Future Salon

May Future Salon with Kenyan Maasai Warrior and Chief

In a time of accelerating change it is of great importance to decide which of our traditions we will keep and which ones we throw overboard as not fitting into our new environment. It is also really important to understand others in our global community, to account for cultural differences, and find ways to ease people into this changing environment.

We are really fortunate to host Kenyan Maasai tribal warrior and chief Salaton Ole’ Ntutu to shed some light on these questions.

Thursday 22nd of May 6-7pm networking 7-9pm talk. Please RVSP: http://snurl.com/284i3 

Salaton Ole’ Ntutu is a shaman from the nomadic Maasai tribe, where he trained in the age-old tradition to become a skilled warrior who can survive among wild animals in the harsh and challenging African Savanna.  Salaton spent seven years in the African bush, from the age of 14, surviving with only a blanket and a spear.  He now trains young warriors to carry on the Maasai tradition, while looking after his village. He continues to live in the traditional ways of his proud and fascinating people, including always wearing the traditional attire of the Maasai, carrying hand-made weapons for hunting and self-defense against buffalo, lions, and other aggressive wildlife, eating traditional foods, living in a hut of sticks and dung, herding cattle and goats, and so on.

In addition to leading a village, Salaton works on social and economic issues pertaining to his tribe. He built a rescue shelter to protect young girls from the common, but illegal, practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) and to promote the idea of alternative rites of passage. He is also involved in education about HIV/AIDS and monogamy, and in health and sanitation projects. He supports widows in his tribe who would otherwise find it very difficult to support themselves.  Through his tremendous knowledge of African wildlife, he has contributed significantly towards Kenya’s community and tourist industry. He also helps to facilitate the in-country work of the Asante Africa Foundation, which builds and equips schools, and sponsors secondary education in Kenya and in neighboring Tanzania.

Salaton is in the United States to forge a link between his tribal community and ours. He hopes to educate us on the ways of his people, and to educate his own people on sustainable development and conservation processes of land used to ensure protection of future generations. During his visit, Salaton is  speaking to youth and adults in the U.S. about his culture and background, including traditions, rites of passage, and the life of a warrior.  He will speak to us and will answer questions about these and related topics. 

This Future Salon is co-sponsored by the
Asante Africa Foundation
Asante Africa is a non-profit organization in the San Francisco Bay Area, dedicated to providing educational services to the children and people of Kenya and Tanzania. The organization is devoted to facilitating and strengthening health and education through true partnerships with African communities. For more details, visit www.asanteafrica.org.
Contact:  Erna Grasz   +1 925-367-5586; egrasz(at)asanteafrica.org

Future Salons have the following structure: 6-7pm is networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP; 7-9+pm is the presentation followed by questions and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on number of RSVPs. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304[map]. Free and open to the public. Please spread the word and invite others, but be sure to RSVP so we know how many people to expect.  This event will be appropriate and interesting for school-age children, who are welcome to join us. Please RSVP: http://snurl.com/284i3

If you can't join in person we will webcast the event and tape it too. Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

Neuroengeneering Future Salon this Wednesday 30th

Let's assume someone develops the pill, that makes you twice as intelligent. Small side effect is, it shaves off 10 years of your life. Will you take it?

What if everyone you know is on it? You come to work and your boss is calling you into the office and says: "I am concerned about your output. If I compare your to the performances of your colleagues, they just get so much more done."

It is the stadium effect, if everyone is standing up, you are forced to stand up too, just to  level the paling field. You will be forced to pop the pill too.

You may think, that this is a dark future scenario, but check the Revving the brain article about Ritalin use to enhance your concentration.

I fear that we are like the sorcerer's apprentice the spirits we called will take over and soon we will ask ourselves how to get rid of them.

I once talked about this with John Smart and he said that our brain over the years has been finely tuned via biology, there is not a lot of room for improvement left.

It is for sure a very interesting field and I am really happy to have Dr. Pete Estep presenting the latest research regarding Neuroengineering at our Future Salon this Wednesday the 30th of April.

If you can't join in person we will webcast the event and tape it too. Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

Future Salons have the following structure: 6-7pm is networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP; 7-9+pm is the presentation followed by discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on number of RSVPs. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304. Free and open to the public. Spread the word and please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/6oxlzr

Neuroengineering Future Salon

Wednesday April 30th at SAP Palo Alto
Hosted with Silicon Valley H+ Meet Up

Please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/6oxlzr

Dr. Pete Estep will discuss the InnerSpace Foundation (IF), a new nonprofit being developed to promote and support neuroengineering approaches for the enhancement of memory and learning – biomedical goals that have the potential to improve not only the lives of those suffering from a specific malady, but everyone's life.

Estep earned his Ph.D. in Genetics from Harvard Medical School, performing research in the lab of genomics pioneer Dr. George Church. He is an inventor of several technologies, including universal DNA protein-binding microarrays (PBMs). He serves as an advisor to the Personal Genome Project, an open source project at Harvard Medical School.

Future Salons have the following structure: 6-7pm is networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP; 7-9+pm is the presentation followed by discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on number of RSVPs. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304. Free and open to the public. Spread the word and please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/6oxlzr

This should be a fresh, engaging discussion. I hope to see you there. -Tyler

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The InnerSpace Foundation and The IF Prize: Why and How We Should Transcend Our Evolved Limitations

Biological evolution is a somewhat haphazard and non-optimizing process that has produced many undesirable artifacts. Among a large number and wide variety of such artifacts, two stand out as the underlying causes of the most pervasive and extreme human suffering: mental and lifespan limitations. Mental inabilities are universal, and they must ultimately serve to explain our ongoing failures to end human warfare, crime, poverty, and famine, and to completely cure diseases, disabilities, aging and death; therefore, these inabilities are fundamentally even more harmful to humanity than the categories of biomedical dysfunction we currently labor to cure. The overall goal of the InnerSpace Foundation (IF) is to accelerate the development of biomedical technologies for transcending these limitations. IF Chairman Dr. Pete Estep will outline specific steps the foundation is taking toward dramatic enhancement of memory, learning and cognition, and will describe how these near-term goals should ultimately help us to eliminate or transcend other unwanted artifacts of Darwinian evolution.

Yuri's Night Tonight

One of the coolest events ever is/are happening tonight: Yuri's Night commemorating the 50th anniversary of maned flight in space.

