Comments on: Solve for X: celebrating moonshot thinking

By: TacoSalad

TacoSalad — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 04:07:20 +0000

Sounds great! I’m motivated. A few observations:
1) It looks like what TED used to look like before it got so preachy instead of showing off all the neato gadgets and scientific discoveries. I think this approach has merit, as long as it’s genuinely open.
2) What happens to the intellectual property of the average person who posts breakout ideas? I think that’s the first question most people ask when someone else suggests they give away for free the ideas they’ve spent years researching and developing.
3) I’m not seeing a lot of diversity (economic, educational, political, etc) in the presenters. We are not to assume that inspiration and innovation are the sole purview of the highly educated, comfortably well-off liberals. I think that’s an established problem.
Don’t mean to seem overly negative, just have a few (I think) legitimate pause button moments.

By: Dr. Richard

Dr. Richard — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 18:35:09 +0000

Now that is how to use your mind! Love it. I especialy like the Asteroid Mining ideas. All 8 of the precious metals are in abundance out there.

By: Ian

Ian — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 08:05:37 +0000

I’m not sure that diagnosing Alzheimer’s 20 years early is much use unless they can actually DO something about it. Otherwise you’re basically ruining the last good 20 years of someone’s life by telling them exactly how awful things are going to get for them. Unless they can offer a cure, I sure as hell wouldn’t want to know!

By: Ralph Dratman

Ralph Dratman — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 02:25:42 +0000

That’s very interesting. It seems to me your project would involve a lot of design work. As an engineer, I would want to use as much pre-existing work as possible. Here that means starting with a well-known “model organism” and altering it to do what you want. For a list of off-the-shelf model organisms, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Model_organisms

By: WLGJR

WLGJR — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:06:06 +0000

Thank you, Gorden.
It would be great if you can also support Prof Hugo de Garis’s FREE online Math/Physics/ComputerScience courses on Youtube by taking them (just watch the lectures) and help advertise them.
Some of Prof de Garis’s courses is not getting the number of views they deserve, so help spread the word.

By: Gorden Russell

Gorden Russell — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 22:59:11 +0000

Really enjoyed that link, WLGJR.

By: V.

V. — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 21:08:08 +0000

Stop allergi, it’s increasing drastic.

And psoriasis.

The one that heals the world, would be a hero.

Ray is up their to make it happens, wounder who is gonna be first.

By: WLGJR

WLGJR — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 18:20:06 +0000

The name is inspiring, but let’s ask ourselves: why are we not going back to Moon?
The ultimate Moonshot project would be another literal Moonshot. This time with permanent colonies.
If US is not doing it, let China, Russia, India etc do it. This is long overdue.

By: Walter Baltzley

Walter Baltzley — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:31:04 +0000

I have a “moonshot” idea…It is to combines 3D Printing with Micro-Reactors (or bio-reactors) to create a DIGITAL MATTER-NET. The idea is to use micro-reactors to create nano-scale feedstock (3nk) for the printers. This is cool in itself, but it is NETWORKING the two technologies where things get interesting.

The goal is to transport the “3nk” using microscopic capsules (ferries) about the size of a blood cell over a micro-channel network…like the internet…and just like the internet digitized information, this system allows us to fully digitize MANUFACTURING.

I am looking for engineering students and professionals to assist in creating logical designs and prototypes for this technology. If you are interested please visit my blog and contact me at wbaltzley@yahoo.com

By: Ian Clarke

Ian Clarke — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:44:53 +0000

I hope we see lots more projects like these. I bet there are some truly original thinkers out there whose talent has been, thus far, untapped.

By: WLGJR

WLGJR — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 14:16:43 +0000

It is interesting that within STEM, it is usually the scientists and mathematicians (barring the more imaginative ones e.g. ones who has parttime jobs as SF writers) who are the pessimists, and the technologicians and engineers who are more bold/optimistic.
I think the quotes from http://www.rinkworks.com/said/predictions.shtml should be memorized by all Singularitarians.