Google on Wednesday officially announced its entry into the fray of contextualized advertising—serving up advertisements in accordance with a user’s prior Web-surfing habits. The move, which has raised alarm in the privacy community, carries an unprecedented privacy twist: Google users will now be able to see and edit the information the company collects about them.
Want to know why near-death experiences frequently feature tunnels of white, euphoric light? The L.A. Times Book Review recommends picking up a copy of Truthdig contributor Steven Kotler’s new book “West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief” to find out.
Also: the Village Voice gives “West of Jesus” a rave.
Truthdig contributor Steven Kotler describes in The New York Times Magazine how the mere act of going surfing pulled him out of a near-suicidal battle with Lyme disease and kick-started a quest to explore the nexus of surf, science and spirituality.