In some earlier time zones of the world parties are happening already. The Bay Area has an amazing line-up of speakers for their Yuri's Night: Jaron Lanier for example who once ramped up the McLuhan Ramp at the Future Salon (video of the event at the Internet Archive).

He will talk about one of the most out there ideas I came accross in a long while: Let's rearrange the stars to let people know that there is intelligent life out here in this dot of the universe. He closes his article with: Crazier things have happened. I am scratching my head thinking about what that could have been?

It is happening at Moffett Field a blimp hangar in Mountain View, that intrigued me for ages when driving by on 101. Today I will be able to see it from the insight. So cool.

Hope to see you there, oh and it starts already at 2pm this afternoon.

Tomorrow: Green Tomorrows Future Salon

Tomorrow's Future Salon speaker Jamais Cascio posted about Green Tomorrows: The Scenarios on his blog.

Jamais: The four boxes represent a variety of "response" scenarios, each embracing elements of the prevention, mitigation, and remediation approaches to solving the climate crisis. Certain approaches may receive greater emphasis in a given scenario, but all three types of responses can be seen in each world.

It is going to be really interesting tomorrow. [more details]

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on how many people sign up. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 map As always free and open to the public, spread the news.  Please RSVP: http://snurl.com/2252c

If you can't join in person we will webcast the event and tape it too. Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address:
rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always:
Server: irc.freenode.net
Channel: #futuresalon

Green Tomorrows Future Salon Thursday 27th

Update: Jamais wasn't able to do it last month, this is why we moved it to next Thursday 27th 6pm SAP Labs Palo Alto. He wrote me: Yes! Barring the zombie plague or meteor strike or military coup, of course.

World Changing used to be one of my favorite blogs. I would guess who wrote the post while reading it. The most insightful ones where always written by Jamais Cascio. He moved on to post on his own blog: Open the Future. His most famous post is the calculation of the carbon footprint of the production and consumption of one cheeseburger.

He was also one of the first regulars coming to the Future Salon, when we were just a couple of people sitting in a circle at the Barnes and Noble in San Mateo. After a while the long drive from a bit beyond East Bay was to much.

This is why I am super happy that Jamais will be talking about Green Tomorrows at our Future Salon on Thursday the 28th of February. Abstract of his talk:

With global warming and ongoing climate disruption posing a leading
threat to how the next century unfolds, it's useful to look at the
implications of how we might choose to respond. Adopting a "scenario
planning" approach, Jamais Cascio looks at four different possible
ways we could tackle climate risks -- and the kinds of worlds that
these choices might create. From geoengineering to distributed power,
hyper-efficient buildings to reimagined cities, the various possible
strategies we might employ offer a diversity of complex risks and
transformative benefits.

Jamais Cascio writes about the intersection of emerging technologies
and cultural transformation, focusing on the importance of long-term,
systemic thinking. He speaks around the world on issues including the
global environment, technological transformation, and political
change. In 2003, Cascio co-founded WorldChanging.com, the award-
winning website identifying models, tools, and ideas for building a
"bright green" future. In March, 2006, he started OpenTheFuture.com as
his online home. Cascio presently serves as a research affiliate at
the Institute for the Future, as the Director of Impacts Analysis for
The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, and as a founding fellow at
the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on how many people sign up. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 map As always free and open to the public, spread the news.  Please RSVP: http://snurl.com/2252c

Update: Future Salon Tomorrow is Open Mike

Update II: We are Webcasting at the following address:
rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always:
Server: irc.freenode.net
Channel: #futuresalon

Jamais Cascio who wanted to talk about Green Tomorrows just pinged me. He is not feeling well and in all likelihood will not be able to make it tomorrow :-(  We wish him well and hope to have him speak another time. Update: Just talked to him and he really sounded bad, we decided if he doesn't feel better by tomorrow morning, we will try at least a 5 minute session via Skype and have him back later this year.

But we will not let this opportunity to meet and exchange great ideas pass. Let's do an Open Mike Future Salon, which we have done twice before and it was very popular.

How does it work? If there is an idea or article that you feel passionate about and would like to share with your fellow futurists, sign up at the beginning of the evening for a slot. (Unconference Style) You have 5 minutes to present and there is another 5 minutes for discussion with the audience. (In exceptional cases where the interaction level is high, we may extend it by another 5 minutes) then we give the mike to the next passionate participant.

The good news is, that John Smart and Iveta Brigis have moved up from Southern California recently. Many of you know them as they organized the Accelerating Change Conference at Stanford. They are helping me with the Future Salon and will participate tomorrow too. It is going to be an interesting evening. Sorry for the short notice. Please don't be shy, present for 5 minutes and spread the word. See you tomorrow Thursday 28th 6pm at SAP in Palo Alto. Sorry for the last minute change.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on how many people sign up. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 map As always free and open to the public, spread the news. 

SAP Salon: Social Media and Online Communities

Next week we will have two amazing events at SAP Labs. On Thursday evening we have the Green Tomorrows Future Salon with Jamais Cascio.

Microsoft veteran Sean O'Driscoll who started his own consulting company will present on Tuesday morning from 10:30am to 11:30am. He has brought the Microsoft MVP program from 1000 to 4000 members. Of all the people I met, he is the one that understands and communicates best what the opportunities and challenges are regarding communities in a business environment.

Social Media and Online Communities:  If you could only leverage what your customers know.

Abstract:

We've been inundated with a wave of new buzz words...Web 2.0, Social Media, Communities, Social Productivity, Influencers, Marketing 2.0...This session will provide a business explanation of what Social Media is, why it matters to a business and most importantly how to operationalize it in a global business environment.  We'll explore a strategy development model for engaging with Social Media  and a framework for establishing a long term approach to ROI.  And finally, we'll look at the Microsoft MVP program as a best practice and framework for tapping into the influencer/enthusiast population to drive word of mouth, brand affinity, product quality and online success.

