Some thoughts on overconfidence in the Singularity, from Jaron Lanier.
Category Archives: Technology and Society
The Big DNA Letdown
Thoughts on the (so far) overhype of genetic sequencing.
I think that there are going to be huge breakthroughs in health and longevity, but our understanding of genetics is currently much too dismal for them to come from DNA analysis in the near term.
My understanding is that the DNA is a recipe, not a blueprint. And while even with a blueprint of a house, the final product is still dependent on the carpenter, it is at least specified. A recipe can have much more varied outcomes, depending on the cook, and the available resources and ingredients.
Too Much Time On His Hands
And now for something completely different — an estimate of how fast the signal of the Beacon of Gondor propagated:
After the first signal is on fire, Gandalf sees the next signal only 6 seconds later. WHAT? The guys (or gals) at the next station must have just been sitting there staring and waiting for a signal. Oh, it was probably like 40 years since the last time it was used. I guess you can do stuff like that if you don’t have youtube. But wait, the more I think about this, the more upset I get. I am ok with invisible rings, flying dragons, glowing swords and stuff. However, it is beyond the bounds of reason to expect me to believe that some guys are sitting way on the other mountain with a hair-triggered lighting mechanism. Six seconds. Seriously.
[Via Geekpress]
Space Potty Talk
With potty mouth Mary Roach (who I’ve always thought had a wonderful name, and am glad that she didn’t change it when she married).
[Update a few minutes later]
Here’s a review of her new book, Packing For Mars
Worker Abuse
Thoughts from Eric Raymond on the working conditions in IT and engineering, and the disparities between men and women.
[Update a while later]
Who will manage the mainframes?
Not Forever
I’m often annoyed by the straw-man argument/complex question (and aren’t all complex questions a form of straw man?) that opponents of life extension toss out: “Why do you want to live forever”?
It’s not about living forever — it’s about living as long as you want to live. Robin Hanson has the same problem.
I can’t say now that I won’t be tired of life in a hundred years or so, but give me a chance to find out. I do suffer from ennui occasionally as I get older, but I think that most of it comes from not feeling as physically good as I did when I was younger, and not having the financial resources to do all the things I’d like to do. Fix those problems, and I might in fact be willing to at least take a trip to Mars, if not a one-way one.
To Coast
…or not to coast — that is the question.
From a safety (and brake wear) standpoint, I agree that it’s a bad idea to coast down a hill — you should use the engine to help brake the car. But I often coast pulling up to a stop sign or red light. I can whip it back into gear fast enough if I have to, and if I’m already in gear, it’s probably the wrong one for a rapid acceleration, unless I’ve been downshifting.
As for fuel economy, I’ll accept his argument for fuel injected cars, but I’ll bet that coasting saves gas over having the transmission engaged for a carburetted vehicle (do they even make them any more, though?).
[Update a few minutes later]
I guess not, if Wikipedia is to be trusted:
Carburetors were the usual fuel delivery method for most U.S. made gasoline-fueled engines up until the late 1980s, when fuel injection became the preferred method of automotive fuel delivery. In the U.S. market, the last carbureted cars were:
* 1990 (General public) : Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, Buick Estate Wagon, and Subaru Justy
* 1991 (Police) : Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with the 5.8 L (351 cu in) engine.
* 1991 (SUV) : Jeep Grand Wagoneer
* 1994 (Light truck) : Isuzu[5]Elsewhere, certain Lada cars used carburetors until 2006. A majority of motorcycles still use carburetors due to lower cost and throttle response problems with early injection setups, but as of 2005 many new models are now being introduced with fuel injection. Carburetors are still found in small engines and in older or specialized automobiles, such as those designed for stock car racing. In such applications, carburetors reliably supply very high volumes of fuel at full load and are easy to set restrictions on to give even, fair racing.
So there you go.
Public Service Announcement
If you get a Facebook message from me or anyone saying that I liked “Girls Are Unable to Stare at This for 10 Seconds, but Guys Can…,” it’s some kind of scam. Don’t follow it.
I’d send a warning to all my FB friends, but my FB pages doesn’t seem to be working properly (e.g., I don’t seem to have a way to update my status, and I can’t type a list name into a message).
From Ban Ki-Moon
This is my favorite spam scam so far:
Attention:
How are you today? Hope all is well with you and family? You may not understand why this email came to you. We have been having a meeting for the passed 7 months which ended 2 days ago with the then secretary to the UNITED NATIONS.
This email is to all the people that have been scammed in any part of the world, the UNITED NATIONS have agreed to compensate them with the sum of USD $850,000 (Eight hundred and fifty thousand United State Dollars Only), This also includes every foreign contractors that may have not received their contract sum, and people that have had an unfinished transaction or international businesses that failed due to Government problems etc.
We found your name in our list and that is why we are contacting you, this has been agreed upon and have been signed.
You are advised to contact Mr. Bret Wilson of BLAKWOODS INTERNATIONAL BANK UNITED KINGDOM, as he is our representative in Malaysia, contact him immediately for your payment of USD$850,000 (Eight hundred and fifty thousand United State Dollars Only)which way you need the fund to be delivered. So he will send it to you and you can clear it in any means of your choice.
You are advice to get in contact with Mr, Bret Wilson and provide him with below information.
Full Name:
Address:
Telephone Number:Person to Contact Mr. Bret Wilson.
Email: bretwilson@secretarias.comThanks and God bless you and your family, Hoping to hear from you as soon as you cash your Fund.
Making the world a better place.
Regards,
Mr. Ban Ki-Moon
UN Secretary General.
This E-mail and any attachment are confidential and intended only for the use of the individuals or entity named above and may contain information that is privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this E-mail is strictly prohibited. If you have received this E-mail in error, please notify us immediately by return E-mail or telephone and destroy the original message.
I’ll be sure to do that.
Transhumanism
Why it’s the best bet to prevent the extinction of humanity.
I haven’t read the whole thing, but I’m sure there’s a lot of food for thought there. And breaking out into space (which will become much easier with these new technologies) is probably one of the pieces of the puzzle.