The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (136 page)

        reversal of, 4–5

        special relativity and, 520
n

        subjective, 31–32, 33

        travel in, 140–141

Time
, Future of Life conference of (2003), 11–12, 499
n

Tipler, Frank, 500
n

titanium dioxide, 252

titanium-oxide nanoparticles, 250

toad, Adrian’s experiments with, 154

Tobias, Phillip, 502
n

Toffoli, Tommaso, 130, 518
n
, 534
n

tolerance, 424

Tomlin, Lily, 189

Tom Swift Jr. book series, 1–2, 497
n

Tononi, G., 540
n

toolmaking,
17, 18, 20
, 72, 213

Torcetrapib, 217

Torgerson, Justin R., 139–140, 537
n

Toshiba, 247

totalitarianism, 471, 498
n

        relinquishment and, 395, 406, 407–408

Toth-Fejel, Tihamer, 560
n

Townes, C. H., 590
n

toxic cells, 219

toxins, 371

        Internet information on, 594
n

        nanotechnology and, 251, 252, 253, 256, 300

        testing for, 215

        in viruses, 402

Trachtenberg, J. T., 542
n

traditional cultures, 387

trains,
see
railroads

Trajtenberg, Manuel, 540
n

transcendence, 373, 387–390, 475–476

        of biological intelligence, 375

        patterns and, 388

        use of term, 388, 390

transcension scenario, 358

transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), 161

transdifferentiation, 222–224, 471, 556
n
–557
n

Transend, David Victor de, 198

Transhumanists, 498
n

transistors,
20
, 45, 59–63, 71, 116, 151, 153, 271, 519
n

        analog-mode use of, 126, 149–150, 151, 188, 189, 442, 443

        digital-mode use of, 150, 442

        on integrated circuit, 42–43, 56, 71, 76, 111–112, 114, 157, 351, 434

        in Intel processors, 63,
63
, 66

        manufacturing of,
60

        microprocessor cost per cycle of, 62,
62
, 66

        molecular computing and, 115, 528
n

        nanotube, 27, 114, 230, 527
n

        nanowire field-effect, 116

        neuron, 308, 313

        as paradigm, 67,
67
, 75,
75
, 127–128

        per microprocessor, 63,
63
, 498
n

        price of, 59,
59
, 62, 66

        shorter electron travel times in, 56, 61

        shrinking of, 42–43, 45, 61, 76, 111–112, 113, 351, 434

        single-molecule, 121

        stacked, 113

        tunneling in, 429, 451

transition-state theory, 240

translation, of languages, 288, 292, 313, 337

translation process, 208–209

transportation, 289, 347, 434

        of energy, 246, 247, 340

        flying machines, 457–458

        lock-in and, 429, 430, 457–458

        nanotechnology and, 230, 246, 247, 252, 457–458

        railroads, 13, 263–264, 420

        
see also
airplanes, aviation; cars; vehicles

transterrestrial community, 361–362

traveling-salesperson problem, 529
n
–530
n

Travis, John, 554
n

Treder, Mike, 400, 595
n

Trezise, A. E., 553
n

Trinity College, 288

TriPath Imaging, 282–283

Trosch, Rick, 308

truth, many paths to, 1

Tryk, Donald A., 567
n

Tseng, Yu-Chih, 527
n

tuberculosis, 282

Tukey, J. W., 600
n

tumorigenesis, 215

tungsten, 536
n

turbulence, 90, 522
n

Turing, Alan M., 94, 155, 259, 286, 295, 453–454, 504
n
, 505
n
, 600
n
, 601
n

Turing machine, 94, 523
n

        problem solving and, 429, 453–456

Turing test, 25, 200, 201, 263, 294–296, 473, 504
n
–505
n

        copies and, 383, 443

        language and, 272, 286, 288, 292, 295, 461, 464

        “Ray Kurzweil,” 383, 429

        variations of, 294–296

Turkle, Sherry, 338, 497
n
, 506
n

Turner, Linda, 236

turnover pulse, 511
n

Turrigiano, G. G., 542
n

two-photon laser scanning microscopy (TPLSM), 162–163, 164, 166

Tyler-Smith, Chris, 549
n

type II civilization, 344, 348, 353

type III civilization, 344

typography, 54

UAVs,
see
unmanned aerial vehicles

ubiquitin, 209

Ueland, T., 553
n

Ulam, Stanislaw, 498
n

ulcers, 282

Ullman, Shimon, 547
n

ultrasonic beams, 313

Unbounding the Future
(Drexler and Peterson), 558
n

uncertainty, 267

        probabilistic fractals and, 46

        quantum, 138, 238, 353, 486

uncertainty principle, 138

underclass, disappearance of, 338

underdeveloped countries:

