x:h project Website Launch

I've just launched the cheap-o "In Progress" version of the website for the x:h project in order to inform interested parties about the goals and methods of the project.

Check it out:

http://www.wix.com/poolerexword/xh2

Small Update

I just thought I'd post a quick update to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about you.

The implant project is going well, and it seems to be generating interest from a few different angles. I'll tell you more about it soon (There is a website ready to launch). I've put it on the back burner for the next few weeks because I need to develop and build a lot of x-mas presents. As soon as the holidays are over it'll be straight back to work though.

Also, I've been working on the wearable computing project. I was forced to buy a new cull phone because my Motorola Q finally got too busted to use. I didn't buy the Droid Incredible because I don't have the money to spend on the data package, so I've decided that I may make the "Beagleboard" the center of my wearable computer. I'll do some more research but it seems promising, plus the guys over at Sparkfun just got their hands on a limited supply of the latest release. Good stuff.

Anyway, just a brief update, just pinging to let you know I'm still here watchin the net.

be well,
-NP

In defense of Technology

So... keepin' an eye on the Net tonight... found this:
Clifford Stoll: Why Web Won't Be Nirvana - Newsweek

Ouch, Cliff. Well, I had to check it out, I expected a feel-good puff piece about how he likes people more than computers...

...oh, and that's exactly what it was. Let's do this:

(The following is the article, Copy/Pasted word for word, my comments are in italics)

Hype alert: Why cyberspace isn't, and will never be, nirvana

No... No no no, if you do that I'm calling "Hype Alert" on the wheel... or the Telephone.

After two decades online, I'm perplexed. It's not that I haven't had a gas of a good time on the Internet. I've met great people and even caught a hacker or two. But today, I'm uneasy about this most trendy and oversold community. Visionaries see a future of telecommuting workers, interactive libraries and multimedia classrooms. They speak of electronic town meetings and virtual communities. Commerce and business will shift from offices and malls to networks and modems. And the freedom of digital networks will make government more democratic.

Yup, being able to take and process votes in an efficient way will eliminate the need for an electoral college and make the government LITERALLY more democratic... continue...

Baloney.

The Heck you say.

Do our computer pundits lack all common sense? The truth in no online database will replace your daily newspaper, no CD-ROM can take the place of a competent teacher and no computer network will change the way government works.

Hmm, Powerful Stuff... except it's not. Online databases HAVE replaced the daily paper... like the one you work for... Newsweek... where your article is hosted, which I read only because it was online. Also, CD-ROM? *sigh* Also, Computer Networks have already profoundly changed the way government works, even local government.

Consider today's online world. The Usenet, a worldwide bulletin board, allows anyone to post messages across the nation. Your word gets out, leapfrogging editors and publishers. Every voice can be heard cheaply and instantly. The result? Every voice is heard. The cacophany more closely resembles citizens band radio, complete with handles, harrasment, and anonymous threats. When most everyone shouts, few listen. How about electronic publishing? Try reading a book on disc. At best, it's an unpleasant chore: the myopic glow of a clunky computer replaces the friendly pages of a book. And you can't tote that laptop to the beach. Yet Nicholas Negroponte, director of the MIT Media Lab, predicts that we'll soon buy books and newspapers straight over the Intenet. Uh, sure.

Whoa... the Usenet? Quote from Wiki:"Usenet is one of the oldest computer network communications systems still in widespread use." Which would make it... um... yeah, the Shortwave Radio of the Internet. Good job, but what about the rest of the internet?

Also, might I suggest in the interest of saving trees that you continue to read books on "disc" (When was the last time you read a book on a computer? How about you download them?) Anyway, I don't know if you've heard about the Nook, Kindle, etc. E-books which are gaining a huge following. The display is something called e-paper, a bistable media that can be written and re-written by a microcontroller and is nearly indistinguishable from normal printed media to the naked eye... There's no glow, so you can whip out your big chunky book-light :D Just like you want to. Get it? you have ONE sheet of paper, onto which can be downloaded any book or newspaper you like. Hell it could automatically update the paper every morning for you... If it makes you feel better I'll take it off your coffee table and put it in your front yard every morning.I'm sure you knew about e-paper though, since you're obviously smarter than the director of the MIT Media Lab.

What the Internet hucksters won't tell you is tht [sic] the Internet is one big ocean of unedited data, without any pretense of completeness. Lacking editors (obviously), reviewers or critics, the Internet has become a wasteland of unfiltered data. You don't know what to ignore and what's worth reading. Logged onto the World Wide Web, I hunt for the date of the Battle of Trafalgar. Hundreds of files show up, and it takes 15 minutes to unravel them—one's a biography written by an eighth grader, the second is a computer game that doesn't work and the third is an image of a London monument. None answers my question, and my search is periodically interrupted by messages like, "Too many connections, try again later."

Where the hell ARE YOU? First of all, there are plenty of critics on the internet... take me for example. lol. Furthermore, the WORLD is a mass of unfiltered data. Luckily, the same technology that brought you the internet is also capable of making sense of this data. It's not a wasteland, it's a wonderland of undiscovered facts and buried proofs. I'm gonna start searching for the date of the Battle of Trafalgar now (6:30p)...

Okay it's now... oh, 6:30, it didn't even take a minute. Google, first result, Wikipedia, didn't even have to click it: "The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy"

Won't the Internet be useful in governing? Internet addicts clamor for government reports. But when Andy Spano ran for county executive in Westchester County, N.Y., he put every press release and position paper onto a bulletin board. In that affluent county, with plenty of computer companies, how many voters logged in? Fewer than 30. Not a good omen.

