Question 1)
Part A)
The Leonid shower tonight, or some other planet, moon, or other astronomical phenomenon
I found an interesting article on ALH84001. It is a meteor that scientists believe originated from Mars. This meteor might hold the crucial evidence we need to find out one of life's greatest mysteries. So after reading this article, I believe we should " check out" Mars. It is very close by(relative to how enormous space is). We need to do more then just send rovers there. I would like to see a manned mission to Mars. This will be the ultimate test to whether or not this planet holds life. The most compelling information about this excerpt is that many signs of life come just from a few millimeters of space rock. The signs of life that one might see from a meteor is not staggering unless you take into account of how probable the signs might show life to be. When these clues are very close in proximity it is encouraging for people who want to answer that big question. I personally believe that life finds a way to exist even in harsh environments. For example, the tube worms that live near the Ocean vents. They can withstand very high temperatures that scientist would not think is normally conducive to promoting life. Thus I believe simple microbial life exists in many places in the Universe.
"In 1996, a meteor was found in Allan Hills, Antarctica. Upon examination, it was discovered that this meteor, which is 4.5 billion years old, fell to the earth 13,000 years ago, and possibly contained evidence of life on Mars. Inside the meteor, along tiny cracks, scientists found evidence of what many believe to be ancient bacteria.There are four main clues which bring some scientists to this conclusion. One is that the meteorite is definitely of Martian origin and that it contains carbonate globules. The second is the presence of polycyclic aromatic compounds, which are complex organic molecules. The third piece of evidence is the presence of iron and other compounds which appear to be like those made by bacteria. The last, and perhaps most intriguing , is the pictures of the possible fossilized bacteria themselves. When taken separately, these pieces of evidence probably wouldn't amount to much. But what is compelling is that all of these pieces of evidence occur within millimeters of each other.
However, skeptics still remain. Some simply aren't sure, while others are certain that this meteorite contains no evidence of former life.. However, all agree that convincing evidence would contain proof that the fossils had cell walls, that the cells had been divided, and that chemicals more closely related to living organisms as we know them be found. And so, the debates continue. While these debates over ALH84001 occur, the science community continues its pursuit in finding signs of life, extant or extinct, on Mars."
provided from:
http://www.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/Exobiology/search.html
Part B)
There are a few possibilities I could think of considering make a "new Earth" for humans to dwell on. The most probably and my favorite possibility is settling on the moon. Here we could harvest what scientists believe is an abundant source of Helium 3. Helium 3 or H3 is very uncommon Helium isotope on Earth. Scientists have synthetically made H3 and used it for cold fusion. With cold fusion H3 leaves very little by product and is almost 100% efficient. It has been postulated that there is enough H3 on the moon to power the Earth for 1000 years. If we had an energy source that abundant we could live on the moon for quite sometime. Energy is one of the biggest necessities for humans. If we had that much power just for the Moon we could perhaps create a thicker atmosphere for the moon. We could do this by pumping large amounts of certain chemicals in the moon's atmosphere in order to slowly make it similar to Earth. Once this is done we could transport water from Earth and start to grow plants. Another pro from using the Moon as a "new Earth" is the close promixity to Earth itself. One con is that the moon itself is not that big. We could not sustain as many people on the moon.
Question 2
I discussed the presentation with Dr. Berleant. I did not have time to create a class presentation due to the my extremely busy workload with Senior Design 2. I will be sending him a video of my presentation. I have decided to further my semester topic by further talking about present scientific and technological breakthroughs that are leading us towards trans-humanism. This will be place under the section of the
"Possible applications for trans-humanism..." . I will emphasize the point that transhumanism is already occurring on a small scale.
Wikipedia states that transhumanism is, "Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities. It can be argued that this mental and physical improvement already occurs. People use pace makers to regulate their heart beat. The pacemaker is a machine that we have integrated with the human body in order to promote physical health. This is just one example. We can also look at prosthetics. Many people who have lost limbs use prosthetics to aid them in walking. I recently read an article that stated some new prosthetics actually make some people run more efficiently then normal humans with no prosthetics. This article was written in relation to the debate about whether or not "disabled" humans can compete in "non-disabled" humans competitions, e.g. races. People also use blue ray headsets to talk to people. This can be seen as an early version of a phone that we will be able to be implanted into the ear. People are already getting hearing aids made for them and this progression will lead to hearing aids better then the most able human can hear. Many people also use contacts,. Perhaps one day contacts will be "machined". We could then look at things in night vision and perhaps zoom in on far away objects. Scientists have been recently doing studies with using brain waves to control video games. Perhaps these brain waves can be projected so that humans could wear a headset and control many electronic devices around them without even touching them.
In conclusion I will state that the earliest form of transhumanism is already here. In the future we will see a more full extent of transhumanism that will lead us to the new version of man known as homo evolutis. I believe stating this will show that tranhumanism is not a theory but a fact that will become more apparent with the more technology we use to aid our mental and physical capacities.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Homework Assignment 13
1) Recall the relevant class. Comment on Toxoplasma Gondii. What do you think??
I believe Toxoplasma Gondii is a very interesting phenomena. I would like to relate it to the future. What if a genetic scientist could use this organism as a blue print to make an organism that directs people's minds? I have watched videos by renown scientist Craig Venter. He helped map the human genome. He gave a speech on the ability to program "blank cells" to perform desired tasks. A malicious example would be a new air borne plague that could wipe out the human race. You might think this if far-fetched, but programming cells if cutting edge technology. We could also look at how the mind works. With the release of certain chemicals in the brain we can experience different emotions. What if someone injected you with a serum that made you angry. Then they brainwashed you to hate North Koreans. They could eventually convince you to fight in a war against North Korea. We can also look at rabies. It is common knowledge that Rabies can cause a person to become agressive. True serum also generally makes people oblige to questions in even difficult circumstances.
I believe this organism had mild effects. I do not think a high number of indivuals have this parasite as stated by a source I looked at. It was interesting to see the side affects to personality. I thought many of the symptoms shown are innate to men and women naturally. However, it could be nice to check for this parasite. Who knows what limitations someone has had on themselves by not trying to cure this disease.
So in conclusion, this disease had a mild affect, but could be used in the future for harmful or manipulative applications.
2) Add more to your project. Put the new stuff in a new blog posting. Consider new material that has some connection to Toxoplasma Gondii. Alternatively, it could have a connection to some other parasite or disease, or parasites or diseases more generally. Or it might be about something completely different...your choice!
I think we could use Toxoplasma Gondii in the future as an application that will help manipulate human behavior. We can upload an altered form of this disease in order to help control people's behavior. For example, the American government could have a new breed of soldiers. These soldiers could use different physical machines integrated into their bodies to help make them more atheltic, agile, and robust. If we can convince humans to allow this amount of body modification, perhaps the government could convince them to alter their minds during war time. They could download this disease. Perhaps it could make them react quicker, act tougher, control their actions during fighting, etc. I believe that future soldiers will have body modifications, and I do not think they could complain if scientists found a way for them to act more efficiently and safely when engaging the enemy. So I do believe their is an opportunity for Toxoplasma Gondii or another mind altering disease to play some affect on trans-humanism.
I believe Toxoplasma Gondii is a very interesting phenomena. I would like to relate it to the future. What if a genetic scientist could use this organism as a blue print to make an organism that directs people's minds? I have watched videos by renown scientist Craig Venter. He helped map the human genome. He gave a speech on the ability to program "blank cells" to perform desired tasks. A malicious example would be a new air borne plague that could wipe out the human race. You might think this if far-fetched, but programming cells if cutting edge technology. We could also look at how the mind works. With the release of certain chemicals in the brain we can experience different emotions. What if someone injected you with a serum that made you angry. Then they brainwashed you to hate North Koreans. They could eventually convince you to fight in a war against North Korea. We can also look at rabies. It is common knowledge that Rabies can cause a person to become agressive. True serum also generally makes people oblige to questions in even difficult circumstances.
I believe this organism had mild effects. I do not think a high number of indivuals have this parasite as stated by a source I looked at. It was interesting to see the side affects to personality. I thought many of the symptoms shown are innate to men and women naturally. However, it could be nice to check for this parasite. Who knows what limitations someone has had on themselves by not trying to cure this disease.
So in conclusion, this disease had a mild affect, but could be used in the future for harmful or manipulative applications.
2) Add more to your project. Put the new stuff in a new blog posting. Consider new material that has some connection to Toxoplasma Gondii. Alternatively, it could have a connection to some other parasite or disease, or parasites or diseases more generally. Or it might be about something completely different...your choice!
I think we could use Toxoplasma Gondii in the future as an application that will help manipulate human behavior. We can upload an altered form of this disease in order to help control people's behavior. For example, the American government could have a new breed of soldiers. These soldiers could use different physical machines integrated into their bodies to help make them more atheltic, agile, and robust. If we can convince humans to allow this amount of body modification, perhaps the government could convince them to alter their minds during war time. They could download this disease. Perhaps it could make them react quicker, act tougher, control their actions during fighting, etc. I believe that future soldiers will have body modifications, and I do not think they could complain if scientists found a way for them to act more efficiently and safely when engaging the enemy. So I do believe their is an opportunity for Toxoplasma Gondii or another mind altering disease to play some affect on trans-humanism.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Homework Assignment 12
Our teacher posed this question:
Suppose you had a coupon for a free robot. The catch is it can only do one thing. But you can get a robot that will do whatever one thing you like, just not anything else. What would you want your robot to do?
