The World Transformed

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Mammal-Free Diets and Soylent Green: Future Ethics, Best of TWT Apr 06, 2017

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[This show first aired 4/14/2008] Yuri's night. Phil got a little confused on the story of Gagarin's marriage. Gagarin was married to Valentina Goryacheva, not Valentina Tereshkova. Our Tales of the Paranormal section: "Mutants live in the underworld of Moscow."Phil is six months into his "No Mammals" diet. This is an ethical decision on his part. Stephen points out that low carb dieting would be incredibly hard without meat. Stephen agreed to try a mammal-free low carb diet and exercise program. But he suspects he will get tired of chicken and fish.We marked the passing of Charlton Heston with a quote from a certain dystopian sci-fi movie. Phil quoted Michael Anissimov: ...everyone will be a vegan soon, if for nothing else, that in vitro meat will be better and cheaper.

You Are Now Free to Move About the Solar System Apr 05, 2017

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Phil and Stephen ask the question: has the space age truly begun? SpaceX makes aerospace history with successful launch and landing of a used rocket After more than two years of landing its rockets after launch, SpaceX finally sent one of its used Falcon 9s back into space. The rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, this evening, sending a communications satellite into orbit, and then landed on one of SpaceX’s drone ships floating in the Atlantic Ocean. It was round two for this particular rocket, which already launched and landed during a mission in April of last year. But the Falcon 9’s relaunch marks the first time an orbital rocket has launched to space for a second time. SpaceX, In Another First, Recovers $6 Million Nose Cone From Reused Falcon 9 On Thursday, SpaceX successfully launched a previously-used rocket, a historic first that puts the company firmly on the path towards its promise of low-cost space flight. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described the fairing recovery as “the cherry on the cake” of the reused rocket launch. How big a deal is this, really? How does a reusable rocket change the dynamics of commercial space development? Is a reusable rocket the killer app of commercially exploiting space? If so, why did we ever use disposable rockets? Related: was the space shuttle program anything more than a tragic near-miss? We weren’t reusing the most important part! Early Design Specs Show The Space Shuttle Could Have Been Much Cooler WT 286-595

Looking to the Far Future, Best of TWT Apr 04, 2017

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[This program first aired April 7, 2008.] Topics: Here's the complete text of the H.G. Wells classic, The Time Machine.How will the MOSH ("mostly original substrate humans" - which means normal, unenhanced humans) fair in the future? Phil has published some thoughts.Michael Darling shares that the Star Trek:TNG episode "Ship in a Bottle" is his favorite.Stephen is impressed with his new iPod Touch. In addition to being a music/movie player, it's a wifi device. You can download music directly from iTunes without a computer. It's got a direct link to Youtube and google maps. You can get your email. It's the iPhone without the phone.Stephen believes that the best answer to the Fermi Paradox is that we are, probably, the only intelligent life in this galaxy. George Dvorsky has a great blog post on the subject.On the other hand, Phil may have found extraterrestrial life in his own backyard.

True Stories: News Not Dated April 1st Apr 03, 2017

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Phil and Stephen discuss news that is strange, but absolutely true. Plunging price of renewable energy makes end of fossil fuels inevitable, says report And it highlighted prediction that generation costs for large-scale solar power plants were expected to drop by a massive 57 per cent by 2025, with onshore and offshore wind expected to become 26 and 35 per cent respectively. Bees swarm infield during Rockies-Padres spring training game Anti-Ageing Drug Could Be Available To Buy In Just Three Years ...team at the University of New South Wales has identified a critical step in the molecular process and a key metabolite, NAD+, which has a central role as a regulator in protein-to-protein interactions that control repair to our DNA. ‘Your animal life is over. Machine life has begun.’ The road to immortality At some point, you become aware that you are no longer present in your body. Plus one story that was dated April 1: DeepMind Solves AGI, Summons Demon WT 285-594