Hold on chief... He put them where? A Bulletin board? I don't know how long you've been using the internet, but on here a bulletin board is even less effective than a REAL BULLETIN BOARD. Look here, State of Virginia, Bain for Congress, he has a FaceBook page for his campaign, let's see if he had more than 30 people log on... hmm... okay, slightly more: 1,074. Next?

Point and click:
Then there are those pushing computers into schools. We're told that multimedia will make schoolwork easy and fun. Students will happily learn from animated characters while taught by expertly tailored software.Who needs teachers when you've got computer-aided education? Bah. These expensive toys are difficult to use in classrooms and require extensive teacher training. Sure, kids love videogames—but think of your own experience: can you recall even one educational filmstrip of decades past? I'll bet you remember the two or three great teachers who made a difference in your life.

Alright... So I've got to give it up now... By now none of you really believe that this guy is a really out of touch internet-moron and you've checked the date on the article... Yup. 1995. How quickly things have changed... maybe 15 years ago the internet was a piece of junk, but NEVER...EVER...say never.

I hope that today people realize that the internet isn't something different than "real life"... it IS real life. Just as real as talking on the phone, or going to a meeting... the people and opinions and creations that reside on cyberspace are all very real. And social networking is real interaction. Yes, this article was written before the Y2K Scare, but there are still people today that feel this way, and there will always be people like this, people who if they had been in charge, would not have let the internet become what it is today...

Don't fool yourself into thinking what you say on the internet isn't real, or that you're any less accountable for it, or that you can't hurt other people (or inspire other people) on the internet. The internet brings people together and that's a good thing no matter how you slice it. And don't trade progress for nostalgia... getting the morning paper may be nice, but it kills a lot of trees, and we can only make so many recycled paper cups out of them. lol.

Be well,

-Nick P.

DIY Implant revisited

Sorry I've been absent from the blog so long, I've been working on my latest project. After letting the idea of the Do It Yourself Implant stew for awhile, It occurred to me to practice what I preached.

I don't wanna spill the beans yet, because I haven't finished fleshing it out. But I have a prototype of sorts which I'll gladly show you... And I have learned a few things in practice of making things implantable:

-Conformal Coating services aren't cheap, especially when it comes to medical implant grade materials, luckily there are inexpensive solutions such as sheathing the device in a piece of medical tubing. The Tygon brand encompasses two lines of tubing which meet the criteria or implant materials (Although the Data sheets do say "not for implant")

-EO Gas sterilization is within the price range of most hobbyists, however, engineering runs can have long turnaround times, and you may have to build quite a few units in order to gauge "Off-Gassing" times before you have a safe, stable process down. Check your data-sheets for your electronics and see if you can subject them to autoclave conditions at least temporarily, that's my plan. Nearly every tattoo and piercing shop has an autoclave, and if you're having a professional piercer install the device, they'll be happy to sterilize the device for you in their autoclave, I'm sure. Just test it afterward, obviously.

Here's what I'm working on:




"What is it?"

Hah! All will be explained after it's installed.

Just an update, anyway, to let you know I'm still alive.

Be well,
-Nick

Human Resource Management in the Post-Human World

Being a business major, I got to thinking the other day about what possible role the "Human Resources" department could play in the future of the corporate world, especially in light of the Transhumanist movement. Obviously, the first order of business would be to rename the discipline of "Human Resources" to "Personnel" (or "Personnel Management") this would be the most Politically Correct term in a time when not all people (therefor, not all employees) are human.

But the really interesting part begins to emerge as you explore the role that a Human Resource Manager plays in the healthcare of employees. In the beginning, people couldn't expect any sort of healthcare from their employers, mostly because they couldn't expect decent healthcare anywhere to begin with. People used to become sick much more often and stay sick much longer than now.

Luckily, all that has changed, and as people gained exposure to the healthcare industry, businesses began to see that it would be in their interest to help improve their employees' health (by helping financially with their healthcare) At that point, Human Resources was largely concerned with curing or treating existing illnesses, this is how medicine functioned at the time.

The Medical Industry has since discovered various ways in which to prevent illness, which has caught the attention of business owners and Human Resource Managers, because preventing illness in employees means less sick days, higher morale and productivity, and generally improved public image. So now many businesses offer programs such as incentives to promote physical activity, some even furnish on-site gyms or office jogging-groups or sports teams.

As you can see, Human Resources went from being unconcerned with the health of their employees, to becoming concerned with Treatment of illness (or repair) of their employees, to now becoming concerned with prevention (or maintenance). My point may, at this point, be rather obvious. If you trend this out, you'll likely come to the conclusion that I have: The "Personnel Manager" will, doubtless, be concerned with not only the repair and maintenance of their employees, but the improvement as well. Just look:



Repair (Notable decline in performance surrounding "event")
|
Maintenance (Prevention of "events" which may effect performance)
|
Improvement (Improving performance beyond that of "average" healthy employees)



Obviously, Human Resource Management is presently concerned with "improving" their employees, through training and performance review and such, but that's not exactly what I'm referring to. What I mean is: One day, your employer will pay to augment your body with technologies that might improve the way in which you perform your essential job tasks. Imagine, for instance, that your job involves exposure to hazardous materials (let's say, for example, CO gas) You can't smell CO, so there's no way to tell if you're being poisoned until you're in moderate trouble. Your employer can't help you be "so healthy you're immune to CO gas" however, he may be able to invest in an enhancement to your body that will alert you to high levels of CO in the air, or let you detect it by sense of smell, or even actively remove CO from the air in your lungs. This is a somewhat weak example (CO meters and gas-masks are obviously cheaper than implants) but it's a good picture of what I'm getting at.

Anyway, just some food for thought.