If you are in Silicon Valley please join us on Tuesday the 26th of February from 10:30-11:30am at SAP Labs in the Co-Innovation Lab 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto. You can also join the WebEx and audio conference: https://sap.webex.com/sap/j.php?ED=91409712&UID=45623552 Meeting number: 741 648 207 Meeting password: sapsalon Audio Conference: US & Canada: 866-331-0889 International: 803-477-2002 Participant Code: 899684

Bio : Sean O'Driscoll is a recognized industry leader on social media and founder of CGT Consulting, an independent consultancy focused on applying social media and influencer programs to driving business strategy and long term results.  CGT was founded to bridge the enthusiasm for social media and communities to real world business objectives that drive value across the innovation, sales & marketing and customer service & support functions.  Prior to founding CGT, Sean was a 15 year veteran at Microsoft Corporation.  In his most recent capacity as General Manager, Community Support Services, Sean was responsible for developing social media and community-based support models and leading the worldwide MVP program. The MVP program was designed to award and recognize amazing individuals in technical communities around the globe who share a passion for technology and the spirit of community.  Sean continues to support Microsoft as a strategic advisor on customer communities, Word of Mouth and Influencer program strategy.  Sean graduated from Pacific University (92) in Forest Grove, Oregon, with degrees in business administration and philosophy. He now lives just outside Seattle, Washington, with his wife Kari, and two daughters, Erin and Lauren.

Digital Dharma Future Salon Tomorrow Friday 18th

A colleague of mine reading about our next Future Salon: Digital Dharma The Path of Consciousness in the Age of the Infosphere said: "I know every single word, but together? I have a tough time to make sense out of it."

He may not be the only one, but isn't that intriguing? Don't you want to find out more? This is not your ordinary Silicon Valley talk about the latest gadget. This one is looking at the bigger picture, is there consciousness in our daily madness, a bigger purpose in the things we are doing?

I am totally looking forward to our Future Salon tomorrow Friday 18th of January, 6pm at SAP Labs 3410 Hillview Avenue in Palo Alto.

This week I got the following email when I send my details to the Blogger Council:

After reading your bio, I just made the connection about what Future Salon is.  For several years, I've been a faithful reader of Evelyn Rodriguez's Crossroads Dispatches blog, and it didn't hit me at first that your organization is the same one she's been blogging about all these years.

So please allow me to say that I'm a huge fan of the work you guys have been doing the past few years.  I wish there was a similar group here in Chicago, as the type of progressive, forward-thinking conversations you are hosting out west are sorely needed here as well.  I would love to talk with you further at some point about that, and if it makes sense, getting involved somehow.

That made my day and if you join us tomorrow, you can be part ofthe magic. Our speakers often tell me that we ask the best questions.

See you all there. More details to event in my last post: http://www.futuresalon.org/2007/12/digital-dharma.html

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on how many people sign up. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 map As always free and open to the public, spread the news and please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/2chxh5

Digital Dharma Future Salon

Digital Dharma The Path of Consciousness in the Age of the Infosphere

Aren't we all interested in expanding our consciousness, at least when we are not amusing ourselves to death ;-)

Steven Vedro has written a user's guide into Expanding Consciousness in the Infosphere: Digital Dharma.

I am happy that he will present his findings at our next Future Salon on Friday the 18th of January 6pm at SAP Labs in Palo Alto. (more details further down)

Abstract of his talk:

An electronic web surrounds the planet. In the last decade communications networks have advanced from wires to fiber optics, from interconnected radio and television grids to a world of billions of wirelessly communicating sensory devices – each with its own address in cyberspace. Emerging from what French philosopher-priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin called the shared noosphere of collective human thought, invention and spiritual seeking, the Infosphere – our collective systems for sharing thought, is now a field that engulfs our physical, mental and etheric bodies; it affects our dreaming and our cultural life. Our evolving nervous system has been extended, as media sage Marshal McLuhan predicted in the early 1960’s, into a global embrace.

The electronic media amplify, distort and attenuate our senses, change our awareness, and “mediate” our experiences. But from a mystical perspective, everything we have created in cyberspace holds a lesson for our spiritual unfolding. The Infosphere is the new environment through which humanity must now play out its evolutionary challenges. If the universe itself, as many philosophers tell us, is a field, not just of matter, but also of information, then the Infosphere must hold in its microcosm all levels of human experience: all knowledge, all our dramas of politics and power, and all our dreams. This knowledge is encoded in our ubiquitous systems of telecommunications, and yet because it is so omnipresent, to most of us it is still invisible.

This multimedia talk introduces the hidden esoteric teachings embedded in this electronic environment, and suggests some ways to use the wisdom embodied in the Infosphere to nurture what I have called a new Digital Dharma – an awareness practice that will help us recognize the social and the spiritual lessons reflected to us in the telecommunications networks that form the global Infosphere, exploring the social and spiritual challenges reflected in our cell phone mania, our love/hate relationship with the foolish heart of television, the impossibility of finding the truth over the internet, and the challenge of deep-seeing brought to us by high-definition digital broadcasting and online virtual reality.

Can't wait for the discussions during and after the talk.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on how many people sign up. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 map As always free and open to the public, spread the news and please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/2chxh5

See you all there.

If you can't join in person we will webcast the event and tape it too. Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address:
rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always:
Server: irc.freenode.net
Channel: #futuresalon

Forsight Vision Weekend ...

One of the original inspirations for the Future Salon were the Vision Weekends that the Foresight Nanotech Institute held a couple of years back.

There I met John Smart who was doing the LA Futurists group. There was this little startup, PayPal somewhere in the corner, I wish I had paid more attention back then.

They had a running prediction market I think back in 2002, something that is only slowly getting more traction in the business world.

A gathering of really smart people that have thought way into the future and talked about Singularity and Nanotechnolgy, that this spell checker even today doesn't recognize.

The next Vision Weekend this time unconference style is coming up on the 2nd and 3rd of November. Christine Peterson is kind enough to reach out to us Future Saloners and offers  us to participate, which usually is only open to Senior Associate members.

I have been gone on business trips so often in the last and coming weeks, this is why I am only tentative. Family first, but you should not miss it:
http://www.foresight.org/SrAssoc/2007

Facebook users can indicate their plans here (though RSVPs here don't guarantee your place): http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5194522980

If you do choose to attend, we've been asked to register early to ensure a seat.

Cybersalon: Politics 101 Meets Web 2.0: Democracy or Demagoguery?

I am taking a move and kid induced longer Future Salon break, hope some of you are missing it, would be sad if no one did.

But don't fret, the beauty of the Bay Area is that there are always other really interesting events happening.

