Will we all be reduced to ghosts someday?

Digital Escapades

A place to share my experiences with photos, digital video, and other digital media.
Monday, February 14, 2011

There is a great article at
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2048138-1,00.html , its about how in the year 2045, computers and many technologies will supersede humanity, but it also raises the possibility that humans will merge with such technology. The article has me considering human technological hybrids from science fiction, from the Borg of Star Trek, to the cybernetically enhanced people of Neo-Tokyo in the Japanese Anime Ghost in the Shell. I wonder weather we will become a collective, similar to the Borg, but hopefully more benign, or weather we will download our consciousness or ghost into fully cybernetic bodies, as on Ghost in the Shell. Many science fiction movies, tv shows, books, comics, and now on-line stories involve such characters. Some of our troops have artificial limbs, that actually respond to nerve impulses near their missing limb. Work is progressing on microchips embedded in people's brains, that can help them control artificial limbs, personal computers, etc. A blending of nano & genetic technologies could someday heal many injuries, like spinal cord damage, birth defects, genetic disorders, etc. Such technologies might even extend human life spans, and allow us to survive the rigors of long distance space travel. The doom and gloom folks have denounced countless technologies that have benefited humanity, from the automobile, to antibiotics, millions have benefited. People forget that at not too long ago, a child who got a fever was almost assured to die, that polio was rampant, and small pox ravaged much of the world.

People also forget how much automobiles and other motor vehicles enable those on the edge of civilization to reach vital resources, like emergency healthcare, education, etc. Also, the resources of civilization, such as technologies for filtering dirty polluted river or well water, for generating light with portable lamps with micro solar cells, etc. Its not the technology, its the misuse of that technology, and or the overuse of that technology. Its not the combustion engine, its 500 Million of them, and its using gasoline rather than a clean burning bio-fuel. Its not splitting the atom via nuclear fission, its using it for nuclear bombs, and not developing a proper means for disposing or utilizing the waste. In recent years, breeder reactors have been developed, which can utilize nuclear waste as fuel. Our government has be hesitant to use such reactors, because they can be used to make nuclear grade uranium. They are making progress with nuclear fusion, and even with containing anti-matter. The later is decades from even simple reactions, probably in some space based platform, due to the extreme power released by a matter anti-matter reaction, even on a vary small scale. If we someday isolate dark energy/dark matter, it might prove to provide reactions even more energetic than anti-matter.

Humanity has been harnessing technology since the day we began planting crops, rather than just gathering them where they grew. From here humanity developed the science of agriculture, which lead to staying in one place long enough to build permanent housing which lead to architecture, which lead to villages, towns, and then cities. People then needed to get from one of these population centers to the next, which eventually lead to carrying more and more supplies, which lead to the cart. Its true warfare advances technology, which is how we got the chariot, and many other technologies. We have moved past the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, the technological revolution, the information revolution, and we are now in what I call the high tech revolution, which the article reflects. All our previous knowledge is being refined and improved upon. In antiquity, humanity knew so little of the world, that all knowledge was simply lumped together. Socrates categorized knowledge into separate categories, such as astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, etc. Today these individual areas have been researched so deeply, that knowledge from one area is bleeding over into other areas. For example bio-engineering, which combines the fields of engineering and biology. They are now even using mushrooms to grow car parts, chicken feathers cooked at 700 degrees to make carbon nano-tubes, and many other technologies from unexpected places. So, why should it be shocking that humans might augment ourselves with technology.

Scientists have been able to spontaneously encourage savant ability in people, by temporarily shutting down parts of the brain and stimulating other parts, using low level electromagnetic fields. So, someday, we may hook ourselves up to an IQ boosting machine, similar to the one seen in the movie, The Forbidden Planet. Maybe such a machine could be used to rewire the brains of Autistic individuals, or those who suffer mental illnesses like schizophrenia, etc. This technique is already in use for severe depression. So as I see it, if computers do begin to excel our abilities, we are best served in using that too our advantage to empower and improve ourselves, than to let ourselves become obsolete.

The Calladus Blog - Fresno Atheist: Nonbelief, Skepticism, Progressive Issues and the Debunking of Pseudoscience

This is a great article, on debunking free energy scams, and it even includes some links on debunking pseudoscience in general. I and many other folks, who are grounded in logic and reason, see such scams as more than a few folks trying to make a quick buck. The fact some major educational cable networks air documentaries, that contain such misinformation deludes our youth's and the general public's ability to determine fact from fiction. Add to this onslaught of misinformation, is the effort by religious zealots, to replace science with religion, and remove evolution from biology classes. Along with our deteriorating educational system, these things are contributing to our youth and therefore, our society falling behind other industrialized nations. Go check it out, go to the links at the bottom of the article, and feel free to leave a comment at his page and or mine. The Calladus Blog - Fresno Atheist: Nonbelief, Skepticism, Progressive Issues and the Debunking of Pseudoscience

Social Networks, and creating collectives.

