New Release! Losing Your Mind? Great Thinkers on the Briain

In this new animation by the GPA, we delve into the brain itself. We go back to Ancient Greece, where multiple theories about how humans think, arise. Hippocrites’ theory is seemingly comparable to reality: a remarkable feat considering the time period in which it came from.  He contends that “the brain is the messenger to the understanding” and attributes human analysis and productivity just to the complexity of the brain. Aristotle’s theory follows, and considers that it is not the brain, but the human heart that is the center of all understanding: an idea proven to be very false.

The fact that both of these theories, backed by widely accepted genius’ minds, exist at the same time, raises an important question: what drives the validity of knowledge and understanding? This video helps develop an answer to this question with a simple explanation: assumption. In order to accept fact, we must assume. Without assumption, we will perpetually be looking for answers that may not exist. It is in acknowledging the practical necessity of accepting assumption, that we will be able to advance and learn.

But what do you think? Learn more about what early philosophers thought about the brain and consider whether assumption is a necessary step towards validity.

Exploration, curiosity, discovery: Jules Verne's Case

Imagination. When we are young, imagination reigns supreme. In many ways, our real, physical, lives are ruled by the images in our heads. Imagination: a noun of Latin origin, dictated by the act of creating these images. Imagination is employed, as one forms mental images of what is not practically present to the senses (dictionary.com).  As children, less precedence is given to the fact that these images are purely mental—as adults, a change occurs: imagination is weakened as consistency with reality is valued. Is this change in the way we think predestined, or is it an unconscious decision forced upon us by society?

Imagination and reality are not mutually exclusive. Instead, mental exploration, leads to curiosity, and future discovery. Only after it is first imagined, can an idea become reality. Such is true of Jules Verne’s imagination.

In 1865, Verne has the courage to delve into his mind and imagine what had never been practical by reality’s standards—space travel. Eye-opening and awe-inspiring, Jules Verne’s imagination forces us to remember to fight through the veneer of being labeled a “romantic”, and think back to the importance of using our minds to create images of, and for, the future.

The future is ours to create, if we are willing to work for the challenge. We have the power to use our imaginations to anticipate the future, the only question is…will we?

From the Earth to the Moon

From science fiction to science fact.  Experience a trip to the moon through Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon," and into the future.

A brief History of Death

Did you know that the first person to ever receive an artificial heart was "accused of tax evasion, but when his heart was removed, he was declared dead because under Swedish law a person was declared dead when his or her heart stopped beating.  The charges against him were dropped."

http://www.jarvikheart.com/basic.asp?id=69

How's that for cheating death?

Ciao!

From Work to Leisure

“This is a time to free people of work.  Rather than rack their brains to create employment economists should now work out plans to create leisure.”

            -FM-2030

Leisure. 

Something that I all know we could have more of.

It always seems like there are never enough hours in a day and that when the day is over, I wonder where did my time go?  A world where I could be free from the confines of work sounds like a paradise.  I would be free to do the things that I have always wanted to do and not worry.  However, that is a day in the far future or is it?

FM-2030 certainly thinks that the brains of society should be working towards figuring out a way to make it possible.  According to FM-2030, “fewer and fewer people working less and less can produce more and more and more.  This is the meaning of the new cybernated world of Leisure and Abundance.”

So how does working less produce more?

As society hasn’t come that far it can be concluded that that day is far off, however it will be interesting to see when it comes or if it comes.  The day that fewer people have to work will be the day when leisure becomes more then just a once in a time thing because…

As Aristotle once said, “the end of labor is to gain leisure.”

For more on FM-2030 check out this video...

Ciao!

Unplug from the World

Could you do this experiment? 

Take a week, and turn off your phones, get off Facebook, and get away from your computer.

It’s hard, right?

Let’s be honest.  How many of you say you can do this but then only an hour later have failed and gone right back to your phone.  I mean…I wouldn’t be able to achieve this. 

How many times have you gone and enjoyed your phone while ignoring the people that you are with?  How many hours have you spent logging time on meaningless apps?  Let’s face the music.  Humans today have an insatiable need to be on their phones, constantly on Facebook and always checking for messages. 

Can you even remember what it was like to not have phones?  Probably not.  Now I don’t think that having phones is necessarily a bad thing but it might do you a world of good to put down the phone and take a few minutes to simply, stop and smell the roses.

So, who’s with me?  Let’s see what a few minutes free of using our cell phones will do for our lives.  If you want more information check out this blog post...http://galacticpublicarchives.blogspot.com/2015/06/click-here-for-happiness.html

The Next Revolution: A 21st Century Job Market

As a Cal Berkeley student, it is with a mixed conscious that I celebrate the great mind of a Stanford scholar, but as an inquisitive spirit, it is necessary that I recognize a revolutionary thinker. Steve Jurvetson, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, has one of those minds.

