Ray Kurzweil is a fitness freak. He takes 250 supplements every day, along with at least eight glasses of alkaline water. He also drinks 10 cups of green tea and measures a plethora of fitness indicators.
Kurzweil, a 56-year-old scientist and inventor, wants to live forever.
But his rigorous diet and exercise regimen are not supposed to do that for him. No, he just wants to live long enough, about 20 more years, so he can take advantage of what he predicts will be a new, life-extending technology. Within 20 years, Kurzweil says advances in nanotechnology, the science of the extremely tiny, will have permitted the creation microscope robots that can be injected into the bloodstream and repair any tissue.
Nanobots, as he calls them, which will be about the size of a red blood cell, can be injected by the millions into the bloodstream where they will go around and repair anything within us that is damaged. In addition, we will be able to upgrade our genetic code simply by downloading the latest version of it from the Internet. The nanobots can then install it for us.
So is Kurzweil a crackpot scientist?
Not at all. He's a recipient of the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT prize, a major achievement for inventors, and he won the 1999 National Medal of Technology Award. He is a published author, having written in several magazines, including TIME. He was even inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002. And he has written a book which is a combination of a guide on how to live a healthy lifestyle and an explanation of his human immortality prediction.
To be sure, some of his fellow scientists believe he may be a little overzealous. They hesitate to call him a quack, but they point out that his predictions may not be in line with current technological trends.
But Kurzweil has history on his side. In a 1990 book Kurzweil predicted the development of a worldwide computer network and of a computer that could beat a chess champion. Both of those predictions came true within his predicted time frame.
But even assuming Kurzweil is accurate in his predictions about extending human life indefinitely, would that really be a good idea? After all, the planet is overpopulated now in places. How would immortality figure into a population problem?
Kurzweil believes that technology will develop along ways that will be necessary in order to solve such future problems. He has almost total faith in technology to solve all our human needs if only we develop it openly and democratically.
And who would opt for this shot of immortality? Certainly not everyone. Although most people say they do not want to die, most people accept it as inevitable and would be loathe to extend their lives much beyond current limits.
Personally, I would be one of the first in line to join the nanobot bandwagon. Although, in practice, they wouldn’t guarantee immortality since they couldn’t prevent you from being hit by a truck, they at least would have the potential of doubling, even tripling, current life expectancies.
As long as the little buggers keep you healthy enough to enjoy it, why not live to see the future?
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Online Banking
I was reading a news item a few days ago about how many people do their banking online. I was a little surprised by the results of the study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Overall, 44 percent of Internet users do their banking online.
Almost half the people who have an Internet connection bank online, which is a giant leap from the number who did so two years ago. But I had thought the number would have been much higher.
Maybe that’s because I started banking online long before most people had even heard of the Internet, even before it existed in its current form. I started paying nearly all my bills online in 1988 using a computer program called CheckFree and a slow modem.
But now, almost everyone has heard about online banking. It’s impossible not to know about it given all the promotion it’s been given by even the smallest of banks. Yet less than half of those who are online choose to do their banking in that manner. It’s puzzling.
Consider the logic. I, like most people, have my payroll check deposited directly into my checking account. The funds are available early in the morning every payday, so I don’t have to make a trip to the bank to deposit a check.
During the two weeks prior to each payday, I get the usual array of bills. I still get many of them via regular mail, but many companies now let you opt for e-mail billing. I choose that option whenever it’s available.
So every time I get a bill, I simply go to my online banking page, click the “Bill Pay” button, and schedule the payment for the due date, which is always after the date of my next payday.
I used to dread sitting down at my desk, sifting through all the paper bills, filling out the checks, addressing the envelopes, licking the stamps, and making a trip to the mailbox. With online banking, I don’t have to do any of that, and I haven’t done it for years.
It’s not just paying bills either. I no longer get bank statements. I don’t have to sit down with my calculator and reconcile my account every month. My statements come online and every couple of days I can log on to my account and see which deposits and debits have cleared. Balancing my bank statement is a thing of the past, and I don’t miss it.
Another puzzling thing that came out of the Pew study was that the majority of those who do their banking online were more than 27 years old. Only 38 percent of those 18 to 27 bank online. Typically, it’s the younger crowd that are the online trailblazers.
