tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91281312104331680342024-03-13T11:50:50.526-05:00Mountain VisionObservations & thoughts by a sojourner through space & time...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-41920841885357811662013-07-15T22:39:00.001-05:002013-07-15T22:39:44.124-05:00Introducing The New Era of Cognitive Computing<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/the-new-era-of-cognitive-computing/cognitivesystemscharacteristics/" rel="attachment wp-att-5608"><img alt="CognitiveSystemsCharacteristics" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-5608" height="72" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/CognitiveSystemsCharacteristics-300x72.png" width="300" /></a><br />
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The New Era of Cognitive Computing is upon us. This is not an incremental change and increase in technology. This is a fundamental and exponential rise in non-biological or artificial intelligence.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">New Era of Cognitive Computing</span></strong><br />
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We are fast-approaching an era of cognitive systems. This new era is not an incremental change. It signifies a fundamental shift in how machines interact with us and the environment -- where machines will, for example, see images the way we do.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7ZXBqkEUZkU" width="500"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/the-new-age-of-cognitive-computing/cognitivecomputing/" rel="attachment wp-att-4026"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-4026" height="240" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/CognitiveComputing.png" title="CognitiveComputing" width="240" /></a><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Cognitive systems: A New Era of Computing</span></strong><br />
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(<a href="http://ibm.co/14lsSou">IBM Research</a>) Over the past few decades, Moore's Law, processor speed and hardware scalability have been the driving factors enabling IT innovation and improved systems performance. But the von Neumann architecture — which established the basic structure for the way components of a computing system interact — has remained largely unchanged since the 1940s. Furthermore, to derive value, people still have to engage with computing systems in the manner that the machines work, rather than computers adapting to interact with people the way they work. With the continuous rise of big data, that's no longer good enough.<br />
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We now are entering the Cognitive Systems Era, in which a new generation of computing systems is emerging with embedded data analytics, automated management and data-centric architectures in which the storage, memory, switching and processing are moving ever closer to the data.<br />
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Whereas in today's programmable era, computers essentially process a series of "if then what" equations, cognitive systems learn, adapt, and ultimately hypothesize and suggest answers. Delivering these capabilities will require a fundamental shift in the way computing progress has been achieved for decades.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/the-new-age-of-cognitive-computing/ibmdharmendramodhamanagercognitivecomputingsystems/" rel="attachment wp-att-4027"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-4027" height="179" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IBMDharmendraModhaManagerCognitiveComputingSystems.jpg" title="IBMDharmendraModhaManagerCognitiveComputingSystems" width="270" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Dharmendra Modha - Manager, Cognitive Computing, IBM Research</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-45841376506635790722013-04-30T21:08:00.000-05:002013-04-30T21:08:17.720-05:00Random or Designed Universe: Are Humans Real?<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4967" rel="attachment wp-att-4967"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4967" height="282" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HubbleeXtremeDeepField-300x282.jpg" title="HubbleeXtremeDeepField" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/P2VAjO">Hubble eXtreme Deep Field</a>: a new, improved portrait of mankind's deepest-ever view of the Universe<br />
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Cosmologist Martin Rees explores and discusses the Universe and asks questions such do we live in a random or designed Universe, where did we come from, where are we going, and what is the nature of reality?<br />
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Humans are the most complex organism we know of in the Universe. Remarkably, atoms have been able to assemble into entities, i.e. humans, "which somehow have been able to ponder their origins".<br />
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The human understanding of reality, of the Universe, began with religion and a Creator. As science progressed a random, not a designed, Universe seemed probable. Now a simulated reality, a virtual Universe, may be the true reality which implies a Creator once again.<br />
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<strong><span data-mce-mark="1" style="color: #783f04;">What We Still Don't Know: "Are We Real?"</span></strong><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Chapter 1:</span> In which the cosmologists learn that we were no accident waiting to happen (3:27)<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Chapter 2:</span> In which the cosmologists find that just one suit fits (16:38)<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Chapter 3:</span> In which the cosmologists find that they are not the most intelligent things in our Universe, or in others (27:57)<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Chapter 4:</span> In which the cosmologists learn that their suits are knock-offs (40:55)<br />
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Series from Channel 4 featuring Sir Martin Rees. There is a fundamental chasm in our understanding of ourselves, the universe, and everything. To solve this, Sir Martin takes us on a mind-boggling journey through multiple universes to post-biological life. On the way we learn of the disturbing possibility that we could be the product of someone else's experiment.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oyH2D4-tzfM" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=3214" rel="attachment wp-att-3214"><img alt="MatrixVirtualHuman" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-3214" height="161" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MatrixVirtualHuman-300x161.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-77493115296915675612013-03-06T10:44:00.000-06:002013-03-06T10:44:30.863-06:00Michio Kaku: Physics, Science, The Universe<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/132Qi1e"><img alt="Michio Kaku" class=" wp-image-5488 " height="318" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/MichioKaku.png" width="246" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Michio Kaku</span><br />
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Michio Kaku provides a fast 42-minute review of physics, science, and the Universe. Though a quick history and primer, Kaku is entertaining and adds his learned perspective.<br />
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<strong><span data-mce-mark="1" style="color: #783f04;">Michio Kaku: The Universe in a Nutshell</span></strong><br />
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The Universe in a Nutshell: The Physics of Everything
Michio Kaku, Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics at CUNY<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0NbBjNiw4tk" width="500"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/P2VAjO"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4967" height="282" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HubbleeXtremeDeepField-300x282.jpg" title="HubbleeXtremeDeepField" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hubble eXtreme Deep Field: a new, improved portrait of mankind's deepest-ever view of the Universe</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-86344598323549451902013-03-02T01:07:00.000-06:002013-03-02T01:07:12.997-06:00Roboy the Humanoid Robot to Be Born in March 2013<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/X92MnI"><img alt="Roboy the Humanoid Robot" class="size-medium wp-image-5465" height="300" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/RoboyHumanoidRobot-290x300.png" width="290" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Roboy the Humanoid Robot</span><br />
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Roboy is a soft robot, i.e. with soft skin and natural movements, to enable living and interacting with humans. User-friendly assistance to humans is the primary purpose of Roboy, which would include elderly care. The smooth movements of Roboy are the result of a tendon-driven locomotion system.<br />
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The University of Zurich Artificial Intelligence Laboratory is developing Roboy, a service robot which will be introduced at the Robots on Tour in Switzerland in March 2013.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Roboy - A New Generation of Humanoid Robot</span></strong><br />
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Roboy is hailed as the next generation in humanoid robotics. Built at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Zurich, Switzerland, Roboy incorporates the latest design principles as developed by Prof. Dr. Rolf Pfeifer.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8L-QGu7sjJ0" width="500"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/UgrTil" rel="attachment wp-att-5471"><img alt="RobotsOnTour" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-5471" height="300" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/RobotsOnTour-239x300.png" width="239" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-60741692771548333732013-02-27T00:19:00.000-06:002013-02-27T00:19:05.074-06:00UFOs Filmed Over Denver<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5359" rel="attachment wp-att-5359"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5359" height="125" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/UFODenverKDVR-300x125.jpg" title="UFODenverKDVR" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Denver UFO</span><br />
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This film does appear to observe UFOs - they are unidentified, they are flying, and they appear to be objects. Any ideas as to what they are?<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Mile High Mystery: UFO Sightings in Sky Over Denver</span></strong><br />
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DENVER (11-8-12) – It’s a mile high mystery in the skies over Denver. Strange objects caught on camera flying over the city and nobody can explain it.<br />
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We first learned about these sightings when a metro area man, who does not want to be identified brought us his home video. He captured the images on his digital camera from a hilltop in Federal Heights looking south toward downtown Denver.<br />
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He said, “The flying objects appear around noon or 1:00 p.m. at least a couple of times a week.” The strangest part is they are flying too fast to see with the naked eye, but when we slowed down the video, several UFOs appear.<br />
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We altered the color contrast to make it easier to see. You can take a look for yourself by watching the video clip. We wanted to verify the video we saw was legitimate and not doctored in anyway. So our photojournalist set up his camera in the same spot, and shot video from just before noon until just after 1:00 p.m. He also captured something unexplained on video.<br />
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Aviation expert Steve Cowell is a former commercial pilot, instructor and FAA accident prevention counselor. He thought he would have a logical explanation, until he watched the video. “That is not an airplane, that is not a helicopter, those are not birds, I can’t identify it,” he said. He also told us the objects are not insects.<br />
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He said he knows of no aircraft that flies as fast. He did tell us there is one other possibility. “Perhaps there’s some sort of debris that is being raised up by some of the atmospheric winds.”
