One day soon, there will be more people who have read Remembrance of Things Past on an e-reader than people who have hefted a physical copy. Do you think the digital readers are missing out on anything? I do. Specifically, they’re missing the sheer weight of the thing. Whether you find the extreme length of … Continue reading
Today, there are 7 billion people in the world speaking roughly 6,000 languages. One day, they’ll all be able to talk to each other naturally, without knowing any language except their own. This has some powerful implications for many areas of society, and we’ll take a look at four of them below. But first, allow … Continue reading
It was only a few weeks ago I wrote about the future of the English language, and I’m already about to eat some of my words. At the time, I suggested that the internet would help English grow in popularity. Now that anyone can talk to anyone else in the world, regardless of geography, a … Continue reading
What’s the future of human civilization? Cosmic Revolutions has looked at a lot of big questions, but this one’s as big as they come. Indeed, everything I’ve posted so far has tried to fill in a piece of the answer. But today, I want to step back, way back, and try to catch a glimpse … Continue reading
What makes your neighborhood, a neighborhood? Some might say simple geography. Others would point to the demographics of the residents, or the particular kinds of homes and businesses you can find there. These factors are all important. But remember, a neighborhood isn’t just a collection of people and buildings. If you and your neighbors didn’t … Continue reading
The English language has achieved something unique in human history: it has become a truly global language. It’s spoken by nearly a billion people spread across six continents, and is as close to a worldwide lingua franca as there has ever been. The interesting part about those 1 billion English speakers? Only a third of … Continue reading
The future, being what it is, has a tendency to become the present. And so it is that although this blog is just half a year old, many things have changed since I last discussed them. Here’s a quick look at the state of the future as it stands today. Driverless Cars and the Law … Continue reading
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. – Arthur C. Clarke In last week’s post, we looked at the emerging technologies that allow a direct interface between your brain and a computer (or machine) – a BCI. Check out last week’s links if you’re interested in the “how.” Intracranial wiretaps, hands-free driving and monkey-robot … Continue reading
The setting: your home. The time: 7:30pm, in the not-too-distant future. Your room is dim and cool, and the hum of a city evening drifts through the open windows. Your computer screen’s high-frequency flicker casts shadows all around. The metal object in your hand resembles an old-school headphone jack. It’s small and surprisingly heavy. You … Continue reading
We have more communication options today than ever before. For most of human history, there were a grand total of two: speak in person, or write on something. Today, you could text, Skype, IM, email, Facebook, and call half a dozen people all around the world within seconds, from a mobile phone in the middle … Continue reading
Cosmic Revolutions 