Podcast appearances and mentions of john smart

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Refactoring cryonics as structural brain preservation, published by Andy McKenzie on September 11, 2024 on LessWrong. I first learned about cryonics when I read Eliezer and Robin's posts about it on Overcoming Bias years ago. I got cryopilled. Somewhat amazingly to me, I'm now a researcher in this field. So I thought this community might be interested to know that I was one of several co-authors on a paper just published in Frontiers in Medical Technology, titled "Structural brain preservation: a potential bridge to future medical technologies". In this paper, we propose reframing cryonics as a type of structural brain preservation, focusing on maintaining the brain's physical structure that encodes memories and personality, rather than making the focus about low-temperature storage per se. We explore what brain structures likely need to be preserved to retain long-term memories and other valued aspects of personal identity. We then review different methods of brain preservation, including cryopreservation, aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation, fluid preservation, and fixation followed by polymer embedding. The paper also discusses the two most commonly discussed potential future revival technologies, i.e. molecular nanotechnology and whole brain emulation. We argue that this structural preservation framing may be more technically grounded and agreeable to mainstream researchers than some of the traditional ways that cryonics has been discussed. As a personal reflection here, I want to briefly discuss the idea of fluid preservation, which is one topic discussed in our review paper. I remember first reading about this idea in approximately 2017 on a cryonics mailing list. Even though I was already sold on the idea of aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation -- using fixation as a short-term bridge to cryoprotection and cryopreservation, I remember thinking that the idea of simply leaving the brain in fixative solution for the long-term was bizarre and outlandish. Around 2020-2022, I spent a good amount of time researching different options for higher temperature (and thus lower cost) brain preservation. Mostly I was looking into different methods for embedding fixed brain tissue in polymers, such as paraffin, epoxy, acrylates, or silicon. I also studied the options of dehydrated preservation and preserving the fixed brain in the fluid state, which I was mostly doing for the sake of completeness. To be clear, I certainly don't want to make it seem like this was a lone wolf effort or anything. I was talking about the ideas with friends and it was also in the zeitgeist. For example, John Smart wrote a blog post in 2020 about this, titled "Do we need a noncryogenic brain preservation prize?" (There still is no such prize.) In 2022, I was reading various papers on brain preservation (as one does), when I came across Rosoklija 2013. If I recall correctly, I had already seen this paper but was re-reading it with a different eye. They studied human and monkey brain tissue that had been preserved in formalin for periods ranging from 15 months to 55 years, using the Golgi-Kopsch silver staining method to visualize neuronal structures. They reported that even after 50 years of formalin fixation at room temperature, the method yielded excellent results. In particular, they had this figure: That's a picture showing well-impregnated neurons with preserved dendritic spines. Looking at this picture was a viewquake for me. I thought, if fluid preservation can preserve the structure of the 1-5% of cells that are stained by the Golgi-Kopsch method, why not other cells? And if it can work in this one part of the brain, why not the whole brain? And if it can do it for 50 years, why not 100 or 150? Chemically, it is not clear why there would be differences across the tissue. Aldehydes crosslin...

