Predicting beyond the next 50 years:

Here is a cool article on what might not happen and how singularity may not take place:
http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/vinge/longnow/

Artificial Intelligence from Google?

Google's working on developing artificial intelligence   to add to their vast array of services from Google Earth to Google Calendar to Google Blogger to application that can make 3-D models online and store documents and video and music.. Go here to see a complete list of current Google apps


With the addition of AI added to Google's wide range of services we could really start to see things get interesting.  Google's personalized search which taps my previous searches to narrow my search results and prepare more accurate results seems to be one step in the direction towards AI:   This article talks more about Google's next steps

Another direction that is exciting is the use of humans to evaluate images on Google images.  Through tagging, users aid the Google brain by helping to categorize information.  A brain's basic function is to learn from the input of the users surroundings and apply that information to make decisions.  A brain does this by categorizing information and storing it in hierarchies and then outputting decisions based on that information.

Here is a video that describes some of this way of thinking of the web a sort of collective conscious or mass brain:

“The kingdom of heaven is within you,”

Campbell: This is a crucial problem today. Every mythology—and by mythology I include religions—every religion has grown up within a certain social order. And today these social orders have come into collision with each other. All you have to do is look at what’s going on in the Near East now, and it’s a horror. There are the three major monotheistic religions of the world, creating havoc. I’ve been in Beirut; it was once a glorious, beautiful, darling little city, and now it’s just hell, because each of these units of religion thinks it has all the values on its side, and it doesn’t know how to open up and recognize those are human beings also....

... the main thing for people today are these religions of contemplation and meditation—recognizing within you the powers that are those of the gods. You know, all the gods are simply projections of human potentialities. They’re not out there. They’re in here. That word, “The kingdom of heaven is within you,” is a good word. And who’s in heaven? God is. So where is he? Look in here. You have two kinds of religion—that which is addressed outward like that, and that which is turned inward, here.

THINKING ALLOWED
Conversations On The Leading Edge
Of Knowledge and Discovery
With Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove

Understanding Mythology
with Joseph Campbell
For the full text go here

Do Humans have free will?

Check out this article from the nytimes.com published in the science times Free Will: Now You Have It, Now You Don’t
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Published: January 2, 2007

Spinoza

I just discovered the philosophy of Benedictus de Spinoza or Baruch de Spinoza (1632-1677) - The Dutch Jewish philosopher known as a Rationalist.

He is best known for his "Ethics"( check it out here on google books), a "monumental work that presents an ethical vision unfolding out of a monistic metaphysics in which God and Nature are identified. God is no longer the transcendent creator of the universe who rules it via providence, but Nature itself, understood as an infinite, necessary, and fully deterministic system of which humans are a part. Humans find happiness only through a rational understanding of this system and their place within it. " (from: "http://www.iep.utm.edu/s/spinoza.htm)

I like thinking of the concept of G-d in this way. In Judaism, Jews are not supposed to use G-d's name in vain.
here are some interesting links on G-d's names in Judaism:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/name.html
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/05-Worship/section-12.html

Jews are also not supposed to draw or represent the image of G-d in drawings or sculpture. Giving something a name classifies it and thus boxes it in. The concept of Infinity, is much harder to box in and is much harder to draw a picture of.

Earth's relative size

a bit of perspective on Earth's size:

Reverse Engineering Life

Check out this posting about how scientists are able to reverse the Krebs cycle :

New insights into the origin of life on Earth from PhysOrg.com

In an advance toward understanding the origin of life on Earth, scientists have shown that parts of the Krebs cycle can run in reverse, producing biomolecules that could jump-start life with only sunlight and a mineral present in the primordial oceans.

[...]

It brings to mind some thoughts on reverse engineering. Ray Kurzweil has some interesting things to say on this topic: He believes that "a $1,000 personal computer will match the computing speed and capacity of the human brain by around the year 2020." From there we can only hope for brain 2.0. wonder what that will look like.

The Atheist Delusion Takes a sarcastic look at the Science vs. G-d Debate. Once again drawing a line in the sand and staking a claim in what the Universe is.

If G-d is everything and science is part of everything wouldn't science be part of G-d... and if Science is everything and G-d is part of everything wouldn't G-d be part of science?
-not trying to preach here... but I often feel like the debate between G-d and Science feels like a political race. Republicancs vs. Democrats... and they're both neck and neck.. this video reminds me of a slander campaign that you would see on TV during a race... as in "does my apponent REALLY care about healthcare?... didn't he sign the bill cutting taxes for healthcare last year...etc. etc..."

I really don't mean to sound like the wishy washy centrist, but does it really matter? I don't think truly religous people would ever try to prove science wrong. And Scientists should study the universe through experimentation and research .. for example String theory is highly theoretical... yet some scientists have faith that it exists ... faith is present in all forms of study.. why not in philosophy/theology?

The Tenth Dimesion.

This is some pretty cool stuff: It's related to string theory:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html

And will be sure to screw with your mind.

Enjoy.

Brain Cell and The Universe are one and the same

August 14, 2006
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/08/14/science/20060815_SCILL_GRAPHIC.htm?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1162861845-vmAcl0AoGpN7SDyx7rDGcQ