Re: Name of the Game
Jones Beene wrote: There is an interesting disclaimer on the credit page: The opinions expressed in this book are not those of the author ... meaning cryptically, one might suppose, that no opinion is really our own. He meant that he does not necessarily believe in ESP or the near-term end of the world, and he does not wish to be bothered by the legions of people who do. In a related topic, and one of his essays he wrote that while anyone acknowledges there are such things as UFOs in the literal sense (that is, flying objects that cannot be identified by the authorities), he remains unconvinced that UFOs are manned vehicles from outer space, and he is sick of the subject. I expect he still feels the same way about both subjects. In another essay, he frankly admitted that he borrowed the idea of extraterrestrial creatures that look like devils. - Jed
Re: Name of the Game
My evaluation of this coming technology is the same as in the past. The smarter the computer becomes the dumer people become. We are setting ourselves up to be the perfect victims of the philophescy of the Taliban and Al-quida. All they will need to do is write a program in to this great internet network -with some safty regimes that it can't be erased - and soon they would be in control. That should take civilizatio back at least a thousand years.-- Hopefully it is a least a couple decades away.-Ges-
Re: Name of the Game
revtec wrote: I got a reply from Mr. Clark to a letter I sent him around 1965 in which he compared Childhood's End to a previous work City and the Stars. I don't recall that he said anything profound, but if I can figure where I put it, I can scan it or transcribe it for anyone who wishes to see it. Yes. I believe all here would like to see it.
Re: Name of the Game
Jones Beene wrote: With a teraflop computer and any number of expert system software packages implantable, All that needs to be implanted is a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) broadband neural adapter. The network will soon be ubiquitous via these new wireless standards.
Re: Name of the Game
- Original Message - From: Terry Blanton [EMAIL PROTECTED] With a teraflop computer and any number of expert system software packages implantable, All that needs to be implanted is a WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) broadband neural adapter. The network will soon be ubiquitous via these new wireless standards. Good point ... except for security reasons ... VIPs would probably go with a less spatial more secure version, which means that individual would likely still need to carry some minature appliance to secure the most sensitve data and programs - since few codes will be unbreakable even in Murphy's future world...which appliance (like the Johnny Mnemonic variety) will likely be incorportated as a fashion accessory adding new meaning to tastefully accessorized, shall we say. Since the neural adapters for vision will likely be the last interface to be developed, (due to medical liability issues, if nothing else) then an obvious choice for a working interface between an individual and his alter-ego son-of-xbox-mainframe (which can be located anywhere) is reading glasses. We have seen these glasses, indistinguishable from the normal variety, but with built in cameras, microphones and see-through computer screens in the James Bond and Mission Impossible genre of cinema - and one suspects that there are some prototypes in laboratories now (especially in labs in 5-sided buildings). Jones
Re: Name of the Game
Jones Beene wrote: and one suspects that there are some prototypes in laboratories now (especially in labs in 5-sided buildings). WEARWARE! This company might be a good investment: http://www.kopin.com/products/cyberdisplay_products.html
Re: Name of the Game
- Original Message - From: Terry Blanton [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 9:51 AM Subject: Re: Name of the Game Yes. I believe all here would like to see it. Here's the transcript from 1966: Dear Jeffrey, Thank you for your letter of 8 Feb. I can only reply briefly as I am here to complete the novel 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY which Stanley Kubric is already filming in England. (CINERAMA, color, for release early 67). Frankly, I can't remember all the motives behind THE CITY AND THE STARS which I began (in the earlier version AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT - Gnome Press) in 1937.) And I've written so many books since then that I don't remember it very well! There was a more concious attempt at a Utopia in CHILDHOOD'S END - the second part. Incidently you must also read Huxley's last novel, ISLAND (patterned to some extent on Ceylon.) I don't believe any society can be static - certainly not for as long as I postulated in CITY! For my more recent views, see PROFILES OF THE FUTURE. I really wrote CITY for fun, as a voyage of exploration. Any philosophy is incidental! All good wishes, Arthur C Clarke Jeff
Re: Name of the Game