But in his professional opinion, “As it fits the definition, it’s an unidentified flying object.”<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jCTEftBlW-k?list=UUkRP0nS2qERsw-U-OTLbI0A&hl=en_US" width="500"></iframe><br />
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The FAA tracks all air traffic in Colorado and across the country. The FAA sent us a statement that says, “We`ve checked with air traffic control and no one has had any reports of the activity you described…nor have any of our employees observed anything of this nature either visually or on their radar displays.”<br />
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The North American Aerospace Defense Command is located in Colorado Springs. It keeps an eye on the skies in case of an air attack against the United States. NORAD sent us this statement, “Our Command Center reviewed their records and they did not have any noted air activity in the Denver area during the times you indicated.”<br />
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The man who brought the video to our attention believes the UFOs are launching and landing near 56th Ave. and Clay Street in Denver. A Map shows only homes in the area.
So are they UFOs? A secret military test? Floating debris?<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-47758005931692795402013-02-12T11:52:00.002-06:002013-02-12T11:52:24.896-06:00Most Distant Galaxy Observed by Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5352" rel="attachment wp-att-5352"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5352" height="300" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/MACS0647-JDMostDistantGalaxy-294x300.jpg" title="MACS0647-JDMostDistantGalaxy" width="294" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> The newly discovered galaxy, named MACS0647-JD, is very young and only a tiny fraction of the size of our Milky Way.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">NASA's Great Observatories Find Candidate for Most Distant Galaxy</span></strong><br />
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WASHINGTON -- By combining the power of NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes and one of nature's own natural "zoom lenses" in space, astronomers have set a new record for finding the most distant galaxy seen in the universe.<br />
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The farthest galaxy appears as a diminutive blob that is only a tiny fraction of the size of our Milky Way galaxy. But it offers a peek back into a time when the universe was 3 percent of its present age of 13.7 billion years. The newly discovered galaxy, named MACS0647-JD, was observed <strong>420 million years after the Big Bang</strong>, the theorized beginning of the universe. Its light has traveled <strong>13.3 billion years</strong> to reach Earth.<br />
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This find is the latest discovery from a program that uses natural zoom lenses to reveal distant galaxies in the early universe. The Cluster Lensing And Supernova Survey with Hubble (CLASH), an international group led by Marc Postman of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md., is using massive galaxy clusters as cosmic telescopes to magnify distant galaxies behind them. This effect is called gravitational lensing.<br />
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Along the way, 8 billion years into its journey, light from MACS0647-JD took a detour along multiple paths around the massive galaxy cluster MACS J0647+7015. Without the cluster's magnification powers, astronomers would not have seen this remote galaxy. Because of gravitational lensing, the CLASH research team was able to observe three magnified images of MACS0647-JD with the Hubble telescope. The cluster's gravity boosted the light from the faraway galaxy, making the images appear about eight, seven, and two times brighter than they otherwise would that enabled astronomers to detect the galaxy more efficiently and with greater confidence.<br />
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"This cluster does what no manmade telescope can do," said Postman. "Without the magnification, it would require a Herculean effort to observe this galaxy."<br />
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MACS0647-JD is so small it may be in the first steps of forming a larger galaxy. An analysis shows the galaxy is less than 600 light-years wide. Based on observations of somewhat closer galaxies, astronomers estimate that a typical galaxy of a similar age should be about 2,000 light-years wide. For comparison, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy companion to the Milky Way, is 14,000 light-years wide. Our Milky Way is 150,000 light-years across.<br />
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"This object may be one of many building blocks of a galaxy," said the study's lead author, Dan Coe of the Space Telescope Science Institute. "Over the next 13 billion years, it may have dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of merging events with other galaxies and galaxy fragments."<br />
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Read More: NASA - <a href="http://1.usa.gov/ZU0Pcz">NASA's Great Observatories Find Candidate for Most Distant Galaxy</a><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-29269365041742846102013-02-08T08:13:00.000-06:002013-02-08T08:13:41.929-06:00Development of a Galaxy: NASA Simulation Spans 13.5 Billion Years<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5324" rel="attachment wp-att-5324"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5324" height="237" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/GalaxyNGC3344Spiral-300x237.jpg" title="GalaxyNGC3344Spiral" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> NGC 3344 is a glorious spiral galaxy around half the size of the Milky Way, which lies 25 million light-years distant. We are fortunate enough to see NGC 3344 face-on, allowing us to study its structure in detail.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">NASA - Computer Model Shows a Disk Galaxy's Life History</span></strong><br />
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This cosmological simulation follows the development of a single disk galaxy over about 13.5 billion years, from shortly after the Big Bang to the present time. Colors indicate old stars (red), young stars (white and bright blue) and the distribution of gas density (pale blue); the view is 300,000 light-years across.<br />
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The simulation ran on the Pleiades supercomputer at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., and required about 1 million CPU hours. It assumes a universe dominated by dark energy and dark matter. Credit: F. Governato and T. Quinn (Univ. of Washington), A. Brooks (Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison), and J. Wadsley (McMaster Univ.).<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-45900428083456617892013-01-27T20:49:00.000-06:002013-01-27T20:49:51.814-06:00AtlasProto Robot Walking the Gauntlet & Improving Abilities<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5307" rel="attachment wp-att-5307"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5307" height="188" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AtlasProto-300x188.jpg" title="AtlasProto" width="300" /></a><br />
AtlasProto<br />
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The latest update from Boston Dynamics increases the creepiness, which seems inexorable, with Atlas the anthropomorphic robot. Regardless of assurances otherwise, this will not ultimately end well for humans.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">AtlasProto: Walking the Gauntlet</span></strong><br />
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Atlas is an anthropomorphic robot developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA. AtlasProto, shown here, is a testbed for developing control systems and software for rough terrain.<br />
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Several Atlas robots will participate in the DARPA Robotics Challenge next year. The video shows AtlasProto using its legs and arms to climb onto a platform, jump down, cross the 'snake pit', and climb steep stairs. For more information visit www.BostonDynamics.com.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5312" rel="attachment wp-att-5312"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5312" height="168" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/AtlasProtoTodayFuture-300x168.jpg" title="AtlasProtoTodayFuture" width="300" /></a><br />
Inevitability on some time frame...<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-47713351904812043482013-01-24T11:45:00.003-06:002013-01-24T11:46:36.647-06:00Valles Marineris: Grandest Canyon in the Solar System<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5255" rel="attachment wp-att-5255"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5255" height="300" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/MarsVallesMarineris1-300x300.gif" title="MarsVallesMarineris1" width="300" /></a><br />
Planet Mars: Valles Marineris<br />
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(European Space Agency; 22 October 2012) Earth’s Grand Canyon inspires awe for anyone who casts eyes upon the vast river-cut valley, but it would seem nothing more than a scratch next to the cavernous scar of Valles Marineris that marks the face of Mars.<br />
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Stretching over 4000 km long and 200 km wide, and with a dizzying depth of 10 km, it is some ten times longer and five times deeper than Earth’s Grand Canyon, a size that earns it the status of the largest canyon in the Solar System.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5257" rel="attachment wp-att-5257"><img alt="" class=" wp-image-5257 alignnone" height="243" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/MarsVallesMarineris1-1024x545.jpg" title="MarsVallesMarineris" width="457" /></a><br />
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Seen here in new light and online for the first time, this bird’s-eye view of Valles Marineris was created from data captured during 20 individual orbits of ESA’s Mars Express. It is presented in near-true colour and with four times vertical exaggeration.<br />
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A wide variety of geological features can be seen, reflecting the complex geological history of the region.
The canyon’s formation is likely intimately linked with the formation of the neighbouring Tharsis bulge, which is out of shot and to the left of this image and home to the largest volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons.<br />
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The volcanic activity is revealed by the nature of the rocks in the walls of the canyon and the surrounding plains, which were built by successive lava flows.
As the Tharsis bulge swelled with magma during the planet’s first billion years, the surrounding crust was stretched, ripping apart and eventually collapsing into the gigantic troughs of Valles Marineris.<br />
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Intricate fault patterns have also developed due to the imposing extensional forces; the most recent are particularly evident in the middle portion of the image and along the lower boundary of the frame.<br />
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Landslides have also played a role in shaping the scene, especially in the northern-most troughs, where material has recently slumped down the steep walls. Mass wasting has also created delicate erosion of the highest part of the walls.