I think that if I were able to obtain a robot I would want it to do a task I find difficult. However the question posed has some ambiguity. Could it perform one large task that is a composite of smaller tasks? For example, I hate cleaning my house. Could this robot only vacuum my house or could it clean dust as well? If this robot could perform a large task composed of smaller functions then I would want this robot to clean every surface of my house. I would like to to clean tiles in the shower, vacuum rugs and floors, dust surfaces, clean spills, organize the room, and last but certainly not least clean dishes. If my robot could only perform one lower level function, then I would want my robot to iron my clothes. Washing clothes is already basically automated. All you do if set the temperature, put detergent in, and then load the clothes. I am very bad at ironing. I do not believe this requires much skill but I can never seem to iron clothes to my liking. It would be nice if a robot could automatically iron my clothes so that they do not have an creases.
He also posed this question.
2) Write or develop an additional significant piece of your project. As a suggestion, consider the connection of robots to your topic. However, if another subject besides robots seems more appropriate, that is just as good. Post the new section on your blog.
Possible Applications of Trans-Humanism
Trans-humanism will surely evolve to deal with automated machines. Automated machines that provide a service could be a generic definition of a robot. I believe we could one day integrate robots into our body. Perhaps we could take a robot and attach it to our arm. This robot could act like a PDA on our arm. We could make calls, send and transmit pertinent data, as well as view data. This robot could the detach from our arm and go scout out an area. For example, a hunter who is deep in the woods could use this device to communicate with the outside world, and then have this robot go scout out a field for turkeys. Once the robot detected a turkey it could return to its user and give details on where the turkey is. This robot could do many other functions. Such as help regulate body temperature and breathing through a interface that is connect to our body. Perhaps it could interface with a usb port that is implanted into the arm or even brain. This could help when the weather is cold and make sure that our aim would be steady. Snipers practice breathing techniques to make sure that their accuracy is not affected with each breath they take. There are endless ways a robot could interface with our body and provide services that would make our lives easier and more efficient. This is just one possible way. We could also use robots to perform health checks to our body. Instead of having to go to the doctor for a check up, maybe a robot that is integrated into our bodies can consistently check for cancer, viruses, and other ailments. Like I said previously there are many if not infinite ways a robot could aid our lives. So our dicussion and analysis of robots does give pertinent incite into the direction and application of trans-humanism. Also known as the metamorhpsis to homo evolutis. The new species of man that is part biological part machine.
Suppose you had a coupon for a free robot. The catch is it can only do one thing. But you can get a robot that will do whatever one thing you like, just not anything else. What would you want your robot to do?
I think that if I were able to obtain a robot I would want it to do a task I find difficult. However the question posed has some ambiguity. Could it perform one large task that is a composite of smaller tasks? For example, I hate cleaning my house. Could this robot only vacuum my house or could it clean dust as well? If this robot could perform a large task composed of smaller functions then I would want this robot to clean every surface of my house. I would like to to clean tiles in the shower, vacuum rugs and floors, dust surfaces, clean spills, organize the room, and last but certainly not least clean dishes. If my robot could only perform one lower level function, then I would want my robot to iron my clothes. Washing clothes is already basically automated. All you do if set the temperature, put detergent in, and then load the clothes. I am very bad at ironing. I do not believe this requires much skill but I can never seem to iron clothes to my liking. It would be nice if a robot could automatically iron my clothes so that they do not have an creases.
He also posed this question.
2) Write or develop an additional significant piece of your project. As a suggestion, consider the connection of robots to your topic. However, if another subject besides robots seems more appropriate, that is just as good. Post the new section on your blog.
Possible Applications of Trans-Humanism
Trans-humanism will surely evolve to deal with automated machines. Automated machines that provide a service could be a generic definition of a robot. I believe we could one day integrate robots into our body. Perhaps we could take a robot and attach it to our arm. This robot could act like a PDA on our arm. We could make calls, send and transmit pertinent data, as well as view data. This robot could the detach from our arm and go scout out an area. For example, a hunter who is deep in the woods could use this device to communicate with the outside world, and then have this robot go scout out a field for turkeys. Once the robot detected a turkey it could return to its user and give details on where the turkey is. This robot could do many other functions. Such as help regulate body temperature and breathing through a interface that is connect to our body. Perhaps it could interface with a usb port that is implanted into the arm or even brain. This could help when the weather is cold and make sure that our aim would be steady. Snipers practice breathing techniques to make sure that their accuracy is not affected with each breath they take. There are endless ways a robot could interface with our body and provide services that would make our lives easier and more efficient. This is just one possible way. We could also use robots to perform health checks to our body. Instead of having to go to the doctor for a check up, maybe a robot that is integrated into our bodies can consistently check for cancer, viruses, and other ailments. Like I said previously there are many if not infinite ways a robot could aid our lives. So our dicussion and analysis of robots does give pertinent incite into the direction and application of trans-humanism. Also known as the metamorhpsis to homo evolutis. The new species of man that is part biological part machine.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Homework Assignment 11
I believe that the discussion from Monday the 26th is partly applicable and inapplicable. We can make certain predictions about the future of homo evolutis. I can assume that we will modify our bodies to hear and see better because we already have technology that tries to help impaired people. We can only assume that this technology will evolve to help unimpaired people hear and see even better. I believe this prediction can be made which is similar to predicting what the climate might be over a long period of time for a region that doesn’t experience too much variability. But some predictions cannot be made. For example, to what extent will we “mechanize” our self? I believe this prediction is as good as a weather prediction. We can get a ballpark figure or reasonable estimate but there is too much variability. With weather variability comes from geographical location, temperature, air pressure, etc. With trans-humanism we will see variability with people’s future view of ethics, laws, and technology. These examples of variability are non-linear and force our prediction to be inexact. The water wheel is a good example of this dilemma. We cannot determine the path of the wheel due to the non-linearity of its variables. So our discussion was applicable to predictions of trans-humanism. I believe the idea of modify the system with a bug approach is not applicable. We might be able to control certain aspects but I believe with trans-humanism this method is causing something indefinite to stay indefinite. After all, if we multiply infinity by any number what does that tell us? Of course nothing… The only way to truly be able to predict the extent of trans-humanism with a foreign object injected into the equation would change the system beyond recognition. We could claim homo evolutis will falter if grey-goo takes its course. However something this severe doesn’t help make predictions only destroy the system. For example, we could obliterate the planet completely and then we could be certain that weather would no longer exist. So I don’t believe that adding something in the system to alter it will give any good results unless we completely obliterate the system. Thus there were certain aspects of our class discussion that was applicable and inapplicable.
Answer 2
I believe the discussion from October the 28th was very applicable to my project. After all, trans-humanism is the integration of humans and machines. Robots would definitely be a possible machine to integrate into humans. We could take nanobots and have them destroy deadly viruses that could harm our bodies. I define robots as anything that has some degree of automation. I also believe that something could be part automated and part non-automated. For example, a car can park automatically for you, but at the same time you steer the car towards your destination. Why couldn’t we have a robot that detached from your arm and clean the floor. Once it is done I cleaning, it could reassemble itself back into your arm. This discussion shows the possibilities of robots and their purposes. This was very applicable because it can show us future implications of trans-humanism.
1) Introduction to trans-humanism
What tran-humanism is...
Trans-humanism is the integration of human and machine. With this integration man is more capable then without it. Trans-humanism could be implanting hearing aids that make us hear as good as dogs or eye contacts that make us see better then an eagle. Trans-humanism has occurred and probably will not cease to occur until we have all deceased. Wikipedia describes trans-humanism as , "Transhumanism is an international intellecutal and culturual movement supporting the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities.:
Earliest scientists who brought attention to phenomena...
There have been many proponents of trans-humanism. My favorite scientist would be Enriquez. He has gone as far as calling trans-humanism the new species of man called homo evolutis. He stated, "We will likely see glimpses of this long-lived, partly mechanical, partly regrown creature that continues to rapidly drive its own evolution. As the branches of the tree of life, and of hominids, continue to grow and spread, many of our grandchildren will likely engineer themselves into what we would consider a new species, one with extraordinary capabilities, a homo evolutis."A species that is heavily integrated with machine. We can look at many science fiction writers and argue they were the first people to bring trans-humanism to our attention. However, we need credible scientists to research and show what is tangible. Also we must look at the earliest contributors to trans-humanism. Charles Darwin played a pivtol role in the theory of evolution. He showed that human characterstics were not permanent by changing. This gave some people the idea of being able to modify the body. Even the Epic of Gilgamesh talks about humans finding ways to lead to immoratility. Even though we do not know the extent to which trans-humanism will be able to further life, we can assume it will provide some more longevity.
2) What is on the frontier?
Possible applications for trans-humanism...
The possible applications of trans-humanism are endless. We can only imagine what the future holds for us. It is almost certain that man will be able to see and hear better. Research is currently being done to put nanobots into the human bodies to prevent and correct illnesses. Not only will man's physical attributes change, but also his mental aptitude. What if we had a recording device that recorded everything we have ever heard or seen. What if we could retrieve this information from a mini-hard drive stored and interfaced with the brain. One's mother probably wouldn't scold them for forgetting to do his or her chores.
How long it will take for progress to be made...
Progress is already being made on trans-humanism. We can look at many bio-engineering projects and see that they fit right into the category of trans-humanism. Even if we look at today's technology we can argue trans-humanism has occurred. After all, we do have pacemakers that regulate heart beat, and prosthetics that are mechanical.
3) Possible Issues and Implications
Ethics of trans-humanism...
Like stem cells there will certainly be issues with the ethics of trans-humanism. The main issue I see is conservative people's values of norms. They do not want their culture to drastically change with technology. Would an elderly person accept a woman with a retractable arm and purple skin? I believe that in the future there will be debates on how long people will be allowed to live with integrated mechanical body parts (assuming that these parts will promote human life span.) We cannot let everyone live forever, because of many issues that would arise. I believe it is in our nature to see both life and death. It is and should be inevitable. Besides, how many people could the earth or any system sustain, especially when you are adding people at an exponential rate.
Health concerns of trans-humanism...