Our Cybersalon friends from Berkeley are going to have another timely and oh so important one. Or have you not heard that the Senate again voted against giving 'war on terror' prisoners the right to challenge their detention in federal courts. It is one of the basic human rights and a shame that it even is a question besides that it is in the constitution: Article 4, which states that habeaus corpus shall not be suspended unless in cases of rebellion and invasion when the public safety may require it.

With the new technologies in the making, and we are not talking about voting machines here, no, can Web 2.0 help with better networking, organizing possibilities, easier ways to get involved ... tip the scale? Remember the Howard Dean campaign, and how the established media squashed it like a little fly? Have the times changed in the last 4 years? Answers to these questions this Sunday:   

September 23. "Politics 101 Meets Web 2.0: Democracy or Demagoguery?" 4 to 6 p.m., Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., $15 at door for food, drink, and open mike discussion for digital and analog political activists. Political candidates of all stripes now have web sites, participate in social networks, and can respond to folks via YouTube. So are we closer to democracy?

I am a bit bummed that I can't join as I will enjoy the last days of summer, or so we hope,  camping up north.

August events

Mark is taking a break for August, there will be no Future Salon this month. Happily, though, there is a Long Now Seminar scheduled for the usual Future Salon evening, so you all can get your heady conversation fix there. The speaker is Alex Wright, and the topic is Glut (specifically, of information).

I've also just become aware that there's a Palo Alto Future Meetup Group, originally named the Silicon Valley Strategic Foresight Meetup Group. It's not associated with Mark Finnern, or the Accelerating Studies Foundation; I actually suspect they're not even aware of the Future Salon. But their next meeting is Thursday, August 23, and the topic will be: What are your perceptions of the biggest, most important challenges facing the world in the next 10 years? Let's go introduce ourselves, and make some new friends! Visit Meetup for details, and to RSVP.

BTW, for those of you wondering, yes, I am still living in NYC. But I'll be in Berkeley next week, and will do my best to get down to Palo Alto by 7pm on Thursday.

Longevity Test in Preparation for Longevity Future Salon

Check out this Longevity Test. I filled it out late last night. I wasn't totally precise, for example I didn't measure my waist and hip ratio. According to this test my life expectancy is 75. Around 1900 that would have been amazing. Today, it is just about average North American life expectancy. I guess I work too much and worry that peak oil is around the corner and the sky is falling any minute. Aubrey, you better hurry up with your research ;-)

One more reason to check out the Science and Ethics of Longevity Research Future Salon this Friday the 20th of July.

Aubrey de Grey will present, who has dedicated his, if he is right long long life to longevity research. We are also happy to have Stanford Neuroscience Professor William B. Hurlbut to look at the science as well as some ethical concerns around living forever. Please join us. [More Info]

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your responds. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 map As always free and open to the public, spread the news and please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/ypaf78

See you all there.

If you can't join in person we will webcast the event and tape it too. Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address:
rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always:
Server: irc.freenode.net
Channel: #futuresalon

Video of Future Salon speaker Aubrey de Grey at TED Conference

Just in case you have any doubts that the Science and Ethics of Longevity Research Future Salon on Friday the 20th of July will be amazing, here a video of one of the two speakers Aubrey de Grey presenting at the TED Conference.

Ted talks are one of the most inspiring and interesting things on the net. I am convinced that these are the best spent marketing dollars of BMW almost as good as SAP supporting our Future Salon ;-) Check them out.

P.S. Don't forget to RSVP for next Friday: http://tinyurl.com/ypaf78

Science and Ethics of Longevity Research Future Salon

Friday July 20th at SAP Palo Alto please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/ypaf78

To live forever is an age old dream of humankind. Aubrey de Grey thinks it is within our reach and we should go full steam ahead with the research to make death obsolete. Peter Thiel gives Aubrey's research more umpf by pledging up to $3.5 million for it. That is serious money.

Not so fast, says Stanford Neuroscience Professor William B. Hurlbut. Besides the biology that Aubrey de Grey is a bit too optimistic about, there are several ethical issues that should be thought through as we head into longevity research: The relationship between the generations, the meaning of embodiment in the pace and purpose of our lives, and perhaps questions related to ongoing adaptive evolution of our species.

On Friday July 20th we will have the rare opportunity to hear both of them present their findings followed by a question and answer session.

Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical gerontologist based in Cambridge, UK,
and is the Chairman and Chief Science Officer of the Methuselah
Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity dedicated to combating the
aging process.  He is also Editor-in-Chief of "Rejuvenation Research",
the world's only peer-reviewed journal focused on intervention in
aging.  His research interests encompass the etiology of all the
accumulating and eventually pathogenic molecular and cellular
side-effects of metabolism ("damage") that constitute mammalian aging
and the design of interventions to repair and/or obviate that damage.
He has developed a possibly comprehensive plan for such repair, termed
Straegies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS), which breaks the
aging problem down into seven major classes of damage and identifies
detailed approaches to addressing each one. A key aspect of SENS is
that it can potentially extend healthy lifespan without limit, even
though these repair processes will never be perfect, as the repair only
needs to approach perfection rapidly enough to keep the overall level
of damage below pathogenic levels.  de Grey has termed this required
rate of improvement of repair therapies "longevity escape velocity".

William B. Hurlbut is a physician and Consulting Professor at the Neuroscience Institute. After receiving his undergraduate and medical training at Stanford University, he completed postdoctoral studies in theology and medical ethics, studying with Robert Hamerton-Kelly, the Dean of the Chapel at Stanford, and subsequently with the Rev. Louis Bouyer of the Institut Catholique de Paris.

His primary areas of interest involve the ethical issues associated with advancing biomedical technology, the biological basis of moral awareness, and studies in the integration of theology and philosophy of biology. He is the author of  numerous publications on science and ethics including the co-edited volume Altruism & Altruistic Love: Science, Philosophy & Religion in Dialogue and Science, Religion and Human Spirit. He is also co-chair of two interdisciplinary faculty projects at Stanford University, Becoming Human:The Evolutionary Origins of Spiritual, Religious, and Moral Awareness and Brain, Mind and Emergence.

In addition to teaching at Stanford, he has worked with NASA on project in Astrobiology and is a member of the Chemical and Biological Warfare working group at the Center for International Security and Cooperation. Since 2002 he has served on the President's Council on Bioethics. He is the author of Altered Nuclear Transfer, a proposed technological solution to the moral controversy over embryonic stem cell research.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your responds. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 map As always free and open to the public, spread the news and please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/ypaf78

See you all there.