Be Well,
Nick

My Wearable, an update.

So, for several years now I've been lugging around the same, tired cell phone. Well, that's not completely accurate, I bought the first Model MotoQ the year it came out. That phone lasted a good while, but when I had finally dropped it one too many times (I had thought) I bought a Samsung i760, wonderful unit, broke two of them, but I love them. After the second one stopped working I was stuck with a dilemma, because I was out of warranty and in between contracts... so I had to step back down to my already half-dead Motorola Q... which I've been "using" since then. All of this has something to do with my wearable computer, promise.

Anyway, It's time to buy a new cell phone, which got me thinking about portability and about the real reason why the wearable computer is even a remotely convenient idea. It's because of wireless networking and data transfer, the ability to be constantly linked in to the network. Most people now do not use their laptops to stay connected but their smartphones, so perhaps I could adapt my wearable computing system to be more cell-compatible. My solution? The HTC Droid Incredible. It has the ability to output video via the mini-usb port on the side of the unit, it's WiFi capable (up to the "n" standard) and touch-sensitive. It has good battery life and it very compact and lightweight. This will be my computer.

So what does the new set-up look like?

I/O
_______________
Cellular (CDMA)
WiFi b/g/n
Mini-USB
Bluetooth

Interface
_______________
Wireless keyboard (Wrist mounted)
Headset display
Phone's integrated 8mp camera

Wearability
_______________
Unit is strapped to upper-arm
Keyboard on wrist
Headset display

The best part, really, is that the Incredible packs a 1GHz Snapdragon which is pushing the new Google Android OS, which is (rumor has it) a cinch to develop for, which will help when I start to develop bluetooth (possibly sub-dermal) peripherals to the system.

More updates later, until then be well,
-NP

Juan Enriquez shares mindboggling science | Video on TED.com

Sorry for the delay, I'm having a Microsoft-Related Laptop problem right now, but not to worry it is on the mend. At any rate, while borrowing a friend's laptop I found the time to cruise TED for some provocative talks on Trans-human themes and I stumbled across this tidy little wrap-up of converging technologies. For those of you who aren't familiar with TED, it is a non-profit conference on "Ideas worth spreading" (T.E.D. stands for Technology Entertainment Design) And it brings together everybody from musicians to the dry and analytical science-types. Every TED Conference is an incredible snapshot of the intellectual landscape at the time and it really does sem to propagate great ideas and themes. The best part is that, for free, you can go to their website and watch any of over 700 talks (TEDTalks) that were recorded at various conferences in very clear definition. Each talk is around 18 minutes long and I've never been disappointed by a speaker, I always learn something new.

At any rate, here's the link to the TEDTalks video:
Juan Enriquez shares mindboggling science Video on TED.com

UPDATE:
The headset display is fantastic considering the money that I spent. My explorations of augmented reality have been interesting and informative but I haven't developed a really usable application yet. More work is yet to be done. Also, the system will be fully-wearable soon so I'll start generating a lot more content at that point. In the mean time, keep thinking forward.

Be Well,
-Nick

Phase 1

So, I've been preaching the gospel of wearable computing for a while now, and I'm finally putting my own system together. If you'll recall my post of wearable displays, my obvious favorite for portability and price was the MyVu Crystal Headset. Well, I took my own advice and hopped on eBay to buy one. Ended up spending about $120, not bad. On top of that, I threw on an S-Video to Composite adapter (The input to the headset is Composite (RCA) to accommodate the iPod and other portable media devices. I also got a tiny little webcam (about the size of a 1/4" female adio jack) which I will affix the the glasses in order to create a sort of "see-through" Augmented Reality platform. This is definitely the early experimental stage of the project, but it's going well so far. My main issue from here is input. I am typing this blog on my laptop keyboard, viewing from the headset, but that's really no more convenient than just using the laptop's display. So in the category of interaction, I have a lot of input from the computer (audio and video) but no portable output to the unit (except any interface I can design for the webcam in the way of AR). the next input device that I add will most likely be some sort of keyboard that I can hold in my hand I looked into one-handed typing devices, chord keyboards, etc. But I ultimately decided that the ultimate portable keyboard is just the micro-sized QWERTY. There won't be a learning curve either (like with a chorded keyboard) because I've always owned cell-phones with "thumb-top" QWERTY boards. I have found a product on eBay for a very reasonable price that I think will probably be my choice for micro-sized QWERTY, It's similar in size and layout to the Motorola Q (or the Samsung Blackjack II, if you're into that sort of thing) except imagine that the screen is a touch pad (Like you'll find on most laptops)... Well... Here, just have a look:

It's a pretty neat and inexpensive piece of tech. It runs about $25 and has a full QWERTY and touch pad, so that's just as much input as your average laptop, except from the palm of your hand. This is going to be a great feature for input, buit also for portability... speaking of which, before I get too portable, I'm going to need a new battery for my laptop. There are some great deals on eBay for those too (Wow, I sound like I'm advertising eBay, lol) Then it'll be a matter of lugging the laptop around along with all the peripheral equipment in-tow. Well, I've found a great solution to that as well. The "NY BUILT" Laptop Backpack:





Yes, it is as pricey as it looks. This backpack is "Made from lightweight neoprene and breathable air mesh" and will set you back a cool $80 new (or as low as $60 on eBay) It has room for a large laptop as well as a few peripherals and is super-slim and comfortable. It has a front-strap that (along with making you look super dorky) will help evenly distribute the weight of the computer and equipment, which is going to be especially important for me because I'll be wearing the thing almost all of the time. It also features a small zipper compartment in the front strap, which will be the perfect place to stow my micro-keyboard, I'll cut a little channel between the main compartment and the strap pocket so I can wire the keyboard through the backpack internally with no messy external wires hanging all over the place. Also, I'll be able to store all of the video adapters in the bag and run the display cables out of the top of the pack and up the back of my neck which will allow me to run the wires "covertly," again, avoiding the dorky, overly wired-up look. I suppose you could call these items the "Phase 2" of my wearable, allowing for maximum portability. But how about interaction with the computer on an even higher level? Well, that's phase 3...