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Refactoring cryonics as structural brain preservation, published by Andy McKenzie on September 11, 2024 on LessWrong. I first learned about cryonics when I read Eliezer and Robin's posts about it on Overcoming Bias years ago. I got cryopilled. Somewhat amazingly to me, I'm now a researcher in this field. So I thought this community might be interested to know that I was one of several co-authors on a paper just published in Frontiers in Medical Technology, titled "Structural brain preservation: a potential bridge to future medical technologies". In this paper, we propose reframing cryonics as a type of structural brain preservation, focusing on maintaining the brain's physical structure that encodes memories and personality, rather than making the focus about low-temperature storage per se. We explore what brain structures likely need to be preserved to retain long-term memories and other valued aspects of personal identity. We then review different methods of brain preservation, including cryopreservation, aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation, fluid preservation, and fixation followed by polymer embedding. The paper also discusses the two most commonly discussed potential future revival technologies, i.e. molecular nanotechnology and whole brain emulation. We argue that this structural preservation framing may be more technically grounded and agreeable to mainstream researchers than some of the traditional ways that cryonics has been discussed. As a personal reflection here, I want to briefly discuss the idea of fluid preservation, which is one topic discussed in our review paper. I remember first reading about this idea in approximately 2017 on a cryonics mailing list. Even though I was already sold on the idea of aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation -- using fixation as a short-term bridge to cryoprotection and cryopreservation, I remember thinking that the idea of simply leaving the brain in fixative solution for the long-term was bizarre and outlandish. Around 2020-2022, I spent a good amount of time researching different options for higher temperature (and thus lower cost) brain preservation. Mostly I was looking into different methods for embedding fixed brain tissue in polymers, such as paraffin, epoxy, acrylates, or silicon. I also studied the options of dehydrated preservation and preserving the fixed brain in the fluid state, which I was mostly doing for the sake of completeness. To be clear, I certainly don't want to make it seem like this was a lone wolf effort or anything. I was talking about the ideas with friends and it was also in the zeitgeist. For example, John Smart wrote a blog post in 2020 about this, titled "Do we need a noncryogenic brain preservation prize?" (There still is no such prize.) In 2022, I was reading various papers on brain preservation (as one does), when I came across Rosoklija 2013. If I recall correctly, I had already seen this paper but was re-reading it with a different eye. They studied human and monkey brain tissue that had been preserved in formalin for periods ranging from 15 months to 55 years, using the Golgi-Kopsch silver staining method to visualize neuronal structures. They reported that even after 50 years of formalin fixation at room temperature, the method yielded excellent results. In particular, they had this figure: That's a picture showing well-impregnated neurons with preserved dendritic spines. Looking at this picture was a viewquake for me. I thought, if fluid preservation can preserve the structure of the 1-5% of cells that are stained by the Golgi-Kopsch method, why not other cells? And if it can work in this one part of the brain, why not the whole brain? And if it can do it for 50 years, why not 100 or 150? Chemically, it is not clear why there would be differences across the tissue. Aldehydes crosslin...

In this episode of our Agile Amped podcast, we introduce the exciting program planned as a part of the Enterprise Agility Roundtable. Our esteemed speakers, Alexander Birke, Enterprise Agility Coach at Accenture, and Silke Eggert, Head of Lean Portfolio Management & Transformation at Vodafone, along with guests from several prominent German corporate organizations, are here to kick things off. The program begins with an opening keynote from John Smart, founder of Sooner, Safer, and Happier, discussing ‘Optimizing for Outcomes'. The second keynote, part of the Atlassian-Vodafone collaboration, explores how GenAI will enhance workforce efficiency. Tune in to hear how synergies were created through the exchange of best practices, ideas, and stories with other Lean Agile leaders.

John Smart, the CEO of Foresight U, joins us to chat about his book ‘An Introduction to Foresight'. Among many things he expands on his three mottos for investing in foresight and doing good work sustainably.

Today, we're diving into the future of user story optimization and the art of turning those stories into actionable tests. Today, we have the privilege of being joined by Scott Aziz, the visionary founder of AgileAI Labs and a renowned BDD expert. We are also accompanied by John Smart, the creator of the Serenity framework, whose expertise in BDD is unparalleled. Together, we will delve into the powerful capabilities of the new AI tool Spec2test. Imagine a tool so refined that it not only assesses your user stories for ambiguities using an intricate 7-point framework but also offers AI-generated suggestions to enhance them. That's not all; Scott Aziz and BDD expert John Smart join us to discuss how Spec2test fosters essential iterative collaboration, paving the way for crisp, clear requirements and generating corresponding test cases right from the get-go. This is not just about meeting the standards of behavior-driven development; it's about exceeding them. With the tool's dual-edged sword of user story analysis and sophisticated testing capabilities—spanning functional test cases to security testing advice—you're getting a comprehensive suite that breathes life into automation. Surprised by AI's prowess in reshaping agile teams' productivity, our guests reveal how Spec2test is a co-pilot in requirements discovery. For enthusiasts who want a taste of its power, a visual demonstration or free trial could be your gateway to appreciating its full potential. So, gear up for an illuminating session on bringing precision and collaboration to the forefront of your testing strategies -- listen up!