There could be main issues with trans-humanism. People are already concerned with radiation from cell phones. How do we know that a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) integrated into your brain will not give you cancer over long periods of time. Also what if someone as strong and vicious at the terminator started killing people at will. Also what if people start to change the entire appearance of their body. Some people have issues with cosmetic surgery. For example, Jane Doe might have had so many rhinoplasties that her nose was no longer functional. People would want to modify their body to such an extreme is might end up killing them or lessening life rather then promoting it.
4)Probability
What will happen and what won't...
Ethics and laws will have to prevent certain things from occurring. I doubt people will be able to launch rockets from their arms or obliterate people with genocide. But as someone in class said, if there is a law someone will try and break it. I don’t believe we will be able to live forever through trans-humanism. We could run out of resources and there is probably an infinite amount of ways to die. Could we bring a person back to life if there was nothing left but dead cells and DNA? What if you body was crushed to pieces, could we bring your brain back to being? Some of these issues are philosophical, but with time we might see the end results.
Potential Roadblocks...
Roadblocks will come from law, ethics, political agenda, and religion. What if law prohibits the study of trans-humanism like stem cell research. We have possible ways of saving lives and it is being ignored because of religious and political views. Some people may also argue that the world could become unstable if enough people became powerful through cybernetics. What if we made a nanobot that we thought would promote life, but turned our changing and becoming the new "bubonic plaugue".
5) Conclusion
Trans-humanism has occurred and will occur. That is an essential point we cannot overlook. Obviously, in the future we will see more of a metamorphosis of our species into a new species that will eventually blend into a half human half machine entities. We will then start to raise questions about the ambiguity that will comes from this technological integration.
6)References
1)http://72.3.218.115/talks/juan_enriquez_shares_mindboggling_new_science.html
2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism
3)http://reason.com/archives/2004/08/25/transhumanism-the-most-dangero
4)http://www.longevitymeme.org/topics/transhumanism.cfm
6)http://www.culturge.com/2009/02/homo-evolutis-future-of-humanity.html
7)http://www.highexistence.com/bye-bye-homo-sapien-hello-homo-evolutis/
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Homework Assignment Ten
This week our teacher wanted us to elaborate on the paradox of any scientific proof and to write 250 words about our semester topic......
Q1) We discussed in class how there is no such thing as a "scientific proof." Explain in your own words.
A scientific proof is implied to prove a scientific theory. However, if one looks more closely to the subject we can logical state that no scientific theory can be proved. We can first start with the inductive versus deductive reasoning. With deductive reasoning we can prove logic statements or mathematical formulas. Three multiplied by three will always give you the product nine. I the law of deduction is when the truth of a conclusion is shown to follow a logical consequence of the premises and its corresponding conditional premises are a necessary truth. Inductive reasoning can be seen as the premises or statements of an inductive logical argument convey a degree of support for the conclusion but do not entail it. As we can see from here science does not take on the deductive process of math. It is a form of inductive reasoning. Like our professor said, if we observe an apple that is thrown in the air will it always fall? One might say yes, but our prefessor brought up the fact that if we through the apple fast enough the apple could potentially escape earth’s gravity. Thus, this observation is not a complete truth. However, we can say that three times three is still nine. That is why scientific observations cannot be transalted to actual truths.. They show tendencies not certainities.
Q2) Write a new part for your project of 250 words or more.
3) Possible Issues and ImplicationsEthics of trans-humanismLike stem cells there will certainly be issues with the ethics of trans-humanism. The main issue I see is conservative people's values of norms. They do not want their culture to drastically change with technology. Would an elderly person accept a woman with a retractable arm and purple skin? I believe that in the future there will be debates on how long people will be allowed to live with integrated mechanical body parts (assuming that these parts will promote human life span.) We cannot let everyone live forever, because of many issues that would arise. I believe it is in our nature to see both life and death. It is and should be inevitable. Besides, how many people could the earth or any system sustain, especially when you are adding people at an exponential rate.
What is ethics? Ethics can be seen simply seen as what actions we judge to be right and wrong. This is a very subjective phenomenon. When we add trans-humanism to the mix, we complete this subjective phenomenon further. It seems that as time passes by, people’s ideas and beliefs change. These ideas and beliefs effect their ethical viewpoints. For example, some people think that it is ethically wrong to allow interracial marriages. Other people believe that it is unethical to not allow different races to marry. After all, how can we say two people are not allowed certain rights because they do not fit the proper or common situation? If we were a white southern whose parents were racist, would we have an open mind to interracial marriage? It is very hard to say, but we can assume that all ethical viewpoints come from experience and perception. This same logic can be applied to trans-humanism. Would some people think that it is unethical for people to have odd colored skin or retractable arms? Another big issue could arise if we could live forever through trans-humanism. Can we deny someone the ability to live forever? What if our population became to high to sustain. What if we took out our brain and somehow uploaded it to a cyborg. Would we be human or machine? How would a devout Christian or Muslim handle that? These are questions that will certainly arise. As we have seen the in past and the present, people will always differ in their viewpoints of ethics. People have formed prejudices and subjective feelings through their experience and perception. I believe that the further we progress into the future, people as a whole have become more tolerable towards difference. So in summary I believe that a person from 2009 will be less accepting of someone with robotic arms then someone from 2100.
Q1) We discussed in class how there is no such thing as a "scientific proof." Explain in your own words.
A scientific proof is implied to prove a scientific theory. However, if one looks more closely to the subject we can logical state that no scientific theory can be proved. We can first start with the inductive versus deductive reasoning. With deductive reasoning we can prove logic statements or mathematical formulas. Three multiplied by three will always give you the product nine. I the law of deduction is when the truth of a conclusion is shown to follow a logical consequence of the premises and its corresponding conditional premises are a necessary truth. Inductive reasoning can be seen as the premises or statements of an inductive logical argument convey a degree of support for the conclusion but do not entail it. As we can see from here science does not take on the deductive process of math. It is a form of inductive reasoning. Like our professor said, if we observe an apple that is thrown in the air will it always fall? One might say yes, but our prefessor brought up the fact that if we through the apple fast enough the apple could potentially escape earth’s gravity. Thus, this observation is not a complete truth. However, we can say that three times three is still nine. That is why scientific observations cannot be transalted to actual truths.. They show tendencies not certainities.
Q2) Write a new part for your project of 250 words or more.
3) Possible Issues and ImplicationsEthics of trans-humanismLike stem cells there will certainly be issues with the ethics of trans-humanism. The main issue I see is conservative people's values of norms. They do not want their culture to drastically change with technology. Would an elderly person accept a woman with a retractable arm and purple skin? I believe that in the future there will be debates on how long people will be allowed to live with integrated mechanical body parts (assuming that these parts will promote human life span.) We cannot let everyone live forever, because of many issues that would arise. I believe it is in our nature to see both life and death. It is and should be inevitable. Besides, how many people could the earth or any system sustain, especially when you are adding people at an exponential rate.
What is ethics? Ethics can be seen simply seen as what actions we judge to be right and wrong. This is a very subjective phenomenon. When we add trans-humanism to the mix, we complete this subjective phenomenon further. It seems that as time passes by, people’s ideas and beliefs change. These ideas and beliefs effect their ethical viewpoints. For example, some people think that it is ethically wrong to allow interracial marriages. Other people believe that it is unethical to not allow different races to marry. After all, how can we say two people are not allowed certain rights because they do not fit the proper or common situation? If we were a white southern whose parents were racist, would we have an open mind to interracial marriage? It is very hard to say, but we can assume that all ethical viewpoints come from experience and perception. This same logic can be applied to trans-humanism. Would some people think that it is unethical for people to have odd colored skin or retractable arms? Another big issue could arise if we could live forever through trans-humanism. Can we deny someone the ability to live forever? What if our population became to high to sustain. What if we took out our brain and somehow uploaded it to a cyborg. Would we be human or machine? How would a devout Christian or Muslim handle that? These are questions that will certainly arise. As we have seen the in past and the present, people will always differ in their viewpoints of ethics. People have formed prejudices and subjective feelings through their experience and perception. I believe that the further we progress into the future, people as a whole have become more tolerable towards difference. So in summary I believe that a person from 2009 will be less accepting of someone with robotic arms then someone from 2100.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Homework Assignment Nine
REPORT OVERVIEW
1) Introduction to trans-humanism
What trans-humanism is?
Trans-humanism is the integration of human and machine. With this integration man is more capable then without it. Trans-humanism could be implanting hearing aids that make us hear as good as dogs or eye contacts that make us see better then an eagle. Trans-humanism has occurred and probably will not cease to occur until we have all deceased.
Earliest scientists who brought attention to phenomena
There have been many proponents of trans-humanism. My favorite scientist would be Enriquez. He has gone as far as calling trans-humanism the new species of man called homo evolutis. A species that is heavily integrated with machine. We can look at many science fiction writers and argue they were the first people to bring trans-humanism to our attention. However, we need credible scientists to research and show what is tangible.
2) What is on the frontier
Possible applications for trans-humanism
The possible applications of trans-humanism are endless. We can only imagine what the future holds for us. It is almost certain that man will be able to see and hear better. Research is currently being done to put nanobots into the human bodies to prevent and correct illnesses. Not only will man's physical attributes change, but also his mental aptitude. What if we had a recording device that recorded everything we have ever heard or seen. What if we could retrieve this information from a mini-hard drive stored and interfaced with the brain. One's mother probably wouldn't scold them for forgetting to do his or her chores.
How long it will take for progress to be made
Progress is already being made on trans-humanism. We can look at many bio-engineering projects and see that they fit right into the category of trans-humanism. Even if we look at today's technology we can argue trans-humanism has occurred. After all, we do have pacemakers that regulate heart beat, and prosthetics that are mechanical.