I'm scheming to buy an eMotiv EPOC EEG headset as we speak... I'm not sure how much longer these things are gonna be around, that is, I'm not sure what the demand is for consumer-level eeg technology. But check this out, $299 gets you:


14 saline sensors (so I'll have to keep them wet)
Hi-performance wireless interface
Lithium Battery provides 12 hours run-time
USB compatible and requires no custom drivers
Gyroscope generates optimal positional information
And the design is totally wearable, and doesn't look TOTALLY insane, like most eeg caps (which look like sci-fi showercaps, lol)

This sweet piece of tech will allow me two more degrees of communication with the computer. Gyroscopic positional information (Super-reliable and accurate) and EEG signal detection, that's right, brain-wave interface. With that added to the system, it will essentially become an outboard brain, capable of referencing the internet for information and relaying it back to me. I will be able to input from the computer via the heads-up display and the headphones (Audio-visual) And output to the computer through EEG, Positional data, keyboard, pointer and camera. That's almost the maximum number of degrees of interaction that are available between computers and people right now. So I'm pretty excited about it. Maybe It'll be a while before I'll be able to wear this kind of thing out and about though, lol.

I'll post updates as I develop the Augmented Reality Software. And keep you updated on any developments as far as the phase 2 and 3 upgrades.

Be well.

*Sigh* ... A response.

I recently had the displeasure of stumbling across this atrocity of logical thought while diving around the net, and try as I might I could not keep quiet about this one. The article, entitled "6 reasons why you'll never upload your mind into a computer" claims to outline the six major problems with virtualization.... actually that's inaccurate... It CLAIMS to outline several problems with the "singularity" (A distinctly different idea than virtualization). Here, I'll just go ahead and dive in:

"You may have heard of the so-called Singularity — the idea that, thanks to technology, we'll soon be able to upload our minds into computers and become, for all intents and purposes, immortal. It's an exciting notion. Even The New York Times likes the idea. There's just one problem: It's a load of bull."

Alright... first of all, I'm just gonna throw him a bone on this one and admit that the word singularity has been used and abused for a long time... but if you're even a little keen on your etymology, it's obvious which definition is most accurate. What he's talking about, the idea that you can upload your mind to a computer is called "virtualization," the idea that it might make you immortal is...well... "immortalism." Basically, the idea that he thinks is singularity is really "immortalist virtualism." Now you're probably wondering what the singularity is... here's the short version: The singularity has been an article of religious faiths and spiritualist teachings for eons, It's the idea that all consciousness on Earth will one day join together to become one giant, all-knowing consciousness. Furthermore, it's the belief that this is not only possible but the very goal of all life, the finish line... now, whether you think that sacrificing individuality is the cornerstone of enlightenment or enslavement, you have to respect that this is a completely separate idea from virtualization... Sure, virtualization could be one route to the singularity, but it's not the only one and it's certainly not an equivalent concept... Anyway, to lend any credence what-so-ever to the rest of this garbage, we'll have to imagine that whenever the 'writer' says "Singularity" he means "Virtualization." So let's see the Six reasons we'll never "Reach Singularity."

Two Words: Fail Whale

This may seem like a cheap shot, but "uptime" is something our most advanced computer scientists still struggle with. Hell, our super-sophisticated algorithms can't even keep a text-based microblogging service from crashing during the World Cup — what happens when there's a Fail Whale for your mind? Will it be like getting a hangover, having a stroke, or dying? You'd have to assume we'll all be "backed up," but that raises troubling questions too: when the server running You goes kaplooie, is your "backup" really you, or just a clone of you that takes your place now that the "real" you is lost? The Singularitarians don't have reassuring answers, and I don't want to find out the hard way.

...Hm. Okay, you want two words? How about Brain Aneurysm... or Myocardial infarction, Oh how about Acute Appendicitis. The truth is that computer scientists aren't the only ones dealing with uptime problems, at any moment you could drop dead from 100 things you don't know are happening in your body, that's the way it's always going to be. Sure, that blows a whole in "immortalism" but not in virtualization... and honestly, if you stop and think about it for a second, isn't it likely that your prosthetic body will be much more self-diagnostic than your current wetware? At any rate, the philosophical babble at the end about the loss of "self" and whether the "self" can be backed up is pretty much moot, these are things that are yet to be understood and besides that, who said that we would need to be backed up? As long as our cyberbrains are bistable and have multiple on-board redundancies, it would take a pretty traumatic event to shut it down. ...Next.

The Storage Media Won't Last Five Years, Much Less Forever

Stone tablets written in Sanskrit may last millennia, but digital storage media go to shit alarmingly fast when used continuously (and you'd have to assume there'd be constant disk activity if millions of people were "living" on them!). Without frequent physical backups, refreshes, and format updates, precious data will quickly be rendered unreadable or inaccessible. So when we're all "in the cloud," who's gonna be down on the ground doing all that real-world maintenance — robots? Morlocks? Even if that works, it just seems evolutionarily unwise to swap one faulty physical substrate (albeit one that has been honed for millions of years, runs on sugar and water, and lasts nearly a century) for another one that can barely make it from one Olympic season to the next, even with permanent air-conditioning.