If you can't join in person we will webcast the event and tape it too. Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address:
rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always:
Server: irc.freenode.net
Channel: #futuresalon

Science and Ethics of Longevity Research Future Salon

Mark your calendar: Friday July 20th at SAP Palo Alto please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/ypaf78

Science and Ethics of Longevity Research Future Salon with Scientist Aubrey de Grey and Stanford Professor William Hurlbut (more details have been posted.)

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your responds. SAP is located at 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 map As always free and open to the public, spread the news and please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/ypaf78

"I Hope I Never Die" Future Salon

Update: The RSVP works again. (Had a wrong expiration date.)

We were in the city at the Giant Robot shop to check out the APAC Little Sanctuary Art Show. The little paintings warm your heart.

The Giant Robot shop has cool mostly Japanese  nick nacks for urbanites. And there it was, "the" T-Shirt for our Nanomedicine and Cryonics Future Salon: A DJ-Monkey with the stated hope to live forever. I just had to get one.

Therefore if you want to see it on the body of steel, from picking up and putting down Nina, join us this Tuesday the 24th at SAP in Palo Alto for an evening with the expert who can tell you how to outrun the reaper: Ralph Merkle. - Or is it how to put the reaper on ice? ;-)

I like that the cartoon character is a monkey. Begs the question: "Are we the monkey of our own desires like: To live forever?"

Room for a great discussion. Let me know if you need 5 minutes to make your case. We may be able to accommodate you. I can hardly wait. All the details including how to tune into the live Webcast on the Nanomedicine and Cryonics Wiki page.

Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/yvmocq) so we can calculate food and drinks.

If you come with an equally cool on topic t-shirt, you will get in for free. No wait, everyone gets in for free. You get a free drink. No wait, everyone gets wine or beer if you want.
You will get thumbs up and definitely not everyone gets thumbs up at the Future Salon.

See you there. 6pm networking 7 o'clock session starts.

Savvy Solutions to Global Warming Cybersalon this Sunday

Our Cybersalon friends in Berkeley will discuss as they call it the hottest topic in town. (Of course I like to differ and point to the Cryonics and Nanomedicine Future Salon with Ralph Merkle this Tuesday the 24th :-)

We're discussing the hottest topic in town: “Savvy Solutions to Global Warming” are offered by Berkeley Cybersalon panelists Felix Kramer, founder of CalCars, promoting plug-in hybrids; David Hammond, of UC Berkeley’s & Resources Group and also a consultant on green chemistry with the Biomimicry Institute; and Jane White and Eli Noyes, founders of Project 3650, animators against global warming.

5-7 p.m., Sunday, April 22, the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley (www.hillsideclub.org). $10 at the door gets you pizza, drinks, and food for thought (and action).

Sunday is Nina's birthday, so I will not be able to make it, but it sounds great.
Sylvia Paull is the main organizer and there is a nice little writeup about her and the Berkeley Cybersalon in Fast Company. Check it out, the event as well as the article.

Cryonics: It's not looking good for the Control Group

Update:Nanomedicine and Cryonics Future Salon moved to Tuesday 24th of April. Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/yvmocq)

About 5 years ago Ralph Merkle presented at Park just down the road from SAP. I think it was an SDForum lecture series event, but I can't find it right now. There for the first time I heard about Cryonics. It was very interesting. The argument that stuck the most in my mind was. Hey, this is an experiment, you sign up for it or you don't. So far it is not looking good for the control group ;-)

Here the paragraph from Ralph Merkle's Cryonics page:

What to do

	It works	It doesn't work
Sign up	Live	Die, lose life insurance
Do nothing	Die	Die

How might we evaluate cryonics? Broadly speaking, there are two available courses of action: (1) sign up or (2) do nothing. And there are two possible outcomes: (1) it works or (2) it doesn't. This leads to the payoff matrix to the right. In using such a payoff matrix to evaluate the possible outcomes, we must decide what value the different outcomes have. What value do we place on a long and healthy life? (It is important to realize that the kinds of medical technology required to restore today's cryonics patients will almost certainly be able to restore good health for an extended period). What (presumably negative) value do we place on being dead? And finally, in the absence of direct experimental results in one direction or the other, what estimate do we make of the chances that it will work?

This week I stumbled upon a similar argument done by Pastor Rick Warren in an atheism versus God debate:

We're both betting. He's betting his life that he's right. I'm betting my life that Jesus was not a liar. When we die, if he's right, I've lost nothing. If I'm right, he's lost everything. I'm not willing to make that gamble.

If you believe in reincarnation, are you engineering yourself out of your true destiny by going the cryonics route? Any philosophers or religious people out there that have spent some time thinking about this? We are happy to give you 5 to 10 minutes to make your case at the event. Let me know.

Remember Cryonics is only one part of the Future Salon next Tuesday the 24th of April. Ralph Merkle will primarily cover what the latest developments in Nanomedicine are and I can't wait to hear them. More details to the event on the Nanomedicine and Cryonics Future Salon Wiki page.

Life After TV Cybersalon. Sunday 25th of March

Our friends in Berkeley are having an interesting Cybersalon again today: Life after TV.

Like the video of Steve Colbert saying to the Dems Impeach Bush now or you are wussies. This will have many-fold more viewers on the Internet than on TV, as it is in the top 10 on Reddit for example.
 

We don't have a TV at home. It is not because we are morally better, it is just that I would watch too much of it. Check out a very funny "What I learned from TV" this American Life radio show to the TV theme.

More details to the Cybersalon:

First they took away the commercials (Tivo). Then they replaced professional actors and scriptwriters with ordinary people trapped on desert islands or interviewing for roles as models and American idols. Soon the rabbit ears will be amputated, phone screens will display pay-per-download videos, and you’ll be able to share home movies and vacation exploits in real time with a small network of family and friends, and even strangers.

What’s there not to like?

Come join our discussion about the coming evolution in mass entertainment

Interesting lineup of participants:
Andrew Keen, founder of AfterTV.com and author of the forthcoming “Cult of the Amateur” (June 5)
Mary Hodder, founder and CEO, Dabble, a video search engine
Evan Berg, senior director, Brightcove, a video distribution site
Joe Savage, president, Fiber-to-the-Home Council, a marketing organization for promoting broadband to the home

"Life After TV"
Berkeley Cybersalon Sunday, March 25
5-7 p.m. Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar, Berkeley
$10 at the door gets you a chance to participate and nosh on TV food

Reminder: Music Open Mike Future Salon Tomorrow

Update: Here is the info if you want to join us from the web:

Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always use the server: irc.freenode.net and the Channel: #futuresalon

Wow, for a while I thought that Murthy and I will be the only ones presenting tomorrow Friday the 23rd of March 2007 at the Music Open Mike Future Salon.

