http://www.speculist.com/ "In an age of affordable beauty, there was something heraldic about his lack of it."]]> en-us 2004-04-26T08:35:23-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000801.html Our good friend Zombyboy is hosting the seventh edition of the Rocky Mountain Blogger Round-up over at ResurrectionSong. High-altitude blogging: potential X Games event or lifestyle choice? You be the judge.... Blogging Phil 2004-04-26T08:35:23-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000800.html If that. GeekPress has the scoop on a Boston University dermatologist who has been fired for daring to suggest that a few minutes of unprotected sun exposure every once in a while might not kill you outright, that in fact... Society Phil 2004-04-26T08:17:41-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000799.html Right now I'm working on four books – and that's a bad habit. I should start a book and finish it before taking up another. I end up getting the ideas from different books jumbled up together. Is it... Nanotechnology Stephen Gordon 2004-04-23T13:47:26-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000798.html Yesterday Reason from "FightAging.Org" pointed to the remarkable allegorical tale, "The Fable of the Dragon-Tyrant," that is about to be published in The Journal of Medical Ethics. There is no need for me to annotate this tale. The writer,... Life Extension Stephen Gordon 2004-04-22T09:52:02-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000797.html The imminent engineer blogger, Steven Den Beste, considers the "critical characteristics of space warships."... Speaking of the Future Stephen Gordon 2004-04-21T13:54:51-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000796.html After 130 plus outings here in the Speculist (provided by some of the finest minds in the blogosphere), In the Future has sprouted up in a new and different blog. There are some wonderful predictions, here -- some touching on... Blogging Phil 2004-04-21T11:46:36-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000388.html Stillness is a novel, a work of speculative fiction. It attempts to be many things: a thriller, a love story, a metaphysical meditation, a farce, all set against the backdrop of what I believe is an original way of ending... Scenarios and Alternatives Phil 2004-04-21T10:52:04-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000795.html Part IV Chapter Thirty-Four (Read earlier chapters.) The cobblestone streets of the inner city of Mantua were slick with the alternating mist and rain that had been constant since morning. The main gate to the Palazzo Ducale towered before the... Blogging Phil 2004-04-21T10:52:03-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000794.html Randall Parker comments on some interesting recent research on fat metabolism in sheep which suggests that powerful new treatments for obesity may be on the horizon: Think about what the future will look like once weight control becomes possible by... Scenarios and Alternatives Phil 2004-04-20T10:17:37-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000793.html In the Future... ...only those of us clever enough to be registered Independents will be able to elude the brain scans. Futurist: M104 member and Speculist co-blogger Stephen Gordon, by way of InstaPundit.... In the Future... Phil 2004-04-20T09:17:39-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000792.html In the Future... ...all of Philip K. Dick's short stories will come true. Futurist: M104 member Chris Hall (our all-time favorite Rocket Scientist), who is back blogging up a storm. Pay him a visit!... In the Future... Phil 2004-04-19T22:02:59-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000791.html In the Future... ...robots will be buried with full military honours. Futurist: M104 member Robert Hinkley.... In the Future... Phil 2004-04-19T21:55:57-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000790.html One problem that is obvious to anyone who has had a conversation with chatbots is their limited general knowledge. They are often programmed to steer the conversation in certain predictable patterns – toward those areas in which they have... AI/Transhumanism/Singularity Stephen Gordon 2004-04-19T16:01:45-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000789.html The Leon Kass interview I wrote about Monday is now available "on demand" at Sage Crossroads. The transcript is also ready.... Stephen Gordon 2004-04-14T12:42:20-07:00 http://www.speculist.com/archives/000788.html Let's file this one under what might have been. This is required reading. via GeekPress... Scenarios and Alternatives Phil 2004-04-14T10:30:46-07:00