In this episode, we are delving into the fascinating topic of mind uploading. We suspect this idea is about to explode into public consciousness, because Nick Bostrom has a new book out shortly called “Deep Utopia”, which addresses what happens if superintelligence arrives and everything goes well. It was Bostrom's last book, “Superintelligence”, that ignited the great robot freak-out of 2015.Our guest is Dr Kenneth Hayworth, a Senior Scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia. Janelia is probably America's leading research institution in the field of connectomics – the precise mapping of the neurons in the human brain.Kenneth is a co-inventor of a process for imaging neural circuits at the nanometre scale, and he has designed and built several automated machines to do it. He is currently researching ways to extend Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging of brain tissue to encompass much larger volumes than are currently possible.Along with John Smart, Kenneth co-founded the Brain Preservation Foundation in 2010, a non-profit organization with the goal of promoting research in the field of whole brain preservation.During the conversation, Kenneth made a strong case for putting more focus on preserving human brains via a process known as aldehyde fixation, as a way of enabling people to be uploaded in due course into new bodies. He also issued a call for action by members of the global cryonics community.Selected follow-ups:Kenneth HayworthThe Brain Preservation FoundationAn essay by Kenneth Hayworth: Killed by Bad PhilosophyThe short story Psychological Counseling for First-time Teletransport Users (PDF)21st Century MedicineJanelia Research CampusMusic: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration

Important Note! Join your hosts Max and Daniel, plus luminaries from across the Cryonics industry, at the upcoming Global Cryonics Summit on July 20-21st in Miami, Florida. Go to globalcryonicssummit.com for early-bird tickets and more information.-----In this episode, Max and Daniel are joined by John Smart, the Vice President and Co-Founder of the Brain Preservation Foundation.  Our wide-ranging conversation delves into some of the lesser know alternatives to traditional cryopreservation.In this episode, we explore:John Smarts many roles as a futurist, foresight consultant and entrepreneur.The Brain Preservation Foundation: Brief History and MissionThe Brain Preservation Prize and its winnersAldehyde Stabilized Cryopreservation  (ASC)The many methods of brain preservation scienceQuestions about the true cost of brain preservationJohns famous article on "The Three Camps of Brain Preservation"Debates about the nature of identity and consciousness And much more! As always, you can find Max and Daniel over at the Cryosphere Cryonics discord server and the Cryonics Subreddit.Click here for the YouTube video version of this episode.You can also find the Cryonics Underground Podcast and host Max Marty on Twitter.Links:The Brain Preservation FoundationAspirational NeuroscienceForesight University

Foresight is an act of thinking about and looking toward the future. Those who engage in foresight are working toward building the future, not just predicting what may happen. Today's guest, John Smart, has a Master's Degree in Future Studies and 22 years of experience as a Foresight Consultant. John's mission is to help others achieve more adaptive futures for themselves, their teams, and their organizations. He shares more about the psychology of foresight and how it should influence the decision-making process in this episode of UPThinking Finance™. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...What is the practice of foresight? [3:13]Thinking, Fast and Slow (dual-process thinking) [8:10] The importance of dissecting knowns and unknowns [11:23] How “Accelerating Change” affects decision-making [16:45]Does God play a role in foresight? [23:07] How John has impacted us personally and professionally [34:30] Getting to the point where we flourish [38:03]John Smart is not affiliated with or endorsed by LPL Financial or Capital Investment Advisers.Securities and Advisory services offered through LPL Financial. A registered investment advisor. Member FINRA & SIPC.The financial professionals associated with LPL Financial may discuss and/or transact business only with residents of the states in which they are properly registered or licensed. No offers may be made or accepted from any resident of any other state. Resources & People MentionedIntroduction to ForesightThinking, Fast and SlowRethinking Positive ThinkingThe Fearless OrganizationFuture ShockSuperforecastingMindsetThe Righteous MindThe Dragons of EdenCliftonStrengths assessmentConnect With John SmartConnect on LinkedIn

John Smart | Sin as Leaven | Mark 8:11-21 The post Sin as Leaven – #severnonline appeared first on Severn Covenant Church.

