It's time to brush up on your Isaac Asimov, your Philip K. Dick, and your basic humanities, Ladies and Gentlemen.
You're gonna need them, although not, thankfully, for a few more years. Or so it seems. Visitors at the 2005 World Expo in Japan were dazzled by Repliee Q1, who looks and acts remarkably human. Although they do not mention if she is "fully functional," I imagine it's not long before Hiroshi Ishiguru begins collaborative work with the guys from RealDolls. How wierd is it to order a personalized, ie custom built and designed woman? Well, try it for yourself. Add in personality traits, and it may become de riguer in a short time (And ladies, don't think that robot men won't be available as well). Think about it... marriage may become a rarer and rarer phenomenon. You can have a non-aging, update-able, housecleaning, home-security, baby-sitter, super-high performing (in and out of the bedroom) mate, partner, whatever... android robot of your very own.
In the meantime, how about you programmers working with some psychologists and educational researchers to develop that Voight-Kampf test?
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Thursday, October 20, 2005
A Poetry for You (and for me)
I went to see a pretty cool show last night at Mr. Smalls with Dan Brown, and at some point, our conversation turned to what we make of life. Dan is one of those good friends who turns things around for you so that they make sense, and funny how now that they make sense, you find yourself on your feet again. I'm lucky to have such friends. In light of said conversation, Dan shared this poem with me, that I now share with you:
A BAG OF TOOLS
Isn't it strange that princes and kings,
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
And common folks like you and me
Are builders of Eternity.
Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass and a book of rules,
And each must make, e'er life is flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
- Unknown
A few weeks ago in mid-September, the NY Times ran an article about artists who are on the edges of the art world; some of those people we may call "outsider artists." The American Folk Art Museum opened an "emerging art" exhibit, and the first artist, Eugene Andolsek, is perhaps my favorite. I quote:
"One of the five artists being introduced, Eugene Andolsek, is 83. A former railroad employee, he lives in a senior citizens' home in Crabtree, Pa., and stopped painting two years ago because of failing eyesight. He has never shown before. He doesn't even consider his sumptuously patterned, labor-intensive colored-ink drawings to be art, and seems to disapprove of anyone who does. The thing is, the work is really good, rich and solid, but also trippy and full of little elegancies, which makes it look very now."
He's a guy who did what he did and could care less what you think. Really and truly.
Then there's the artist Josh Seybert mentioned late this summer out on Ro and Jim patio: The old janitor guy who drew armies of little girls. That's a wierd story, both the text of his 18,000 page novel, the accompanying pictures he did himself, and well... his life. He may or may not have been a real spooky nut. Decide for yourself.
I went to see a pretty cool show last night at Mr. Smalls with Dan Brown, and at some point, our conversation turned to what we make of life. Dan is one of those good friends who turns things around for you so that they make sense, and funny how now that they make sense, you find yourself on your feet again. I'm lucky to have such friends. In light of said conversation, Dan shared this poem with me, that I now share with you:
A BAG OF TOOLS
Isn't it strange that princes and kings,
And clowns that caper in sawdust rings,
And common folks like you and me
Are builders of Eternity.
Each is given a bag of tools,
A shapeless mass and a book of rules,
And each must make, e'er life is flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
- Unknown
A few weeks ago in mid-September, the NY Times ran an article about artists who are on the edges of the art world; some of those people we may call "outsider artists." The American Folk Art Museum opened an "emerging art" exhibit, and the first artist, Eugene Andolsek, is perhaps my favorite. I quote:
"One of the five artists being introduced, Eugene Andolsek, is 83. A former railroad employee, he lives in a senior citizens' home in Crabtree, Pa., and stopped painting two years ago because of failing eyesight. He has never shown before. He doesn't even consider his sumptuously patterned, labor-intensive colored-ink drawings to be art, and seems to disapprove of anyone who does. The thing is, the work is really good, rich and solid, but also trippy and full of little elegancies, which makes it look very now."
He's a guy who did what he did and could care less what you think. Really and truly.
Then there's the artist Josh Seybert mentioned late this summer out on Ro and Jim patio: The old janitor guy who drew armies of little girls. That's a wierd story, both the text of his 18,000 page novel, the accompanying pictures he did himself, and well... his life. He may or may not have been a real spooky nut. Decide for yourself.
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