A great question that humanity faces is this: Given the age and size of the Universe, why don’t we see evidence of alien civilizations? This is the so-called Fermi Paradox: “Where is everybody?” My interpretation had always been the very pessimistic view that technological civilizations self-destruct. Meaning, atomic bombs or super-virulent viruses are created that … [Read more…]
Platypus is a very cool program that turns scripts (like Perl, Ruby, or Python) into standalone applications for macOS. I found very little information on how to install Ruby gem dependencies within a Platypus app, so hopefully this post will help. To install a gem dependency in Platypus, follow these steps: 1. Download the .gem … [Read more…]
How many generations would it take for an isolated group of ignorant humans, unable to speak or read, to bootstrap themselves and develop these technologies again?
Assessing a programmer’s worth by measuring lines of code per day is like assessing a writer’s worth by measuring number of words per day. Quality counts more than quantity, though both are important.
If your mind is uploaded to a computer and your body dies, do you still exist?
Programming versus trouble-shooting computer problems is like the difference between writing and grading papers.
Let’s say reality can, in principle, be operating on a digital computer. Then a simulation of reality might be indistinguishable from reality. It is probably impossible to know we aren’t in a simulation. If this is true, on some level of simulated “reality” there probably are beings in control of the simulation. These beings are … [Read more…]
“Because of the chaotic quantum unpredictability of nature, our will is free from prediction.” Consider it: The universe evolves in an unpredictable manner. We create models in science to predict, but these are always approximate. With quantum mechanics we realize events are based on probabilities rather than certainties. Particles have probabilities of where they will … [Read more…]
The idea of privacy is very interesting. Before humans could communicate there was essentially total privacy of one’s internal thoughts and feelings. As we learned to share more and more we ended up helping the social group advance because information could be utilized by more than one person. For instance, consider the laugh. Scientists are … [Read more…]
The world is getting better. People are becoming less violent. Freedom is on the rise. Technology is advancing faster. The number of scientific articles doubles every decade or so. Sadness and happiness don’t always make sense. Sometimes it’s random due to an unpredictable world. But let it be known that the world is getting better. … [Read more…]