Slashdot Mirror
Slashback: Imagination, Redistribution, Stiction
Igor, throw that switch, would you? It's getting drafty in here. After all the attention that the various projects working to codify the the Human Genome have gotten in the past few years, the audacity of what Celera and the Human Genome Project itself are doing has seemingly faded into the commonplace. That may change soon, as first drafts of the genetic sequence of a human being are expected both from Celera and the HGP.
Phasers back on stun, and bring us back to DefCon 3. Turn down that klaxon, ensign. According to this CNN story, that darn Serbian Badman Trojan may not have been much of a threat; despite dire predictions otherwise by NetSec echoed by everyone from CNN to Slashdot. At least, the FBI doesn't seem too concerned. Thanks to ghoti, who alerted us to the downgrade.
All I want is friggin' sharks with friggin' lasers on their heads ... If you enjoyed reading Time-Digital's recent Neal Stephenson interview, you may be intrigued by the article contributed by The Original Bobski, pondering questions like ""How can the future-fiction business hope to compete against our reality of humanoids who wear life-altering computers and elongate their lives with superdrugs and genetic mutation? How is it possible for any self-respecting science fiction writer to hope to stay ahead of the headlines?" Neal himself is quoted, along with a passel of SciFi writers who might be familiar to regular readers of the Slashdot Book Reviews section. Seems that The Future just keeps on arriving ...
iCrave TV: OK for Sasketchewanians, not Pittsburgers. julez writes "Back in April www.icravetv.com was taken offline because of numerous lawsuits. This article on CBC online says that they are set to relaunch their service in the fall on a subscription basis. Some stations will remain free, but, like cable, "specialty channel packages" will cost you $8-$9 a month. And of course, it will only be availble to Canadians via some unnamed security software." From the article: "The privately held Internet company showed 17 Canadian and U.S. stations when its site started last November. The service drew more than 800,000 viewers in its first month." That's a market, folks. ("Quick, shut it down! Somebody might make some money if we're not careful!") Read more about iCrave on Slashdot.
If Nike builds sneakers like this, we'd happily worship the swoosh. After the wall-climbing robot tech that hemos pointed out a few days ago, ABCNews.com serendipitously featured some more information about the Real Thing. Real Geckos, that is. How do they stick to walls? Well, here are some hints: no glue, no suction cups, no bubble gum and no special effects.
We at Celera are pleased to be informed that you are willing to be a live participant in our modification and augmentation programs in light of our recent completion of the human genome map.
Please take a moment and indicate your interest in the following augmentations.
[ ] Increase in neural density (useful for writing entire program code in your head, bit for bit before actually reaching for the keyboard).
[ ] Duck brain (useful for shutting half of your brain down, for resting, without requiring any actual sleep. Great for month-long coding frenzies).
[ ] Nocturnal eye enhancement (allowing for indefinite periods sitting in front of your computer terminal without turning the lights on or opening the blinds in your office).
[ ] Bladder enhancement (through minor chemical alteration of your digestion system and bladder, your urine may instantly be recycled into Mt. Dew(tm), ready for consumption upon urination).
[ ] Moose sweat glands (never leave your office for a shower, but smell like you've just splashed on your favorite musk. An absolute must for any male in a work environment where he may occasionally encounter attractive females).
[ ] Vulcan Mind-Meld (communicate with fellow programmers and friends without risk of misinterpretation, but be sure not to meld with your female companion as she will use all information received as ammunition against you in future arguments. Note: mind-meld is far from perfected at this point and does result in the occasional paralysis or permanent psychosis).
[ ] Massive horse penis (self-explanatory).
[ ] Rob Malda dream-date (Natalie Portman physique, hot-grits-producing mammary glands, Anime hair... non-descriminate sense of humor.)
(Due to scientific needs and demands and available participants, we may not be able to cater to all desires perfectly and some modifications may be made which were not requested by you, the participant.)
Again, thank you for your interest and do contact us as soon as possible. We look forward to working with you!
Kind regards,
Celera
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icq:2057699
seumas.com
In mid-2000, Kellar Autumn and Robert Full published their findings on the adhesive properties of gecko feet in the journal Nature. By early 2001, they had started the company Setae@Home to develop and market technological applications for their research. Today GeckoTape(tm) has almost completely replaced Duck Tape, making Autumn and Full billionaires. Gecko technology is important in many other fields as well.
But early efforts frustrated the entrepeneurs. My Pretty Gecko(tm), a wall-crawling toy which was their first commercial effort, failed when parents began buying their children real geckos, which were cheaper. Setae@Home was forced to begin selling treadmills for pet geckos instead. The technology itself took time to mature as well.
"The research was often difficult," Full said. "For instance, the geckos' adhesive powers works in a vacuum, but the little suckers kept exploding, so it was hard to tell." Full also notes that today's life-saving Gecko Firebots(tm) had a rocky beginning. "It was hard getting the data necessary to build them," he says, "Imagine tossing a swarm of trained geckos into a burning building. They really didn't perform nearly as well as we'd hoped."
"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." - Alexander Hamilton
Am I the only one that things this feature would be better named Backslash?
