eekSpeak subject for Saturday 4th June at noon SLT: Should we answer the WOW! signal?

 

In 1977 a signal from space was detected, a signal that might have come from aliens.  It is now known as the WOW! Signal.  There are rumors that a second WOW! signal was received recently from the same area.  Should we answer it?

It might be dangerous to let aliens know we are here.  Perhaps we should hide.  On the other hand, they probably can detect our presence anyway and not answering could be considered rude.  And it would be amazing to contact aliens.

Will they come here?  Where will they land?  The White House lawn?  Montana?  The middle of the sea?  Are there protocols for ‘first contact’?

Join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss our plans for meeting aliens.  Because they are probably out there, somewhere.  Bring a star map.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 21st May at noon SLT: What if we could all understand each other?

 

Will we all speak just one language in the future?  Will that one language co-exist with thousands of local languages? Or will it be the only language we know?

Or will we understand each other because we have AI devices, either external or internal, that can translate anything?  Will that revolutionize the world?  Suddenly you can have a deep discussion about Shakespeare with your Iranian neighbour or watch a football game with your Norwegian friends.  People will even be able to invent their own languages.  Will this AI bring peace to the world or will it bring more problems?  What happens if the AI devices suddenly stop working?  Babel AI?

Come to GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to discuss the world of words.  Bring a dictionary and your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 14th May at noon SLT: What will the first Space Factory look like?

 

Believe it or not, the first space factory will be launched this year.  It will be the start of a huge industry.  What will be made first in space?  3d printed kidneys?  Metal alloys that can be perfectly mixed in an environment without gravity?  Data centers?

How about space hotels for the new space tourism industry?  When will ordinary people start to go into space?  Do you expect to go, either as a tourist or as a factory worker?  If you are really lucky, you may get a job as a window cleaner.

What will space manufacturing look like?  Come to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss your future job.  Bring all the astronauts you know!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

Read More

GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 23rd April at noon SLT: Is extreme Inequality of Wealth dangerous?

 

The battle between rich and poor will never end.  Why are we not rich?  What can we do about it?  Do we mind that there are rich people in the world?  Why do people hate the rich?

Billionaires are becoming more powerful all the time.  What happens if they take over all social media, all broadcasting, all military establishments? 

Politicians can be rich but, in democratic societies, they can be voted out.  Billionaires can’t be. 

Should the rich be forced to pay 100% tax when they die?  What would happen then?

Come to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss inequality and what to do about it.  Bring all your friends, rich and poor!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

Read More

GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 16th April at noon SLT: Is the Age of Abundance coming?

 

There is a theory that in the coming year's many essential items in the world economy will become (almost) free.  Free food, clothes, housing, medicine, energy, education.  Maybe even free transport, free computers, free holidays, free cosmetic surgery.  An age of plenty is coming for everyone.

Will that happen?  How will it happen?  Will increasing technology and increasing knowledge mean that the cost of keeping 20 billion humans alive and happy will become marginal?  Do you find it hard to believe in the Age of Abundance in a world where people still starve to death?

What will it be like to live in such a world, if it does happen? Come to GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday and discuss our hopefully very near future.  Bring all your stuff!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

Read More

GeekSpeak – How much Free Speech do you want? Join the discussion Saturday April 2nd at 12 pm SLT

Would a completely open world where all speech is allowed function properly?  It is tempting to think that if we allow everyone to say anything then those who trade in insults and abuse would sink to the bottom of the social ladder and people who give thoughtful, true information would rise to the top.  But we do not see that happening now on social media.  Why not?  And what would make it happen?

Where would you draw the line where free speech is concerned?  Are insults OK?  Or calls for violence?  Or calls to overthrow a dictator?  Maybe you think there should not be a line at all?

Leave twitter for a while and join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to chat about free speech, with your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

Read More

GeekSpeak – What is our purpose? Eat, Drink and be Merry? Join the discussion March 26th at 12pm slt

What is your purpose in life?  Is it enough to eat and drink and enjoy as much of life as you can?  Or do we all need a higher purpose?  Do we need a purpose that is just for us?

Does having your own purpose make you happier?  Is it worth trying to find one?  Will we still be looking for a purpose even if all our wishes on earth are met?

Can you find a purpose in the future of our species? In the colonization of other planets perhaps?  Or in the end of disease or war?  Do duties and obligations provide a purpose?

