[Hplusroadmap] Fwd: [ExI] Bootstrapping a singularity (not-essay) (was Re: MAX MORE in Second Life yesterday)

[Bryan Bishop]

On Friday 13 June 2008, Jim Hardy wrote:
> Bryan,

Hey Jim. [see my last email to you, first]

> I am amazed and impressed to hear you talking about "manufacturing
> processes".   Having observed and worked to improve these relics over
> the past 20 years, there are a few processes that are pretty good
> (most of them focused around principles established as a part of the
> Toyota Production system in the 1940's by Americans working to
> rebuild a nation utterly destroyed by WWII), but most are flawed.
>  Flawed not to an extent that would cause financial ruin:  flawed to
> the extent that they are convenient for making a few lucky ones
> wealthy, but never aspiring to perfection.

I have an important question to ask you. I spent a few hours today 
rummaging through a used books store looking at all of the civil 
engineering, mechanical engineering, drafting, and other such books. By 
all I mean all. There was at least a few hundred textbooks there. None 
of these books had information on these relics to the scope that would 
be required to actually implement a new manufacturing process for some 
new material, or some new design, or something. It's very, very weird, 
and I'm wondering what the secret is -- is there some book that does 
this? Or is this just something passed down by Oral Tradition? I'm 
thinking that the majority of industrialization, done between 1850 and 
1970~ perhaps, was when this information would have been available, but 
now I'm not seeing much of an introduction for novitiates to take 
advantage of. I suspect the knowledge might be tied up in the 
professional societies, but I'm not entirely sure. Any hints?

> Old silly systems indeed dominate.  The FDA is the epitome of this
> notion. Having lead engineering groups at a major Solar Panel
> producer (all to make others wealthy), silica scrap from chip
> production can be converted to a product which yields energy (in the
> form of a flow of electrons collected in a diode and then directed to
> produce current) could indeed be directed to be to be self sustaining
> and ultimately self perpetuating in whatever form.

It's unfortunate that the energy collection process you mention, there, 
would be limited to the available silica scraps -- meaning it's 
ultimately tied up to the economics behind it all. That's very 
unfortunate -- otherwise I'm pretty sure the tech is already known and 
available, and a lot of people are working on it to make it 'cheaper', 
which is financial concerns, even though we most definitely have tons 
of available resources for making it happen. 

> But I do need to point out that this assumption is inaccurate: "The
> human brain is instantiated with a species-typical upper limit on
> computing power and loses neurons as it ages."
>
> The humans brain is not losing computing power between the ages of
> approximately birth until at least the mid 50's.  Consider how this
> changes your conclusions.

[See the last email on that.]

- Bryan
________________________________________
http://heybryan.org/