Bitcoin Price Prediction: The G20 Summit May Deliver a Positive Surprise for Cryptocurrencies

Daily Bitcoin News Update
The world’s 20 most powerful finance moguls are meeting in Buenos Aires today to discuss the future of cryptocurrencies. Antsy investors have been losing their wits over the past two days, in fear that a major crackdown on cryptos is upon us. It’s not! The market is coming to its senses.

A letter from Mark Carney, which circulated among the G20 leaders on Sunday, has breathed some life back into the market.

“The FSB’s initial assessment is that crypto-assets do not pose risks to global financial stability at this time,” said Carney, the Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB). (Source: “.

The post Bitcoin Price Prediction: The G20 Summit May Deliver a Positive Surprise for Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Profit Confidential.

Link:
Bitcoin Price Prediction: The G20 Summit May Deliver a Positive Surprise for Cryptocurrencies

Why Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel Is Investing in This Cryptocurrency

The Only Crypto This Billionaire Venture Capitalist Is Buying
Keeping track of smart money is an easy recipe for building a decent fortune. By simply imitating veteran investors, we can partly, if not fully, replicate their returns.

When I think of smart investors of the 21st century, one name that instantly pops up in my head is Peter Thiel. I’ve done a feature on his investment philosophy before, where I deciphered a few secrets of his success.

To me, Thiel is the epitome of technology-focused smart investing. The man is amongst the pioneers.

The post Why Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel Is Investing in This Cryptocurrency appeared first on Profit Confidential.

Originally posted here:
Why Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel Is Investing in This Cryptocurrency

Minerva | MicroWiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

The Republic of Minerva was one of the few modern attempts at creating a sovereign micronation on the reclaimed land of an artificial island in 1972.

Landing on Minerva, years after the confrontation.

More people walking on Minerva.

It is not known when the reefs were first discovered but had been marked on charts as "Nicholson's Shoal" since the late 1820s. Capt H. M. Denham of the HMS Herald surveyed the reefs in 1854 and renamed them after the Australian whaler Minerva which collided with South Minerva Reef on 9 September 1829.

In 1971, barges loaded with sand arrived from Australia, bringing the reef level above the water and allowing construction of a small tower and flag. The Republic of Minerva issued a declaration of independence on 19 January 1972, in letters to neighboring countries and even created their own currency. In February 1972, Morris C. Davis was elected as Provisional President of the Republic of Minerva.

The declaration of independence, however, was greeted with great suspicion by other countries in the area. A conference of the neighboring countries (Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, and territory of Cook Islands) met on 24 February 1972 at which Tonga made a claim over the Minerva Reefs and the rest of the states recognized its claim.

On 15 June 1972, the following proclamation was published in a Tongan government gazette:

A Tongan expedition was sent to enforce the claim. Tongas claim was recognized by the South Pacific Forum in September 1972. Meanwhile, Provisional President Davis was fired by founder Michael Oliver and the project collapsed in confusion. Nevertheless, Minerva was referred to in O. T. Nelson's post-apocalyptic children's novel The Girl Who Owned a City, published in 1975, as an example of an invented utopia that the book's protagonists could try to emulate.

In 1982, a group of Americans led again by Morris C. Bud Davis tried to occupy the reefs, but were forced off by Tongan troops after three weeks.

In recent years several groups have allegedly sought to re-establish Minerva.No claimant group has to date made any attempt to take possession of the Minerva Reefs territory.

In November 2005, Fiji lodged a complaint with the International Seabed Authority concerning territorial claim over Minerva.

Tonga has lodged a counter claim. The Minerva "principality" group also claims to have lodged a counter claim.

Minerva Reefs

Area: North Reef diameter about 5.6km, South Reef diameter of about 4.8km.Cities: CapitalPort Victoria.Terrain: 2 island atollsmainly raised coral complexes on dormant volcanic islands.

Both Minerva Reefs are about 435km southwest of the Tongatapu Group.The atolls are on a common submarine platform from 549to1097meters (1800to3600feet) below the surface of the sea. Cardea is circular in shape and has a diameter of about 5.6km. There is a small island around the atoll, with a small entrance into the flat lagoon with a somewhat deep harbor. Aurora is parted into The East Reef and the West Reef, both circular with a diameter of about 4.8km. Around both atolls are two small sandy cays, vegetated by low scrub and some trees. Several iron towers and platforms are reported to stand near the atolls, along with an unused light tower on Aurora, erected by the Americans during World War II. Geologically the Minervan islands are of a limestone base formed from uplifted coral formations elevated by now-dormant volcanic activity.

The climate is basically subtropical with a distinct warm period (DecemberApril), during which the temperatures rise above 32C (90F), and a cooler period (MayNovember), with temperatures rarely rising above 27C (80F). The temperature increases from 23C to 27C (74F to 80F), and the annual rainfall is from 170 to 297 centimeters (67-117 in.) as one moves from Cardea in the south to the more northerly islands closer to the Equator. The mean daily humidity is 80%.

Read more:

Minerva | MicroWiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

Straw Nihilist – TV Tropes

"In some remote corner of the universe, poured out and glittering in innumerable solar systems, there once was a star on which clever animals invented knowledge. That was the highest and most mendacious minute of 'world history' - yet only a minute. After nature had drawn a few breaths the star grew cold, and the clever animals had to die."The Straw Nihilist is an extreme version of The Cynic and a specific type of The Philosopher who delivers Despair Speeches and Breaking Lectures about Life, The Universe, and Everything (or at least how meaningless it is to fight for any of them), often Chewing the Scenery about how the hero/audience lives on an Insignificant Little Blue Planet and morality never existed in the first place. Often Above Good and Evil, due to the Straw Nihilist's Armor Piercing Questions about "What Is Evil?". This can even be mixed with a belief in a higher meaning in life, where the Nihilist claims that the higher meaning is a reason to neglect the life that he has.The basis for the Straw Nihilist is usually extreme scientific empirical materialism: we're all nothing but matter and energy and eventually the universe is going to die as if we never existed, so what's the point in trying to hope and fantasize in a world full of suffering and destruction where morality is dictated by force? Your consciousness is merely an electrochemical reaction inside a dying chemical reactor called the brain which, out of animalistic instincts to protect itself from pain, creates the illusion of meaning and significance in a reality that has none. Good, evil, morality, and thought are nothing but illusions, with no absolute standard in the universe by which to prove their absolute existence as immutable physical laws.These are one of the inhabitants of the cynical side of the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism. Their ability to play existential mind games and force the audience into ethical dilemmas make them a popular sage in the Ontological Mystery genre and amoral Crapsack Worlds. Sometimes they serve as Mr. Exposition, while other times, everything they say is a Fauxlosophic Narration or even a Red Herring, or they're a mix of all of them. But if done badly, they can end up looking like a gratuitous scene of Wangst, making people only get puzzled on why they haven't killed themselves yet.The Straw Nihilist's behavior is often expected to be like that of The Hedonist or The Sociopath, since, if he doesn't subscribe to morality, he has no restraint in pursuing his instinctual desires. Said hedonism can serve as a justification on why he has not killed himself yet, because he's having too much fun. In more straightforward Science Fiction and Fantasy stories, they are usually villains who are always preaching hate and plotting destruction, and can get really over the top in their behavior. They also often use No Good Deed Goes Unpunished and Being Good Sucks as Freudian Excuses on why they have a nihilistic outlook on life.Note that nihilism is simply the belief that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. We use "Straw" as part of the title because it's a stereotype that rarely applies to real nihilists.Also note that it never occurs to the Straw Nihilist that, even if purpose and value were proven to be human myths, meaning and significance is undeniable as intelligent life is able to map out the consequences of existence and is therefore of great consequence to the future of all existence (whether it's populating the galaxy or thinking machines or talking animals or simply staying put is irrelevant).Compare the bermensch, The Social Darwinist, and The Fatalist. Contrast The Anti-Nihilist, who also thinks life has no inherent meaning yet reaches inverse conclusions about morality and the value of life. See also The Unfettered - what they end up as because of their dedication to their philosophy - and Virtue Is Weakness, who believes that morality is a flaw rather than pointless (though some villains believe both).This trope mostly applies to a negative portrayal of existential nihilism. For an approximation of moral nihilisim, see Above Good and Evil and Blue and Orange Morality.

open/close all folders

Anime and Manga

Rock: It's not an obligation. And it's got nothing to do with justice. The only reason I wanna do it is because it's my hobby.

Balalaika: In the grand scheme of things, our lives are meaningless. They're light as air...like a candy wrapper.

Tsukuyomi was amused by the fact that despite supposedly holding these beliefs, Fate later on starts to experience human qualities like attraction and opinion, unbefitting of a lifeless soldier for a cause he may or may not believe in. The fact that she takes a nearly patronizing stance towards him after finding this out probably makes Tsukuyomi herself the best example in the series. She does believes that life is meaningless aside from the small joys that can be grasped (in her case, causing bloodshed). One of her lines summarizes her worldview:

Comic Books

Dr. Manhattan: But yes, I understand, without condemning or condoning. Human affairs cannot be my concern.

Fan Fic

Films Animation

Films Live-Action

Tyler Durden: Listen up, maggots. You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You're the same decaying organic matter as everything else.

Literature

Live-Action TV

Stephen: You see, nothing means anything. Mankind is just a random collection of self-replicating protoplasm, floating in a godless universe where the stars blindly run and however frantically we may try to deny it, all our efforts amount to nothing more than death... and dust. [long pause] Stephen: [cheerful] Oh, and I'm having a Christmas cocktail party...

"There's only one thing that ever changes anything. And that's death. Everything else is just a lie. You can't be saved by a lie... you can't be saved at all."

We're never truly sure what his motivations are. Usually he is in it for the challenge, but we're sometimes led to believe that he cares. House tries to subvert this by revealing how selfish he is, but it's pretty ambiguous.

On the other hand, a perfectly valid Alternative Character Interpretation is that he is actually an bermensch in the making, on the threshold of becoming one but uncertain if he is quite ready to take the leap. As such, he's hidden his actual, personal Blue and Orange Morality behind the mask of somewhat more socially-acceptable nihilism.

Jerry: Well, birthdays are merely symbolic of how another year has gone by and how little we've grown. No matter how desperate we are that, someday, a better self will emerge, with each flicker of the candles on the cake, we know that it is not to be. That for the rest of our sad, wretched, pathetic lives, this is who we are to the bitter end, inevitably, irrevocably. Happy birthday? No such thing.

Dean: ''There is no higher power, there's no God. There's just chaos and violence and random, unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere and rips you to shreds."