Strong water flows may have reshaped Valles Marineris after it was formed, deepening the canyon. Mineralogical information collected by orbiting spacecraft, including Mars Express, shows that the terrain here was altered by water hundreds of millions of years ago.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Grandest Canyon</span></b><br />
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"Flight Into Mariner Valley" takes you on a virtual tour of Mars' Valles Marineris, narrated by Arizona State University planetary geologist Phil Christensen.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-55597797830734009172013-01-20T22:44:00.000-06:002013-01-20T22:44:18.653-06:00The Ultimate Map: How Big Is The Universe?<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5166" rel="attachment wp-att-5166"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-5166" height="198" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/UniverseTimeLine-300x198.jpg" title="UniverseTimeLine" width="300" /></a> <br />
Universe Time Line<br />
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Our Universe consists of galaxies and galaxy clusters expanding at an accelerating rate in all directions connected by a cosmic web of gravity. Is there a boundary to the Universe and therefore to an ultimate map of the Universe? Is the Universe infinite in all directions?<br />
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Would a map of the Universe be the ultimate map created by humanity? Time will tell, but Anthony Aguirre has an even bigger idea. What if there are other Universes, even an infinity of Universes? Could these Universes ultimately be mapped in relation to our Universe and others? That would truly be the ultimate, and never-ending, map!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">How Big Is The Universe? (BBC)</span></b><br />
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It is one of the most baffling questions that scientists can ask: how big is the Universe that we live in?<br />
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Horizon follows the cosmologists who are creating the most ambitious map in history - a map of everything in existence....<br />
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See more about the video <a href="http://bbc.in/XgaCbv">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=1959" rel="attachment wp-att-1959"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-1959" height="150" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/WMAPFullSky-300x150.jpg" title="WMAPFullSky" width="300" /></a><br />
Temperature Map of the Measurable Universe: WMAP Full Sky 7 Years<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-20095424426499054772013-01-12T14:09:00.000-06:002013-01-12T14:09:32.235-06:00Future of Humanity: Singularity or Decline?<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4173" rel="attachment wp-att-4173"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4173" height="230" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/SingularityCountdown-300x230.jpg" title="SingularityCountdown" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Is Humanity on a Countdown to the Singularity?</span><br />
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What is the future of humanity - the technological singularity or a decline? Either way, the futurists and pundits give us 20+ years for one or the other to occur. Will the singularity occur and Homo sapiens either evolves or becomes obsolete? Will technological progress save Homo sapiens before depletion of the Earth's natural resources? Evolution, obsolescence, and/or collapse?<br />
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Could a third scenario, neither a singularity or decline, occur? Technology mitigates, delays, or even eliminates ecosystem collapse and humanity continues onwards.<br />
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Perhaps both a singularity and a decline is a more likely scenario. A human remnant or elite, even a breakaway civilization, continues with advanced technology towards and arriving at the singularity while the masses die off. That would indeed be a Brave New World...<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Singularity or Decline?</span></strong>
Is a new, more prosperous age beyond a technological Singularity on the horizon? Or does human civilization now face an inevitable decline? This video by futurist Christopher Barnatt discusses the great debate at the heart of future studies.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6pTTYx6wKUQ" width="500"></iframe><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=5110" rel="attachment wp-att-5110"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-5110" height="228" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/KellyRipaRegisPhilbin-300x228.jpg" title="KellyRipaRegisPhilbin" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Is Humanity on a Countdown to Decline?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-8343250158879191312013-01-05T09:40:00.000-06:002013-01-05T09:40:18.847-06:00Hubble eXtreme Deep Field Team: Observing the Evolving Universe<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4967" rel="attachment wp-att-4967"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4967" height="282" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HubbleeXtremeDeepField-300x282.jpg" title="HubbleeXtremeDeepField" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hubble eXtreme Deep Field: a new, improved portrait of mankind's deepest-ever view of the Universe</span><br />
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Original Announcement => <a href="http://bit.ly/P2VAjO">Farthest View Ever of the Universe: Hubble eXtreme Deep Field</a><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Hubble Space Telescope: Deepest View Ever of the Universe</span></strong><br />
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This is an extraordinary accomplishment and webinar. The public was invited to participate in a "Meet the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field Observing Team" webinar, where three key astronomers of the XDF observing team described how they assembled the landmark image and explained what it tells us about the evolving universe. <em>The webinar begins at 4:00 in video below.</em><br />
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Ray Villard (STScI) introduced and moderated the panel. The team present were Garth Illingworth, Dan McGee, and Pascal Oesch, all from University of California Santa Cruz. Each presented background and procedures on the eXtreme Deep Field image. Some notable concepts, facts, and quotes are below the video.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/A4W7dvoWBGU" width="500"></iframe><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Hubble eXtreme Deep Field: Some Notable Concepts, Facts, Quotes</span></strong><br />
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Ultimately the search is for the first galaxies. XDF is key to understanding the origins of galaxies, the search for the first galaxies, when and how did galaxies form and grow, how the Milky Way and Andromeda formed.<br />
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Hubble is a time machine: XDF sees galaxies forming 13.2 billion years ago, 450 million years after the Big Bang, and sees back in time through 96% of the life of the Universe.<br />
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Galaxies earlier than 800 million years after the Big Bang can only be seen in infrared light. XDF reveals these galaxies unseen in deepest visible-light Hubble Utra Deep Field images.<br />
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Hubble is at its limit of detection, for finding any earlier galaxies (400 million years after the Big Bang). The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will discover the first galaxies and probably the first stars. The gain in efficiency and resolution will be a factor of 100 with the JWST and will be "astonishingly powerful". The project is working towards a 2018 launch date.<br />
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The Universe is basically the same in any direction, is symmetric. No asymmetries have been detected.<br />
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XDF is full of galaxies and there might be even more fainter galaxies beyond the image that cannot be currently seen. There are more galaxies, and fainter galaxies, in the image than expected beforehand. The Universe is full of tiny, little galaxies in the early times that are building up.<br />
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The numbers of galaxies, in redshift 12 to 15, is estimated to decrease. The number of galaxies probably increased around redshift 10. Beyond the redshift is the cosmic glow, the cosmic microwave background, from the Big Bang.<br />
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Very small gravitational lensing effect in XDF. Galaxy clusters and very large galaxies were avoided which cause this effect. There is tiny "weak lensing" effect in image.<br />
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The age of the galaxy images, particularly using powerful microwave telescopes, has been determined independently. Beyond the scope of the XDF to determine.<br />
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XDF is not designed to search for or detect dark energy or dark matter. Supernova searches originally detected dark energy. Galaxy cluster and weak lensing large-scale observations originally detected dark matter.<br />
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Deep in the XDF image, the early galaxies are smaller with more intense light and much closer together. The Universe was a tenth (1/10) if its size now. Presumably these galaxies would build up to larger current galaxies such as the Milky Way and Andromeda. The early galaxies are the seeds from which current galaxies evolved. These early galaxies grew, collided, merged in a very dynamic and dramatic process.<br />
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The cosmic microwave background was about 400,000 years after the Big Bang, very soon afterwards. The limit of the XDF is 400 million years after the Big Bang. Perhaps first galaxies formed about 150 to 200 million years after the Big Bang. Perhaps the first stars came together about 100 - 150 million years after the Big Bang. Before that were the Dark Ages. The first stars and galaxies ended the Dark Ages.<br />
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The earliest galaxies observed are moving away from each other as the Universe expands, increasingly separating from each other. A small fraction of these galaxies were pulled towards each other by gravity, if close enough. The example of the expanding balloon with dots on it...<br />
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XDF and Hubble cannot detect individual stars within the early galaxies. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) probably will not be able to either and therefore will not be able to detect the individual "first stars". The JWST will probably be able to detect early supernova, however.<br />
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XDF is really about galaxies and not about the formation of the Universe itself. A major change in the Universe occurred from about a few hundred million years to 900 million years after the Big Bang. The change from neutral hydrogen to ionized hydrogen in the Universe and within the XDF time frame was most likely caused by the galaxies. XDF will not add significantly to cosmology, however.<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-52597494271030824252012-12-26T21:33:00.000-06:002012-12-26T21:33:05.697-06:00Artificial Intelligence Maps the Universe: An Algorithm's View<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4989" rel="attachment wp-att-4989"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4989" height="225" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ArtificialIntelligence5.jpg" title="ArtificialIntelligence5" width="300" /></a><br />
