Storytelling, mythology, and legends have always influenced the scientific mind. There are some spectacular examples of inventions inspired by fiction, including the first cell phone, created by Engineer Martin Cooper after seeing the Star Trek communicator; or the first functioning submarine (the Argonaut), designed by Engineer Simon Lake after reading Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. So when it comes to the invention of Robots, Androids, and Artificial Intelligence, artistic imagination is just as important as science. Stories featuring fantastic machines have existed for thousands of years. Ancient myths portrayed the creators of such automata as preternatural sorcerers, wizards, alchemists, or artisan gods. The Greek god Hephaestus forged an array of magic weapons from gold, ivory, or bronze for the gods and heroes; a silver bow and quiver of arrows for Artemis, a golden chariot for Apollo, a shield for Achilles, a spear for Athena, and a breastplate for Hercules. He also created artificial life; bronze bulls, fire-breathing horses, golden … [Read more...] about Storytelling in the Age of Robots, Androids, and Artificial Intelligence
Life during Plague Time.
Life in California went topsy-turvy on Marth 19th, 2020, when Governor Gavin Newsom issued a stay at home order to protect the health and well-being of all Californians. Quite suddenly, the world shifted on its access. The ominous sense of dread finally had a definition: Pandemic. From the ground, there was confusion. The city shut down. Those of us who had day jobs, found ourselves confined to our houses. For me, editorial meetings and teaching yoga took place on Zoom. As a writer, nothing changed. Before Covid-19, writing meant entering a fantasy world of my own making, and after Covid-19, my inner landscape remained exactly the same. To write is to step into another dimension. But the real world is something altogether different. Life got tricky. As the deaths mounted and the grim reaper laid body bags down at the steps of the capital, the highest levels of government denied reality. Toxic tribal affiliations had gripped the nation. A simmering distrust of science caused a bizarre slide into disinformation and denial of a very real virus. As a devotee of both … [Read more...] about Life during Plague Time.
Panpsychism: Do Stars have Consciousness?
The Native Americans had a more sophisticated view of consciousness. According to the mythology of the scattered tribes, everything was conscious, animals, insects, rocks, water, earth, and sky. All creation was a living, breathing conscious being, not inert, dead, or mechanical. The doctrine that material objects possess some type of consciousness is known as panpsychism. Storytellers have explored the idea for millennia and now scientists are weighing in on the question. Could the universe be alive and possess a type of proto-conscious awareness? According to Gregory Matloff, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, the answer is yes. Matloff has worked as a propulsion scientist for NASA, and an emeritus associate and adjunct associate professor of physics at New York City College of Technology. Inspired by the philosopher and science-fiction author Olaf Stapledon whose novel, Star Maker (published in 1937) explored the concept of a consciously aware universe, Matloff wondered whether that concept could be proven. In a paper titled, Can Panpsychism Become an Observational Science? Matloff … [Read more...] about Panpsychism: Do Stars have Consciousness?
Ted Bundy: Wolf Among the Sheep
Last night I finished watching Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, a 4-part series, created and directed by Joe Berlinger. Most writers who've ever written a police procedural know this story well, but the series is both enlightening and disturbing due to the extensive amount of archival footage and interviews with surviving victims, friends, and family members. The Bundy case chronicles a period in time before modern technology changed law enforcement. The psychopath's horrific rampage took place across several states and the series documents the pressures brought to bear on police departments ill-equipped to fight such a ruthless killer. The FBI eventually responded to Bundy and his kind, by creating a system of psychological profiling and coining the term serial killer. Thomas Harris, who wrote The Silence of the Lambs, drew many elements in his story from the catalog of shocking behavior and feral cunning that characterized Ted Bundy's modus operandi. Bundy is not an easy topic. He represents the darkest, most repulsive aspect of humanity. He was a murderer, … [Read more...] about Ted Bundy: Wolf Among the Sheep
Don’t Panic! SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launches to Cheers!
The SpaceX Falcon Heavy, also known as the BFR which stands for "Big F**ing Rocket, successfully launched into space today, to the excited cheers of engineers and scientists. The BFR is the most powerful operational rocket in the world. Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, has ever delivered a comparable payload into orbit. With a total of 27 Merlin engines, Falcon Heavy is capable of 5 million pounds of thrust. Three cores made up the first stage of Falcon Heavy's test launch. The duo side cores, or boosters flanking the center core, returned to earth in perfect unison, landing on target in a dazzling display of technical prowess. SpaceX CEO/Lead Designer Elon Musk made the mission personal, by changing out the usual steel or concrete block payload, for his own midnight-cherry Tesla Roadster, in honor of the red planet. The Falcon Heavy will attempt to place the Roadster, with its space-suited mannikin, into a continual precession, Earth-Mars elliptical orbit around the sun. And in a tribute to David Bowie, the song "Space Oddity," … [Read more...] about Don’t Panic! SpaceX Falcon Heavy Launches to Cheers!
Robot Revolution
Robots who heal. Robots who kill. Robots who love. Robots that swim, crawl, fly, swarm, spy or morph into other kinds of robots. The robot revolution has arrived and we are collectively watching the very beginning of what will be a seachange in technology. Scientists are quantifying and reproducing our intellect and our senses; breaking down the components of taste, touch, hearing, sight and even thought. We are seeing the very beginning of a robot revolution where A.I. will communicate, learn and adapt to humanity to meet our emotional needs. And in the process, change us completely. By observing the natural world, roboticists are designing machines that mimic birds, butterflies, dragonflies, snakes, jellyfish and octopus. Those machines could innocently vacuum your house, defuse a bomb or assassinate a troublesome enemy. In your home, robots will be available to cook, comfort, converse, teach and make love to you. They will strain the imaginations of scientists and futurists as they upend economics, job markets and social traditions. Robots will transform … [Read more...] about Robot Revolution
Volocopter: Flying Cars No Longer Science Fiction
Once you see Blade Runner 2049, the thought may cross your mind that flying cars (or "hovercars" as Phillip K. Dick wrote in his novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) could only exist in the distant future. Think again. On September 25, Dubai staged a test flight of the Volocopter, a two-seat drone with 18 propellers developed by a German drone firm. Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed even attended the test flight. The United Arab Emirates city has long sought to become a high-tech hub of modern innovation by enticing companies through the elimination of sales and income tax and investing in cutting-edge technology such as holograms and robot police. Right now, the Volocopter is a novelty, flying without remote control guidance for 30 minutes (with backup batteries and rotors as well as parachutes). Eventually, the technology will become practical, opening a Pandora's box of questions. What kind of effect will flying vehicles have on society? Will access to advanced transportation technology be exclusive, further dividing the social stratums? Drones have … [Read more...] about Volocopter: Flying Cars No Longer Science Fiction