hoopa

oh in that case, I feel much better. It's not like humans to make bad decisions. I'd like to think that nano technology could be used to a point, but my bet would be that money pushes it too far, too fast.

I guess they probably could but they could also do a LOT more harm. Can you say Grey Goo Theory? If I took a punt I would say the total destruction of the entire planet at a molecular level (and everything on it) could be a bad outcome? no? I think they could have endless applications if harnessed properly, and I think that there are some real positives that could come out of it. Sadly I think the potential of a run away technology like this would far out weight the benefits that we may gain from nanotechnology. A Pandora's box I'd rather see left closed.

As far as I can tell likes & dislikes would be pretty much down to environment & personal experiances. If anyone has forgotten, twins are not that rare, but I think technically regarded as clones (I think, happy to be corrected). That said, twins are never exactly the same in their behaviors & tastes. Meh, as for cloning humans, I think there are way too many of us already. Apart from that, diversity is one of the key principles of our survival to date. Take that away and we're totally screwed IMO. Start doing too much cloning and we become too similar. Once we're all 'perfect' (which I think is an impossibility), we are all prone to the same diseases, and the human population as a whole is weaker for it. Our diversity is one of the things that has served us so well in the past. e.g. strangely enough when the black plague hit London all those years back, I think there was some evidence that all the survivors had some similarity in their genes. That means that perhaps a portion of the population had a small advantage and survived. If we were all the same we may not be here right now. The idea repeats in nature too. Viruses run in strains, and only when we take a full course of anti-biotics do we kill then all. Take a half dose, and the strongest survive to create the next strain (of even stronger viruses). To play devils advocate however, I do think there are a few valid times where cloning is justified in it's end. Where I come from there was a creature called a Tasmanian Tiger. This creature is now extinct because the of the blind stupidity of humans who believed it to be a threat to livestock. Turns out it actually couldn't care less about livestock, but that doesn't matter now. There is a slim chance that this create could one day be cloned from preserved embryos of the tiger and brought back into existence. For those creatures who solely owe their disappearance to us, I think it only fair that we try and right some of our blunders of the past. My 2 cents

I had this little on what could be a new generation of MMRPG.Take GTA4, but combine it with an idea like transformers where all the vehicles in the turn into transformers. It could also have a little twist to it, because if you made it into an MMRPG like WoW, then all the vehicles would be players playing against each other. There could be some awesome scenarios for espionage, as moving around such worlds, you would forever provide an element of cautiousness as you'd be looking over your shoulder in case that innocuous looking truck started to bash your brains out. It might also give a some degree of flexibility for extravagant vehicles such as fighter jets, tanks, all manor of cars & trucks. Oh, an imagine the massive explosions, and large scale damage that you might be able to do. Everyone loves explosions. :(Anyway, that's my little rant. I thought it was a good idea anyway

You have to see this one. I can just see how this one got started. Two guys sitting around in their shed; "Wouldn't it be great if we could just fly the boat to the lake...", and hey presto another oddity of nature is born. http://gizmodo.com/383996/dinghy-%252B-hang-glider-%252B-giant-engine--hilarious-obituary

When I think steam cannons, I think chicken cannon from mythbusters Why did you decide to use copper for your cannons? I would think it's all good, as long as it doesn't explode ... From memory, a my friends made crude version of something like this from a long plastic tube (like those used in down pipes for houses). Put a stopper at one end, and a small hole at the bottom from memory. Spray some flammable aerosol into the tube, then insert an object about the same diameter as the tube so that it has a nice snug fit. I think oranges were the ammo of choice. Through the small hole, light the aerosol, and watch the orange fly. Needless to say my friends weren't all that intelligent, and lighting aerosol like that is quite dangerous. I personally like the confederate rocket experiments done by the mythbusters, a very impressive/scary display of what can be rigged up in a backyard. I particularily liked the ultra explosive wool that they had, and the the fact that they ran some of their rockets off Salami (I think) !!!