Okay, this is a fairly reasonable argument... I mean, who's gonna maintain the big computer? This is where the disparity between his title and his article become painfully obvious. This is a reason why there may never be a technological singularity, or at least a one-part, centralized, fully-virtualized singularity... However, as his title implies, this is NOT a reason why you'll never upload your brain into a computer. Obviously, the current materials are lacking in a certain durability, but if that's your only argument, it's tantamount to saying "It can't be done now, so it will never be done." As far as ' frequent physical backups, refreshes, and format updates' are concerned, he's got an interesting point about who would do maintenance on a mainframe-type singularity... although it is conceivable that a singlulatarian mainframe may be capable of working on itself... Take, for example, the idea that the singularity may occur (jf at all) as a population of networked, semi-autonomous cyborgs. They would be capable of maintaining themselves and the network for as long as they had materials to do so. And as far as non-singulatarian virtualization is concerned, I agree with a comment that was made on the article in response to the statement about how ' frequent physical backups, refreshes, and format updates' would be vital. The response was simply: "Then do that." (Besides, our sugar-water centurion computers require their own measure of upkeep) Dalyee...

Insane Energy Demand

The human brain only needs 20 watts to run the app called You, but with almost 7 billion of us and counting, we're already straining the earth's ability to host us all. Meanwhile, you know how much juice one Google data center consumes just to index the latest LOLcats (a task much, much simpler than hosting your digital consciousness)? 100 million watts. Do the math: We'd have to invent fusion reactors or build a Dyson sphere just to keep the lights on. Neither of those technologies are theoretically impossible — in fact, they fit right into the Singularitarians' techno-magical worldview. But they're definitely not gonna happen within the next few decades, and probably not even within the next century or two.

Okay, here's a seemingly logical argument (against virtualization, that is) The only problem is that in the course of writing this, he shot himself in the foot (tragically aiming several feet too low). First of all, the article that he cites for the statement about human brain power is actually about a solution to the very problem he's arguing. Secondly, his Google comparison is ill-founded and misleading. If you follow his link to the article about Google DataCenters, you'll find that he is referring to an especially power-hungry data center during a potential period full-capacity (not just to index the latest LOLcats, as much as it may seem that that's all Google does). By the way, that wattage is the power demand for the entire center... lighting, processing, cooling, security, Power Backup, switching, transmission... So yes, it takes 100 Million Watts to run 30 acres of web servers at full capacity 24/7 and keep them cool and maintained. What does that have to do with virtualization? ...well... nothing.

Lack of Processing Power

Singularitarians love to trot out simple arithmetic: add up all the brain's billions of neurons and trillions of synapses, and you get a "total processing power" of about 10 quadrillion calculations per second, or 10 petaflops. Meanwhile, IBM's Blue Gene/P supercomputer has a maximum theoretical limit of around 3 petaflops. So just give it a decade or two, and it'll lap us easy, right? It's Moore's Law, bitchez!

That might be true if neurons only acted like digital transistors. But they don't. Neuroscientists are still uncovering all the ways that the little wires in our heads encode information besides flipping bits: chemically (via hormones and neurotransmitters), temporally (by changing the rate at which they fire, alone or in coordinated waves), even structurally (literally rewiring, strengthening, or pruning connections in response to new input). Adding up all that extra computational oomph is something scientists are still struggling to do, but even a conservative estimate would bump up that 10-quadrillion figure by several orders of magnitude. A million Blue Genes wouldn't be enough to match it.

This... I don't even really want to talk about it... this is going to be exhausting. Okay, first of all, where did he get this trash about Singulatarians and math? I've never seen this 10 petaflop number he's trouting. Secondly, his argument is all based on the idea that the brain will be somehow "emulated," that the physical processes behind the brain are going to be mimicked by software, but the truth is that if virtualization happens, it will occur by the use of very specialized computers that mimic (physically) the processes of the brain, the software will be "you." In light of that fact, the rest of his little rant is moot... But you have to appreciate the prowess with which he pulls that last bit out of his rear, "a conservative estimate would bump up that 10-quadrillion figure by several orders of magnitude." That's not a conservative estimate by scientists, that's an inflated estimate by someone who obviously knows very little about computer science.

Minds Don't Work Without Bodies

Okay... I'm not gonna post this paragraph, if you like you can go to the link at the top of this article and read it. First of all, this statement is untrue. He tries, he really does try to make his case but let's take a look at what he cited in the paragraph... As evidence that our bodies are part of our "selves" he cites an article about how sociophobes behave differently when they are being represented on cyberspace by more attractive avatars... this is a body image problem, which relates only to a society where there are "bodies." Then, as evidence that our bodies perform functions that were previously attributed to the brain, he cites an article which he paraphrases as "removing body parts affects visual perception" but when you actually read the article, you find that it's about people missing their hands and how it effects their ability to accurately judge the distance of nearby objects (because the brain uses the hands as a reference of distance, again, a problem only applicable in the macro-physical world, not in a virtual world). And then he throws another one in there which he paraphrases "simple abstract notions we take for granted boil down to physical sensations of the body in space." If you read the article, you'll find that it's really about how abstract notions are reflected in body language... Okay, I'm done here... that's enough.

Who Gets Uploaded?

Damn... tough question, but not really a "reason you'll never upload your brain to a computer."

Alright, well I think that about covers it... I'm out of energy on this one, I've already given it way more thought than the author did.

Be well.

Life on the Eve of the Transhuman Revolution
Transhumanists envision a future where our bodies and minds have surpassed the upper limits of what we call human, and our ability to be near-omnipresent will bring a closeness to the world that has never existed.
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DIY Implant?

