There are so many amazing true stories from World War II. This is one of them.
Originally shared by Fred Hicks
May
24
Category Archives: SFF Thought Starters
May
23
Carbon Fiber Creations Woven by Robots #manufacturingmonday
Originally shared by Adafruit Industries
Carbon Fiber Creations Woven by Robots #manufacturingmonday
https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/05/23/carbon-fiber-creations-woven-by-robots/
Robot spiders spinning carbon-fiber pavilions for your future pleasure dome. Some are calling this a 4th industrial revolution, although there are a few candidates for that. Either way: robot spiders weaving carbon fiber habitats for humans! via Web Urbanist
Architect and researcher Achim Menges, who heads up the Institute for Computational Design (ICD) at the University of Stuttgart, is developing software to make robotic construction more intuitive, and his team has built a series of carbon fiber pavilions to show off the technology. We’re at a phase where the full capabilities of the material and method haven’t yet been unlocked, he says, because experiments are still mimicking old materials. To build the pavilions, they robots draw lengths of carbon and glass fiber through a resin bath and wind it around metal scaffolding in a particular pattern. The resin-coated structures are cured in a massive oven and then detached from the framework.
Read more
https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/05/23/carbon-fiber-creations-woven-by-robots/
May
23
Thoth Technology Inc.
Originally shared by David Brin
Thoth Technology Inc. has been granted both US and UK patents for an inflatable tower designed to take astronauts up into the stratosphere, so they can then be propelled into space. A freestanding structure complete with an electrical elevator up to a 20km (12.5 miles) high launch platform. In other words in all ways precisely the design that I described in my novel SUNDIVER. (Anyone remember the Vanilla Needle? One difference. Mine was big enough that balloons could use buoyancy in the high pressure space to lift cargoes most of the way.)
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/17/space-elevator-thothx-tower
May
20
Via Deborah Teramis Christian.
Via Deborah Teramis Christian.
Originally shared by Sarah Perry-Shipp
The farms for your arcology.
via private share, Kira Magrann
May
19
Botanical apartments in Phuket, Thailand
Originally shared by dalajlamapeace
Botanical apartments in Phuket, Thailand
May
19
Genetically Engineering Super-Intelligent Humans
Genetically Engineering Super-Intelligent Humans
Point
Nautilus has an interesting discussion on the thousands (10k) of genetic variations that contribute to or are correlated with human intelligence, and with single variants being responsible for less than 1 point of IQ http://nautil.us/issue/18/genius/super_intelligent-humans-are-coming. Statistical analysis indicates that when an individual possess just 100 more of these positive variants above the population average then they will enjoy an IQ boost of one standard deviation, or an extra 15 points. Swapping out all 10,000 variants in an individual for the optimal positive variants might, in theory, result in that person having an IQ of 1,000 – if you just go by the statistical analysis. It isn’t really clear whether an IQ this high really has much meaning, especially considering human IQ is quoted as just double or triple that of chimpanzees. Regardless, this analysis makes it seem conservative that we can pass the IQ 200 or 300 mark.
The piece discusses support for this in more detail but if it turns out to be true then well within 10 years we will have the technology to fairly easily ensure any particular human baby conceived via IVF will have a 15 point IQ boost. There will be very real consequences for any country that bans such technology.
Counterpoint
PZ Myers disagrees however and attempts to dismiss the proposal in a thoroughly disparaging and ad hominem manner http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2016/04/05/superbrains-will-not-come-out-of-a-test-tube/. Resisting the urge to dismiss Myers as a buffoon, at a basic level he simply isn’t convinced that boosting absolute human intelligence is a desirable thing, and would rather indirectly boost intelligence as a whole by improving global nutrition and education. His objections boil down to two things. First, that such a thing would be technically impossible; but this seems utterly unrealistic given the rapid pace of technology development in genetics, CRISPR, and embryo editing.
Second, that such a thing would be theoretically impossible, and quotes evolutionary arguments that (i) if it was possible evolution would have already done it, and (ii) humans are so multidimensional that tweaking one variant for one trait invariably involves compromise for other traits; basically that other things in the organism would suffer.
Rebuttal
Stephen Hsu, the author of the original Nautilus post concisely responds to Myer’s counter-arguments with a rebuttal on his private blog here http://infoproc.blogspot.com.au/2016/04/this-is-for-pz-meyers.html. The rebuttal presents some very straight-forward arguments from basic population genetics that support the proposal, clears up Myer’s confusion between genes and variants, states the completely non-controversial fact that cognitive ability is highly heritable, and presents data supporting the fact that there are many thousands of variants responsible for IQ. Myer’s response to this rebuttal was to dismiss Hsu as a dilettante.
Bonus Coverage
Finally, Scott Alexander from SlateStarCodex weighs in to take apart the multidimensionality claim of Myers http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/05/04/myers-race-car-versus-the-general-fitness-factor/. Turns out it is hard to find traits that are traded off against increases in intelligence, which would otherwise be easy to find if the multidimensionality claim were true. People with high IQ live longer, are taller, healthier during childhood, commit less crime, are fitter, have lower rates of stroke, diabetes, and heart disease, and are possibly more attractive. As usual Scott provides additional, substantial, and fascinating thoughts and analysis that are well worth reading.
I’m reminded of a Nick Bostrom quote:
Far from being the smartest possible biological species, we are probably better thought of as the stupidest possible biological species capable of starting a technological civilization—a niche we filled because we got there first, not because we are in any sense optimally adapted to it.
If it is almost trivially possible to grant a person an additional 15 points of IQ with little to no risk of downside, is it unethical not to do so?
May
19
A number of experts weigh in on where they see the world heading in the next 34 years.
A number of experts weigh in on where they see the world heading in the next 34 years.
http://bigthink.com/the-voice-of-big-think/what-will-life-be-like-in-2050
May
19
Electronic ink/paper is finding a lot of new use cases.
Electronic ink/paper is finding a lot of new use cases.
(Warning: Wired has an annoying anti-adblock nag.)
http://www.wired.com/2016/05/get-ready-world-covered-electronic-paper/
May
19
“Social-web activity is notorious for an asymmetry of passion,” says this author.
“Social-web activity is notorious for an asymmetry of passion,” says this author. The voices most boosted by social media are not the sanest ones, as we’re all well aware.
There’s a wonderful setup here for a satirical dystopian story in the tradition of Robert Sheckley.
May
19
Microbiology is one of the technologies that’s under the radar now, but will become tremendously important in the…
Microbiology is one of the technologies that’s under the radar now, but will become tremendously important in the coming years. In particular, the science of interaction between humans and their microbiome, and, as here, plants and their microbiome is looking very promising.