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POPSPterodactyl-inspired Robot To Master Air, Ground And Sea The drones have put us into the world of science fiction. The sole purpose for the development is war. Be it that they may save lives ( the last concern of present govts, if the treatment of troops who served in Iraq is any guide), it would seem easier not to invade countries.
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POPSThe Paranormal some organisations such as the United States National Science Foundation have stated that mainstream science does not support paranormal beliefs. Perhaps that's one of the reasons Scientists are surprised so often
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POPSTigh/Roslin '08 I'm sure a lot of you have seen similar, but this page is particularly well written -- it's beyond the visual similarity. :)
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POPSUniverse in a speck of dust such discoveries are so exciting when i think of it, perhaps all our science fiction ideas no matter how far fetched they may seem, can all be accommodated in the galactic expanse. yet for ever it (the universe) will remain not entirely and completely understood as we may "want" it to be... :)
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POPS"To create visions of the future people can believe in" The most interesting part is: "The best science fiction, as with all great art, doesn't just reflect the world but seeks to influence it." For that one needs a clear description of what should be. A sight that can take the present closer to the desired future.
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POPSIt's Time for Spime An ultra interesting concept of merging the physical and virtual aspects of our future existence. A Spime is a location-aware, environment-aware, self-logging, self-documenting, uniquely identified object that flings off data about itself and its environment in great quantities. A universe of Spimes is an informational universe, and it is the use of this information that informs the most exciting part of Sterling's argument.
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POPSMcCain Equates Embryos and Fetuses in Stem Cell Statement "In scientific terms, embryos and fetuses are different and mutually exclusive entities. Equating them fits within a pro-life framework defining abortion at any stage as murder. "If you call the creation of an embryo for research 'fetal farming,' that clearly conflates embryos, at whatever stage, with fetuses," said Thomas Murray, director of the Hastings Center, a nonpartisan bioethics think tank. "It would seem to equate a five-day-old embryo with a fetus one day before delivery.""
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POPS1st law of Asimov Issac Asimov, widely regarded as the spiritual father of science fiction, outlined three rules that all robots in his future worlds must obey. The most important two were: a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; and a robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law." “Most robots today can only work safely if segregated from humans, or if they move very slowly. The trade-off between safety and performance is the name of the game in physical human-machine interactions.”
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POPSThe Coming Convergence The message is clear: the choices we make now will converge to create a near and distant future that will be almost unbelievably wonderful or unimaginably catastrophic, or both. This knowledgeable, fascinating glimpse into the future is a must read for everyone interested in technology, upcoming innovations in business, science fiction, and the future.
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POPSRobot builders seek a little help from sci-fi
"People that thought of it as a camera with legs were really pleased, but people that thought of it as a photographer were really disappointed," he says. Smart thinks those raised expectations were down to the impact of unrealistically human-like robots in movies and books. "People don't really know what they are. C-3PO in Star Wars is very humanlike, intelligent and capable, but real robots are not like that at all." Instead of just forcing people to alter their expectations, Smart thinks it makes sense to study how people's ideas about robots are influenced by fiction. That knowledge could be used to design robots that make the most of those expectations. "My real concern is to get people and robots to play together nicely," says Smart. Engineers might learn from fictional robots in other ways, says Sharkey. "It would be worthwhile to study the way computer animators make us connect with simple, non-human objects." Pixar's WALL-E, for example, is easy to connect with, he
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POPSComputer Virus Infects Space Station This piece of malware sounds mostly harmless, designed to steal video game passwords. But I'm imagining a hacker causing a satellite to plummet from space onto a US city. It's possible I've been reading too much science fiction.
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POPSFour Reasons Not to Give Up on Interstellar Travel It looks far, dark, and cold... Yet, 120 years ago, flight was science fiction as well. C. G. Jung said that all dreams of space travel are just an escape from one most difficult challenge of all, that is the journey to man's inner space. :-) ...and see my clip from last week on suggested FTL drive. It seems the motivation to escape an inner journey just grows.
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POPSTransformers - The Nature of Alien Life
The driving factor is a pragmatic desire to improve mental capacity. Alien beings may have already reached a point in their evolution where, having exhausted the potential of their biological brains, they have taken the next logical step and opted for robotic brains equipped with artificial intelligence. This brain swap may not be as far off for humans as one might think. In only a few decades, the computer revolution here on Earth has produced supercomputers capable of performing more than a quadrillion calculations per second. According to research by Hans Moravec, an artificial-intelligence expert at Carnegie Mellon University, that rate trumps the human brain’s estimated top speed of 100 trillion calculations per second. Some scientists speculate that in a few decades, an event called the technological singularity will occur, and machines armed with computer brains will become sentient and surpass human intelligence. Civilizations equipped with technology light-years ahead
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