Retrospective #1

Hidden Experience

My friend Mike Clelland (Little Boing Marks) has started a fascinating new blog delving into his experiences with strangeness and synchronicity. Mike's humility and painterly attention to detail are decided assets in a world where the very term "paranormal" has become associated with excessive credulity.

4 °C

How to survive the coming century

A key factor in how well we deal with a warmer world is how much time we have to adapt. When, and if, we get this hot depends not only on how much greenhouse gas we pump into the atmosphere and how quickly, but how sensitive the world's climate is to these gases. It also depends whether "tipping points" are reached, in which climate feedback mechanisms rapidly speed warming. According to models, we could cook the planet by 4 °C by 2100. Some scientists fear that we may get there as soon as 2050.

If this happens, the ramifications for life on Earth are so terrifying that many scientists contacted for this article preferred not to contemplate them, saying only that we should concentrate on reducing emissions to a level where such a rise is known only in nightmares.

The making of "Supernatural Investigator"

Mike MacDonald relates his behind-the-scenes account here.

Tweaked tots

Designer Babies - Like It Or Not, Here They Come

The Fertility Institutes recently stunned the fertility community by being the first company to boldly offer couples the opportunity to screen their embryos not only for diseases and gender, but also for completely benign characteristics such as eye color, hair color, and complexion. The Fertility Institutes proudly claims this is just the tip of the iceberg, and plans to offer almost any conceivable customization as science makes them available. Even as couples from across the globe are flocking in droves to pay the company their life's savings for a custom baby, opponents are vilifying the company for shattering moral and ethical boundaries. Like it or not, the era of designer babies is officially here and there is no going back.

I always get a kick out of these supposed "moral and ethical boundaries" science is always breaching. It seems that most intellectually equipped people refrain from setting arbitrary limits on what others may or may not do, yet those governed by metaphysical conceits think absolutely nothing of imposing notional "barriers" to technologies they don't happen to like. And the reason is never personal; it's always for everyone's well-being.

Spare me the messianic claptrap. Bring on the designer babies.

Spooky action at a distance

Human eye could detect spooky action at a distance

It's almost a year since Nicolas Gisin and colleagues at the University of Geneva announced that they had calculated that a human eye ought to be able to detect entangled photons. "Entanglement in principle could be seen," they concluded.

That's extraordinary because it would mean that the humans involved in such an experiment would become entangled themselves, if only for an instant.

Scientists Model Words as Entangled Quantum States in our Minds

Research has shown that words are stored in our memories not as isolated entities but as part of a network of related words. This explains why seeing or hearing a word activates words related to it through prior experiences. In trying to understand these connections, scientists visualize a map of links among words called the mental lexicon that shows how words in a vocabulary are interconnected through other words.

However, it's not clear just how this word association network works. For instance, does word association spread like a wave through a fixed network, weakening with conceptual distance, as suggested by the "Spreading Activation" model? Or does a word activate every other associated word simultaneously, as suggested in a model called "Spooky Activation at a Distance"?

Triptych #5

Masha Telna: alien-human hybrid?

I'm joking, of course.





I think.

For more of the lovely Masha Telna, click here.

(Thanks, Justin.)

Big Dog

I realize Big Dog is a DARPA project, but has NASA ever considered using a similar four-legged bot to explore the badlands of the Moon or Mars?

Michael MacDonald blogs

Friend and Halifax-based film-maker Mike MacDonald has started a blog. (His most intriguing post thus far, at least to my mind, is his refutation of the conventional medical explanation for sleep paralysis. Having experienced sleep paralysis, I can't say I agree with Mike's interpretation; then again, it's entirely possible that we're dealing with an entire spectrum of anomalous states rather than a singular phenomenon.)

Lastly, while I'm on the subject, here's the text of a post from May of 2006:

Last night I half-watched "Veronica Mars" while Web-surfing, then promptly collapsed into bed. I experienced a fleeting episode of sleep paralysis in which an "alien" seemed to lift my fingers to its mouth and lingeringly kiss them. (We swapped some sort of garbled telepathic dialogue which, at the time, I thought was marginally interesting and perhaps blog-worthy, but now I can't remember what was "said.")

