computing
... machine intelligence ... supercomputers ... supermind ...
future
Don Northcote
Octogenarian
Low-Profile Polymath, Retired
(You’ve got a dictionary on your computer,
haven’t you?)
Why am I
here?
I am not selling anything, seeking employment, or
in need of an ego-trip!
Well, at the end of the eighties I wrote a book entitled:
SUPERMIND!…Should Computers Take Over?
It was anecdotal, futuristic, contentious, and
addressed the destiny of the human race.
It didn’t get published.
I added some more bits over the two or three years which
followed.
It still didn’t get published.
It would now require complete re-writing and updating and, for
various reasons, I am probably not going to do that.
However, it contains a few little pieces of some interest and it
would be a pity if these blooms were born merely to blush unseen
and waste their fragrance on the desert air.
(Hey, that’s a neat image, I’m glad I coined it!)
I had felt that these thoughts needed to be set
in their original context of a fully-developed and extended
argument, but perhaps at least some of them can stand alone,
suitably trimmed and edited.
Let’s give it a try, anyway!
To see where I’m coming from (as they say), start with:
A PERSONAL ODYSSEY (964 words)
One of my Journal Editorials from the mid-eighties takes a
“futurological” look at computing:
SYNERGY
(473 words)
Another Editorial:
CHAOS AND
CATASTROPHE (589
words)
On Brains and Supercomputers:
THE IDIOT
SAVANT (843 words)
Followed by:
MACHINE
INTELLIGENCE (1088
words)
Come down to earth with a view from the early nineties of:
THE HOME PC
EXPLOSION (738 words)
Consider a possible “Doomsday Scenario” with:
PROBLEMS AND
SOLUTIONS (485 words)
And end up with an overview at:
ONE SECOND TO
MIDNIGHT (4468 words)
Now, nearly four
years on, I will merely add a few snippets – some “thoughts in a
nutshell”!
ADDENDUM
Now into my eighties I am registered blind (although with some impaired vision remaining) and have had extensive Angioplasty following several heart attacks.
I thought, therefore, to add to this website two items not in my book, for my own reference as well as for anyone else who might be interested.
This started as my first, unsophisticated, attempt at a Web Site.
I have returned to it with changes and additions, and may return to it
again.
In the meantime, I thank you for your company. Live long and
prosper!
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