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Wentletrap, which is the word for an idea which sets you off on internet research when you should really be doing something different, leaving you an hour or two later with a lot of fascinating and semi-relevant data but not having started the something different which you should have been doing all along.

Marti in Mexico

Not the black hole singularity, but the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence. This would include Artificial Intelligence, direct brain-computer interfaces, biological augmentation of the brain, genetic engineering, ultra-high-resolution scans of the brain followed by computer emulation.

What a notion! Our idea of the world breaks down when we try to model a future that contains entities smarter than human.

Human intelligence is the foundation of human technology; all technology is ultimately the product of intelligence. If technology can turn around and enhance intelligence, this closes the loop, creating a positive feedback effect. Smarter minds will be more effective at building still smarter minds. This loop appears most clearly in the example of an Artificial Intelligence improving its own source code.

Consider humans with direct brain-computer interfaces creating the next generation of brain-computer interfaces, or biologically augmented humans working on an Artificial Intelligence project.

It's a brave new world. You ain't seen nuthin' yet.

Marti in Mexico

Oldhckyplyr made an interesting observation on another thread. He said "what is the capacity to absorb information to translate into knowledge?"

That is an interesting path to go down. What IS our capacity to absorb information, especially these days when it is easy to be overloaded?

What do we do with all this information that is available to us? If we enter a search term in google, we can get results of tens of thousands of pages. What are we to do with tens of thousands of pages of information? Can we absorb even the information on two pages of results?

Marti in Mexico

I thought I would introduce myself here. I am Carol. I thought this would be a good place to put my ideas, no matter how crazy, to get some input. I drive my ol man nuts, half the time he agrees, the other half he doesn't know, and once in a great while he has an answer or solution to my ideas.

I was reading the previous post about time, and what if there was past, present, future, and if there were a parallel universe. My son died in '98, and I believe highly in ghosts and dreams, but what if they are actually another demention to time?

"Although the most acute judges of the witches and even the witches themselves, were convinced of the guilt of witchery, the guilt nevertheless was non-existent. It is thus with all guilt."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

Can this possibly be true?

Marti in Mexico

Great ON line NPR story on religion & suffering & how the bible doesn't really answer the question of suffering.

Listen while doing other things on line:

view link

'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia ' -Charles Schultz

What are your thoughts on 2012?

Marti in Mexico

Is it possible to separate the observer from the observed?

to what extent can we separate the observer from the observation? In other words, what do we contribute to the observation and what does the thing observed contribute to the observation?

Kant's view was that the human mind has certain forms, space and time, which it superimposes on our sensory experience. So we observe things as spatial and temporal.

Werner Heisenberg, a 20th century physicist, discusses the "uncertainty principle" in quantum physics. He states the view that the observer always affects the observation. If you shine a light on something to see it, you have by that action changed what you are looking at.

Do we change what we look at? In what way?

Marti in Mexico

Good day, souls! I managed to clear a few of the, less flashy, cyber-hurtles, thanks to some dear advice from Nan.

As I see it from my tiny sphere, the origin of thought must be peculiar to each individual’s experience and unique abilities. There can be no measuring stick. The temptation is greater than ever to become obsessed with cramming data and examples of justification. So I have been wondering....and would like to read some feed back if applicable to your wonderings.
See first reply:

Welcome to our group. I attempted to send a personal message but I guess your account is not set up for that. I just wanted to let you know I truly enjoyed your poem on your profile page, especially, the last two lines:
"that the cosmos created eyes in me so it can gaze and have itself to see."

I have a lil' poem full of fun I thought you might like, (I apologize to our other members, for I know we do not have poetry in this group). I just have no other way to share it with you -

A sense of humor twinkles
in God's eye
and I am that through which,
By and by,
He sees ... Watch! He winkles!