Although, not 100% instantaneous, due to web traffic, bandwidth, etc, social networks have done the opposite of what, pundits claimed the internet is doing. Rather than separate society, and make individuals feel removed from society, the internet via social networks has created a place, where the most socially inept of us, can fit in, and feel like part of a group. All one need do, is look at Yahoo's egroups, or google's groups, and you will see that, there is a group for virtually any and every segment in our society. From Cat and Dog lover, to Computer nerds and Hackers, to sports fans, and fans of all manner of movies, from Twighlight to Star Wars & Star Trek. These social networks, go far beyond even this level of collectivity. Social networks, like Facebook allow friends, from high school, college, from work, and allows family members to stay in contact, across town, across the country, and across the planet. With web enabled cell phones, this connectivity occurs practicality 24/7 365 days a year.

Refering back to Star Trek, think back to the Personal Access Display Device or PADDs, we first saw the on, the Original Star Trek, as the big black wedge, the yeoman's carried around. Its recognized, that they were an electronic device with a electronic stylus. The PADD's got an update, with the Next Generation, and recived a touch screen. During that short period of time, we began seeing some devices on the market, from Apple's Newton, to Palm's Pilot, more recently, we have seen, the iPod and iTouch. Now, a whole new line of smart phones, that are open source are pushing cellular technology further. The Droid X is a 1Ghz phone, and the up coming
Droid Plus, is a 1.3 Ghz phone. I'm talking processor speed here, not transmission frequency. I am sure, you will soon find phones with 32, 64, and even 128 Giga Byes of internal Ram, and even more external Ram. Smart phones are becoming like mini laptops. There is literally, an app for everything, from editing video and photos, to timing your eggs, lol. With their touch screens, these devices, are every bit as powerful, as what was shown on Star Trek, add a chip for Satellite communications, and you have a real ship to planet communicator, lol.

Advance technology just a decade, and I can see, where people will have completely instantaneous, super high bandwidth access, to our social networks. If someone were to develop, a neural interface that allowed users to interface with each others consciousness, in a sort of social network micro collective of a few hundred, or few thousand users, eventually, it could lead to something on the scale of the Borg. The question is, should we, or should we not? We probably would not become the Borg of Star Trek, we would probably become a true collective, more like the New Collective on Star Trek Voyager, where individuals could plug in, and unplug at will.

Natural Cures Vs Modern Medicine

Both sides in the Argument of Natural cure vs Modern Medicine have it wrong. As some one who studies history, & as someone who once worked in the medical field, I can tell you a thing or two. Not all Native people's thrived, some disappeared because, they grew to big, and over used their land. So, when drought or some other natural disaster came a long, their society collapsed. On the other hand, other tribes did live a more harmonious existence for a thousand years or more, which is more than we can say for most civilizations. As far as medicine goes, while its true, 60% if not more of our drugs are based on cures found in nature via plants, animals, etc, one should not discount modern medicine. There are millions of people who would not be alive today without modern medicine. Before modern medicine came into being, midwives performed the task of being the healer, helped deliver babies, etc. These dedicated women were much like modern Seamen/medicine men, as they passed down knowledge of natural cures, from one generation to the next. Modern medicine had an ugly start, when men decided they wanted control, and were threatened by what they perceived as the power women had. So, these men, who had no knowledge of natural cures came up with cures, often as deadly as the illness itself. It wasn't until scientific methodologies were reintroduced, which the women simply had learned from trial and error, over the generations; that the men began to make progress. Today, the science of modern medicine is as robust and refined as any formal science, which is why, false cures, tainted prescriptions, etc are weeded out. This does of course, make the process for adopting new prescriptions take some time, as they do have to be shown to work, as they claim they do.

I hear people denounce modern medicine all the time, they say, don't take pills, just take natural cures, even though over 60percent of modern medicines are derived from plant based cures, and now some are derived from chemicals found in animals via their venom,hormones, etc. I have family who have had cancer, and natural cures may have helped, but some people have forgone modern treatments for natural cures, and died of their cancers. It is easy to assume that, because a natural cure can cure one or two things, or that several things can be cured naturally, that all things can be cured that way. What is needed is a balance, that balance is to take the scientific knowledge of modern medicine, and to apply it to native cures. Modern medicine is in fact doing that. Its searching the rain forests, the oceans, the deserts, etc for new chemicals found in plants, animals, etc for cures for cancer, neurological disorders, and any number of health problems. There are programs to work with native healers, so they may pass on their knowledge to modern medicine, so that we may all benefit from their knowledge. However, we must also be on the watch for those who claim to know about cures, the market is full of people pedaling natural cures, via alternative health stores, etc. Just because something is natural doesn't make it safe. Some natural things offered in these stores can interact with medications, vitamins, minerals, etc. This is why, you should always discuss with your doctor, any thing you are thinking of taking. More and more doctors are aware of of natural/homeopathic medicines, and their interactions with any prescriptions you may be taking.

Our lifestyle is one of the most important starting point in changing our health, most people don't get enough fruits and vegetables, don't get enough exercise, and don't get enough sleep. We are too sedentary as a society, our jobs have us sitting in front of computers, then we come home and watch TV, sit in front of the computer, and play video games. All it takes is an hour a day of exercise, and if its choosing being healthy vs a stroke or heart attack in my 50s, I'll choose exercise. We also need to do something active, while on our breaks at work. Studies show, when you sit inactive for long periods of time, the blood pools in your body, and that even if your in good physical shape, it can have adverse effects on your health. For those of us that have children, or who have children in our lives, we need to lead by example, for our children will follow in our footsteps, and often at a faster and therefore, a more unhealthy pace. By being fit, we can help insure our children and the future generations are fit. By eating foods with less artificial ingredients, less preservatives, healthier fats, etc we can teach our children and their children to eat healthy, and to be healthy. Many of these things are not only linked to obesity, but to cancer, diabetes, and a host of other diseases. I recently read about an announcement about pesticides being linked to ADHD, and it has me wondering if, other frontal lobe disorders, such as Autism, ADD, etc are not also linked to pesticides, what about sociopathic behavior, as it too is linked to frontal lobe malformation/underdevelopment. The fact the FDA doesn't screen from pesticides or heavy metals in our food, should be of great concern.

Keeping one's home as free from chemicals as possible is another step we can take to insuring our health, as studies have shown, having a home that is too sterile is actually bad for our immune system, and may even be a cause of some allergies and asthma. Home made, chemical free cleaners are cheap, easy to make, and non-toxic. Also avoid products with chemicals, such as plastics with BPA, fabrics with chemicals, etc. Carpeting is known to be vary toxic, and a new car leaches many chemicals over a long period of time, to several chemicals. So medicine and health is a complex subject, that simply saying go natural won't fix. It involves many choices, being informed, and knowing when to go natural, and when to go chemical, or with a surgery, or other treatment.

The Environment

In discussions about the environment, I here people say that, the planet will do fine. Its not the planet I'm worried about, its humanity I'm concerned about. I mean, other than an object bigger than the moon, the earth would probably survive, I mean, it did once before, hence the moon. What worries me today is, I have a niece and nephew, who may have kids some day. I also have extended family, who will probably have kids, who's lives will be impacted by global warming. I also have a number of friends who have kids, or may have kids, who's lives will be impacted by global warming. All one needs to do to understand the dangers of global warming is study history. In the past, individual societies, like Aztec and Mayans would disappear from the face of the earth, because they over used their land, and their population grew to the point, any natural disaster, like a drought, meant disaster. Today, the scope of humanity's actions are so huge and far reaching, that they threaten all life on earth. If we are lucky, humanity stops itself, and undoes the damage, before we pass beyond the tipping point of no return. If we are unfortunate, humanity dies, but enough of the ecosystem remains to renew itself in time. If we are completely helpless, not only does humanity die, but the environment goes into greenhouse overdrive, like Venus, and all life dies. All the models prove global warming is here, upper atmosphere cooling, and lower atmosphere warming, more warming at night, more warming over the oceans, more warming at lower hemispheres, etc. The melting of the ice caps may have reached a cascade level, where the lack of ice is adding to the warming, which makes more ice melt, which adds to the warming, till it can't be stopped.