--On Friday, May 13, 2005 11:14 AM -0700 Jones Beene [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The name of the game these days is CHANGE. Change seems to be in the wind in 2005. Jones is right on about gaming being a huge industry. It takes in more money every year than Hollywood, and is more reliably profitable. The newest and most demanding games help drive improvements in processors, graphics cards and other hardware. He's also right about the how quickly communication technology is changing. In the next 5 years, we're going to have devices as described. A palm pilot, cell phone, music player, portable tv, video game console, camera and more all in one. It's going to be really cool. Where I trhink he is wrong is that this is going to mean massive change to society. I don't think so. People will still interact roughly as they do now. We're not going to give up our individuality and join the collective just because we've got really cool cell phones. Social change does not occure as fast as technological change. Not even close. 30 years ago people would have had a hard time imagining what today's technology would look like. But society is virtually unchanged except for the increased political power of the religious wingnuts.. I also think he *way* over estimates the ease with which one can write software that seems human. It would be a Nobel-prize worthy feat if one could create an interactive answering machine which could reliably fool people into thinking it was you. And even if it could be built, I'm not sure that there would be a huge market for it. One one hand, most everyone's got a cell phone, so answering machines (and the land lines they're tied to) are a passe, and certainly will become more so. And also I doubt people are intersted in owning an answering machine that talks with people. It basically performs the function of taking a message, and I don't see a really interactive one as being more than a novelty. Jones's thesis about becoming man-machine hybrids rests on being able to make computers think which we're not much closer to now than we were when those super computers were taking up whole wings of a university buildings. Ron
Re: Name of the Game
Thanks, Jeff! Sir Clarke wrote: Any philosophy is incidental! How disappointing! :-)
Re: Name of the Game
Ron Wormus wrote: Jones's thesis about becoming man-machine hybrids rests on being able to make computers think which we're not much closer to now than we were when those super computers were taking up whole wings of a university buildings. There's quite an incentive for imitating man: http://i-newswire.com/pr19809.html
Re: Name of the Game
Well I think the love of money is driving current change. Harry Jones Beene at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: snip Look at the science press today. You may see only gradual change but there is a case to be made for rather rapid change, disguised as gradual. For instance, what is the driving force behind cutting-edge computer advancement? ...NASA? the military ? physics? weather forecasting? the home/office? Nada... How about gaming... or rather... mostly male teenagers with a surprising amount of discretionary income (the old 'allowance' ain't what it used to be) getting addicted to video gaming... usually violent gaming... which has now moved out of the arcade and into the home, where kids are (either) further exploited by our friends in Redmond ... (or else) they are just the unwitting catalyst for some hidden force or super-meme - a self-motivating trend which might eventually evolve into the most remarkable synergetic change that any human can imagine...(this is the teaser that awaits and evolve is the operative word). snip
Re: Name of the Game
From: Jones Beene The name of the game these days is CHANGE. Change seems to be in the wind in 2005. ... Hi Jones, As always, another thought provoking essay. I wanted to mention the fact that for the past week I, too, had been speculating along the same evolutionary lines of thought though not specifically in terms of what the new XBOX 360 or IPOD could be used for. I'll get back to this coincidence in thought at the end of my essay. But first: Like your own speculations, it seems possible to me that humanity may soon be presented with several choices for which the ramifications could easily transform our species into...well...something quite different. The catalyst for that evolutionary change is IMHO the Internet itself. As has already been speculated ad nausea by several contemporary SF writers (I.e. The Matrix) the physical structure of the Internet appears to be evolving in a way that might eventually mimic the synaptic connections of a massive planetary Global Brain, perhaps eventually achieving a kind of Universal Consciousness in its own right. As the Internet continues to grow in sophistication and power all that might be left for us human beings to figure out would be how best to interface with it. Ultimately I would think direct cortical connections (wet wired interfaces) would be the best way to go. What advantages and (or disadvantages) would such intimate interfacing give the next stage of humanity? Perhaps it depends on how dedicated these interfaces turn out to be. Would we be able to choose when