Still though, the numbers are up from the 30 percent who did online banking in 2002. Mostly, it’s because more and more people have come to accept that Internet banking is safe. I can vouch for its safety; I’ve never had anyone breach my account during the 17 years I’ve been doing my banking online.
There are, however, some caveats for those who have online bank accounts. The most important thing to be aware of is “phishing.” That’s when some lowlife tries to steal your personal information by pretending to be your bank. But disaster can be easily avoided by never giving out personal information using e-mail.
And always make sure you are on your bank’s real Web site before filling out any forms that ask for personal information. You can do that by going to the site via your own bookmarks instead of clicking on a link embedded in an e-mail message.
With bank cards, Internet shopping, and online banking becoming more prevalent, it may not be too long before paper checks become quaint artifacts from the age of paper. Already, it’s annoying to wait in line at the cashier behind someone who still writes checks. Even cash is becoming more obsolete.
When vending machines begin accepting plastic, I’ll know that electronic funds transfer will have become the standard for performing transactions. And that will be just fine; I hate carrying change.
Almost half the people who have an Internet connection bank online, which is a giant leap from the number who did so two years ago. But I had thought the number would have been much higher.
Maybe that’s because I started banking online long before most people had even heard of the Internet, even before it existed in its current form. I started paying nearly all my bills online in 1988 using a computer program called CheckFree and a slow modem.
But now, almost everyone has heard about online banking. It’s impossible not to know about it given all the promotion it’s been given by even the smallest of banks. Yet less than half of those who are online choose to do their banking in that manner. It’s puzzling.
Consider the logic. I, like most people, have my payroll check deposited directly into my checking account. The funds are available early in the morning every payday, so I don’t have to make a trip to the bank to deposit a check.
During the two weeks prior to each payday, I get the usual array of bills. I still get many of them via regular mail, but many companies now let you opt for e-mail billing. I choose that option whenever it’s available.
So every time I get a bill, I simply go to my online banking page, click the “Bill Pay” button, and schedule the payment for the due date, which is always after the date of my next payday.
I used to dread sitting down at my desk, sifting through all the paper bills, filling out the checks, addressing the envelopes, licking the stamps, and making a trip to the mailbox. With online banking, I don’t have to do any of that, and I haven’t done it for years.
It’s not just paying bills either. I no longer get bank statements. I don’t have to sit down with my calculator and reconcile my account every month. My statements come online and every couple of days I can log on to my account and see which deposits and debits have cleared. Balancing my bank statement is a thing of the past, and I don’t miss it.
Another puzzling thing that came out of the Pew study was that the majority of those who do their banking online were more than 27 years old. Only 38 percent of those 18 to 27 bank online. Typically, it’s the younger crowd that are the online trailblazers.
Still though, the numbers are up from the 30 percent who did online banking in 2002. Mostly, it’s because more and more people have come to accept that Internet banking is safe. I can vouch for its safety; I’ve never had anyone breach my account during the 17 years I’ve been doing my banking online.
There are, however, some caveats for those who have online bank accounts. The most important thing to be aware of is “phishing.” That’s when some lowlife tries to steal your personal information by pretending to be your bank. But disaster can be easily avoided by never giving out personal information using e-mail.
And always make sure you are on your bank’s real Web site before filling out any forms that ask for personal information. You can do that by going to the site via your own bookmarks instead of clicking on a link embedded in an e-mail message.
With bank cards, Internet shopping, and online banking becoming more prevalent, it may not be too long before paper checks become quaint artifacts from the age of paper. Already, it’s annoying to wait in line at the cashier behind someone who still writes checks. Even cash is becoming more obsolete.
When vending machines begin accepting plastic, I’ll know that electronic funds transfer will have become the standard for performing transactions. And that will be just fine; I hate carrying change.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Prophecies of Doom
I remember a TV show I watched a few years ago. It was one of those pseudo-documentaries. They pretend to reveal something striking when all they really are is entertainment.
The show was all about doomsday prophecies and what people are doing to cope. For example, one guy was preparing for the worst by placing all his consumables down on the floor, just in case the earth's gravity suddenly increases in strength! It was funny stuff.
The show also focused on some biblical prophecies foretelling the end times, and that most of them have come true. This I believe, not because there is anything special or unusual about our time, but because almost all of the biblical prophecies regarding the end of time were based on signs that are not only present today, but always have been.
