The World Transformed

In this podcast, Michal Klaus, CEO at Ataccama, discusses what is required by governments around the world to successfully reopen their economies after the devastating impacts of Covid-19. The interview is conducted by Ron Powell, independent analyst and industry expert for the BeyeNetwork and executive producer for The World Transformed Fast Forward Series.

In this edition of Fast Forward, Simon Bain, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of ShieldIO and David Hicks (Vice President, Worldwide ISV Cloud Business Development and Marketing) with Oracle join us to discuss one of the biggest challenges software developers face in this era of heightened data security and strict regulatory requirements.  More than ever, application developers and testers need access to live data (not masked and fake data) to ensure that their solutions are effective and error-free. But that data has never been better protected or harder to access. What if there was a way to test and develop new applications securely, in the cloud, with full access to data without ever having to decrypt it? Learn more here: https://cloudmarketplace.oracle.com/marketplace/en_US/listing/61995171 About Our Guests: Simon Bain, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of ShieldIO. He is known for developing award-winning security and search applications, including an innovative parallel processing search engine. Simon has worked with leading banks to implement on-line banking platforms and payment processing systems, and he created the first online voting application to be granted security clearance for use on interactive digital TV in the UK. He is also a published author on security and E-Voting and Holds 6 security patents David Hicks is Vice President, ISV Cloud Business Development and Marketing for Oracle.  In this capacity he is responsible for driving Oracle Public Cloud adoption with Oracle broad partner community.  David also leads marketing focused on awareness, demand generation and go to market activities with partners. David joined Oracle in 2006 and has been in this role for the past six years.   FF 013-824  

Smart Cities, Part 2 Bill Pugh joins host Phil Bowermaster for an in-depth discussion of how smart cities are conceptualized and how smart city initiatives are rolled out. Bill explains how Smart Cities initiatives began with cities recognizing that they had unused or underused data assets and began looking for ways to use that data to address real-world problems. He also explains why it’s important to start addressing these kinds of issues regionally versus city by city. Other topics include: How do cities decide to place infrastructure in the Cloud vs on the edge? How can they best incorporate the smart grid into the overall smart city architecture? What are the challenges what are the challenges cities face when it comes to making real improvements regarding traffic and congestion? Join us. About Our Guest: With a background in telecommunications and IT, Bill Pugh is a Managing Partner Smart Connections Consulting, where he provides public and private sector clients technological thought leadership, guidance, and practical support for wired and wireless connected initiatives as well as roadmaps for open data and analytic objectives. Bill has over 25 years of experience in wired/wireless strategy of platform development and deployment of networking technologies for private and public companies. In recent years he has been engaged with cities on strategies for executing Smart City initiatives around Street lights, Smart Parking, Intelligent Traffic and Security.    SC 002-823 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

What if the planet Mars were to be made more Earth-like: the kind of place where human beings and other Earth life forms could live comfortably. Could we do it? Should we? Phil and Stephen discuss. NextBigFuture says we can and tells how to do it: Terraforming Mars in 50 Years with Large Orbital Mirrors, Bacteria and Factories https://bit.ly/2U58VSA George Dvorsky at Gizmodo says we'll never settle Mars: Humans Will Never Colonize Mars https://bit.ly/2BhENec Meanwhile, one guy is talking about nuking the joint: Looks Like Elon Musk Is Serious About Nuking Mars https://bit.ly/32ozEg0 Lots to discuss here. If we can do it, is it the right thing to do? What if there is already life there? What if instead of changing Mars, we changed humans? And most importantly -- is there a board game available that lets you try your hand at Terraforming the red planet? Join us. WT 495-822 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Smart Cities, Part 1 In this edition of Fast Forward, Frannie Mattews, CEO of the Colorado Technology Association, joins us to discuss the many ways that Smart City technologies are transforming transportation, the workplace, and the communities in which we live. This show is Part 1 in our new ongoing series on Smart Cities.  How will smart cities impact the economy and quality of life of the communities where they are  deployed? And what is the human impact of these technologies? Kicking off the discussion with us is Frannie Matthews, CEO of Colorado Technology Association (CTA).   What is a Smart City? The answers vary, from the highly abstract and theoretical to the completely practical. Most definitions include the idea of making use of data to improve government services, quality of life, and basic infrastructure. Smart City deployments are heavily dependent on the Internet of Things (IOT) and a new class of smart devices. Such  technologies can make cities cleaner, safer, more energy efficient, and less congested. But there are trade-offs . What new risks do we incur by giving our data over to Smart Cities applications? Our we making it easier for Big Brother to watch us? How do we balance the benefits and risks? SC 001-821 Music: www.bensound.com Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources. City photo by alejandro gonzalez on Unsplash

What would you make if you had a machine that could make anything? One day soon we may have machines that can do exactly that. The most famous example of the Universal Assembler is probably the Replicator from Star Trek. What do you need -- Equipment? Clothes? A Cup of Tea?  Recent developments suggest such a device may be closer than many of us expect. A Real World 'Star Trek' Replicator Is Now Possible Thanks To New Breakthrough https://bit.ly/2Ua7WAx A startup with alumni from MIT and Yale says it's made a breakthrough in creating a next-generation material that should make it possible to 3-d print literally anything out of thin air. New York-based Mattershift has managed to create large-scale carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes that are able to combine and separate individual molecules. "This technology gives us a level of control over the material world that we've never had before," said Mattershift Founder and CEO Dr. Rob McGinnis in a release. "For example, right now we're working to remove CO2 from the air and turn it into fuels. This has already been done using conventional technology, but it's been too expensive to be practical. Using our tech, I think we'll be able to produce carbon-zero gasoline, diesel, and jet fuels that are cheaper than fossil fuels." RELATED Chemists make first-ever ring of pure carbon https://go.nature.com/2Ha48da   WT 494-820 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

