machinery

Back from a seminar in France. I didn't want to write a word for this event, but will, because I was (and still am) amazed from the direction of one of the workshops, namely "humanoid robots".

I remember when i said to Monika, that I love my Mac (not just like, but love) and talk to him. She was very upset, because she could fast and easy imagine the old ever repeated ugly movie scenario, how machines are taking over the world and control the human race. I laughed, because it was funny and naive, but somehow the workshop discussion went in the same direction and it wasn't funny anymore. Because I saw people with 30 (maybe more) years of experience in science and technics, which shown the same strange fear of "conscious" robots. Couldn't believe it! Noooo way!

firstly: If we want to play Gods, then we have to be ready for eventual failure.

secondly: If we succeed, then it is a clear sign - the next stage of evolution has come. And in fact, all the knowledge we have worked for won't be lost, it'll continue living in another embodiment.

thirdly: We are pretty lonely creatures. The idea of feeling sympathy to an object without soul sounds perfect. It is solution. I don't say, that the computer-friend would substitute the human-human relationships, when they are present, but only when such lack.

fourth: Creating with our own tools a form of consciousness able to self organize is amazing achievement. I can't think of price, which is too high for not to be payed! We should afford it, because if the answer of the old stupid question about the meaning of life is self reproduction, then why the hell we try to develop all these fancy things? And if is not, then finding the secret of our own brain function seems to be a good candidate. The unique chance to solve the old puzzle stands in front of us, and discussing the morality of what we are trying to achieve should not be a stop sign. Call it another kind of moral, if necessary.

fifth and final: Lets not forget after all, that the discussed scenario has a very low probability. It won't happen if our job is well-done. Another topic is how strong we actually believe in ourselves?

win a brighter view

What happens, when you try to merge comics with science book?
Somebody would surely say: "bad idea - you see the surface of a very deep ocean", but lets calculate it:

We assume, you are studying physics. And you have no idea about the meaning of semiotics, or linguistics.. You have heard about Nietzsche in the school during the interval of speaking with your desk mate and trying to solve the new sudoku puzzle at the same time. And you specially thinks, that Marx is a rich dictator who has fired almost all revolutions in the world.
To get to the truth, you need:
4 x 3 x (356 - 2 x 30) x 8 = 28416 hours
(4 subjects, 3 years, 356 days- 2 months vacation, 8 hours)

And if you are ready for this sacrifice, then wonderful! But would you sacrifice additionally 56832 hours for the topics:
Anthropology
Fractal geometry and chaos theory
Kant
Modernism,
sociology
Wittgenstein
Religion
Evolutionary psychology


I know the answer - "NO". And not because you don't want to, but because you don't have the time. It's also not necessary to know everything about everything, but how could you possibly decide what's interesting?

Help?

well.. :)
wonderful book series: http://www.iconbooks.co.uk/intro.cfm

I have read and can recommend these book from the sequence:

Fractal geometry is my favorite!



nice pocket choice

now I'm reading about Marx:




And next victims:

stereo pleasantries

Yoyo.. :) I've just found in Internet pictures from this special stereo cameras and decided to merge in photoshop both images from a stereo pair in one. The result is pretty good..nice degree of immersion.. have to buy one.. :)

my Katzenko here:




and British museum: http://z.arttoday.org/britishMuseum.jpg

complex pleasantries

I found this nice album yesterday and just can't stop listen to it.. The serial Swedish loonies. Zeigeist - The Jade Motel

..and.. btw, around this guys I rediscovered one more band - The Knife. Consisting of a singer with awfully good voice and her brother.. Furthermore, they look so freaky .. Like their lyrics, which probably could explain another reality, but not the simple space we're inhabiting..

Be Kind

BE KIND by Charles Bukowski

we are always asked
to understand the other person's
viewpoint
no matter how
out-dated
foolish or
obnoxious.
one is asked
to view
their total error
their life-waste
with
kindliness,
especially if they are
aged.
but age is the total of
our doing.
they have aged
badly
because they have
lived
out of focus,
they have refused to
see.
not their fault?
whose fault?
mine?
I am asked to hide
my viewpoint
from them
for fear of their
fear.
age is no crime
but the shame
of a deliberately
wasted
life
among so many
deliberately
wasted
lives
is.