Everything needs to be imagined before it can become reality, and these ideas are actually way beyond science fiction even now because they are being pursued actively with existing technology and sound scientific principles.

Surely it will be very difficult, but before dismissing these ideas, consider how much has changed in the last 100 years. Someone born in 1898 who lived 100 years would have gone from a pre-lightbulb world to seeing it in widespread use, survived two world wars, seen the development of air travel, radar, the harnessing of nuclear power, landing on the MOON (!!), regular travel to outer space via the space shuttle, the building of several space stations, the development of every modern cancer therapy, cloning, sequencing of the human genome, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Ultrasound, Xray tomography, computers going from nothing to ubiquitous use, the explosion of the internet, cell phones, and a kajillion other major advances I don't have time to list right now.

If nothing else, this series of videos serves to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers, but all indications are that the RATE of change is INCREASING. Why? Because better technology helps us do more, FASTER. Not to mention there are MORE humans able to do MORE, FASTER, thanks to new technology.

I could easily see this technology in use in 40 years, and while I wouldn't invest as a venture capitalist at this point, research funding agencies are wise to fund this research as it will spur advancements in material science, electronics, computers & AI, and engineering even if we don't have a 3D Sex Bot by 2050.

Ya, the 'faster than light' bit at the end was a bit unclear, but they didn't say it traveled at 30c, they said it traveled at 30/28c i.e. 1.0714285714285714285714285714286 times 'the speed of light'. This means a pattern in the game can travel slightly faster than one square per 'turn' which is otherwise 'the speed limit'.

If you stared at this really closely you would probably find that when the "ship" passed through the "Stargate", it jumped 2 extra squares, and so on average the "ship" traveled 30 squares in 28 time steps. V = Dist/Time so 30 squares / 28 time steps = 30/28c where c = 1square/time step. But I didn't state at it long enough to check.

To me, the 'Primer' example was the coolest. It's certainly surprising to see prime numbers pop out of two simple rules.

I wonder what would happen if a hexagonal grid was used instead. *Asks Google*

Oh, someone thought of that... check it out:

http://www.cse.sc.edu/~bays/h6h6h6/

Select the 'pattern' button and checkout what's been found. My favorite: Supernova

I'm not sure if this is technically a dupe since it's just a snippet taken from minute 13 of the full length TED talk by Michael Shermer:

http://www.videosift.com/video/Michael-Shermer-Why-People-Believe-Weird-Things

I'll leave the dupiness decision to others. Either way, great clip, check out the whole talk.

Pew... Pew Pew...

Wait, where's the 'Orangutan-putang' joke? It was begging for it...

Is that a really large coconut, or a really small octopus?

His facial expressions remind me of the free credit reports guy.

tsk tsk, I think he meant "shawwwteeees" with some "T-Payne effect"... pff, robots, they know nothing of correct human pronunciation and intonation.

While the report says the resolution is being pushed by Islamic interests, the actually wording looks to 'protect' all religions and all overly sensitive wussbag followers.

So, if this resolution actually resulted in a law AND were actually enforced fairly, I imagine everyone in the world would be arrested in about 10sec flat... There isn't a religious person or atheist in the world who hasn't criticized one religion or another. Save, perhaps, a few permanently high folks who just 'need more pizza maaaan'.

In away I'm happy this is being pushed by Islamic interested because it means the US will oppose it and hopefully stand up for free speech. I do however wonder what the reaction would have been had it been a resolution about criticizing Christianity or Judaism. I hope the US's reaction would be an equal amount of outrage.

*dead

here's a replacement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81_rmOTjobk

*dead

Here's a replacement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUvVsujB5dc&feature=related

*dead

Here's a link to the whole episode

http://www.casttv.com/shows/penn-teller-bullshit/taxes/l486nc

It's Season 7 Episode 7 : Taxes

What? No celebratory sliding on the knees?? Pansy...

Impressive... his buddy giving him butt hugs at the end was more hilarious though.

"Yay, you did something awesome and I want to be associated with it!! Let me hug you from behind... wait why aren't you paying attention to me??... Maybe more hugs will solve that... nope... oh well, I like hugging you from behind... we're BFFs..."

#1) Apparently Anderson Cooper is reporting from his firey lair in hell

#2) I love how creationists and religious people who criticize science say "Why are you afraid of people questioning your 'theories' " but then run and hide whenever a someone critiques religion. Can't have it both ways people. If you want your ideas to make it into the SCIENCE class room, then you are REQUIRED to pass through the SCIENTIFIC METHOD and undergo thorough scrutiny of whatever objective EVIDENCE and FACTS you can produce. That does not bode well for the creationists.

#3) Despite #2, I wonder if the solution is to have complete transparency; Allow ID to be mentioned in the science class in exchange for Science's take to be mentioned in religion classes. My bet is the ID/Creationist view would crumble quickly under the weight of its own stupidity and in a few years it would be laughed right back out the door. Then we could sit back and say "We did the democratic thing, we discussed it openly, and the people have decided: you lost". As a scientist, I admit it's sounds like a scary bet at first, but as I look at more and more of these type of situations I realized that resisting stupid people often is the main reason they gain any attention at all.