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How does an algorithm view the Universe, if all the known variables are provided? Artificial intelligence can balance all these variables, crunch the simultaneous equations, much better than some top-tier, but outdated, hominid on a (much) slower biological platform.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4990" rel="attachment wp-att-4990"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4990" height="300" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/UniverseAIView-300x300.jpg" title="UniverseAIView" width="300" /></a><br />
(<em>above</em>) An image of a slice through the local universe, 370 million light years on each side. The red circles mark the positions of galaxies observed with the 2MRS survey which measured the positions and distances of over 45000 galaxies. The blue circles are random points (galaxies) inserted to smooth the map across the 'zone of avoidance' where nearby gas and dust in our Galaxy blocks the view of more distant objects. These data are superimposed on the light and dark background of the cosmic web of galaxies modelled by Kitaura et al using an artificial intelligence algorithm. Credit: Francisco Kitaura, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics.<br />
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<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Using Artificial Intelligence to Chart the Universe</span></span></strong><br />
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(Phys.org) Astronomers in Germany have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm to help them chart and explain the structure and dynamics of the universe around us with unprecedented accuracy. The team, led by Francisco Kitaura of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam, report their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.<br />
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Scientists routinely use large telescopes to scan the sky, mapping the coordinates and estimating the distances of hundreds of thousands of galaxies and so enabling them to create a map of the large-scale structure of the Universe. But the distribution that astronomers see is intriguing and hard to explain, with galaxies forming a complex 'cosmic web' showing clusters, filaments connecting them, and large empty regions in between.<br />
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The driving force for such a rich structure is gravitation. This force originates from two components; firstly the 5% of the universe that appears to be made of 'normal' matter that makes up the stars, planets, dust and gas we can see and secondly the 23% made up of invisible 'dark' matter. Alongside these some 72% of the cosmos is made up of a mysterious 'dark energy' that rather than exerting a gravitational pull is thought to be responsible for accelerating the expansion of the universe. Together these three constituents are described in the Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) model for the cosmos, the starting point for the work of the Potsdam team.<br />
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Measurements of the residual heat from the Big Bang – the so-called Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation or CMBR emitted 13700 million years ago – allow astronomers to determine the motion of the Local Group, the cluster of galaxies that includes the Milky Way, the galaxy we live in. Astronomers try to reconcile this motion with that predicted by the distribution of matter around us and its associated gravitational force, but this is compromised by the difficulty of mapping the dark matter in the same region.<br />
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"Finding the dark matter distribution corresponding to a galaxy catalogue is like trying to make a geographical map of Europe from a satellite image during the night that only shows the light coming from dense populated areas", says Dr Kitaura.<br />
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To try to solve this problem he developed a new algorithm based on artificial intelligence (AI). It starts with the fluctuations in the density of the universe seen in the CMBR, then models the way that matter collapses into today's galaxies over the subsequent 13 billion years. The results of the AI algorithm are a close fit to the observed distribution and motion of galaxies.<br />
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Dr. Kitaura comments, "Our precise calculations show that the direction of motion and 80% of the speed of the galaxies that make up the Local Group can be explained by the gravitational forces that arise from matter up to 370 million light years away. In comparison the Andromeda Galaxy, the largest member of the Local Group, is a mere 2.5 million light years distant so we are seeing how the distribution of matter at great distances affects galaxies much closer to home.<br />
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'Our results are also in close agreement with the predictions of the LCDM model. To explain the rest of the 20% of the speed, we need to consider the influence of matter up to about 460 million light years away, but at the moment the data are less reliable at such a large distance.<br />
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'Despite this caveat, our model is a big step forward. With the help of AI, we can now model the universe around us with unprecedented accuracy and study how the largest structures in the cosmos came into being."<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=1959" rel="attachment wp-att-1959"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-1959" height="150" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/WMAPFullSky-300x150.jpg" title="WMAPFullSky" width="300" /></a><br />
WMAP Full Sky 7 Years<br />
(<em>above</em>) The detailed, all-sky picture of the infant universe created from seven years of WMAP data. The image reveals 13.7 billion year old temperature fluctuations (shown as color differences) that correspond to the seeds that grew to become the galaxies. The signal from the our Galaxy was subtracted using the multi-frequency data. This image shows a temperature range of ± 200 microKelvin. Credit: NASA / WMAP Science Team<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-64077445167994486922012-12-13T21:48:00.000-06:002012-12-13T21:48:21.422-06:00Farthest View Ever of the Universe: Hubble eXtreme Deep Field<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4967" rel="attachment wp-att-4967"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4967" height="282" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HubbleeXtremeDeepField-300x282.jpg" title="HubbleeXtremeDeepField" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hubble eXtreme Deep Field: a new, improved portrait of mankind's deepest-ever view of the Universe</span><br />
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<em>Countless planets, stars, galaxies, clusters...</em><br />
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<strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #783f04;">Farthest View Ever of the Universe: Hubble eXtreme Deep Field</span></span></strong><br />
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SEPTEMBER 25, 2012: Like photographers assembling a portfolio of best shots, astronomers have assembled a new, improved portrait of mankind's deepest-ever view of the universe. Called the eXtreme Deep Field, or XDF, the photo was assembled by combining 10 years of NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken of a patch of sky at the center of the original Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The XDF is a small fraction of the angular diameter of the full Moon. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax, created using Hubble Space Telescope data from 2003 and 2004. By collecting faint light over many hours of observation, it revealed thousands of galaxies, both nearby and very distant, making it the deepest image of the universe ever taken at that time. The new full-color XDF image reaches much fainter galaxies and includes very deep exposures in red light from Hubble's new infrared camera, enabling new studies of the earliest galaxies in the universe. The XDF contains about 5,500 galaxies even within its smaller field of view. The faintest galaxies are one ten-billionth the brightness of what the human eye can see.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Fly Through the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field</span></strong> This video takes you through Hubble's deepest view of the universe, from its location in the sky to the dimmest, most distant galaxies.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Hubble Extreme Deep Field Pushes Back Frontiers of Time and Space</span></strong> This video explains how astronomers meticulously assembled mankind's deepest view of the universe from combining Hubble Space Telescope exposures taken over the past decade. Guest scientists are Dr. Garth Illingworth and Dr. Marc Postman.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4968" rel="attachment wp-att-4968"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4968" height="300" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HubbleeXtremeDeepFieldSize-289x300.jpg" title="HubbleeXtremeDeepFieldSize" width="289" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4969" rel="attachment wp-att-4969"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4969" height="210" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HubbleeXtremeDeepFieldTime-300x210.jpg" title="HubbleeXtremeDeepFieldTime" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4970" rel="attachment wp-att-4970"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4970" height="261" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/HubbleeXtremeDeepFieldScale-300x261.jpg" title="HubbleeXtremeDeepFieldScale" width="300" /></a><br />
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The public is invited to participate in a "Meet the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field Observing Team" webinar, where three key astronomers of the XDF observing team will describe how they assembled the landmark image and explain what it tells us about the evolving universe. Participants will be able to send in questions for the panel of experts to discuss. The webinar will be broadcast at 1:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, September 27, 2012. To participate in the webinar, please visit: <a href="http://bit.ly/QwvFFo">http://hubblesite.org/go/xdf/</a> .<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲▲▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-13726471979297004982012-11-28T15:50:00.000-06:002012-11-28T15:50:36.060-06:00Cheetah Robot Runs Faster Than Usain Bolt!<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4772" rel="attachment wp-att-4772"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4772" height="189" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RobotCheetahConcept-300x189.jpg" title="RobotCheetahConcept" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cheetah Robot Concept: The Inevitable Future</span><br />
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We await the untethered outdoor version in 2013 as the Rise of the Machines and Artificial Intelligence continues unabated...<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Cheetah Robot Runs 28.3 mph; a Bit Faster than Usain Bolt</span></strong>
Cheetah Robot is a fast-running quadruped developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA. It just blazed past its previous speed record, getting up to 28.3 mph, about 0.5 mph faster than Usain Bolt's fastest 20 meter split. This version of the Cheetah Robot runs on a treadmill with offboard power. Testing on an untethered outdoor version starts early next year. For more information about Cheetah or the other robots we develop, visit <a href="http://bit.ly/RfeOqq">www.BostonDynamics.com</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4774" rel="attachment wp-att-4774"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4774" height="182" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Cheetah-300x182.jpg" title="Cheetah" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Cheetah (<em>Acinonyx jubatus</em>): fondly remembered archaic and defunct biological platform</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4775" rel="attachment wp-att-4775"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4775" height="187" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/UsainBolt-300x187.jpg" title="UsainBolt" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Usain Bolt: not fast enough!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-61122240925321139022012-11-17T15:35:00.000-06:002012-11-17T15:35:24.816-06:00Rough-Terrain Robot Follows Human Leader<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4758" rel="attachment wp-att-4758"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4758" height="199" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RobotLS3LeggedSquadSupportSystem-300x199.jpg" title="RobotLS3LeggedSquadSupportSystem" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">LS3 - Legged Squad Support System</span><br />