With a habitable super-Earth and  UFOs back in the news, we have to ask: Are we going to find the aliens or have they already come to see us? Could There Be Life? This Newfound 'Super-Earth' May Be Habitable https://bit.ly/2YN5fK5 Only 31 light years away! Pretty close for an earth-like planet. But then there’s this… The Hunt Is On for Alpha Centauri’s Planets https://bit.ly/2Ytlz3h Snake-like UFOs seen across US ‘could be military craft used by Space Force’ https://bit.ly/2YvHGVG A trio of ASU experts give their thoughts on recent UFO reports https://bit.ly/2ItJhT9 'Fleet of UFOs' Followed US Aircraft, Navy Pilot Says https://bit.ly/2yOxARp -- Between 2014 and 2015, seasoned pilots in the U.S. Navy experienced a number of harrowing encounters with UFOs during training missions in the U.S. While pilots were mid-flight, their aircraft cameras and radar detected seemingly impossible objects flying at hypersonic speeds at altitudes up to 30,00 feet (9,144 meters); these mysterious UFOs did so with no visible means of propulsion, The New York Times reported on May 26. This stuff has been going on for a long time. Takes us back to the days of the Foo Fighters. What Were the Mysterious “Foo Fighters” Sighted by WWII Night Flyers? https://bit.ly/2OO9WiG --Something strange was following the Beaufighter crews of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. Dozens of these sightings occurred -- hundreds of similar throughout both theaters of war. What were they?  Popular theory at the time: Secret Nazi Weapons! WT 493-819 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

NASA's idea for making food from thin air just became a reality — it could feed billions https://bit.ly/2Zdu1zL It's not like you can make food out of thin air. Well…it turns out you can. A company from Finland, Solar Foods, is planning to bring to market a new protein powder, Solein, made out of CO2, water and electricity. It's a high-protein, flour-like ingredient that contains 50 percent protein content, 5–10 percent fat, and 20–25 percent carbs. It reportedly looks and tastes like wheat flour, and could become an ingredient in a wide variety of food products after its initial launch in 2021. Related: Edible Insects - Can it be Sushi-fied?   https://bit.ly/2ykQuzn A New Law to Describe Quantum Computing’s Rise? https://bit.ly/2KmxEQ4 Neven’s law states that quantum computers are improving at a “doubly exponential” rate. If it holds, quantum supremacy is around the corner. Cell Reprogramming Leads to Reversal in Cell Aging! https://bit.ly/3108TxE You might have heard of scientists turning adult cells (like skin cells) into undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells. However, the team at Stanford lead by Vittorio Sebastiano, Jay Sarkar, and Marco Quarta has found a way to turn adult cells into younger cells. That way, the cells don’t forget their assigned tasks since they maintain their cell type, but have the added advantage of having restored youthful performance. WT 492-818 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Category People & Blogs

Daniel Mintz,  Chief Data Evangelist at Looker, steps us through some common misconceptions about who uses data for business, how they are using it, and what the future of business intelligence looks like.     Today's businesses face unprecedented challenges when it comes to the size and complexity of their data sets. New technologies allow more widespread and sophisticated access to data assets than ever before.  With such capabilities at our fingertips, it is easy to assume that the future of business intelligence will be a bigger, more complex version of what has come before. But will it?   About Our Guest Daniel Mintz is the Chief Data Evangelist at Looker. Previously, he was Head of Data & Analytics at fast-growing media startup Upworthy and before that, he was Director of Analytics at political powerhouse MoveOn.org. Throughout his career, Daniel has focused on how people interact with data in their everyday lives and how they can use it to get better at what they do. Music: www.bensound.com Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources. Image by Gerd Altmann  FF 012-817

Phil and Stephen review the legacy of the first moon landing. We’re now as far in time from the moon landing as that event  was from the end of World War I. What does it mean to live in a world where the moon landing is (practically) ancient history? Why is the moon landing still important? Writing for the L.A. Times,  Ayn Rand had the following to say about Apollo 11: That we had seen a demonstration of man at his best, no one could doubt — this was the cause of the event’s attraction and of the stunned, numbed state in which it left us. And no one could doubt that we had seen an achievement of man in his capacity as a rational being — an achievement of reason, of logic, of mathematics, of total dedication to the absolutism of reality. How many people would connect these two facts, I do not know. https://bit.ly/2K3z2of Did landing on the moon bring us into another reality?  Which leads us to this headline: Elon Musk says SpaceX could land on the moon in 2 years. A NASA executive says 'we'll partner with them, and we'll get there faster' if the company can pull it off. https://bit.ly/2Gvs22B The SLS isn’t even scheduled to fly until 2021. Musk says he could have us on the moon in that period of time. Even if he’s blowing smoke, who would bet that NASA on its own could get there faster? WT 491-816 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

In this edition of Fast Forward on the World Transformed, Jake Freivald,  Vice President of Product Marketing at Information Builders, talks with us about how rethinking data integration can open up new possibilities for data analysis.     As the buzz surrounding big data recedes, organizations find that they still face significant challenges when it comes to deriving business value from their data. More than ever, businesses need a clear understanding that comes from exploring the deep relationships that exist in their full datasets. But organizations continue to struggle to achieve that, and many are left wondering what lies beyond the big data hype.     It’s now been four years since Gartner removed Big Data from their annual Hype Cycle. With the advantage of hindsight, Jake describes how Hadoop in particular and big data in general may have failed to live up to the hype. At the same time, he points out there is a lot to be said for what organizations have done right when it comes to putting big data solutions in place.   Jake identifies three core questions: How can we stop wasting so much time mapping one set of rows and columns to another? How do we address the disconnect between business people and technicians? How much value do we lose by constantly shifting context in these complicated projects?  In the post Big Data World, businesses are still dealing with many of the same fundamental data challenges they always have. But today, new technologies are opening up a modern approach to data integration and master data management. Tremendous opportunities lie ahead.

