Welcome to the group, Konara. Inventions are just toys until they find a market or following. I am interested in reversals of fortune- good or ill.
On Oct 8, 9:11 pm, Konara Abeyrathne <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear all-Machines are created.invented on the basis of the > knowledge,skills and creativity of one's mind.the power and the > eficacyof the mind, if it sharpens is unable to predict. > > > > On Tue, Oct 9, 2012 at 5:26 AM, gabbydott <[email protected]> wrote: > > OK, I deleted all the words not to be trusted. Here is the rest: > > My dyslexic friend Lee wishes we were all able to read on the same > > page, flattening and thereby banning the dancing shadows and ghosts to > > clearly contrasted black letters on a white ground. On the other side, > > as Rigs points out, speech whitens itself on this ground. Neil's > > suggestion for a transparent hypertext in a contextualised world won't > > make any of the sides fade into meaninglessness then. > > > On Fri, Oct 5, 2012 at 5:50 AM, James <[email protected]> wrote: > >> We may be on the same page Gabby, my imagined future possibilities are > >> still > >> clouded by unknowns (to me). That I consider a consequence of mental > >> bondage > >> to current circumstances, and left unchecked can be demoralizing to > >> creative > >> intelligence. As far as I can tell we are meant to invent solutions to > >> challenges, and hold on as long as possible until the opportunity arises. > >> My > >> opinion is that we can do little to force change but as facilitators we can > >> pursue strategic challenges that will open those opportunities. > > >> If I said that in 10 years the technology should be accessible to refine > >> garbage, wood or any other fuel into electricity at 80+ conversion > >> efficiency from common household materials in your average (modern) garage > >> there is no shortage of engineers that would call me a quack. If I said > >> that > >> you could do it today with moderate access to materials refining equipment, > >> with a net generated income over the winter months, and it could be boosted > >> by running a greenhouse and indoor fishery I would be surely nuts. SOFC, > >> steam reforming, plasma reduction, pyrolytic reduction are a few terms for > >> that type of nut. > > >> I think we are missing the spirit of engineering in our social and > >> political > >> dialogue. It could just be me.. we seem to be able to redefine just about > >> any kind of waste into an asset, but we insist that primitive human traits > >> are superior and sacrosanct. > > >> Navigating awkward transitions, that is what I think we are doing (not > >> necessarily excellently, but making progress). Still passin' the buck here, > >> your turn. Sorry for no answer Archy, too bad telepathy isn't an option > >> because the picture is clear but I just don't trust the words yet. > > >> On 10/4/2012 5:14 AM, gabbydott wrote: > > >>> That's right. Us end consumers of your brilliant ideas need time to > >>> consume your complex theories in simple practice for you to see where > >>> we fail to get your idea for you to better educate and motivate us. :p > > >>> On Thu, Oct 4, 2012 at 4:25 AM, James<[email protected]> wrote: > > >>>> I was hoping we could evolve sociologically in step with technology, that > >>>> implies an intelligent management infrastructure that educates and > >>>> motivates > >>>> free agents to make contributions to the works of humanity. Suitably > >>>> educated in the workings of organisms (especially how they relate and > >>>> compare to man), the arts, sciences, elimination of destitution, poverty, > >>>> mental illnesses, the list goes on.. It requires that we manage things > >>>> intelligently, learn from mistakes and move forward. If this progress > >>>> happened in a 100 years I think we would likely reduce our population to > >>>> half within the next hundred, there is nothing logical about reproducing > >>>> ad > >>>> infinitum and by then the social costs should be obvious enough, added to > >>>> the lack of need as we extend the human lifespan. I think we have a large > >>>> potential in voluntary acts. > > >>>> Who is pie in the sky now? :p > > >>>> On 10/3/2012 5:57 PM, archytas wrote: > > >>>>> If workers aren't needed for work, what will happen to them? The > >>>>> animal and plant world answer is generally a 'return to nutrients'. > > >>>>> On 3 Oct, 09:57, Shekila Tieschmaker<[email protected]> > >>>>> wrote: > > >>>>>> how do you get out this group thing ? > > >>>>>>> ________________________________ > >>>>>>> From: James<[email protected]> > >>>>>>> To: [email protected] > >>>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 10:26 PM > >>>>>>> Subject: Re: Mind's Eye thought experiments > > >>>>>>> Well it is far worse (or better depending on who is looking at it), > >>>>>>> many > >>>>>>> of the older trades and crafts-people I've met had an appreciation for > >>>>>>> seeing their work as an artform. That would be my robot heaven, > >>>>>>> working > >>>>>>> toward a world where we can all pursue meaning and purposeful work > >>>>>>> without > >>>>>>> the burden of resource scarcity. What would it matter that someone > >>>>>>> wants to > >>>>>>> be a plumber or architect in a day when those positions are obsolete, > >>>>>>> if > >>>>>>> that is pursuing meaning, it would matter little more than what > >>>>>>> restaurant > >>>>>>> someone likes to the next guy. In a world that valued human > >>>>>>> contribution it > >>>>>>> might be a plus, there is a name associated with the foundation of my > >>>>>>> home, > >>>>>>> or certain furniture or I tweaked my engine to respond exactly the way > >>>>>>> I > >>>>>>> like in a curve, finding a way to shield a planet from gamma > >>>>>>> radiation, > >>>>>>> optimizing resource allocations in complex evolving environments from > >>>>>>> nanotech on up to transport vessels for interplanetary mining and > >>>>>>> settlement, etc.. > >>>>>>> Back to the present time and scale there is the matter of plotting a > >>>>>>> course of innovation by meeting challenges. > >>>>>>> Laziness might be a challenge, and frailty, I haven't met many people > >>>>>>> who have had to wash clothes in a bathtub complain about the > >>>>>>> advancement of > >>>>>>> the washing machine, or get whimsical about enduring ailments we've > >>>>>>> found > >>>>>>> remedies or therapies for. We seem to be in a transitional stage, not > >>>>>>> quite > >>>>>>> coming to grips with the world we could create. Psychology is > >>>>>>> important to > >>>>>>> survival, nonproductive time as some call it, I eye some of them as > >>>>>>> suspect > >>>>>>> sociopaths. Being motivated can be very rewarding, it is too bad that > >>>>>>> out > >>>>>>> word for meaningfully motivated is "naive". I'm taking the long way > >>>>>>> 'round > >>>>>>> with this. > > >>>>>>> On 9/19/2012 5:56 PM, archytas wrote: > > >>>>>>>> Thought experiments are devices of the imagination used to > >>>>>>>> investigate > >>>>>>>> the nature of things. Thought experimenting often takes place when > >>>>>>>> the > >>>>>>>> method of variation is employed in entertaining imaginative > >>>>>>>> suppositions. They are used for diverse reasons in a variety of > >>>>>>>> areas, > >>>>>>>> including economics, history, mathematics, philosophy, and physics. > >>>>>>>> Most often thought experiments are communicated in narrative form, > >>>>>>>> sometimes through media like a diagram. Thought experiments should be > >>>>>>>> distinguished from thinking about experiments, from merely imagining > >>>>>>>> any experiments to be conducted outside the imagination, and from > >>>>>>>> psychological experiments with thoughts. They should also be > >>>>>>>> distinguished from counterfactual reasoning in general, as they seem > >>>>>>>> to require an experimental element. > >>>>>>>>http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thought-experiment/ > > >>>>>>>> One I like is the notion of robot heaven. It's easy enough to > >>>>>>>> imagine > >>>>>>>> a time when machines grow our food, build our shelter and do our > >>>>>>>> work. The interesting stuff comes in thinking what this would mean > >>>>>>>> for wealth distribution and the nature of society. What work would > >>>>>>>> be > >>>>>>>> left to do? One can also wonder what place any of our work ethics > >>>>>>>> would have in such a society. There may be some deconstructive > >>>>>>>> effect > >>>>>>>> on just what current work ideologies are in place for. > > >>>>>>>> One of the great improvements technology brought to my life is more > >>>>>>>> or > >>>>>>>> less never having to go into a bank. The only real innovations in > >>>>>>>> banking are the ATM and electronic banking. This kind of technology > >>>>>>>> and similar in agriculture and industry fundamentally reduce the > >>>>>>>> amount of human effort to grow and make what we need. We are in > >>>>>>>> partial state of robot heaven. > > >>>>>>>> Our ideologies are not up to speed. Real unemployment is massive and > >>>>>>>> education does little to provide job skills. We are sold life-styles > >>>>>>>> and products by insane advertising. Job creation seems to be in > >>>>>>>> perverse areas like financial services or bringing back attended gas- > >>>>>>>> pumps. With more efficient production we should be able to afford a > >>>>>>>> bigger social sector and I can't for the life of me understand why we > >>>>>>>> allow competition through crap wages and conditions. > > >>>>>>>> A great deal of what we pay for could be available more or less free. > >>>>>>>> Educational content and utility banking are examples - these are > >>>>>>>> areas > >>>>>>>> that could be ratinalised like agriculture and manufacturing. > >>>>>>>> Millions of jobs would go. We should be asking why jobs are so > >>>>>>>> central to out thinking on wealth distribution and how we might > >>>>>>>> encourage work without the rat race. > > >>>>>>> -- > > >>>> -- > > >> -- > > > --- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --