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The future proxy for ground war - robots - beginning with doing the grunt work. Follow the human leader, at least for now. AI autonomy will be next as the creepiness factor escalates. Drones are already rapidly becoming the air war proxy.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">LS3 - Legged Squad Support System</span></strong>
The Legged Squad Support System (LS3) is a rough-terrain robot developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. It is designed to carry 400 lbs of payload and travel 20 miles without refueling. LS3 has sensors that let it follow a human leader while avoiding obstacles in the terrain. For more information visit <a href="http://bit.ly/RfeOqq">www.BostonDynamics.com</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4759" rel="attachment wp-att-4759"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4759" height="198" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/RobotLS3LeggedSquadSupportSystem1-300x198.jpg" title="RobotLS3LeggedSquadSupportSystem1" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">LS3 - Legged Squad Support System: Columns & Herds Coming to a Theater of War or Civil Disturbance Near You</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-13375401340438463222012-11-14T16:07:00.000-06:002012-11-14T16:07:09.414-06:00Galactic Halo: Milky Way Is Surrounded by Hot Gas<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4743" rel="attachment wp-att-4743"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4743" height="244" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/GalaxyMilkyWayGasHalo-300x244.jpg" title="GalaxyMilkyWayGasHalo" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This artist's illustration shows an enormous halo of hot gas (in blue) around the Milky Way galaxy. Also shown, to the lower left of the Milky Way, are the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, two small neighboring galaxies. The halo of gas is shown with a radius of about 300,000 light years, although it may extend significantly further.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">NASA'S Chandra Shows Milky Way is Surrounded by Halo of Hot Gas</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">●</span> Chandra has provided evidence that our Milky Way Galaxy is embedded in an enormous halo of hot gas that extends for hundreds of thousands of light years.<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">●</span> The mass of the halo is estimated to be comparable to the mass of all the stars in the Milky Way galaxy.<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">●</span> If the size and mass of this gas halo is confirmed, it could be the solution to the "missing-baryon" problem for the Galaxy.<br />
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WASHINGTON (Sept. 24, 2012) -- Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to find evidence our Milky Way Galaxy is embedded in an enormous halo of hot gas that extends for hundreds of thousands of light years. The estimated mass of the halo is comparable to the mass of all the stars in the galaxy.<br />
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If the size and mass of this gas halo is confirmed, it also could be an explanation for what is known as the "missing baryon" problem for the galaxy.<br />
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Baryons are particles, such as protons and neutrons, that make up more than 99.9 percent of the mass of atoms found in the cosmos. Measurements of extremely distant gas halos and galaxies indicate the baryonic matter present when the universe was only a few billion years old represented about one-sixth the mass and density of the existing unobservable, or dark, matter. In the current epoch, about 10 billion years later, a census of the baryons present in stars and gas in our galaxy and nearby galaxies shows at least half the baryons are unaccounted for.<br />
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In a recent study, a team of five astronomers used data from Chandra, the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space observatory and Japan's Suzaku satellite to set limits on the temperature, extent and mass of the hot gas halo. Chandra observed eight bright X-ray sources located far beyond the galaxy at distances of hundreds of millions of light-years. The data revealed X-rays from these distant sources are absorbed selectively by oxygen ions in the vicinity of the galaxy. The scientists determined the temperature of the absorbing halo is between 1 million and 2.5 million kelvins, or a few hundred times hotter than the surface of the sun.<br />
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Other studies have shown that the Milky Way and other galaxies are embedded in warm gas with temperatures between 100,000 and 1 million kelvins. Studies have indicated the presence of a hotter gas with a temperature greater than 1 million kelvins. This new research provides evidence the hot gas halo enveloping the Milky Way is much more massive than the warm gas halo.<br />
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"We know the gas is around the galaxy, and we know how hot it is," said Anjali Gupta, lead author of The Astrophysical Journal paper describing the research. "The big question is, how large is the halo, and how massive is it?"<br />
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To begin to answer this question, the authors supplemented Chandra data on the amount of absorption produced by the oxygen ions with XMM-Newton and Suzaku data on the X-rays emitted by the gas halo. They concluded that the mass of the gas is equivalent to the mass in more than 10 billion suns, perhaps as large as 60 billion suns.<br />
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"Our work shows that, for reasonable values of parameters and with reasonable assumptions, the Chandra observations imply a huge reservoir of hot gas around the Milky Way," said co-author Smita Mathur of Ohio State University in Columbus. "It may extend for a few hundred thousand light-years around the Milky Way or it may extend farther into the surrounding local group of galaxies. Either way, its mass appears to be very large."<br />
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The estimated mass depends on factors such as the amount of oxygen relative to hydrogen, which is the dominant element in the gas. Nevertheless, the estimation represents an important step in solving the case of the missing baryons, a mystery that has puzzled astronomers for more than a decade.<br />
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Although there are uncertainties, the work by Gupta and colleagues provides the best evidence yet that the galaxy's missing baryons have been hiding in a halo of million-kelvin gas that envelopes the galaxy. The estimated density of this halo is so low that similar halos around other galaxies would have escaped detection.<br />
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The paper describing these results was published in the Sept. 1 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. Other co-authors were Yair Krongold of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico in Mexico City; Fabrizio Nicastro of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass.; and Massimiliano Galeazzi of University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.<br />
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NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4742" rel="attachment wp-att-4742"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4742" height="300" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/GalaxyMilkyWayTree-300x300.jpg" title="GalaxyMilkyWayTree" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Milky Way</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-62329053092671009212012-11-11T20:22:00.003-06:002012-11-11T20:22:33.307-06:00Graham Hancock: The Sovereignty of Consciousness<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4729" rel="attachment wp-att-4729"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4729" height="300" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/AyahuascaVine-225x300.jpg" title="AyahuascaVine" width="225" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Ayahuasca the Sacred Vine of the Amazon</span><br />
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Take a mind-bending journey with Graham Hancock as he describes his experiences with psychedelics and shamanism, the effects on consciousness, and "spirit molecules" in general. Regarding these journeys into consciousness, Hancock asserts these decisions "should not be devolved onto the state". We have "psychic sovereignty", sovereignty of individual consciousness, and government control is a "fundamental abuse of human rights in our society".<br />
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"Our society is a society under the guise of all kinds of propagandistic bs which is denying us the right of sovereignty over our own consciousness. If we are not sovereign over our own consciousness, then actually we are not sovereign over anything. Then all the so-called freedoms of our society are complete illusions when that society does not allow us to make fundamental decisions about what we wish to explore or not to explore with our own consciousness. That's what we are - we are consciousness. We are not these bodies, we are not matter. We are consciousness - pure consciousness manifested in physical form. If we can't make decisions about that, then everything else is just a bad joke."<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Graham Hancock and the Sacred Vine</span></strong>
London Real meets Graham Hancock, author of "Fingerprints of the Gods".<br />
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"Fingerprints of the Gods" author Graham Hancock explains why all politicians should drink Ayahuasca 10 times, the gruesome Aztec history behind his new book "Wargod", why he took Ibogaine to gain closure with his late father, and how Joe Rogan is just an all-around cool dude.<br />
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"You said that all politicians should be required to drink Ayahuasca 10 times before taking office." - Brian (00:46)<br />
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"All across the world we have a venal class of dishonest, self-serving bureaucrats who are using the power we give them to oppose themselves upon us." - Graham (01:52)<br />
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"You have to understand that we've had more than 40 years now of massively financed propaganda called the 'War on Drugs'." - Graham (03:10)<br />
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"In a way it's a very Orwellian world where language is being used against us. It's almost impossible to approach the issue of 'drugs' without immediately linking it to the notion of 'abuse.'" - Graham (04:47)<br />
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"Do we as adults have the right to make decisions about what we put in our own bodies and what we experience with our own consciousness without reference to the powers of the state or must we seek permission from the state in order to explore our own consciousness?" - Graham (05:17)<br />
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"I find again and again you get these instant knee-jerk reactions. 'Oh they're talking about a drug, this isn't be for me. They must be dirty people.'" - Graham (08:37)<br />
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"I don't believe I would have written that book if I hadn't had this nudge from this curious plant ally called cannabis." - Graham (13:37)<br />
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"I don't do things by half-measures. I was smoking a very great deal of cannabis for 24 years." - Graham (14:10)<br />
