Photography: The Large Hadron Collider/ATLAS at CERN by Image Editor

I haven’t written here for a while, (but I have some plans to do more blogging and get a new blogging setup going, after all blogging is good for you! ) But I found that a topic got started on a forum about a previous experience I had (that I wrote about here)

A comment on that forum thread reminded me about the “Large Hadron Collider” which is a giant experimental physics machine/facilty that basically takes the tiniest particles known to man and makes them collide with each other at near light speed in hopes of discovering even tinier particles. If they find what has been dubbed “The God Particle” then it would be considered a major breakthrough in physics.

On the other hand, there are some concerns that this experiment could create “tiny black holes” or other side effects that could potentially wipe out the entire planet. So, these concerns obviously make this experiment a big event.

From Wikipedia:

Concerns have been raised that performing collisions at previously unexplored energies might unleash new and disastrous phenomena. These include the production of micro black holes, and strangelets, potentially resulting in a doomsday scenario.

What makes this even more interesting is the time that the first collisions are scheduled to take place is around the same date that a crazy (I hope) guy I met last year predicted the end of the world to be – August 2, 2008

Again from Wikipedia:

The first beams are due for injection mid June 2008 with the first collisions planned to take place 2 months later.

I don’t know the exact date of the first collisions but according to this it would be in August 2008.

I’m going to predict that on August 2, 2008 and the preceeding days after we’ll all be living life as usual. (After all what do I have to lose with this prediction, if it’s right, I’ll be hailed as wise, and if it’s wrong, nobody will be around, so it can’t be rubbed in my face lol). I remember we all thought the end was surely going to come when the clock struck midnight of December 31, 1999, but now almost ten years later, the end hasn’t come yet. I do believe that it is near but how near or how far, only God knows. (Matthew 24:36)

The LHC is a very interesting project and I hope that whoever is in charge knows better that to risk earth and humanity, if there truly is a significant risk. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. But I thought it all made for an interesting blog post as I’ve been fascinated by the LHC project since I first heard about it a while back. I certainly hope that it isn’t a doomsday scenario but at least I’ll have a month to play with my new iPhone 3g w/ GPS! (JK)

The End…

UPDATE (6/30/2008): Accorting to Gizmodo there is no need to fear a Report Confirms Large Hadron Collider Will Not Spawn Doomsday Scenario, End World As We Know It . Also the LHC will fire up sooner than August (lhcountdown.com)

Is The Large Hadron Collider… The End?…

Photography: Extinct by Krowdog

Two weeks ago I saw the “Dinosaurs Alive! 3D” IMAX movie at the California Science Center (I highly recommend you see it if you have the chance). It was amazing to see some dinosaurs recreated using computer technologies and animated, reenacting possible fighting and movements of the creatures. The movie left me hoping that one day, man might be able to somehow clone these dinosaur bones and remains and build a real Jurassic Park.  To see one of these unbelievable creatures alive in the flesh would be truly amazing. After seeing this film, I would jump at the chance to see one alive (and I would probably allow a large dent to be made in my wallet to see one too )

I happened across an article this morning and the headline made me think it may be possible one day. The headline said “Dinosaur Fossil Found With Preserved Soft Tissue” A teenage boy found some dinosaur remains that are more than other bones. It appears that the actual dinosaur flesh and muscle (etc) was preserved as a fossil as well. The findings haven’t been scientifically verified yet but it sounds like this find is very big if the scientific peer-review checks out ok.

It doesn’t sound like cloning would be possible from this find but I’m very anxious to see it anyhow. You might think “yeah yeah, dinosaurs, big deal” but try seeing “Dinosaurs Alive 3D” and see if your interest in dinosaurs is not increased a bit.

It would be incredible to see a real live dinosaur. If you are knowledgeable on the subject, could a Jurassic Park ever be possible? Is there any possibility of finding dinosaurs remains that could be potentially clonable?

Dinosaurs Alive (A real Jurassic Park or not?)

Photography: Hong Kong from The Peak on a Summer Night by Stuck in Customs

This is an extra-ordinary photo. It was modified using HDR like I posted about here. For the full effect it “Looks best Large on Black”

I imagine this is what a city of our time would look like to someone who has lived their entire life in a rural culture with little technology. Maybe living the way their ancestors did thousands of years ago, and being isolated from the modern world. If they had climbed the top of a mountain to discover a modern city for the first time, I think it would look like this to them, a magical and unbelievable place.

This photo makes Hong Kong look very futuristic, and I’m sure Hong Kong is very futuristic in reality as well.

On a similar note, I came across an article about noted futurist Ray Kurzweil. His views are very much along the lines to the Transhumanists philosophy that I wrote about here. Some of this stuff sounds straight out of a science fiction story, but it seems people give alot of crediblity to his ideas. From the article…

If you went around saying that in a couple of decades we’ll have cell-sized, brain-enhancing robots circulating through our bloodstream, or that we’ll be able to upload a person’s consciousness into a computer, people would probably question your sanity.

But if you say things like that and you’re Ray Kurzweil, you get invited to dinner at Bill Gates’ house – twice – so he can pick your brain for insights on the future of technology. The Microsoft chairman calls him a “visionary thinker and futurist.”

I’m sure a city like the one above would look completely unbelievable to someone from times past. Maybe the future Mr. Kurzweil paints a picture of looks similarly unbelievable to us, here in the present. God willing, we will see what happens in the next 20 or 40 years or so. It’s definately wild stuff to say the least.

A Glimpse Of The Future?

Photography: Beach Party by lobster rocket

Transhumanist beach party? or even invading body hackers? Probably not, but an interesting pic none the less.

I’ve recently learned about a philosophy called Transhumanism… According to Wikipedia (at the time of writing)…

Transhumanism (sometimes symbolized by >H or H+) is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of new sciences and technologies to enhance human mental and physical abilities and aptitudes, and ameliorate what it regards as undesirable and unnecessary aspects of the human condition, such as stupidity, suffering, disease, aging and involuntary death.

It sounds to me like “Body Hacking” to go beyond our current human limits. To a certain degree we are already doing this. From standard medical procedures and devices like pacemakers, to the new weight-lose surgeries, and to even the use of steriods. Some of these things are helpful, and some are harmful. But it sounds like Transhumanism proposes to take it entirely to another level.

From Wikipedia…

Transhumanist thinkers postulate that human beings will eventually be transformed into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label “posthuman.”

So Transhumanists are thinking along the lines of a future where we exploit the knowledge of the human body to such a degree that we’re not even considered human but “posthuman”, maybe like Cyborgs or something. They are even thinking of escaping death, but is that even possible by human means? Some propose that we could theoretically take our brain and download all the info to some kind of manufactured brain that we could exist or be stored in. And while in theory it seems it could be remotely possible, what about the soul. I know not everyone believes in a soul but it seems to me that there is something that makes the human existence reliant upon more than just the brain or even the human body. If you take a step back and look at the big picture, man truly has dominion over the earth like no other creature. And when you look at the human world as a whole, there is a lot more to humanity than just carnal human bodies.

I’ll leave it at that as I don’t want to go on too much. But to say the least, it’s kind of scary that people would become “Body Hackers” to such a degree.

Transhumanist Beach Party? Or Invasion of the Body Hackers