I didn't look at the accompanying Future of Music Wiki page for a while and all in a sudden all slots are filled. Excellent.

We even have a special guest Troy Gardner from Irvine will dial in via Skype for the Q&A and is prepping a YouTube video for it.

I am quite excited about tomorrow night (details). Still have to prep my part though. See you there.   

Session Slots (copied from the Wiki):

Slot	Name of presenter	Description
1	KRS Murthy	World Music: Innovation Trends and Future Trends in Musical Genres of the World
2	MRO	the future of music
3	Yuecel Karabulut	The future of music: acoustic, traditional, global
4	Troy Gardner	Looping one man band :-) Is joining us from Irvine via YouTube and Skype. Hope it will work out.
5	Joschka Fischer aka. Joseph	See his Future of Music post on bafuture.
6	Mark Finnern	Lost Music in the Future
7	Maribeth Back	The Future of Music Performance: the Brain Opera
8	Michael Good	The Future of Sheet Music: MusicXML 2.0
9	Hans	Prediction: in the future we will no longer have pop music, aka the long tail getting flat

Future Salon Self-Made is Happiness Self-Played?

My favorite quote from They Might Be Giants is:  Music self-played is Happiness self-made.

I think that this is true for the Future Salon too. The one where you have been actively involved are the most gratifying.

Therefore once in an orange Mars we have an Open Mike Future Salon. This month the theme is Future of Music and it is going to happen Friday the 23rd of March. Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/2txsuf)

Actively involved doesn't mean that you need to prep and present. Being an active audience is enough, or you may know someone who has an interesting viewpoint on the Future of Music and invite her or him.

5 easy rules for the Open Mike Future Salon:

1. Sign up for a slot on the Wiki or when you arrive at the Future Salon
2. We go down the list.
3. You have 5 minutes for your presentation / music performance
4. There will be 5 minutes of discussion right after
5. If the energy in the room is really high the discussion time may be extended by 5 minutes once.

I may talk about what we are loosing by having always perfect renditions of music available to us. I don't want to turn back time, but I don't think that people are aware of some of the  consequences.

I also like Douglas Hofstadter excellent essay Sounds like Bach, where he expresses his sadness now that computers can compose as good as the old masters.

Very curious what else will be presented and discussed.

If you can't join in person we will Webcast the event: Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always use the server: irc.freenode.net and the Channel: #futuresalon

Free Wifi is provided by SAP, bring your gadgets and participate in the chat with your fellow futurists from around the world.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your  responds. Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/2txsuf), 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map] As always free and open to the public, spread the news.

Music Open Mike Future Salon

Update: Date of the upcoming Future Salon is: Friday 23rd of March.

Some of you may remember the fun we had in November 2005 at the last Open Mike Future Salon. The difference to our regular Future Salons is that there is not one person presenting a theme, but many people having 5 minutes to bring their points across with discussions following right after. You can check out the video of our last one on the Internet Archive. A new Open Mike Future Salon is way overdue.

Future Saloner KRS Murthy once suggested a talk on music composition techniques and some of you voiced interest in it.

We are combining his suggestion into the Music Open Mike Future Salon. Murthy will open up with 15 minutes including discussions.

Come and present or enjoy the perspectives of your fellow Future Saloners regarding where Music is going in the next 50+ years. We know it is a wide field and that will make it very interesting.

5 easy rules for the Open Mike Future Salon:

1. Sign up for a slot on the Wiki or when you arrive at the Future Salon
2. We go down the list.
3. You have 5 minutes for your presentation / music performance
4. There will be 5 minutes of discussion right after
5. If the energy in the room is really high the discussion time may be extended by 5 minutes once.

The wiki page is not only for the line-up, but also to fill with interesting links and observations regarding the future of music. Please add some.

This is an experiment and will be as good as you are making it :-) 

If you can't join in person we will Webcast the event: Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always use the server: irc.freenode.net and the Channel: #futuresalon

Free Wifi is provided by SAP, bring your gadgets and participate in the chat with your fellow futurists from around the world.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your  responds. Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/2txsuf), 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map] As always free and open to the public, spread the news.

Alphabet versus the Goddess Future Salon

Update: He will probably talk about his new book: Sex, Time and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution Even better :-)

Next Future Salon on Friday the 23rd of February. Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/33qnqn)

Drew Gilpin Faust is the first woman President of Harvard University, Hillary Clinton may be the first Women president of the US in 2008, at least right now she is the front runner of the Democratic Party. How come that Women are gaining influence now?

Leonard Shlain the author of The Alphabet Versus The Goddess may argue it is a proof that the proliferation of images in film, TV, graphics and computers is once again reconfiguring the brain by encouraging right hemispheric modes of thought that are encouraging the reemergence of the feminine.

Here his abstract to his Alphabet versus the Goddess Future Salon presentation:

This multimedia power point presentation containing over 300 images proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy – the process of reading and writing – fundamentally reconfigured the human brain, and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections among brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, feminine values, and images. Writing, particularly alphabets, drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking. This shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and also ushered in the reign of patriarchy and misogyny. Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims, he reinterprets many myths and parables in light of his theory. Shlain traces the affect of literacy on the Dark Ages, Mary, Gutenberg, the Reformation and the Witchcraze.

Shlain ends with an optimistic appraisal that the proliferation of images in film, TV, graphics and computers is once again reconfiguring the brain by encouraging right hemispheric modes of thought that are encouraging the reemergence of the feminine. A provocative, inspiring, and visually arresting presentation filled with startling historical anecdotes and fresh compelling ideas. It is a paradigm-shattering work that will transform your view of history and the mind.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your  responds.  Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/33qnqn), 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map] As always free and open to the public, spread the news.