"What a cosmic joke, eye candy. An accident of chemicals and evolution. The jokes, the sex just to cover the fact that nothing means anything. And the only consolation is money."

"This... This is what I'm talking about. This is what I mean when I'm talkin' about time, and death, and futility. All right there are broader ideas at work, mainly what is owed between us as a society for our mutual illusions. 14 straight hours of staring at DB's, these are the things ya think of. You ever done that? You look in their eyes, even in a picture, doesn't matter if they're dead or alive, you can still read 'em. You know what you see? They welcomed it... not at first, but... right there in the last instant. It's an unmistakable relief. See, cause they were afraid, and now they saw for the very first time how easy it was to just... let go. Yeah They saw, in that last nanosecond, they saw... what they were. You, yourself, this whole big drama, it was never more than a jerry rig of presumption and dumb will, and you could just let go. To finally know that you didn't have to hold on so tight. To realize that all your life, all your love, all your hate, all your memories, all your pain, it was all the same thing. It was all the same dream, a dream that you had inside a locked room, a dream about being a person. And like a lot of dreams, there's a monster at the end of it."

Musical

If only because dust, is what we come to, nothing matters, but knowing nothing matters~

"Haven't I told you that the urethral sphincter is subordinate to the will?"

Newspaper Comics

Professional Wrestling

Religion And Mythology

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. ... I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

"Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

Roleplay

Standup Comedy

Tabletop Games

Theatre

Video Games

All human beings are fragile. Especially those who lack power. They die quite easily. And when you die, it's over. There's just no meaning to it. .... That's why I must have power. Enough absolute power to carve my existence into the very fabric of this world.

Why do people insist on creating things that will inevitably be destroyed? Why do people cling to life, knowing that they must someday die? ...Knowing that none of it will have meant anything once they do?

"Understand, that there is no point in living! Cry, that there is no answer! Where there is darkness, there are shadows! I, myself, am all of you humans!!"

Mephiles: It's futile. The world will betray you. Why fight at all? Why risk your life for those who will persecute you later?

Zor: Only the Reaper wins in the end.

Merlina: Why do flowers bloom knowing they are destined to wither? Their time of beauty is so short-lived.

Web Comics

It is worth noting that he isn't entirely evil in more recent strips he negotiates with Deegan and tries to make a peace offering. He still tries to kill people, but at least one was a psychopath and another was a crime lord. He's become somewhat of a Knight Templar.

Greyview: Only certainty in life: when icy jaws of death come, you will not have had enough treats.

Web Original

Western Animation

Other

View original post here:

Straw Nihilist - TV Tropes

Selfless Good Deeds? Psychological vs. Ethical Egoism …

Selfless Good Deeds? Psychological vs. EthicalEgoismAugust 19, 2008, 5:59 am Filed under: ethics, philosophy | Tags: altruism, ethical egoism, ethics, philosophy, psychological egoism, self interest, selfish, selfishness, selfless, selfless good deeds, social darwinism, survival of the fittest, thomas hobbes

You may have heard it argued that there is no such thing as a selfless good deed. This statement has served as the focal point of numerous books, lectures, and yes, even a Friends Episode (The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS) (I knowI draw from Friends a lotI digress.) However, there are two main schools of thought on the issue; psychological egoism and ethical egoism.

Psychological egoism proposes that the individual does not choose to be self-interested. Psychological egoists claim that the human is inherently self-interested, and therefore cannot help being as such.

Ethical egoism on the other hand, does not deny that the individual is self-interested, but rather, states that the individual chooses to be as such. Any action, even if seemingly altruistic can be traced to self-interested intentions.

Typically, when presented with the basic description of each position, many find themselves quickly aligning with one side or the other. We identify easily with the notion of self-interest. In every creature, there is an instinct of and for survival. Therefore the notion of being self-interested is biological. If one doesnt look out for their own interest, who will? If one wishes to survive, he/she must seek to benefit self, even at the risk of hurting others. Thomas Hobbes even stated that we would be fools if we didnt look after ourselves. Many may also conjure up parallels with social Darwinism and the survival of the fittest.

The ethical egoist may commit a seemingly altruistic act as well, however, the action is ultimately self-interested, in lines with the notion of what goes around comes around.

There are several major problems with the theory of psychological egoism. The first is that falsification is not possible. Psychological egoism always looks for selfish motivations and refuses to recognize any other kind. The nature of the theory cannot allow for any other motives. A good theory must allow for the possibility of counter-examples. The second problem is it does not take motivation into account. Doing something to benefit oneself is not always selfish. It must be taken into account, what it is that the person seeks to gain, rather than just the notion of seeking to gain. Changing language from unselfish to less selfish is incorrect. Lastly, if notions such as true love, and genuine friendship exist, psychological egoism cannot hold true.

Ethical egoism has problems as well. Ethical egoism seems to be self-contradictory. There cannot be a moral theory that says that ones duty should be something that conflicts with someone elses duty, so ethical egoism is therefore inconsistent. Few ethical egoists find the above refute of their theory convincing. Ethical egoists dont agree that we cant have a moral theory which gives the green light to different concepts of duty. Altruism is inconsistent with egoism.

So where do you fall? Is altruism impossible? Are we hard-wired for self-seeking behavior, even at the expense/inability to perform acts not in our best interest? Do we choose to commit selfish acts or do they run rampant through our brains without any control? Can we live in a world where selfless good deeds are a fairy tale? Do we want to? Perhaps if that is in our best interest.

Like Loading...

Related

See more here:

Selfless Good Deeds? Psychological vs. Ethical Egoism ...

Ripple Price Prediction: Garlinghouse’s 3 Best Quotes from Money20/20

Ripple News Update
Although falling XRP prices captured most of the attention this week, today’s Ripple news update will focus on something more relevant to XRP’s long-term value.

Namely, a panel discussion featuring CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

The “fireside chat” was hosted at the Money20/20 Asia conference, which is a big deal on the other side of the world. Just to give you a sense of how influential this panel is, consider that Mr. Garlinghouse was preceded by the World Bank’s lead economist, Dilip Ratha.

While on stage, Garlinghouse made some revealing comments that should have sent XRP prices soaring. However, there’s no escaping the fact that Ripple prices.

The post Ripple Price Prediction: Garlinghouse’s 3 Best Quotes from Money20/20 appeared first on Profit Confidential.

Read this article:
Ripple Price Prediction: Garlinghouse’s 3 Best Quotes from Money20/20

Litecoin Price Prediction: Charlie Lee Sweeps HODLers Off Their Feet with 3 Big Surprises

Daily Litecoin News Update
If you’re an LTC HODLer, today’s news update will send you to cloud nine with supreme ecstasy. We have not one, not two, but three jumbo-sized, action-packed news stories to celebrate today.

Litecoin’s transaction speed is about to get a nitrous oxide boost. This digital currency may soon be processing as many as a million transactions in a second.
Litecoin’s next upgrade with lower fees is coming down the pike as we speak.
And the earth-shattering news of the day; a decentralized crypto-cum-fiat currency investing application has just been launched on Litecoin. Pay attention to my choice of preposition. This is the first.

The post Litecoin Price Prediction: Charlie Lee Sweeps HODLers Off Their Feet with 3 Big Surprises appeared first on Profit Confidential.

Link:
Litecoin Price Prediction: Charlie Lee Sweeps HODLers Off Their Feet with 3 Big Surprises

Download Tor Browser for Windows 7.5 – FileHippo.com

Tor Browser for Windows has been designed to help you preserve your privacy online. Tor Browser is a tool set that can help you anonymize web browsing and publishing, instant messaging, and other applications that use the TCP protocol. This can be helpful for private use and business use.It means that confidential information can be kept from prying eyes. ISPs, key loggers and other types of malware are not able to track your activities easily.

Tor Browser for Windows works by bouncing traffic around a distributed network of servers which it calls "onion routers". The interface allows you to toggle it on and off based upon when you need anonymity online. Tor Browser for Windows also lets you choose from various proxy tunnels based on a world map that displays exactly where each one is located.

Overall, Tor Browser for Windows is a simple, well organized and effective tool for users who are concerned about security or invasions of privacy whilst they are online. The browser interface is a standard, user friendly affair and the application is relatively lightweight.

Original post:

Download Tor Browser for Windows 7.5 - FileHippo.com

New Brain Preservation Technique Could Be a Path to Mind …

An electron micrograph of the white matter region in an ASC-preserved region of a pigs brain. Photo: Brain Preservation Foundation

Using a technique developed three years ago, researchers from MIT and 21st Century Medicine have shown that its possible to preserve the microscopic structures contained within a large mammalian brain. The breakthrough means scientists now have the means to store and study samples of the human brain over longer timescalesbut the method could eventually, maybe, be used to resurrect the dead.

Back in 2015, we reported on how the same team, led by Robert McIntyre from MIT and Greg Fahy from 21st Century Medicine, was awarded the $26,735 Small Mammal Brain Preservation Prize, which is run by the Brain Preservation Foundation (BPF), a not-for-profit with the goal of furthering research in brain preservation.

Researchers from 21st Century Medicine have developed a new technique to allow long term storage of

In this case, the small mammal brain belonged to a rabbit, but a scaled-up version of the same technique has now been used to preserve a pigs brain, an accomplishment that has earned the teamyou guessed itthe BPFs Large Mammal Brain Preservation Prize, which carries a purse of $80,000.

Sounds like an incremental improvement, but this latest step opens the door to human-specific medical applications, like the ability to study 3D sections of the human brain in exquisite detail. More conceptually, the technique could be used for long-term human biostasis. And in fact, McIntyre is now running with this possibility, and has cofounded a new company called Nectome with this stated mission:

to preserve your brain well enough to keep all its memories intact: from that great chapter of your favorite book to the feeling of cold winter air, baking an apple pie, or having dinner with your friends and family. We believe that within the current century it will be feasible to digitize this information and use it to recreate your consciousness.

Were still a long way from uploading our brains into a computer (something that may never happen), but if it ever becomes a reality, we may look back on pioneering efforts such as these. As the BPF stated in an accompanying press release, this brain preservation technique, called Aldehyde-Stabilized Cryopreservation (ASC), would enable patientsthat is, preserved brains in cryostorageto safely wait out those centuries required to develop mind-uploading technologies. For now, neuroscience is actively exploring the plausibility of mind uploading through ongoing studies of the physical basis of memory, and through development of large-scale neural simulations and tools to map connectomes, writes the BPF. This Prize win should shine a spotlight on such neuroscience research, underscoring its importance to humanity.