In this edition of Fast Forward our guest Mitch Rosenberg talks with Phil Bowermaster and Ron Powell about how robots that teach can revolutionize the way kids learn.    In an increasingly data-driven world, do we need new approaches to encourage technical literacy at a young age? What about the need for kids to interact with real objects in the real world? And to develop both their creative and quantitative skills?  The founding of KinderLab and the origin of KIBO Coding with wooden blocks? How KIBO gets kids interested in STEM Mitch Rosenberg is the CEO of Kinderlabs robotics (kinderlabsrobotics.com). He brings more than 30 years of experience in the technology industry in engineering, marketing, product management, and sales. He has executive experience at several successful technology firms, including robotics firms such as Automatix Inc., Kiva Systems (sold to Amazon in 2012), and Rethink Robotics. Mitch received his BSEE and MSeE degrees from MIT and his MBA from Boston University. Music: www.bensound.com Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources. FF 010-814

Parallel Universes, Mandela Effect, Reincarnation Digital Consciousness with Jim Elvidge, Part 3 Here's Part 1: https://youtu.be/OpwX_YbmZHg Here's Part 2: https://youtu.be/PkwVAzTMnYo We continue our three-part discussion with Jim Elvidge of his new book, Digital Consciousness https://amzn.to/2AXGD3M. In Part 3, Jim explains how digital consciousness theory explains anomalies and paradoxes better than other models.  Topics include: Do we have a soul? Do we experience lives in other worlds or earlier times? What happens to consciousness in the long term? Are there parallel universes? Can we access them? What causes the Mandela Effect? Is humanity evolving into something new? Join us! About our guest: Jim Elvidge https://www.theuniversesolved.com has applied his training in the high-tech world as a leader in technology and enterprise management, including many years in executive roles for various companies, entrepreneurial ventures, and leadership consulting.  Jim also has years of experience as a science researcher, keeping pace with the latest developments in such fields as quantum physics, cosmology, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and metaphysical anomalies. This knowledge base provided the foundation for 2008 book, “The Universe-Solved!,” which presented evidence that our reality may be under programmed control.  His research and theory has continued beyond the simulation hypothesis and incorporated powerful ideas around consciousness, cultural synchronicities, quantum anomalies, and a true scientific foundation for digital consciousness theory.   WT 490-813 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

We continue our three-part discussion with Jim Elvidge of his new book, Digital Consciousness https://amzn.to/2AXGD3M. In Part 2, Jim explains how digital consciousness theory maps to traditional spiritual concepts.  Which philosophical approach makes more sense -- idealism or materialism? What is the appeal of materialism? How did everything start? What is the fundamental nature of reality? What happens to us when we die? What does "immortality" mean? What new light does digital consciousness theory shed on these ideas: Consciousness is immortal We have free will We are connected Our lives have purpose We are here to learn We can shape our reality Material things have no lasting value Join us! About our guest: Jim Elvidge has applied his training in the high-tech world as a leader in technology and enterprise management, including many years in executive roles for various companies, entrepreneurial ventures, and leadership consulting.  Jim also has years of experience as a science researcher, keeping pace with the latest developments in such fields as quantum physics, cosmology, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and metaphysical anomalies. This knowledge base provided the foundation for 2008 book, “The Universe-Solved!,” which presented evidence that our reality may be under programmed control.  His research and theory has continued beyond the simulation hypothesis and incorporated powerful ideas around consciousness, cultural synchronicities, quantum anomalies, and a true scientific foundation for digital consciousness theory.   WT 489-812 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

Why We're Living in a Simulation Digital Consciousness with Jim Elvidge, Part 1 Jim Elvidge joins us for a three-part discussion of his new book, Digital Consciousness https://amzn.to/2AXGD3M. In Part 1, Jim outlines the scientific evidence that the universe is digital. Sound crazy? There is a lot more evidence than you might suspect!  Topics discussed include: Is the universe continuous or discrete?  Why simulation arguments are consistent with technological evolution. Why simulation best explains the fine-tuning of the universe. How science is coming to the conclusion that matter is composed mostly of information. How math equations may actually be driving reality. How  a digital model of reality solves a number of mysteries: Who or what is the prime mover? What accounts for the randomness of physical processes? How to best explain quantum probability functions? Why is the speed of light what it is? Join us! WT 488-811 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Time to pick some favorites from the many lists of predictions for 2019 now circulating. Phil narrows it down to two lists with a few predictions from each State of technology in 2019 | Future Forecast https://bit.ly/2R16hhw (Hint: not all of these will happen!) - World’s largest solar park to finish construction - World’s largest offshore wind farm starts completed  - NASA implements the Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management system  - James Webb Space Telescope launched - Cost of solar panels, per watt, down to $1.40 - World sales of electric vehicles reaches 5,900,000 1 - Internet traffic goes through the roof Recession, Blockchain, Drones and Other Tech Predictions for 2019 https://bit.ly/2RoMiK0 2. Blockchain finds a killer (app), and the commercial rush begins 3. 2019 will be the year that commercial drone integration really takes flight 10. Virtual assistants will be common in both B2C and B2B environments 15. Virtual reality applications will grow Stephen focuses exclusively on space stuff and makes the following predictions for 2019. - Dragon 2 unmanned test flight - FH block 5 first launch - Dragon 2 launch abord test - Dragon 2 first manned mission - Starliner unmanned test flight - Starliner first manned mission - Starship prototype hopper tests - Chang'e lunar landing - SLS static fire tests Plus he notes two big space developments for 2019 that have already happened.    WT 487-810 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Phil and Stephen explain that so much good stuff happened in 2018 that it's impossible to recap. You have to just push on and report addtional good news that you missed the first time! The 99 best things that happened in 2018 https://bit.ly/2s4Tr3K 271 million people in India moved out of poverty since 2015 Bangladesh reduced its child mortality rate by 78%  Respiratory disease death rates in China have fallen by 70% since 1990 Best moments in space 2018. Hat-tip to Everyday Astronaut https://bit.ly/2n0BelV Voyager 2 Soyuz Abort Virgin Galactic VSS Unity Osiris-Rex  TESS Hayabusa2/Ryugu ISRO Preps for Human Space Flight (GLSV-MKIII D2 and Gaganyaan) Rocket Lab Parker Solar Probe Block 5 debut and thrice flight Insight Falcon Heavy   Favorite shows of 2018 Outrageous Optimism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R91LqaxqfpI&t=483s Yanny, Laurel, and the Mandela Effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1O3NBrQuf8 Who Wants to Live Forever? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXZkabzs7YA&t=6s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM3kfifclyo&t=53s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t6EQWXELrs&t=24s WT 486-809 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