If you can't join in person we will Webcast the event: Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always use the server: irc.freenode.net and the Channel: #futuresalon

About the Author

Leonard Shlain is the Chairman of Laparoscopic surgery at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and is an Associate Professor of Surgery at UCSF.  He is also the author of three critically acclaimed, national bestselling, award-winning books.  His first, Art & Physics: Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light, (HarperCollins) was published in 1991, and is presently used as a textbook in many art schools and universities.  The LA Times called it a “Tour de Force” and the New York Times Book Review  was equally enthusiastic   A&P  has also been translated into foreign languages. 
Viking published his second book, The Alphabet Versus The Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image, in hardcover in 1998 and within weeks it was on the national bestseller list. Penguin distributed his book internationally in 1999 and it is now available in paperback. The Washington Post called it “Bold and fascinating,” George Steiner in the London Observer wrote that it was “Provocative and Innovative.” The New York Times’ Idea Section discussed his thought provoking theory. David Gergen interviewed Dr. Shlain for The Jim Lehrer News Hour and Frank Stasio did the same for National NPR.  His new book Sex Time and Power: How Women’s Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution achieved national bestseller status in hardcover by Viking and the Quality Paperback Book Club chose ST&P as the best non-fiction paperback in 2004 in its New Visions category. The History Channel interviewed Dr. Shlain for its program on Leonardo and PBS’s did the same for Children of the Code
Dr. Shlain lectures widely both here and in Europe.  He has been a keynote speaker for such diverse groups as the Smithsonian, Harvard, Florence Academy of Art, Salk Institute, Phillips collection, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center, and the European Union’s Ministers of Culture. 
Dr. Shlain has won several literary awards for his visionary work and also holds several patents on innovative surgical devices.  He is presently working on two books, Leonardo’s Brain: The Left/Right Roots of Creativity and Enough to Make Leonardo Smile: The Reciprocal Sayings of Artists and Physicists.

Reminder: Sociobiology Future Salon this Friday 19th

I love the Edge's yearly questions. They are always, and often the answers even more, thought provoking. This year's question is an upbeat one: What are you optimistic about?

Clay Shirky is hopeful about Evidence:

Evidence will continue to improve society, but slowly — this is long-view optimism. The use of evidence dragged the curious mind from the confusion of alchemy into the precision of chemistry in the historical blink of an eye, but its progress past the hard sciences has been considerably slower ...

It is only in the last hundred years that evidence has even begun spreading from the hard sciences into other parts of human life. Previous platitudes about the unpredictability or universal plasticity of human behavior are giving way to areas of inquiry with names like Sociobiology, Evolutionary Psychology, and Behavioral Economics.

Hurray. In celebration of the evidence based approach I am so happy that we have Joe Quirk presenting at the Future Salon this Friday the 19th the research that lead to his very funny book: Sperm are from Men, Eggs are from Women

More details in my last post. Please Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/y5gpx5)

The last 15 minutes of the Future Salon we want to spend on discussing what can and should be done to further that information alter our approach of what we learned from Joe. I have created a Sociobiology Future Salon Wiki page to capture these ideas as well as any links that or information that are mentioned during the session. Please create a user and put your ideas there. We will have free Wifi in the room, so bring your computer to do these updates right there and then.

General Logistics: A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your  Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/y5gpx5), 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map] As always free and open to the public, spread the news.

If you can't join in person we will Webcast the event: Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always use the server: irc.freenode.net and the Channel: #futuresalon

Sociobiology Future Salon 19th of January

Happy New Futuristic Year.

We will start it in January with a Sociobiology Future Salon with the Author Joe Quirk. (RSVP please)

He has participated in the Future Salon many times and I am really happy that it finally works out and he will present his Sociobiology research/insights that he is made very accessible for you and me in his funny book: Sperm are from Men, Eggs are from Women..

Here in his own words what is going to happen on Friday the 19th of January:

WHY THE SINGULARITY WON'T WORK WITHOUT SOCIOBIOLOGY

Fellow Futurists,

Mark Finnern founded our Futurist Salon so we can figure out how to harness accelerated change to bring us more love, more joy, more peace, better conversations, and better sex.  Isn't that the mission statement of geeks?

Access to all the information in the world won't fulfill us unless we have wisdom.  Wisdom is the deep understanding of human nature and human relationships.  Communication technology must be based on a biological understand of behavior.  Without a deep scientific understanding of human nature, we won't have anything to base our technological revolution on.

I propose a bottom-up approach.  Let's learn who we are.  We're privileged to live in a time when many of the questions that Aristotle puzzled over are being illuminated by evolutionary psychology, cognitive science, and game theory.

I'm convinced that evolutionary psychology is the science of wisdom.  My passion for the biology of behavior has made my relationships fulfilling, increased by empathy, and stirred my awe.

How and why did human relationships evolve?  I'll focus on sex and love.  By the time I'm done, you should have a better idea of how to get love and get laid.

Here is a sum-up of the pitch I made to publishers:
http://www.joequirk.com/category/blog/

His pitch succeeded and his new book is out: Sperm are from Men, Eggs are from Women. It contains great little anecdotes from his own life.

He promised to do his presentation low tech with a big flip chart and you can check that out as he has a little video on his site where he has done that before. Very funny I can't wait for the Future Salon. Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/y5gpx5)

Author Bio:

Joe Quirk uses science to help geeks get love and get
laid. His technique is to combine meta-analyses of statistical
correlations with cartoons of testicles. This gets his fellow geeks so
excited, they have to grab their asthma inhalers before their
glasses fog up.

Joe Quirk was known for four things in high school:
getting detention for being a smart-ass, getting A's in
biology, being horny,and having a name like Quirk. He decided to combine
these four talents in his second book. Now he gets
paid to be a smart-ass biologist, and nobody gives him a wedgie.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your  Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/y5gpx5), 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map] As always free and open to the public, spread the news.

If you can't join in person we will Webcast the event: Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always use the server: irc.freenode.net and the Channel: #futuresalon

Future Salon Thursday: Repeat as Needed with George Yu

You may remember the excellent FabLabs Future Salon with Professor Neil Gershenfeld [video] Neil says that in regards to building almost everything we are at the same stage as we were in the 70s with computers: You needed $30,000 and a roomful of equipment to do it.

Let's give it a couple of rounds of miniaturization and everyone will be able to create almost everything on his/her desk. I am cautiously optimistic for such a scenario in the future.

If you want to know what you will be able to do in a couple of years, you should check out what the top Architects with the big budgets are doing right now using the latest digital tools for 3-D modeling and CNC machines. Not only what they are doing, but also  find out what their guiding principles are and why. Technology and money is less and less a limiting factor, other decision elements like the context of a building come into focus.