Come and join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to discuss what drives us and where we are going.  Bring all your friends, and a map!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

GeekSpeak – Extreme Capitalism! Join the discussion Saturday March 19th at 12pm SLT

 

A few weeks ago we talked about a world without money, this week we will go to the opposite extreme and talk about a world where people are charged for absolutely everything.  Let’s imagine that the Ferengi from Star Trek landed on Earth and bought the world presidency.  Would that lead to a fairer world?

Everything would have a price.  You would have to pay for a chair in a bar or restaurant.  You can visit your friends if you pay them for every minute.  Standing in a bus shelter costs money and all bridges are taxed.  Country walks cost so much per mile and you can charge the neighbors for admiring your garden.

How would we be changed by such a world?  Would it be simpler than the mixed social setup we have now?  Come and discuss the world of money in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday.   Bring all your friends with money!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

Read More

GeekSpeak – What will the Post-war World look like? Saturday, March 12th at 12pm SLT

 

There is a war raging now that will change the world stage, maybe forever.  What will happen to world politics and the world economy in the future?

Will the world convert quickly to solar power?  Or will we start fracking?  Or rely on nuclear power?  Or dig for coal? What about oil prices?  Will the war accelerate the trend to electric vehicles?

Will the Cold War start again?  Will the war put an end to our efforts to stop global warming?  Will we still be able to live as we do now?

And what will happen to the Space industry?  Will we have to stop our journey into the universe?

Come to GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday and discuss the changes that will reshape the world. Bring your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 19th February at noon SLT: Can we live without money?

 

There are some people who firmly believe that humanity should stop using money.  They point to those who are homeless or starving or dying from lack of medical care and say that all these problems would be solved if we lived in a society that did not depend on money.

Many different forms of money have been used through the ages: beads, shells, cigarettes, gold.  But has there ever been a society without any form of money at all?  What would happen to us if we stopped using it?  How would society work?  Or perhaps you think it would not work at all? 

Join us in GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss a world without money.  Would it be a utopia or a dystopia, or simply chaos?  Bring your friends and something to barter with.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 12th February at noon SLT: What will be the most profound technology in the next 10 years?

 

As a species, we are facing a future with huge changes.  AI, new materials, abundant energy, biotech, gen therapy, abundant internet, underpopulation, mass unemployment, all these, and many more will make big differences in the next 10 years.

How will we deal with all this? Is Universal Basic Income the answer?

If not, will we see a ‘digital divide’ with an elite and a lot of people in the useless masses?

And what is on the other side?

Come and discuss the future in GeekSpeak at noon SLT this Saturday.  Your life depends on it.  Bring your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

Here is the GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 22nd January at noon SLT: War! What causes it?

Why do we fight wars?  Why do people who could be good friends try to solve their differences by killing each other? Are wars always about resources, or religion, or justice, or revenge?  Can they be about something that no one outside the conflict can understand? 

What will the wars of the future be about? Will future wars be over almost as soon as they start?  Or will the next war last for 10,000 years?

Can we prevent wars?  Will wars end if we feed everyone properly?  Or are they in our nature?

Come and discuss the best way to peace at GeekSpeak this Saturday at noon SLT.  Bring all your fellow humans.  Guns not allowed.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

GeekSpeak – Underground living! Join the discussion Oct 30th at 12pm SLT

The largest cities on Earth are probably partly underground now.  But in the future it could be that we will all need to live underground.  The surface may become uninhabitable for various reasons, such as global warming, nuclear war or the destruction caused by volcanoes.

Or perhaps it will just make sense to move underground.  The temperature is stable and the surface can be used for farming or recreation.  It could become fashionable for houses to be built underground.  And an underground city would encourage tourists.

Would it be possible for everyone on the planet, say 10 billion people, to live underground?  How would we grow plants?  Would we be able to keep animals?  Would we be able to live without sunlight? Would you enjoy living underground?

Come and discuss underground cities with us.  Bring a spade, and some strong friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class at 1pm SLT every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

Read More

GeekSpeak – Art and Astronomy- Join the discussion Saturday, October 9th at 12pm SLT

 

There are many strange places in space, and we are beginning to send artists into it.  Last month 4 artists went into space, in the coming year, there will be 2 movies shot in space and 8 artists making a moon flyby. 

What new forms of art will we see in space?  And how will the weirdness in space affect art?  Will we see moving sculptures set in zero gravity?  Or stars rearranged to make the Mona Lisa?  Or the biggest cocktail in the universe made from a giant alcohol cloud?  How about landscape paintings set on a planet where the rain is molten glass?

