The World Transformed

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Brian Wang on Human Enhancement, Best of TWT Jan 27, 2017

Show notes

[This show first aired 11/19/2007.] Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon interviewed special guest Brian Wang. We introduced our new "Tales of the Paranormal" segment.Our interview of Brian Wang 11 million (in USA) choose cosmetic surgery despite results that are sub-optimal.Dietary supplements are a $22+ billion industry.Students are using drugs like Modafinil to improve academic performance. More stories: PRESSED TO DO WELL ON ADMISSIONS TESTS, STUDENTS TAKE DRUGSA Dose Of GeniusApparently our bodies use Myostatin to control our level of muscular development. Inhibiting myostatin could be an effective treatment for muscle wasting diseases and for the muscle loss that the elderly experience. But it could also make the rest of us buff.

Hidden Possibilities: The Past (and Future) We Never Knew Jan 26, 2017

Show notes

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore the adjacent possible and the deep possible. How can possibilities that we have we never considered change the way we look at the world? The Past: Complex life could have existed on Earth at least once before Aquatic Ape Lost Civilizations The Future: The Age of EM Weird Posthuman Futures Also, for most people any variety of transhumanism remains a weird and unexpected future. As do: Post Scarcity Life Extension The Singularity Join us! WT 258-567

Cure for Cancer and Nanotechnology Unconference, Best of TWT Jan 25, 2017

Show notes

Phil Bowermaster, Stephen Gordon, and Michael Sargent discuss a possible cure for cancer and what went on at the Foresight Institute Unconference. Stephen reported that baby powder really does kill fire ant beds.Here are the links YouTube videos that taught Stephen how to solve the Rubik's Cube:During the show we heard Phil's audio interview with Dr. Zheng Cui. Here's a link to Phil's earlier text interview with Dr. Zheng Cui. Scroll to the bottom of that interview for information on making a tax deductible contribution to this work.2007 Foresight UnconferenceAnd check out the 2007 Foresight Unconference wikiOnce again, Stephen mentioned the film The Prestige. Here's his spoiler-filled review of that movie.A related question - would a brain prosthesis change who you are?Thanks to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, we may not need to worry too much about taking a trip by transporter any time soon.

How Good Is It? You Have No Idea Jan 24, 2017

Show notes

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explain why the world is much much better than you think. We start with a quick recap of a recent Peter Diamandis Piece: Why the World Is Better Than You Think in 10 Powerful Charts Phil and Stephen each pick one favorite from the list of charts and provide two additional reasons (not on the list) that the world is better than you think. Phil’s favorites Annual cases of Guinea WormEuropean Homicide Rate (People are better than you think!) Phil’s Additional reasons: The Age of Capability The Possibility Explosion Stephen’s favorites Income spent on foodGlobal literacy Stephen’s Additional reasons: Global internet usage over time Ephemeralization of goods and coffeeshopification of everything else. WT 257-566

Believing Stupid Stuff: Ever a Good Idea? Jan 21, 2017

Show notes

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon examine a few of the many stupid things people believe. Should we ever believe things that are stupid? Stupid Item 1: Contrails Going Around the Moon This is a good one because it is apparently a joke. There are contrail believers (stupid) and flat earth believers (stupid) but I don’t think anyone actually believes that airplanes have to fly around the moon. Stupid Item 2: Debunked: V3Solar's spinning solar panel cone spin cell "CoolSpin" Stupid Item 3 The History of Australia Re-Imagined as Barbeque Bonus Stupid Item Update: Tabby’s Star ate a planet? OTHER GEEK The Expanse Season 2 Premieres February 1 on Syfy Castles of Burgundy 1000s of new games out every year. This game came out in 2012 is still holds the number 10 spot in the rankings at board game geek. You’re running a medieval Burgundy - and you want to be more efficient than other players doing the same. WT 256-565

Micro-Cyborgs and Artificial General Intelligence, Best of the World Transformed Jan 20, 2017