        criticism from the rich-poor divide and, 469–470

        economic growth in, 99

        education in, 336, 396

        family size in, 433

        life expectancy in, 338

uniforms, army, 332

Unitarianism, 1, 382

United Nations, 525
n
–526
n

United Therapeutics, 216, 282, 581
n

universal assembler, use of term, 228

universe(s), 342–368

        age of, 347, 590
n

        anthropic principle and, 15, 357, 359–364, 499
n
–501
n

        cellular automata and, 85–91, 518
n
–522
n

        closed, 500
n

        computational limits of, 364–365, 485–486, 592
n

        computing of, 342

        consciousness of, 375, 389, 390

        as deterministic, algorithmic system, 85–86

        Earth-centered view of, 342, 433

        in Epoch Six, 14,
15
, 21, 367, 390

        evolution of, 360, 361

        existence of, 389–390

        expansion of, 354, 357, 360, 361

        holographic, 365–366, 486

        inflationary period of, 357, 360

        multiple (parallel multiverses; “bubbles”), 15, 360, 362, 390, 499
n
–500
n

        new, 358, 405

        purpose of, 374

        search for extraterrestrial intelligence in,
see
SETI

        spreading of intelligence through,
15
, 21, 29, 45, 300, 361–368, 372, 375, 389, 486, 511
n

        stories vs. atoms in, 5

        wormholes in, 354–356

University College, 288

unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 280, 332, 333, 335

unsolvable problems, Church-Turing thesis and, 453–456

Upper Paleolithic era, 219

Uranos, 350–351

usr/bin/god
(Doctorow), 271–272

Utah, University of, 308

Utility Fog, 506
n

utility function, 39, 362, 364

V1 (visual area), 185

V5 (cortical region), 156

vaccines:

        Alzheimer’s disease and, 220, 555
n

        cancer and, 217, 218

        mousepox, 398

        smallpox, 398, 402

vacuum tubes, 45, 56

        as paradigm, 67,
67
, 75,
75
, 127–28, 434

Valdes, Francisco, 591
n

values, 323, 424

vampire bot, 248

Van Essen, D., 547
n

Vangelova, Luba, 556
n

van Praag, Henriette, 177, 544
n

variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), 116, 224

Vasan, S., 555
n

vasculoid, 306

Vaupel, James W., 597
n

vectors, 553
n

Vega, 355–356

vehicles, 245, 246, 250

        fuel cells for, 247

        robot-driven, 285–286, 292

        unmanned aerial (UAVs), 280, 332, 333, 335

        
see also
cars

Venter, Craig, 216

ventral pathway, 175

venture-capital investment, 395, 524
n

vestibular system, 314

video games, 125, 276, 319–320, 341

video graphics array (VGA) computer screens, 55

Vietnam War,
331

Vince, Gaia, 528
n

Vinci, Leonardo da, 2, 51, 473

Vinge, Vernor, 22, 23, 24, 324, 328, 504
n

virtual bodies, 28–29, 199, 203, 319, 325

virtual people, 105, 287, 313, 318, 473

virtual reality, 4, 9, 28–29, 203, 312–320, 340, 397, 487

        auditory, 105, 310, 312–313, 318, 472

        body changes and, 310

        concerns about, 318, 319–320

        e-commerce and, 105

        foglets and, 28, 29, 310

        full-immersion, 105, 315, 340, 341, 457, 472

        military use of, 312, 335, 586
n

        nanobots and, 28, 29, 310, 313–317, 319, 377

        from within the nervous system, 28, 29, 165, 300, 377

        personality in, 29, 314–316, 587
n

        social change and, 473

        visual, 105, 310, 472

virtual-reality environment designers, 314

viruses, 226, 418, 423, 511
n

        gene therapy and, 215, 216

        genetic engineering and, 206, 393, 398, 402–403

        HIV and AIDS, 74, 95, 398, 402, 470, 514
n

        Internet information on, 594
n

        nanotechnology and, 233, 235–236, 255

        
SARS, 74, 398, 402–403, 423, 514
n

        smallpox, 398, 402

        synthetic, 216

        as vectors, 553
n

viruses, software,
see
software viruses

Visser, Matt, 356, 592
n

visual cortex, 156, 172, 176, 181, 530
n

visual-spatial relationships, learning of, 175

visual systems, 130, 265

        modeling of, 185–88,
187

        of primates, 574
n

        robotic, 123, 187–188, 285–286, 529
n

visual virtual reality, 105, 310, 472

vitamin A, 414

vitamins, 301

Vita-More, Natasha, 302, 583
n
, 589
n