3) Possible Issues and Implications
Ethics of trans-humanism
Like stem cells there will certainly be issues with the ethics of trans-humanism. The main issue I see is conservative people's values of norms. They do not want their culture to drastically change with technology. Would an elderly person accept a woman with a retractable arm and purple skin? I believe that in the future there will be debates on how long people will be allowed to live with integrated mechanical body parts (assuming that these parts will promote human life span.) We cannot let everyone live forever, because of many issues that would arise. I believe it is in our nature to see both life and death. It is and should be inevitable. Besides, how many people could the earth or any system sustain, especially when you are adding people at an exponential rate.
Health concerns of trans-humanism
There could be main issues with trans-humanism. People are already concerned with radiation from cell phones. How do we know that a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) integrated into your brain will not give you cancer over long periods of time. Also what if someone as strong and vicious at the terminator started killing people at will. Also what if people start to change the entire appearance of their body. Some people have issues with cosmetic surgery. For example, Jane Doe might have had so many rhinoplasties that her nose was no longer functional. People would want to modify their body to such an extreme is might end up killing them or lessening life rather then promoting it.
4)Probability
What will happen and what won't.
Ethics and laws will have to prevent certain things from occurring. I doubt people will be able to launch rockets from their arms or obliterate people with genocide. But as someone in class said, if there is a law someone will try and break it. I don’t believe we will be able to live forever through trans-humanism. We could run out of resources and there is probably an infinite amount of ways to die. Could we bring a person back to life if there was nothing left but dead cells and DNA? What if you body was crushed to pieces, could we bring your brain back to being? Some of these issues are philosophical, but with time we might see the end results.
Potential Roadblocks
Roadblocks will come from law, ethics, political agenda, and religion. What if law prohibits the study of trans-humanism like stem cell research. We have possible ways of saving lives and it is being ignored because of religious and political views. Some people may also argue that the world could become unstable if enough people became powerful through cybernetics. What if we made a nanobot that we thought would promote life, but turned our changing and becoming the new "bubonic plaugue".
5) Conclusion
Trans-humanism has occurred and will occur. That is an essential point we cannot overlook. Obviously, in the future we will see more of a metamorphosis of our species into a new species that will eventually blend into a half human half machine entities. We will then start to raise questions about the ambiguity that will comes from this technological integration.
6)References
REASONS FOR KEY POINTS
1) Introduction to trans-humanism
In order to explain a theory like Trans-humanism, we must give information about the founding credible fathers and a basis for the theory itself.
2) What is on the frontier?
It is important to show that trans-humanism is occurring and will also advance throughout human history. This key point was made to help us imagine where it will go and what might come up sooner then we think.
3) Possible Issues and Implications
If we see this theory as tangible, then we must talk about the effect it will have. There will be a strong affect on society and we need to address people's perception of trans-humanism. Nothing will occur if the masses or influential people do not agree with it. Also, with any modifications to the human body we must be concerned with health issues.
4)Probability
If we believe this theory is tangible we must look at the probability of it occurring. It is hard to assume something has occurred or will occur is the probability is close to zero. This section will also show that limitations that arise from our technology and human interest.
5) Conclusion
The conclusion gives key points from the report and where trans-humanism will eventually go.
1) Introduction to trans-humanism
What trans-humanism is?
Trans-humanism is the integration of human and machine. With this integration man is more capable then without it. Trans-humanism could be implanting hearing aids that make us hear as good as dogs or eye contacts that make us see better then an eagle. Trans-humanism has occurred and probably will not cease to occur until we have all deceased.
Earliest scientists who brought attention to phenomena
There have been many proponents of trans-humanism. My favorite scientist would be Enriquez. He has gone as far as calling trans-humanism the new species of man called homo evolutis. A species that is heavily integrated with machine. We can look at many science fiction writers and argue they were the first people to bring trans-humanism to our attention. However, we need credible scientists to research and show what is tangible.
2) What is on the frontier
Possible applications for trans-humanism
The possible applications of trans-humanism are endless. We can only imagine what the future holds for us. It is almost certain that man will be able to see and hear better. Research is currently being done to put nanobots into the human bodies to prevent and correct illnesses. Not only will man's physical attributes change, but also his mental aptitude. What if we had a recording device that recorded everything we have ever heard or seen. What if we could retrieve this information from a mini-hard drive stored and interfaced with the brain. One's mother probably wouldn't scold them for forgetting to do his or her chores.
How long it will take for progress to be made
Progress is already being made on trans-humanism. We can look at many bio-engineering projects and see that they fit right into the category of trans-humanism. Even if we look at today's technology we can argue trans-humanism has occurred. After all, we do have pacemakers that regulate heart beat, and prosthetics that are mechanical.
3) Possible Issues and Implications
Ethics of trans-humanism
Like stem cells there will certainly be issues with the ethics of trans-humanism. The main issue I see is conservative people's values of norms. They do not want their culture to drastically change with technology. Would an elderly person accept a woman with a retractable arm and purple skin? I believe that in the future there will be debates on how long people will be allowed to live with integrated mechanical body parts (assuming that these parts will promote human life span.) We cannot let everyone live forever, because of many issues that would arise. I believe it is in our nature to see both life and death. It is and should be inevitable. Besides, how many people could the earth or any system sustain, especially when you are adding people at an exponential rate.
Health concerns of trans-humanism
There could be main issues with trans-humanism. People are already concerned with radiation from cell phones. How do we know that a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) integrated into your brain will not give you cancer over long periods of time. Also what if someone as strong and vicious at the terminator started killing people at will. Also what if people start to change the entire appearance of their body. Some people have issues with cosmetic surgery. For example, Jane Doe might have had so many rhinoplasties that her nose was no longer functional. People would want to modify their body to such an extreme is might end up killing them or lessening life rather then promoting it.
4)Probability
What will happen and what won't.
Ethics and laws will have to prevent certain things from occurring. I doubt people will be able to launch rockets from their arms or obliterate people with genocide. But as someone in class said, if there is a law someone will try and break it. I don’t believe we will be able to live forever through trans-humanism. We could run out of resources and there is probably an infinite amount of ways to die. Could we bring a person back to life if there was nothing left but dead cells and DNA? What if you body was crushed to pieces, could we bring your brain back to being? Some of these issues are philosophical, but with time we might see the end results.
Potential Roadblocks
Roadblocks will come from law, ethics, political agenda, and religion. What if law prohibits the study of trans-humanism like stem cell research. We have possible ways of saving lives and it is being ignored because of religious and political views. Some people may also argue that the world could become unstable if enough people became powerful through cybernetics. What if we made a nanobot that we thought would promote life, but turned our changing and becoming the new "bubonic plaugue".
5) Conclusion
Trans-humanism has occurred and will occur. That is an essential point we cannot overlook. Obviously, in the future we will see more of a metamorphosis of our species into a new species that will eventually blend into a half human half machine entities. We will then start to raise questions about the ambiguity that will comes from this technological integration.
6)References
REASONS FOR KEY POINTS
1) Introduction to trans-humanism
In order to explain a theory like Trans-humanism, we must give information about the founding credible fathers and a basis for the theory itself.
2) What is on the frontier?
It is important to show that trans-humanism is occurring and will also advance throughout human history. This key point was made to help us imagine where it will go and what might come up sooner then we think.
3) Possible Issues and Implications
If we see this theory as tangible, then we must talk about the effect it will have. There will be a strong affect on society and we need to address people's perception of trans-humanism. Nothing will occur if the masses or influential people do not agree with it. Also, with any modifications to the human body we must be concerned with health issues.
4)Probability
If we believe this theory is tangible we must look at the probability of it occurring. It is hard to assume something has occurred or will occur is the probability is close to zero. This section will also show that limitations that arise from our technology and human interest.
5) Conclusion
The conclusion gives key points from the report and where trans-humanism will eventually go.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Homework Eight
Minority Report is a science fiction movie that takes place in the future. The movie is essentially a look into a world where homicide is prevented. In this society, police use Pre-crime to arrest individuals who are predicted to perform a murder. Murders are predicted by 3 Pre-coginitive humans. One of the underlying themes of this story is the paradox of fate versus pre-determinism. In this story we see a man (John Anderton) stuck in the middle of his fate, and his struggle to change it. We cannot tell why he is about to commit murder, but that doesn't matter. In this world you will be held liable for your actions. As we see with the progression of the film, he is in fact innocent and part of an elaborate scheme to hide the inconsistencies of Pre-Crime.
We watched this movie to get incite about the future. The future is a place where we cannot know, only predict. A lot of new technology is shown in this movie. How feasible it is, is very debatable. I was extremely interested in the virtual reality rooms in the movie. In one scene, a man pays to "virtually" kill his boss. We also see a large emphasis on retinal scans. It was interesting to see advertisements that were directed to customers using the retinal scan technology. I like the automated cars, but some of the safely features did not seem realistic. For example, how easily Anderton exited the car in a chase scene. The weapons and transportation the Pre-crime police used was very interesting. The eye transplant "healing" scene was exciting. We see what kind of screening processes the future may hold. However, I believe in the future law enforcement will be able to see through walls, because this technology is already in development. The movie did have more weak points, like every other science fiction movies. For example, Anderton's knack for escaping was impeccable. We see even now, that it is very hard for anyone to be discrete. One could only assume that the advancement in technology would make it impossible for someone to hide in the future.
All in all, this is an interesting movie that combines philosophical implications of the future with high tech gadgetry.
I will see Dr. Berleant this week about the presentation of semester topic.
We watched this movie to get incite about the future. The future is a place where we cannot know, only predict. A lot of new technology is shown in this movie. How feasible it is, is very debatable. I was extremely interested in the virtual reality rooms in the movie. In one scene, a man pays to "virtually" kill his boss. We also see a large emphasis on retinal scans. It was interesting to see advertisements that were directed to customers using the retinal scan technology. I like the automated cars, but some of the safely features did not seem realistic. For example, how easily Anderton exited the car in a chase scene. The weapons and transportation the Pre-crime police used was very interesting. The eye transplant "healing" scene was exciting. We see what kind of screening processes the future may hold. However, I believe in the future law enforcement will be able to see through walls, because this technology is already in development. The movie did have more weak points, like every other science fiction movies. For example, Anderton's knack for escaping was impeccable. We see even now, that it is very hard for anyone to be discrete. One could only assume that the advancement in technology would make it impossible for someone to hide in the future.
All in all, this is an interesting movie that combines philosophical implications of the future with high tech gadgetry.
I will see Dr. Berleant this week about the presentation of semester topic.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Homework Assignment Seven
For this assignment, our teacher wanted us to organize our semester topic.....
I took all the information I could find from my blog that dealt with trans-humanism. I wish I had more information, but this a compilation of the material I could find from my blog.
2) Homo Homo Sapiens dominance of world population. (I looked at a new form of human evolution. This evolution would be a integration of technology with the human body. This new "species" would eventually replace the Homo Homo Sapien race.)
* a) http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/SmallBiz/story?id=6854658&page=1 (This article gives vague information on the pursuit of Homo Evolutis by Jaun Enriquez, CEO of a biomedical company)
* b) http://hplusbiopolitics.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/homo-evolutis-the-backlash/ (This article talks about backlash Enriquez has experienced because of his definition of human Evolution. This provides a rare and interesting perspective that brings about more questions of Homo Evolutis.)
* c) http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090305-tows-oz-live-longer/2 (This article gives detailed information on ways to prolong life with state of the art technology.)
There is a second part to our homework. We needed to apply TRIZ to our semester topic. My topic is trans-humanism. Trans-humanism is only on the verge of its emergence. We can use a hearing aid as a prime example. Hearing aids now help people who cannot hear well. One day we will be able to branch out hearing aid capability with the advancement of technology. We could eventually give people who do not need hearing aids better hearing ability. This could play an advantage when hunting (you could hear the game from further distances),etc. We could also make regenerable body parts. This could help a person who has a depletion of certain cells that are pivotal to maintaining a healthy life.
We then had to take ten TRIZ items and apply them to our topic.
Universality: make one thing do more than one thing. Our ears could implanted with a device that could not only make us hear better, but receive wireless signals that our brain could interpret.
Anti-weight: counter heaviness with flotation. We could implant artificial life vests into our body to stay afloat on water.
Preliminary action: do something to an object before it is needed. We could have a sensor that tells us if our heart rate was abnormal.
Partial or excessive action: Do a little too much or too little, then fix. We could make our hands faster for typing purposes by implanting a mechanism in the hand.
Cheap short-lived objects: throw it away afterwards. We could make cheaper prosthetics. Any amputee could have a throw away arm.
Color changes: change color or transparency of object or environment. We could modify the color of our skin to match our environment.
Phase transitions: We could make our skin warm up in cold temperatures or cool down in hot temperatures.
Pneumatics and hydraulics: use gas and liquid instead of solid parts. We could use hydraulics to make us some jump higher.
Self-service: something serves itself. We could program our body to do certain things that our mind might find strenuous. Like mowing the yard.
Continuity of useful action: elimination of break. We could wire our bodies to stay up longer then what our body and mind are used to. For example, we could have someone stay up the entire day so they can monitor a security system
Homework Assignment One Excerpt:
I started to read the various topics. First and foremost transhumanism stuck out to me right away. I had previously watched a video on TED.COM that was about this exact subject. A brilliant scientist named Juan Enriquez hypothesized that humans would evolve into a new species. A species that was heavily integrated with machines. He called this new species homo evolutis. These species would be better then modern day man to adapt to their environment. For example, with the improvement of hearing aid technology, humans will probably be able to hear better then we can now. The link for this lecture is: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/juan_enriquez_shares_mindboggling_new_science.html
I searched everyone blog I could find from my fellow classmates. The only excerpt that I found pertinent was the Triz application performed by Doug Ulrich. ( These possibility expansions of trans-humanism will give me more incite into what the future may hold.)
Different finger configuration (4-fingers? 3?)
-Weaponized (claws, spikes, etc.)
-Cloaking technology
-Internal Harddrive (USB in finger)
-Utility fingers (interchangable at will for different functions) (keys, tools, showy occasions)
-Advertising
-Storage compartment
-Programmable Fingerprint (can change fingerprint at will to avoid detection or trick locks)
-Installable macros in hand (to perform automated tasks)
-Custom fingernail growth (color, texture, growth pattern)
-Detachable & Remote Controllable (think Thing from The Addams Family)
-Wireless syncing with electronic devices (use hand movements as a remote control)
-Add new senses (sense composition of material, echolocation, etc.)
Part 2)
Our teacher wanted us to create an outline for our topic....
Outline for trans-humanism report:
1) Introduction to trans-humanism
5) Conclusion
Part 3)
Our teacher wanted us to try to categorize our blog information to fit our outline.
1) Introduction:
I started to read the various topics. First and foremost transhumanism stuck out to me right away. I had previously watched a video on TED.COM that was about this exact subject. A brilliant scientist named Juan Enriquez hypothesized that humans would evolve into a new species. A species that was heavily integrated with machines. He called this new species homo evolutis. These species would be better then modern day man to adapt to their environment. For example, with the improvement of hearing aid technology, humans will probably be able to hear better then we can now.
2)What is on the frontier?:
Universality: make one thing do more than one thing. Our ears could implanted with a device that could not only make us hear better, but receive wireless signals that our brain could interpret.
Anti-weight: counter heaviness with flotation. We could implant artificial life vests into our body to stay afloat on water.
Preliminary action: do something to an object before it is needed. We could have a sensor that tells us if our heart rate was abnormal.
Partial or excessive action: Do a little too much or too little, then fix. We could make our hands faster for typing purposes by implanting a mechanism in the hand.
Cheap short-lived objects: throw it away afterwards. We could make cheaper prosthetics. Any amputee could have a throw away arm.
Color changes: change color or transparency of object or environment. We could modify the color of our skin to match our environment.
Phase transitions: We could make our skin warm up in cold temperatures or cool down in hot temperatures.
Pneumatics and hydraulics: use gas and liquid instead of solid parts. We could use hydraulics to make us some jump higher.
Self-service: something serves itself. We could program our body to do certain things that our mind might find strenuous. Like mowing the yard.
Continuity of useful action: elimination of break. We could wire our bodies to stay up longer then what our body and mind are used to. For example, we could have someone stay up the entire day so they can monitor a security system
Doug Ulrich's Contribution:
Different finger configuration (4-fingers? 3?)
-Weaponized (claws, spikes, etc.)
-Cloaking technology
-Internal Harddrive (USB in finger)
-Utility fingers (interchangable at will for different functions) (keys, tools, showy occasions)
-Advertising
-Storage compartment
-Programmable Fingerprint (can change fingerprint at will to avoid detection or trick locks)
-Installable macros in hand (to perform automated tasks)
-Custom fingernail growth (color, texture, growth pattern)
-Detachable & Remote Controllable (think Thing from The Addams Family)
-Wireless syncing with electronic devices (use hand movements as a remote control)
-Add new senses (sense composition of material, echolocation, etc.)
3)Possible Issue and Implications:
http://hplusbiopolitics.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/homo-evolutis-the-backlash/ (This article talks about backlash Enriquez has experienced because of his definition of human Evolution. This provides a rare and interesting perspective that brings about more questions of Homo Evolutis.
6)References:
* a) http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/SmallBiz/story?id=6854658&page=1 (This article gives vague information on the pursuit of Homo Evolutis by Jaun Enriquez, CEO of a biomedical company)
* b) http://hplusbiopolitics.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/homo-evolutis-the-backlash/ (This article talks about backlash Enriquez has experienced because of his definition of human Evolution. This provides a rare and interesting perspective that brings about more questions of Homo Evolutis.)
* c) http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090305-tows-oz-live-longer/2 (This article gives detailed information on ways to prolong life with state of the art technology.)
I took all the information I could find from my blog that dealt with trans-humanism. I wish I had more information, but this a compilation of the material I could find from my blog.
2) Homo Homo Sapiens dominance of world population. (I looked at a new form of human evolution. This evolution would be a integration of technology with the human body. This new "species" would eventually replace the Homo Homo Sapien race.)
* a) http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/SmallBiz/story?id=6854658&page=1 (This article gives vague information on the pursuit of Homo Evolutis by Jaun Enriquez, CEO of a biomedical company)
* b) http://hplusbiopolitics.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/homo-evolutis-the-backlash/ (This article talks about backlash Enriquez has experienced because of his definition of human Evolution. This provides a rare and interesting perspective that brings about more questions of Homo Evolutis.)
* c) http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090305-tows-oz-live-longer/2 (This article gives detailed information on ways to prolong life with state of the art technology.)
There is a second part to our homework. We needed to apply TRIZ to our semester topic. My topic is trans-humanism. Trans-humanism is only on the verge of its emergence. We can use a hearing aid as a prime example. Hearing aids now help people who cannot hear well. One day we will be able to branch out hearing aid capability with the advancement of technology. We could eventually give people who do not need hearing aids better hearing ability. This could play an advantage when hunting (you could hear the game from further distances),etc. We could also make regenerable body parts. This could help a person who has a depletion of certain cells that are pivotal to maintaining a healthy life.
We then had to take ten TRIZ items and apply them to our topic.
Universality: make one thing do more than one thing. Our ears could implanted with a device that could not only make us hear better, but receive wireless signals that our brain could interpret.
Anti-weight: counter heaviness with flotation. We could implant artificial life vests into our body to stay afloat on water.