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"During those Ayahuasca sessions whatever intelligence spoke to me directly and made it very clear to me that my journey with Cannabis had come to an end." - Graham (15:33)<br />
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"It's astonishing that one plant intervened to stop me working with another plant." - Graham (19:20)<br />
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"There are all kinds of ways to challenge ourselves. Some people do it by climbing a mountain or scuba diving. The most profound and challenging ordeals is to drink Ayahuasca. It is in a way the ultimate adventure." - Graham (24:06)<br />
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"I want to find out about your new book. Can you talk about it?" - Brian (45:30)<br />
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"There is very clear documentation of the sacrifice of 80,000 human beings over the course of 4 days so the entire city was filled with human blood." - Graham (49:58)<br />
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"The demonic realm got involved in the human world and said. 'We've made things really bad in Mexico already, how can we make things worse?" - Graham (51:20)<br />
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"The 22yr old Graham Hancock had an awful lot to learn." - Graham (59:42)<br />
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"Iboga is the root bark of a bush that grows in Central Africa." - Graham (1:00:53)<br />
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"It's a sacred duty to see a loved one through the transition and it's also a tremendous gift that the loved one gives to us, the opportunity to learn from it." - Graham (1:05:23)<br />
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"The one thing I'm glad about is that I did have the opportunity to tell my Dad that I loved him." - Graham (1:06:58)<br />
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"If you were really a tough guy you'd take Iboga and Ayahuasca at the same time." - Nic (01:08:28)<br />
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"The active ingredient in Ayahuasca is Dimethyltryptamine. I've done some work with pure D.M.T. as well, I've done 11 journeys." - Graham (01:08:48)<br />
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"Did you get stoned with Joe?" - Nic (01:17:10)<br />
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"Joe is such a lovely, wonderful human being with an incredibly open and inquiring mind and just very very gentle and very very intelligent and I definitely got high on the conversation." - Graham (01:17:55)<br />
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"I've really enjoyed this conversation, time has really flown, it reminded me of my conversation with Joe Rogan. Nice, relaxing, positive, enjoyable feeling." - Graham (01:20:40)<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-27097702034924296692012-10-24T18:15:00.000-05:002012-10-24T18:15:11.031-05:00NASA Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes Observe Most Distant Galaxy Ever Seen?<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4702" rel="attachment wp-att-4702"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4702" height="225" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/GalaxyClusterMACSJ1149+2223-300x225.jpg" title="GalaxyClusterMACSJ1149+2223" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Newly discovered galaxy known as MACS 1149-JD
(Image credit: NASA/ESA/STScI/JHU)</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">A Glimmer From a Dark Cosmic Era</span></strong><br />
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WASHINGTON (NASA) -- With the combined power of NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, as well as a cosmic magnification effect, astronomers have spotted what could be the most distant galaxy ever seen. Light from the primordial galaxy traveled approximately <strong>13.2 billion light-years</strong> before reaching NASA's telescopes, shining forth from the so-called cosmic dark ages when the universe was just 3.6 percent of its present age.<br />
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Astronomers relied on gravitational lensing to catch sight of the early, distant galaxy. In this phenomenon, predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago, the gravity of foreground objects warps and magnifies the light from background objects.<br />
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In the big image at left, the many galaxies of a massive cluster called MACS J1149+2223 dominate the scene. Gravitational lensing by the giant cluster brightened the light from the newfound galaxy, known as MACS 1149-JD, some 15 times, bringing the remote object into view.<br />
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At upper right, a partial zoom-in shows MACS 1149-JD in more detail, and a deeper zoom appears to the lower right. In these visible and infrared light images from Hubble, MACS 1149-JD looks like a dim, red speck. The small galaxy's starlight has been stretched into longer wavelengths, or "redshifted," by the expansion of the universe. MACS 1149-JD's stars originally emitted the infrared light seen here at much shorter, higher-energy wavelengths, such as ultraviolet.<br />
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The far-off galaxy existed within an important era when the universe transformed from a starless expanse during the dark ages to a recognizable cosmos full of galaxies. The discovery of the faint, small galaxy opens a window onto the deepest, remotest epochs of cosmic history.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=3901" rel="attachment wp-att-3901"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-3901" height="174" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/HubbleSpaceTelescope-300x174.jpg" title="HubbleSpaceTelescope" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Hubble Space Telescope</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">NASA Telescopes Spy Ultra-Distant Galaxy Amidst Cosmic 'Dark Ages'</span></strong><br />
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WASHINGTON (NASA) -- With the combined power of NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, as well as a cosmic magnification effect, astronomers have spotted what could be the most distant galaxy ever seen. Light from the young galaxy captured by the orbiting observatories first shone when our 13.7-billion-year-old universe was just 500 million years old.<br />
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The far-off galaxy existed within an important era when the universe began to transit from the so-called cosmic dark ages. During this period, the universe went from a dark, starless expanse to a recognizable cosmos full of galaxies. The discovery of the faint, small galaxy opens a window onto the deepest, remotest epochs of cosmic history.<br />
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"<em>This galaxy is the most distant object we have ever observed with high confidence</em>," said Wei Zheng, a principal research scientist in the department of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and lead author of a new paper appearing in Nature. "Future work involving this galaxy, as well as others like it that we hope to find, will allow us to study the universe's earliest objects and how the dark ages ended."<br />
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Light from the primordial galaxy traveled approximately <strong>13.2 billion light-years</strong> before reaching NASA's telescopes. In other words, the starlight snagged by Hubble and Spitzer left the galaxy when the universe was just 3.6 percent of its present age. Technically speaking, the galaxy has a redshift, or "z," of 9.6. The term redshift refers to how much an object's light has shifted into longer wavelengths as a result of the expansion of the universe. Astronomers use redshift to describe cosmic distances.<br />
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Unlike previous detections of galaxy candidates in this age range, which were only glimpsed in a single color, or waveband, this newfound galaxy has been seen in five different wavebands. As part of the Cluster Lensing And Supernova Survey with Hubble Program, the Hubble Space Telescope registered the newly described, far-flung galaxy in four visible and infrared wavelength bands. Spitzer measured it in a fifth, longer-wavelength infrared band, placing the discovery on firmer ground.<br />
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Objects at these extreme distances are mostly beyond the detection sensitivity of today's largest telescopes. To catch sight of these early, distant galaxies, astronomers rely on gravitational lensing. In this phenomenon, predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago, the gravity of foreground objects warps and magnifies the light from background objects. A massive galaxy cluster situated between our galaxy and the newfound galaxy magnified the newfound galaxy's light, brightening the remote object some 15 times and bringing it into view.<br />
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Based on the Hubble and Spitzer observations, astronomers think the distant galaxy was less than 200 million years old when it was viewed. It also is small and compact, containing only about 1 percent of the Milky Way's mass. According to leading cosmological theories, the first galaxies indeed should have started out tiny. They then progressively merged, eventually accumulating into the sizable galaxies of the more modern universe.<br />
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These first galaxies likely played the dominant role in the epoch of reionization, the event that signaled the demise of the universe's dark ages. This epoch began about 400,000 years after the Big Bang when neutral hydrogen gas formed from cooling particles. The first luminous stars and their host galaxies emerged a few hundred million years later. The energy released by these earliest galaxies is thought to have caused the neutral hydrogen strewn throughout the universe to ionize, or lose an electron, a state that the gas has remained in since that time.<br />
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"In essence, during the epoch of reionization, the lights came on in the universe," said paper co-author Leonidas Moustakas, a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif.<br />
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Astronomers plan to study the rise of the first stars and galaxies and the epoch of reionization with the successor to both Hubble and Spitzer, NASA's James Webb Telescope, which is scheduled for launch in 2018. The newly described distant galaxy likely will be a prime target.<br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4706" rel="attachment wp-att-4706"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-4706" height="225" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/SpitzerSpaceTelescope-300x225.jpg" title="SpitzerSpaceTelescope" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Spitzer Space Telescope</span><br />
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For more information about Spitzer, visit: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/OGDNyG">http://www.nasa.gov/spitzer</a><br />
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For more information about Hubble, visit: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/SD0ODX">http://www.nasa.gov/hubble</a><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-88530598486674869982012-10-23T10:28:00.002-05:002012-10-23T10:28:31.513-05:00Consciousness and Reality: The Mind - Matter Connection<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/OnsBav"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-4628" height="199" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RealityAndTheExtendedMind.jpg" title="RealityAndTheExtendedMind" width="285" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bit.ly/OnsBav">Reality and the Extended Mind</a> by Adrian D. Nelson</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Reality and the Extended Mind: Consciousness in an Interconnected Universe</span></strong><br />
