12 replies to this topic

[randolfe]

I hope this enables some Imminst members to catch this program:

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On Monday, December 26 at 10:15 pm
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The Singularity Is Near
Ray Kurzweil
Description: Ray Kurzweil talks about the rapid advancements in technology and the possible implications of this for our future. Mr. Kurzweil also explains how technology evolves and demonstrates how, with this understanding, he has been able to successfully predict things like the worldwide use of the internet decades before most people even knew what it was. Mr. Kurzweil also talks about the potential for nanotechnology and addresses concerns that an increased reliance on technology will be bad for humanity. This talk was hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. Includes Q&A.

Author Bio: Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil is the author of "The Age of Intelligent Machines," "The Age of Spiritual Machines," and "Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live Forever." Mr. Kurzweil is credited with developing the first reading machine for the blind and the the first text-to-speech synthesizer. His music synthesizers are widely used by the recording industry. For more information on Mr. Kurzweil's latest book and his work, visit: singularity.com.

Publisher: Viking 375 Hudson Street New York, NY 10014

[advancedatheist]

I noticed that Kurzweil kept squinting his eyes in an odd way, like he had a tic. John Grigg, who watched the lecture with me, remarked that Kurzweil didn't do that when he saw him speak at Extro 5 a few years ago. Could that reflect neurological damage from the quack treatments Kurzweil receives?

And, of course, Kurzweil (b. 1948) does look like a man in his late 50's, despite his delusion that he stopped aging around 1990 or so.

[th3hegem0n]

"Damage" is somewhat presumptuous.

[advancedatheist]

"Damage" is somewhat presumptuous.

I ask because I don't know. Apparently Kurzweil didn't display that tic a few years ago:

Keynote talk at Extropy Institute's EXTRO-5 conference in San Jose, June 15, 2001

[AdamDavis]

Yes, I can remember watching a live webcast of a conference Kurzweil attended a couple of months back. I noticed he kept squinting too. It's probably just a habit.

Adam.

[Mind]

Aging happens. There ain't no cure yet. Mad props to Kurzweil for being a guniea pig. He admits his diet is experimental. Hopefully we will all be able to learn from his experiment.

[bascule]

What channel was this on?

[jaydfox]

Sometimes ticks are just habits that start from innocent real short term problems (a sniffing tick left over from a long cold, a blinking tick left over from a bout with dry, itchy eyes, etc.).

However, I do admit that 250 supplements seems a bit excessive. Even if 99% are harmless or even beneficial, that 1% (2 or 3 supplements) could cause serious damage. But hey, he's done more research on each supplement than I have, so I'm in no position to judge.

[scottl]

Blaming development of a tic on supplement toxicity or "quack treatments" is pure fearmongering unless you have specific details on what the supplements/treatments are/were and details of their potential toxicities.

[Karomesis]

I agree scott, the development of a tic or any other gesticulative anomoly could be a result of many things, trauma for instance , or the glare of too many lights. Interestingly enough, my health is quite remarkable and I still get chronic dry eye for some reason and squint when it occurs. So maybe ray has dry eye

I will concede, the ones who are the gunuie pigs are the ones most at risk for deletrious side effects, but, they are also the first to benefit from them as well, while the rest of humanity spirals down to the certain misery and horror of the aging process. I am not 57, but am willing to offer myself as fodder for scientific progress when RNAi matures enough to experiment on humans. Although the risks as many here know are significant, the benefits are profound as well. The final humans to perish through aging will miss the cutoff by a very minute amount of time, possibly even hours or minutes, I'll take any advantage I can get.

If I perish before my progeny fully mature, they are at the mercy of probabilites beyond my control, if my spouse marries again they face a risk of abuse or death 3-40 times greater than with their biological father. I survive, not just for selfish reasons like discovering the genesis of existence, but for them and my wife as well, as she is at a greater risk of misstreatment from a second marriage and will have fewer good prospects with which to choose from because she has children.And men who would be willing to be with her are probably at the bottom of the reproductive scale in terms of desireability.

[MichaelAnissimov]

From what I remember of Kurzweil when I saw him at AC05, he did have a tic. Vinge, incidentally, happens to have a bit of a stuttering problem. Yudkowsky, despite having unflattering articles written about him, is actually quite normal! As long as you ignore the savior complex.

[Lazarus Long]

Nice to read you again Michael. I am reading the Sing is near currently. I will let you know what I think about it when I'm done.

[JonesGuy]

I remember glancing through it and thinking it was really optimistic. I also couldn't deduce the point. What value do you get out of it, other than a optimistic glow about the future?