Details of ASC were published in the science journal Cryobiology and independently verified by neuroscientists Kenneth Hayworth and Sebastian Seung, so this isnt some idle transhumanist fantasy. The process involves immersing a mammalian brain with a chemical stabilizer (a glutaraldehyde-based fixative) and cryoprotectants (to prevent damage while cooling), then bringing it down to -211 degrees Fahrenheit (-135 degrees Celsius) for long-term storage. In the event that scientists want to study the preserved brain, either a few months or a few centuries from now, all they have to do is warm the brain and remove the cryopreservants. The end result is not a biological substance, but a plastic-like object that still (theoretically) contains all of the information that was packed inside the brain at the moment of death.

Its for this reason that the technique is being heralded as a new form of cryonics. But unlike conventional cryonics, where an entire body or head is preserved in a vat of liquid nitrogen, the ASC technique makes no effort to preserve biological function. Instead, the goal is to prevent information theoretic brain death, whereby the stuff thats needed to restore a persons personality and memories remains intact. Conceivably, slices of these preserved brains could be digitized and reconfigured in a computer to reconstruct a persons connectomethe totality of a brains specific internal wirings.

As reported in MIT Technology Review, McIntyre, along with business partner Michael McCanna, will describe Nectomes brain preservation system next week at Y Combinators Demo Day in Mountain View, California. The Nectome team has also spoken to lawyers about Californias End of Life Option Act, which makes doctor-assisted death permissible for terminally ill patients; the idea here is that the integrity of a brain preservation will work best when a patient is euthanized before a terminal illness does damage to the body and (especially) the brain. Nectome isnt preserving brains for clients yet, but 25 people have already been added to the companys waiting list, reports MIT Technology Review.

For those of you thinking this is a path towards immortality, you may be in for a profound disappointment. Technical hurdles aside, the ASC approach doesnt guarantee a continuity of consciousness. As mentioned, this is a form of destructive preservation, where biological matter is basically transmutated into a temporary storage device. While your memories and personality stand a chance of revival, your seat of consciousness will likely be obliterated for all time. Brain preservation in this manner is thus a form of suicide, but with knowledge that a digital copy of you may live to see another day.

But this is just my opinionwe dont yet know how consciousness works, so its still impossible to know.

[Cryobiology, Brain Preservation Foundation, Evidence-Based Cryonics, MIT Technology Review]

Read the original post:

New Brain Preservation Technique Could Be a Path to Mind ...

NRx vs AltRight: What now? | Poseidon Awoke: Realist

The AltRight term received a lot of attention recently thanks to a US presidential candidate targeting it in a speech. This has given a lot of air to the movement, further accelerating its capture of the right. As the New Right captures hearts and minds, the AltRight will drop the Alt and simply become the Right.

NRx has received some recognition in the past few years, as part of the Dark Enlightenment. But its effects have been far outstripped by the AltRight. And thats OK, because of the division of labor of cognition. They play separate, but related, roles.

Humans exist in classes which are formed on a biological basis, and which are most easily divided by IQ, though this is nothing more than a convenient marker. At the bottom of this post I have provided Curts original post and my slightly modified version of it. This is a table of the various classes of the New Right. I think it would be valuable to further complete this mapping of the members of the various classes because we need each class to repackage and present the same message in terms that their class can interpret. We also need to create hierarchical linkages in order to move the messages downstream effectively and spread them throughout the Right.

According to Curts table, NRx is middle class. Some might take offense and argue that it is upper-middle class. Sure, the leaders of NRx are likely upper-middle class, but the average NRxer is solidly middle class. Software engineering is a middle class profession. People who run teams of middle class professionals are upper-middle class (CTOs, CIOs, CEOs, Directors, etc). The middle class is not a salary range: it is an ability range. The middle class are those who have the ability to engage in the system of production. This is why the middle class seeks liberty: because given freedom to choose their means of production, they will choose and perform, because they can. As an aside, this is why working classes are less interested in liberty, because they simply cant capitalize on it within the system of production to nearly the level of the middle class. And the lower and under classes have zero interest in liberty, because they are completely unable to capitalize within the system of production; they desire security, not liberty (and thats what self-interested politicians trade them in return for votes).

We can argue about the parameters of classes, and we should. We should define them. We need to understand their roles and to define the behaviors that makes one a good member of any class, because these behaviors and actors do exist in every class. We just need to incentivize them properly, which is why we must define and understand them.

The middle class has certain behaviors which make them middle class.They follow norms of propriety. I was right when I wrote that NRx is Right Brahmin Signalling. From the SJW encyclopedia: Brahmin is a varna (caste) in Hinduism specialising as priests, teachers (acharya) and protectors of sacred learning across generations. NRx is a group of teachers and priests, solidly middle class and exhibiting middle class mores and norms, such as the prohibition on ridicule, mockery, libel and slander.

The working classes do not share the middle class values and prohibitions on ridicule, mockery, libel and slander. I have seen very clearly the revulsion of NRx to the coarse meming of the AltRight. The NRx aspersions about populism of the AltRight. This is simply the middle class reaction to working class norms.

The thing is: the middle class needs the working class. They will do the jobs that the middle class just wont do. Say, for example, openly attack with vitriolic hostility the enemies of Western Civilization using Pepe and Le Happy Merchant memes. Or say, engage in high energy physical activities which raise the cost of the status quo on the controlling elite. Once the cost of the status quo is high enough, then that controlling elite will accede to the demands of the Right. Who will formulate these demands? Ultimately, the aristocratic class will, with large input from the scholarly classes. Who will implement these demands at the local levels? Obviously, the people who organizeall production, the middle class, under the direction of the upper middle class, with the real work being done by the working classes at the direction of the middle class.

We have a problem with moral license. Typically, our Churches have granted us moral license to defend the West, but the modern Churches are corrupt and useless. Our current set of priests will never grant us moral license to defend ourselves. Waiting for them is suicide. Alternatively, our politicians could grant us moral license to defend ourselves, but they are corrupt and useless and waiting on them is suicide.

The working class (and the lower classes) are the first to feel the affects of diversity. They are not nearly as insulated from it as the middle and upper classes. For this reason, they were the first to grant themselves moral license. This is the AltRight: the working class which has declared war on the Left and on those who pretend to be our leaders (the cucks) who refuse to grant us moral license to self-defense.

Their weapon is (currently) mockery, ridicule, libel and slander. This weapon is off the table for the middle class for normative reasons, thus it was unavailable to NRx, which instead uses Continental and Cosmopolitan philosophy, using myth and critique, respectively. Priests use myth and teachers use critique.

We are in the process of granting full moral license to ourselves for the purpose of defending our civilization. NRx will become an integral part in granting this moral license, or it will fade into irrelevancy. They will use narrative, myth and critique to justify our Holy War for the survival of our people, or they will become nothing.

Im currently working on ideas for reforming Christianity. NRx is full of the religious, but they have neglected this topic, possibly because they do not understand that this is an essential step, and that only we on the right will undertake it. Does that sound ambitious enough for you?

There are many excellent religious scholars among NRx. Their job is to re-invigorate the Germanic Initiatic Oath within Christianity: Dont lie, Dont steal, and protect the commons (every man a sheriff, reciprocal insurance). They must also understand clearly the Morality of Transcendence: man is directing his own evolution, transcending out of savagery to become closer to God and to live in Gods will (I am speaking in your voice here, NRx). They should create the narrative, using the Bible, that our new era of truthful scientific language is demanded by God (dont lie)(Testimonialism), and our prohibition of parasitism (dont steal)(no welfare state) is Gods law, and that we must become closer to God by promoting the best of our species, and limiting theworst (transcendence/domestication).

If NRx has a place in this movement, it is to reform the Church and grant ourselves moral license to defend Western Civilization, by any means necessary. The AltRight and the working class are preparingto march.

(These folk know exactly what theyre doing by the way. They have adopted leftist ridicule and are actively manufacturing desensitization as a means of combating the falsehoods and pseudoscience of political correctness)

Like Loading...

Related

View post:

NRx vs AltRight: What now? | Poseidon Awoke: Realist

The Truth About Pepe The Frog And The Cult Of Kek

Ill cut right to the chase:

Pepe the Frog isnt a white nationalist symbol.

Pepe the Frog isnt a harmless meme propagated by teenagers on the internet.

Pepe the Frog is, in fact, the modern-day avatar ofan ancient Egyptian deity accidentallyresurrectedby online imageboard culture.

Does that sound like the most b@tsh#t crazy thing youve ever heard?

Strap in, friendo. Youre in for one hell of a ride.

(UPDATE 11/9/16: Well memed, America, well memed. A post-election follow-up to this article has been added here.)

The precise origins of Pepe the Frog are, like all imageboards memes, obscure and unimportant.

All you really need to know is that sometime around 2010, a sad-looking cartoon frog began to trend among posters on 4chan.org and similar underground imageboards.

Shortly after, the age-old piece of online vernacular used to express laughterLOLfell out of favor on these sites.

In its place a new slang term of synonymous meaning rose to common use: KEK.

The origins of this trend are much more important. It comes froman odd technicality involving the Korean language and the popular video game World of Warcraft.

Keep that in mind for later.

And so, just like that, twoseemingly unrelatedelements that would later give life to a deity were arranged in piecemeal fashion. But they remained dormant for several years, up until

By this time, Pepe the Frog had become the unofficial mascot for 4chans political discussion board (a highly despised corner of the Internet fittingly entitled Politically Incorrect).

/Pol/ is a place where the unspoken outsiders of Millennial culture gather en masse. Here youll find the lonely and depressed, the socially inept, the generational dropouts, and all shades of disenfranchised youthevery one of them united with an unshakable underdog mentality that pervades the forums every kilobyte.

To call this place a white nationalist or alt-right message board is categorically incorrect. /Pol/, above all else, is place where our societys status quo is mercilessly challenged. Its a melting pot for well-meaning free thinkers and misguided mad men alike.

It isa place of chaos.

So when Donald J. Trump strolled onto the political scene in 2015, it was a match made in heaven. He immediately became /pol/s candidate of choice.

And it wasnt long before Trump was mated with /pol/s beloved mascot, in typical imageboard fashion:

And then, something very strange began to happen

One last thing you need to understand about imageboard culture: dubs.

Every post on 4chan and similar venues comes with an 8-digit numerical stamp. This number represents that posts entry position in the entire posting lineage of the imageboard.

With the amount of traffic these sites get, the last couple digits of this number are essentially a random roll. When a poster gets repeated digits, its called dubs, trips, quads, and so on.