The "alien" left quickly, and I tried to turn my head to watch it depart through my bedroom door. I honestly don't know if I "saw" anything or not, but my impression was that the being was pale -- possibly luminous -- and taller than the gray, drone-like beings that feature in so many accounts.

Rest assured this "encounter" was pure hynopompic cinema, not an actual visitation. I more or less knew this when it was happening, and it's abundantly clear now. So here I am playing "debunker" again, describing an event that I insist never really happened except on a semi-conscious level. Yet -- and this is critical -- I'm not about to claim that all reported alien visitations are neurochemical anomalies. For all I know, some are all-too-real.

In a bittersweet sense, I wish last night's episode had been the real thing; the idea of an (evidently) friendly alien darting into my room to give me a quick display of affection, unencumbered by forbidding probes and weird lights, isn't entirely unpleasant.

We're sending life to Mars.

Earth Critters Hitch Ride to Martian Moon and Back

No one knows if there is life on Mars, but if all goes well with a Russian science mission later this year, there will be life on the Martian moon Phobos -- for a short time anyway.

An assortment of critters and microbes are scheduled to make a round-trip journey to Phobos as passengers aboard a Russian spacecraft, scheduled to launch in October.

Given Russia's track record with Mars ventures, it's at least conceivable that the aforementioned "critters" will escape the confines of their craft and go native . . .

In case you were wondering, that isn't Asimo.

This illustration (found here) is from 1951, predating today's product demonstrations of tea-serving Japanese robots. The bleak landscape and withered tree suggest the ravages of ecological collapse or nuclear war; that the machines will invariably rise against us at the soonest opportunity is a long-standing science fiction conceit.

Triptych #4

Anatomy illustration come to life

(Sighted at Ectoplasmosis.)

"My name is Albert Einstein. I am a physicist."

Robot Replica of Albert Einstein (with video)

The ground-breaking model, which recognises and responds to human emotions, uses 31 motors and a patented flesh-like material called Frubber to make lifelike facial expressions.

Scientists hope it will defy the perception that human-like robots are "creepy" and could be the first step to making robots emotionally sensitive, preventing a "Matrix"-style war between man and machine.

Einstein, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist noted for his theory of relativity, was chosen for the model because he appears "lovable and emotionally accessible", as well as being a universally esteemed scientist.

I like the hubris in that second paragraph. Although to be fair, this is one of the best attempts to create an emotive android face that I've ever seen.

Mermaid

Mermaid dream comes true - thanks to Weta

Nadya Vessey lost her legs as a child but now she swims like a mermaid.

Ms Vessey's mermaid tail was created by Wellington-based film industry wizards Weta Workshop after the Auckland woman wrote to them two years ago asking if they could make her a prosthetic tail. She was astounded when they agreed.

(Via Grinding.)

"The Nano Song"

This is hilarious. How long has this been circulating? I have the feeling I've been totally out of the loop.

World-building

The Continuous Enclave: Strategies in Bypass Urbanism

For his final student project presented last month at Rice University, Viktor Ramos produced The Continuous Enclave: Strategies in Bypass Urbanism.

The project explores how new forms of habitable infrastructure might be extrapolated from a geopolitical agreement -- in this case, materializing architectural form from the legal interstices of the Oslo Accords.

The result is a fantastic example of architectural speculation: genuinely massive -- and impossibly cantilevered -- bridges used as transport links, aerial housing, and skyborne agricultural complexes, all in one.

I can't help but admire the sheer utopian audacity at work here; I'm reminded of the vertiginous landscape of K.W. Jeter's "Farewell Horizontal" or even the megascale splendor of Niven's titular "Ringworld."

Hovercar!

Yeah, it's "merely" a speculative design concept. But since when does that matter?

Sinkers, floaters and hunters

Carl Sagan paints a breathtaking portrait of truly alien life eking out an aerial existence in the cloudscape of a Jovian world:



(Thanks to Centauri Dreams.)