In this edition of FastForward, Martyn Lewis talks with us about one of the biggest challenges that businesses face today: understanding the  buying behavior of their customers. In an online, always-on, personalized digital marketplace, why are businesses struggling more than ever to understand what drives their customers’ purchasing decisions? Is it possible that we have been looking at this thing all wrong?  We discuss: - The five ways customers are buying differently today. - The impact that the internet has had on the customer experience, and how this will continue to evolve in the coming years. -The biggest mistake most businesses are making today when it comes to understanding what drives their customers’ buying decisions. - Managing the end-to-end customer buying journey. About Our Guest: Martyn R. Lewis is an acclaimed business professional with a vast background in all aspects of revenue generation. He consults globally and his work been used across 44 countries, in 17 languages, and has impacted over 85,000 sales professionals. Martyn is an advisor to a number of executives in the high tech industry and is active on several advisory boards and Boards of Directors, and has served as the Committee Chair for the Sales Enablement Community of Practice Advisory Board for the American Society for Training and Development, ASTD. He has a new book out, drawing on years of working with consulting clients and their customers, with the title How Customers Buy and Why They Don’t. Available on Amazon  -- makes a great gift! Music: www.bensound.com Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources. FF 008-806

A Very Human Future, Part 2 Futurist Steve Wells concludes his conversation with Phil and Stephen about his new book, A Very Human Future. Steve is a global futurist, keynote speaker, and COO of Fast Future, which is a professional foresight firm. He helps clients and event delegates understand the key future factors driving innovation, growth and disruptive change, highlighting the new thinking and business models being enabled by exponential technologies such as AI, immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality, and hyperconnectivity. He explores the mindset shifts and leadership capabilities required to compete in the emerging future in order to help leaders to make informed choices on the potential impact of emerging technologies.    He is a co-editor and a contributing author for The Future of Business, Beyond Genuine Stupidity – Ensuring AI Serves Humanity, The Future Reinvented – Reimagining Life, Society, and Business, and the recently published book A Very Human Future – Enriching Humanity in a Digitized World.  A VERY HUMAN FUTURE As society enters the fourth industrial revolution, a major question arises—can we harness intense technological bursts of possibility to bring about a better world? A Very Human Future illustrates how the evolution of society, cities, people, businesses, industries, nations, and governments are being unexpectedly entangled by exponential technological disruption.  Here's Part 1 https://youtu.be/R91LqaxqfpI Here's Part 2 https://youtu.be/ssZI0aTN3VA WT 483-803 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

A Very Human Future, Part 2 Futurist Steve Wells continues his conversation with Phil and Stephen about his new book, A Very Human Future. Steve is a global futurist, keynote speaker, and COO of Fast Future, which is a professional foresight firm. He helps clients and event delegates understand the key future factors driving innovation, growth and disruptive change, highlighting the new thinking and business models being enabled by exponential technologies such as AI, immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality, and hyperconnectivity. He explores the mindset shifts and leadership capabilities required to compete in the emerging future in order to help leaders to make informed choices on the potential impact of emerging technologies. He is a co-editor and a contributing author for The Future of Business, Beyond Genuine Stupidity – Ensuring AI Serves Humanity, The Future Reinvented – Reimagining Life, Society, and Business, and the recently published book A Very Human Future – Enriching Humanity in a Digitized World. WT 482-802 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.  

A Very Human Future, Part 1 Futurist Steve Wells joins Phil and Stephen to discuss his new book, A Very Human Future. Steve is a global futurist, keynote speaker, and COO of Fast Future, which is a professional foresight firm. He helps clients and event delegates understand the key future factors driving innovation, growth and disruptive change, highlighting the new thinking and business models being enabled by exponential technologies such as AI, immersive technologies like augmented and virtual reality, and hyperconnectivity. He explores the mindset shifts and leadership capabilities required to compete in the emerging future in order to help leaders to make informed choices on the potential impact of emerging technologies.    A VERY HUMAN FUTURE As society enters the fourth industrial revolution, a major question arises—can we harness intense technological bursts of possibility to bring about a better world? A Very Human Future illustrates how the evolution of society, cities, people, businesses, industries, nations, and governments are being unexpectedly entangled by exponential technological disruption. This is not a book about technology but an exploration of how we make it serve humanity’s highest needs and ambitions. Each chapter looks at how new ideas enabled by emerging technologies are straining the old social fabric, and proposes radical future scenarios, strategies, and actions to safeguard humanity from harm and enhance opportunity for all. This book is a manifesto for a future that is better than the past.  WT 481-801 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Phil and Stephen celebrate their 800th (!) podcast by making the case for Outrageous Optimism. Now more than ever, we need to be pushing the limits of the possible. Reduction in Poverty Will we one day all be rich, or is that just an outrageously optimistic fantasy? Expansion of Lifespan Will we soon live much longer (and be disease-free) or is that just an outrageously optimistic fantasy? Is there anything we can do about diseases as a category? Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg aim to 'cure, prevent and manage' all disease Metformin for Protection Against Alzheimer's, Cancer and Heart Disease? One bold idea -- one outrageously optimistic idea -- may do more to end suffering from disease than anything that’s come before. From the moon landing to the autonomous car -- the outrageous optimists have been right! Maybe now it's time for all of us to begin embracing their approach to the world. Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources. WT 480-800