Hi all, I thought that this thread would be the most appropriate place to post my sign off message for Xisto. I have decided to move my website to another host because of a mutual benefit for both parties, but also partly because of the posting for hosting scheme at Xisto (I'll explain in a moment). For those that were interested in my work, my new website is now at http://punter.pokerplasm.com/, where I shall continue to post up my tips. I intend to try and keep posting at Xisto as I have really enjoyed some of the discussions here, as it is a rare thing to have some intelligent conversation for once. The next bit is to everyone, but specifically to the admins. Firstly, this is not to say that you are doing a bad job. I think the idea of posting for hosting is innovative and a really good idea for keeping an active forum. Part of the reason that I have decided to stop hosting with Xisto is that I have simply not been able to find the time to post, or the topics to post against. I appreciate it is a delicate balancing act in how credits are distributed, but I have found that even though I work a 9-5 office job and a a few spare hours each night, it has turned into a chore to upkeep my credit. I'm not being critical of the system, as I have no constructive comments on how this might be done differently, but I do hope to provide some constructive feedback on my experience for your future reference. I don't doubt that my website will soon go inactive, but I hope to still check in on these forums occasionally to see what is happening. Cheers, Hoopa

This is true the distinction between the two is very necessary, but they are inevitably tied together as well.I liked your examples of how we might mechanically perform the same functions as those described in the definition of life, but I actually think AI would be the more difficult of the two. Don't ever underestimate the complexity of that pile of goo in your head. As you say, it is the AI we need to go along with it. I can make all those things happen with machines, but it is my brain doing all the work. I find it interesting that it may be possible to create such an AI that could solely be based in a mechanical world, but that it could only come into existence because of another intelligent being. I diverge, but perhaps it was once possible that we came into being because of another intelligent being? As I said I diverge, and I don't want to do any 'god' chasing today, but it is an interesting thought.I categorise life into two groups, aware and non-aware. Life takes the form of plants and animals, but humans put themselves into an unique category that has self awareness. Niether is trivial to think about, but I'm sure that we'll figure out non-aware AI long before we reach self awareness.cheers,Hoopa

And how ironic is it that we all sit here on a forum, on the internet and discuss whether technology is good or bad, or if we should actually be outside doing something physical. There is only one thing that destroys the environment, and it's not technology. It is such a broad term, but it can hardly be divided into something that is black & white. Atom bombs, cures for cancer, fraud across the internet, keeping people in touch with family overseas, the consumption of a countless amount of fossil fuel, the ability to generate renewable energy etc. Should we be outside more? I think that is a personal choice. I think the more important point on this topic is what people do with that technology. With the more power that we wield as a society, there is ever increasing responsibility (to be badly quoted). Someone today described generation y as having grown up in an electronic world, but I don't see that as a bad thing. I see in ways that parents in the real world have let their children down in a way. Punishment (I do not mean abuse) of children is frowned upon now, and that probably has more to answer for than technology ever will. Get outside if you want, it is a very beautiful world out there, but we should not be frowning upon the people if they wish imerse themselves ina world that is an extension of our own. My 2c Cheers, Hoopa

Hi all,I was watching a documentary last night called Human 2.0. The doco revolved around the advancements in artificial intelligence, and the possible impacts that it might have on our lives. What do people think about the idea of humans creating 'artificial' life, is it actually possible, when will it happen, and what impacts that it might actually have on us?I personally think that we will one day succeed in creating an 'artificial' being. I say 'artificial' because what life is is still personally up for debate. The program talked about some people predicting this might happen as early as 2029, but if history has told us anything abot wild futuristic dreasm, it will more likely be hundreds of years in the making. As the name of the doco suggests (and I think some of the doco backed it up), that some people consider AI to be the next evolutionary step for human beings. I think this is partially correct. I been called negative before, but again I think we should refer to history again as after all we are the only species of humans left!! I think that when all is said and done we will be relegated to insignificance, and perhaps non-existence. From the comments being made around quantum computing, and the advances in AI, the results are very interesting and possibly very concerning at the same time.The thing I find ironic about the whole situation is that humans are possibly approaching a level of knowledge that we have never seen before, but at the same time the total outcome might not be totally 'positive' for us a whole.Any thoughts??Cheers,Hoopa