As part of our i4j series (Innovation for Jobs), Jurvetson applies his futuristic thinking to the question of what the job market may begin to look like, with continuing advancement in technology and science. He does not fear change, instead he is excited by it. He presents a scenario in which people and governments embrace progressing times, and adapt conceptions of “living” to fit into a new world.

In this video, Jurvetson’s passion and excitement for technology is apparent. He highlights the importance of looking long, and accepting fundamental change as a benefit for the future of civil society.  Certain points he highlights, such as the inevitably changing formal definition of what it means to “have a job”, resonate heavily in my life, and the lives of other American students.

As I pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, and spend countless hours sitting in crowded lecture halls, I am constantly reminded of the reason for my doing so—my parents repeat: “school, career, family, etc etc”. For the first time, I am beginning to question the legitimacy of this reason. Jurvetson helps me see: the path on which I have projected myself for years, may not be as clear or straight as it may have seemed originally, and it is my, our society’s job, to learn to navigate the new terrain.

What is the future of Education?

The big question today regarding education in America is this:  when students finish their education are they really prepared enough?  Statistics pulled from The Board Foundation state that by the time a person graduates from college, they may lack basic knowledge and applied skills.  They also state that only one in four high school students will graduate ready for college in all four core subjects, and that less then half (about 46%) will finish college.  

All in all what has been put forth is alarming to say the least.  Where will that leave us in the future?  Should we put more effort into teaching or should we concentrate on helping them learn how to think?

As someone who is striving to get a Master’s degree, I can’t help but think how my education will affect how my future goes.  I ask the same questions.  Will I be able to land a job with the knowledge and skills that I have?  Will I be seen as having enough experience?  Do I have what it takes to make my way up the ladder?  It’s been said that what people value in an employee is someone who has experience rather then knowledge, and I believe that’s true.  However what needs to be done now is figure out how to fix this problem before it becomes too much of a hassle to fix. 

If we can’t produce the knowledge and skills that are needed to have a basic job, then where will we be in the future?

This GPA video is an interview with Dr. Woodie Flowers, professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He describes that the way to propel education into the future is not to train professionals but to teach them how to think.  

Do you agree?  What are your thoughts on the future of education?

Ciao!

Click Here for Happiness

Considering the equation time=money, one would assume that in order to increase money, time must be savored. There are many ways people tackle this proposition, most centered around the need to maximize efficiency.  Upon the turning of the century, it has become clear, that the way many people choose to maximize efficiency, is through relying on technology. Like any large societal change, this reliance on technology, although seemingly harmless, has profound effects.

Many people, especially those who have grown up in the technological era, do not notice the effects of technology until consequences arise: the consequence highlighted in this eye-opening video is isolation, leading to a unique sense of loneliness.

The act of being everywhere at once, with anyone and everyone, seems like it would do nothing but open doors. Unfortunately, this is not seen to be the case. Yes, there may be doorways, but these doors are becoming locked. Sherry Turkle considers: “Think of it as ‘I share, therefore I am.’ We use technology to define ourselves by sharing our thoughts and feelings as we’re having them. We used to think, ‘I have a feeling; I want to make a call.’ Now our impulse is, ‘I want to have a feeling; I need to send a text’” (Turkle, Sherry). This is a drastic and impactful change.

For this reason, I question: does technology ‘live’ for us, or are we beginning to live for technology? Does technology aid in our happiness, or does our happiness depend upon technology?

Time=money. Time=money does NOT equal happiness. Professor Yamir-Hamburger reminds us to be conscious, to continue to be aware of what it is we really need. With this in mind, I pose the challenge: “Click here for Happiness”, and then click out.

Turkle, Sherry. "The Flight From Conversation." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 June 2015.  

Understanding Artificial Intelligence

“By far, the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it.”

            -Eliezer Yudkowsky

Do you understand Artificial Intelligence?

The phenomena of building Artificial Intelligence is an itch that will not go away.  It has been and will always be a part of entertainment, with several movies coming out that deal with AI.  Such as, 2001: A Space Odyssey, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Metropolis, and Her.   It fascinates and controls us in the pursuit of building something that will ultimately be humanity’s greatest surviving project. 

But should we only concentrate on something that only a human can come up with or should we focus on something that isn’t quite part of this world?

According to Former Astronaut Dan Barry, he believes that artificial intelligence is something that can be found via otherworldly. 

