Category Archives: Technology

Lex interviews Demis Hassabis

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

Demis Hassabis: DeepMind – AI, Superintelligence & the Future of Humanity | Lex Fridman Podcast #299 [ 2/July/22 ] Brilliant interview (again) – thanks Lex. For Demis: For me, the best definition of life is recursive levels of “search”, across … Continue reading →

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Facebook link to Greenpeace – Stop the Feedlots

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

[ 17/June/22 ] Feedlots, in and of themselves, are not the problem. If done well, feedlots can eliminate the problem.If done badly, they can make the problem worse. The issue is not feedlots in and of themselves as a concept, … Continue reading →

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Lex interviewing Robin Hanson

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

Robin Hanson: Alien Civilizations, UFOs, and the Future of Humanity | Lex Fridman Podcast #292 [ 14/June/22 ] I’ve had my share of arguments with Robin over the years, and I give him full respect for his knowledge of economics; … Continue reading →

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High speed rail

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

Proposed route of train from Los Angeles, California to London. [ 14/June/22 ] To get across the Bering Strait there are only 2 40km tunnel segments required. The big issues isn’t the strait, it is the tectonic activity of North … Continue reading →

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Technology and survival

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

Ken asked – How many Lifeboat readers think that only advanced technology will solve our ecological problems – and how many think we can only solve them by using less technology? [ 12/June/22 ] I agree in part with Aric … Continue reading →

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Using fire to kill weeds

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

Using fire to clear weeds from pasture [ 9/June/22 ] CO2 is a chemical residue we have some concern about at present. And the assumption that CH4 + O2 leaves only CO2 and H2O assumes perfect combustion. Combustion in air … Continue reading →

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Difficulties in transition to Solar energy

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

Comment to Ngaio’s post on Role of energy cost in inflation [ 8/June/22 ] The energy our civilisation uses mostly comes from fossil fuels and is equivalent to each of us having about 200 slaves working for us (but these … Continue reading →

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Robots and Energy

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

Facebook link to – A 590-Foot-Tall Dam in China Will Be Built Entirely by Robots [ 8/June/22 ] There is so much wrong both with the headline and the article. The main construction phase is to be robotic, but many … Continue reading →

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Clearest path to global prosperity

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

What is the clearest path to global prosperity? [ 8/June/22 ] A universal understanding of some basic principles of life: 1 That all levels of evolved complexity emerge from and are sustained by cooperation. 2 That any level of competition … Continue reading →

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Deep Ocean circulation energy

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Ted Howard NZ

Lifeboat link to “Limitless” energy [ 6/June/22 Anne Kristoffersen replied “limitless”] Agree. Lose the polar ice and the thermohaline circulation and that source of energy drops to zero. It isn’t actually very large at all. The only significant earth based … Continue reading →

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