The very first cyborg book review is out. In The Singularity is Near Ray Kurzweil envisions a radically different future for mankind. The man who predicted the rise of the internet, now claims machines will surpass us intelectually in the coming generation. Let's hope they don't have Austrian accents and keep asking for Sarah Connor. Read the full book review.
Comments on the book review can be left here.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Gadget Suggestions
Post your suggestions here as comments. One rule, the gadgets must promise to change our lives is some way or another. I’ll let you be the judge of what that means. The best suggestions will earn a spot on the main site. One hint, the newest Rolex will not get you anywhere (unless it allows you to teletransport)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Renaissance 2.0
Where did Galileo go for advice? Where did he find inspiration when he wanted to make sense of those odd orbital trajectories? In the 16th century there were precious little giants on which shoulders he could stand and most of them were dead and buried. Also, I’m pretty sure the library of the University of Padua didn’t have an internet connection.
Yet by meticulous observation and cold reasoning the Italian astronomer and mathematician forever changed the worldview of all humanity and infuriated a bunch of fundamentalists as an added bonus. This is what one dedicated man can do through careful application of the scientific method.
Now imagine hundreds, thousands, no millions of Galileis living at the same time, exchanging and debating ideas, attacking different problems through similar methods and vice versa, cross-pollinating, inspiring, competing, cooperating. The power of reason multiplied is an awesome power indeed.
This is the world we live in, right now!
Just consider the field of neuroscience. Today, tens of thousands of researches all over the world are following hundreds of different paths to that ultimate goal, understanding the workings of the human brain. They are scanning the contents of our skulls with ever more sophisticated instruments, they are growing neurons in petri dishes, they are interfacing animal brains with robots, they are building computer models of specific brain regions, etc, etc. When one road leads to a dead end, another forces a breakthrough. The gathered momentum is overwhelming, unstoppable.
Galileo, Da Vinci and a couple of odd scientists and artists spread throughout medieval Europe, delivered us from the dark ages. Our own Renaissance promises to be much more profound.
The Cyborg
Yet by meticulous observation and cold reasoning the Italian astronomer and mathematician forever changed the worldview of all humanity and infuriated a bunch of fundamentalists as an added bonus. This is what one dedicated man can do through careful application of the scientific method.
Now imagine hundreds, thousands, no millions of Galileis living at the same time, exchanging and debating ideas, attacking different problems through similar methods and vice versa, cross-pollinating, inspiring, competing, cooperating. The power of reason multiplied is an awesome power indeed.
This is the world we live in, right now!
Just consider the field of neuroscience. Today, tens of thousands of researches all over the world are following hundreds of different paths to that ultimate goal, understanding the workings of the human brain. They are scanning the contents of our skulls with ever more sophisticated instruments, they are growing neurons in petri dishes, they are interfacing animal brains with robots, they are building computer models of specific brain regions, etc, etc. When one road leads to a dead end, another forces a breakthrough. The gathered momentum is overwhelming, unstoppable.
Galileo, Da Vinci and a couple of odd scientists and artists spread throughout medieval Europe, delivered us from the dark ages. Our own Renaissance promises to be much more profound.
The Cyborg
Labels:
neuroscience,
renaissance,
technological revolution
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