I'm listening to Ilona on the radio!
It's strange. I like it
I watched a program on TV before that was all about 'The Singularity'.
It was the most interesting show I've seen in a long, long time.
It's all about the point at which technology advances so much that it surpasses the capacity of the human brain. Because of that, it will be beyond our comprehension.
And because it's beyond our comprehension, the details of the event itself and the guises it can present itself in are slightly vague. It's essentially just a concept.
But from what I can gather, most of the conjecturing points in the direction of something surrounding 'God-like artillects'. Artillects are simply artificial intellects or AI.
But they are currently developing artificial brains that are literally billions of times more powerful than the human brain.
We've all seen what happened to Miles Dyson and Cyberdyne Systems in The Terminator series!
It also talked about the unabomber too. EXPLOSIONS!
I was talking to someone the other week [I can't remember who] about the silicon chip and how it's essentially reaching the end of its life in computers. They've made it as small and powerful as they physically can and it's reached a plateau in processing power.
The only way to further it is to switch to a different material, or even switch to a different format altogether.
Which is where 'Qubits' or Quantum Bits come in.
Putting it simply, a quantum bit is taking advantage of quantum mechanics [which is supposed to be one of the most difficult things ever to understand!] in terms of computing power.
One of the peculiarities of quantum mechanics is that a single atom can be in two [or more] different places at one instant. With qubits, it means that the computing power is enhanced because two or more processes can be carried out in the same instant.
Once the power of these qubits is better understood and harnessed properly, the limits are potentially infinite.
I'm sure there are people out there that understand more than me and can probably explain better. But it still really fucking interests me. I wish I'd had the academic drive to carry on Physics to A2 Level and taken Biology as well.
I found it difficult enough to scrape through my doss-about Media Tech course at uni though. There's no way I'd have done enough work to get through a course involving quantum mechanics and neuroscience.
It's not that I'm stupid - I'm actually quite clever when it comes down to it. I just like to work at my own speed, and that's often a lot slower than other people at the same level.
And I hate write-ups. Why the fuck do I have to write about something that I've already done? I've done it and I know what the results are. Someone else can write about it if they want!
Ahh but I do miss all that brainy stuff that requires such concentration. Maths and equations and physics.
So much fun!
After the TV programme, I sat and thought about the culmination and combination of technological advances and advances in understanding the human brain. It's all pretty complex stuff that's fraught with moral dilemmas.
At present, I'm unsure about whether I should be supporting the forray into creating artillects that are more intelligent than human, etc.
Like one of the professors on the programme said, "It could be seen as a moral tragedy to know that we can create these things and end up not creating them cos of the moral implications." Or something to that effect
But yes, I hopped between trains of thought and ended up thinking about how our generation will be viewed in say 50 years' time.
I think that our generation will be defined simply by the loading bar.
Ours is the first generation that's grown up with computers as an everyday thing. You can't live a day without encountering some kind of computer, whether it be PC, Mac, mobile phone, or digital TV. And most of these appliances have some sort of delay between pressing the buttons and the operation actually being carried out.
Most of the time, this delay is signified by the loading bar.
We're used to it. We know how long certain processes are supposed to take and we live with it.
It's part of our lives. Even an endearing part?
But in the future, with the introduction of qubits [or whatever does come next], loading bars will disappear.
We won't have to wait. Things will just happen when we ask.
I guess it's similar to the transition from VHS to DVD, or cassette to CD?
If you wanted to watch the end of a VHS tape, you'd have to press the FF button and then go and make a cup of tea while the machine took you there. Not with DVDs!
You select the chapter and you're there
Of course, there are people who still use audio cassettes and records ahead of CDs because it's quirky and vintage. Fuck off. There's no excuse for it.
It's the digital revolution, jiggas! Keep up or get left behind in a cloud of dust comprised of 1s and 0s.
Haha, and I was also thinking about what the term 'wireless' means to people from different generations.
Say it to someone who's in their 90s and they tell you it's a radio.
Say it to someone who's in their 20s and they tell you it's a method of networking computers.
Awesome!
Yesterday, I was talking to my sister about the pronunciation of years.
Ok, stay with me...
We're currently in 2006, which has to said 'two thousand and six'.
But when we get to the year 2010, surely it will be said 'twenty ten' as opposed to 'two thousand and ten'.
I mean, we did it all through the 90s and before, didn't we?
Did you ever hear anyone say that the year was 'one thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine'?
I think not!
And when is it ok to miss off the leading '20' part? In the 2020s?
I guess we should look back in history and see what they did 1,000 years previous... But then again, 'two thousand' is much easier to say than 'one thousand, nine hundred'.
It's all pretty interesting, I'd say.
Yes. And that concludes Jamey's geeky ramblings for tonight.
Tomorrow I'm going to a fancy dress party at lemonmuffin's with _lauren_, India, Kit, tbp278, and more.
There might be pictures.
I'll keep you updated
It's strange. I like it
I watched a program on TV before that was all about 'The Singularity'.