c'on how can you not like mythbusters? they blow stuff up!!! They do also provide some explanation behind what they are doing. I can see times where due to the limitations of producing an hour long tv show that certain amounts of detail are omitted, but hey, they blow stuff up. My all time favorite would have to be the confederate rocket. That was a most impressive display of how a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing . We get a little bit of brainiac here, but it just seems to be a couple of guys doing dangerous stuff for no apparent reason. I'll admit the difference is only minor from what I just described (i.e. mythbusters blowing stuff up), but the mythbusters just seem to present far better than the brainiac crew.What do others rate as their favorite mythbusters experiment?Cheers,Hoopa

My 2c. Do I think space exploration is a good idea? Maybe. I can't really comment as I don't know much about NASA, but of all the wonderful things that we might discover due to space exploration, I just hope it is not tainted by that most evil of human ideas, money. I've heard of paid rides into space and things like that already popping up, and for me I think it only cheapens the value of such a thing. If experience tells us anything, if humans figure out how to do something, they will do it. I think it only inevitable that we will reach up and learn more about what is out there, not least of all other possible life forms.On the flip side, step back for a moment and stare at the stars. Space may be one of those few things that we have left that we can only reach in our wildest dreams, and all the possible things that might be out there. There may likely come a day when the wonder is removed from space, and that might make the universe a duller place. Think how people a few hundred years ago looked across the sea in wonder at what was beyond the horizon, or into the sky at the birds flying over head and only wishing we could do the same. Now we know, and these things seem merely trivial to us now. It will probably not happen for many generations to come, but perhaps one day we will take space for granted as well?Cheers,Hoopa

Which is better for the environment? If the car is the same size, is it better for the environment if the car runs on electricity, or on petrol? I'd have to say electricity would still win hands down, but some of our methods of generating electricity are questionable. There was show about elcric cars on tv today, and a very valid point was raised when it came to manufacturers adopting the new technology. An electric car has far fewer moving parts than a conventional car, and I would suspect that a great deal of revenue is generated from spare car parts (perhaps more than the cars themselves?)Cheers,Hoopa

Hi all,just a quick update on the accuracy of the system over the pre-season competition, before we get into the 'real' thing this weekend. :)Overall the performance wasn't too bad, but this has be be taken with grain of salt given the reduced number of games in the pre-season competition.11 correct tips out of 15 games (73%). Normally anything that cracks 60% over a whole season is a good result for the current system, but it does have good and bad years. The tips unusually performed lower that the total (4 correct from 7 games - 57%), but the silver tips made up for it, with 4 out of 4 for 100% accuracy.I won't post here too often about the results, but my latest picks are always up on my web site each week before the games.Cheers,Hoopa

On the principle of things, I don't think time travel is possible. e.g. If something bad happened, and someone went back in time to stop that event happening. If that event was then stopped, then that person would never travel back in time to stop it, and so the bad event would then happen because no one stopped it, and so someone would then go back in time to stop it ...... You see what I mean, I think paradox is the correct word in this case. I don't know much about physics, but perhaps if time travel, I could see some sort of black hole effect developing from this.The other option is that by traveling back in time there was no way that you could stop the event, such as the very fact that you traveled back in some way was woven in with the very event you're trying to stop.As for physics, I'm not sure what I believe anymore. A friend recently introduced the concept of entanglement to me, and that still has me scratching my head. I think the fact that an electron can exist in more than once place in the same instant pretty much blows what we know about physics out of the water.CheersHoopa