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Psi researchers Herb Mertz, Dean Radin, Brenda Dunne, Roger Nelson, Robert Jahn, Garret Moddel, York Dobyns, Adam Michael Curry, Rupert Sheldrake, John Valentino, and Larry Dossey discuss anomalies of consciousness, mind - matter interactions. Our consciousness extends out into the world and is not contained just within our brains.<br />
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The world and our consciousness intermix and interact. The physiology of our body is in a dialog with future states of ourselves. Our awareness is spread out across time. Further, when focused, our consciousness can coalesce with other minds. Is there an observer-driven component to reality?<br />
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Robert Jahn says the evidence obtained are not just superficial curiosities but is erupting from very deep and very consequential characteristics of the human mind. Brenda Dunne notes that if we are going to understand reality, we have to look at the subjective side as well as the objective side.<br />
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<em>Psi Phenomena</em> is defined as anomalous properties associated with consciousness unanticipated by widely accepted modern theories. These events include precognition (presentiment), telepathy, distant mental influence, etc. in both normal and altered states of consciousness. Dean Radin describes these events, and the evidence, as meaningful, important, and interesting.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Documentary - Reality and the Extended Mind (1 of 2)</span></strong> Reality and the Extended Mind is a non-profit documentary by Adrian Nelson. As an increasing number of academics acknowledge the findings erupting from psi research, quantum mechanics and many other areas of science, thinkers are coalescing on a new description of reality. This new description of reality signals paradigm shifts in several scientific fields, and notably the necessity for a new model of consciousness. My book, Reality and the Origins of Consciousness dives into these mysterious new waters, attempting to give a lucid account of these ideas, following a skeptical, open-minded and secular approach. The insights awaiting us will be profound, corresponding with dramatic shifts in the way we see and interact with the world.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Documentary Reality and the Extended Mind (2 of 2)</span></strong><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hS2DbkdJrDk" width="420"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://bit.ly/OnsgV9">Institute of Noetic Sciences</a> | Consciousness | Science | Spirituality | Wisdom</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-55277035963659702122012-10-21T18:44:00.001-05:002012-10-21T18:44:27.830-05:00Dmitry Itskov and Project Immortality 2045: Transplanting a Human Brain into an Avatar<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4549" rel="attachment wp-att-4549"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-4549" height="185" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/DmitryItskov.jpg" title="DmitryItskov" width="336" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Dmitry Itskov is leading the Project 2045</span><br />
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We all have dreams in life and some have big dreams. A few have visions. A handful of people have visions that change the world. Dmitry Itskov is one of them. A vision as in transforming humanity completely and forever. A vision of transplanting the human brain into an artificial body, a robot, an avatar. A transbiological vision of the future of humanity. As Ray Kurzweil says, "Prepare to Evolve".<br />
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The goal is to preserve human personality and prolong life. That is, transfer a human's individual consciousness to an artificial carrier. Dmitry Itskov wants to do this himself at the first opportunity, which he believes could be as soon as 10 years!<br />
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Dmitry Itskov's premise, and motivation, is that humanity is too divided by race and religion. These differences, these divisions and the resulting conflicts are irreconcilable. Therefore, humanity must physically change to survive and hopefully leave these differences behind. Further, humanity is destroying the planet and avatars won't need to eat or even require houses! Diseases and death will be defeated.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Avatar-A: Scientists Prepare for Human Brain Transplant</span></strong> Following the steps of James Cameron, a young Russian media mogul has launched his own Avatar project. Dmitry Itskov does not want to explore a new planet, though: he just plans to make a human brain immortal by transplanting it into a robot's body.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Dmitry Itskov on Project Immortality 2045</span></strong> The Singularity Summit 2011 was a TED-style two-day event at the historic 92nd Street Y in New York City. The next event will take place in San Francisco, on October 13 & 14, 2012. For more information, visit: http://www.singularitysummit.com<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Project 2045</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4552" rel="attachment wp-att-4552"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-4552" height="223" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/DmitryItskovDalaiLama.jpg" title="DmitryItskovDalaiLama" width="336" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Dalai Lama has endorsed Dmitry Itskov's Project 2045</span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">International Manifesto of the "2045" Strategic Social Initiative</span></strong> (Partial)<br />
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Mankind has turned into a consumer society standing at the edge of a total loss of the conceptual guidelines necessary for further evolution. The majority of people are almost exclusively absorbed in merely maintaining their own comfortable lives.<br />
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Modern civilization, with its space stations, nuclear submarines, iPhones and Segways cannot save mankind from the limitations in the physical abilities of our bodies, nor from diseases and death.<br />
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We are not satisfied with modern achievements of scientific and technical progress. Science working for the satisfaction of consumer needs will not be able to ensure a technological breakthrough towards a radically different way of life.<br />
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We believe that the world needs a different ideological paradigm. Within its framework it is necessary to form a major objective capable of pointing out a new direction for the development of all mankind and ensuring the achievement of a scientific and technical revolution.<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/KKxr57">Global Future and the Technological Singularity: A New Era for Humanity</a><br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/LLXYut">Russia 2045</a> Strategic Social Initiative<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/MsJDCA">Global Future 2045</a> International Congress<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-1191351300589899372012-10-20T14:02:00.000-05:002013-01-12T14:09:47.026-06:00Tom Campbell: Who Are We In This Reality?<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4507" rel="attachment wp-att-4507"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-4507" height="169" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Consciousness.jpg" title="Consciousness" width="255" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Are humans "Virtual Reality Rovers" that have evolved in, been inserted into, this Universe?</span><br />
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Tom Campbell expands on his Theory of Everything (My Big TOE) and how we humans interface with this reality, the Universe, which is virtual. We are a free will awareness unit. This is a subset of our higher individuated unit of consciousness, outside of this reality, this Universe. That in turn is a subset of the ultimate consciousness, a larger consciousness system, also known as God and also outside of this reality, this Universe.<br />
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Bruce Lipton describes us humans as "Earth Rovers", similar to a Mars Rover. The rover is you in this Universe on planet Earth while our higher consciousness is the controller back at NASA. Taking this idea further, you could also consider humans as "Virtual Reality Rovers" or even "Players" in this Universe, this virtual reality, this game.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Tom Campbell: Who Are We In This Reality?</span></strong>
As Consciousness, we are an Information System. Reality is Information. R = I is an identity for the 21st century.<br />
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We are part of, but not separate from, the Larger Consciousness System. This may sound like the more familiar phrase "we are made in the image of God". If you are a physicist, a Consciousness researcher, and an evolved spiritual being such as Tom, the descriptions are one and the same.<br />
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The eternal question "Who are we"? will be answered in a way you have never heard before. Such subjects as free will, the difference between what we know ourselves to be here as consciousness and what we are as Consciousness outside this learning lab we call earth, and past lives will be discussed within the context of a computer analogy by a physicist who has researched this from outside this virtual reality.<br />
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As this interview unfolds, you will get a glimpse of why Tom's My Big TOE encompasses all aspects of our reality into one scientifically derived theory of everything. (For in-depth theory see the Calgary presentation on his twcjr44 YouTube channel).<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-59333649624209133522012-10-20T13:12:00.000-05:002013-01-12T14:09:59.712-06:00Ray Kurzweil: Technological Singularity, Immortality, Bringing Back the Dead<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQH6ZidlkM0jRBYE60pKPylbQx6z5QiaQWUlKqElrdaCTQy5X-REV-Jy2rQiyGi-6rDs9p5MI0Y9O9QyjIZpLAhmLgpYnG-mSBMtQOx-e2M-cc-HAU0sv8KeAvPT6mkg2ItKwiUVfER3aD/s1600/RayKurzweil.jpg" style="margin-left: 0em; margin-right: 0em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQH6ZidlkM0jRBYE60pKPylbQx6z5QiaQWUlKqElrdaCTQy5X-REV-Jy2rQiyGi-6rDs9p5MI0Y9O9QyjIZpLAhmLgpYnG-mSBMtQOx-e2M-cc-HAU0sv8KeAvPT6mkg2ItKwiUVfER3aD/s320/RayKurzweil.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ray Kurzweil: Biological and non-biological intelligence and thinking will merge</span><br />
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Prepare to evolve as Ray Kurzweil takes us for a fast ride into the future where both reality and human thinking change! A series of 3 interviews with Ray Kurzweil covers the singularity, his immortality cocktail, and bringing back the dead. He begins with a discussion of the already existing impact of technology in our daily lives, both externally and internally, both outside and inside our bodies. This integration of humans and technology will continue, at an increasing rate, to ultimately merge "man and machine".<br />
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Human reality itself will change through the implementation and integration of both augmented reality and virtual reality into our everyday, objective reality. The stream of information we receive through our consciousness via our senses that is processed by our brain will literally be enhanced and expanded by technology.<br />
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Not only will our reality change but humans will have two sets of intelligence and <em>thinking</em>: biological and non-biological. The non-biological intelligence and thinking is technology interfacing with our bodies and especially our brains.<br />
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First the non-biological intelligence has and will continue more and more to augment our biological intelligence. Next the non-biological intelligence will increase our biological intelligence until finally completely merging into a transhuman, transbiological intelligence.
