variations of, 294–296

  Turkle, Sherry, 338, 497n, 506n

  Turner, Linda, 236

  turnover pulse, 511n

  Turrigiano, G. G., 542n

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

  Tyler-Smith, Chris, 549n

  type II civilization, 344, 348, 353

  type III civilization, 344

  typography, 54

  UAVs, see unmanned aerial vehicles

  ubiquitin, 209

  Ueland, T., 553n

  Ulam, Stanislaw, 498n

  ulcers, 282

  Ullman, Shimon, 547n

  ultrasonic beams, 313

  Unbounding the Future (Drexler and Peterson), 558n

  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, 525n–526n

  United Therapeutics, 216, 282, 581n

  universal assembler, use of term, 228

  universe(s), 342–368

  age of, 347, 590n

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

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

  closed, 500n

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

  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, 499n–500n

  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, 511n

  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, 506n

  utility function, 39, 362, 364

  V1 (visual area), 185

  V5 (cortical region), 156

  vaccines:

  Alzheimer’s disease and, 220, 555n

  cancer and, 217, 218

  mousepox, 398

  smallpox, 398, 402

  vacuum tubes, 45, 56

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

  Valdes, Francisco, 591n

  values, 323, 424

  vampire bot, 248

  Van Essen, D., 547n

  Vangelova, Luba, 556n

  van Praag, Henriette, 177, 544n

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

  Vasan, S., 555n

  vasculoid, 306

  Vaupel, James W., 597n

  vectors, 553n

  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, 524n

  vestibular system, 314

  video games, 125, 276, 319–320, 341

  video graphics array (VGA) computer screens, 55

  Vietnam War, 331

  Vince, Gaia, 528n

  Vinci, Leonardo da, 2, 51, 473

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

  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, 586n

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

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

  personality in, 29, 314–316, 587n

  social change and, 473

  visual, 105, 310, 472

  virtual-reality environment designers, 314

  viruses, 226, 418, 423, 511n

  gene therapy and, 215, 216

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

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

  Internet information on, 594n

  nanotechnology and, 233, 235–236, 255

  SARS, 74, 398, 402–403, 423, 514n

  smallpox, 398, 402

  synthetic, 216

  as vectors, 553n

  viruses, software, see software viruses

  Visser, Matt, 356, 592n

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

  visual-spatial relationships, learning of, 175

  visual systems, 130, 265

  modeling of, 185–88, 187

  of primates, 574n

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

  visual virtual reality, 105, 310, 472

  vitamin A, 414

  vitamins, 301

  Vita-More, Natasha, 302, 583n, 589n

  Vlastos, Gregory, 51

  Vogel, Viola, 236

  voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), 473

  voice synthesis, 294–295

  Voogd, J., 544n, 545n

  voxel (three-dimensional pixel) maps, 285

  VPNs (private networks), 256

  Vrba, Elisabeth, 511n

  Wade, Nicholas, 510n

  Wagner, Richard, 549n

  Waisman, D. M., 552n

  Walch, Stephen P., 562n, 563n

  Wales, University of, 283

  Walker, John, 515n

  Wal-Mart, 283

  Walsh, Christopher, 505n

  Wang, Chuan-Bao, 567n

  warfare, 300, 330–335, 398, 401, 409

  civil liberties and, 421–422

  death in, 330–331, 331, 409

  see also specific wars

  war-game simulation, 398, 595n

  Warner Bros., 315

  Warwick, Kevin, 194

  water, 239, 240, 406

  pattern of, 383

  pollution of, 243

  purification of, 252

  spirituality and, 388

  Waterston, Robert, 206n, 549n

  Watson, Arthur H., 599n

  Watson, James, 11, 206, 207, 549n

  Watts, Lloyd, 143, 440, 531n–532n, 537n, 545n

  auditory system model of, 123–124, 147–148, 183–184, 185, 443, 452, 530n, 545n–547n