Do we agree with what Dan Barry is saying?  Should we focus more on finding AI that can transcend our world or should we focus on building a ultimate mind or even better is there a way to merge the two ideas into one?

It’s interesting to think that there is more then one possible way to achieve Artificial Intelligence.  However something that hasn't been mentioned yet is the concept of forging Artificial Intelligence to be used as a tool for war.  So far, when AI is discussed most people talk about how it will be beneficial for the human brain, and for human health development.  However, more and more people are starting to see AI can also have a big impact on more disastrous consequences, such as war. 

The latest technology is that of drones.  The little flying machines are only the beginning of what humans could bring forth to make waging war more easy and less taxing on the mind. 

The question that then comes to mind is will we be able to curb our desires when it comes to Artificial Intelligence?  I like to think not, which means that we will find a way to keep AI under control or we will reach out and find AI in the most unlikely of places. 

Ciao!

Sex, Stability and Fulfillment

In our next installment of our video series with renowned relationship therapist Esther Perel describes in this film a new way to view how our connections are changing in today's modern world.  

Rethinking Relationships

“The best feeling in the world is knowing that you actually mean something to someone.”

Relationships are special.  Relationships are meant to mean something worthwhile.  What do you look for in a relationship?  Do you look for someone who will be there for you regardless of the situation or are you looking for someone just so that they are able to provide companionship?  Regardless of what you are looking for in a relationship it’s safe to say that everyone yearns for that certain connection.

Diving into the brain of Esther Perel, in our newest video Couples, Culture and Sexuality, Esther Perel explains how she is starting to see different viewpoints in regards to how we are now starting to view relationships. 

We begin to shift away from what culture dictates as normal and Esther Perel can see that because of this shift in turning away from what we consider normal and are looking beyond then it shows what we as a society truly value.  The real question then is how are we working to join these two different views together so that they can function coherently.  

Esther Perel argues that how we connect gives a glimpse into what our society values.  Often more times then not when thoughts are directed to the future, its always mostly about technology, but what if instead of technology we thought of relationships.  I have to wonder though, if that will end up being true.  Sure, some might think that the future is really all about our relationships but when I see how much power technology has over us…I can’t help but disagree.  In the modern world today it’s a cinch to get what you want whenever you want it.  People are interacting more and more with others through the use of technology more then ever before, in fact almost every time I go out one more person is on their phone somehow interacting with someone else.

So then, can we still have that special connection if we’ve lost that face-to-face interaction?  

Ciao!

Connections and Infidelity

“We need to connect, to live to survive.”  Esther Perel. 

Humans have needed others to survive for as long as we have been on the Earth.  One can’t simply live by themselves.  We are constantly seeking the attention of others, whether it’s a child seeking comfort from its mother or two people invoking in a more intimate relationship.

We seek stability from one person, to provide us with comfort, security, and safety.  However, when it crumbles…then where are we left?

The term monogamy means to be with one person for the rest of your life.  Nowadays the word has a new meaning…meaning that it is more acceptable to be with more then one person…all at the different times.  People are no longer content with one person, they seek that adventure that comes with having an affair for various reasons.  Having an affair was once considered a blot on anyone’s relationship but now ironically in her TED Talk noted relationship therapist Esther Perel states that “staying is the new shame.”  Our society has shifted from where having an affair was one of shame to where now if a person stays the shame is on them.

In her talk Perel explains why people are eager to cheat and how deep down it is a sense of longing and loss.  Can we as a society take what Perel is saying an apply it to our lives?  Or are we stuck in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions that prevent us from breaking free of our restraints?  

What will the future of relationships be?

Stay tuned for a new video from Galactic Public Archives with Esther Perel on the future of relationships.

Ciao!

Google...Our Parasite or Our Savior

There are so many various search engines, that sometimes I find myself asking what’s the point.  In the modern world of today, if we don’t know something the only way we can think to ask is to take it to the internet.

Or otherwords…let’s Google it.

Now I’m not saying that I find Google or any other search engine bad.  I mean it was bound to happen sooner or later and it is interesting when you look and study the pagerank algorithm, that ranks certain pages for you.  However let’s face it…what is really at stake here is what’s known as congnitive capitalism.  Congnitive capitalism is characterized by digital technologies that are combined with high levels of cognitive and cultural labor.  At the heart of Google’s PageRank, Matteo Pasquinelli states that “there are three main arguments in relation to the ‘Google economy’ by focusing respectively: value production, value accumulation and value re-appropriation.”  First off through the use of a machine, we are able to transform simple smarts into “network value.”  Pasquinelli states that this model of cognitive hegemony is based on exploitation of a mediascape for the collective intelligence that is free and open.  Finally he claims that a response can only be organized by reversing the chain of production. 