Humanity needs to stop all petty warfare and concentrate on the environment, work towards true alternative energies like nuclear fusion, breeder reactors, who's radioactive waste last decades, rather than thousands of years. The faithful need to treat the earth as such, and stop trying to debunk evolution, simply have faith in how science has shown how it works. Science hasn't said, god didn't use evolution to create life, or didn't use the big bang to create the universe. Science simply tells us how things happen, philosophy and religion speak as to why. As long as you don't stomp on another person's view of why something happened, I could care less, if you think little green men created the big bang, lol. Humanity has so much potential, we are at our worst, when things are at their best, and often at our best when things are at their worst. However, we can't afford for things to get much worse, in order for them to bring humanity together as a whole, we must choose to come together now, on our own accord.

Corporations are only doing a little bit, I mean, the percentage of Chevron's research money going into alternative/clean energy, is vary small, compared to whats going into oil research. So, they keep investing into something they know will be gone in five or ten years, because that's where the profits are today. Likewise, companies are spending billions of dollars on extracting the last drops of oil out of the ground, from under the oceans etc, yet there are cleaner ways to power our factories and homes. New solar technologies greatly reduce its costs, and if mass produced, the costs would be even less. Nuclear is an option, as burning coal releases more radiation than other processes. Breeder reactors can use radioactive waste as fuel, however some governments like the United States are against them, because they can be used to create, refined uranium. Simply put, if we put as much energy into solving the problem as we have debating it, denying it, and defending it, we could make a lot of progress and solve the problem. The fact companies can sell products in second and third countries, which have been banned in 1st world nations, because they are known to damage the environment, cause birth defects, etc can not continue. We can not afford to allow corporate corruption and exploitation, nor political corruption and exploitation of the planet or its people.

I'll step off my soap box now, lol.

Misuse of the media via Fox and Sarah Palin's upcoming show.

Everyone should care about a disagreement between LL Cool J and Fox News, because its an example of a media outlet executing an act of misrepresentation. Basically LL Cool J was interviewed in 2008 by Fox for a show called Real American Stories, at the time neither he nor Fox knew Sarah Palin would be the host. However, the issue is, she has come to represent the Tea Party, which has been accused of racist views. Country singer Toby Kieth who is also supposed to have an interview on the show, also says that, he was never interviewed by Sarah Palin, and his interview was done in 2009. The commercials for Sarah Palin's show which airs tonight, have stated that, she will be interviewing the guests on her show. This is no different than, a company misusing a public figure's name, image, or other representation to garnish their product, political view, etc some notoriety and or market share. I have seen this on a similar show as to Palin's upcoming show, where people who overcame medical crisis were interviewed and their event reenacted. The show had 99.99 percent of their stories involve Christians, which implies only Christians can over come such challenges, and that only through God/Jesus can you do so. The case with LL Cool J is that, his values and Sarah Palin's political views are probably 180 degrees from each other. He was interviewed by someone else, where the political/religious views of the intended show were not presented, Upon finding out that, his representation is being used to represent an agenda he objects to, LL Cool J rightfully feels he was misled. This is the equivalent of, an Atheist unknowingly being interviewed for a show that supports religion. The Atheist would rightly feel that, their persona is wrongfully being used to support religious views they don't support. If Fox so blatantly misrepresents such a public figure as LL Cool J, they surly have no qualms about misrepresenting the general public, experts on various subjects, etc. We see this on various conservative outlets who still make it seem as if, there is debate on weather global warming is happening. When media outlets misrepresent individuals, news stories, etc, the public ends up misinformed, mislead, and uninformed. Stuff like this happens in legal cases as well, to paint the innocent as guilty, and the guilty as innocent. Such misrepresentations, as I have presented here, have happened throughout history. As throughout history, the public needs to take a stand against such misuse of the media, public speech, etc. For without such restraint, the media will rather than being a highly useful technology, will degrade into nothing but rhetoric, and render itself useless.

Xenophobia

For millennia, humanity has struggled with conflicts between one group and another, weather it be one man vs another, one village vs another, or one nation vs another. It hasn’t always been like this, the first oldest known to exist in the Americas, Caral located in the north of Lima, Supe Valley, unlike so many other cities through out history, had no fortifications, or other means of self protection. Researchers have concluded that, this city existed in mutual cooperation with societies throughout a large area of the Americas, through the trade of their fishing nets and other goods, for fish and other resources from these other societies. It is unfortunate that, such a codependent existence is the exception rather than the rule, however it does give one hope that, such a relationship between individuals, groups, and nations could once again be established.
Globalization on some levels seems to be an effort towards this goal, but on other levels, it seems to work against this goal. With the many challenges facing humanity at this time, some factors view nationalism as a means for solving economic and social issues, however as seen in the past, the scope and scale of human civilization makes such a move counterproductive.

