What is the answer to life, the universe and everything?
    6+

    Well… Douglas Adams cared.

    Asked by:
    Sian Dart
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    why are we attracted to inappropriate people?
    6+

    Despite our better judgement we all seem to be attracted to someone who is so clearly not right for us at some point in our lives.

    Asked by:
    @brittrcarroll
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    Is love or lust a bigger driving force in the world?
    10+

    It seems that in an increasingly material world lust is getting the upped hand, but the idealist in me hopes that love prevails.

    Asked by:
    Peter McCarthy
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    Why has no-one called out the discrimination against short animals in Australia’s coat of arms?
    6+

    I feel like wombats are underrepresented in our top-level fauna.

    Asked by:
    @AngusTonk
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    Do we ever really learn from our mistakes?
    0
    Asked by:
    ranij
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    why is there still no cure for cancer?
    7+

    All you ever hear is that something is being tested… it seems that there is more money to be made in ‘support’ medicines

    Asked by:
    S M
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    What is the role that art can play in a time of global (or local) crisis?
    20+

    In terms of crises both on a local level and inevitably on a global level, how can art make people think differently, and what is it’s responsibility in such times of crisis?

    Asked by:
    @_sarah_sarah
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    How can we be assured that we don’t develop artificial intelligence to the point that some independent entity decides that we humans are THE problem and presses delete?
    3+

    AI engineers might be doing what engineers do, working in a reductionist way on a discrete part of a problem with the ethical contexts left to someone else. The commercial drive to develop better and better AI should make us all nervous unless we have absolute transparency, ‘commercial-in-confidence’ is not helpful here.

    Asked by:
    @GHuntHunt
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    Has social media made activism less effective?
    14+

    Adding a signature to an e-petition or sharing a post to support a cause on Facebook has become second nature to us, and they fill our news feeds. The internet and social media has made it incredibly easy to create a noise.
    But does the sharing and e-signing actually make a difference? Was activism more effective in ‘simpler times’? Google something like the anti-conscription rallies in Melbourne during World War I, or the petition by women wanting the right to vote. This was activism on a scale we don’t see any more, and yet we’re more aware and there’s no shortage of people. So has social media made our activism lazier? Were we simply more bored ‘back in the day’ and staged large protests? Is social media both the best thing and the worst thing when it comes to effective activism?

    Asked by:
    @nightlightguy
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    Will there be havens created for those who can’t stand spam drones?
    0

    New technologies bring banal, transforming side-effects worth visualising.

    Asked by:
    @willbrodiecom
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    For a nation of immigrants why have we become a less welcoming country in the last 10 or so years?
    40+

    I’m annoyed by the illogical and racist emails that I receive from friends whose parents or grandparents came here as so called economic migrants or refugees. Ever since people like Pauline Hanson have come on the scene I’ve seen a change in our culture. I’m sure most Australians don’t want to live in a racist country.

    Asked by:
    Stephen Schmideg
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    Should we bring back conscription?
    3+

    Some countries use a year of compulsory military service as a rite of passage for young adults. Looking at our 18 year olds today, some might say we need to bring in this kind of enforced ‘gap year’ for the good of the individual and of our whole society. And of course, it would strengthen the country militarily to have a national service corps. But at what cost? Would this be worth it?

    Asked by:
    Deb
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    Why are white people expats and people of colour immigrants?
    22+

    I have always been called an expat, not an immigrant. But shouldn’t that be the same thing?

    Asked by:
    @saidruth
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