Afghan Food: Self Driving Vehicles, Human Evolution

This time we'll be going to Bamiyan, an Afghan restaurant in Murray Hill. The chef describes Afghan food as halfway between Mediterranean food and Indian food, Mediterranean food being too mild, Indian food too spicy, and Afghan food "just right". The food ranges from kebabs to curries. You can get a decent entree with water for $16, not including tax and tip. Menu: http://bamiyan.com/

Topic 1A: Self Driving Cars: Computers are getting good enough that self-driving cars are getting within reach. Is this a good idea? Self_Driving_Cars (http://discovermagazine.com/2011/apr/10-future-tech-finally-ready-self-driving-cars) (2 pages) The author seems totally oblivious to what this could mean for people who can't drive, such as epileptics, the blind, the sick, and children.

Topic 1B: Self Driving Vehicles could result in a great improvement in public transport technology: My_Blog (http://xyquarx.blogspot.com/2009/12/suburban-public-transport.html) (1 page)

Topic 2A: The health of prehistoric people went downhill, not uphill, with the advent of agriculture: Early_Farmers (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/06/17/early-farmers-were-sicker-and-shorter-than-their-forager-ancestors/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+80beats+%2880beats%29) (1 page) Be sure the read the readers' comments immediately following this article, some of them are very insightful.

Topic 2B: Our brains have shrunk 10% in the last 20,000 years: Brain_Shrinkage (http://discovermagazine.com/2010/sep/25-modern-humans-smart-why-brain-shrinking/?searchterm=shrinking%20brain) (3 pages) This is really fascinating, with some possible explanations given.