Throughout human history, every city at the heart of any great society has been a crossroads. That is to say, these cities were gathering points, not only for the exchange of tangible resources such as various goods and services, crops and foodstuff, etc they have also been places for the exchange of technologies, and ways of thinking from philosophies, sciences, to areas of a spiritual nature. Amongst these cities have been Timbuktu, Alexandria, Athens, Rome, London, and many more including many through out the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Today, newer cities have become crossroads, from America’s New York City to the micas of Hong Kong and Tokyo in the orient, these cities are practically nations in of themselves, with their huge populations, technology centers, and other resources.

The global communications networks like the internet, telecommunication systems, etc enable these hubs and others to connect with each other, and the far reaches of the globe. As a result of such technologies, humanity has begun to see itself as a collective, rather than just as islands each onto themselves. This was in part due to the global threat of nuclear war during the nuclear arms race, but is now becoming more so due to the impact of global warming, natural disasters, and a global economy which ties the economies of the world’s countries together.
A lot of work is yet to be done, as there are still biases and xenophobia to be overcome.

In the same way, people from rural areas are drawn to cities for a better economic life, so too are people from impoverished countries drawn to those countries with more stable economies, governments, and infrastructures. Many of the impoverished nations have become so due to corruption, environmental change, and by exploitation by more powerful nations. For decades, American companies have exploited lower wages in Mexico, while taking steps to maintain the lowest wages. As a result, there has been no growth of a middle class, which is the driving force behind any country’s economic development. This has caused a polarization in the classes of Mexico to a few being in the upper class, while the majority suffers in poverty.

As history has shown, irregardless of creed or culture, abject poverty brings forth crime, drug abuse, and the degradation of the community at large. This can be seen in the slums from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. So, it is no wonder people seeking a better life will use whatever means possible, legal and illegal to immigrate to regions where life is better. However, those who limit themselves to only the concerns of their local communities, the influx of people different than themselves can be troubling. Troubling because, we as humans often fear that which is different. This serves us well, when we hear an unknown sound, when we are walking down a dark street, or see an unknown form moving in the dark of night. However, it does us a disservice when, it prevents us from understanding those in our community who are different from ourselves due to a difference in culture, religion, and so forth.

There have been countless contributions to the world at large by all people’s on earth, from the first written languages in Egypt and the Middle East, to the latest technological developments throughout the world, we have all benefited from the contributions of those vary much like and unlike ourselves. Unfortunately, segments of society are still oppressed be it based on culture, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Furthermore, economic, social, and educational inequities prevent many of the world’s people from contributing to society to the degree that they should. As a result, what inventions, art, philosophies, and other contributions to society will never see the light of day? For, life on the small local scare is representative and reflective of life on the national and global scale. How can we blame a country for having religiously or culturally extremist views, when we allow such views to fester here at home? When we have segments of our society who judge whole cultures and people due to the actions of their government, extremist groups and individuals, we open ourselves to the same scrutiny.

When we tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and other forms of xenophobia in our community, we are no different than, those who we judge in other parts of the world who are guilty of the same crimes against humanity. When we deny people the right to religion or from religion, we lose part of our humanity. The Dark Ages, the Inquisition, and Nazism are often treated as isolated incidents in human history, but history shows that, humanity all to often does not learn from its mistakes. Weather it has been, the loss of a society due to over taxing their local environment, or the loss of individual tribes with unique cultures, languages, and histories for the purposes of economic gains, or for the right to assert our culture, faith, and society upon them, humanity always looses in the end. Likewise, when we exclude and otherwise disempower segments of our society due to a difference in culture, religion, etc, humanity again loses in the end.

Our current survival on a local and global level continues to be threatened by many factors such as war, poverty, and environmental crisis, the greatest of which may be global warming. It is only be working together on local, national, and international levels, can we face these and many other challenges facing humanity. We can overcome these challenges, only if we work together. We must advance ourselves socially to the degree in which we have developed technologically. Oddly enough, many of these solutions will be technical, however they can not and will not be effective without social change. We must look at the globe as the Astronauts who visited the moon saw it, as one globe, one society, interdependent and inseparable, and as satellites view the world, a world without borders, without national boundaries.

The next time you think of those different from yourself as the other, as outsiders, as those who are different from yourself, remember that, we all share a common biology, and in countless ways through our common origins in Africa, a common history, and that no matter how different we may seem, we are all human in the end.