Since a poster cant know their post number until after theyve submitted the post, its common for people to bet the contents of their message on the occurrence of repeating digits, like so:

When that endeavor proves a successful, a GET has been made and the stroke of luck is celebrated.

Out ofthis practice, a strange phenomenon began to take place on /pol/:discussion threads associatedwithTrump displayed noticeably frequent GETs.

It wasnt long before all of these seemingly random elements discussed so far became irreparably tied together within imageboard culture:

and a god was born.

Soon, it became all the rage on /pol/ to hail Trump as nothing less than gods chosen candidate.

Butwhichgods chosen candidate exactly?

The answer is obvious: Kek.

Remember how we learned that kek the meme came about from an obscure Korean languageonomatopoeia, completely independently from Pepe the Frog?

Well, it turns out Kek is alsoand always has beenan ancient Egyptian deity

A frog-headed one.

Quite the coincidence, wouldnt you say? A little, perhaps you reply.

A little indeed, but thats just the verytip of the synchronicityiceberg. Thats just where this unfathomable string of coincidences begins. And where it ends? We just dont know. Day by day this all getting stranger

The second major (little) coincidence can be foundwhen one looks into whatKek stood for among the ancient Egyptian pantheon:

Kuk(also spelled asKekorKeku) is the deification of the primordial concept of darkness in ancient Egyptian religion

Like all four dualistic concepts in the Ogdoad, Kuks male form was depicted as a frog, or as a frog-headed man, and the female form as a snake, or a snake-headed woman. As a symbol of darkness, Kuk also represented obscurity and the unknown, and thus chaos. Also, Kuk was seen as that which occurred before light, thus was known as thebringer-in of light.

And who else, at this point, had been declared a bringer of light into the world by enthusiastic supporters (mainstream and imageboard alike)?

It gets even weirder.

The pot really started to boil when this bizarre misprint statuette was dug up from a mysterious vendor called Ancient Treasures on Amazon. For years the product had been coincidentally mislabeled a KEK statue,despite actually bearing the hieroglyphics for the frog goddess HEQET.

And ya know, the thing about this ONEunique arrangement of hieroglyphicsthey bear an undeniable resemblance to a certain special something:

Do you see it?

A person sitting down. In front of a computer.

Like say, to post on an imageboard?

And whats that on the other side of the computer?

With this holy talismans discovery, The Cult of Kek suddenly took on a concrete form. This new digital faith is summed up neatly in this image passed around on all the major imageboards of the day:

It Gets Weirder: Pepe/Keke Emerges in Plain Sight on September 11th, 2016

Soon, /pol/s users werequite ironically, at firstattributing all strokes of luck for the Trump campaign (and likewise, all strokes of misfortune for the Hillary campaign) to their benevolent frog-headed deity that spoke to them in dubs.

But all of that came to a head on September 11th, 2016, when three major, mind-blowing events transpired within 48 hours of each other. Three events that would change the face of Kek worship forever:

(Note this persons post number)

Heres the short version: Pepe is a cartoon frog who began his internet life as an innocent meme enjoyed by teenagers and pop stars alike.

But in recent months, Pepes been almost entirely co-opted by the white supremacists who call themselves the alt-right. Theyve decided to take back Pepe by adding swastikas and other symbols of anti-semitism and white supremacy.

What can I or anyone else hope to add here? How bizarre does reality get? How deep does the rabbit hole go?

Oh, I see how deep

Now get a load of this one.

While all of this was happening, one or a few anonymous 4chan contributors discovered an old track from the 80s on YouTube. A track stamped all over with a very familiar face:

Thats right folks. A B-side vinyl by performer P. E. P. E., sporting a frog with a magic wand.

A frog.

And whats P. E. P. E. stand for?

Probably. What are sweet repeating digit GETs all about? Probability.

What is this gist of Kekism on /pol/? He speaks to them through dubs. Their ancient egyptian god of obscurity and chaos emerges/enters at points of probability.

Feel like thats a stretch? Check out what the full-length vocal versions album artwork is adorned with:

Dont see the significance? Let 4chan help you:

(Again, note the posts number)

Andheywhos that fair-haired man pointed towards Trump Towers clock in the artwork?

Gee, I wonder who.

Most likely?Chaos Magick.

You see, one of the core tenets of Chaos Magick practice (the only mainstay, really) is the creation of magic sigils (also called glyphs) to codify and project ones Will into the Universe.

Basically, you make an image that represents your will (desire fueled by powerful emotions or altered states) and the universe will take care of the rest.

When a lot of people pool their united willpower towards a single sigil, its called a Hypersigil, and its exponentially more potent.

Pepe/Kek is 4chans hypersigil.

Millions of the little people that browse 4chan have embedded the image of Pepe with their hatred for Hillarys alleged corruption, and their hope for Trumps victory over her in November. Whether they did this consciously or not, its exactly what has happened.

And so far, their hypersigil seems to be working.

Absolutely I am. But you must understand, magic probably isnt what you think it is. Its not about wand-waving or pentagrams or sacrificing babies.

Magick is actually much less involved than that. As a matter of fact, youre casting magick right now. You pretty much always are, whether you like it or not.

Thats because the REAL magic comes from plain and simple human attention. How you look at reality shapes it in ways that were only now beginning to fully understand. Ironically, the science of quantum physics is rapidly bringing the reality of magick to light (shadilay).

In my bookYoure Imagining Things, Ill tell you how it worksand WHY it worksin plain-spoken English. Ill also explain how you can use your attentionto alter your own little pocket of reality in extraordinary ways. Click here to check outYoure Imagining Thingson Amazon.

Most likely? Kek will continue to grow in power and continue to oppose Hillary Clinton and the corrupt political establishment. Will the Lord of Light win out over the powers that be? We shall find out very soon. (UPDATE 11/9/16: We found out what happened, didnt we?)

Yes.

Meme.

(And spread this around on social media.)

(And keep an eye on TheCultofKek.com for big things on the horizon.)

The rest is here:

The Truth About Pepe The Frog And The Cult Of Kek

Michio Kaku Discussing Transhuman Technologies Dawn of …

In this news piece*, renowned physicist Dr. Michio Kaku talks about recording and transferring thoughts in mice (yes, its actually being done in labs right now!) and speculates on the ability to digitally upload consciousnessand basically become immortal.

Iliked the part about thought-directed computers (aka neural or brain-computer interfaces). I cant wait until I can do these posts directly from my brain!

How about the pill that slows down time? That was a new one to me Wow!

*The title of this video is Uploading Consciousness & Digital Immortality | Interview with Theoretical Physicist Michio Kaku The sources are listed below:

Published on Mar 29, 2014

Breaking the Sets Manuel Rapalo speaks with theoretical physicist, Michio Kaku, about his latest book The Future of the Mind discussing a the how realistic it would be to digitally upload memories and consciousness, and why were living in the Golden Age of studying the human mind.

LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb.me/JournalistAbbyMartinFOLLOW Manuel Rapalo @ http://twitter.com/Manuel_Rapalo

Like Loading...

Related

Original post:

Michio Kaku Discussing Transhuman Technologies Dawn of ...

Transhuman Code – A concept by WISeKey SA

Digitalization is the new normal with disruptive waves to the economy, business models, consumer choices and demands.Today, we must acknowledge that we are either building a future of technological grandeur at the expense of what makes us magnificent, or we are building a future of human grandeur with the help of magnificent technology. The path we collectively choose will determine whether our future is bleak or bright.

We urge your commitment to #maketechhuman because technology shall serve people and not people serve technology. This is humanitys manifesto for choosing wisely:

To fully reap the benefits of digitalization and technology, all humans must have quality access to connectivity. Governments shall be committed to the expansion of next-generation smart infrastructure, and establish principles of technological neutrality, through a simplified, market-oriented, and transparent regulatory environment, and through incentives to invest in less profitable areas, as well as by fostering investments for skill and capacity building.

Securing the privacy of every human being is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, personal data conveyed over the Internet or stored in devices connected to the Internet is owned and solely governed by the individual. It is paramount to protect all citizens in the all-digital age.AI systems should use tools, including anonymized data, de-identification, or aggregation to protect personally identifiable information whenever possible.

An array of emerging digital threats may harm citizens. Users must trust that their personal and sensitive data is protected and handled appropriately. We strongly support the protection of the foundation of AI and other technologies, including source code, proprietary algorithms, and other intellectual property. We believe governments should avoid requiring companies to transfer or provide access to technology, source code, algorithms, or encryption keys as conditions for doing business. We encourage governments to use strong, globally-accepted and deployed cryptography and other security standards that enable trust and interoperability. We also promote voluntary information-sharing on cyberattacks or hacks to better enable consumer protection.

Respecting the authority and autonomy of every human being is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, personal digital data will not be used as research, rationale, enticement or commodity by any entity or individual, except with the explicit, well-informed, revocable consent of the individual owner of the data.

Improving the human condition is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, a universal code of ethics reflecting the highest order of human values will govern the development, implementation, and use of technology.

Advancing human faculties is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, to that end, the secure, approved, and accountable aggregation of personal information and resources to increase our individual abilities is a fundamental objective of technology.

Advocating and innovating the greatest good for all humanity is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, technology, no matter how advanced, will never supersede the spiritual purposes or the moral rights and responsibilities of any human being anywhere. Technology will serve humanitys needs.

Democratizing human vision, ingenuity, and education is paramount to realizing the full potential of our future. Therefore, technology will remain humanitys greatest collaborator but never represent humanity itself.

See more here:

Transhuman Code - A concept by WISeKey SA

My Clavinet Fetish | Transhuman Highway

Hohner Clavinet D6

I am obsessed with the Hohner Clavinet. Some might call it a fetish.

Ok, I might call it a fetish.

Yes, I have a clavinet fetish. If I cant work one into a song, frankly, Im just not trying hard enough, and in theory, I am not opposed to any song employing a Clavinet.

For the benefit of those uninitiated in the Cult of the Clav, I will explain.

The Clavinet is a keyboard instrument that is essentially an electric guitar in a box. When you press the keys, a rubber hammer strikes a set of strings that pass over a couple of pick-ups.

If a Jews Harp married a vibraslap, their genetically-enhanced offspring (with spliced-in piano and guitar genes) would sound something like a Clavinet.

http://www.scarbee-downloads.com/demos/kgb/clavinetic_cb.mp3Sample from Scarbee F.E.P. (Funky Electric Piano)

That signature biting sound can function as both percussion and melody. It is my favorite way to add some slight melodic undertones while contributing a nice and spicy percussive texture that can lift an otherwise bland song just above the level of mediocrity (speaking for my own music, of course). Its great for weaving in and out of the pocket or even creating a pocket out of thin air.