Will art change as we go into space?  Come fly with us on a deep-space journey to, well, deep space!  No need for a spacesuit.  But bring your camera and your imagination.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1 pm in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

GeekSpeak – Telepresence- Join the discussion October 2nd at 12pm SLT

One day soon you may be able to rent a drone for a while and see the world as the drone sees it.  You could fly through the Grand Canyon or visit the North pole.  You could wear glasses that enable you to see things hundreds of miles away.  The person you are talking to could appear in front of you.  You could watch brain surgery as though you were present at the operation.  You could experience flying like a bird or swimming like a fish deep beneath the surface of the sea.  You could visit the moon.  You could rent several drones and be in many different places at the same time.

How will this change the way humans interact?  Will anyone ever travel in person again?  Or do you think that there are experiences that can never be duplicated by a drone?

Come and discuss our very lazy future!  We have seats for telepresence available, even if you are on Mars.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

Read More

GeekSpeak – Is there New Hope for our Climate? Join the discussion Sept. 18th at 12pm SLT

 

Last month a report from a thinktank called RethinkX suggested that certain disruptive technologies will mean that we produce less carbon without even meaning to.  Perhaps these technologies mean that we will not destroy our planet after all.

Let’s talk about these disruptive technologies.  What are they and why are they so disruptive? 

Let’s discuss the speed with which the world changes when disruption hits.  Horses were obsolete 15 years after the first car.  Radio and TV were adopted even more quickly.  Future disruptions could move at light speed.  If you ever wonder why the world changes so fast, hold your hat for the next 15 years. 

Come and discuss  the ways we do things now before they are gone forever.  Bring your friends and a CD, if you can remember what that was.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

Read More

GeekSpeak – Humanoid robots, will they ever catch on? Sept 4th at 12pm SLT

Elon Musk has said that he will have a humanoid robot within a year.  Let’s ask why we would want one.

We already have machines that work for us, such as our washing machines and our cars, and we don’t expect them to look like humans.  Looking human would be very difficult to achieve.  Stability and balance are hard for humans. Walking, running and jumping, even manipulative work might be much easier if robots did not have to look like humans. And we must also think about the uncanny valley.  Would we feel comfortable with robots that look almost human?

On the other hand, there are so many stories about robots that look completely human and so many companies want to achieve that.  Is it what we all want?  Robot butlers, robot maids, robot cooks?  How do you feel about it?

Bring your feelings and your prejudices and talk to us in GeekSpeak.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday at 1pm SLT in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

Saturday 17th July at noon SLT: GeekSpeak – Climate Change!

Last week there were extreme temperatures in Canada, the USA, and above the Arctic Circle.  There were stories of towns suddenly burning down and unprecedented loss of ice at the poles.  Are we now in ‘the worst-case scenario’ predicted by the IPCC?

What needs to be done?  What will our future be if we cut down on carbon emissions?  And what will it be if we don’t?

Will we see cities with all the streets covered to give some shade?  Or will we all live underground?  Or high up in the mountains?

Can we expect mass migrations, severe flooding in some areas , and severe droughts in others?  Is there any escape? Can the future be bright if we act now?

Come and discuss your future and your children’s future.  Bring all your kids.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class at 1pm every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

Read More

GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 19th June at noon SLT: Reinvent yourself! Live your dream!

 

Is it possible for someone to change completely and become a different person, with a different profession, a different personality, a different way of life?  Are there some things about you that can never change?

Would you like to do that?  Or, maybe, have you done that?  Do you see yourself as a Grandma Moses?  Do you have any tips for the rest of us?

Some people are triggered by retirement or financial problems or simply by moving to a new country.  What else might make you want to change?

Is there any going back?  Should there be?

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class at 1pm every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

Read More

GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 12th June at noon SLT: What are you prepared to do for your Health?

Should we all have a healthier lifestyle?  We geeks don’t usually ask ourselves that question so let’s start today!  Hop Hop!

Let’s discuss why health and fun are interrelated.  Are the things you do for fun unhealthy?  And are the healthy things you do unpleasant?  How can we find things to do that are both healthy and fun?  Is that even possible?  Do we have to choose between fun and health?

What motivates you to do healthy things?  What tricks do you use for motivation?  Can you help to motivate others?

Let’s get more health, and fun, in this world.  We need you, and all your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class at 1pm every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

TAXI: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danmu/143/127/51

 

Read More