Preliminary action: do something to an object before it is needed. We could have a sensor that tells us if our heart rate was abnormal.
Partial or excessive action: Do a little too much or too little, then fix. We could make our hands faster for typing purposes by implanting a mechanism in the hand.
Cheap short-lived objects: throw it away afterwards. We could make cheaper prosthetics. Any amputee could have a throw away arm.
Color changes: change color or transparency of object or environment. We could modify the color of our skin to match our environment.
Phase transitions: We could make our skin warm up in cold temperatures or cool down in hot temperatures.
Pneumatics and hydraulics: use gas and liquid instead of solid parts. We could use hydraulics to make us some jump higher.
Self-service: something serves itself. We could program our body to do certain things that our mind might find strenuous. Like mowing the yard.
Continuity of useful action: elimination of break. We could wire our bodies to stay up longer then what our body and mind are used to. For example, we could have someone stay up the entire day so they can monitor a security system
Homework Assignment One Excerpt:
I started to read the various topics. First and foremost transhumanism stuck out to me right away. I had previously watched a video on TED.COM that was about this exact subject. A brilliant scientist named Juan Enriquez hypothesized that humans would evolve into a new species. A species that was heavily integrated with machines. He called this new species homo evolutis. These species would be better then modern day man to adapt to their environment. For example, with the improvement of hearing aid technology, humans will probably be able to hear better then we can now. The link for this lecture is: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/juan_enriquez_shares_mindboggling_new_science.html
I searched everyone blog I could find from my fellow classmates. The only excerpt that I found pertinent was the Triz application performed by Doug Ulrich. ( These possibility expansions of trans-humanism will give me more incite into what the future may hold.)
Different finger configuration (4-fingers? 3?)
-Weaponized (claws, spikes, etc.)
-Cloaking technology
-Internal Harddrive (USB in finger)
-Utility fingers (interchangable at will for different functions) (keys, tools, showy occasions)
-Advertising
-Storage compartment
-Programmable Fingerprint (can change fingerprint at will to avoid detection or trick locks)
-Installable macros in hand (to perform automated tasks)
-Custom fingernail growth (color, texture, growth pattern)
-Detachable & Remote Controllable (think Thing from The Addams Family)
-Wireless syncing with electronic devices (use hand movements as a remote control)
-Add new senses (sense composition of material, echolocation, etc.)
Part 2)
Our teacher wanted us to create an outline for our topic....
Outline for trans-humanism report:
1) Introduction to trans-humanism
- What trans-humanism is?
- Earliest scientists who brought attention to phenomena
- Possible applications for trans-humanism
- How long it will take for progress to be made
- Ethics of transhumanism
- Health concerns of trans-humanism
- What will happen and what won't.
- Potential Roadblocks
5) Conclusion
- Summary
- General description of the direction of trans-humanism.
Part 3)
Our teacher wanted us to try to categorize our blog information to fit our outline.
1) Introduction:
I started to read the various topics. First and foremost transhumanism stuck out to me right away. I had previously watched a video on TED.COM that was about this exact subject. A brilliant scientist named Juan Enriquez hypothesized that humans would evolve into a new species. A species that was heavily integrated with machines. He called this new species homo evolutis. These species would be better then modern day man to adapt to their environment. For example, with the improvement of hearing aid technology, humans will probably be able to hear better then we can now.
2)What is on the frontier?:
Universality: make one thing do more than one thing. Our ears could implanted with a device that could not only make us hear better, but receive wireless signals that our brain could interpret.
Anti-weight: counter heaviness with flotation. We could implant artificial life vests into our body to stay afloat on water.
Preliminary action: do something to an object before it is needed. We could have a sensor that tells us if our heart rate was abnormal.
Partial or excessive action: Do a little too much or too little, then fix. We could make our hands faster for typing purposes by implanting a mechanism in the hand.
Cheap short-lived objects: throw it away afterwards. We could make cheaper prosthetics. Any amputee could have a throw away arm.
Color changes: change color or transparency of object or environment. We could modify the color of our skin to match our environment.
Phase transitions: We could make our skin warm up in cold temperatures or cool down in hot temperatures.
Pneumatics and hydraulics: use gas and liquid instead of solid parts. We could use hydraulics to make us some jump higher.
Self-service: something serves itself. We could program our body to do certain things that our mind might find strenuous. Like mowing the yard.
Continuity of useful action: elimination of break. We could wire our bodies to stay up longer then what our body and mind are used to. For example, we could have someone stay up the entire day so they can monitor a security system
Doug Ulrich's Contribution:
Different finger configuration (4-fingers? 3?)
-Weaponized (claws, spikes, etc.)
-Cloaking technology
-Internal Harddrive (USB in finger)
-Utility fingers (interchangable at will for different functions) (keys, tools, showy occasions)
-Advertising
-Storage compartment
-Programmable Fingerprint (can change fingerprint at will to avoid detection or trick locks)
-Installable macros in hand (to perform automated tasks)
-Custom fingernail growth (color, texture, growth pattern)
-Detachable & Remote Controllable (think Thing from The Addams Family)
-Wireless syncing with electronic devices (use hand movements as a remote control)
-Add new senses (sense composition of material, echolocation, etc.)
3)Possible Issue and Implications:
http://hplusbiopolitics.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/homo-evolutis-the-backlash/ (This article talks about backlash Enriquez has experienced because of his definition of human Evolution. This provides a rare and interesting perspective that brings about more questions of Homo Evolutis.
6)References:
* a) http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/SmallBiz/story?id=6854658&page=1 (This article gives vague information on the pursuit of Homo Evolutis by Jaun Enriquez, CEO of a biomedical company)
* b) http://hplusbiopolitics.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/homo-evolutis-the-backlash/ (This article talks about backlash Enriquez has experienced because of his definition of human Evolution. This provides a rare and interesting perspective that brings about more questions of Homo Evolutis.)
* c) http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090305-tows-oz-live-longer/2 (This article gives detailed information on ways to prolong life with state of the art technology.)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Homework Assignment Six
Our instructor gave us various topics related to the future. From these topics we have to pick three choices and find websites for these topics. Once we find the websites, we must then critique the sites we found based on their pertinence.
My topcis were:
1)Green Energy Technologies
My topcis were:
1)Green Energy Technologies
- a) http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/more-efficient-solar-cells-with-carbon- nanotubes/ (This article gave information of using carbon nano-tubes instead of silicon to extract energy more efficiently from the sun.)
- b) http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/150mpg-algae-powered-toyota-prius/ (This article gave information about possibly using algae as a replacement for gasoline in cars. This seems very possible and extremely eco-friendly because of a lack of harmful byproduct.)
- c) http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/human-powered-workout-gym-concept/ (This article had a very creative eco-friendly concept. It is literally a workout gym that is powered by the people who exercise in the gym. This concept could be possible but I do not believe is it as probable as carbon nano-tube and algae based fuel technologies.
2) Homo Homo Sapiens dominance of world population. (I looked at a new form of human evolution. This evolution would be a integration of technology with the human body. This new "species" would eventually replace the Homo Homo Sapien race.)
- a) http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/SmallBiz/story?id=6854658&page=1 (This article gives vague information on the pursuit of Homo Evolutis by Jaun Enriquez, CEO of a biomedical company)
- b) http://hplusbiopolitics.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/homo-evolutis-the-backlash/ (This article talks about backlash Enriquez has experienced because of his definition of human Evolution. This provides a rare and interesting perspective that brings about more questions of Homo Evolutis.)
- c) http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090305-tows-oz-live-longer/2 (This article gives detailed information on ways to prolong life with state of the art technology.)
3) Future Internet Speeds
- a) http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2000/03/26/internet-speed.aspx (This article gives information about the highest speeds that researchers are able to achieve now and a new kind of laser that would be available to carry a huge amount of bandwidth for data transfer.)
- b)http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2008/04/lightning_speed_replacement_%20for_internet.php (This article provides information on new data transfer technology. This new concept is called "the grid". This grid will make internet data transfer faster then we could imagine.)
- c)http://ezinearticles.com/?Satellite-Internet-the-Speed-of-the-Future&id=2786366 (This article gives information on how rural areas will be able to get high speed internet service via satellites.)
There is a second part to our homework. We needed to apply TRIZ to our semester topic. My topic is trans-humanism. Trans-humanism is only on the verge of its emergence. We can use a hearing aid as a prime example. Hearing aids now help people who cannot hear well. One day we will be able to branch out hearing aid capability with the advancement of technology. We could eventually give people who do not need hearing aids better hearing ability. This could play an advantage when hunting (you could hear the game from further distances),etc. We could also make regenerable body parts. This could help a person who has a depletion of certain cells that are pivotal to maintaining a healthy life.
We then had to take ten TRIZ items and apply them to our topic.
Universality: make one thing do more than one thing. Our ears could implanted with a device that could not only make us hear better, but receive wireless signals that our brain could interpret.
Anti-weight: counter heaviness with flotation. We could implant artificial life vests into our body to stay afloat on water.
Preliminary action: do something to an object before it is needed. We could have a sensor that tells us if our heart rate was abnormal.
Partial or excessive action: Do a little too much or too little, then fix. We could make our hands faster for typing purposes by implanting a mechanism in the hand.
Cheap short-lived objects: throw it away afterwards. We could make cheaper prosthetics. Any amputee could have a throw away arm.
Color changes: change color or transparency of object or environment. We could modify the color of our skin to match our environment.
Phase transitions: We could make our skin warm up in cold temperatures or cool down in hot temperatures.
Pneumatics and hydraulics: use gas and liquid instead of solid parts. We could use hydraulics to make us some jump higher.
Self-service: something serves itself. We could program our body to do certain things that our mind might find strenuous. Like mowing the yard.
