RoR: Forum

This isn't the normal video file format we usually view on RoR, and not all browsers or operating systems are working with it. Safari has been reported as not showing it. I'm using Google Chrome which works fine. If if doesn't work for you, try this YouTube video, which isn't exactly the same content, but very, very close:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHWTLA8WecI

(Edited by Steve Wolfer on 11/11, 5:41pm)

Post 1

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 11:29am

Interesting... but then, the singularity is near... ;-)
And it means that principles, NOT pragmatism, more than ever, are needed to be understood and used, in order to make sense and give direction to this future unfolding...

(Edited by robert malcom on 11/11, 11:38am)

Post 2

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 12:22pm

Yes, The Singularity is Near - which happens to be the title of a book by Ray Kurzweil, and anyone who found that video even a tiny bit interesting would find it a good read (actually one can get what is needed by browsing the first 30 pages or so in the library or book store).

And Robert is right... to even understand what is happening, to have a frame of reference for grasping the changes as they approach a speed where things blur together, requires a solid set of principles.

We have to get more and more efficient at manifesting the change we want (as opposed to what the culture and technology are going to present us with no matter what we do). The only way to be more efficient is by leveraging principles.

Post 3

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 12:34pm

I saw this video recently as well. It's pretty amazing.

The one thing that I am having a hard time wrapping my head around is Bermuda, of all countries, being the No. 1 in broadband internet penetration. That's some real chin-rubbin', beard-strokin', head-scratchin' material right there.

Post 4

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 12:46pm

Yeah, Bermuda of all places! All I could think was that they felt separate from the rest of the world for so long, that they really jumped on the internet when it showed up - a way of being not so small and so far away - that, and I'll bet that someone, maybe government, wired the island right up to the gills early on.

I Googled a bit and found that Bermuda has the highest per capita income in the world, more than 50% higher than the US. Its economy is mostly about financial services for international business and luxury facilities for tourists.

They only have about 66,000 people total and 48,000 of them are wired to the net.

Post 5

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 12:58pm

After doing some quick research, I realize I misunderstood the concept of "broadband penetration". This "penetration" is simply the number of broadband subscribers over the total population. So if the country of Objectivia has a population of 10,000, and there are 1,000 broadband subscribers, then the "broadband penetration" is (1,000/10,000) 10%.

Given the compact size and economic status of tropical Bermuda, as well as the island's relatively low population, it should be of no extraordinary feat for Bermuda to be ranked No. 1 in internet penetration. This simply means that most of the island is hooked up to the Broadband Internet.

And "most" in this case, really means: "36.5%", as shown here:
http://www.internetworldstats.com/dsl.htm

I am no longer in awe of this tiny little tidbit -- but the video is still, overall, awesome. :)

Post 6

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 1:41pm

Yes the Bermuda thing is not so hard to do - you could pick an area of the US that size and probably get a higher number.

The India thing made no sense either, since all they said was "top 25%" - which means nothing from an absolute standpoint. The top 25% may or may not be smart or educated.

Post 7

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 1:54pm

For some reason I can't see the link. Would you please post the URL?

Thanks

Post 8

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 3:16pm

The video isn't working for me either. It tells me I need to update Real, and when I try that, it tells me there is no updated Real software. Weird.

Post 9

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 3:33pm

I right-clicked on the screen image (which would not load, either) and selected Real and it worked, but I agree that posting the link would be helpful.

I saw an earlier version of this -- two in fact, an example of exponentiation -- this summer.

Interesting... It does not matter that 25% of the smartest people in India represents a number greater than the number of people in the USA if their talent is lost or wasted. It is one of the reasons why Bermuda is successful, the Caymen Island, Hong Kong, and other places.

There was never an excuse for wasting human intelligence.

Post 10

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 4:29pm

In summary, the video gives a false impression that a college education quickly becomes outdated and useless.

In physics not much has been discovered since Einstein. Calculus, Diff Eq, and information theory have not changed much either, nor has transistor logic, digital and analog circuit mathematics/physics, or particularly chemistry and mechanics. Particularly for things that are used in day to day problem solving.

So the core of a person in an engineering field is still extremely useful over time. I think about 1/2 of my college education was learning in these core unchanging knowledge bases. Maybe 1/4 was spent learning to use current technology's tools for problem solving and experiencing/learning the core info first hand. And then 1/4 is wasted going to lame liberal arts type classes so that we can be "Well rounded" -> college makes more $ and wastes my time.

I don't use any of the tools I learned in college in my day to day work, but the tools I use today are based on the tools I used in college.

Post 11

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 5:11pm

This keeps crashing my browser in Safari for some reason...

Post 12

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 5:31pm

Sam, Teresa, Joe,

Here is a link to a YouTube version - it isn't exactly the same, but almost:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHWTLA8WecI

(Edited by Steve Wolfer on 11/11, 5:32pm)

Post 13

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 5:36pm

Dean,

I won't go into any details here. I'll just repeat my recommendation that you browse the first 30 pages of the book "The Singularity is Near" - it will change how you think about a number of things. And one of those things is that the mental processes we all use to project a future based upon the past is done in a way that contains a major flaw.

Post 14

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 5:42pm

Steve, I don't deny the exponential increase in processing speed and memory size/speed. I'm only criticizing the part of the video that gives the impression that college education is useless due to quickly improving technology.

Post 15

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 5:49pm

Or, perhaps, read this -

http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?m=1

Post 16

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 6:03pm

Dean, some of the concepts behind the 'facts' on the video only make sense in the context of Kurzweil's hypothesis. It would take me too long to present his case here.

Post 17

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 6:51pm

Steve, yes or no:

Do you agree or disagree that the information in a current a four year college degree in Engineering/Science quickly becomes outdated and useless?

In about 20 years or so when we stop using our biological bodies and switch to more redundant faster thinking machines (and/or direct neural computer interfaces), yes, four year college, or college degrees, become useless, because you could learn everything pretty much instantly, err all public information is instantly accessible and may as well be considered known as a person knows whats currently stored in their brain memory.

BUT... never the less, the information learned in a bachelor of science degree today will still be learned by people in the future, because the information learned is timeless, it is information about how Reality works: physics and mathematics. They will just learn it a lot faster and the college institution functioning as a 21-1000 to 1 student teacher in a classroom is too slow and will no longer be used by the most intelligent/technologically-advanced beings.

Are we in agreement here, or did you have some other point?

Post 18

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 7:17pm

Sorry, Dean. You'll have to browse those first 30 or so pages. It wouldn't make any sense for me to argue for or against any detail when the principles aren't even on the table.

Post 19

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 8:18pm