Further, first the non-biological intelligence will be backed up, just like any software. Kurzweil believes ultimately the non-biological intelligence will be able to model and back up the biological intelligence - "us humans". Of course, at that point you could generate the merged transbiological intelligence in another reality such as a virtual reality. An immortality, a <em>continuity of consciousness</em>, could then be achieved for a transhuman.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Futurist Ray Kurzweil on Singularity</span></strong> Author, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil talks with economics correspondent Paul Solman about what Kurzweil has dubbed 'the singularity': the melding of man and machine to the point where one can't tell the difference between the two.<br />
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<span style="color: grey; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Watch </span><a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2254816552" style="color: rgb(78, 178, 254) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">Futurist Ray Kurzweil on Singularity</a><span style="color: grey; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"> on PBS. See more from </span><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/" style="color: rgb(78, 178, 254) !important; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">PBS NewsHour.</a><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Ray Kurweil's Immortality Cocktail</span></strong> The second of our interview outtakes with inventor/author/futurist Ray Kurzweil. In our broadcast story, Kurzweil explained that his recipe to combat aging entails taking 150 pills a day. You can find more details at a supplements business he runs, rayandterry.com, which features, we were excited to see, items like "healthy chocolates."<br />
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Watch <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2255223256" style="color: #4eb2fe !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">Ray Kurweil's Immortality Cocktail</a> on PBS. See more from <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/" style="color: #4eb2fe !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">PBS NewsHour.</a></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #783f04;">Ray Kurzweil on Bringing Back the Dead</span></strong> This outtake with Mr. Immortality: does Kurzweil believe that an avatar of his dead father -- created with artificial intelligence and a lifetime's worth of data and mementos -- is, well, his actual father, the guy who died when Ray was 22? We asked him how that quest influenced his goal of "immortality today."<br />
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<object bgcolor="#000000" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" height="328" width="512"><param name="flashvars" value="video=2255442814&player=viral&end=0" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="src" value="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed width="512" height="328" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://dgjigvacl6ipj.cloudfront.net/media/swf/PBSPlayer.swf" flashvars="video=2255442814&player=viral&end=0" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true" bgcolor="#000000" /></object><br />
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Watch <a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2255442814" style="color: #4eb2fe !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">Ray Kurzweil on Bringing Back the Dead</a> on PBS. See more from <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/" style="color: #4eb2fe !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">PBS NewsHour.</a></div>
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-11970297483027636452012-10-03T06:10:00.001-05:002013-01-24T11:48:25.642-06:00Algorithms That Learn: The Rise of Artificial Intelligence<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.transcend.ws/?attachment_id=4199" rel="attachment wp-att-4199"><img alt="" class="alignnone wp-image-4199" height="240" src="http://www.transcend.ws/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/WorldRobotHand.jpg" title="WorldRobotHand" width="180" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A system is intelligent if it is more useful to talk about in terms of goals than in terms in mechanisms. ~ Richard Sutton</span><br />
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The above quote that an intelligent system has goals is skirting the edges of the definition and discussion of consciousness. Reaching the point when software, an algorithm or even a network, "wakes up" and has consciousness has been the subject and speculation of many a technician and philosopher. This is the ultimate line to be crossed to achieve artificial or transhuman intelligence.<br />
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How do you reach this line to be crossed? Lukasz Kaiser begins with describing the existing deterministic "agents" as receiving an input stream, then a program that produces an output stream. This is the mechanistic view. Another view is to think of developing software in terms of the program having goals, as noted in the quote above. Kaiser then presents a higher-level model to achieve goal-oriented results, an algorithm that learns by observing.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Lukasz Kaiser: Playing General Structure Rewriting Games</span></b> Dr. Kaiser’s research presentation at the Third Conference on Artificial General Intelligence. This is a joint work with Lukasz Stafiniak.<br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/JSJzJT">It’s a Bright Future If You Are an Algorithm, the New Evolutionary Force</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Proposed Sign for "Dangerous Artificial Intelligence"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9128131210433168034.post-62197545307151696102012-09-30T11:25:00.001-05:002013-01-24T11:48:36.923-06:00Vernor Vinge Discusses the Singularity, Future, Possibilities: "The human era will be ended"<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Countdown to the Singularity</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Vernor Vinge on the Technological Singularity</span></b> Vernor Vinge can rightly be called the Father of the Technological Singularity and came up with the term itself. Vinge thinks the technological singularity will occur no later than 2030. "I'd be surprised if it doesn't happen by 2030". "The technological singularity is the most likely scenario for the relatively near future". Vinge states, "In the relatively near future, humankind, by using technology, will either create or become creatures of superhuman intelligence". This type of change, a technological change, will be qualitatively different than technological changes in the past. The change will be so profound that what will happen is unknowable, hence a singularity and event horizon over which no information, actually speculation and prediction, can occur. This implies no limit to progress. However, Vinge finds hope in this future world and not fear of the unknown. "Overall, we are in a situation where we can surpass the wildest dreams of optimism of previous generations."<br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Technological Singularity Paths</span></b> Vinge watches paths to the singularity, and the developments in each as positive and negative indicators as to the overall progress towards the technological singularity. These paths are scenarios on how the singularity could occur. He lists 5 paths:<br />
1) Artificial Intelligence scenario: humans create superhuman artificial intelligence in computers, <i>machines become super-intelligent</i><br />
2) Intelligence Amplification scenario: humans enhance human intelligence through human-to-computer interfaces, that is, humans achieve intelligence amplification, <i>humans become super-intelligent</i><br />
3) Biomedical Intelligence scenario: humans directly increase their intelligence by improving the neurological operations of their brains, <i>humans become super-intelligent</i><br />
4) Internet Intelligence scenario: humanity, its networks, computers, and databases become sufficiently effective to be considered a superhuman being, <i>humans and machines collectively become super-intelligent</i><br />
5) Digital Gaia scenario: the network of embedded processors becomes sufficiently effective to be considered a superhuman being, <i>machines collectively become super-intelligent</i><br />
6) [Editor's Note: this leaves only one other possible scenario: <i>humans collectively become super-intelligent</i>?]<br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Vernor Vinge & The Singularity: Authors at Google</span></b> 5-time Hugo Award winning author Vernor Vinge, one of the most lauded SF writers of our era, discusses his work and concepts from it, including the concept of "The Singularity" which he coined, and his latest novel, "Children of the Sky," the sequel to "A Fire Upon the Deep." He is interviewed by Brad Templeton of EFF/Singularity U/Google X<br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">About Vernor Vinge</span></b> Vernor Vinge is a retired San Diego State University professor of mathematics, a computer scientist, and an award-winning science fiction author. Vinge is a futurist who is known as the originator of the term "technological singularity" and his 1993 essay, "The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era" expounds on this concept. In the essay, he states, "Within thirty years we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended". He introduced the term "technological singularity" at an artificial intelligence conference at Carnegie-Mellon University in 1982 and later in a science fiction novel, "Marooned In Realtime" in 1986. Vinge has expanded on the themes of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and the technological singularity in his books and describes himself as a science fiction writer.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #783f04;">Singularity Concept Timeline</span></b> Vernor Vinge developed and honed the concept of the technological singularity in the 1980s and early 1990s. The culmination was a 1993 paper, a presentation at NASA and now a classic, "The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era". Vinge says that as the exponential increase in technology becomes more and more evident, especially compared to the 1980s and 1990s, the concept of the technological singularity will increasingly be part of the cultural fabric. "It fits more with what's going on. It becomes a steady drumbeat like background music, like background wallpaper, in how we look at things when it comes to progress. It is a way of looking at things, the world." He feels this concept is a model than can be run to interpret daily events. To keep a balanced view, Vinge also "runs a model" of the technological singularity <i>not</i> happening, as a contra-indicator and even has given a talk on this scenario. In retrospect, from the NASA essay in 1993 to the present, 2011, Vinge says there is little he would change in his paper<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Warning! Dangerous Software in this Room!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #783f04;">▲ ▲ ▲</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08689910334410648079noreply@blogger.com0