Let Us Eat Cake: Time to Get Happy Again Mar 31, 2017

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Phil and Stephen offer remedies to the happiness shortage Happiness is on the wane in the US, UN global report finds Whole-body vibration may be as effective as regular exercise Mayo Clinic discovers high-intensity aerobic training can reverse aging Being Lazy Is the Key to Success, According to the Best-Selling Author of 'Moneyball' "Do as little as possible, and that unwillingly, because it is better to receive a slight reprimand than perform an arduous task." Research Shows That Eating Chocolate Cake For Breakfast Is Good For The Brain And The Waistline And the Big Story Visions for a World Transformed Now Available in Paperback WT 284-593

Wayne Radinsky and Future Salons, Best of TWT Mar 30, 2017

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[This show first aired March 30 2008.] Futurist Wayne Radinsky explains the importance of future salons. Wayne became a futurist in 1997 when he was working as a software developer and asked the question, "Why does Moore's Law happen?" Wayne was part of the Bay Area Future Salon in Silicon Valley for five years before moving to Colorado and starting the Boulder Future Salon. He is also a director of the Global Futures Network. In the show Wayne talks about about how groups such as GFN and futures salons can help us to shape both our understanding of and expectations for the future.

Big Future Now! (It’s Really Happening) Mar 29, 2017

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Phil and Stephen discuss world-transforming changes that are occurring right now Ray Kurzweil claims singularity will happen by 2045 (An update to last week's confusion about whether Kurzweil has changed his prediction.) Future ‘lightwave’ computers could run 100,000 times faster Using extremely short pulses of teraHertz (THz) radiation instead of electrical currents could lead to future computers that run ten to 100,000 times faster than today’s state-of-the-art electronics, according to an international team of researchers, writing in the journal Nature Photonics. Transcranial alternating current stimulation used to boost working memory Molecule kills elderly cells, reduces signs of aging in mice Join us! WT 283-592

What's the Brain For? Best of TWT Mar 28, 2017

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[This show first aired March 24, 2008.] What;s the brain for? Why is the brain the way it is? What can we do with it that we haven't thought about before? Stephen Gordon and Michael Darling discuss all things brain: The Adult brain cells stop growing myth New findings about the brain lead to treatment for eating disturbances Hack your brain Virus Infection Battles Brain Cancer Single brain cell's power shown Tiny Brain-Like Computer Created Meditation Found To Increase Brain Size Brain Scanner Can Tell What You're Looking At Brain-Computer Interfaces for Manipulating Dreams

Risky Business: Watching Your Step in the Digital Age Mar 27, 2017

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Phil and Stephen examine different kinds of risks that technology enables. A Lithuanian phisher tricked two big US tech companies into wiring him $100 million The scammer, 48-year-old Evaldas Rimasauskas, did so by masquerading as a prominent Asian hardware manufacturer, according to court documents, and tricking employees into depositing tens of millions of dollars into bank accounts in Latvia, Cyprus, and numerous other countries. New App Lets You Find Strangers on Facebook Just By Taking Their Picture Next time you pass by a sexy stranger, rather than imagining her identity or fanciful ideas of your future life together, simply snap her photo and track down her Facebook. Hey, it's not creepy or invasive at all! What’s the Harm: the Body Count of Pseudoscience 3 million people die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases (though this number could potentially rise as new vaccines are developed for diseases such as malaria). 1.5 million are children under the age of five. WT 282-591

Thomas Frey and Epiphany Z, Part 2 Mar 24, 2017

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon welcome futurist Thomas Frey back to the World Transformed to discuss his new book: Epiphany Z: 8 Radical Visions for Transforming Your Future. Topics: What is epiphany Z? 12 Laws of the future. Optimizing purpose. Optimizing learning. Optimizing our tools. Optimizing systems. Optimizing government Optimizing infrastructure. Optimizing ourselves. Three laws of exponential capabilities What should we reasonably expect for humanity for the near term? For the long term? Learn more about Thomas Frey and his work at The Davinci Institute and at Futurist Speaker. Join us! Listen to Part 1. WT 281-590

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