Against Miik!
01-18-2008, 05:39 AM
This doesn't really have any significance, but a break from intense discussion is always nice.
So have any of you heard about this guy Raymond Kurzweil? He isn't exactly a new figure. He released his first book in 1990, and has written one as recently as 2005. He did some pretty amazing stuff back in the day. The achievement he seems to be most proud of is a device he designed that allows the blind to read. Other than that though, he is basically a modern day Nostradamus, but not completely full of crap.
All of his books basically give us a look into the future, from a technological standpoint. Back in 1990, he predicted the explosion of the internet, back when it barely worked and was used by only a few million people. He predicted automobiles that drove by themselves, which is a technology that is currently being developed by GM and is supposed to be unveiled this year. He also essentially predicted the whole One Laptop Per Child program. It's all on his wikipedia page, which I read in its entirety because it is just so freakin interesting. His predictions that will be coming up soon are as follows:
Early 21st century
* The classroom is dominated by computers. Intelligent courseware that can tailor itself to each student by recognizing their strengths and weaknesses exists. Media technology allows students to manipulate and interact with virtual depictions of the systems and personalities they are studying.
* A small number of highly skilled people dominates the entire production sector. Tailoring of products for individuals is common.
* Drugs are designed and tested in simulations that mimic the human body.
* Blind people navigate and read text using machines that can visually recognize features of their environment.
Note: Since the "Early 2000's" and "Early 21st century" predictions are both listed before the "2010" predictions in the technology Chronology, it can be assumed that the timeframe for the first two is 2000-2010.
2010
* PCs are capable of answering queries by accessing information wirelessly via the Internet.
2010
* Supercomputers will have the same power as human brains.
* Computers will disappear as distinct physical objects, meaning many will have nontraditional shapes and/or will be embedded in clothing and everyday objects.
* Full-immersion virtual reality will exist.
2010's
* Computers become smaller and increasingly integrated into everyday life.
* More and more computer devices will be used as miniature web servers, and more will have their resources pooled for computation.
* High-quality broadband Internet access will become available almost everywhere.
* Glasses that beam images onto the users' retinas to produce virtual reality will be developed. They will also come with speakers or headphone attachments that will complete the experience with sounds.
* The VR glasses will also have built-in computers featuring "virtual assistant" programs that can help the user with various daily tasks. (see Augmented Reality)
* Virtual assistants would be capable of multiple functions. One useful function would be real-time language translation in which words spoken in a foreign language would be translated into text that would appear as subtitles to a user wearing the glasses.
* Cell phones will be built into clothing and will be able to project sounds directly into the ears of their users.
* Advertisements will utilize a new technology whereby two ultrasonic beams can be targeted to intersect at a specific point, delivering a localized sound message that only a single person can hear. This was demonstrated in the movie Minority Report.
2014
* Automatic house cleaning robots will have become common.
2018
* 1013 bits of computer memory--roughly the equivalent of the memory space in a single human brain--will cost $1000.
So basically check it out if you are bored. Mega interesting imo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_kurzweil
So have any of you heard about this guy Raymond Kurzweil? He isn't exactly a new figure. He released his first book in 1990, and has written one as recently as 2005. He did some pretty amazing stuff back in the day. The achievement he seems to be most proud of is a device he designed that allows the blind to read. Other than that though, he is basically a modern day Nostradamus, but not completely full of crap.
All of his books basically give us a look into the future, from a technological standpoint. Back in 1990, he predicted the explosion of the internet, back when it barely worked and was used by only a few million people. He predicted automobiles that drove by themselves, which is a technology that is currently being developed by GM and is supposed to be unveiled this year. He also essentially predicted the whole One Laptop Per Child program. It's all on his wikipedia page, which I read in its entirety because it is just so freakin interesting. His predictions that will be coming up soon are as follows:
Early 21st century
* The classroom is dominated by computers. Intelligent courseware that can tailor itself to each student by recognizing their strengths and weaknesses exists. Media technology allows students to manipulate and interact with virtual depictions of the systems and personalities they are studying.
* A small number of highly skilled people dominates the entire production sector. Tailoring of products for individuals is common.
* Drugs are designed and tested in simulations that mimic the human body.
* Blind people navigate and read text using machines that can visually recognize features of their environment.
Note: Since the "Early 2000's" and "Early 21st century" predictions are both listed before the "2010" predictions in the technology Chronology, it can be assumed that the timeframe for the first two is 2000-2010.
2010
* PCs are capable of answering queries by accessing information wirelessly via the Internet.
2010
* Supercomputers will have the same power as human brains.
* Computers will disappear as distinct physical objects, meaning many will have nontraditional shapes and/or will be embedded in clothing and everyday objects.
* Full-immersion virtual reality will exist.
2010's
* Computers become smaller and increasingly integrated into everyday life.
* More and more computer devices will be used as miniature web servers, and more will have their resources pooled for computation.
* High-quality broadband Internet access will become available almost everywhere.
* Glasses that beam images onto the users' retinas to produce virtual reality will be developed. They will also come with speakers or headphone attachments that will complete the experience with sounds.
* The VR glasses will also have built-in computers featuring "virtual assistant" programs that can help the user with various daily tasks. (see Augmented Reality)
* Virtual assistants would be capable of multiple functions. One useful function would be real-time language translation in which words spoken in a foreign language would be translated into text that would appear as subtitles to a user wearing the glasses.
* Cell phones will be built into clothing and will be able to project sounds directly into the ears of their users.
* Advertisements will utilize a new technology whereby two ultrasonic beams can be targeted to intersect at a specific point, delivering a localized sound message that only a single person can hear. This was demonstrated in the movie Minority Report.
2014
* Automatic house cleaning robots will have become common.
2018
* 1013 bits of computer memory--roughly the equivalent of the memory space in a single human brain--will cost $1000.
So basically check it out if you are bored. Mega interesting imo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_kurzweil