I've been thinking a lot about implantable computers, and I'm fairly certain that for the brave few among us who actually dare to modify (somewhat prematurely, technologically speaking I'm sure) are in a unique position in history to actually develop our own implants.

What inspired me to actually write about this is an article that I read in H+ Magazine called, "Scrapheap Transhumanism," Where the writer of the article encouraged the reader to "be stupid like him" and jump into body modification. While I can't endorse his haphazard approach, or obviously attention-seeking choice of terminology (He describes "Carving Cavities" in his fingers, in reality I think most people understand that implantation is usually accomplished not by "carving" but by careful "punch and pocket" operations just under the skin.) At any rate, I wondered if there was a place in this DIY body modification scene for someone a little more cautious, like me.

What I found was an incredible array of industries that, while they don't market to the DIY-er, they are most certainly available, and in combination, could allow for the development of some very advanced implantable applications. Let me explain.

First off, there is a surge of DIY circuit building and programming information on the internet. Websites such as SparkFunElectronics (A personal favorite of mine) are offering small orders (as few as 1 piece) of surface mount ICs for what may be the first time in history (I was certainly never able to find them before) They also have an incredible library of free coding and circuit diagrams as well as a fantastic community. As far as actually developing the computer itself, on a scale that is actually implantable, this is the ticket. There are also a variety of prototyping services that are happy to build your custom circuit design and ship it to you at a relatively affordable cost.

Once you have a computer or a peripheral of some type that you'd like to implant, the problem is making in bio-compatible and safe to implant. Luckily, there are companies on the internet whose sole purpose is to coat whatever you send them in materials such as Parylene. A Bio-compatible, Bio-Stable material which is FDA approved in most medical applications, including mid to long term implantation, Parylene is applied as a gas in a process that does not require a solvent or plasticizer and results in a chemical film that is free form pinholes. Best of all, companies such as SCS Coating Services Will spray just about anything in the stuff for the right price.

Okay now it's bio-compatible, all we need to do is clean it and install it. Anyone who has been to a piercing shop knows that anything that goes through the skin needs to be seriously sterilized. For years, the ultimate form of sterilization was Autoclave. An Autoclave sterilizes items by subjecting them to a high-pressure, saturated steam at temperatures upwards of 120degrees. This is obviously not the appropriate approach for the sterilization of delicate electrical equipment. Luckily, there is a solution! In the form of a poisonous and explosive gas, the best kind of solution, let me explain. (EO) or Ethylene Oxide gas is the simplest epoxide, it's a strong poison to humans and the main component of thermobaric weapons, but more importantly for us "It is also a common gas-phase disinfectant which is widely used in hospitals to sterilize heat-sensitive tools and equipment." Aside from that, it's also widely used to disinfect brand new body-jewelry and almost all disposable piercing needles and surgical blades. There are a variety of companies of the internet who will EO-Gas Sterilize any item you send them for the right price, with a little communication, these services are open to anybody.

Now your instrument has been built, bio-coated and sterilized... the next thing you need to do is have it installed. Now, this can be a little difficult, for the most part you wont ever find a surgeon willing to implant an untested, non-approved "medical device." But luckily for you, there are plenty of people who are trained to insert foreign bodies under the skin who aren't restricted by medical practices: Piercing techs! That's right, the same people responsible for the gauged-ear freak generation often have experience implanting small devices. As long as it will rest just under the skin, it's well within their range of expertise. In fact, the "Transdermal Implant" has become a popular piercing to give the effect that a piece of jewelry is floating on the body with no support. You may have to take your work to quite a few piercing shops before you find one that's willing to do it, but be polite and patient, explain what it is you're trying to accomplish, and (perhaps most importantly) show up with your device still sealed with it's certificate of EO-Sterilization. Most piercers won't guarantee their work implanting devices that they have no experience with, but if you're willing to pay them what they think is fair, and if you're willing to accept responsibility and liability for the possible migration/rejection of the device, they'll usually pop it right in for you.

There you go! Now it's time to show off!

Food for thought anyway.

What does it mean to be a Transhumanist?

Tonight I dived the net looking for other H+ communities to get involved with, link up to. But what I found was a little disappointing.

I'm afraid that the true Transhumanists in this world don't realize that that's what they are, and that the people who call themselves transhumanists are really sci-fi nerds (not that there's anything wrong with that *too early in blog to burn bridges*) or they're some sort of weird pseudo-scientist... or worse... a techno-philosopher. At any rate, I thought it might be beneficial to discuss ere what an actual Trans-humanist stands for, both for the benefit of anyone who may help the H+ cause and in order to save my own name as an active Trans-humanist.

First of all, what do Trans-humanist believe? According to Wikipedia.org, a Trans-humanist is someone who

"...support the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities. The movement regards aspects of the human condition, such as disability, suffering, disease, aging, and involuntary death as unnecessary and undesirable."

By that definition, most progressives are Trans-humanists, Most people in fact. The terms science and technology cover a wide range of things such as vaccines, medicines and nutritional supplements which are used by a vast and growing number of people every day to improve their mental and physical capacities. Not to mention, it's probably safe to say that the better part of the population would like to eradicate all instances of, "disability, suffering, disease, aging, and involuntary death."

So where does a Trans-humanist really differ from the rest of society? The answer lies in the word itself: TransHumanist. While the general population may use science and technology to maintain or improve their health, they adhere to a definition of "health" that most Trans-humanists would find unacceptable. We (Trans-humanists) hope to be healthier than a "healthy" human, which still falls ill or is injured quite easily. We hope to, one day, be better that human, beyond human, Posthuman. In the mean time, however, we are only Transhuman, in the "in-between" stage, the adolescence of posthumanism. Before I scare you away though, hear me out.

