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Feb 10 2012
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Technology, Science, Scifi, Futurism

Do Androids Laugh at Synthetic Banana Peels?

Everyone loves robots. How can you not? With those large mechanical LED Bambi eyes and cuddly exterior, it’s difficult not to feel a deep rooted protective love of our cyber friends.

Robotics has come a long way baby. We live in a world where robots are a part of our everyday lives. They make the gadgets we use and entertain adults and children alike. What we hope for advancement in (or secretly fear) are androids, robots created to seem “human” in the looks or actions. The progress is almost startling when considering robots like Asimo, or even simple chat programs like Cleverbot, the disturbing lovechild of a programmer and a perfect example of robot learning, gathering information from thousands of individual human interactions.

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Feb 06 2012
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Futurism, Movies, Philosophy, Science, Scifi

Post Humans Hate Scifi

By that I really mean, they will hate the science fiction of today. In all likelihood a passive experience like a movie or TV show will be of no interest to them at all. But lets just say it is still relevant, or at least it can be converted into a new entertaining format for super humans. In this case I think the new humans would only be able to, at best, muster some amount of historical appreciation. At worst, they may find it quite stupid and insulting, assuming post humans are capable of being insulted.

It seems to me that most science fiction stories are cautionary tales. They are so often about the failure of scientific advancements to account for the human spirit. I touched on this in an older post. Scifi today has to appeal to the emotions of people today. Continue reading →

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Feb 03 2012
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Movies, Science

You’re asking the wrong Phil

So happy Groundhog day, even though it’s almost over. The movie “Groundhog Day” has more repeat value for me than almost any other movie. Is that ironic? Also, here’s a weather related question. Do we need to be able to accurately predict quantum behavior in order to achieve relatively perfect weather prediction? Is that even theoretically possible, at least for all intents and purposes? Would the Uncertainty Principle significantly obstruct such predictions? Would you need to know the impossibly precise position and speed of all environmental elements to know the exact weather for a month? Will meteorologists run into the limits of physics before even reaching the near perfect 7 day forecast? Well, I doubt it, but there may be a theoretical limit out there somewhere.

Jan 14 2012
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Science

A Negative and A Negative are POSITIVELY AWESOME

We are three dimensional beings. Just in case you weren’t sure. Everything we do, everything we understand, is in the squishy three dimensional world we understand in. The fourth dimension for current thinkers is a wibbly-wobbly concept of space-time. Human brains, unfortunately, are currently not equipped to experience the world in space-time.

We are three dimensional beings that use negative numbers. Cavemen did not have a need for negative numbers, and the fact that our brains can conceptualize it is quite remarkable. Natural numbers (positive whole numbers) were probably difficult enough for our ancestors to understand. But the idea of less than nothing? What a remarkable concept! I’m certain that our primate cousins could not only not understand negative numbers, but they probably could not understand why they would be needed at all. But being three dimensional beings, with enough brain power, a long lifespan, and the ability to build on previous knowledge, it seems inevitable when considered.

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Jan 11 2012
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Philosophy, Science

Plop Plop Fizz Fizz

You are a conscientious person. You pay your taxes, and vote when it’s convenient and not raining. You always drop your empty soda cans in a blue bin and bundle newspaper with designer twine to set out on your curb for recycling day. You even bought a bike, intending to ride it to work. Think of all the greenhouse gas you can prevent by consuming a few extra calories as fuel for that bike ride instead of sitting in that gas guzzling monstrosity. In fact, you don’t even need to worry about the extra calories you need to consume, as you’ve been doing it for years in preparation.

But alas, there is one thing that you haven’t quite thought about while preparing your living will. How will you be buried? What is the most environmentally conscious way you can depart this earth, minimizing your carbon footprint at the critical moment of one week after your death?

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