Detailed logarithmic timeline. This timeline shows the whole history of the universe, the Earth, and humanity in one table. Each row is defined in years ago, that is, years before the present date, with the earliest times at the top of the chart. In each table cell on the right, references to events or notable people are given, more or less in chronological order within the cell. Each row corresponds to a change in log(time before present) of about 0.1 (using log base 10), similar to Renard numbers. A logarithmic timeline can also be devised for events which should occur in the future, barring unforeseen circumstances and assuming that we can extrapolate into the future based on our science. See also[edit] References[edit] External links[edit] When Will Time End?
Kardashev scale. Measure of the evolution of a civilization according to its energy consumption Energy consumption in three types of civilization as defined by Sagan's extended Kardashev scale The Kardashev scale (Russian: Шкала Кардашева, romanized: Shkala Kardasheva) is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is able to use. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964[1] and came to bear his name. The scale is hypothetical, and regards energy consumption on a cosmic scale. Various extensions of the scale have since been proposed, including a wider range of power levels (types 0, IV to V) and the use of metrics other than pure power (e.g., computational growth or food consumption).
Kardashev first outlined his scale in a paper presented at the 1964 Byurakan conference, a scientific meeting that reviewed the Soviet radio astronomy space listening program. Categories defined by Kardashev[edit] Type I[edit] Technological singularity. Hypothetical point in time when technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible The technological singularity—or simply the singularity[1]—is a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization.[2][3] According to the most popular version of the singularity hypothesis, I. J. Good's intelligence explosion model, an upgradable intelligent agent will eventually enter a positive feedback loop of self-improvement cycles, each new and more intelligent generation appearing more and more rapidly, causing a rapid increase ("explosion") in intelligence which ultimately results in a powerful superintelligence that qualitatively far surpasses all human intelligence.[4] Intelligence explosion[edit] Although technological progress has been accelerating in most areas, it has been limited by the basic intelligence of the human brain, which has not, according to Paul R.
I. J. Ray Kurzweil. Raymond "Ray" Kurzweil (/ˈkɜrzwaɪl/ KURZ-wyl; born February 12, 1948) is an American author, computer scientist, inventor, futurist, and is a director of engineering at Google. Aside from futurology, he is involved in fields such as optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic keyboard instruments. He has written books on health, artificial intelligence (AI), transhumanism, the technological singularity, and futurism.
Kurzweil is a public advocate for the futurist and transhumanist movements, as has been displayed in his vast collection of public talks, wherein he has shared his primarily optimistic outlooks on life extension technologies and the future of nanotechnology, robotics, and biotechnology. Life, inventions, and business career[edit] Early life[edit] Ray Kurzweil grew up in the New York City borough of Queens. Kurzweil attended Martin Van Buren High School. Mid-life[edit] Later life[edit] Personal life[edit] Futurists Don't Predict The Future, They Drive Us Toward Better Ones. The Most Significant Futurists of the Past 50 Years. Futurist. Futurists or futurologists are scientists and social scientists whose specialty is futurology, or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities about the future and how they can emerge from the present, whether that of human society in particular or of life on Earth in general.
Definition[edit] The term "futurist" most commonly refers to authors, consultants, organizational leaders and others who engage in interdisciplinary and systems thinking to advise private and public organizations on such matters as diverse global trends, possible scenarios, emerging market opportunities and risk management. (Futurist is not in the sense of the art movement futurism.)
Visionary writers such as Jules Verne, Edward Bellamy and H. G. Wells were not in their day characterized as futurists. Futures studies[edit] "Futures studies"—sometimes referred to as futurology, futures research, and foresight—can be summarized as being concerned with "three P's and a W", i.e. See also[edit] Could Kurzweil be right about solar, the Google of energy? Ray Kurzweil presents his cost curves on solar at Berkeley University earlier this month.
Paula Mints' slide doesn't look a million miles away from one of Kurzweil's exponential graphs. Felicity Carus Felicity Carus is the only UK journalist to be regularly reporting on clean energy policy and finance from California for a global audience. Before arriving in San Francisco in 2010, Felicity was on the Guardian's environment desk in London after stints at the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia and Interfax in Russia.
She first "broke" into the renewables industry with a commission in the mid-90s to write a book on how to install a solar water heating system with a rusty old radiator. The industry has come a long way since then, thankfully… Cleantech investors often talk about the quest for the ‘Google of energy’. Solar advocates already believe they've picked the winner. "If we take 30 steps we get to 30 steps in a linear path," he said. Kurzweil has his critics, that's for sure. ‘After Earth’ Sparks Real Discussion On Future Of Our Planet. After Earth may be just a science fiction story about the changes that will take place on our home planet over the next 1,000 years, but the movie is starting a real discussion on the future of Earth.
In a Google+ Hangout earlier this week followed up Earth Day, the stars of After Earth joined SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, futurist Ray Kurzweil, Alexandra Cousteau, and a group of students to talk about the future of our planet. After Earth stars Will Smith and his son Jaden and is set 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humans to escape from the planet. That’s been a topic close to the heart of one of the Google + Hangout participants. Kurzweil has been keen to predict the future of our planet including the rise of nanotechnology that will allow us to treat diseases from within our bodies thanks to tiny robots.
“It looks like great entertainment, but it raises some profound issues (about the future of the planet),” Kurzweil said about After Earth. After Earth comes out April 26.