A Clavinet can lend a certain mood to a song and because I soooooo love Tag Clouds, heres a totally non-functional one with all of the adjectives Id use to describe the clav in different musical contexts.

Mysterious Funky Spidery Menacing Dark SarcasticTaunting Arrogant Spastic Relaxed Taut Joking Whimsical

Stevie Wonder Superstition

This is pretty much the platonic ideal of all clavinet songs, and the first thing my mind conjures when somebody says clavinet.

I have a pet theory that this song is really about OCD.

Very superstitious, wash your face and hands

Wash your face and hands and scrub ya butt, while youre at it. I love you, Stevie, I do, but your junk is so filthy in that video I cant believe youre still walkin the streets. Dont you know it aint legal to sling that kind of hash? The lowest notes sound like rasperries.

You may be surprised, as I was, to learn that Stevies classic clavinet line is comprised of 8 different tracks. Funkscribe dissects the multi-track masters in this fascinating video.

Bill Withers Use Me

Dig that drummers grin @ 0:58. These guys are having fun.

The Band Cripple Creek

This is what happens when you plug a wah pedal into a clav.

Led Zeppelin Trampled Under Foot

See also, Custard Pie.

Steely Dan Kid Charlemagne

This song is directly responsible for my association of the clavinet with sarcasm.

The Commodores Machine Gun

The clavinet was widely employed during the disco era.

Peter Tosh Stepping Razor

And very popular in reggae, too.

Herbie Hancock Spank A Lee

Really, have a listen to anything from his 70s Headhunters period. Id recommend the excellent Thrust album.

Virtual Clavinets

Unfortunately, Ive never laid hands on a real clavinet. If the opportunity arose, Id probably consider buying one, though my skill with keyed instruments is not sufficient to justify putting a lot of effort (or cash) into the search.

No. Its much easier for me to concentrate on finding a decent virtual representation of a clavinet. That means getting hold of the right VSTi, and there are a few good ones out there for folks like me.

My favorite is Native Instruments Elektrik Piano. This is a sample-based VSTi consisting of 4 different models of electric piano, one of which being the Hohner E7 Clavinet.

Native Instruments Elektrik Piano

When I say that Elektrik Piano is sample-based, it means that individual notes were recorded at differing attack and velocity levels and stored as raw audio data. When you press a key on your MIDI controller, the sampling engine is triggered, playing back the audio sample for the corresponding note and velocity.

Like any other audio track, you could then run the output into other VSTs in your DAW. I like to put the E7 through another Native Instruments product, Guitar Rig 3, simulating the effect of a Leslie Rotating Speaker or using the Guitar Rig foot controller as a Wah pedal.

The upside of a sampled clavinet is that the resulting sound is, in actuality, the sound of a real clavinet (an E7 in this case). The downside is, well, youre locked in to the sound of that real clavinet that was used as the basis for the samples and if youre not liking that sound, theres little you can do to improve things. Also, sampled instruments can take up multiple gigabytes of hard-drive space and may have a bloated, laggy feel if you dont have the processing power to handle it.

If space or sonic flexibility are your concerns, you may be interested in playing a modeled clavinet.

A modeled VSTi uses a software model of the instrument to generate the sounds of that instrument being played in real-time. Unlike a sampled VSTi, it is not based on a series of pre-recorded audio files. Instead, the software acts as a full simulation of the physical characteristics of the instrument. The resultant sound is generated from scratch each time based on the characteristics of the input from your MIDI controller. Youll also have access to many of the parameters of the simulation, so you can tweak the instrument to produce sounds more to your liking.

Die Funky Maschine ZD6

There are a few decent modeled clavinet VSTis out there. Ive used Die Funky Maschine ZD6 and can speak to its high quality. The ZD6 is a simulation of a D6 Clav and it comes with some useful built-in effects like Wah, Overdrive, and Phaser. Some folks prefer Ticky Clav, and while Im not a huge fan, its price cant be beat (FREE).

The range of sounds you can get from a modeled instrument is more diverse, but to my ear, the sampled Elektrik Piano just sounds better. Often for the sake of speed and performance, Ill record using the modeled VST, and then at mix-down, Ill replace my clavinet track with the better-sounding sampled instrument.

My First Clavinet

Im not very far into recording Transhuman Highway and though I havent tracked a clav yet, considering my irresistible attraction to and history with the instrument, Id be surprised if it didnt pop up on a couple of songs.

Digging through the archives, I found my first recorded use of a clavinet. Im guessing I used a soundfont-based clavinet, but it was so long ago, I dont remember specifics. The clav line starting @ 2:28 kind of reminds me of the one from Showdown by ELO, and the disco drums only reinforce the likelihood of that inspiration.

http://www.the-grotto.com/thh/01-NoWonder.mp3No Wonder by Jonathan Griggs (2000) [Download]

Time and again, Ive returned to the clavinet, most often in a reggae context, just to add a bit of texture to the songs. These two songs, for instance, are very similar in their use of clavinet (NIs Elektrik Piano). Disclaimer: These songs are unfinished and unmixed. Almost everything I pull from the archives will be in such an imperfect state.

http://www.the-grotto.com/thh/Alt0246_Final.mp3Alt-0246 by Jonathan Griggs (2003) [Download]

http://www.the-grotto.com/thh/TuringTest.mp3Turing Test by Jonathan Griggs (2005) [Download]

Long live the clavinet!

Like Loading...

Tags: archives, clavinet, Demos, fetish, influences, instrument, music, recording, vst, vsti

This entry was posted on April 13, 2009 at 1:28 am and is filed under From the Basement, Good Music, Home Audio Recording, Instruments.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Read the rest here:

My Clavinet Fetish | Transhuman Highway

Singularity Q&A | KurzweilAI

Originally published in 2005 with the launch of The Singularity Is Near.

Questions and Answers

So what is the Singularity?

Within a quarter century, nonbiological intelligence will match the range and subtlety of human intelligence. It will then soar past it because of the continuing acceleration of information-based technologies, as well as the ability of machines to instantly share their knowledge. Intelligent nanorobots will be deeply integrated in our bodies, our brains, and our environment, overcoming pollution and poverty, providing vastly extended longevity, full-immersion virtual reality incorporating all of the senses (like The Matrix), experience beaming (like Being John Malkovich), and vastly enhanced human intelligence. The result will be an intimate merger between the technology-creating species and the technological evolutionary process it spawned.

And thats the Singularity?

No, thats just the precursor. Nonbiological intelligence will have access to its own design and will be able to improve itself in an increasingly rapid redesign cycle. Well get to a point where technical progress will be so fast that unenhanced human intelligence will be unable to follow it. That will mark the Singularity.

When will that occur?

I set the date for the Singularityrepresenting a profound and disruptive transformation in human capabilityas 2045. The nonbiological intelligence created in that year will be one billion times more powerful than all human intelligence today.

Why is this called the Singularity?

The term Singularity in my book is comparable to the use of this term by the physics community. Just as we find it hard to see beyond the event horizon of a black hole, we also find it difficult to see beyond the event horizon of the historical Singularity. How can we, with our limited biological brains, imagine what our future civilization, with its intelligence multiplied trillions-fold, be capable of thinking and doing? Nevertheless, just as we can draw conclusions about the nature of black holes through our conceptual thinking, despite never having actually been inside one, our thinking today is powerful enough to have meaningful insights into the implications of the Singularity. Thats what Ive tried to do in this book.

Okay, lets break this down. It seems a key part of your thesis is that we will be able to capture the intelligence of our brains in a machine.

Indeed.

So how are we going to achieve that?

We can break this down further into hardware and software requirements. In the book, I show how we need about 10 quadrillion (1016) calculations per second (cps) to provide a functional equivalent to all the regions of the brain. Some estimates are lower than this by a factor of 100. Supercomputers are already at 100 trillion (1014) cps, and will hit 1016 cps around the end of this decade. Several supercomputers with 1 quadrillion cps are already on the drawing board, with two Japanese efforts targeting 10 quadrillion cps around the end of the decade. By 2020, 10 quadrillion cps will be available for around $1,000. Achieving the hardware requirement was controversial when my last book on this topic, The Age of Spiritual Machines, came out in 1999, but is now pretty much of a mainstream view among informed observers. Now the controversy is focused on the algorithms.

And how will we recreate the algorithms of human intelligence?

To understand the principles of human intelligence we need to reverse-engineer the human brain. Here, progress is far greater than most people realize. The spatial and temporal (time) resolution of brain scanning is also progressing at an exponential rate, roughly doubling each year, like most everything else having to do with information. Just recently, scanning tools can see individual interneuronal connections, and watch them fire in real time. Already, we have mathematical models and simulations of a couple dozen regions of the brain, including the cerebellum, which comprises more than half the neurons in the brain. IBM is now creating a simulation of about 10,000 cortical neurons, including tens of millions of connections. The first version will simulate the electrical activity, and a future version will also simulate the relevant chemical activity. By the mid 2020s, its conservative to conclude that we will have effective models for all of the brain.

So at that point well just copy a human brain into a supercomputer?

I would rather put it this way: At that point, well have a full understanding of the methods of the human brain. One benefit will be a deep understanding of ourselves, but the key implication is that it will expand the toolkit of techniques we can apply to create artificial intelligence. We will then be able to create nonbiological systems that match human intelligence in the ways that humans are now superior, for example, our pattern- recognition abilities. These superintelligent computers will be able to do things we are not able to do, such as share knowledge and skills at electronic speeds.

By 2030, a thousand dollars of computation will be about a thousand times more powerful than a human brain. Keep in mind also that computers will not be organized as discrete objects as they are today. There will be a web of computing deeply integrated into the environment, our bodies and brains.

You mentioned the AI tool kit. Hasnt AI failed to live up to its expectations?

There was a boom and bust cycle in AI during the 1980s, similar to what we saw recently in e-commerce and telecommunications. Such boom-bust cycles are often harbingers of true revolutions; recall the railroad boom and bust in the 19th century. But just as the Internet bust was not the end of the Internet, the so-called AI Winter was not the end of the story for AI either. There are hundreds of applications of narrow AI (machine intelligence that equals or exceeds human intelligence for specific tasks) now permeating our modern infrastructure. Every time you send an email or make a cell phone call, intelligent algorithms route the information. AI programs diagnose electrocardiograms with an accuracy rivaling doctors, evaluate medical images, fly and land airplanes, guide intelligent autonomous weapons, make automated investment decisions for over a trillion dollars of funds, and guide industrial processes. These were all research projects a couple of decades ago. If all the intelligent software in the world were to suddenly stop functioning, modern civilization would grind to a halt. Of course, our AI programs are not intelligent enough to organize such a conspiracy, at least not yet.

