Even more than being a well-connected rich guy, I think the reason why Kurzweil's name has gotten so intertwined with the concept of singularity is really because he has spent so much time speaking publicly about it. He has done more than write fiction; he has taken a "let's do this and here's how we get there" role. He didn't invent the idea, but has taken tangible steps in pushing it forward.
PS: here's my favorite part of the article: He has a robot at home that can take a pizza from the delivery person, pay for it and carry it into the kitchen. "You have the robot say, 'Take the 20 and leave the pizza on top of me,' " Dr. Barry says. "I get the pizza about a third of the time." : ) From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Eric Scoles Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 8:22 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Singularity was invented by Google! I would suspect it has more to do with cool-factor than business-focus. Yes, Kurzweil is a rich eccentric -- but he's also regarded as cool by the NYC-provincial cultural crowd because he hobnobs with people like Eno & Byrne. Vinge don't. As a NY art or music critic who Ray Kurzweil is and they'll most likely be able to give you a bio (albeit one probably missing a bunch of stuff I suspect you'd be interested in). They'll never have heard of Vernor Vinge or Claude Shannon. It's a question more of who Kurzweil knows than what he's done. On Mon, Jun 14, 2010 at 6:39 AM, Charlene Brusso <[email protected]> wrote: Vinge did get a mention, but the article's focus on Kurzweil was weird. I suspect the business community--or at least the Times writer-- finds it easier to wrap its mind around a rich eccentric like K, rather than the more abstract (and not so rich) Vinge. -cb On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 9:34 AM, Eric Scoles <[email protected]> wrote: At least Vinge has a better sense of history: he cites Claude Shannon as his source for the concept. On Sun, Jun 13, 2010 at 9:00 AM, delancey <[email protected]> wrote: The NYT has a huge article about the Singuliarty (in the business section, because it uses Singularity University as its context), which (1) never mentions SF or the SF sources of the concept, and (2) seems to think the concept was entirely invented by Kurzweil and is now wholly owned by Google. Alas. Even a WIki search could have shown them better.... http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/business/13sing.html?sq=singularity <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/business/13sing.html?sq=singularity&st=Se arch&scp=1&pagewanted=all> &st=Search&scp=1&pagewanted=all cd -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] <mailto:r-spec%[email protected]> . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] <mailto:r-spec%[email protected]> . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en. -- Charlene Brusso -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] <mailto:r-spec%[email protected]> . For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en.