“BDD is about helping you collaborate with the different parties involved in software delivery to understand what's actually required of your system, why you need to deliver it, and then find the best possible way to automate your requirements." John Smart and Jan Molak are the co-authors of “BDD in Action: Second Edition”. In this episode, we discussed in-depth behavior-driven development (BDD) and its essentials. Jan and John first began by introducing what BDD is, the benefits of using BDD, and the Gherkin language with its given-when-then syntax. They gave advice on how to introduce and apply BDD, especially for legacy software, and how to manage the BDD specifications effectively. Jan and John then shared several BDD techniques, such as feature mapping, example mapping, impact mapping; and went deep into the screenplay pattern and the Serenity projects they both create to implement screenplay pattern. Towards the end, Jan and John shared their insights on which testing layers we should apply BDD and some anti-patterns we should avoid.   Listen out for: Career Journey - [00:04:49] Challenges Before BDD - [00:11:30] Behavior Driven Development (BDD) - [00:15:24] Benefits of BDD - [00:22:33] Gherkin - [00:27:39] Introducing BDD - [00:32:24] BDD for Legacy Software - [00:38:41] Managing BDD Specifications - [00:43:15] Screenplay Pattern - [00:47:09] Serenity Project - [00:58:42] Other BDD Techniques - [01:11:33] Testing Layers to Apply BDD - [01:14:13] BDD Anti-Patterns - [01:18:28] 4 Tech Lead Wisdom - [01:23:01] _____ Jan Molak's BioJan Molak is a consulting software engineer and trainer who specialises in enhancing team collaboration and optimising software development processes for global organisations. Jan is the author of the Serenity/JS acceptance testing framework, a contributor to the Screenplay Pattern, and a co-author of a renowned book “BDD in Action, Second Edition”. John Ferguson Smart's BioJohn Ferguson Smart is a specialist in BDD, automated testing, and software lifecycle development optimization. He is the founder of the Serenity Dojo, an online training platform for testers who want to become world-class Agile Test Automation Engineers, and the creator of the Serenity BDD test automation framework. Follow Jan: LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/janmolak X – @JanMolak Follow John: LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/john-ferguson-smart X – @wakaleo Serenity Dojo – serenity-dojo.com _____ Our Sponsors Miro is your team's visual workspace to connect, collaborate, and create innovations together, from anywhere.Sign up today at miro.com/podcast and get your first 3 Miro boards free forever. Like this episode? Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/148 Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Buy me a coffee or become a patron.

In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli engages in a thought-provoking discussion with John Smart, a globally renowned futurist, foresight consultant, and successful entrepreneur. As the author of Introduction to Foresight, Executive Edition: Personal, Team, and Organizational Adaptiveness, John Smart shares valuable insights on the criticality of foresight and adaptiveness in the face of exponential change. Delving deeper, he explores the importance of building practical skills and employing techniques to enhance foresight in daily planning and review. The conversation also highlights the transformative power of networks in adapting to complex systems, emphasizing the necessity of diversity in decision-making. Finally, John Smart expertly delves into the essential skills and capabilities leaders require to navigate the challenges of complex organizations through greater uncertainty.Some highlights:- The Surprising Power of Positive Thinking and Organizing Past Experiences.- Discovering the Hidden Art of Foresight: Predicting, Steering, and Shaping the Future.- Foresight: The Journey of Learning, Seeing, Doing, and Reviewing.- Unleashing Passion: How Your 20s and 30s Can Shape a Lifelong Calling.- How to Apply the Four Steps of Foresight.- Unveiling the Rewarding Secrets to Mastering Change and Adaptation.- Supercharge Your Skills: Unleashing the Potential of Digital Tools and Human-Machine Teaming.- The Game-Changer: Diversity in Decision-Making for Unleashing Team Power.- Empathy and Ethics: The Backbone of Thriving in Networked Environments.- Leadership Secrets: When Great Leaders Transform Complexity Into Character.Connect with John SmartJohn Smart on LinkedIn The Foresight Guide Introduction to Foresight, Executive Edition: Personal, Team, and Organizational Adaptiveness Connect with Mahan Tavakoli: Mahan Tavakoli Website Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn Partnering Leadership Website

