swathes of the internet’s infrastructure. The company’s search engine holds a near-monopoly – Google’s search share in Australia is around 87%. All searches are recorded, although the company claims this is to better target advertising at its users. However, Google is obliged to hand over collected personal data when, for example, America’s national security is in danger. In fact, the FBI submitted almost 1,000 such requests in 2012 – how many were granted is unknown, as Google has remained silent on the matter.
drone hacking
Drones are the latest instrument of American warfare. Navigators can remotely control these flying weapons, anywhere in the world, via protected internet lines. But how safe are these lines? Recently, a program appeared on the internet that can break into a drone’s software and take control of it – could hackers soon be piloting rogue American weaponry?
data hunters
In order to get information on suspects, US secret agencies like the NSA and the CIA analyse stored user-data from Google. The Anonymous hacker collective, whose logo is a black-and-white mask, often target attacks against the intelligence services. 17
history
Australian inventions that changed the world For a nation small in population, Australia is a land of big ideas. World of Knowledge pays tribute to the homegrown creations that altered the course of history for the better
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built to last
Before 1906, most cinema movies were no more than 10 minutes long.
1906, broadcasting
how long was the first feature film? n
Rewind to the cusp of the 20th century. Cinema-goers were treated to movies of no longer than 10 paltry minutes – and even then showings were interrupted with recordings of popular songs of the day. The Story of the Kelly Gang, which followed the exploits of infamous Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, changed all that. Coming in at over an hour long, it was acknowledged as the world’s first full-length feature film when it debuted at Melbourne’s Town Hall in 1906, heralding the birth of both Australian popular cinema and a new style of movie experience. The movie was made with a budget of £1000 by producers John and Nevin Tait, and by the time it had toured interstate, had returned a healthy 2500% profit to its investors. However, the film’s success was as much due to its then-amazing sound effects as its novel length. So-called ‘Talkie’ movies with synchronised sound reproduction didn’t reach cinemas until the 1920s, but The Story of the Kelly Gang added its own aural dimension by using dialogue from actors placed behind the screen, and sound effects such as gunshots and the clatter of horses’ hooves. Like some of the best movies in history, this Australian cultural landmark wasn’t without controversy: there were reports of mini-crime sprees after screenings (in Ballarat, Victoria, a gang of five children stole money from a photographic studio, then held up a group of schoolkids at gunpoint). By 1907, the Tait brothers’ production was exported successfully to London, UK, where it was billed as “the longest film ever made”.
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nature
The
magic power
How do Ants Survive a Flood?
Picture a summery country landscape. Suddenly the sky gets dark and, in the space of an hour, a downpour floods the ground with 30 litres of water per square metre. The ants, which have built their homes here in burrows beneath the ground, appear to be doomed – or so you might think. The ants’ strength lies in their ability to act as a collective, overcoming adversity by operating not as individuals but as a group. Helping them in this mission are their highly sensitive antennae used for communication among the hundreds of thousands of other ants which make up a colony. These ensure that when the queen demands her workers “build a float”, the order arrives in every ant’s brain simultaneously. Immediately each ant hooks its tiny legs onto those of the ant next to it and grips its jaw hard onto the ant on the other side. In around a minute and a half, a web made up of up to 36 ants per square centimetre has been created. That this raft can stay above water is guaranteed by a second ingenious ant attribute; their exoskeleton is water repellent. Air bubbles, which are automatically trapped in the network of legs and heads, simply make the boat more buoyant and ensure that even the ants at the bottom are able to breathe. In an emergency, the ant colony can use their super-raft to drift for weeks.
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max strength
The smaller an animal is, the less energy its muscles use in supporting its own bulk. This means that an ant is able to carry a hundred times its own body weight. Thanks to adhesive foot pads, they can even do this while hanging upside down.
One colony – One Immune System
Another of the ant colony’s abilities: if one ant becomes infected with a fungus, other ants will seek out fungi of the same species in the surrounding area. By doing this, they are able to ‘vaccinate’ themselves against the pathogen, ensuring that the colony is immunised against future infections.
rs of
insects
It might be a simple rain shower but to tiny insects it’s a flood of biblical proportions. A gentle breeze would hit them like a tornado. Their unending battle against the elements has allowed ants, mosquitoes and other insects to develop superpowers that are well beyond the capabilities of humans
treading water
An ant’s body offers a certain amount of protection against moisture – and thanks to the surface tension of water, the tiny insect can even walk on it for short distances. But when the floods come, their best bet for survival is to join forces and act as a collective. 41
history ORIGINAL
The facial features are only fainty visible on the Turin Shroud itself
photo negative
In this negative, the image on the Shroud is much more defined
is this history’s first photograph? The Turin Shroud has baffled scholars and scientists for decades. One expert has now come to the conclusion that the facial image on the cloth really is that of Jesus. But how did it get there? 50
REPRODUCTION
Science and the Church are still unsure: is this the face of Jesus?
Fact or fiction?
Some regard the Turin Shroud as the burial cloth of Jesus, others as the most elaborate hoax in history. Whatever the truth, it continues to inspire extraordinary and conflicting passions around the world. 51
nature
Can a Glacier TICKING TIMEBOMB
One and a half million cubic metres of meltwater are concealed beneath the vast, 14-kilometre-long Gorner Glacier in the Swiss Alps. Due to melting ice, the pressure beneath the glacier increases by 30-40% during the summer, resulting in the ice-sheet rising by as much as 20cm in places. Researchers believe that if the pressure rises much higher, the glacier will be blasted apart from the inside. It’s unclear at what exact moment in time this explosion will occur. 62
explode?
Under the thick layers of ice that make up a glacier is a world rarely seen by human eyes – a world of huge caverns filled with vast amounts of meltwater. Left unchecked, the build-up could put intolerable strain on the caverns, causing them to burst…
descending the depths
Using crampons, ice picks, lamps and safety ropes, scientists climb 70 metres down into the cave system in Switzerland’s Gorner Glacier to assess the extent of the caverns. In the process, the team repeatedly encounter bottlenecks less than 30cm wide, forcing them to edge along vertical walls of ice.
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