Slightly related and because it has intrigued me since I read the paper I thought people may find IBMs "History Flow" project interesting?
The Project no longer appears to be documented on IBM site but the Wikipedia article has everything you need - including that lovely daily slice of (soft) irony. I prefer my irony hard, but what are you going to do.
A truly unique talent. In memory, you should check out Aphex Twin's "Window Licker" directed by Chris Cunningham (HN will probably be most familiar with Bjork's "All is Full of Love" music video). A whole host of talent came together there to make one of the most fucked up things you'll ever witness. Suffice to say a big red NSFW warning goes out on this one!
Its also worth pointing out that Chris Cunningham has a compilation DVD of his videos out there and I'm sure if you do some legwork its easy to find them all on youtube. They're all worth watching. This Squarepusher video is my favorite:
Me neither til I finally picked up a book on Giger and there's the Windowlicker staring at me from the first page I flicked to. I always bought into a rumour (possibly just amongst my friends) that it was a munge of Aphex Twin's face and Chris Cunningham's face.
It was this piece that first gave me that odd moment we're seeing a lot of in this thread as I had always assumed Giger was a contemporary of Escher or even earlier. Seeing Windowlicker was dated 1999 really gave me a surprise.
He did a piece of artwork for the front cover for Triptykon's album Melana Chasmata that came out this year. Not sure when the artwork was done though.
Thanks for that link; I went through there to a truly epic forum thread of teh butthurt. It turns out there are some RDJ "fans" who are really pissed off that there's a "new" album coming out.
Seems like it's just two guys driving around in LA. Partying with scantily clad women, etc. No different from any other hip hop video, and DEFINITELY safe for work.
If you think that the language and misogyny used in this video is safe for work - despite the very obvious irony/parody - then it's no wonder you missed the point.
Good point. However the comment betrays a complete lack of understanding both when it comes to the point being made by the video, and the wider implication that "any other hip hop video" is riddled with misogyny and male chauvinism. It's a very poor comment.
I share your optimism and I'm a big believer that it will not be long before Carl Sagan's "Contact" event will happen, not from the stars but here on earth - my inclination is to suspect Grey Whales, but there are a good few candidates for the position of first contact as we begin to unpack the semantics of other species communication protocols.
I'm interested in your opinions from another perspective however, as I believe it's /possible/ that /intelligence/ has emerged elsewhere in the universe (and as you say the more we learn about and redefine our notions of "intelligence" the more /possible/ this becomes, imho) but I am suspect that we occupy a very unique (rare?) niche that allows for the possibility of technology and I don't think this can be understated. But that's just my gut feeling on that one and who is to say that other forms of life require technology to do the type of things we do? It's an interesting question that makes me think of the Arthur C. Clark/Stephen Baxter novels that are very relevant in this discussion: genetically modified hyper-intelligent cephelopods that lack the essential ingredients required for colonising space - as a result of lacking technology.
It's always difficult to judge from a sample size of one. Some take our apparent loneliness itself to draw conclusions about this subject, but that's a difficult proposition as well since there are so many different factors imaginable - any of which could be responsible for the Fermi paradox.
I think science and technology are probably required in all cases where a species is to transcend the confines of its evolutionary heritage. It may well be the case there are many more species out there with vastly greater innate intellects than ours, but at some point they too have to use tools of some kind to grow beyond the limitations all bodies inevitably have. And it's not just about overcoming specific obstacles, it's about acquiring the meta skills necessary for intellectual and mechanical self-extension. The basic argument here being that minds without science and technology are still in a primitive state, regardless of their innate capabilities.
But it's also not difficult to imagine a civilization where tool use doesn't exist or stagnated at an early stage. However, if the opportunities for this type of advancement exist, it's only a matter of statistics over time in order for development in this direction to occur.
Whether we are in a privileged position to enjoy these opportunities is an open question. We are lucky in some respects: our planet has a large land mass, somewhat easily exploitable mineral deposits, easy access to energy, relatively stable weather conditions, and so on. On the other hand it's certainly possible to imagine planets where conditions might be even better. Or worse. All things being equal, it has always been a good bet to assume we're close to the average.
