Re: Singularity/Spike/whatever (was: Re: the organizational invarianceprinciple)

From: Forrest Bishop (forrestb@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Sun Mar 31 2002 - 02:57:03 MST


----- Original Message -----
From: Damien Broderick <d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au>
To: <extropians@extropy.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 30, 2002 10:41 PM
Subject: Singularity/Spike/whatever (was: Re: the organizational invarianceprinciple)

> At 04:18 PM 3/31/02 +1000, Dwayne wrote:
> >Damien Broderick wrote:
> >
> >> [actually I call it "the Spike" and have done so since 1997 but hey]

I like Spike, it's direct and implies the downside. I've seen the new edition in several bookstores around Puget Sound, which
reminds me-

I keep meaning to write up a rebuttal to Lyle Burkhead's send-up of the Shapeshifter. His analysis is not correct. Cell Matrix
Corporation-

EE Times : Self-Configuring Array Enables Atomic-Scale Fabrication
http://www.eet.com/at/news/OEG20020319S0029

is doing somewhat similar array programming:

"The architecture described here is a general purpose computing
platform that gives fine-grained control over the design and
implementation of digital circuits. It is called the Cell Matrix
architecture. It supports a one-problem, one-machine model of
computing, in which the algorithm and circuitry are designed
together from first principles, even down to the gate level if
desired. Yet this architecture does not require the construction
of a universal nanoassembler (Bishop 1996) to achieve the one problem,
one-machine model. This is because the physical
structure of the hardware is in all cases fixed. It consists of a
multidimensional array of interconnected processing elements..."
http://www.cellmatrix.com/entryway/products/pub/ForesightIOP.pdf

>This line of thought has the disadvantage that it might seem disrespectful
>of Dr Vinge, which I regret, and of the several Singularitarians such as
>Eliezer who have been discussing the topic since the mid-1990s and earlier;

I do remember having such conversations in the late1960's, though the term "Singularity" wasn't used.

> That's okay. I can still feel satisfied about `virtual reality'. Yeah, that
> was me too. Yeah, nobody knows. Too bad, so sad.
>
> Damien Broderick

Ah, well. I coined "nanoprobe" in 1995 for the Starseed/Launcher project:
http://www.iase.cc/html/starseed.htm
 It may have been picked up by a well-known TV show from there. I sometimes take that (along with $1.39 + tax) to Denny's for a cup
of coffee.

Forrest

--
Forrest Bishop
Chairman, Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering
www.iase.cc


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