JonM

http://www.dctech.com/physics/features/0600.php you can figure it out for youself... enter your speed, height and other factors in order to figure out how to minimize the rain that falls on you

I feel songs that are poorly done or simplified get stuck in your head more ... like pop songs or songs with simple beats. I think this is because its just more natural for these to be going around your mind because they are simple. Also songs that repeat a chord or a chorus many times. try getting 1812 overture stuck in your head

We will become human/computer hybrids

what if you run over the paper with your car (or hypothetically some kind of crushing machine) after the 5th 6th, 7th fold, then you might be able to fold it more... no?

How we think and perceive is based off language for the most part, right? We see a chair, we perceive it as a chair, and we think things out using words in our head. How are mind works revolves around language to a large extent, right? So our thought processes in our cerebral cortex have evolved within the limits of language. I would imagine the way we perceive the world and how we think, and the content of those thoughts, would be radically different if there was some hypothetical substitute for language, like say electronic data transmitted between humans, or telepathy. No?

In kindergarten my sister was learning about Piet Mondrian, Degas, Michelangelo, Van Gogh.... among other things I didnt learn until many grades after

Hey guys, thanks for your responses I wasn’t talking about human perception... I was basically asking if matter can be broken down into atoms etc, then can time be broken down similarly? It seems people here have already asked questions like this... its interesting stuff

On the quantum level (or even on our spatial level) , can time be broken down to like say a very tiny unit that cannot be broken down any more? In other words, is time like an extremely large amalgamation of these tiny units all put together, or is time infinitely smooth? In case you still don’t get my question, look at it this way: can you break down the path of a particle or even an object in space as it moves over time to a point where instead of moving smoothly, it skips over distances, kind of like time elapsed photos? I know there is uncertainty on the quantum level, so that fact might make my question impossible to answer but I dont know...

In no more than 10,000 years from now we will have the power to stop any disaster or mass extinction that threatens our species.

I think we want big fancy cars for the reasons states above (respect, people will like you, feel and look rich etc) but why do we feel the need to have respect? That’s human nature in society. But soceity generates this image, more specifically big companies that use advertisements and television etc to get this image across so you will buy their car. Why is that? Money. Medicine has stopped natural selection in a sense. It interferes with nature and hence we have many genetic diseases. Society for the most part (excluding poor countries in Africa and such) can provide a healthy life for anyone no matter how dumb/smart or strong/weak they are, this also in a sense stops natural selection. Humans have overcome natural selection. And in the future genetic engineering will solve this… But back to your point, our instincts are driven elsewhere, to gain respect in society, to gain wealth, etc. Western society is very material, why? Lots of reasons, the main one I am sure is that big corporations can make billions from us and they cram our lives with specifically designed ads etc. So we are part of a gigantic money spending machine whose ultimate individual goal in life is to make money so we can buy stuff. This impedes philosophical thinking, creativity, and all that great stuff that makes us human. Buddhists have the right idea, if you can attain peace with yourself you don’t need material goods to make you happy. The countries in Southeast Asia which are predominantly Buddhist are some of the poorest in the world, and yet you can say there are some of the happiest; theres little violence and crime and all that other nonsense that becomes what I call the bad side of human nature. What can we do in a western society? Well reject MTV and McDonalds and stupid fads in our culture, be creative, write, do art, philosophize, and be at peace with yourself. Of course you need to still be in society, you need to work, buy stuff whatever. I don’t know the answer but I hope my post makes some sense out of something.

I am 19 I always like to think I have a fairly good memory. One that stood out was when I was younger (perhaps when I was 4 years old, maybe younger) was when my mother and I (and I think my grandmother too) were shopping at this nice town. I remember getting a red white and blue futuristic toy gun that made a tiny spark inside when fired. I remeber the lady who worked at the toy store and bin in which the guns were held. But anyway that’s not what interesting about it, but what is interesting is that I remember specifically that this town was east of where I used to live. I had no idea what the town was called or anything, but I remember taking the bus, and I know that it was east. (Note:, I don’t think I knew what east/west was when I was 4, but I knew the direction it was related to where I used to live, and now that I know better, I have applied the term east to this direction) Curious about this, I asked my mother recently if they had taken me anywhere to shop when I younger in a nice area that was east of where we used to live. She confirmed it when she said she took me to Cedarhurst, which is an upscale town with lots of shopping, and I’ve been there not too long ago and the style resembles my memory perfectly. So for me at least, I know that when I was 4 years old or younger, I was able to retain direction in my memory from taking the bus. Now I know that humans have a ‘knack’ for direction right? So is this something possible or am I just putting coincidences together?

I wasn't talking about our intelligence, I was talking about the development of humans, the steps we took to get where we are today. The transition from simple lives to complicated lives. Technology is part of this. It also includes our ideas, our creativity, our imagination, our emotions etc... If a baby that was born 70,000 years ago were to be raised today, that person would grow up for the most part just as "smart" as the average person. And the actual process of our ancestors making tools, working with thier hands, using logic did spur thier creative thought, ingenuity, and the rest of that great stuff that separates us from our ancestors.

I thought we were suppose to have faith that god created us...

I am just wondering what the advancement of nanotech would bring, in relation to sources of energy...?

Well it would contain all areas, We can post the latest news and comment on them. Everday there is a new article having to do with some sort of amazing progress in the field.

Hi, I have been active on these forums for the past couple of weeks and I have learned a lot and I want to say Thank you. This probably has been brought up already, but I think it would nice to have a forum dedicated to nanotechnology. I think its an upcoming science that will affect the future lives of the young generation today (like me ) And with all the great minds of these forums I feel a lot can be learned in this area. Just a thought

What about nanotechnology? what can this do in the future to improve our sources of energy?

Could there have been an "anti-unit of singularity" ? just like every particle has an antiparticle? Rather silly question I suppose, but it popped into my head reading this thread. But anyway good info guys, thanks! Now what about theories that contain multiverses, like the M-theory. Do they have any bearing on this subject? Or does the fact that since those theories contain multiverses, then they would never affect our universe so it doesn’t really matter (plus the fact that they are just theories? Or could theoretically there be room for some kind of relationship, perhaps in other dimensions, between two or more universes?

http://www.victorzammit.com/book/chapter24.html is there any evidence to show that what supposedly occured in these hyposis instances were hoaxes or made up?

I have no idea, I would imagine its the electrical impulses in our neurons. I am not saying anything either way about this subject. I tend to take the science side and think that everything just ends when you die and thats it. But this stuff is interesting reguardless and I was wondering if that story is true or not.

What about the ice age? I’ve heard that it wiped out most humans and the 1000 or so that survived went on to produce all of us? They had to be the smartest and most fit to survive that time. Also the development of speech (and then later on language) sent our intelligence flying. Same thing with out ability to tame fire, or to use tools etc... But I suppose if you look at it from a whole, its accelerating. Our development has been exponential and still is.

perhaps the entire universe is alive, just maybe in a different way...

Ah ok, I get it, I never saw that in smoke rings though?, Was he just blowing out air from his mouth or through a snorkel?