NO CARRIER
The Human Genome Project will do more to shape and alter the future of our species than any previous endeavor of humankind, and yet the Playstation 2 has gotten more ecstatic press. Gutenberg gave us moveable type, which led to an explosion of literacy and the expansion of the human mind. The HGP gives us moveable genotype, and this potentially allows the expansion of everything that makes us human.
Yes, some of the vistas are scary, but I also see the hope of exploring new worlds that both Kirk and Huxley failed to imagine.
Are we ready? I am. Bring on a future where perfect health and longevity are available to us all, the norm, the expected, where the brain has been mapped and the soul has retreated to superstition, where drugs are designed to enhance my individual physiology.
I am ready, Celera. I am ready, HGP. Modify, enhance, and augment me. Hell, exploit me. I am ready!
Neopets - the best free game on the Int
The important thing about "science fiction" is not the "science" but the fiction, aside form the literary merit (which is an imporant factor), the "foresight factor' depends on seeing consequences.
"People stories" will always be interesting. It's a character's attitudes and quandaries, not his gadgetry, that engage us and make us think.
75-100 years ago, there was a flood of bad "SF" stories based on westerns and knights replacing 'horses' with cars ("as the hero carried the girl up the stairs to collect his due reward, his trusty auto wheeled itself over to a nearby trough, and extended its hose for a drink")
However, the changes caused by the car were far more crucial: it allowed suburbs and commuting and daily traffic jams. It created a vastly different social dynamic: you may never interact with your neighbors, the local business are less important, urban flight (and accelerated decay) and new forms of de facto geographic segregation are practical. The disruption of large regions of the country within driving range of cities. There are a thousand changes, great and subtle, but they are difficult to explain, because we've forgotten what life could be like.
What would it have been worth to Bostonians, with their cowpath roads, if only someone had paid attention to these consequences, and begun to take insightful action a century ago, forestalling the half-century of constantly failing catch-up that occurred instead?
Every change has social consequences. I have been researching how written musical notation and the printing press changed the very form of the art we call music. It was far more dramatic than MP3's!
There are no shortage of stunning insights available just by trivially comparing the 'last' revolution in any field with the next one (web, genome, nanotech, you name it)
For example, long ago, I read a fascinating tale of urban life before the telephone. In 1888 NYC, the mail was delivered six times a day, due to an elaborate social system of notes, calling cards, ettiquette, etc. required to make ordinary social and businesses work in a city of that size.
Without the telephone, people 'visited' more often, but instead of getting a busy signal, the person you visitedt might not be home (they had to go out more often, simply to conduct daily life) Also a social visit has a different dynamic than a social phone call -- and 'dropping in' when someone was already visiting was much more awkward than simply clicking over to Call Waiting.
I'm describing it poorly. I hope you get the idea.
If you can go to bed, knowing you did a valuable thing today, you're very lucky. If you can't... it's not bedtime
Science fiction authors have always been running up against this problem. Arthur C. Clarke, who is at this writing still alive, once wrote a story about a communications satellite. In 1940. Or Larry Niven, who wrote about Mercury's orbit (as locked with the sun, always showing one face) shortly before it was determined that Mercury actually spins retrograde by several days (88 day orbit vs. 59 day spin). Bzzt! One of the most visionary science fiction films, Kubrick's _2001: A Space Odyssey_, showed an orbiting spinning space station, a weekly earth-orbit-to-lunar-surface shuttle, a bustling lunar base, even an archaeological dig on the moon ... all taking place roughly this year. Not to mention the nuclear-powered Jupiter-bound spacecraft, human hibernation, and the intelligent (and mentally unstable) computer. Bzzt.
Basically, predicting the future is a funny business. It's more important (and ultimately more interesting) to examine the social changes than it is to try to be spot-on about the technology. One of the most visionary novels of the last twenty years was _Neuromancer_, which practically invented the concept of cyberspace, and author William Gibson had never used a computer or logged onto the internet. He wrote it on a manual Underwood. Yet many would say that it's chillingly accurate, half a generation later.
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lake effect weblog
{Network engineer in Chicago--looking for work!}
Mother: But you can't -- that's my baby!!
Monsanto rep: Sorry ma'am, but our company is just protecting it's property. Monsanto has invested a lot of our shareholder's money in research and development. You can't just steal someone else's ideas like that.
Mother: How much do you want me to pay? I've already paid you for the genes, haven't I?
Monsanto rep: It's not a question of money anymore. You've broken the law and we intend to prosecute. You should have paid when you used your husband's sperm for the second time.
Mother: But my husband's sperm belongs to him!
Monsanto rep: You should really read the fine print in your fertility agreement. Your husband received genetic material that belongs to Monsanto. We have "reach through" rights which means we own your offspring. We can terminate the agreement at any time at our discretion and the terms can change without notice. Do you have a lawyer?
Mother: No.
Monsanto rep: You'll be needing one.
Mother: But I can't afford it! I'm flat broke after paying for the fertility genes!!
Monsanto rep: That's not our problem, ma'am. I'll be taking the child now... [Kevlar(tm) vested ATF agents burst in pointing M16's at the cowering mother. Monsanto rep grabs baby.]
Mother: [screams] No!!!! My baby! Give me back my baby!! [mother is led away in handcuffs by the heavily armed ATF agents]
Voice over: Monsanto -- making a better tomorrow for our children by protecting patents today.