Due to the PageRank, Google has become unstoppable.  It’s very interesting to note that Pasquinelli states in his conclusion that “the battle against the accumulation of data operated by PageRank reminds the social struggles against the traditional forms of monopoly and accumulation of capitals.” 

Google started out a small inkblot and it is now slowly becoming an impossible stain to remove, a parasite that continues to thrive and live.  However there are things that Google is partaking in that restore faith in humanity.

When I think of life like limbs I can’t help but think of that scene in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke Skywalker receives a new robotic hand in place of the one that he lost.  The way it was made, you couldn’t even see that it was really a piece of machine.  It gave off the impression being real. 

With how technology is advancing, it’s plain to see how that can become a reality.  I recently found an article that expresses how Google is doing exactly that…with what is called the Impact Challenge. 

Google has partnered with multiple start up’s and non-profit organizations to research, build and help people with disabilities make their lives better.  World-Wide Hearing, E-Nable, RNIB, Liftware and Mission Arm EXIII to just name a few.

Google Impact Challenge

Google Impact Opportunity

What these scientists and innovators are doing is work that will in the long run, will remain engrained in the hearts and minds of all the people that will be reached. 

Ciao!

Smartphones: a help or a hindrance

Lately I’ve noticed that when people are out and about, they spend a greater part of the time on their phone.  Now I’m not badmouthing, because I know that I do this myself.  However, it might be time for an intervention. 

People are becoming more and more acceptable to having impersonal relationships.  They no longer have a need to have that face-to-face interaction.  However, that comes at a price.  Due to the fact that people are able to disconnect from others, they are able to keep feelings and emotions away and at a distance. I saw a movie once, entitled Sleep Dealers and in this futuristic movie people are able connect on a global network that will join their minds and experiences.  In one scene, the main character’s house is bombed by a drone that is being flown by someone miles away…the futuristic technology allows for the pilot to keep himself at an unfeeling distance.  I couldn't find the specific clip but here's the trailer for the movie:

Thankfully our technology hasn’t involved that far but there’s no telling when we might achieve it at the rate we develop new technology. 

Moving back to how technology is making us become an impersonal world.  I found this interesting blog post on exactly how smartphones is achieving in making us more impersonal, entitled The Depersonalization of Society. 

https://longblogsaboutpracticallyanything.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/the-depersonalisation-of-society/

Smartphones are objects that have the power to control us.  There are good things about smartphones, but there are also things about phones that chain us.  For those who grew up in a technology filled world, you probably don’t think anything of it, but for those who grew up without technology, you probably remember a time when you were actually able to go months without seeing some kind of technology. 

Speaking from experience I don’t remember the last time that I actually sat down and had an actual conversation with someone and not have it interrupted by some alert on my phone.  That being said I’d like to end with a few questions.  Has technology effectively killed off face-to-face communication?  Have humans lost themselves as people to technology?  In the future will technology be more of a help or more of a hindrance? 

Ciao! 

Becoming A Virtual Cyborg

“As the Internet of things advances, the very notion of a clear dividing line between reality and virtual reality becomes blurred, sometimes in creative ways.”

            -Geoff Mulgan

Virtual worlds.  Uploading minds.  In my recent studies it has come out that in time it will be possible for people to upload their minds via technology.  What does this mean in the long run for sustaining human life?  Is it now possible to outlive when our bodies simply melt away? 

Dr. Ken Hayworth works with brain mapping…which should in turn lead to the only logical conclusion: mind uploading.  Now if mind uploading will actually work, has yet to be seen as we’re still in the process of mapping out the actual logistics of becoming only a biological mind. 

This brings to mind the concept of cyborgs.  One cannot think of the possibility of being virtual without thinking about cyborgs.  According to Donna Haraway in A Cyborg Manifesto, “a cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism…” of course with cyborgs then one follows the road to Artificial Intelligence.  Will these machines that we create one day be able to think for themselves? 

In one part of Haraway’s A Cyborg Manifesto, she gives a chart that she entitles The Informatics of Domination.  This is a chart that she uses to describe how we as a society are moving from “comfortable old hierarchical dominations to the new scary networks called the informatics of domination.” 

A few pairs that stand out are:

Organism: Biotic Component

Mind: Artificial Intelligence

Public/Private: Cyborg Citizenship

It’s these few pairs from the list that remind us of the power of technology, as we move from a natural world to a world that reeks of imitation.   

Here is a link to the complete list…pgs. 10-11.

http://faculty.georgetown.edu/irvinem/theory/Haraway-CyborgManifesto-1.pdf

You might be thinking how does this relate back to the possibility of becoming virtual?

