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Gerard K. O’Neill’s name might not ring a bell for many of us, but he certainly is one of the most significant names in the world of physics and space sciences. Gerard was an American physicist whose ideologies resonated with the concept of Space Manufacturing and Space Colonization as early as 1969.

He visualized establishment of a space manufacturing facility that would product end products for use in the outer space. Located in a very high orbit as compared to Earth, or on any celestial body, he claimed that the manufacturing facility would be self-sufficient and would be built entirely using materials available on celestial surfaces like lunar soil. When O’Neill presented his novel idea using research papers at different forums, he faced rejection and disapproval as every other world-changing idea did.

Related: Bringing Back Space Culture

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In this London Futurists event, Amnon Eden, lead editor of the volume “Singularity Hypotheses” which was published three years ago, provided an update on the controversies about the Technological Singularity. Topics covered include:

• Luddites, Philistines, and Starry-Eyed: The War over Killer Robots

• AI (Artificial Intelligence) vs. IA (Intelligence Augmentation)

• definition, sufficient and necessary conditions.

Continue reading “The Singularity Controversy” | >

Excellent acquisition on multiple fronts. However, I will post the question that will most be definitely on the minds of some folks; “what protections around privacy will MSFT employees and others have with their InMails and communications with recruiters and others who they connect with on LinkedIn?” We have not just MSFT employees, Apple, Google, etc. And, many people have used this site to connect for business and joint ventures, to locate their next opportunity, etc. So, if we look at the larger picture this really must be asked.

This is the email I sent to LinkedIn’s global workforce today. I thought it might be interesting to others, too, so I’ve decided to publish it publicly.

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December 15th, 2008, marked the first day of the best job I’ve ever had. My rationale for joining LinkedIn was simple: The opportunity to work with Reid Hoffman, a founder I greatly admired and respected; to join an extremely talented and dedicated team; and to massively scale LinkedIn’s membership and business, both of which had the potential to fundamentally transform the way the world connects to opportunity. Never in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined what would happen in the next 7½ years. Our team has grown from 338 people to over 10,000, our membership from 32M to over 433M and our revenue from $78M to over $3 billion.

Continue reading “LinkedIn + Microsoft: Changing the Way the World Works” | >

For the first time, scientists have discovered a classic formula for pi in the world of quantum physics. Pi is the ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter, and is incredibly important in pure mathematics, but now scientists have also found it “lurking” in the world of physics, when using quantum mechanics to compare the energy levels of a hydrogen atom.

Why is that exciting? Well, it reveals an incredibly special and previously unknown connection between quantum physics and maths.

“I find it fascinating that a purely mathematical formula from the 17th century characterises a physical system that was discovered 300 years later,” said one of the lead researchers, Tamar Friedmann, a mathematician at the University of Rochester in the US. Seriously, wow.

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If you’re a Star Trek fan, the odds are that your dream game (outside of a Holodeck) involves helming a starship as if you were really on the bridge. Well, you’re about to get your wish: Ubisoft has teased Star Trek: Bridge Crew, the sci-fi series’ first-ever virtual reality game. The title is set in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek universe, and has you taking on the captain, engineer, helm or tactical stations of the remarkably Enterprise -like starship Aegis as it resettles what’s left of the Vulcan population. Think of it as a very sophisticated VR version of Spaceteam — you have to coordinate with the rest of your crew to explore the galaxy and fight off enemies.

Bridge Crew arrives this fall and will support both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift on PCs as well as PlayStation VR. More details will have to wait until Ubisoft’s E3 press event on Monday, but it’s already clear that the publisher is making good on its promise of a big VR gaming push this year. We wouldn’t be surprised if Ubi has more extra-immersive games to show when it takes to the stage.

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