So to address the issue of hyper-intelligent cephelopods without space technology, yes, that's certainly possible. In fact, we're also not a species that colonizes space. We could, but we don't. Hyper-intelligent cephelopods could likewise have a culture or genetic disposition not to develop advanced tech or go to outer space.
You could argue though that in these cases (which includes ours for the moment) low-tech states are likely to be transient. Specifically, since Earth cephelopods are already tool users right now, it's difficult to imagine they'd stay without technology for long.
The point the GP is making, from the books that he mentions, is that being an underwater species precludes the discovery of fire, which is the basis for many technological innovations. It is possible that there are other technological routes around this, but the barrier to entry is much higher.
Yes, this is what I was angling for. I think it's a pre-occupation of many of the species in IMBs Culture series if I remember correctly. Where those species that went the long way round (mostly water dwellers) hold species like us in something like contempt.
I wonder if an advanced aquatic species could/would make use of hydrothermal vents to harness the some of the transformative properties of fire. Hydrothermal vents lack the property of mobility, yet have the properties of persistence and predictability.
If one thinks of fire as a common evolutionary ancestor of all human technology; I wonder if there is, in the same sense of fire on land, a branching point of technological evolution in an aquatic society; a branching point that humans do not comprehend, acknowledge, or notice.
"I could easily see someone's job being to figure out which (presumably innocent) people to "target" for the sake of ensuring a full or nearly full data collection."
Twitter makes that job damn easy, don't you think?
You know the best eggs in the world? Seagull Eggs.
The harvesting of them from the wild is highly protected and I've only ever met a few old boys who used to poach them but I've read a few places (wild cookery and survival books) that the finest omelette you can make is one made from shite-hawk eggs. Guess that's an easier taboo to explain, though. I've had swan and goose and find them both perfectly acceptable meat. The best way I've found so far is to salt cure the breast like pastrami - as the meat is so dark it's very much like a salt cured beef. Very tasty.
I find it particularly galling that "Death with dignity" is "a silly loaded catchphrase designed to put opponents off balance" and yet "Death with courage" is something you throw in to support that belief. You need to take a moment to listen to your own rhetoric and think about the people your opinions effect.
Let me make it clear: I am not in the least bit interested in your moral judgement of my beliefs, nor am I interested in your advice regarding my rhetoric.
I want to study the use of AI in determining genetic factors to disease and the neuro-degenerative ailments that the worlds increasingly older populations are facing "but finances and circumstances killed that dead".
It's really frustrating and demoralizing that education in particular is so badly structured (in my experience). For instance: while I was getting kicked off my Cog-Sci Masters course for owing £300 a colleague was receiving a fully funded PhD position to study _Harry Potter Fan Fiction Porn_. That was a kick in the teeth.
You just got to keep at it I guess, don't let the knocks stop you realising your potential and refine your plans to the point where they are laser sharp. I think it's this kind of attitude that separates entrepreneurs from the crowd.
That just sucks. Based on your usage of £ I assume you are in the UK (I am too).
Education here is a broken pile of crap. Politics and ridiculous rules and structure galore.
For example: I did electrical engineering and nearly got kicked off my course for daring to drop an email politely asking a user telnetted into the box I was working on, to stop trying to brute force su to root on my Sun workstation which was dumping logs onto the frame buffer console and screwing up my Cadence session. They were trying to crack root and I complained and ended up with a disciplinary for breaking the communication AUP.
The fucked up bit: The attacker actually complained that I'd caught him to his tutor who kicked off the whole disciplinary process against me.
So I learned how political it is and yes you're right there were people studying crap like that at PhD level in my department. Some guy was working on electrically stimulated sex aids on my tuition fees...
I once heard one of the top generals talking on the radio about the state of the MoD and he was saying that the basic career path was to suck up a decade or two of dirt before finding a desk job so obscure you can hide away for the next three or four decades and earn a pretty pension. I've always found it intriguing how well this seems to parallel academia.
Where are you based?
Get in touch if you fancy chatting some time (email in profile), I find it helps to vent spleen sometimes ;)