We're not all talking about people walking around with robot arms capable of lifting cars and cybernetic eyes that can see for miles (although we all support the right of anyone who wishes to do so) Here's the basic outline of the H+ Platform:

1) Any scientific research that could result in the development of technologies which may be beneficial to people should not be hindered by government (and by extension, religion). This includes bio research (such as cloning and stem-cell research), nano-research (such as nano-computing and nano-structures), neurochemical research, cognition study, communications research and cybernetic research. (Within the realm of Scientific Ethics, of course)

2) People have the right to do anything to their own bodies that they want. Many basic body modifications are ruled as "Self-Mutilation" in some state law.

3) Human Rights are top priority, as well as the preemptive campaign for "PostHuman" rights. (Including the right to seek medical treatment and the right to wear and use implanted devices)

In a broad manner of speaking, a competitive athlete is a trans-humanist. Athletes monitor their diets and activity levels and take special interest in their health and hygiene in order to boost performance.

Here is a list of Technologies that Trans-humanists commonly endorse:

- Life extension
- Cybernetics
- Bio-mechanical engineering
- Nano-structures and computing
- Communication Technology
- Genetic Research
- Prosthetic Research and Design
- Neurology
- Psychology
- Pharmacology

Now that you pretty well understand the view of the H+ Movement, you may be wondering to yourself why anyone would stand against it. In my experience, opposition comes from three sources: Scientific Skepticism, Religious Contradiction and what I personally call the "Leave good-enough alone" argument.

Scientific Skepticism of Trans-humanist ideals is a common type of opposition to the movement. Skeptics believe (some scientists, some not) that the H+ Movement has fallen victim to a phenomenon known as "future hype" whereby the movement interprets recent technological development as evidence of accelerated change and over-estimates technological advancement in the future. While it is true that there is a "fringe" element to the movement, with many (usually less educated) members making grandiose claims about the state of humanity in the next 50 or so years, the majority of trans-humanists are interested only in the technology of today and how to develop in in the right direction. I personally find that the lion's share of unfounded scientific claims or over-hyped technological predictions belong to the "Life-extension" sub-community (more especially those concerned with immortality) These groups are very susceptible to their own psychology. They fear death and so they subconsciously pad the numbers, hoping that the technologies that they prophecy will one day save them from that fear. In other words, life-extensionists and immortalists are prone to predicting vast and unprecedented technological development within their natural life-times. This phenomenon does add to the outside observations of "future-hype" tendencies.

Religion may be the largest (partially) unified opposition to Trans-humanism. Many religions, world-wide, hold it as truth that human-kind was "created." Not only that, but they believe that taking that design into our own hands is blasphemous or sacrilegious in some way. Often times it is cited that "God made us in his own image" and that "In order to make a more perfect human, you would have to assume the existence of a more perfect God, which is (of course) unthinkable." These types of arguments are rarely worth fighting. People who look to the views and opinions of civilizations which failed and who had no point of reference for moral decision making in the type of society in which we live currently, are obviously severely reactionary. Worse, those who look to the words of others as opposed to their own opinions are idiots. Trying to discuss any progressive policy with them is going to be a waste of time for either party. However, in the event that unfounded belief or outdated moral codes should interfere with the betterment of humanity (medical research for instance) then it is every person's duty to fight against such decisions.

Finally, "Leave Good-Enough Alone," or "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," The idea that the human condition is at it's most optimal state currently and that any further attempts at perfecting it will simply be superfluous and cumbersome, or in some views, damaging. This is, in my own opinion, alarmingly short-sighted. While your life may be satisfactory, there are millions on this planet that are not. Furthermore, to think that we haven't already use technology to alter mankind for the better is a complete fallacy. Immunization, for instance, altering the internal record of our immune system to prepare in in case of attack from specific, life-threatening diseases. Or any type of medical technology whatsoever, if you've ever taken an aspirin for a headache, you've used technology and scientific research to improve the quality of your life. It's obvious that the human model will continue to work on this planet for a long time, but working and exceeding are two different concepts. In order for the most people to live truly happy lives, science and technology cannot be hindered.

I feel it is important to mention that the term Science and Technology is not meant to undermine the importance of psychology (which is a science, after all) or any other research which isn't generally perceived as "progressive." Even though the H+ movement is defined by the desire to be more than human, the most basic tenant could be thought of as the "ruggedization" of humanity, in order that it might survive the test of time better. In a way, by becoming Post-human, we hope to preserve the essence of mankind. With that, I'll end this rant.

More on this subject later, but first, a few things Trans-Humanist activists may consider:

- Lobby for Scientific Research, protest any hindrance to legitimate development.
- Refrain from the use of the word "Humanity" to describe positive personal attributes, this was only accurate by default when used in opposition to the term "Animal" (A folly in and of itself, but with philosophical merit) And Post-humans, people will be forced to shed their "humanity" by definition, but they will still be expected to be personal, philosophical, sympathetic, etc. Perhaps a more appropriate term is "Personality"
- As an elaboration on the last point, keep in mind that right now all "people" are "humans" and vice-versa. In the future this may not be the case, remember that part of your agenda is to preserve the rights of a group which wishes to be recognized as "non-human"
(All humans are people, but not all people are human, some are posthuman (whether cyborg or biomorph). Looking further ahead, some "people" may even be completely artificial "Turing Positive" machines)
- Get in the habit of taking care of your tech. One day it will have to take care of you.

Goodnight all.

Headset Displays: The cornerstone of convenient 'wearability'

Headset Displays, also known as HMDs (Head Mounted Display) are easily the most recognizable icon of the "cybernetically enhanced" and they've been around for a long time. But as micro display technology grows and advances in new display mediums such as OLED start to surface, head mounted displays are becoming more affordable than ever.