Continuity of useful action: elimination of break. We could wire our bodies to stay up longer then what our body and mind are used to. For example, we could have someone stay up the entire day so they can monitor a security system.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Homework Assignement Five
This week we talked about Prediction Markets. They are an interesting phenomena that is manifested directly from public speculation. I decided to go with the website our teacher had shown us, http://www.intrade.com/. In Prediction Markets people place bets on the probability of an event occurring. For example, I could invest in a prediction market related to whether or not Obama's new health care system will pass before the end of December 2009. Our teacher gave us the task of analyzing markets that we found appealing and to wager "fake money" on certain predictions.
I was interested in several of the following categories:
1)Surrogates to gross OVER $16.0M in opening weekend.
The current bid is 92.5 percent. I believe this number could grow higher because science fiction movies are a huge industry. Also there has been ample advertisements for the movie. Also there are no other "big movies" debuting at the same time.2)Osama Bin Laden to be captured/neutralized by 31 Mar 2010.
They are currently asking for 7.0 percent. I believe the number could be lower. They have not find him yet and cannot even confirm what country he is in.3)Average national price for regular unleaded gas to be $3.25 per gallon or more on 30 Nov 2009.
This poll has not been tabulated yet and I believe that the odds will be less then 50% considering the states of the economy.4)Japan to announce it has acquired a nuclear weapon before midnight ET on 31 Dec 2011Japan to announce it has acquired a nuclear weapon before midnight ET on 31 Dec 2011.
They are currently asking for 28.0 percent. I believe the number could grow lower due to its relations with the United States, its lack of political turmoil, and the growing control the United Nations.5)The Freedom Tower to be officially opened before midnight ET on 31 Dec 2013.The current number is 62.o percent. I believe this value could lower because this building is supposed to be bigger then the world trade center. The WTC is a very large building and would take lots of capitol ( in a stagnant ecnomoy) and lots of man hours.
6) Public Enemies to win the Oscar
The current number is 7.3. I believe the possibility of this occurring is zero. I have seen the movie and do not believe it was up to par with any recent Oscar Winners.
7)Higgs Boson Particle to be observed on/before 31 Dec 2010
The asking price is 25.0. I believe this possibility should be lower. They started the LHC for only a few months and it failed. There will be more kinks in the LHC itself. It is an extremely complicated instrument. The repair for any problems can provide long delays because the magnets must be heated up to reasonable temperature for repair. When the LHC is running the magnets are kept at a very cold temperature.
8)Lindsay Lohan bares all for Playboy
This current asking price is 87.0 I believe this price should be much lower. I think people are taking into account her reckless behavior, but I have not heard much tabloid news about her. Perhaps she is finally cleaning up her act.
9)China agrees before end of 2009 to binding target limiting CO2 emissions.
The current asking price is 34%. I believe the money should be much lower. China does not like to abide by other countries regulations. It still uses more coal then any country in the world. This kind of dependence causes a transition to be very slow and tedious.
10)A magnitude 9.0 earthquake to occur anywhere on/before 31 Dec 2009.
The current asking price is 4.8%. I believe this number should be lower. 9.0 magnitude earthquakes are very rare because they are soo strong. I believe there will be some very deadly earthquake between this time but I do not think it will be that strong.
......Surrogates to gross OVER $16.0M in opening weekend.
I believed that 9 out of 10 of my "interesting markets" bids were too high. The prediction market concerning Surrogates gross over the opening weekend was the only price that was not too high. I believed that the possibility will be 100%. 16 Million dollars is not that high considering inflation and the market Sci-Fi movies have. This was the only market I invested in because I believed that all other prediction markets I was interested in were already valued to high. I was given 5000 dollars of play money. I decided to spend about 2000 dollars of my money on this prediction market. I bought 300 "shares" at 85 dollars a piece. The total amount spent was 1980 dollars.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Homework Assignment Four
Homework Assignment 4
Part A)
My questions was referenced to time. I asked everyone to predict when cars will be fully automated. We chose to put emphasis on the median because the mean or average can be skewed by the extremities.
This is the range and median of my fellow classmates guesses before and after the Delphi Method. People could see some ambiguity from my question. To say cars are fully automated is not very specific. People could argue that cars are somewhat automatic now with features like cruise control and automated windows. When I postulated my question I was imagining a car that would open automatically and once you were inside take you to your final destination. I did not specify this in class so many people might have had a hard time knowing what I define as a fully automated car.
If I were to reword my question I would ask the class how long they think it would take for cars to become automatic where no human intervention was needed besides telling the car’s computer what destination you seeked. By not asking the question with this detail I might have gotten skewed results from peoples misinterpretation.
Part B)
I needed to pick a subject for my semester topic. This topic will our be our final project for this class. I have decided to look at transhumanism because of my interest in seeing "homo evolutis" occur. My first course of action is too research about transhumanism. From there I will make predictions and take about the pros and cons of transhumanism.
Part A)
My questions was referenced to time. I asked everyone to predict when cars will be fully automated. We chose to put emphasis on the median because the mean or average can be skewed by the extremities.
This is the range and median of my fellow classmates guesses before and after the Delphi Method. People could see some ambiguity from my question. To say cars are fully automated is not very specific. People could argue that cars are somewhat automatic now with features like cruise control and automated windows. When I postulated my question I was imagining a car that would open automatically and once you were inside take you to your final destination. I did not specify this in class so many people might have had a hard time knowing what I define as a fully automated car.
If I were to reword my question I would ask the class how long they think it would take for cars to become automatic where no human intervention was needed besides telling the car’s computer what destination you seeked. By not asking the question with this detail I might have gotten skewed results from peoples misinterpretation.
Part B)
I needed to pick a subject for my semester topic. This topic will our be our final project for this class. I have decided to look at transhumanism because of my interest in seeing "homo evolutis" occur. My first course of action is too research about transhumanism. From there I will make predictions and take about the pros and cons of transhumanism.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Homework Assignment Three
We discussed the Delphi method in class. The questions below give a more in depth understanding of the Delphi method.....
1. If your question was one of those that the class used the Delphi method on, find the median and the range of the middle 50% of the responses. Using a graphics editor of your choice (even paint works for this), make a graph that is analogous or similar to the one in the lecture notes, showing the total range, middle 50% range, and median).
2. Read up on the Delphi method on the Web (or the library). Explain how the process that we went through in class differs from the process as described in the sources you found.
The Delphi method relies on a panel of independent experts. We are definitely not experts in making predictions about the future. For example, you would want a people with extensive knowledge in automobile technology to approximate when cars will be fully automated. We did not have more then one iteration. Our answers were also not anonymous. . Thus, experts are encouraged to revise their earlier answers in light of the replies of other members of their panel. Also I did not see people's answers converge like the Delphi Method stated. This could clearly be a result of only doing one iteration.
3. Based on what you can find about the Delphi method, what shortcomings, risks, or other weaknesses do you see for the process that we followed in class? Also do you see a way to fix some of these?
We could have used more iterations when we discussed different topics using the Delphi method. More iterations could help our answers converge to find one more congruent answer. I noticed a lot of our results did not become more convergent after just one iteration. Convergence can play a vital role in the Delphi Model. Stability can sometimes be a criterion for stopping the Delphi Method. We could have also written our answers down before we heard each others predictions. This could alleviate any bias that some felt after hearing their prediction was not the same as their fellow classmates.
1. If your question was one of those that the class used the Delphi method on, find the median and the range of the middle 50% of the responses. Using a graphics editor of your choice (even paint works for this), make a graph that is analogous or similar to the one in the lecture notes, showing the total range, middle 50% range, and median).
My questions was referenced to time. I asked everyone to predict when cars will be fully automated. I answered any inquires relating to the ambiguity of my question. We recorded people's predictions. I noted the extremes from the predictions and asked my fellow classmates to elaborate on their answer. Afterwards, we recorded our new or same predictions based on what we had just discussed. This is a graph that shows the total range of statistics taken before and after an iteration of the Delphi Method. We can see that the we could state there was a level of convergence because the values have gotten closer. We chose to put emphasis on the median because the mean or average can be skewed by the extremities.
2. Read up on the Delphi method on the Web (or the library). Explain how the process that we went through in class differs from the process as described in the sources you found.
The Delphi method relies on a panel of independent experts. We are definitely not experts in making predictions about the future. For example, you would want a people with extensive knowledge in automobile technology to approximate when cars will be fully automated. We did not have more then one iteration. Our answers were also not anonymous. . Thus, experts are encouraged to revise their earlier answers in light of the replies of other members of their panel. Also I did not see people's answers converge like the Delphi Method stated. This could clearly be a result of only doing one iteration.
3. Based on what you can find about the Delphi method, what shortcomings, risks, or other weaknesses do you see for the process that we followed in class? Also do you see a way to fix some of these?
We could have used more iterations when we discussed different topics using the Delphi method. More iterations could help our answers converge to find one more congruent answer. I noticed a lot of our results did not become more convergent after just one iteration. Convergence can play a vital role in the Delphi Model. Stability can sometimes be a criterion for stopping the Delphi Method. We could have also written our answers down before we heard each others predictions. This could alleviate any bias that some felt after hearing their prediction was not the same as their fellow classmates.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Homework Assignment Two
Our teacher gave us a class lecture on 4 different types of curves. The 4 types consist of linear, exponential, s-shaped, and plateau curves. He stated that he wanted us to make a prediction of the future using one of these curves to describe that prediction. I believe you could use all 4 curves to describe worldwide human population growth from the past to the present, and even to the future.
Human population growth is a very interesting phenomena. When our ancestors evolved into homo sapiens, their population growth was probably somewhat slow and steady. We did not have advanced technology (e.g. methodical ways to fight predators and prevent disease). If were to look at the our population growth, we would probably see a steady linear curve. Now if we were to compare current human population growth with the past, we would see a jagged curve that would resemble an exponential graph.