Why dont more people see these profound changes ahead?

Hopefully after they read my new book, they will. But the primary failure is the inability of many observers to think in exponential terms. Most long-range forecasts of what is technically feasible in future time periods dramatically underestimate the power of future developments because they are based on what I call the intuitive linear view of history rather than the historical exponential view. My models show that we are doubling the paradigm-shift rate every decade. Thus the 20th century was gradually speeding up to the rate of progress at the end of the century; its achievements, therefore, were equivalent to about twenty years of progress at the rate in 2000. Well make another twenty years of progress in just fourteen years (by 2014), and then do the same again in only seven years. To express this another way, we wont experience one hundred years of technological advance in the 21st century; we will witness on the order of 20,000 years of progress (again, when measured by the rate of progress in 2000), or about 1,000 times greater than what was achieved in the 20th century.

The exponential growth of information technologies is even greater: were doubling the power of information technologies, as measured by price-performance, bandwidth, capacity and many other types of measures, about every year. Thats a factor of a thousand in ten years, a million in twenty years, and a billion in thirty years. This goes far beyond Moores law (the shrinking of transistors on an integrated circuit, allowing us to double the price-performance of electronics each year). Electronics is just one example of many. As another example, it took us 14 years to sequence HIV; we recently sequenced SARS in only 31 days.

So this acceleration of information technologies applies to biology as well?

Absolutely. Its not just computer devices like cell phones and digital cameras that are accelerating in capability. Ultimately, everything of importance will be comprised essentially of information technology. With the advent of nanotechnology-based manufacturing in the 2020s, well be able to use inexpensive table-top devices to manufacture on-demand just about anything from very inexpensive raw materials using information processes that will rearrange matter and energy at the molecular level.

Well meet our energy needs using nanotechnology-based solar panels that will capture the energy in .03 percent of the sunlight that falls on the Earth, which is all we need to meet our projected energy needs in 2030. Well store the energy in highly distributed fuel cells.

I want to come back to both biology and nanotechnology, but how can you be so sure of these developments? Isnt technical progress on specific projects essentially unpredictable?

Predicting specific projects is indeed not feasible. But the result of the overall complex, chaotic evolutionary process of technological progress is predictable.

People intuitively assume that the current rate of progress will continue for future periods. Even for those who have been around long enough to experience how the pace of change increases over time, unexamined intuition leaves one with the impression that change occurs at the same rate that we have experienced most recently. From the mathematicians perspective, the reason for this is that an exponential curve looks like a straight line when examined for only a brief duration. As a result, even sophisticated commentators, when considering the future, typically use the current pace of change to determine their expectations in extrapolating progress over the next ten years or one hundred years. This is why I describe this way of looking at the future as the intuitive linear view. But a serious assessment of the history of technology reveals that technological change is exponential. Exponential growth is a feature of any evolutionary process, of which technology is a primary example.

As I show in the book, this has also been true of biological evolution. Indeed, technological evolution emerges from biological evolution. You can examine the data in different ways, on different timescales, and for a wide variety of technologies, ranging from electronic to biological, as well as for their implications, ranging from the amount of human knowledge to the size of the economy, and you get the same exponentialnot linearprogression. I have over forty graphs in the book from a broad variety of fields that show the exponential nature of progress in information-based measures. For the price-performance of computing, this goes back over a century, well before Gordon Moore was even born.

Arent there are a lot of predictions of the future from the past that look a little ridiculous now?

Yes, any number of bad predictions from other futurists in earlier eras can be cited to support the notion that we cannot make reliable predictions. In general, these prognosticators were not using a methodology based on a sound theory of technology evolution. I say this not just looking backwards now. Ive been making accurate forward-looking predictions for over twenty years based on these models.

But how can it be the case that we can reliably predict the overall progression of these technologies if we cannot even predict the outcome of a single project?

Predicting which company or product will succeed is indeed very difficult, if not impossible. The same difficulty occurs in predicting which technical design or standard will prevail. For example, how will the wireless-communication protocols Wimax, CDMA, and 3G fare over the next several years? However, as I argue extensively in the book, we find remarkably precise and predictable exponential trends when assessing the overall effectiveness (as measured in a variety of ways) of information technologies. And as I mentioned above, information technology will ultimately underlie everything of value.

But how can that be?

We see examples in other areas of science of very smooth and reliable outcomes resulting from the interaction of a great many unpredictable events. Consider that predicting the path of a single molecule in a gas is essentially impossible, but predicting the properties of the entire gascomprised of a great many chaotically interacting moleculescan be done very reliably through the laws of thermodynamics. Analogously, it is not possible to reliably predict the results of a specific project or company, but the overall capabilities of information technology, comprised of many chaotic activities, can nonetheless be dependably anticipated through what I call the law of accelerating returns.

What will the impact of these developments be?

Radical life extension, for one.

Sounds interesting, how does that work?

In the book, I talk about three great overlapping revolutions that go by the letters GNR, which stands for genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics. Each will provide a dramatic increase to human longevity, among other profound impacts. Were in the early stages of the geneticsalso called biotechnologyrevolution right now. Biotechnology is providing the means to actually change your genes: not just designer babies but designer baby boomers. Well also be able to rejuvenate all of your bodys tissues and organs by transforming your skin cells into youthful versions of every other cell type. Already, new drug development is precisely targeting key steps in the process of atherosclerosis (the cause of heart disease), cancerous tumor formation, and the metabolic processes underlying each major disease and aging process. The biotechnology revolution is already in its early stages and will reach its peak in the second decade of this century, at which point well be able to overcome most major diseases and dramatically slow down the aging process.

That will bring us to the nanotechnology revolution, which will achieve maturity in the 2020s. With nanotechnology, we will be able to go beyond the limits of biology, and replace your current human body version 1.0 with a dramatically upgraded version 2.0, providing radical life extension.

And how does that work?

The killer app of nanotechnology is nanobots, which are blood-cell sized robots that can travel in the bloodstream destroying pathogens, removing debris, correcting DNA errors, and reversing aging processes.

Human body version 2.0?

Were already in the early stages of augmenting and replacing each of our organs, even portions of our brains with neural implants, the most recent versions of which allow patients to download new software to their neural implants from outside their bodies. In the book, I describe how each of our organs will ultimately be replaced. For example, nanobots could deliver to our bloodstream an optimal set of all the nutrients, hormones, and other substances we need, as well as remove toxins and waste products. The gastrointestinal tract could be reserved for culinary pleasures rather than the tedious biological function of providing nutrients. After all, weve already in some ways separated the communication and pleasurable aspects of sex from its biological function.

And the third revolution?

The robotics revolution, which really refers to strong AI, that is, artificial intelligence at the human level, which we talked about earlier. Well have both the hardware and software to recreate human intelligence by the end of the 2020s. Well be able to improve these methods and harness the speed, memory capabilities, and knowledge- sharing ability of machines.

Well ultimately be able to scan all the salient details of our brains from inside, using billions of nanobots in the capillaries. We can then back up the information. Using nanotechnology-based manufacturing, we could recreate your brain, or better yet reinstantiate it in a more capable computing substrate.

Which means?

Our biological brains use chemical signaling, which transmit information at only a few hundred feet per second. Electronics is already millions of times faster than this. In the book, I show how one cubic inch of nanotube circuitry would be about one hundred million times more powerful than the human brain. So well have more powerful means of instantiating our intelligence than the extremely slow speeds of our interneuronal connections.

So well just replace our biological brains with circuitry?

I see this starting with nanobots in our bodies and brains. The nanobots will keep us healthy, provide full-immersion virtual reality from within the nervous system, provide direct brain-to-brain communication over the Internet, and otherwise greatly expand human intelligence. But keep in mind that nonbiological intelligence is doubling in capability each year, whereas our biological intelligence is essentially fixed in capacity. As we get to the 2030s, the nonbiological portion of our intelligence will predominate.

The closest life extension technology, however, is biotechnology, isnt that right?

Theres certainly overlap in the G, N and R revolutions, but thats essentially correct.

So tell me more about how genetics or biotechnology works.

As we are learning about the information processes underlying biology, we are devising ways of mastering them to overcome disease and aging and extend human potential. One powerful approach is to start with biologys information backbone: the genome. With gene technologies, were now on the verge of being able to control how genes express themselves. We now have a powerful new tool called RNA interference (RNAi), which is capable of turning specific genes off. It blocks the messenger RNA of specific genes, preventing them from creating proteins. Since viral diseases, cancer, and many other diseases use gene expression at some crucial point in their life cycle, this promises to be a breakthrough technology. One gene wed like to turn off is the fat insulin receptor gene, which tells the fat cells to hold on to every calorie. When that gene was blocked in mice, those mice ate a lot but remained thin and healthy, and actually lived 20 percent longer.

New means of adding new genes, called gene therapy, are also emerging that have overcome earlier problems with achieving precise placement of the new genetic information. One company Im involved with, United Therapeutics, cured pulmonary hypertension in animals using a new form of gene therapy and it has now been approved for human trials.

So were going to essentially reprogram our DNA.

Thats a good way to put it, but thats only one broad approach. Another important line of attack is to regrow our own cells, tissues, and even whole organs, and introduce them into our bodies without surgery. One major benefit of this therapeutic cloning technique is that we will be able to create these new tissues and organs from versions of our cells that have also been made youngerthe emerging field of rejuvenation medicine. For example, we will be able to create new heart cells from your skin cells and introduce them into your system through the bloodstream. Over time, your heart cells get replaced with these new cells, and the result is a rejuvenated young heart with your own DNA.

Drug discovery was once a matter of finding substances that produced some beneficial effect without excessive side effects. This process was similar to early humans tool discovery, which was limited to simply finding rocks and natural implements that could be used for helpful purposes. Today, we are learning the precise biochemical pathways that underlie both disease and aging processes, and are able to design drugs to carry out precise missions at the molecular level. The scope and scale of these efforts is vast.

But perfecting our biology will only get us so far. The reality is that biology will never be able to match what we will be capable of engineering, now that we are gaining a deep understanding of biologys principles of operation.

Isnt nature optimal?