It was the most interesting show I've seen in a long, long time.
It's all about the point at which technology advances so much that it surpasses the capacity of the human brain. Because of that, it will be beyond our comprehension.
And because it's beyond our comprehension, the details of the event itself and the guises it can present itself in are slightly vague. It's essentially just a concept.
But from what I can gather, most of the conjecturing points in the direction of something surrounding 'God-like artillects'. Artillects are simply artificial intellects or AI.
But they are currently developing artificial brains that are literally billions of times more powerful than the human brain.
We've all seen what happened to Miles Dyson and Cyberdyne Systems in The Terminator series!
It also talked about the unabomber too. EXPLOSIONS!
I was talking to someone the other week [I can't remember who] about the silicon chip and how it's essentially reaching the end of its life in computers. They've made it as small and powerful as they physically can and it's reached a plateau in processing power.
The only way to further it is to switch to a different material, or even switch to a different format altogether.
Which is where 'Qubits' or Quantum Bits come in.
Putting it simply, a quantum bit is taking advantage of quantum mechanics [which is supposed to be one of the most difficult things ever to understand!] in terms of computing power.
One of the peculiarities of quantum mechanics is that a single atom can be in two [or more] different places at one instant. With qubits, it means that the computing power is enhanced because two or more processes can be carried out in the same instant.
Once the power of these qubits is better understood and harnessed properly, the limits are potentially infinite.
I'm sure there are people out there that understand more than me and can probably explain better. But it still really fucking interests me. I wish I'd had the academic drive to carry on Physics to A2 Level and taken Biology as well.
I found it difficult enough to scrape through my doss-about Media Tech course at uni though. There's no way I'd have done enough work to get through a course involving quantum mechanics and neuroscience.
It's not that I'm stupid - I'm actually quite clever when it comes down to it. I just like to work at my own speed, and that's often a lot slower than other people at the same level.
And I hate write-ups. Why the fuck do I have to write about something that I've already done? I've done it and I know what the results are. Someone else can write about it if they want!
Ahh but I do miss all that brainy stuff that requires such concentration. Maths and equations and physics.
So much fun!
After the TV programme, I sat and thought about the culmination and combination of technological advances and advances in understanding the human brain. It's all pretty complex stuff that's fraught with moral dilemmas.
At present, I'm unsure about whether I should be supporting the forray into creating artillects that are more intelligent than human, etc.
Like one of the professors on the programme said, "It could be seen as a moral tragedy to know that we can create these things and end up not creating them cos of the moral implications." Or something to that effect
But yes, I hopped between trains of thought and ended up thinking about how our generation will be viewed in say 50 years' time.
I think that our generation will be defined simply by the loading bar.
Ours is the first generation that's grown up with computers as an everyday thing. You can't live a day without encountering some kind of computer, whether it be PC, Mac, mobile phone, or digital TV. And most of these appliances have some sort of delay between pressing the buttons and the operation actually being carried out.
Most of the time, this delay is signified by the loading bar.
We're used to it. We know how long certain processes are supposed to take and we live with it.
It's part of our lives. Even an endearing part?
But in the future, with the introduction of qubits [or whatever does come next], loading bars will disappear.
We won't have to wait. Things will just happen when we ask.
I guess it's similar to the transition from VHS to DVD, or cassette to CD?
If you wanted to watch the end of a VHS tape, you'd have to press the FF button and then go and make a cup of tea while the machine took you there. Not with DVDs!
You select the chapter and you're there
Of course, there are people who still use audio cassettes and records ahead of CDs because it's quirky and vintage. Fuck off. There's no excuse for it.
It's the digital revolution, jiggas! Keep up or get left behind in a cloud of dust comprised of 1s and 0s.
Haha, and I was also thinking about what the term 'wireless' means to people from different generations.
Say it to someone who's in their 90s and they tell you it's a radio.
Say it to someone who's in their 20s and they tell you it's a method of networking computers.
Awesome!
Yesterday, I was talking to my sister about the pronunciation of years.
Ok, stay with me...
We're currently in 2006, which has to said 'two thousand and six'.
But when we get to the year 2010, surely it will be said 'twenty ten' as opposed to 'two thousand and ten'.
I mean, we did it all through the 90s and before, didn't we?
Did you ever hear anyone say that the year was 'one thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine'?
I think not!
And when is it ok to miss off the leading '20' part? In the 2020s?
I guess we should look back in history and see what they did 1,000 years previous... But then again, 'two thousand' is much easier to say than 'one thousand, nine hundred'.
It's all pretty interesting, I'd say.
Yes. And that concludes Jamey's geeky ramblings for tonight.
Tomorrow I'm going to a fancy dress party at lemonmuffin's with _lauren_, India, Kit, tbp278, and more.
There might be pictures.
I'll keep you updated
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
_lauren_:
i wish i'd borrowed those buffy dvds now. i'm bored!
angel_ree:
Hello sweetie, long time no speak How are you doing? whats new with you? xxx
How are you doing? whats new with you? xxx