Perhaps if were to look into the distant future, we would see a s-shaped curve. A s-shaped curve would be a leveling off of the world's population after a long term exponential growth rate. This could be caused by many different phenomena, such as ozone depletion, the Earth reaching is sustainability limit, nuclear, chemical, or biological warfare, etc. After the S-curve our population would eventually become a plateau curve. This curve would represent a "dying off" of the human race. This could be a result of a series of intricate events (e.g. warming of the earth and a new deadly airborne virus) or the initial cause of the human growth rate leveling off. This is of course speculation, but it seems that the advancement of technology and lack of human discipline has shown us more ways to kill ourselves and put us in harms way.
The majority of things that we affect can also be described by these different graphical representations. For example, the amount of light bulbs in use will decrease or increase proportionally to human population. If you want further evidence for the human race going towards a decline, we must look at the previous extinctions. The Earth has shown us that mass extinctions of species have occurred. For example, many scientists have the popularized the theory that dinosaurs became extinct after an asteroid impelled Earth around Mexico . Regardless of the cause, there is substantial proof from fossils that dinosaurs were wiped off the face of the planet. If you have any doubt about the Earth's previous extinctions, you should read the 6th Extinction by Roger Lewin. This book talks about the patterns of extinction and how we could possibly go through a 6th mass extinction.
Thus, it already clear that human growth rate is growing exponentially, but I believe that our race will eventually die off due to some catastrophic event(s). Many other natural phenomena can be observed by these 4 curves, but I firmly believe that human population growth rate is one of the most applicable.
Our teacher asked us to compute the following:
Estimate the doubling time of the software development productivity of the average programmer, if productivity increases at 6%/year.
The doubling time of the software development would be 12 years. In 12 years any arbitrary amount would double.
Estimate the percent per year of increases in the complexity of PC computers if this complexity doubles every 2 years. (By "complexity" we could say we're talking about the number of transistors on a CPU chip, if you were wondering.)
The approximate percent increase would be 41% per a year. This would give an amount that is very close to 100% of the double any initial arbitrary value.
Estimate the percent per year of increases in the complexity of PC computers if complexity doubles every 18 months, as some think it is doing.
If you have an arbitrary amount of transistors in a PC that have a doubling time of 18 months then you would see a percent increase of approximately 56%.
What is the doubling time of your money if you have it in the bank making 2% interest per year?
It would 35 years for an arbitrary amount of money to double if it is gaining 2% interest.
Human population growth is a very interesting phenomena. When our ancestors evolved into homo sapiens, their population growth was probably somewhat slow and steady. We did not have advanced technology (e.g. methodical ways to fight predators and prevent disease). If were to look at the our population growth, we would probably see a steady linear curve. Now if we were to compare current human population growth with the past, we would see a jagged curve that would resemble an exponential graph.
Perhaps if were to look into the distant future, we would see a s-shaped curve. A s-shaped curve would be a leveling off of the world's population after a long term exponential growth rate. This could be caused by many different phenomena, such as ozone depletion, the Earth reaching is sustainability limit, nuclear, chemical, or biological warfare, etc. After the S-curve our population would eventually become a plateau curve. This curve would represent a "dying off" of the human race. This could be a result of a series of intricate events (e.g. warming of the earth and a new deadly airborne virus) or the initial cause of the human growth rate leveling off. This is of course speculation, but it seems that the advancement of technology and lack of human discipline has shown us more ways to kill ourselves and put us in harms way.
The majority of things that we affect can also be described by these different graphical representations. For example, the amount of light bulbs in use will decrease or increase proportionally to human population. If you want further evidence for the human race going towards a decline, we must look at the previous extinctions. The Earth has shown us that mass extinctions of species have occurred. For example, many scientists have the popularized the theory that dinosaurs became extinct after an asteroid impelled Earth around Mexico . Regardless of the cause, there is substantial proof from fossils that dinosaurs were wiped off the face of the planet. If you have any doubt about the Earth's previous extinctions, you should read the 6th Extinction by Roger Lewin. This book talks about the patterns of extinction and how we could possibly go through a 6th mass extinction.
Thus, it already clear that human growth rate is growing exponentially, but I believe that our race will eventually die off due to some catastrophic event(s). Many other natural phenomena can be observed by these 4 curves, but I firmly believe that human population growth rate is one of the most applicable.
Our teacher asked us to compute the following:
Estimate the doubling time of the software development productivity of the average programmer, if productivity increases at 6%/year.
The doubling time of the software development would be 12 years. In 12 years any arbitrary amount would double.
Estimate the percent per year of increases in the complexity of PC computers if this complexity doubles every 2 years. (By "complexity" we could say we're talking about the number of transistors on a CPU chip, if you were wondering.)
The approximate percent increase would be 41% per a year. This would give an amount that is very close to 100% of the double any initial arbitrary value.
Estimate the percent per year of increases in the complexity of PC computers if complexity doubles every 18 months, as some think it is doing.
If you have an arbitrary amount of transistors in a PC that have a doubling time of 18 months then you would see a percent increase of approximately 56%.
What is the doubling time of your money if you have it in the bank making 2% interest per year?
It would 35 years for an arbitrary amount of money to double if it is gaining 2% interest.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Homework Assignment One
Our professor had given us a very intriguing homework assignment. He gave us various topics about the future with associated links. The links for these topics are extremely outdated. From these links, we are supposed to find up to date information. We also had the choice of finding our own material on other interesting topics of the future as well.
I knew one very special website could help me in my endeavours. This website harbored hundreds of lectures given from renown artists, philosophers, scientists, engineers, and even our own Bill Clinton. These lectures are given every so often at TED conferences held mostly in Monterrey California. This website is called TED.COM. TED stands for technology, entertainment, and design. I have frequented this website many times, and I have never ceased to be amazed. I have spent many countless hours viewing these lectures. This has given me incite into what the real world literally is and where it is actually going. Thus, when I heard about this assignment I knew I could get tons of information from this website.
I started to read the various topics. First and foremost transhumanism stuck out to me right away. I had previously watched a video on TED.COM that was about this exact subject. A brilliant scientist named Juan Enriquez hypothesized that humans would evolve into a new species. A species that was heavily integrated with machines. He called this new species homo evolutis. These species would be better then modern day man to adapt to their environment. For example, with the improvement of hearing aid technology, humans will probably be able to hear better then we can now. The link for this lecture is: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/juan_enriquez_shares_mindboggling_new_science.html
I was also intrigued with a video I saw on TED.COM that elaborated on the intelligence of crows. This video was very profound. I had never thought crows were special (let alone intelligent). The lecturer, Joshua Klein had a huge interest in this overly abundant bird. He showed that crows adapt to their environment better then many other species through an application he called a "crow vending machine". He also stated that crows were cracking nuts by dropping them on streets so that cars could run over the nuts. They would then eat the material inside the nut. They adapted this process because their beaks were not strong enough to crack the nuts. Also, crows were learning from each other. This phenomena spread and crows have been witnessed performing this act in various locations. You might wonder how this has anything to do with the future, but at the end of this lecture Klein suggests that we can one day have a symbiotic relationship with this species. For example, people could train crows to pick up trash. The link for this lecture is: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html.
For my final topic, I picked the creation of synthetic life. Craig Venter played a pivotal role in the human genome project. He gave a speech at TED about being on the verge of creating synthetic life. He explained that DNA could be implanted into " blank cells". These cell would synthesize into what ever the DNA's instructions were. One viewer asked Dr. Venter if this synthetic life has any harmful applications, for example creating a "super bug" they could kill all mankind. Craig Venter did acknowledge this possibility, but explained that there were copious amounts of benefits from creating synthetic life. The link for this site is called:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/craig_venter_is_on_the_verge_of_creating_synthetic_life.html
I was also intrigued with a video I saw on TED.COM that elaborated on the intelligence of crows. This video was very profound. I had never thought crows were special (let alone intelligent). The lecturer, Joshua Klein had a huge interest in this overly abundant bird. He showed that crows adapt to their environment better then many other species through an application he called a "crow vending machine". He also stated that crows were cracking nuts by dropping them on streets so that cars could run over the nuts. They would then eat the material inside the nut. They adapted this process because their beaks were not strong enough to crack the nuts. Also, crows were learning from each other. This phenomena spread and crows have been witnessed performing this act in various locations. You might wonder how this has anything to do with the future, but at the end of this lecture Klein suggests that we can one day have a symbiotic relationship with this species. For example, people could train crows to pick up trash. The link for this lecture is: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows.html.
For my final topic, I picked the creation of synthetic life. Craig Venter played a pivotal role in the human genome project. He gave a speech at TED about being on the verge of creating synthetic life. He explained that DNA could be implanted into " blank cells". These cell would synthesize into what ever the DNA's instructions were. One viewer asked Dr. Venter if this synthetic life has any harmful applications, for example creating a "super bug" they could kill all mankind. Craig Venter did acknowledge this possibility, but explained that there were copious amounts of benefits from creating synthetic life. The link for this site is called:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/craig_venter_is_on_the_verge_of_creating_synthetic_life.html
The First Day of Class
During the first day of class we became oriented with the goal of this course and its content. From looking at the course objective and goals, I have determined that this class was going to be very interesting. I have always liked wondering what if? This class lets us make predictions of the future and learn about new advances in technology and humankind. I have actually recruited two more students to join our class.
We also were "indirectly" introduced to our classmates and asked what we thought would occur in the future. There were many interesting statements. I made the safe assumption that all of the world's people will use or be affected by the internet. I particularly enjoined a fellow classmate's prediction of finding extraterrestrial life.
We also were "indirectly" introduced to our classmates and asked what we thought would occur in the future. There were many interesting statements. I made the safe assumption that all of the world's people will use or be affected by the internet. I particularly enjoined a fellow classmate's prediction of finding extraterrestrial life.
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