Not at all. Our interneuronal connections compute at about 200 transactions per second, at least a million times slower than electronics. As another example, a nanotechnology theorist, Rob Freitas, has a conceptual design for nanobots that replace our red blood cells. A conservative analysis shows that if you replaced 10 percent of your red blood cells with Freitas respirocytes, you could sit at the bottom of a pool for four hours without taking a breath.

If people stop dying, isnt that going to lead to overpopulation?

A common mistake that people make when considering the future is to envision a major change to todays world, such as radical life extension, as if nothing else were going to change. The GNR revolutions will result in other transformations that address this issue. For example, nanotechnology will enable us to create virtually any physical product from information and very inexpensive raw materials, leading to radical wealth creation. Well have the means to meet the material needs of any conceivable size population of biological humans. Nanotechnology will also provide the means of cleaning up environmental damage from earlier stages of industrialization.

So well overcome disease, pollution, and povertysounds like a utopian vision.

Its true that the dramatic scale of the technologies of the next couple of decades will enable human civilization to overcome problems that we have struggled with for eons. But these developments are not without their dangers. Technology is a double edged swordwe dont have to look past the 20th century to see the intertwined promise and peril of technology.

What sort of perils?

G, N, and R each have their downsides. The existential threat from genetic technologies is already here: the same technology that will soon make major strides against cancer, heart disease, and other diseases could also be employed by a bioterrorist to create a bioengineered biological virus that combines ease of transmission, deadliness, and stealthiness, that is, a long incubation period. The tools and knowledge to do this are far more widespread than the tools and knowledge to create an atomic bomb, and the impact could be far worse.

So maybe we shouldnt go down this road.

Its a little late for that. But the idea of relinquishing new technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology is already being advocated. I argue in the book that this would be the wrong strategy. Besides depriving human society of the profound benefits of these technologies, such a strategy would actually make the dangers worse by driving development underground, where responsible scientists would not have easy access to the tools needed to defend us.

So how do we protect ourselves?

I discuss strategies for protecting against dangers from abuse or accidental misuse of these very powerful technologies in chapter 8. The overall message is that we need to give a higher priority to preparing protective strategies and systems. We need to put a few more stones on the defense side of the scale. Ive given testimony to Congress on a specific proposal for a Manhattan style project to create a rapid response system that could protect society from a new virulent biological virus. One strategy would be to use RNAi, which has been shown to be effective against viral diseases. We would set up a system that could quickly sequence a new virus, prepare a RNA interference medication, and rapidly gear up production. We have the knowledge to create such a system, but we have not done so. We need to have something like this in place before its needed.

Ultimately, however, nanotechnology will provide a completely effective defense against biological viruses.

But doesnt nanotechnology have its own self-replicating danger?

Yes, but that potential wont exist for a couple more decades. The existential threat from engineered biological viruses exists right now.

Okay, but how will we defend against self-replicating nanotechnology?

There are already proposals for ethical standards for nanotechnology that are based on the Asilomar conference standards that have worked well thus far in biotechnology. These standards will be effective against unintentional dangers. For example, we do not need to provide self-replication to accomplish nanotechnology manufacturing.

But what about intentional abuse, as in terrorism?

Well need to create a nanotechnology immune systemgood nanobots that can protect us from the bad ones.

Blue goo to protect us from the gray goo!

Yes, well put. And ultimately well need the nanobots comprising the immune system to be self-replicating. Ive debated this particular point with a number of other theorists, but I show in the book why the nanobot immune system we put in place will need the ability to self-replicate. Thats basically the same lesson that biological evolution learned.

Ultimately, however, strong AI will provide a completely effective defense against self-replicating nanotechnology.

Okay, whats going to protect us against a pathological AI?

Yes, well, that would have to be a yet more intelligent AI.

This is starting to sound like that story about the universe being on the back of a turtle, and that turtle standing on the back of another turtle, and so on all the way down. So what if this more intelligent AI is unfriendly? Another even smarter AI?

History teaches us that the more intelligent civilizationthe one with the most advanced technologyprevails. But I do have an overall strategy for dealing with unfriendly AI, which I discuss in chapter 8.

Okay, so Ill have to read the book for that one. But arent there limits to exponential growth? You know the story about rabbits in Australiathey didnt keep growing exponentially forever.

There are limits to the exponential growth inherent in each paradigm. Moores law was not the first paradigm to bring exponential growth to computing, but rather the fifth. In the 1950s they were shrinking vacuum tubes to keep the exponential growth going and then that paradigm hit a wall. But the exponential growth of computing didnt stop. It kept going, with the new paradigm of transistors taking over. Each time we can see the end of the road for a paradigm, it creates research pressure to create the next one. Thats happening now with Moores law, even though we are still about fifteen years away from the end of our ability to shrink transistors on a flat integrated circuit. Were making dramatic progress in creating the sixth paradigm, which is three-dimensional molecular computing.

But isnt there an overall limit to our ability to expand the power of computation?

Yes, I discuss these limits in the book. The ultimate 2 pound computer could provide 1042 cps, which will be about 10 quadrillion (1016) times more powerful than all human brains put together today. And thats if we restrict the computer to staying at a cold temperature. If we allow it to get hot, we could improve that by a factor of another 100 million. And, of course, well be devoting more than two pounds of matter to computing. Ultimately, well use a significant portion of the matter and energy in our vicinity. So, yes, there are limits, but theyre not very limiting.

And when we saturate the ability of the matter and energy in our solar system to support intelligent processes, what happens then?

Then well expand to the rest of the Universe.

Which will take a long time I presume.

Well, that depends on whether we can use wormholes to get to other places in the Universe quickly, or otherwise circumvent the speed of light. If wormholes are feasible, and analyses show they are consistent with general relativity, we could saturate the universe with our intelligence within a couple of centuries. I discuss the prospects for this in the chapter 6. But regardless of speculation on wormholes, well get to the limits of computing in our solar system within this century. At that point, well have expanded the powers of our intelligence by trillions of trillions.

Getting back to life extension, isnt it natural to age, to die?

Other natural things include malaria, Ebola, appendicitis, and tsunamis. Many natural things are worth changing. Aging may be natural, but I dont see anything positive in losing my mental agility, sensory acuity, physical limberness, sexual desire, or any other human ability.

In my view, death is a tragedy. Its a tremendous loss of personality, skills, knowledge, relationships. Weve rationalized it as a good thing because thats really been the only alternative weve had. But disease, aging, and death are problems we are now in a position to overcome.

Wait, you said that the golden era of biotechnology was still a decade away. We dont have radical life extension today, do we?

Link:

Singularity Q&A | KurzweilAI

Ethereum Price Forecast: Venezuela Is Extremely Bad PR for Cryptos

Ethereum News Update
Earlier this week, just days before the U.S. House of Representatives would hold a hearing on cryptocurrencies, one government official turned his attention toward the American government’s favorite punching bag: Venezuela.

The U.S. official in question is Florida Senator Bill Nelson.

Senator Nelson sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary on Monday arguing that "rogue regimes in Russia and Venezuela” are trying to use cryptocurrencies to skirt U.S. economic sanctions. (Source: ".

The post Ethereum Price Forecast: Venezuela Is Extremely Bad PR for Cryptos appeared first on Profit Confidential.

View original post here:
Ethereum Price Forecast: Venezuela Is Extremely Bad PR for Cryptos

Transhumanist Party

The following post is from the Institute for Social Futurism (ISF). Although its concerns are essentially philosophical, they inform many practical realities for organisations in our network over the coming year and beyond.

If youre looking for a quick punchline, this is perhaps not the article for you, but you could try skipping to section 1: The Jewel and the Lotus.

0. The Desert of the Real

Over the last few years, we have been developing a network of organisations which share a positive attitude toward technological change while being mindful of the serious challenges the world faces today. The idea is for that network to develop connections with like-minded others who wish to usher in a new paradigm for our society, based on a combination of science, technology, positive values and principles. During that time there has been a natural process of weaving together the ideas and views of many people, and that process has been driving the emergence of a worldview which we call Social Futurism.

Aside from the usual logistical issues of a growing movement, I have become aware of a strong need to reach beyond the complicated tangle of inspirations and concerns which have brought us together, and clearly articulate a single core idea underlying this nascent movement. To momentarily put aside our many assumptions and preconceptions, and examine the deepest ideological nexus which ties them all together. Having done that, we will be able to move forward sure in the knowledge that we are all working toward a common goal, no matter any differences in our philosophies, affiliations, or methods. In short, I have recently felt the need to cast a radically skeptical eye over everything we collectively believe and are committed to, throwing out all unnecessary assumptions in the hope of discerning a single common axiom. It seems to me that any such axiom must be extremely simple and incisive, akin to Descartes Cogito Ergo Sum.

The key to this inquiry is to put aside every claim or belief which may not be true, or which can in any conceivable way be countered or argued against. We are of course very much in support of science and greatly value its utility, but no scientific fact can ever be our central axiom, as scientific facts must by definition be potentially disprovable by new evidence. Our common focus must be more akin to a steadfast attitude or conviction than a mere observation that could change at any time. Chinese and Indian philosophy traditionally saw the observed world as composed of myriad relative facts, apparent phenomena and distinctions which could change just as easily as a viewers perspective, and such schools of thought (particularly Taoism and Buddhism) consistently warned against identifying too closely with ephemera. The traditional Eastern view is that all identification with any apparent fact (perspective, observation, expectation, philosophy or ideal) would cast a shadow consisting of everything contrary to that position. Like Descartes, initiates of these religions were urged to let go of every conviction that could be doubted (both the Buddhists and Descartes conclusion was that everything could be doubted except the existence of Mind), and simply live in the world as they found it. We could learn a lot from the minimalism of this stance, encouraging activists to use the myriad facts of science and the world as necessary, but to embrace a common identity rooted only in a single, fundamental, undeniable axiom. That kind of strong shared identity would enable us to rest assured that we are all on the same team, no matter what disagreements we may have over any details, which would be a thing of great practical and strategic value to the movement as a whole.

A recent Western echo of these ancient Eastern ideas is particularly relevant to techno-social concerns in the early 21st Century, and to the future of our movement. In 1999, The Matrix presented such philosophical concerns about the nature of reality, along with issues involving technology and social control, in a very popular action-adventure entertainment format. The movie drew not only upon traditional Eastern thought, but among a great many other things the writings of French Postmodernist philosopher Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard said that we are surrounded by simulacra or simulations which no longer refer to any underlying reality, such as news stories which reflect consumer demand and media manipulation rather than any deep truth. He further claimed that in this ultra-mediated environment, actual reality (i.e. unmediated, unmanipulated things-as-they-actually-are) is now extremely hard to find. We see things almost entirely through the lens of culture and technology, now. This notion of reality as an increasingly hidden, deserted place was summed up in Baudrillards phrase the desert of the real. The idea that we live in some kind of mediated bubble of false reality while an authentic reality exists outside is the central theme of Gnosticism, found today in the work of people such as Science Fiction writer Philip K Dick (both Gnosticism and Dicks ideas were also prominent in The Matrix).