For the serious Wear-Geek, a few companies build super hi-res headsets in both monocular and full goggle models. These are, of course, obscenely expensive.

The Eyeneo EyeTop is probably the more "slick looking" models of monocular headset (if you wear your sunglasses at night) and sells for a cool $1400. The only downside (other than the fact that you'll need to take out a second mortgage to balance over a grand on your face?) is that the

resolution is sub standard. The Eyetop is marketted as a "Viewfinder" which is probably how they get away with QVGA (or one-quarter VGA resolution, that's 240x360 or 1/4 of your Standard Definition TV)

Another option, a little more conservative (both financially and stylistically), is the Vuzix M920-

Video. The great thing about this

headset is that it's obviously stable, a little more lightweight, and you could wear it in conjunction with any other eyewear you may choose. Best of all, at full VGA quality (640x480) That's almost usable! It includes cable to connect it to almost any standard def. video

source (S-Video, Composite, VGA). Still with a price tag of $1000, it makes you a little uneasy about wearing it

out.

In my opinion, the future of wearable displays is going to look a little more like this. The MicroOptical CV-3. Unfortunately discontinued (Undoubtedly due to it's laughable $2150 price tag) This versatile, compact unit could be attached to any glasses or goggles, lasted 5 hrs on a single charge and displayed full color, full VGA video at 60 fps.

All of these industrial-strength optical products are great, but the price tag is entirely unwarranted, and if you want the proof, just read on and I'll give you a taste of what affordable looks like. If you have the money to spend on those units though, you can buy them at Tekgear.

So, here we go on an Ebay shopping spree. But the first thing we need to do is figure out what to search for. Few people have a couple of old "HMDs" They're looking to throw out. But wait... People are obsessed with iPods and portable video players... And lo and behold a couple of good honest Chinese manufacturers have come to capitalize on that obsession. I give to you, another close facsimile to the HMD: "Video Glasses"

Video Glasses are also called virtual theaters or personal viewers, are sort of a slimmed down commercial-grade version of the same displays we just discussed. The main difference is that, because they're goal is full-immersion, they are binocular. There are a few ways to deal with this: personally, I like binocular, you can wear them on your head like sunglasses until you need to search something, then they're right there. Or, if you like to be able to surf and walk, why not add a cheapo camera for some augmented reality fun? Finally, I suppose you could always hack the damn thing in half (carefully) and make a monocular unit.

The Cheapos! This is a unit available for under $100 (I know right?) Let's have a look. It's fairly stylish, in comparison to the more robust units. They claim an impressive 8-9 hours of continual use on a single charge... Ah, here we go, QVGA resolution. And that's gonna be your problem with anything under $100. At that resolution, reading text clearly will be impossible in most cases, but they're still fun to watch movies on, I'm sure...

The upper end of cheap... Here's a fairly nasty piece of tech for the money, and you'll recognize the name-brand: Vuzix (The same company that brought you the $1000 M920-Video) is cornering the commercial market with the WrAP920 Incuiti. So, what do they want for this ultra-sleek, wraparound design? Looks like about $340 on eBay... yeah, it's expensive, but not a grand. And it boasts not only full VGA resolution, but a nice wide field of view and full 3d support (that's right, it actually has two full VGA displays in it that can be fed independently.) A nice toy, a little expensive though...

Finally, bang for your buck! The Myvu Crystal Video Glasses take the cake for me. They're going for around $120 to $200 on eBay and boast full VGA resolution. Also, they have integrated earbuds for sound and their style is unstoppable in my book. They look fairly lightweight as well.

So there you go, a $120 dollar solution to a $2100 product, leave it to China...

I'll post back next time with INPUT devices, the next big building block in wearability.

Till then, I'll be watchin' the net...

-NP

Hello! And Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog. Here we'll explore the future of technological integration, from the presently practical (such as wearable computing) to the advanced and invasive (implant/cyborg theory).

But first, a brief introduction. My name's Nick. I'm a college student in Roanoke, Va. Ever since I can remember I've had a knack for computer science. When I was quite young, I was already obsessed with trying to find ways to make computers work for people. I built little robots and played with computer programming up until I was in high school and then I realized, as I saw the advent of advanced mobile technology in the form of "Smartphones," that the most valuable work that can be done in computing is in improving the way people and machines interact. The computer processor may be one of the most incredible and versatile tools in history, but nobody will use it to its full potential if it's hard to use.

Another factor of influence for me is information technology and communication theory. There are thousands of GB of data flying around your head all of the time in the form of microwaves from cell phones and cell modems, radio waves from broadcast stations, WiFi connections and hobby radio operators, satellite data or GPS and television, even invisible IR light. Imagine how much of your world you can't see, and imagine how much more connected you could be if you could just interpret all of this "invisible information"

Wearable computing is a big step in the right direction for either of these fields. The technology for a practical, wearable computer is here, and it came by way of the communications and entertainment industries. There are consumer level, commercially available products that, if combined in the right way, would make fine and usable wearable systems. Best of all, as people are born into this new era of communication, more people are learning that multi-tasking isn't just for the office and for the first time in history there's a demand for computer integration.

There's a movement, whether its conscious or not, towards transhumanism. People want and need to be more than just people. Now, more than ever, people are understanding that "plugging in" doesn't mean shying away from the world, it means opening up to the world. The net is global and vast and ever-growing and with all of that knowledge available at the push of a button, posthumans will be here soon, and they will be smarter than most because they will be as smart as all.

So join me in discussing the implications of our changing world.

-Nick P.