Do Star Wars, Star Trek, Buck Rogers, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Babylon 5, Red Dwarf, V, and even War of the Worlds have it all wrong? If we or other aliens were to travel into space and go to other worlds, would we really be living inside of spaceships that attempt to mimic our native environment?

The following article (provocatively titled ‘Biological Intelligence is Only a Transitory Phenomenon’) suggests that the answer is no. And not just no, but “hell no, that’s just stupid, what are you thinking?” Here are some quotes from the article to give you a flavor of what they’re talking about:

any aliens exploring the universe will be AI-empowered machines. Not only are machines better able to endure extended exposure to the conditions of space, but they have the potential to develop intelligence far beyond the capacity of the human brain.

I think it very likely – in fact inevitable – that biological intelligence is only a transitory phenomenon, a fleeting phase in the evolution of the universe … If we ever encounter extraterrestrial intelligence, I believe it is overwhelmingly likely to be post-biological in nature.

The two scientists compared that approach [i.e. spacesuits and space ships] to “a fish taking a small quantity of water along with him to live on land.” They felt that humans should be willing to partially adapt to the environment to which they would be traveling. … “Altering man’s bodily functions to meet the requirements of extraterrestrial environments would be more logical than providing an earthly environment for him in space,

So, are they right? Is it a silly idea to think that we want to go somewhere (let’s say Mars for arguments sake) that we aren’t adapted to, without changing outselves? Suppose we could alter our physical selves with gene thereapy, cyborg implents, etc.. so that we could live on Mars without a big bubble and/or terraforming the planet. Is that a better way to go? Or should we build the portable fish tank to take with us as we explore the cosmos? I can see arguments on both sides.

Pro fish tank: We aren’t ourselves anymore if we change. How can we be human and want what humans want if we’re part robot, part martian?

Pro fish tank: We can share all the cool things we have here with those elsewhere (be they aliens or other human visitors). You won’t be able to experience that if you haven’t brought along the right environment.

Pro post-biological: When in Rome …

Pro post-biological: If you change the place you’re going to, you might destroy whatever it was you were going there for in the first place. Disrupt the habitat, kill off the locals (intentional/unintentional), etc..

Pro post-biological: If you adapt to live in the environment you inhabit, you can experience it as it is, not via some proxy.

Pro post-biological: You don’t have to worry about the bubble cracking and all your air leaking away. You also don’t have to worrya bout too much or too little gravity or light, etc..

Pro fish tank: Space ships are cool. So are shelds, lasers, photon torpedos and cloaking devices.

Pro post-biological: Space suits are not comfortable or easy to wear, and they simply will never ever be fashionable.

 

Full article can be found here.

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A friend of a friend (Jeff) is teaching a class at BYU with the purpose of using “new media in the classroom”. To that end, he’s doing a class project that involves blogging, podcasting, social networking, etc.. He even arranged a little flash mob on campus recently.



This is where things get interesting. Apparently he didn’t tell The UniversityThe Establishment about his flash mob and they’re quite grumpy about it. The mob was just a bunch of students from all over campus getting together at the Wilkinson Center at a certain time and bursting into song (“I am a child of God”?). There was quite a turn-out and it made an impression. So much so that the university has told Jeff that he’s not allowed to teach this course anymore! How lame is that? They just don’t get it.



This is the best part though. I was sitting there thinking about the whole incident today in the car and the perfect line came to me. It’s a shame that i’ll probably never have a chance to deliver it. “Hey Jeff, i heard about the flash mob. There was a great disturbance in the Wilkinson Center, as if millions of voices cried out in song and were suddenly silenced.”

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Ok, this is just WAAAAY to good to pass up. Trust me, it’s worth watching. If you know one of the 5 people in the world who don’t know what star wars is all about, make sure you have them watch this video with you so they can learn the plot.

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Ran across this awesome life size storm trooper made out of legos at the local WalMart today. How cool is that?


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Leia: You rosy lipped … batfish!


Han: Who’s rosy lipped?


Luann thought the name of this sea creature would make an especially good insult to throw around at some point. I couldn’t agree more!

Oh, and this is a real sea creature. I ran across it on the National Geographic website.

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Just a quick note of some cool things from the last week or so.