What is up with Elon Musk? In this show, recorded right before Musk was fired as Chairman of Tesla, Phil and Stephen work through the timeline of events leading up to his dismissal. Has Musk lost it? Why is there good reason to hope he can keep it together? Elon Musk Is Sending a Japanese Billionaire to the Moon, and He’s Taking a Group of Artists With Him It's Already Too Late, including select quotes from the Joe Rogan interview.  Full Joe Rogan Show  Join us. WT 477-797 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

The world population is moving into cities. Will we all fit? Phil and Stephen discuss what to do when the land runs out In Hong Kong, Humankind Moves Back Into Caves Hong Kong has the most skyscrapers in the world. But going high hasn’t addressed the chronic housing shortage in the city of 7.4 million, which also boasts the world’s priciest housing market. Surrounded almost entirely by the South China Sea, Hong Kong is running out of land. The government has proposed an unusual solution: Create new real estate with help from explosives. Alternative (probably won’t work for Hong Kong) Watch How Singapore Builds an Island Made from Trash Other alternative: (definitely won’t work for Hong Kong.) Go where the land is!!! WT 477-795 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Waiving the Flag New Film About Neil Armstrong Omits American Flag From Moon Landing Hollywood star Ryan Gosling, who portrays Armstrong in the movie, told The Telegraph the flag was omitted from the moon landing because the achievement of humans walking on the moon "transcended countries and borders." “First Man” omits flag - rather than boycott, Stephen is going to Rocky-Horror-Picture-Show it. “I hear the film’s otherwise great, so I’m carrying my own flag I’ll wave at the appropriate moment.” Does it matter whether they show the flag planting? Would they make a film about Yuri Gagarin and omit to mention the nationalistic importance of his mission? Gagarin’s accomplishment belongs not to the Soviet Union but to all humanity. Same is true of Armstrong’s. The planners of the Apollo mission knew this and the plaque reads “We came in peace for all mankind.” Still, it’s seems a likely reason for leaving the flag out of the Armstrong movie is to appeal to audiences who don’t care for the U. S. Critical question: Would Neil Armstrong go see this movie? Phil has the answer.   WT 476-794 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Phil and Stephen discuss the signficicance of one man's action (or rather inaction) 35 years ago. Did Stanislav Petrov save the world? Stanislav Petrov, 'The Man Who Saved The World,' Dies At 77 https://n.pr/2MJ0JXM Stanislav Petrov was a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Union's Air Defense Forces, and his job was to monitor his country's satellite system, which was looking for any possible nuclear weapons launches by the United States. He was on the overnight shift in the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 1983, when the computers sounded an alarm, indicating that the U.S. had launched five nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles. “All I had to do was to reach for the phone; to raise the direct line to our top commanders — but I couldn't move. I felt like I was sitting on a hot frying pan." After several nerve-jangling minutes, Petrov didn't send the computer warning to his superiors. He checked to see if there had been a computer malfunction. He had guessed correctly. "Twenty-three minutes later I realized that nothing had happened…” This may be the closest we ever came to nuclear war. Maybe even closer than the Cuban Missile crisis? Should there be a holiday in honor of Petrov? How many times did this scenario play out -- on both sides through the course of the Cold War? Is this proof that we (humans) are a little smarter than we might suspect when it comes to preserving ourselves at the species level? WT 475-793 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Part 2: A World of Abundance Phil and Stephen wrap up their week with special guest John Palmer with a discussion of where the next big positive changes may be coming from. John outlines major coming improvements in: Energy & Transportation Food and Water Medicine & Health Care Artificial Intelligence Philanthropy For more on clean energy disruption, see the Tony Seba talk John mentioned.  About Our Guest John Palmer is a coach and speaker who is passionate about alternative energy, efficient government, and, more recently, generous listening.   Together with his wife Doreen, he manages a coaching business which serves the emotional visions of expatriates returning home from overseas assignments. John’s driving interest is sharing his passion that humans will continue on the path of creating a fabulous future as long as we keep our focus on creating that future, and not on reporting and regurgitating the seemingly overwhelming problems that we see today. WT 474-792 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Part 1 Amazing Improvements What kind of a future are we in for? So-So? Scary? Great? Superfantastic? Phil and Stephen talk with John Palmer about what recent trends tell us about what kind of future we can expect.  Is the world’s future bleak? There is a lot of worry about: ClimateTerrorismOverpopulationEconomic CollapseFascism -- the “bad people” are going to win (huge fear of both the left and right) But maybe we’re getting the future wrong. John outlines the biases and the media practices that encourage us to be afraid of the future. But apparently there is another side to the story. Trends around poverty, life expectancy, standards of living, violence and other areas suggest that a very different future may be on its way. About Our Guest John Palmer is a coach and speaker who is passionate about alternative energy, efficient government, and, more recently, generous listening.   Together with his wife Doreen, he manages a coaching business which serves the emotional visions of expatriates returning home from overseas assignments. John’s driving interest is sharing his passion that humans will continue on the path of creating a fabulous future as long as we keep our focus on creating that future, and not on reporting and regurgitating the seemingly overwhelming problems that we see today. WT 473-791 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Phil and Stephen welcome special guest John Palmer to discuss unexpected solutions to climate change. John reviews some our-of-the-box ideas related to: Energy & transportation Land Use Materials Buildings and Cities Women and Girls For more on these kinds of approaches, see: Drawdown, by Paul Hawken.   About Our Guest: John Palmer is a coach and speaker who is passionate about alternative energy, efficient government, and, more recently, generous listening.   Together with his wife Doreen, he manages a coaching business which serves the emotional visions of expatriates returning home from overseas assignments. John’s driving interest is sharing his passion that humans will continue on the path of creating a fabulous future as long as we keep our focus on creating that future, and not on reporting and regurgitating the seemingly overwhelming problems that we see today. WT 472-790 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth are out. The fourth Star Trek movie in the current franchise appears to be dead in the water. Phil and Stephen take a look at where things have been going wrong for Trek and what might set things right. First off, check out this video, which gives a good low-down with the current situation.  Star Trek 4 Loses Pine and Hemsworth - The Rise and Fall of The Kelvin Timeline What we know of Star Trek 4 sounds interesting. The story potentially involves time travel via the Gateway to Eternity and an attempt to set things that went wrong in the first movie right.  Interestingly, Paramount canceled a project similar to that  when they fired Roberto Orci and threw away his script in order to make Star Trek Beyond. Simon Pegg, who wrote Star Trek Beyond, explained that Orci’s story was too "Star Treky." https://screenrant.com/star-trek-3-beyond-script-orci-simon-pegg/  That such an objection could even be made speak volumes. All these studios seem to think they’re going to do something akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Hello, Star Wars?) Hint: not going to happen. What they COULD do is a successful version of what they have, but it needs to be true to the material they’re working with. In the long run, Star Trek is certain to live long and prosper. But it’s going to be interesting to see what happens next. Time to let Tarantino give it a go?  WT 471-789 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Phil and Stephen discuss the question -- is death integral to our humanity? They start with a look at a recent opinion piece at The New York Times: Life Is Short. That’s the Point. "Our mortality is not something to be overcome. It is integral to our humanity."  Is this correct? Are we defined by our limitations? Maybe. But we are also defined by other things, in part our ongoing struggle to overcome our limitations. Interesting quote: In her new book, “Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer,” Barbara Ehrenreich writes: “You can think of death bitterly or with resignation, as a tragic interruption of your life, and take every possible measure to postpone it. Or, more realistically, you can think of life as an interruption of an eternity of personal nonexistence, and seize it as a brief opportunity to observe and interact with the living, ever-surprising world around us.” This is true, but on the other hand -- Death Sucks! WT 470-788 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