I like to believe that the concept of the virtual and cyborgs go hand and hand with each other.  Almost like one is an extension of the other, they can stand-alone by themselves but together they make a force that can change the world. 

Ciao!

Jobs and Employability

What is employability?

This term can have several different meanings; the most popular one being that is demonstrates a person’s capability for gaining and maintaining employment depending on a person’s knowledge, skills and the abilities they possess.  However, to innovators and thinkers they believe that it can transcend beyond that meaning.

What does having a job entail?  Does it mean having that feeling of security that comes with the relief that you will go to bed warm?  Does it mean knowing that you will never again be hungry…never again know what it means to sleep in the cold? 

Jobs are important, not because it gives people things to do but because it’s a necessary part of life.  Without a job, a family won’t be able to afford even the simplest of everyday needs such as food or a place to live.  In the future will it be possible that most jobs will be able to be done by robots?  If so…then where does that leave humans?  Nowadays humans are being forced to find new ways to challenge that very way of thinking, in the hopes that when the time comes they will be able to keep a job. 

I4J (Innovation for Jobs) is a non-profit company that works with innovators from around the world to explore the transition into a better working economy.  Partnering with Galactic Public Archives, we have put together a series of videos entitled: New Narratives: Innovation for Jobs.

This series focuses on investigating a behind-the-scenes look that’s headed in the direction that’s towards the future of the human working class.  Each video involves discussions that center around certain items such as education, and the economy.   

Innovation for Jobs

Let us know what you think about the future of jobs...

Ciao! 

Futurist FM-2030 Fact of The Day

Are You Transhuman? 

The Brain and the Future

Question: What is self?

The “self” is considered the subject of one’s own experience of perception, thoughts, and emotions.  What can be seen as the “object” of our self?  What controls our “self”? 

Simple…the brain.

Catherine Malabu in her book, What Should We Do With Our Brains, gives a roadmap of the process that takes place within the brain, coverted to a simple summary from the description that is given by Marc Jeannerod in his book Le Cervau InTime. 

           

“the non conscious neural signaling of an individual organism begets the proto-self, which permits core self and core consciousness, which allow for an autobiographical self, which permits extended consciousness.”

The brain is an integral part of the body system.  It controls not only our outer body, but also controls what goes on in the inside.  Without your brain, your simply…dead. 

Or are you?

There is a movement that is becoming more and more popular known as Transhumanism, which works to transform the human condition using new technology to enhance human intellectual, physical and psychological capacities.  One of the foremost leaders in Transhumanism is FM-2030, died and who placed his body in cryonic suspension, so that he could be revived at a later date.  Below is an interview with FM-2030…

What does this have to do with the brain?

Due to the cryonic suspension the idea that FM-2030 has, is to take his brain and be able to upload it in a way that he will be able to in a sense live again.  Dr. Ken Hayworth discusses where the brain is going in a series of interviews such as being able to virtually upload your brain into a computer. 

Is this the future of the brain?  If so...would you be willing to live your life as a virtual being?  Would you consider the pros/cons that can happen by handing over your life to that of technology?  

Let us know what you think.

Ciao!

Space as a Work of Art

"Time and space are modes by which we think and not conditions in which we live."
                   -Albert Einstein

I love to look up the stars at nighttime.  It's one on my favorite things to do.  I love to look through the sky and see how many constellations that I can find and name.  It's mind boggling to imagine that that simple starry night sky is just one of thousands, but that's exactly what it is.  Our universe is only a small speck in a whole bigger platform of specks, and that there is a chance that we aren't the only forms of life out there.

In case you haven't heard the Hubble telescope just turned 25.  That's pretty amazing.  Over it's 25 years a whole lot of different pictures have come out of the Hubble telescope.  They are works of art, and it's nice to see real works of art that are all natural.

Pictured below is one of my favorites...

This is the NGC 2074.  Hubble documents it as a firestorm of raw stellar creation triggered by a nearby supernova.  These natural colors are just striking.  Plus what's more is that there are a hundred of pictures like this that show the natural beauty of the universe.

Moving on, recently we at, The Galactic Public Archives, were able to sit down and visit with renowned astrophysicist Dr. Mario Livio, who works at The Space Telescope Science Institute.  Check out his blog here...Mario Livio.

In the interview Dr. Mario Livio talks about man's natural curiosity of our meaning in the universe and the link between science and art.

Watch the video below...

The questions and thoughts that Dr. Mario Livio poses in the video are thought provoking and are strong enough to re-question certain beliefs and thoughts about the universe and life in general.

How about you?  Let us know what you think.

Ciao!