  • Electronic Arts has finally set a release date for Spore (Sep 7, 2008)
  • Lucas Arts has announced a Clone Wars animated movie coming to the big screen
  • The first official Indiana Jones 4 trailer has been released
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Oct 152007
Ok, I must admit that this was good. I don’t normally watch Family Guy, but who could pass up “Family Guy does Star Wars”? :) Check it out. I guarantee that you’ll laugh.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

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Aug 242007

The Last Supper

 

 
Crossing the Deleware

 

 

 

 
I’m not really sure who these belong to, but they’ve cropped up in a few places recently on the internet and i thought i’d share. Enjoy… :)

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Every now and then someone just comes up with such a simple idea that’s so brilliant you go “DOH, why didn’t I think of that?” This is one such idea. :) The picture speaks for itself of course. If it doesn’t speak to you, what the hell are you doing reading my blog? Go to the flickr link (just click on the picture) and you can see a bunch of funny little blurbs people have added to the photo.

I have yet to see one of these little droids around my home. (i am not holding my breath…)

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I think this pretty much speaks for itself! Enjoy…

We’ve all heard the “official conspiracy theory” of the Death Star attack. We all know about Luke Skywalker and his ragtag bunch of rebels, how they mounted a foolhardy attack on the most powerful, well-defended battle station ever built. And we’ve all seen the video over, and over, and over, of the one-in-a-million shot that resulted in a massive chain reaction that not just damaged, but completely obliterated that massive technological wonder…. I have many questions that I would like answered: was the mighty Imperial government really too incompetent to prevent a handful of untrained nerf-herders from destroying one of their most prized assets? Or are they hiding something from us? Who was really behind the attack? Why did they want the Death Star destroyed?

  1. Why were a handful of rebel fighters able to penetrate the defenses of a battle station that had the capability of destroying an entire planet and the defenses to ward off several fleets of battle ships?
  2. Why did Grand Moff Tarkin refuse to deploy the station’s large fleet of TIE Fighters until it was too late? Was he acting on orders from somebody to not shoot down the rebel attack force? If so, who, and why?
  3. Why was the rebel pilot who supposedly destroyed the Death Star reported to be on the Death Star days, maybe hours, prior to its destruction? Why was he allowed to escape, and why were several individuals dressed in Stormtrooper uniforms seen helping him?
  4. Why has there not been an investigation into allegations that Darth Vader, the second-ranking member of the Imperial Government, is in fact the father of the pilot who allegedly destroyed the Death Star?
  5. Why did Lord Vader decide to break all protocols and personally pilot a lightly armored TIE Fighter? Conveniently, this placed Lord Vader outside of the Death Star when it was destroyed, where he was also conveniently able to escape from a large-sized rebel fleet that had just routed the Imperial forces. Why would Lord Vader, one of the highest ranking members of the Imperial Government, suddenly decide to fly away from the Death Star in the middle of a battle? Did he know something that the rest of the Imperial Navy didn’t?
  6. How could any pilot shoot a missile into a 2 meter-wide exhaust port, let alone a pilot with no formal training, whose only claim to fame was his ability to “bullseye womprats” on Tatooine? This shot, according to one pilot, would be “impossible, even for a computer.” Yet, according to additional evidence, the pilot who allegedly fired the missile turned off his targeting computer when he was supposedly firing the shot that destroyed the Death Star. Why have these discrepancies never been investigated, let alone explained?
  7. Why has their been no investigation into evidence that the droids who provided the rebels with the Death Star plans were once owned by none other than Lord Vader himself, and were found, conveniently, by the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, and who is also believed to be Lord Vader’s son? Evidence also shows that the droids were brought to one Ben Kenobi, who, records indicate, was Darth Vader’s teacher many years earlier! Are all these personal connections between the conspirators and a key figure in the Imperial government supposed to be coincidences?
  8. How could a single missile destroy a battle station the size of a moon? No records, anywhere, show that any battle station or capital ship has ever been destroyed by a single missile. Furthermore, analysis of the tape of the last moments of the Death Star show numerous small explosions along its surface, prior to it exploding completely! Why does all evidence indicate that strategically placed explosives, not a single missile, is what destroyed the Death Star?

Originally from an article on digg, but i think the server melted, so here’s a mirror: Mirror Article

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