There have always been wars and rumors of war; there have always been famine and pestilence; floods and drought; earthquakes and volcanoes. In fact, some of the floods, droughts, earthquakes, and volcanoes of the past would make the episodes we are familiar with seem rather puny.
Everybody knows about the earthquake that produced the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean back in December. But it was nowhere near as powerful as the explosive force that formed Yellowstone National Park about 600,000 years ago.
Ever since I was very young, I have heard rumors of the destruction of the earth, or of the “end of the world.” I read a book a couple of years ago written in the 19th Century by a woman who had absolute proof, as outlined in numerous bible verses, that the Second Coming would be sometime in the year 1842. She couldn't predict the exact day, but she could narrow it down to the year and the season.
Every generation has had false prophets that foretold the swift approach of the end of time. And there have always been those who have misinterpreted the prophecies of the bible in such a way that it becomes apparent to them that the end of time is nigh.
But even in the days of the Apostle Paul, the early Christians were convinced that the Second Coming would be in their generation. Yet how many generations have passed since then?
There were those who were thoroughly convinced that the year 2000 was going to be it. But here we are, firmly planted in the year 2005.
The point is that there will always be, in every generation, signs of the end of time. When I was young, these predictions of doom scared me a little. But as more and more of the predicted cataclysms came and went, I came to realize that all of the predictions were false, and will continue to be false.
I recently watched a Science Channel documentary about the possibility of an asteroid strike that would wipe out civilization. The odds have been calculated at about one in 26,000. It sounds pretty safe, but those are better odds than getting killed in a plane crash, and much better than winning the state lottery.
I guess if one must worry about the end of the world, it’s better to worry about the scenario we might have control over, like building early detection systems to spot those rogue asteroids.
Besides, it seems more likely to me that those biblical prophets weren’t really predicting anything. They just wanted everyone’s undivided attention, and scaring us is one way to get it.
The show was all about doomsday prophecies and what people are doing to cope. For example, one guy was preparing for the worst by placing all his consumables down on the floor, just in case the earth's gravity suddenly increases in strength! It was funny stuff.
The show also focused on some biblical prophecies foretelling the end times, and that most of them have come true. This I believe, not because there is anything special or unusual about our time, but because almost all of the biblical prophecies regarding the end of time were based on signs that are not only present today, but always have been.
There have always been wars and rumors of war; there have always been famine and pestilence; floods and drought; earthquakes and volcanoes. In fact, some of the floods, droughts, earthquakes, and volcanoes of the past would make the episodes we are familiar with seem rather puny.
Everybody knows about the earthquake that produced the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean back in December. But it was nowhere near as powerful as the explosive force that formed Yellowstone National Park about 600,000 years ago.
Ever since I was very young, I have heard rumors of the destruction of the earth, or of the “end of the world.” I read a book a couple of years ago written in the 19th Century by a woman who had absolute proof, as outlined in numerous bible verses, that the Second Coming would be sometime in the year 1842. She couldn't predict the exact day, but she could narrow it down to the year and the season.
Every generation has had false prophets that foretold the swift approach of the end of time. And there have always been those who have misinterpreted the prophecies of the bible in such a way that it becomes apparent to them that the end of time is nigh.
But even in the days of the Apostle Paul, the early Christians were convinced that the Second Coming would be in their generation. Yet how many generations have passed since then?
There were those who were thoroughly convinced that the year 2000 was going to be it. But here we are, firmly planted in the year 2005.
The point is that there will always be, in every generation, signs of the end of time. When I was young, these predictions of doom scared me a little. But as more and more of the predicted cataclysms came and went, I came to realize that all of the predictions were false, and will continue to be false.
I recently watched a Science Channel documentary about the possibility of an asteroid strike that would wipe out civilization. The odds have been calculated at about one in 26,000. It sounds pretty safe, but those are better odds than getting killed in a plane crash, and much better than winning the state lottery.
I guess if one must worry about the end of the world, it’s better to worry about the scenario we might have control over, like building early detection systems to spot those rogue asteroids.
Besides, it seems more likely to me that those biblical prophets weren’t really predicting anything. They just wanted everyone’s undivided attention, and scaring us is one way to get it.
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