The World Transformed

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A Day in the (Future) Life: How Weird It Might Get Mar 20, 2014

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon examine life in a world that's not that far off. Let's start with where you might wake up. From there we'll look at where you might work and, if it involves a commute, what that might be like. Weird options abound -- everything from what you wear to what kinds of recreational opportunities you enjoy. And what might life by like for the kids? Tune in and explore. (WT 070) Football photo by Bernard Gagnon

Big is the New Small (or Maybe It's the Other Way Around) Mar 18, 2014

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As we move into the future, is the trend for things to get smaller or bigger? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon consider some interesting developments: A tiny combustion engineA huge rocketA microscope for everyone So is big the new small or is small the new big? Or is something much more complicated taking place? Tune in and explore. (WT 069) Vintage microscope photo by Roby.

An Internet of Things or a World Made of Data? Mar 14, 2014

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The Internet revolution is the story of an explosion of information and connectivity. We are all producers and consumers of vastly growing datasets. Our lives and our very identities have to a large extent moved online. Much of who we are is now defined by the intricate and complex connections we have with other individuals, with organizations, and with social structures unlike any that have existed before in human history. And yet there are many who argue that all of that is prelude, that the real revolution is yet to come. The phenomenon aptly named the Internet of Things describes the growing reach of the online world. The world itself is coming to life, with more and more of what once would have ben called "inanimate" objects producing and consuming information right along with the rest of us. The year 2014 has been named the Year of the Smart Watch...and the Toothbrush, to name just two of the hundreds or thousands of everyday objects now participating in this endless high-speed exchange of information. But is this a matter of the Internet moving out into the world or the Internet drawing the world into its realm? What do our growing data footprints and R. Buckminster Fuller's notion of ephemeralization have to tell us about this tremendous shift? Will we soon live in a world made primarily out of data -- or are we already there? Tune in and explore.

Accelerating Medicine: Coming Era of Abundant Health? Mar 12, 2014

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon review some interesting developments in the world of medicine: Fast and Easy Cancer Diagnoses Spare Body Parts vis 3-D Printers Curing Cancer with Our Own Immune Systems Is technology opening up a new era of abundant health? Tune in and explore.

Humanity's Next Steps: The Path to Obsolescence Mar 08, 2014

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore the increasingly complex relationship between humanity and our machines. We know that machines are performing very complex and difficult tasks for us such as exploring space. They're also beginning to take on more personal tasks, such as managing our communication with other people. If they continue to do more and more for us, is it just a matter of time before the amchines take over altogether? Tune in and explore. (WT 066)

Humanity's Next Steps: The Evolutionary Path Mar 06, 2014

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss the process of do-it-yourself evolution, including: Genetically modified babies Curing aging with stem cells Learning to learn faster Is humanity on the way up, or on the way out? Tune in and explore. (WT 065)

The Final Frontiers: Inner Space or Outer Space? Mar 04, 2014

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Compare these very different news stories Billionaire investors looking beyond earth vs. Game designers building computers inside games Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon ask the question: which way is the future taking us? Is it our destiny to move ever outward into the universe or ever inward into worlds of our own making? Tune in and explore. (WT 064)

The Future Gone Bad, Part 3: Missed Opportunities Mar 01, 2014

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What if the future we're planning for never arrives because we don't take advantage of the opportunities that would get us there? For example, did we miss the boat in not capitalizing on our progress in space after the Apollo program? Or what if our potential for worldwide abundance is never realized -- thwarted by threatened manufacturers or overly restrictive intellectual property laws? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stepehn Gordon discuss these and other possible near-miss futures. (WT 063)

The Future Gone Bad, Part 2: Misplaced Priorities Feb 27, 2014

Show notes

Getting the future right may be harder than we think. There are numerous initiatives in place to address problems with health care, the environment, employment and other challenges -- but what if in each of these cases we are asking the wrong questions? What if we're trying to solve the wrong problems? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon continue their 3-part series on the Future Gone Bad with a discussion of why we have to get our priorities straight if we want to get to the future we are hoping for. (WT 062)

The Future Gone Bad Part 1: Human Downgrades Feb 25, 2014

Show notes

A recent news story that has recieved quite a bit of attention tells us about a woman who claims she wants to become a living Barbie doll. To achieve that goal she is working on modifying her body and trying to reduce her intelligence. Transhumanists talk a lot about our growing ability to alter our own bodies and minds, and how this will ultimately lead to greater intelligence and capability. But what happens if people decide to go the other way? What happens when people decide they want a downgrade? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss some plausible scenarios for human downgrading, as well as some potential modifications that sound like a change for the better but that might lead in the opposite direction. Tune in and explore. (WT 061)

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