Want to know how to deliver software that does what it's supposed to do? In this episode, John Ferguson Smart, author of the book BDD in Action, shares how to use Behavior-Driven Development to guide your software projects to success with collaboration, communication techniques, and concrete requirements you can turn into automated tests. Discover how BDD positively affects teamwork, dynamics, and stakeholder collaboration to help teams discover and analyze needs, uncover assumptions, reduce risks, make acceptance, integration, and unit testing more effective, automate reporting and living documentation to improve transparency, and much more. Listen up!

Kat Ernst talks with John Smart, Ron Douglas and Gerard Daffy

Simon chats with John Smart and Bobby Douglas

This is an interview with Danko Nikolic and John Smart on the future of AI and their respective theories of Practopoiesis – Neuromimicry, and Autopoiesis – Biomimicry. During our 2-hour conversation with Danko and John, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as evolution, development, and life as a network; practopoiesis and the origins […]

Home Partners of America's Strategic Growth Manager and podcast host Safiyah Basir provides pro tips twice a month for agents and residents. In this episode, we received tips for agents and residents from John Smart Smarty of Pro Edge Realty Group. Smarty is an agent with phenomenal Lead generation and referral insights. - Know the program - Education Education Education .. before they complete an application - Leverage RentalKarma.com for Renters to increase their credit scores quickly - Once Approved … train the family on HPA Shopping best practices. Subscribe https://campsite.bio/homepartners/ https://twitter.com/homepartners?lang=en https://www.instagram.com/homepartnersofamerica/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/c/Homepartners https://www.facebook.com/Home-Partners-of-America-298554257630842 50% Application fee code NEWREZ22 Expiring on 8/03/2022

Home Partners Business Development Manager and podcast host Safiyah Basir sits down with John Smart, Smarty of Pro Edge Realty Group. We'll be speaking with Smarty about lead generation and referral insights, and the benefits of using the Home Partners of America lease purchase program. Subscribe https://campsite.bio/homepartners/ https://twitter.com/homepartners?lang=en https://www.instagram.com/homepartnersofamerica/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/c/Homepartners https://www.facebook.com/Home-Partners-of-America-298554257630842 50% Application fee code NEWREZ22 Expiring on 8/03/2022

In Episode 14, our guest is John Smart, founder of Foresight University. John shares insights about the practice and practical application of foresight, the distinction between foresight and futurism and its relationship with complexity and human adaptability.  Our Book on Foresight:https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Foresight-Executive-Organizational-Adaptiveness/dp/1736558501Our Substack Series on the Biomimicry Future of AI:https://naturalalignment.substack.com/p/how-biomimicry-can-improve-ai

John Smart has taught and written for over 20 years on topics like foresight and futurism as well as the drivers, opportunities, and problems of exponential processes throughout human history. John is President of the Acceleration Studies Foundation, co-Founder of the Evo-Devo research community, and CEO of Foresight University. Most recently, Smart is the author […]

John Smart has been based at Clutha Vets in Otago since he graduated in 1976.

This girl is one of my absolute favorites and her perspective on life is worth a listen. A common neighborhood girl navigating through her life like most of us, kicking life, enjoying, and now a responsible parent of a cute little dog. 

