Philosophy
There seems to be a natural progression from complete bewilderment to understanding to the need to manipulate and find practical applications for the scientific discoveries we make. Sometimes there is also the stage of speculation whereby we take our current knowledge of physical laws and imagine the possibilities open to us by such discoveries. Sometimes what we get out of that is science fiction, sometimes real science. Of course, it doesn?t follow logically that something is practically attainable merely from the fact that it?s physically possible, and there?s the rub.
In the following episode of the documentary series Visions of the Future, theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku explores some of the most recent feats to come out of the study and manipulation of atoms and the quantum world (superconductivity, nanotechnology, teleportation, invisibility, quantum entanglement, nuclear fusion, etc.) and meditates on what the future of humanity might look like when and if these discoveries are applied in mass scale and at the macro level.
Is Kaku merely blithely optimistic or is he a true visionary? I don't really know... I have my own suspicions about this, but I?ll let you decide for yourself.
If you are interested in the philosophical implications of teleportation on the question of personal identity, you should check out the excellent documentary series Brainspotting, with Ken Campbell.
And if you are interested in understanding superconductivity and the scientific race to reach absolute zero temperature, here is the documentary for you (parts 1 and 2).
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- To Infinity And Beyond
Apparently the title of this documentary also has something to do with Toy Story? Well, I haven't seen that movie, but I can tell you what this documentary is about... Infinity. The most obvious way to start thinking about infinity is through...
- Lecture 8 - Personal Identity
Science is great when it comes to discoveries and studies about the physical world. It requires lots of work and dedication, analytic skills to test various hypotheses, and a wealth of creativity to figure out how to conduct experiments to tell...
- Horizon - What Is Reality?
Ancient Greek philosophers like Parmenides, Zeno and Plato stumbled upon a radical discovery: the distinction between appearance and reality. If we are to ask the question of what reality is (and how we can know this), our best bet at finding some sort...
- Scientific Genius Gone?
"Is the age of scientific genius over?" by Ashutosh Jogalekar February 3rd, 2013 Scientific American There’s a short rumination in this week’s Nature in which Dean Keith Simonton, a psychologist from the University of California, Davis asks a question...
- S. Hawking Documentary
Stephen Hawking at 21 "...Hawking, who is now 66, hints at this: "I would have liked to have done more," he concedes, "in particular to have found a complete theory of quantum gravity and the early universe." Wishful thinking and a fundamental philosophical...
Philosophy
Visions of the Future: The Quantum Revolution
There seems to be a natural progression from complete bewilderment to understanding to the need to manipulate and find practical applications for the scientific discoveries we make. Sometimes there is also the stage of speculation whereby we take our current knowledge of physical laws and imagine the possibilities open to us by such discoveries. Sometimes what we get out of that is science fiction, sometimes real science. Of course, it doesn?t follow logically that something is practically attainable merely from the fact that it?s physically possible, and there?s the rub.In the following episode of the documentary series Visions of the Future, theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku explores some of the most recent feats to come out of the study and manipulation of atoms and the quantum world (superconductivity, nanotechnology, teleportation, invisibility, quantum entanglement, nuclear fusion, etc.) and meditates on what the future of humanity might look like when and if these discoveries are applied in mass scale and at the macro level.
Is Kaku merely blithely optimistic or is he a true visionary? I don't really know... I have my own suspicions about this, but I?ll let you decide for yourself.
If you are interested in the philosophical implications of teleportation on the question of personal identity, you should check out the excellent documentary series Brainspotting, with Ken Campbell.
And if you are interested in understanding superconductivity and the scientific race to reach absolute zero temperature, here is the documentary for you (parts 1 and 2).
.
- To Infinity And Beyond
Apparently the title of this documentary also has something to do with Toy Story? Well, I haven't seen that movie, but I can tell you what this documentary is about... Infinity. The most obvious way to start thinking about infinity is through...
- Lecture 8 - Personal Identity
Science is great when it comes to discoveries and studies about the physical world. It requires lots of work and dedication, analytic skills to test various hypotheses, and a wealth of creativity to figure out how to conduct experiments to tell...
- Horizon - What Is Reality?
Ancient Greek philosophers like Parmenides, Zeno and Plato stumbled upon a radical discovery: the distinction between appearance and reality. If we are to ask the question of what reality is (and how we can know this), our best bet at finding some sort...
- Scientific Genius Gone?
"Is the age of scientific genius over?" by Ashutosh Jogalekar February 3rd, 2013 Scientific American There’s a short rumination in this week’s Nature in which Dean Keith Simonton, a psychologist from the University of California, Davis asks a question...
- S. Hawking Documentary
Stephen Hawking at 21 "...Hawking, who is now 66, hints at this: "I would have liked to have done more," he concedes, "in particular to have found a complete theory of quantum gravity and the early universe." Wishful thinking and a fundamental philosophical...