NPR had a piece yesterday on the idea that machines may one day be so intelligent as to become capable of designing and building even more intellingent machines, triggering a exponential growth of intelligence, an intelligence sigularity, such that human intelligence becomes negligible by comparison. Some consider this intelligence sigularity a existential threat.
Here is a link to the NPR Story:
When someone yells 'fire!'
In a crowded theater
And people react
And people get hurt
The person who yelled
Should
At least
Feel sorry about yelling
The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, in an interview with BBC while out on bail pending possible extradition to Sweden concerning sexual assault without a condom charges, had this to say concerning his persumably unrelated mission with Wikileaks:
Below is a link to my chess games. I played tournament chess actively from 1973-1990 reaching a USCF rating of the low 2128s.
The file below contains 347 of my games, about 250 of which were in rated tournaments.
Funicular, funicular
A euphonious word
One of the finest
I ever heard
Funicular, funicular
I don't even know
If one of those comes
Or if one of those goes
Funicular, funicular
What the hell does it mean?
And where can I get one?
Where can one be seen?
Funicular, funicular
I tell you what
I'll look it down
While you look it up
Funicular, funicular
So that's what one is!
Take note everyone
It's on the next quiz!
NPR.org has a piece with Adrian Goldsworthy, who recently published his latest book Antony and Cleopatra, in which he relates the following fish story:
From Plutarch's "life of Antony"
Oliver Stone mentioned this conversation on a recent episode of Bill Maher. The main speaker is former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner. Yes, the Bush era is over. Still, this is pretty amazing:
I said that a solution for the problems right now, I told Bush, is a Marshall Plan. And he got angry.
He said the Marshall Plan is a crazy idea of the Democrats.
He said the best way to revitalize the economy is war. And that the United States has grown stronger with war.
... He said that. Those were his exact words.
To paraphrase Gordon Gecko "War is Good."
Saw it this afternoon.
Not exactly, I suppose, a 'feel good' movie. Even a bit dark. But actually quite well done. Bits of foreshadowing, some very nice cinematography with those italian villages.
I love the scene in the bar with that Sergio Leone film "Once Upon A Time In The West" playing in the background. The bartender just nods at the TV with pride: "Italiano."
This just in:
WHAT'S NEW Robert L Park Friday, 17 Sep 2010 Washington, DC
(Portions snipped. see Park's website for the entire Newsletter)
James Forestall. The first US Secretary of Defense. Died from a fall from the 16th story window of a psych hospital. Some (many) say it was suicide. He was being treated for depression after being fired as Secretary of Defense by Truman.
