Technology and evolution

Before going on with this post, please add your ideas for a geology blog carnival.

I've talked about the TED conference talks before. Last time I showed a video of techno-prophet Ray Kurzweil talking about when technology and biology merge. This talk, by Kevin Kelly, discusses the topic of technology and what it means a little differently. Instead of predictions, Kelly discusses what technology is and how it is intermingled with the human species itself.

For example, he talks about how life, in general, develops "hacks" to get through life, or how to "do" life better. In this context, evolution is technology. This is a fascinating way to talk about technology. We are too ensconced in a consumer-centric perspective of regarding technology as a product...something to invent, something to build, something to sell, and something to purchase and utilize. Kevin Kelly discusses a framework where our technological advancement is part of our evolution. As we advance further into biotechnology, this should become even more apparent.

The talk is about 20 minutes....take a break from working and watch it.

Nanobots controlling your consciousness

If you haven't been to the TED website yet...do it. TED is an annual conference held in Monterey, CA designed to share ideas. Speakers included scientists, economists, sociologists, artists, and many others. Their website hosts the videos for these ~20-minute talks from meetings over the last five years or so.

The "T" in TED is for technology.
This talk is by Ray Kurzweil, who is best described as a futurist. His ideas about the acceleration of technology are controversial but incredibly interesting. Even if what he talks about doesn't actually happen, I think having the conversation in the first place is valuable.

Here's the description blurb from the TED website:

Prolific inventor and outrageous visionary Ray Kurzweil explains in abundant, grounded detail why -- by the 2020s -- we will have reverse-engineered the human brain, and nanobots will be operating your consciousness. Kurzweil draws on years of research to show the speed at which technology is evolving, and projects forward into an almost unthinkable future to outline the ways we'll use technology to augment our own capabilities, forever blurring the lines between human and machine.

I've embedded the video below...or click here to watch it on TED site.


I've read Kurzweil's latest book, called The Singularity is Near, which I mean to write a review of at some point. This talk is a very condensed version of the ideas he puts forth in his book.

Who said you could go on vacation...

...is what the grad-student-guilt angel is whispering in my ear on one shoulder. On the other shoulder is the holy-crap-you-deserve-a-break devil saying.....well, saying what he always says.

I'm gonna actually listen to the devil for once. I will be away from the internets (and phones even!) until July 2nd. In the meantime, check out some of the blogtastic goodies out there:

• Where on (Google)Earth? 2.0: Ron and the Lab Lemming are taking my WoGE series to new levels. Posts are now coming from and being solved by more people. It is getting a little more geological instead of pure trivia (which is great). And we have plans to make it even better as time goes on. Check out my geoblogosphere ticker on the sidebar for the latest....or check out their blogs directly (links above) for the latest. Click here to see all the old WoGE 1.0 posts.

• I've been checking out some new blogs of late as well (new blogs to me, that is).

• I'm not sure what The Anterior Commissure is, but it has something to do with neuroscience. This blog has some great writing about an area of science I have little knowledge about. The author, Kate, explains things with the right combination of technical details (to help further my knowledge) and the important why-should-we-care rationale.

• At first this blog led to decreased productivity because I spent time reading it. But now, the topics on Academic Productivity are helping me think about how to manage the information that I collect and compile.

• Letter Never Sent is a potpourri of interesting writing and ideas. I especially like the post about simplifying your life.

• Tamino has teamed up with Maribo and Eli Rabbett for a new series of climate science posts. These are not new blogs individually, but the collaboration, or 'mob blogging' as they call it, is a new approach. The posts at Open Mind continue to impress me with the caliber of analysis and explanation of a complex system like climate. Check out one of the first posts of this series over at Rabbett Run dealing with the fundamentals of the carbon cycle.

• I've also been enjoying the TED talks. Every year in Monterey, CA a gathering of very sharp people (scientists, technologists, economists, social activists, artists, etc.) present talks about their ideas. Now you can view or download these talks at the TED website. They have everything from talking about reverse engineering the brain to the promise and perils of nanotechnology to beat poetry. It is a very slick site in terms of choosing from the database of talks based on topic tags. And they've made it very easy to download right to your video iPod, if you happen to have one. Great stuff...check it out.

See you in a couple weeks!


image above from here