The west is getting drier and Stephen Gordon has an intriguing idea about how to get the water where it is needed. Why couldn't we pipe water from the Missouri River to the Colorado River headwaters? Stephen suggests that a pipeline about the size of this one might do the trick. .Phil and Stephen look at the major objections to this particular plan,and discuss why ideas like this need to be on the table. Another possibility: Should we be turning seawater into fresh water in order to address this problem? Or what about using the fresh water that is already in the ocean? (Oh yes, it’s there.)  And what are some of the other big interventions we should be thinking about related climate? Let’s explore.. WT 469-787 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

The more we learn about the universe, the stranger it gets. Phil and Stephen examine some recent headlines showing just how mysterious the universe is.   Interstellar Visitor 'Oumuamua Is a Comet After All First it was a comet. Then it was a meteor. Then it was a very starnge meteor. Then it was a possible alien spacecraft. And now it's a comet again. The universe’s rate of expansion is in dispute – and we may need new physics to solve it Different parts of the universe expanding at different rates? Massive rogue planet with unexplained aurora glow discovered drifting far beyond our solar system Apparently there is no fusion reaction going on. So why the glow? The Peculiar Math That Could Underlie the Laws of Nature How many dimensions can we do math in? What if that number is less than the total number of dimensions that exist?   WT 467-785   Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.  

Phil and Stephen review three recent news stories showing the remarkable rapid progress being made in treating (and curing?) cancer. New Australian drug puts cancer cells permanently to 'sleep' Scientists in Melbourne say they have discovered a new type of anti-cancer drug without the usual side effects of conventional cancer treatments. -- HPV vaccine eliminates advanced skin cancer in 97-year-old A 97-year-old female patient had developed multiple cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas. On a hunch, her doctor, Anna Nichols, M.D., of the University of Miami's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, tried an unorthodox approach—she injected each tumor with Gardasil, the HPV vaccine. The result: All the tumors completely and rapidly disappeared. -- CAR-T May Be a Silver Bullet Against Cancer—and Here’s What Else It Can Do Without doubt, CAR-T is set to overhaul cancer therapy. Last year several variants of the immunocellular technique earned the FDA’s nod of approval for blood cancers; with big pharma pouring in billions to develop the technology, more are certainly to come. -- WT 466-784 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Phil spent some time at Loch Ness last week where he and his kids came up with little in the way of evidence in support of the existence of Nessie. In light of those disappointing results, Phil and Stephen discuss some of their all-time favorite monsters. None of these critters can be ruled out, of course, but what are the chances that any of them exist? How probable is the Loch Ness monster? (Quora discussion) Bizarre, Nessie-Like Creature Washes Ashore in Georgia, and Marine Experts Are Mystified Probably a decomposing shark. Why Bigfoot is Unlikely Only If You Know What “Unlikely” Means Science professor explains why Bigfoot's likely not real Fouke Monster (The Boggy Creek Monster)  Don’t Have To Be A Rocket Scientist To Know That Bigfoot And Dogman Are Real Interesting use of Schrödinger’s cat to “prove” that Both bigfoot AND Dogman exist. The Truth About a Strange, Blood-Sucking Monster (Chupacabra) They track Chupie down to the very first sighting! Patient 0. Looks like the 1995 movie Species made a BIG impression on Puerto Rico... Mokele Mbembe-- dinosaur living in Africa today?  WT 465-783 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