At this point you may well be asking what all these wild and wonderful ideas have to do with advancing technology, social progress, or indeed the real world. It all boils down to the intrinsic nature of the Transhumanist urge; to go beyond all that we have known in order to become more than human. To transcend the traditional limitations of the human condition. It is no accident that Transhumanists are regularly accused of being neo-Gnostics, because the idea of extending human life and health beyond current limitations is indeed reminiscent of the ancient heresy, albeit expressed in a very new way. This is a touchy issue, as Transhumanists are generally at pains to distinguish their technological hopes from ancient religious dreams, despite their clear common origin in simple human yearnings for a greater or happier existence. We should note that it is not as simple a matter as some people calling Transhumanists Gnostics and Transhumanists themselves uniformly rejecting the idea. Not only are many Transhumanists open to spirituality of various types, even including nuanced (usually secular) interpretations of Gnosticism, but the accusers are often sympathetic to both (neo-)Gnosticism and Transhumanism (and therefore presumably trying to draw attention to what they see as a good thing). Perhaps the best example of this is Erik Davis, in his 1998 book TechGnosis: Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information (to show the close interrelatedness of all these ideas, we may note that Davis is a scholar professionally interested in the works of Philip K Dick).

The thing that Transhumanists, Gnostics, and the heroes of The Matrix have in common is a pointed and total disrespect for the limitations of a world which pretends to be the whole of reality, but which is in fact only a subset of all that is truly possible. In other words, we Transhumanists are inherently driven to reject any convention or ideology that tells us to be content within our limits, to know our place. Instead, we seek to venture beyond those limits into the desert of the real, and in doing so take responsibility for directing our own evolution. I must stress that this need not imply a hedonistic, individualistic flight from communitarian responsibilities, when the very act of transcending limits makes it possible for others to follow our example; and for the whole of society to thus evolve and progress beyond its former limits.

In short, we feel that we could be more, that we could help others in the process, and that no-one has the right to impose their arbitrary limitations upon us. We would explore beyond the safe havens of the world as we know it, and out into the desert of the real into the darkness of possibilities. This rejection of the worlds distinctions and limitations is the one and only thing that can unite our diverse movement. That movement already includes many people who do not consider themselves to be Transhumanists, and that will only become more true over time, but the common impulse that unites us is clear: To sweep away the old world that stands between us and a much better future. A person might oppose this impulse for whatever reason, but they cannot argue it to be false in any way. It simply is.

1. The Jewel and the Lotus

We have discerned the idea that lies at the heart of our movements many manifestations (i.e. not just Transhumanism and other forms of Futurism but all truly modern and progressive activism, and any number of related philosophies, arts, and sciences): That our salvation lies beyond the limits of the world as we currently understand it and that by transforming ourselves we can transcend those limits. In short, that we can and should remake the world and our place within it. Paradoxically, this idea is truly ancient, and yet its combination with technology makes a powerful new revolution in human affairs possible.

At this point, we should take a moment to note a parallel between the advice offered for individual living by religions such as Taoism and Buddhism on the one hand, and the necessary way forward for any modern activist movement on the other. Followers of the ancient Eastern ways are encouraged to live in the present moment, rather than dwelling unduly on the past or future. This reduces identification with transient things, and thus reduces the suffering caused by regret over the past or anxiety over the future. Interestingly, any truly revolutionary movement would do well to heed the same advice, since the act of relinquishing the past and future (i.e. memories and expectations) is tantamount to rejecting limitation by those things. In other words, to focus on the present and to reject all unnecessary limitations are two sides of the same coin.

Having identified this central idea, our next question is of course how to simplify and condense its expression, to maintain its clarity for ourselves and communicate it easily to others. Traditionally this is the realm of symbols, or simple signs that stand for (and easily summon) complex sets of ideas. In keeping with the ancient Eastern philosophies mentioned earlier, I have settled upon two key symbols with a somewhat oriental flavour: The Jewel and the Lotus. In this section I will explain these two symbols, and their potential value.

It is common to depict an incisive axiom as a blade or sword, as in the cases of Occams Razor or Alexander cutting the Gordian Knot (indeed the very word incisive implies both clear, rational analysis and the act of cutting). In ancient Indian writings there is mention of a sword known as the Jewel of the Desert, and that strikes me as a particularly apt name for an axiom which refers to the Desert of the Real. This Jewel is our central idea an article of faith which unites our emerging movement and it can be expressed as follows:

Act Now and Be Free

(Nunc Agere et Liberi)

The only reality is action in the moment, and the bonds of the unreal demand to be cut. In other words, the individual and any movement for positive change must always focus on what they can be or do now, and all apparent limitations conjured by tradition, convention, history, hope or expectation with no solid basis in the reality of the present must be cast aside without hesitation. If an obstacle can be overcome, it should be. If a limitation can be transcended, then transcend it. This is a point of view which should come naturally to Transhumanists, Gnostics, all opponents of arbitrary and unwanted limitation, and all those who would sweep away the old to make way for a better future. It is often said that you can best know a thing by looking at what it opposes, and in this case we are utterly opposed to entrenched limitations which only exist out of a sense of history, social convention, or natural order rather than having something clearly positive to contribute to the future of humanity. We must tear down all such false limitations in our bid to remake civilization.

Beyond this central philosophical matter, as mentioned earlier I have become acutely aware of logistical issues that naturally arise with the growth of any movement. I wont go into the details of these issues, except to say that they boil down to a question of resources: How to get the resources we need, and how to use the ones we have well. Perhaps the most pressing resource issue has been the question of time and communications. A lot of people have something to say or ask, but we simply cannot respond to every such contact in a centralised way. Instead, the network must scale up in such a way that local groups can handle initial contact in most cases, and important messages can be passed through the network as appropriate, meaning that no single part of the network is overloaded with messages from everybody. In order to make my own part of the network more manageable and to set an example, I will be restricting my personal engagement to the activity in eight official channels. I can no longer guarantee any response to any communication outside those channels, which are outlined briefly below.

If every part of the network were to operate in a similar manner, maintaining a small number of recognised and well-maintained collaboration/communication channels, then the result would be something like a mosaic of decentralised activity, a fractal heterarchy or holarchy. A symbol for the network (and any given node within it) which I find to be appropriate and appealing is the lotus flower. The lotus is essentially a memorable image which represents a centre connecting multiple channels or aspects. The lotus is also a symbol common to the various Eastern philosophies mentioned earlier, although a rose would be the equally appropriate counterpart traditional in the West.

Others are free to organise themselves as they see fit, of course, but the specific eight channels which I will personally be focussed upon, going forward, are as listed below. In each case I will only be working with a relatively small core team, rather than attempting to manage all functions of these wider organisations directly. Such functions represent my close neighbours within the network, that I collaborate with but am not directly responsible for. If we all operate in this way with clear cooperative links but limited personal workloads then we will be maximally effective as a network.

I am currently in the process of reorganising the core teams and preferred communications channels for these groups, and will link to further information and full contact details for all eight channels from here on Friday January 22nd, 2016. In the meantime you can still contact these groups as before.

This post has covered a number of complex and subtle ideas with an unfortunate but necessary brevity, where any of these could be the departure point for long conversations in and of themselves. My objective will have been met, however, if you remember the symbols of the Jewel and the Lotus. That the Jewel of the Desert is simply a determination to stand squarely in the reality of the moment and cut through the proliferation of illusions, distractions, and false limitations which we are constantly told to embrace and respect (or at least take seriously). And that the Lotus is merely a reminder that while remaining focussed and effective, you always have the option of being connected with others in a movement toward something greater.

Visit link:

Transhumanist Party

Ethereum Price Forecast: ETH, Altcoins, & Trouble with Liquidity

Ethereum News Update
Ethereum prices are down on Wednesday morning, but then again, so are prices for all the major cryptos. Bitcoin, Ripple, Litecoin, Cardano, Stellar—they all have flashing red numbers beside their names.

This is not surprising.

Cryptocurrencies are in a bear market right now. I expect the entire market to move in tandem, except when there’s specific news in the opposite direction. And that’s where things get weird.

One of the “altcoins” on Ethereum’s platform got very good news yesterday, yet its price was down 6.4% overnight. How is that possible?

Before we get to the price analysis, let’s backtrack for a moment. Which.

The post Ethereum Price Forecast: ETH, Altcoins, & Trouble with Liquidity appeared first on Profit Confidential.

See the original post here:
Ethereum Price Forecast: ETH, Altcoins, & Trouble with Liquidity

Litecoin Price Prediction: Google Banning Crypto Ads, Bottom Falls Out of Prices

Daily Litecoin News Update
Cryptocurrency prices are crashing on Wednesday. Again. Usually, it’s difficult to put your finger on the exact cause. Sometimes there are none. That’s when prices move on the wishes and whims of speculators. But on Wednesday morning, we may have a culprit to blame.

In a little over two months from now, the world’s largest search engine will limit cryptocurrency exposure to its users. Naturally, the crypto market is flipping out.

In case you didn’t hear, Google is banning cryptocurrency ads on its search engine, beginning in June this year. All cryptocurrency-related content will be aggressively vetted..

The post Litecoin Price Prediction: Google Banning Crypto Ads, Bottom Falls Out of Prices appeared first on Profit Confidential.

Read the rest here:
Litecoin Price Prediction: Google Banning Crypto Ads, Bottom Falls Out of Prices

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Bitcoin’s First Real Use-Case in IoT Using Lightning Network Is a Success

Daily Bitcoin News Update
Yesterday, we proposed why the "Lightning Network" (LN) may turn out to be a game changer for Bitcoin. A day later, we hear of Bitcoin's first real use-case using LN that has bolstered our belief in Bitcoin.

Japan’s third-largest utility company has just tested the Lightning Network on Bitcoin for a groundbreaking application. The test was a success!

The utility company, Chubu Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9502), in partnership with an Internet of Things (IoT) startup, Nayuta, carried out a.

The post Bitcoin Price Prediction: Bitcoin’s First Real Use-Case in IoT Using Lightning Network Is a Success appeared first on Profit Confidential.

See the original post:
Bitcoin Price Prediction: Bitcoin’s First Real Use-Case in IoT Using Lightning Network Is a Success