This month on the Cucumber Podcast, we speak about The Screenplay Pattern. As John Ferguson describes it on his [site](http://serenity-bdd.info/docs/articles/screenplay-tutorial.html), "the Screenplay Pattern is a powerful and elegant approach to designing and implementing automated tests, providing a number of improvements over more traditional approaches such as the Page Objects model." The conversation covers why you should consider following the Screenplay Pattern and its potential drawbacks. The conversation closes with our guests providing a single tip for folks looking to try out the Screenplay Pattern on their own. Joining your host Aslak Hellesøy are John Smart, Jan Molak, Angie Jones, Nat Pryce, Matt Wynne and Steve Tooke. ### Shownotes: CukenFest London, April 19th-20th - Join us for our annual conference focused on helping you build stronger ties between business and IT. Keynotes from Dan North and Ulrika Malmgren. More details on our [event page](http://cukenfest.cucumber.io/) [Page Objects Refactored](https://ideas.riverglide.com/page-objects-refactored-12ec3541990) [Screenplay tutorial](http://serenity-bdd.info/docs/articles/screenplay-tutorial.html)

Lynley Wyeth, a farmer from near Masterton, and John Smart, a well-known vet from Balclutha, discuss care of new-born lambs, treating those that are unwell or hypothermic, and rearing orphan or surplus lambs. Lynley rears several hundred lambs each year from new-born to weaning, while John has led work to find ways to save lambs and keep them healthy. Recorded at Scene + Herd, August 2013.

Long before Behaviour-Driven Development was a term, John Smart was a proponent of bringing business and tech teams together. It was working for a French insurance company in the 90s, with complex (and peculiar) business rules, where the journey started: “This was a car insurance company so you had to tell them where you lived, what sort of car you had, what colour it was, what sort of dog you had...everything. The customer/product owner had these excel spreadsheets that he was using by himself to check the algorithms on the mainframe that we were supposed to be reproducing. So I said, maybe that could be useful - we can use those to drive our tests. What we ended up with was a set of unit tests being driven by an Excel spreadsheet...Ever since then, I’ve been looking for ways to write tests that express things at the business level. So when I came across BDD it all fell into place. “ This week on the Cucumber Podcast, Matt Wynne, Aslak Hellesøy and Steve Tooke talk with John Smart about BDD, his upcoming CukeUp! workshop, and how Serenity can help your team write higher quality automated tests. John Smart will be delivering a workshop at CukeUp! London on April 14th - skillsmatter.com/conferences/7606…eup-2016#program John was a speaker at CukeUp! in Sydney last November. His talk can be found here - cucumber.io/blog/2016/01/11/cuk…5-videos#john-smart You can find out more about Serenity on his website - www.thucydides.info/#/ Other speaking engagements - DevWeek London - devweek.com/speakers#john-smart - Gee Con - 2016.geecon.org/speakers/info.html?id=87 - London Tester Gathering - skillsmatter.com/conferences/7219…g-workshops-2016

Listen and SUBSCRIBE with iTunes Momentum Ski Camps welcomes skiing to the summer high up on Blackcomb Mountain.  We decided to get the skis out and head up to chat with John Smart, the man behind the very successful Momentum Ski Camps.  These weekly summer camp sessions started out as mogul camps for kids and […] The post Momentum Ski Camps with John Smart – LPP Summer Series 1.1 appeared first on Low Pressure Podcast.

Yesterday I interviewed John Smart on Singularity 1 on 1. Among many other things John is an advisor in Futures Studies and Forecasting for Singularity University where I met him last summer. He is also one of those rare people who are (literary) Smart since birth and totally justify the name. So it was no surprise […]

Interested in the agile methodologies and tools? Look no further than this podcast, with Wakaleo CEO John Smart. Learn about Specification by Example, Thucydides, Jenkins, Test Driven Development, acceptance testing, and more.

Meet Ken Achenbach from Camp of Champions ski, snowboard and mountain bike camps and John Smart from Momentum Ski Camps.

Meet John Smart, former Olympic athlete and founder of Momentum summer glacier camps. Gold medal freestyle skier, Alex Bilodeau, will be coaching with Momentum Camps this summer.