The art of Patrick Rochon

More here.

New aboutSETI.com post

An excerpt:

That the UFOs fail to make open contact indicates an equally stubborn need to remain hidden. Indeed, their home turf appears to be the periphery of human consciousness. All of this suggests an agenda. I don't think "they" are patiently waiting for us to make some gesture of ultimate recognition; rather, I propose that the UFO/contact experience -- whatever its goal -- is well underway.

To read the essay in its entirety, click here.

Collapse

Campy science fiction book covers galore

Click here to be instantly transported to genre heaven.

Singularity-mongers, take note.

Still waiting for your metaphorical flying car? Author and disciplined futurist Charles Stross wants a few words with you:

Assuming we avoid a systemic collapse, there'll probably be a moon base, by and by. Whether it's American, Chinese, Indian, or Indonesian is anybody's guess, and probably doesn't matter as far as the 99.999% of the human species who will never get off the planet are concerned. There'll probably be a Mars expedition too. But barring fundamental biomedical breakthroughs, or physics/engineering breakthroughs that play hell with the laws of physics as currently understood, canned monkeys aren't going to Jupiter any time soon, never mind colonizing the universe.

Inside the box

Turning Shipping Containers Into Customizable, Affordable Housing

According to assistant professor Caitlyn Dyckman, the containers are generally considered waste because it's more expensive to bring them back to port than to leave them in the Caribbean. But the right redesign approach could turn these large vessels into viable housing.

More than the sum of our parts

Zen Biology Lesson for Enlightenment from Jarett on Vimeo.


I struggle ceaselessly with the aspect of myself that clings to the fragile comfort of words and sentences. Our familiar Western mode of thinking -- purged of intuition and leery of experiences not reproducible in written form -- is like a clear membrane stretched taut around our senses, but no less insidious in its seeming transparency.

Lately, especially, it seems as if my real life unfolds in the narcotic oblivion of sleep; my dream-world, for all of its ominous vistas and intimations of cataclysm, exerts an inexplicably nostalgic allure. For whatever reason, I feel oddly welcome strolling the ruined hotels and depopulated suburbs that have come to dominate my sleep. There appears to be coherent, if tenuous, logic to this silent and jaundiced realm -- arguably more so than what greets me while awake and rational.

I've come to tentatively identify with the role of the shaman. Upon waking, my mind feels ponderous with ideas seeking escape; a portal has been opened, but a portal to where, exactly? And what, if anything, should I do with this freight of unsolicited weirdness?

My dream-world grows less diffuse -- more palpable -- with every visit, recalling the idea that powerfully envisioned thought-forms can assume fleeting physical existence. If such an alchemical process is indeed at work, the repercussions for my "real" existence are troubling. Maybe the only way to break the feedback cycle -- to decisively sever the ouroboros that my psyche's inexorably becoming -- is to opt out of the wide-awake domain of language, syntax and the necessarily diminishing fiction of "either/or."

FYI

I encountered this sign at a coffeeshop in Mountain View, CA.

Obsession

Joshua S. Fouts writes:

Part of what makes a space truly immersive for me is a story that draws me into its rabbit hole of adventure and intrigue -- like a good novel that you can't set down until you've read. Just. One. More. Page.

While there is no doubt that some people are addicted to video games, the same way they can be addicted [to] anything, the whole "addiction" accusation that is often used to deride the compelling narrative that can unfold in games is no different than calling the inability to put a book down, an "addiction" to the book.

In a similar vein, have you noticed how people interested in subjects not endorsed by mainstream culture are often considered to be "obsessed"? As someone who harbors an innate fascination with the marginal, I've always found it remarkable how a person who can spend days of every week mindlessly channel-surfing can casually inform me that I'm "obsessed" with, say, the search for Earth-like exoplanets, the certain perils of climate change, or attempts to resolve the UFO controversy because I dare to read an occasional book.

And now some silliness I found on YouTube.