So let's get into it here. Aliens? Designer babies? Robo-apocalypse? Phil Bowermaster and Nate Gruendemann discuss. About our guest: Nate Gruendemann is not your typical 22-year-old. He’s young enough to still have high school senior class president and valedictorian on his resume. After two years at Williams College, he and his buddies dropped out to found Board Private Bank. His mission is to level the playing field between mortgage buyers and cash buyers in the country’s most competitive markets. WT 462-780 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Do we now live in the post-satire era? Phil and Stephen discuss whether the Onion can stay in business much longer. How do you write spoof headlines in a world that produces real ones like these?  Dozens of professional goats briefly took over a neighborhood in Boise Costco’s free cheese samples spurred a physical fight between two men in their 70s New study finds it’s harder to turn off a robot when it’s begging for its life See recent clip from The Good Place  Alex Jones’s Attorneys Argue That No Reasonable Person Would Believe What He Says ‘Bigfoot Erotica’ Becomes an Issue in Virginia Congressional Campaign Pro gamer dumps 'world's sexiest weathergirl' to focus on playing 'Call of Duty'   WT 464-782 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Phil and Stephen discuss new research that shows how people respond differently to robots based on what the robots say to them. Is this proof that humans are easily manipulated by robots or does it offer hope that, when the time comes, people will treat sentient robots right? New study finds it’s harder to turn off a robot when it’s begging for its life In roughly half of experiments, the robot protested, telling participants it was afraid of the dark and even begging: “No! Please do not switch me off!” When this happened, the human volunteers were likely to refuse to turn the bot off. Of the 43 volunteers who heard Nao’s pleas, 13 refused. And the remaining 30 took, on average, twice as long to comply compared to those who did not not hear the desperate cries at all. (Just imagine that scene from The Good Place for reference.) What are the potential downsides to this finding? People offering empathy where it is not needed. Can robots be used to manipulate people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do? What potential upsides do we see? When in doubt, empathy is maybe not a bad response. Better to apply it to things that don’t need it than to withhold it from those who do? Also, is this experiment kind of the reverse of the famous Milgram Experiment? https://bit.ly/1MKwZx3 In this case, it looks like the test subjects refused to obey orders that violated their consciences!  WT 463-781 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Technology is changing every aspect of home purchase and home ownership.What will the suburbs look like when no one owns a car? What will the housing market look like when place no longer matters? Phil Bowermaster and Nate Gruendemann discuss. About our guest: Nate Gruendemann is not your typical 22-year-old. He’s young enough to still have high school senior class president and valedictorian on his resume. After two years at Williams College, he and his buddies dropped out to found Board Private Bank. His mission is to level the playing field between mortgage buyers and cash buyers in the country’s most competitive markets. WT 461-779 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Nate Gruendemann, a founder of Board Private Bank, outlines a plan for leveling the playing field for potential home-buyers. In today's market, cash buyers have a big advantage over those who need to secure financing. But does it have to work that way? Let's explore! About our guest: Nate Gruendemann is not your typical 22-year-old. He’s young enough to still have high school senior class president and valedictorian on his resume. After two years at Williams College, he and his buddies dropped out to found Board Private Bank. His mission is to level the playing field between mortgage buyers and cash buyers in the country’s most competitive markets. WT 460-778 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

What were the greatest summer movies ever made? Or maybe it's better to ask, what was the greatest movie summer of all time? It's a full-on geekout as Phil and Stephen explore answers to these vital questions. WT 459-777 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Phil and Stephen discuss medical breakthroughs that promise to help us all stay young, thin, and healthy. The 'Big Bang' of Alzheimer's: Scientists ID genesis of disease, focus efforts on shape-shifting tau Scientists have discovered a "Big Bang" of Alzheimer's disease – the precise point at which a healthy protein becomes toxic but has not yet formed deadly tangles in the brain. The revelation offers a new strategy to detect the devastating disease before it takes hold and has spawned an effort to develop treatments that stabilize tau proteins before they shift shape. New Pill Can Reverse Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes How to Eliminate Cancer from Our Genome These anti-aging pills seem to be actually working Pills hailed as the first real “anti-aging” drugs inched a little closer to the market after a study found they cut the number of respiratory infections in the elderly by half. The drugs: The pills act on an aging-related pathway called TORC1. Inhibiting this pathway “has extended life span in every species studies to date,” according to Joan Mannick, who led the study for drug giant Novartis. Those species include mice and worms. WT 458-776 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

When it comes to managing data for modern, agile environments, is data modeling a roadblock? Or is it, in fact, one of the keys to achieving agility? If traditional data modeling will no longer support what businesses need today, what are the alternatives? In this edition of Fast Forward, Desmarets talks with hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon about the challenges that surround data modeling in the age of NOSQL databases and agile development. He outlines how Domain-Driven Design can help shape the future both for development teams and for data modelers themselves -- who may have more to look forward to than becoming extinct. About Pascal Desmarets Pascal is the founder and CEO of Hackolade, a company that focuses on producing user-friendly, powerful visual tools to smooth the onboarding of NOSQL technologies into corporate IT landscapes. Hackolade's software combines the simplicity of data modeling with the power of NOSQL databases to provide reduced development time, increased application quality, and lower execution risks. FF 006-775 Music: www.bensound.com Image from Pixabay.com

Are more people subscribing to the idea that the Earth is flat? How does flat Earth relate to other conspiracies: 9/11Lizardoid aliens controlling the earthMandela Effect Have these all been enabled by the Web? Are they spread by people trying to refute them? More and More Americans are Starting to Believe Earth is Flat In America interest in the flat-Earth movement appears to be growing. In September Bobby Ray Simmons Jr., a rapper also known as B.o.B, launched a crowd-funding campaign to send satellites into orbit to determine the Earth’s shape. On November 9th, 500 “flat-Earthers” assembled in North Carolina for the first annual Flat Earth International Conference. Data from Google Trends show that in the past two years, searches for “flat earth” have more than tripled. The Flynn Effect is the observation that IQ scores have been going up. Unfortunately there may be evidence that that trend is not as reliable as it used to be.  So is it wrong to do a show on this subject? Are we just encouraging people to believe stupid things and become dumber?  WT 457-774 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources.