to be connected, or would it eventually become the law that we ALWAYS be connected! No doubt, more cannon fodder for the gifted SF writer. My obvious hope is that when these cortical connections become available (AND REST ASSURED, THEY WILL BECOME AVAILABLE - PERHAPS EVEN WITHIN OUR LIFETIMES!) our personal adventures in interfacing will remain individual choices allowing us to dip into and out of the vast reservoir of Global Consciousness at our pleasure. There is a mystic side to this potential evolutionary step that is, IMHO, worth exploring just a tad: The wonders of science and technology occasionally seem to mirror what some religious philosophers have speculated will become our ultimate evolutionary spiritual path, that of reintegrating our individual consciousness (our spirit if you will) to a greater whole, or said differently: greater gestalts of perception and awareness. Will the advances of Technologically induced conscious interfacing bring forth the accumulated consensus of a Planetary Consciousness that we can tap into at will, or will this technology bring forth something more mysterious: As if it will be used as an AID (like strapping on training wheels) that ultimately helps us discover biological abilities that currently remain undeveloped in a large part of the human race. Perhaps it may turn out to be a combination of both technological and biological advances, and then, something more where genetic engineering plays a significant role as well. Quite likely, the latter. But getting back to Mr. Beene's essay, I want to bring up the fact that for the past week I, TOO, had been thinking about what could happen to the evolution of humanity as we begin integrating and interfacing these technological wonders into our bodies society. Warning! Those who are unwilling to trust any thoughts that haven't been filtered through their rational filters will probably poo-poo the following speculation, but I personally don't feel it was a mere random coincidence that Mr. Beene and I appeared to be thinking about the same concepts this week. I had, in fact, been seriously thinking about writing an essay based on some of Mr. Beene's speculations and posting them within Vortex when he beat me to the punch. He is, after all, a gifted and prolific writer, and on many subjects he is a far better storyteller than I. There seems to be evidence to support the suspicion that unique ideas and spiffy new inventions do not manifest into physical existence from the fertile imagination of a mere single individual, but simultaneously from the fertile minds of several individuals located all over the planet. Often these individuals are completely oblivious to the actions of each other. It's almost like there exists a kind of Universal Insurance Policy that doesn't care a hoot WHO trots the product to the finish line, just as long as ONE of them does. I suspect this Jungian-like synchronicity is a well documented phenomenon that, so far, has only been treated as harmless anecdotal literature primarily because our western based rationally dominated culture has no practical way to explore these ramifications in a serious scientifically controlled way. Too bad! As for me, I suspect the Super Internet already exists in some other layer of reality. I suspect we, as a species, have the biological means to tap into it. In fact, I suspect
Re: Name of the Game
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] all the way to Virtual Photon-based Angels. Yes, the end of kali yuga and the emergence of homo luminous: http://www.sacredmysteries.com/sacredmysteries/GreatYugas5.htm Perhaps a re-read of Sir Clarke's Childhood's End is in order. :-)
Re: Name of the Game
- Original Message - From: Terry Blanton Perhaps a re-read of Sir Clarke's Childhood's End is in order. :-) Indeed. Hard to believe it was published 53 years ago... but it could have been yesterday. Author Arthur was 36 at the time - in his prime; and will likely be seen as the preeminent prophet of the 20th Century. I hadn't consiously thought about that book in years, but recent post was unmistakably influenced by it. There is an interesting disclaimer on the credit page: The opinions expressed in this book are not those of the author ... meaning cryptically, one might suppose, that no opinion is really our own. Go figure... Jones
Re: Name of the Game
Jones Beene wrote: Indeed. Hard to believe it was published 53 years ago... but it could have been yesterday. Author Arthur was 36 at the time - in his prime; and will likely be seen as the preeminent prophet of the 20th Century. I hadn't consiously thought about that book in years, but recent post was unmistakably influenced by it. There is an interesting disclaimer on the credit page: The opinions expressed in this book are not those of the author ... meaning cryptically, one might suppose, that no opinion is really our own. Go figure... Well, I think Jed has contact with Sr.ACC. I have asked what was the inspiration for the book; but, have not received a definitive answer. As I recall, author Arthur said something like Check the ### release of the book.. If only (w)he (-k)knew.
