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28 July 15, 2011 reel review transcendent Man by hunter rothwell Inventor, computer scientist, futurist, multimillionaire entrepreneur, and best-selling author ray Kurzweil first gained national attention in 1965 when he appeared on the CBS television program, I’ve Got a Secret, at age 17. A talented pianist, he performed a short piece of classical music; a remarkable feat because it was composed in full by a computer Kurzweil engineered and built himself. That same year he received first place in the International Science Fair and was congratulated in a White House ceremony by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Not too shabby for a high school student from Queens, New York. Now 63, Kurzweil can look back on a life of tremendous achievement. The MIT graduate has founded more than 10 successful companies, written five bestselling books, holds 24 patents for his inventions, was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1999 from President Clinton, was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002 and has received 17 honorary doctorates from some of the world’s most prestigious universities. These are only a glimpse of the accomplishments of a man touted as the “rightful heir to Thomas Edison.” kurzweil imagines that humans will have the ability to download “programs” directly into the brain and be able to back up the whole consciousness onto a computer hard drive for storage. explorebigsky.com In the recent feature-length documentary Transcendent Man, director Barry Ptolemy guides the viewer on a journey through the life and sophisticated mind of the man technology giant Bill Gates refers to as “the best in the world at predicting the future.” Ray Kurzweil accurately predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union as a side effect of the rise of communications technology. He described the rise of the Internet and foretold the year in which a computer would beat a chess champion (IBM’s Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997). Kurzweil’s studies are based on “the Law of Accelerating Returns,” which describes technological evolution’s exponential increase in sophistication and capacity. One does not have to be a scientist in order to recognize the exponential growth of technology in our day-to-day lives. Just think of the first video game, “Pong” [1972], and compare that level of technology with the highly realistic video games of today. Nobody knew what a cell phone was 20 years ago. Computers over the past 40 years have gone from the size of a building at a cost of millions of dollars, to something that fits in our pockets and is affordable for all. People thought Kurzweil was crazy when he made predictions of this technology phenomenon back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. But this is trivial compared to his vision of the future: “In the next 25 years we’ll go from something that fits in your pocket, to something the size of a blood cell,” he says in the film. This, he predicts, will enable mankind to overcome disease, aging and even conquer death. Kurzweil sees the implications of nano-technology [microscopic computers] where we will be able to control the information processes in our biology, as well as the rise of artificial intelligence interacting within human society. In his world, the Matrix and Terminator could foreshadow uncomfortable realities of human destiny. But Kurzweil’s vision of the future is optimistic, and he is positive humans will solve problems that we cannot now fix and thereby advance the human race for the future. Transcendent Man focuses heavily on Kurzweil’s international speaking engagements where he presents arguments from The Singularity Is Near, his book that is a scientific description of “the story of the destiny of the human-machine civilization.” big sky weekly Boldly, he predicts by 2029 the entire human brain will be mapped, and artificial intelligence will be able to match and surpass human intelligence. Beyond that, Kurzweil imagines that humans will have the ability to download “programs” directly into the brain and be able to back up the whole consciousness onto a computer hard drive for storage. If you need to access the internet, just think about it. Apparently, we will be able to access Wikipedia cerebrally. Whoa! Technology experts and scientists interviewed in the documentary agree to different extents on the future of technological advancement, but most disagree with Kurzweil’s aggressive timeframe. Several of these highly respected science professionals said that “Ray is a bit more of an optimist than is warranted by reality” and “Ray is a modern day prophet that’s wrong.” In our current reality, all of Kurzweil’s predictions are science fiction. However, all science is born in philosophy and is labeled as a fiction until it is proven fact. Consider Copernicus and Galileo, who discovered that Earth was not the center of our Universe and were prosecuted for their “radical” ideas. In a universe that is 13.75 billion years old, the human race has been technologically advanced a mere 100 years. However, there is little argument that Kurzweil has been very accurate thus far. Transcendent Man is highly entertaining and a must-see documentary. Viewers are certain to learn something new of technology and sociology. Kurzweil explains, “The real promise of nano-technology is to have a table top device [where] you can take an information file and you can turn it into a physical object. You can print out a blouse, or you can email someone a toaster, or the toast, or a module from which you can build a house. From very inexpensive input materials, we’ll create everything we need.” Star Trek gave us our first look at the cell phone in those early television episodes. With future hindsight, we might be surprised at what Kurzweil has shown us today about our future.
Fun looking for something to do this afternoon? Check out deuces, a new game from bozemanite Gregg treinish, founder of adventurers and scientists for Conservation, and friends. here’s how it works: what you need: Four people 22x 22 court – or a square of any size a Frisbee how to play: teams of two try to pass the Frisbee back and forth four times. Four straight catches is a point. if the Frisbee goes out of the square it’s a turnover to the other team. “it’s like ultimate Frisbee, only more running,” treinish said. other rules: “we encourage breaks after every two points,” treinish said. have You ever DanceD? The old prospector shuffled into town leading an old tired mule. The old man headed straight for the only saloon to clear his parched throat. He walked up and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other. The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, “Hey old man, have you ever danced?” The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, “No, I never did dance... Never really wanted to.” A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, “Well, you old fool, you’re gonna dance now,” and started shooting at the old man’s feet. The old prospector --not wanting to get a toe blown off-- started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet. Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied. When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon. The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air. The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly. The silence was almost deafening. The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin barrels. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man’s hands, as he quietly said, “Son, have you ever licked a mule’s rear end? The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, “No sir..... But... I’ve always wanted to.” -Author unknown THERE ARE A FEW LESSONS FOR US ALL HERE: - Never be arrogant. - Don’t waste ammunition. - Whiskey makes you think you’re smarter than you are. - Always, always make sure you know who has the power. - Don’t mess with old men, they didn’t get old by being stupid. explorebigsky.com July 15, 2011 29
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