Moonbots

Robots Could Prepare Moon Outpost Site

A new type of lunar robots is being designed which could help prepare locations on the Moon for human outposts and landing pads. With supervised autonomy, small robots the size of riding mowers and weighing 300 kg or less could prepare a site in about 6 months, says a new study by Astrobotic Technology Inc. in cooperation with Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute.

The search is (almost) on.

Planet seeking Kepler Spacecraft readies for launch

On March 5, NASA will launch the largest camera ever sent into space in an attempt to find the holy grail of astronomy: an Earth-like planet. The $591 million Kepler craft will orbit the sun for at least 3.5 years, using an unprecedented 0.95-meter diameter Schmidt telescope packing an array of 42 CCDs, each with 2200x1024 pixels, to scan over 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the galaxy.

Is the future history?

Lovelock: "We can't save humanity"

James Lovelock was on BBC's Radio 4 this morning, promoting his new book The Vanishing Face of Gaia. It was a great to hear him, even if what he said wasn't the most uplifting of messages.

Lovelock explained his belief that humanity as we know is a goner. Earth cannot feed 6 going on 7 billion people, he said.

Pressed by the interviewer he took a punt and suggested there could be just 1 billion of us left in 100 years time.

Lovelock's point seemed to be that we should give up on trying to save the planet and the entirety of the human species by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and focus instead on equipping "lifeboat nations" with the necessary infrastructure (schools, roads, houses) to support swarms of climate refugees.

(Via Futurismic.)

Triptych #3

Wind turbines and the robots who love them

Robots to Tend Wind Farms

To climb, the robot pulls itself up a rope, and a specially designed carrier system guides the robot along the surface of the rotor blades. The robot is equipped with several advanced sensor systems, including an infrared radiator, a high-res thermal camera, and an ultrasonic system, all of which detect hairline cracks and flaws in the blades. These features enable RIWEA to detect damage that might be hidden to the human eye.

The robotic system is adaptable to a variety of wind turbines, including those on land and off-shore.

But is it capable of defending against UFO attacks?

Our Cronenbergian future

impress - flexible display from Sillenet on Vimeo.

A bad day for climate science

CO2 monitoring satellite fails to reach orbit

In bad news for NASA (and the planet in general), the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite did not reach orbit yesterday. According to a launch contingency briefing from NASA, the Taurus XL from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:55 a.m. EST proceeded normally, with only typical "minor issues" reported as the rocket approached lift-off, but preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate as planned.

Armchair space exploration

I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I have have a sinking feeling this might be the closest thing NASA presently has to a viable plan for manned Mars exploration.

"Earth: The Pale Blue Dot"

EARTH: The Pale Blue Dot from Michael Marantz on Vimeo.


(Found at Sentient Developments.)

It kills trees dead.

Jesus. And we thought the destruction of the rainforests was proceeding at a galloping pace now.

(Found at LiLeLa.)

Headband computer interface

(Thanks: Fashioning Technology.)

Triptych #2

CirculaFloor

Admit it -- you secretly wanted to see the tiles mess up and send the human toppling to the floor.

Wise counsel

Jim Kunstler writes:

Dear Mr. President, you are presiding over an epochal contraction, not a pause in the growth epic. Your assignment is to manage that contraction in a way that does not lead to world war, civil disorder or both. Among other things, contraction means that all the activities of everyday life need to be downscaled including standards of living, ranges of commerce, and levels of governance. "Consumerism" is dead.

[. . .]

No good, in fact, will come of a campaign to sustain the unsustainable, which is exactly what the Obama program is starting to look like. In the folder marked "unsustainable" you can file most of the artifacts, usufructs, habits, and expectations of recent American life: suburban living, credit-card spending, Happy Motoring, vacations in Las Vegas, college education for the masses, and cheap food among them. All these things are over.

[. . .]

It's not too late for President Obama to start uttering these truths so that we can avoid a turn to fascism and get on with the real business of America's next phase of history -- living locally, working hard at things that matter, and preserving civilized culture. What a lot of us can see now staring out of the abyss is a new dark age.

Paleo-transhumanism

Get the full story here.