dsohigian's posterous

Ray Kurzweil Keeps On Talking About the Singularity

Although I find Kurzweil's insights when it comes to alternative (in this case, exponential) thinking, he has been wrong about the consequences of his predictions at almost every turn. Some samples of his predictions for 2009 (from his 1999 book, The Age of Spiritual Machines) :

"The majority of text is created using continuous speech recognition."
"Most routine business transactions (purchases, travel, reservation) take place between a human and a virtual personality. Often, the virtual personality includes an animated visual presence that looks like a human face"
"Human musicians routinely jam with cybernetic musicians"
"[technology for handicapped individuals] result in a growing perception that primary disabilities do not necessarily impart handicaps"
"The neo-Luddite movement is growing"

His predictions for the performance and capabilities of technology are good, but I would not trust his ideas about what we will do with all that performance and technology.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ray_kurzweil_announces_singularity_university.html

First Photos from my Beijing Trip

I arrived in Beijing today at 2PM, totally jet-lagged but still excited. In a funny coincidence there was a contingent of students from Sacramento Waldorf School also on the plane. I knew a couple of them and we chatted during the flight. They were clearly very excited about the trip and many had never been overseas.

Robert met me at the airport and we took the train to the subway to get back to his place. Also a quick dinner and then it will be off to bed! A 33 hour day can be wearing on a guy.

Not sure how these pictures will show up in the blog, this is a test...

Never-Before-Published Photos: The Day MLK Died - LIFE

via life.com

LIFE Presents: Never-Before-Published Photos From Memphis, April 4, 1968
On April 4, 1968, LIFE photographer Henry Groskinsky and writer Mike Silva, on assignment in Alabama, learned that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had been shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. They raced to the scene and there, incredibly, had unfettered access to the hotel grounds, Dr. King's room, and the surrounding area. For reasons that have been lost in the intervening years, the photographs taken that night and the next day were never published. Until now.