Unabashed

MIT’s article “Hope on the Horizon” brims with observations on the kinds of advancements that illustrate, profoundly, that life is about to change, inexorably, for all humans, forevermore. In the article, they ask a panel of researchers to point out some economy-boosting technologies that are imminent.

Life extension, sustainable cities, robots, biosolar cells, electromechanical energy–advancements that are in the pipe right now, and have the potential not only for economic stimulus, but could also mark a metamorphosis moment for mankind (AKA the Singularity).

Embedded electronics

One transformation on the near term horizon is the embedding of low-cost electronics into almost every object that we encounter on a day-to-day basis. A pair of sunglasses may have the ability to project a visual display accessing the Internet, have an embedded cell phone and actuate other devices as one glances at them. The technology for this already exists. Flexible electronic paper and electronic clothing will change the way information is projected and harnessed at a personal level. Everyday objects may sense, detect and constantly adjust to our environment, controlling temperature, lighting, noise level, etc.

Digital fabrication

The most significant coming technology is the digitization of fabrication, the impact of which will be analogous to the digitization of communication and computation. Like those earlier revolutions, the consequence will be personalization, in this case, allowing anyone to make almost anything, anywhere.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: advancements, biosolar, cells, digital fabrication, electromechanical, electronics, embedded, Energy, extension, Life, MIT, robots, Singularity, sustainable cities

Titan is cool. Cassini is due to photograph the moon in the next few weeks, and I fully anticipate–in fact, I’m going to go ahead and predict–that NASA will find proof of life on Titan. Why am I so confident? Because exploration of our solar system has never had as much active effort as it does right now. Because Titan has an utterly alien environment–but it’s an environment, with rain and cryovolcanoes, hydrocarbon lakes, mountain ranges… it has potential for water, and it has a stable atmosphere. And, besides that, it would be so freaking cool. But…You wouldn’t want to live there. Forget the fact that it’s cold and that the atmosphere isn’t breathable for humans, focus instead on the fact that the smell of fart would probably pervade every waking moment of your life. Still, whatever life they do wind up finding won’t be able to breathe our atmosphere, and who knows, maybe their farts will smell like our air.

Any way, don’t be surprised when, after a couple of months or years of analyzing the data, NASA announces irrefutable evidence of life on Titan.

The Singularity is near.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: Life, NASA, Saturn, Titan

I watched the movie “Troy” today. I’ve seen it before and my impression now is much the same as it was: a good movie. There are some hokey production errors, and a little too much hair spray and the costumes were designed just a little too pretty. Brad Pitt is good, but a bit too over-the-top choreographed (which actually fits right in with the rest of the movie), but Eric Bana as Hector is spectacular and kind of saves it for me (plus: the Trojan horse looks really cool). But this isn’t a movie review, this is an observation of a life philosophy.

At one point Achilles was speaking with Briseis, who asked him if he had no fear at all of the gods.

Achilles replied: “I’ll tell you a secret. Something they don’t teach you in your temple. The Gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”

That was the line of lines in a movie with a lot of memorable quotes. It makes me think of the old “Live every day as if it’s your last” axiom. But how do you do that? How do you really achieve enjoying every moment, in a manner that would make the old Greek gods envious of our mortality? I can think of a lot of ways to truly live life to the fullest, but I don’t have that kind of money. Within the margins of living a fully appreciated life–being happy with your marriage, kids, home and job, having a hobby that you enjoy, feeding your soul–this is the path to spiritual fulfillment. The seven cardinal virtues: faith, hope, charity, temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice. These, too, will lead to spiritual fulfillment. And all of this can be achieved if we, as a people, might start every day repeating and living by one ancient, overused word: honor. Remember that life is not the most important thing; living is the most important thing.

If all men lived honorably, then the gods might indeed be jealous of us.

written by Matt Mitchell \\ tags: honor, Life, living, troy, virtue