Re: Name of the Game
I got a reply from Mr. Clark to a letter I sent him around 1965 in which he compared Childhood's End to a previous work City and the Stars. I don't recall that he said anything profound, but if I can figure where I put it, I can scan it or transcribe it for anyone who wishes to see it. Jeff - Original Message - From: Terry Blanton [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 9:47 PM Subject: Re: Name of the Game Jones Beene wrote: Indeed. Hard to believe it was published 53 years ago... but it could have been yesterday. Author Arthur was 36 at the time - in his prime; and will likely be seen as the preeminent prophet of the 20th Century. I hadn't consiously thought about that book in years, but recent post was unmistakably influenced by it. There is an interesting disclaimer on the credit page: The opinions expressed in this book are not those of the author ... meaning cryptically, one might suppose, that no opinion is really our own. Go figure... Well, I think Jed has contact with Sr.ACC. I have asked what was the inspiration for the book; but, have not received a definitive answer. As I recall, author Arthur said something like Check the ### release of the book.. If only (w)he (-k)knew.
Re: Name of the Game
Hi Jones, We are in an ever increasing state of change in the world to which a significant factor is the computer and its manifestations like the internet, the X Box and an increase in worldwide scientific cumulative understanding. I mentioned a tiny segment of change coming in mathematics wrought by such seeming unrelated items like the XBox. Back in 1990, Rice University embarked on a " parallel computing" project that has since moved on. The task was almost insurmountable in 1990 yet today XBox and Game boy has some of the software completed to handle parallel. The task is ,of course , to connect the software of 4 computer integral to achieve " quadratic computing' rather than parallel. Quantum computing has been mentioned ,however, this is an imaginary concept whereas quadratics are now achievable with existing software.. albeit in bits a pieces awaiting the math minds assmbling such into useful tools. There are perhaps 25 or more persons in the world that arelooking atthis very challenge in quadratic computing including youngwizards as young as 7 years old. The youth of today are subliminally aware of change and participate willingly regardless of its true worth. This bothers me because it has no base of goodness or decency. Whatis seen as a cultural gap is actually a restructuring of "classes". The wealthy and educated are moving further apart into a " class" that will take another generation to fully recognize.. yet it is presently exemplified in legislative laws passed at thedirectionof paid lobbyists. Not so much wealthy individuals as wealthy organizations and the hierachy represented by the people that control them.. This is the new " class " emerging. I describe these people as .. ones that have unlimited wealth at their command without actually " owning " the wealth themselves. Enron's leaderswith Enron's resources at their command.. soon became obsessed with the notion they "owned" the place and were immune to law. Richard Blank Bkgrd.gif
Re: Name of the Game
BlankRichard, What is seen as a cultural gap is actually a restructuring of classes. The wealthy and educated are moving further apart into a class that will take another generation to fully recognize.. I think a more surprising societal change on the horizon, due to huge advances in computer power and artifical intelligence, will be that the education part of the class distinction equation will start to disappear. With even small wealth, and even if that derives from crime or luck, the 'undeservingly rich' individual will be able to have instant education, good taste and savoir faire. Tongue-tied Presidents will cease to be laughing stock with a built-in prompter - and so-on. Whether the particular 'undeservingly rich' individual can pull-off the rest of the impersonation and sharade is a different story - but many will. With a teraflop computer and any number of expert system software packages implantable, the street smart hustler will (theoretically) in a few years, be able to pass for a rocket scientist, brain surgeon or whatever is on his fantasy list... kinda like Billy Ray Valentine on steroids (you wont get that reference unless you are a movie-trivia freak). But one thing is for sure, the times, they are a-changin' ...as Bobby Zimmerman used to opine. Jones