Show notes

[This show first aired 10/29/2007.] Michael and Stephen started the show talking about the latest meeting of the Boulder Future Salon. Both Michael and Phil attended that meeting and reported back (here and here) at The Speculist. Is the Turing Test the best way to test for artificial general intelligence? Michael mentioned the storm botnet worm. He and Stephen agreed that this botnet represents a new paradigm in malware. Michael and Stephen discuss Stephen Wolfram's simple Turing Machine. Stephen Wolfram published a book entitled A New Kind of Science, in which he proposed that the simplest possible Universal Turing Machine would be 2 states, 3 colors. Michael and Stephen also covered the artery-clearing micro-cyborgs. They're robots, but they're powered by heart muscle. Will these be the first in-body autonomous bots? Will this have a negative impact on our privacy? We finished up with further discussion on Moore's Law.

Wallowing in Awesomeness: Amazing Discoveries and Accomplishments Jan 19, 2017

Show notes

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon review some big breakthroughs in science and technology. The amazing discoveries and accomplishments just keep piling up. Scientists in Amsterdam just destroyed breast cancer tumors in 11 days without chemo Smart Watch Knew Man Was Getting Sick Before He Did Scientists use graphene and toy silly putty® to make state-of-the-art sensors Ark. mother of four builds home by watching YouTube tutorials NASA has discovered gigantic ice towers on Pluto, standing 500 metres tall NASA Shares Video Taken by Probe That Landed on Saturn's Moon Join us! WT 255-564

Nano-Radios and Molecular-Sized Solar Cells, Best of WT Jan 18, 2017

Show notes

[This show first aired 10/22/2007.] First up we discussed the Nano-radio - a radio transmitter made from carbon nanotubes. That's right - a radio transmitter the size of a molecule. Second we talked about molecular-sized solar cells. This, obviously, could be used to power nanoscale devices, but Phil also pointed out that scaled up this might be another path to increased efficientcy in standard-sized solar panels. Next we discussed a development in materials science - transparent plastic as strong as steel. Phil blogged about this a few weeks ago. It was in this discussion that Phil mentioned the newly opened Grand Canyon Skywalk pictured above. Stephen admitted that even the idea of this structure gives him vertigo. The floors are transparent! Next we talked about dendrimers. Scientists were excited about this molecule 20+ years ago, but little came of it. Perhaps now the time has come.

Nature: It’s Out to Kill You and Your Children Jan 17, 2017

Show notes

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon debate the proposition that nature is hostile to life. We begin with a tweet from David Frum. Nature wants 5 of your 7 children dead. It wants you dead by 50. Everything better than that is brought to you by science and technology. True or false? Nature is full of carnivores and parasites, relying on them to make the whole system work. Does that mean nature wants us dead? On the other hand, it has enabled us to evolve intelligence to take on the challenges the natural world presents to us. Does it make sense to say nature “wants” anything?Can technology really be called “natural?” When beavers build dams, that’s nature. When humans build dams, it’s not. Huh?Why does respect for nature often create anti-human sentiments? Join us! WT 254-563

A New World? Or a New Way of Looking at It? Jan 14, 2017

Show notes

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss different ways our thinking might have to change in order to be ready for the future. How The Future Is Really Built The path to our modern world was not a straight one, but a tangled mess of intersecting threads. Where we would expect to see an organized chain of lone geniuses working quietly in isolation, we inevitably find a crisscross of interactions... Kaizen! In the 1980′s and early 90′s, many American companies discovered and began implementing Japanese management practices in an effort to become competitive... In 2017, Pursue Meaning Instead of Happiness The distinction between happiness and meaningfulness has a long history in philosophy, which for thousands of years has recognized two forms of well-being — hedonia, or the ancient Greek word for what behavioral scientists often call happiness, and eudaimonia, or what they call meaningfulness. The happy life is defined by seeking pleasure and enjoyment, whereas the meaningful life is bigger... OTHER GEEK Inception: Dollhouse and cookie edition WT 253-562

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