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John Smart on Singularity 1on1: Accelerating Change Isn’t Slowing Down

by Socrates
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Yesterday I interviewed John Smart on Singularity 1 on 1. Among many other things John is an advisor in Futures Studies and Forecasting for Singularity University where I met him last summer. He is also one of those rare people who are (literary) Smart since birth and totally justify the name. So it was no surprise that I learned a lot during our one-hour-long conversation and I hope you can learn from him too. During our discussion with John we cover a wide variety of topics such as: the Foresight Education and Research Network (FERN); planning and creating your personal and professional future; the story of how John got interested in futurism and technology; his Acceleration Studies Foundation as well as the meaning of accelerating change; his totally fascinating idea of STEM compression; the Barrow scale vs the Kardashev scale; cosmology, [...]

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17 Definitions of the Technological Singularity

by Socrates
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The term singularity has many meanings. The everyday English definition is a noun that designates the quality of being one of a kind, strange, unique, remarkable or unusual. If we want to be even more specific, we might take the Wiktionary definition of the term, which seems to be more contemporary and easily comprehensible, as opposed to those in classic dictionaries such as the Merriam-Webster’s. So, the Wiktionary lists the following five meanings: Noun singularity (plural singularities) 1. the state of being singular, distinct, peculiar, uncommon or unusual 2. a point where all parallel lines meet 3. a point where a measured variable reaches unmeasurable or infinite value 4. (mathematics) the value or range of values of a function for which a derivative does not exist 5. (physics) a point or region in spacetime in which gravitational forces cause matter to have [...]

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The Singularity 101 Free eBook is Near

by Socrates
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I’ve been getting a lot of requests from people asking me for a quick overview of the technological singularity. Naturally, I always recommend Ray Kurzweil’s seminal book the Singularity is Near but a few seem to be either overwhelmed by it or simply don’t have enough time to go that deep into the matter. So, in order to make the ideas even easier to understand as well as to popularize them, I have decided to write a short series of blog articles covering the fundamentals of the technological singularity as well as other relevant information such as definitions of the basic terms and concepts, relevant books, movies, people, institutions, blogs, events etc. My plan is to write a couple of articles per week which will in turn become different book chapters. Once I have all of those written and thoroughly [...]

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Top 5 Tips for Applying to Singularity University

by Socrates
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Those of you who followed SingulatityWeblog.com last summer know that I was very fortunate to attend Singularity University on NASA’s campus in Mountainview, California. The 10 weeks I spent there were one of the most challenging yet inspiring periods of my life. I learned a lot about technology, leadership, entrepreneurship and about myself. I was inspired by meeting people such as futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil, space enthusiast and entrepreneur Peter Diamandis, astronaut Dan Barry, Apple co-founder Steven Wozniak, and many others from across the globe. I had the unique opportunity to go inside the kitchen of technology, talk to some of the chefs and see what will likely be on the menu for the next decade or more. Since I came back I have been getting numerous emails from people interested in applying who are asking me to read [...]

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The Importance of Doubt, Asking Questions and Not Knowing

by Socrates
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Most of us are uncomfortable not knowing. Just think about it: Wouldn’t it be nice (and easy) if we knew the answers to all the important questions? Who am I? Is there a God? What is his name? What is the purpose of life? How do I live the good life? What is justice?… Knowing is much more comfortable (and easier) than not knowing. That is why most people convince themselves to be absolutely certain they know the answers. Yet, as Voltaire presciently noted “Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” It is absurd to take things on faith, without doubting or testing them in any way, and go on preaching that you really do have the answers. It is absurd to be able to accomplish such an enormous feat simply by following orders and without any substantial struggle, [...]

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Will 2012 Be 1984: DRM and SOPA are Breaking The Internet!

by Socrates
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Imagine a world where someone has a monopoly over the media, backed by the power to ban personal privacy and political dissent and capable of preventing people from public gathering and collective discussion without due process, judicial review or any evidence! Sound familiar?! Some of you might venture a guess that the above text reads like a passage from George Orwell’s 1984. Others might say that it sounds like the situation under the totalitarian regimes of the former Eastern Block or any other contemporary autoritarian. It is vital to realize, however, that this is not only fiction. This is not just the situation in some geographically obscure country stuck in the last 6 seconds of the evening newscast. This is infact the future reality that we might be facing today, here, in the “free world.” This is Canada, the United [...]

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Science Comedian Brian Malow on Singularity 1 on 1: Don’t grow up, look deeper and see the world with fresh eyes!

by Socrates
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Yesterday I interviewed science comedian Brian Malow for Singularity 1 on 1. Brian is one of those unique comedians who is capable to not only make you laugh but also make you think. During our conversation we discuss topics such as: the name science comedian and the potential tension between science and comedy; serious comedy, mixing humor with scientific truth and making people think; how Brian became a comedian; the connections between science and science fiction; his favorite science fiction writers; his hobbies of insect photography and writing short sci fi stories; his take on the technological singularity and our chances of surviving it. (As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.)   Who is Brian Malow? Brian is a science comedian, based in San Francisco, [...]

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Robert J. Sawyer on Singularity 1 on 1: The Human Adventure is Just Beginning

by Socrates
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Last Sunday I interviewed Robert J. Sawyer for Singularity 1 on 1. I have to admit that, despite the fact that he is a very well known and successful best-selling science fiction writer, I only recently stumbled onto Robert’s work. I was taking a ride on the Toronto subway and couldn’t help it but notice the posters for his novel WWW: Wake. The idea of a blind girl seeing the internet and connecting with an emerging virtual intelligence peaked my curiosity so I had to read the book. I thought it was so captivating and brilliant that I went ahead and got book 2 (WWW: Watch) and 3 (WWW: Wonder) as soon as I finished book 1. After finishing the complete trilogy I can honestly say that the story only gets better and better as one moves through the different parts. I [...]

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