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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/400858
24 MacDirectory This infamous, former Star Trek star is not only an actor but also an author, social justice activist and social media megapower with 5.5 million fans in his online empire—but you already knew that from his Facebook posts. What may not be as obvious to all is the extent of his work. He has a long history of activism and champions lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights as a member of the Human Rights Campaign. He also currently serves as chair of the council of governors of East West Players, the nation's foremost Asian Pacific American theater and he is chairman emeritus of the board of trustees of the Japanese American National Museum. Takei is starring in the recently released documentary "To Be Takei" as well as hosting "Takei's Take," a YouTube series that explores the world of technology, trends, current events and pop culture. He also authored two recent books on tech culture: "Oh Myyy! There Goes the Internet" and "Lions and Tigers and Bears: The Internet Strikes Back." His current projects also include the musical Allegiance, based on his experience growing up in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. www.georgetakei.com Berners-Lee is known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, but his role as a crusader for the internet didn't stop there. He now leads the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), overseeing the Web's standards and development. In addition, he is the founding director of the World Wide Web Foundation, which was launched in 2009 to coordinate efforts to further the potential of the Web to benefit humanity. Berners-Lee is warning that there's a battle ahead. "Eroding net neutrality, filter bubbles and centralizing corporate control all threaten the web's wide-open spaces," he says. "It's up to users to fight for the right to access and openness. The question is, 'What kind of Internet do we want?'" Recently he has envisioned a "Semantic Web"—an evolved version of the same system that recognizes the meaning of the information it carries. Berners-Lee teaches at MIT as a 3Com Founders Professor of Engineering and serves in a joint appointment in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at CSAIL. He is also a professor in the Electronics and Computer Science Department at the University of Southampton, UK, and author of Weaving the Web and several additional publications. www.webfoundation.org/ about/sir-tim-berners-lee Why is there something instead of nothing? Philosopher, author and essayist Jim Holt asks why the universe exists and follows the question toward three possible answers. Or four. Or none, as he explains through his recent TED talk and his book, Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story, a New York Times bestseller for 2013. Holt tackles one of the biggest questions humans can ask and shares how scientists and philosophers are currently exploring answers through quantum mechanics, theology and more. Why does he ask it? "To me it's the most sublime and awesome question in all of philosophy and all of human inquiry," he tells Vanity Fair. Holt brings perspective and reminds us of the ultimate big picture. As a contributor to publications including the New York Times, The New York Review of Books, Slate and the New Yorker, Holt has written on "string theory, time, infinity, numbers, humor, logic, truth and bullshit, among other topics," his bio notes. Holt studied mathematics at the University of Virginia and was a faculty fellow in the philosophy department at Columbia. He is now reported to be at work on a book about free will, weakness of will, self-knowledge and happiness. www.ted.com/speakers/jim_holt DePartMent fACES: wHo IS mAkIng An ImPACT In THE worLd TodAy? George Takei Sir Tim Berners-Lee Jim Holt