  waves, cellular gliders and, 520n

  wealth, 341, 372, 391

  creation of, 13, 107, 338, 396–397, 410

  weapons, 8, 330–335

  bioweapons, 393

  guidance of, 255, 276, 279–280, 413, 435

  of mass destruction, 423–424

  nanotechnology-based, 300, 334–335

  nuclear, see nuclear weapons

  simulations of, 280, 334

  smart, 335, 435

  weather patter
ns, 449

  Weaver, Kimberly, 503n

  weavers, destruction of cottage industry of, 507n

  Webb, John K., 356, 592n

  Web browsers, 473

  Weibel, Peter, 549n

  Weiershausen, W., 516n

  weight gain, prevention of, 11–12, 303

  Weinberg, Steven, 500n

  Weiner, H. L., 555n

  Weir, Laila, 586n

  Weis, R., 587n

  Weiss, Rick, 556n

  Weiss, Ron, 221, 555n

  Weizenbaum, Joseph, 312

  Weizmann Institute of Science, 118

  Welsh, J. P., 544n

  Werblin, Frank S., 186–187, 547n

  Westphal, Sylvia, 553n

  “what-if” experiments, 26

  wheel, biological evolution and, 440

  Wheeler, John A., 355, 503n, 592n

  “When Will Computer Hardware Match the Human Brain?” (Moravec), 122

  White, Carter T., 563n

  White, S. R., 589n

  white blood cells, 305

  microbivores as replacement for, 254, 306

  Whitehead, Alfred North, 72, 189, 410, 453, 514n, 601n

  Whitesides, George, 254, 568n

  Whitfield, John, 541n

  “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” (Joy), 391, 394–395, 409, 427

  Wiener, Norbert, 86, 268, 382, 518n, 593n

  Wiesel, T. N., 173, 542n

  will, freedom of, 382, 521n–522n

  Williams, Brian, 281

  Williams, Sam, 576n, 581n

  Wilson, Arthur, 437

  Wilson, D., 584n

  Wilson, E. O., 195

  Wilson, Frank A., 509n, 543n

  Wimax standard, 346, 432

  wind energy, 243, 244, 334

  Winerman, Lea, 561n

  Winston, Patrick, 284

  Winter, J. O., 587n

  Wired, 394, 427

  wireless communications, 221, 282, 346, 432

  between brains, 316, 585n

  to Internet, 312, 346

  nanobots’ use of, 163, 233, 303, 304, 316

  price-performance of, 77, 77

  Wisconsin, University of, 115

  wisdom, 330, 335, 369

  grandmother hypothesis and, 219, 302

  Wise, Kensall, 304, 584n

  Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 312

  Wolfram, Stephen, 93, 481, 518n

  cellular automata and, 85–91, 93, 359, 448, 519n–522n

  Woodruff, R. C., 555n

  Woods, C. Geoffrey, 523n, 539n

  work, 259

  automation and, 108

  call-center, 287

  categories of, 302, 314

  decentralization of, 105, 122, 340–341

  farm, decline in, 302, 340, 583n

  GNR impact on, 337–341

  intellectual property and, 339–340

  meaningful, 396

  mental vs. physical, 302

  personal services as, 340

  play vs., 300, 341–342

  role of, 300

  World Bank, 2004 report by, 99, 338, 396, 470

  World Health Organization, 423

  World War I, 330, 331, 374

  World War II, 330, 374, 396, 442

  deaths in, 331, 331

  World Wide Web, 17, 78, 100, 102, 261, 436, 441

  access to, 338, 469

  dangerous information on, 392–393, 395, 594n

  eBay on, 104

  education and, 336, 337

  experience beamers and, 316

  human longevity and, 325

  mass use of, 20, 42, 50, 512n

  virtual environments of, 314, 337, 472

  as worldwide mesh, 312

  wormholes, 140, 354–356

  Wright, John, 548n

  Wright, Robert, 86–87, 518n

  writing, 17, 18, 20, 36, 44, 48, 286, 338, 536n

  Wu, L., 553n

  Wurman, Richard Saul, 315

  X chromosome, 510n, 556n

  xenografts, 418, 598n

  xenoviruses, HIV-type, 418

  Xerox, 570n

  Palo Alto Research Center of, 240, 286

  Xerri, C., 542n

  Xiao, Y., 584n

  X inactivation, 510n

  X-ray scattering, 138

  Xu, Kaixin, 589n

  xylose, 248

  Yamada, T., 564n

  Yan, Hao, 117, 529n

  Yang, R. T., 567n

  Y chromosome, 42, 208

  yeast, gene expression in, 283

  Yeats, William Butler, 301

  Yeltsin, Boris, 406

  Yin, Tom, 545n

  Young, E., 184, 545n

  Young, Mike, 283

  Young, Richard, 509n

  Young, S. R., 542n

  Yovits, M. C., 535n

  YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists), 382

  Yu, V., 570n

  Yudkowsky, Eliezer S., 35, 498n, 597n

  friendly AI and, 409, 420, 598n–599n

  Yurtsever, Uri, 355–356, 592n

  Yuste, R., 541n

  Zakon, Robert, 516n

  Zaks, A., 562n

  Zeck, Günther, 586n

  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Pirsig), 392

  Zen parable, 312

  zeolites, 252

  Zeus (Earth-sized computational object), 350, 351

  Zhang, L., 552n

  Zhang, Shoucheng, 118–119, 530n

  Zhang, Wei-xian, 567n

  zinc oxide, 252

  Zita, Karen, 542n

  zonulin, 163–164

  zot, 163–164

  Zuse, Konrad, 86, 518n

 


 

  Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology

 


 

 
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