Thoughts on the Incredibles and the Incredibles 2: do these movies value being "naturally" super over technological advancement?  The Incredibles movies have a weird relationship with technology https://bit.ly/2MSukcL But there’s another, subtler thread running through the two Pixar films. And because it repeats, it seems to point to a larger philosophy: both movies feature villains whose evil deeds give the franchise a markedly technophobic outlook. In The Incredibles, it’s Syndrome, a normal human with no superpowers who uses his tech skills to amass a huge fortune, which he plans to use to effectively rid the world of supers. In The Incredibles 2, it’s Screenslaver, a normal human with no superpowers who uses her tech skills to amass a huge fortune, which she plans to use to actually rid the world of supers. Are these movies sectretly anti-tech? And do they secretly hearken back to a happier time when white guys ran everything? Phil and Stephen discuss. WT 456-773 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Videos and Images from Pixabay.com and other sources

Does the Web need reopening? Let’s start with one more thought from Survival of the Richest: Of course, it wasn’t always this way. There was a brief moment, in the early 1990s, when the digital future felt open-ended and up for our invention. Technology was becoming a playground for the counterculture, who saw in it the opportunity to create a more inclusive, distributed, and pro-human future. But established business interests only saw new potentials for the same old extraction, and too many technologists were seduced by unicorn IPOs.  --Too bad that’s all over and can never come again. Oh, wait. The web had failed to serve humanity: Tim Berners-Lee was crushed when Russia used Facebook to meddle in U.S. elections World wide web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee said he was “devastated” by recent abuses of the web, in an interview with Vanity Fair. He is working on a new platform, named Solid, to re-decentralise the internet and take power away from monopolies like Google and Facebook. He still has hope that the internet can become a something that serves humanity well. The Decentralized Internet Is Here, With Some Glitches An attempt to do this was also the major story arc of the last two seasons of Silicon Valley.  What will a re-opened web look like? More like the original blogosphere? What will we do with it?  How will we use it differently? WT 456-773 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Image from Pixabay.com

A futurist thinks he's speaking at a conference only to realize that he's been asked  to advise a secret meeting of billionaires. Survival of the Richest They are looking for ways to pretoct themselves fro some mysterious future "event." His conclusion? "For all their wealth and power, they don’t believe they can affect the future." The author goes on to ask whether transhumanists and techno-optimists aren't essentially the same as the billionaires -- looking or a way to save their own miserbale lives with little or no regard for anyone else. Phil and Stephen discuss. WT 455-772 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Image from Pixabay.com

Here’s a case in point on radical uncertainty. Do we believe this? Are we alone? The question is worthy of serious scientific study https://bit.ly/2yQJCNb Declassified information from covert studies is interesting, but not scientifically helpful. This is a topic worthy of open scientific inquiry, until there is a scientific consensus based on evidence rather than prior expectation or belief. If there are indeed extraterrestrial craft visiting Earth, it would greatly benefit us to know about them, their nature and their intent. Moreover, this would present a great opportunity for mankind, promising to expand and advance our knowledge and technology, as well as reshaping our understanding of our place in the universe.  What Happened to the Aliens? https://bit.ly/2KDEX5W We May Be All Alone in the Known Universe, a New Oxford Study Suggests https://for.tn/2Kuh8ho Our main result is to show that proper treatment of scientific uncertainties dissolves the Fermi paradox by showing that it is not at all unlikely ex ante for us to be alone in the Milky Way, or in the observable universe. Our second result is to show that, taking account of observational bounds on the prevalence of other civilizations, our updated probabilities suggest that there is a substantial probability that we are alone. GEEKOUT Batman Ninja Ready Player One and The Last Jedi revisited WT 454-771 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Image from Pixabay.com

First, or course, comes the Declaration of Independence Then we had the Declaration of Singularity The came the Declaration of Amazing   But maybe we’ve been doing our Declarations wrong. Are we putting the cart before the horse? The DoI announced the beginning of the United States as an entity, but it didn’t settle the matter. It took an ugly, bloody revolution to do that. Maybe what we need is a declaration of radical uncertainty--meaning that we don’t really know for sure what’s going on and that we can’t reliably say what’s going to happen next. Let’s not be too quick to rule things out. (We should think in terms of what is more and less likely,) There are many possible futures in play -- good and bad.  Risks: we don’t know for sure what we’re doing and there’s always unintended consequences. Greater risks: keep pretending we know what we’re doing and bring on disaster anyway. Or maybe just a mediocre future when we could have had an amazing one. WT 453-770 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Image from Pixabay.com

Mysteries abound. Why does the word behave the way it does? Social Media -- technology that should be making us happier and connecting us is making us miserable and driving us apart. What gives? More jobs exist than there are people out of work. But still we have the depression, opiate crisis, and angst discussed in recent shows. What gives? Autonomous vehicles may save thousands of lives. And they may be the economic death of cities. Autonomous Vehicles Might Drive Cities to Financial Ruin The world grows richer through trade, yet we are seeing a revival of protectionist tendencies… at least here in the US. Robots may start taking our jobs. One day soon we may live in a post-scarcity society. But there is not path from here to there, nor is anyone talking about one -- except for advocates of basic income. What gives? What should we do in the face of all these perplexing puzzles? Next time. WT 452-769 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Image from Pixabay.com

New technologies bring unintended consequences and often unexpected risks. A new method of treatment introduces a whole new category of risk: Could genome sequencing in healthy persons create “sick patients for life”? It was also found that in 2 of the 11 cases diagnosed as carriers, the doctor had misinterpreted the genetic information. The lead study author, Jason Vassy, says that: “Sequencing healthy individuals will inevitably reveal new findings for that individual, only some of which will have actual health implications. This study provides some reassuring evidence that primary care providers can be trained to manage their patients’ sequencing results appropriately”. New technologies always bring new risks. The threat of EMP attack is predicated on the fact that our modern, electrified, connected world provides so many benefits Solar Storm of 1859  - didn’t hurt us much because...1859.  What other new risks are emerging technologies going to introduce?  Possible categories: Autonomous vehiclesVirtual Reality WT 449-766 Eternity Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0 Image from Pixabay.com