3DChizl

I searched and the engine claimed to find three documents on this subject, but returned a blank. Anyone know where it has been discussed before?

Singularity

Link to some infor: <a href="http://www.extropy.org/eo/articles/vc.html" target="_blank">Link here</a>

Ernest Sparks

I suspect that singularities were not so much discussed here as mentioned in passing. I searched more broadly and discovered there is a mathematical topic called "singularity theory" now, with conferences and publications. Here is an introduction with some graphics:

<a href="http://www.amsta.leeds.ac.uk/~rjm/parade/" target="_blank">Richard Morris' introduction to singularity theory</a>

Christopher Lord

I recall discussing the topic long ago... (not at length, it was indeed in passing)

Can't find it however. The search feature doesnt seem to want to work for me.

3DChizl

Thanks for the input - I am finding singularity theory a very interesting topic and I wondered if anyone is willing to discuss it. Looks like religion for scientists on the crust.

Jesse

I think 3DChizl is referring to the idea of the "technological singularity" devised by Vernor Vinge (see Vinge's original essay <a href="http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~phoenix/vinge/vinge-sing.html" target="_blank">here</a>) rather than to more general ideas of singularities in mathematics and physics. <a href="http://www.aleph.se/Trans/" target="_blank">Anders Transhuman Page</a> has a good sub-page on this:

<a href="http://www.aleph.se/Trans/Global/Singularity/index.html" target="_blank">The Technological Singularity</a>

Also, here's a cool "worldbuilding" project about a galactic civilization thousands of years after the technological singularity (the page can be a bit slow to load, but give it some time):

<a href="http://www.kheper.auz.com/orions_arm/" target="_blank">Orion's Arm</a>

Ernest Sparks

Thanks! Do you think "singularity" might become the next fad token, replacing the very-tired "quantum", (as in "quantum theology", "quantum marriage counseling", "quantum leap frogging", etc.)

[ January 02, 2002: Message edited by: Ernest Sparks ]</p>

Christopher Lord

This is the topic on which the unibomber justified his actions.

Some of what he wrote is very intresting, but his actions were definately not the way to deal with it though.

Ism Schism

I just starting reading it, I was expecting some really insane rants (for some strange reason ). But no, not only does he speak logically, he seems highly intelligent. It is quite interesting to read, some of the things he says actually make quite a bit of sense. He is some strange hybrid of terrorist/anthropologist, and I was merely expecting terrorist/stark-raving-lunatic. I never realized how strange the whole "unabomber" story was...

Christopher Lord

Yes, the media didnt let one single word of it get though. He was/is simply a mad-man from the average persons perspective. (which is in fact only partially true.)


If anyone else wants to read this, i dug this out of my bookmarks.

<a href="http://dewey.ed.brocku.ca/~rahul/Misc/unibomber.html" target="_blank">http://dewey.ed.brocku.ca/~rahul/Misc/unibomber.html</a>

[ January 03, 2002: Message edited by: Christopher Lord ]</p>

cricket

I disagree; none of this is new. His manifesto was published five years ago. Nothing new has been released. He's a very intelligent man who is, nonetheless, a madman.