This thought process is one reason why I am looking forward to tomorrow's Future Salon with Architect Professor George Yu AIA:

Using the latest digital tools for 3-D modeling, prototyping, and fabrication we are redefining the "module" in architecture. At a spatial and material level, we are no longer limited by technology or economics to repeat a single unvarying unit to compose the whole. This flexibility allows for much more responsiveness to context: site, environment, program, culture, and time. In this lecture, I will explain my research into these possibilities by showing examples in recent architectural projects.

Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/yhjbze) if you have not done so.

Biography
Established in 1992, George Yu Architects is an innovative, award-winning practice with experience in a wide range of building types. Specializing in the integration of urban design, architecture, and technology issues, we have developed a unique approach that has made us very successful in creating innovative solutions for problems that are normally considered beyond the purview of architecture. For example, in the IBM e-Business Centers in the United States, the Honda Advanced Design Center in Pasadena, and the Sony Design Centers in Los Angeles and Shanghai, our leadership made architectural design a significant part of larger organizational and technological transformations occurring within these companies.

George Yu was born in Hong Kong in 1964 and grew up in Hope, Vancouver, and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Geography in 1985 from the University of British Columbia and Master of Architecture degree from the University of California in Los Angeles in 1988. From 1988 to 1992, he was a member of Morphosis Architects in Santa Monica. In 1992, Yu started his firm, George Yu Architects, in Los Angeles.

Yu has completed over 65 projects ranging in scale from 1000 square foot retail interiors to 1.5 million square foot shopping centers. Key projects include: the headquarters for Nettwerk Records in Vancouver; creative workspaces for IBM e-Business in Chicago, New York, and Atlanta; the Daido Jusco Shopping Center in Nagoya; the prototypes and roll-out of over 70 fashion boutiques for Max Studio worldwide; the design studios for the Sony Electronics Design Center in Santa Monica; and the Honda Advanced Design Center in Pasadena.

Yu was an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Architecture from 1995 to 1998. Since 1998, he has been on the design faculty at Southern California Institute of Architecture. He has also held visiting professorships at the University of Texas, Austin, and Florida International University. Yu’s work has been featured in a number of exhibitions: Blue Diamond 68, at Artists Space in New York; Blow-up at Sci-Arc in Los Angeles; Pentimenti at the Ottawa Art Gallery; and Transforming Type at the U.S. Pavilion in the 2004 Venice Biennale and Yale University. Yu has received two I.D. Magazine Design Awards, honors from the Architectural Foundation of Los Angeles, was selected by the New York Architectural League as a member of the Emerging Generation, and was awarded the Canada Council's most prestigious award in architecture, the Prix de Rome.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your  RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/yhjbze), 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map] As always free and open to the public, spread the news.

If you can't join in person we will Webcast the event: Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always use the server: irc.freenode.net and the Channel: #futuresalon

Architecture Future Salon: Repeat As Needed

Please join me next Thursday November 9th for a Future Salon with Architect Professor George Yu AIA:

Using the latest digital tools for 3-D modeling, prototyping, and fabrication we are redefining the "module" in architecture. At a spatial and material level, we are no longer limited by technology or economics to repeat a single unvarying unit to compose the whole. This flexibility allows for much more responsiveness to context: site, environment, program, culture, and time. In this lecture, I will explain my research into these possibilities by showing examples in recent architectural projects.

That sounds very interesting to me. Please RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/yhjbze) so we know how much food to prepare and what size room to get.

Reminds me that I always wanted to read the book Pattern Language from Christopher Alexander which after 60 reviews on Amazon still has a 5 star rating.  I think it would be a good intro into our talk next Thursday.

Biography
Established in 1992, George Yu Architects is an innovative, award-winning practice with experience in a wide range of building types. Specializing in the integration of urban design, architecture, and technology issues, we have developed a unique approach that has made us very successful in creating innovative solutions for problems that are normally considered beyond the purview of architecture. For example, in the IBM e-Business Centers in the United States, the Honda Advanced Design Center in Pasadena, and the Sony Design Centers in Los Angeles and Shanghai, our leadership made architectural design a significant part of larger organizational and technological transformations occurring within these companies.

George Yu was born in Hong Kong in 1964 and grew up in Hope, Vancouver, and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Geography in 1985 from the University of British Columbia and Master of Architecture degree from the University of California in Los Angeles in 1988. From 1988 to 1992, he was a member of Morphosis Architects in Santa Monica. In 1992, Yu started his firm, George Yu Architects, in Los Angeles.

Yu has completed over 65 projects ranging in scale from 1000 square foot retail interiors to 1.5 million square foot shopping centers. Key projects include: the headquarters for Nettwerk Records in Vancouver; creative workspaces for IBM e-Business in Chicago, New York, and Atlanta; the Daido Jusco Shopping Center in Nagoya; the prototypes and roll-out of over 70 fashion boutiques for Max Studio worldwide; the design studios for the Sony Electronics Design Center in Santa Monica; and the Honda Advanced Design Center in Pasadena.

Yu was an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Architecture from 1995 to 1998. Since 1998, he has been on the design faculty at Southern California Institute of Architecture. He has also held visiting professorships at the University of Texas, Austin, and Florida International University. Yu’s work has been featured in a number of exhibitions: Blue Diamond 68, at Artists Space in New York; Blow-up at Sci-Arc in Los Angeles; Pentimenti at the Ottawa Art Gallery; and Transforming Type at the U.S. Pavilion in the 2004 Venice Biennale and Yale University. Yu has received two I.D. Magazine Design Awards, honors from the Architectural Foundation of Los Angeles, was selected by the New York Architectural League as a member of the Emerging Generation, and was awarded the Canada Council's most prestigious award in architecture, the Prix de Rome.

A Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+ pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross or Cafeteria depending on your  RSVP (http://tinyurl.com/yhjbze), 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map] As always free and open to the public, spread the news.

If you can't join in person we will Webcast the event: Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address: rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

IRC chat as always use the server: irc.freenode.net and the Channel: #futuresalon

Webcast info for the Security Future Salon tonight

As promised here is the information to the Webcast tonight starting in a
couple of minutes:

IRC chat as always:
Server: irc.freenode.net
Channel: #futuresalon
As promised here the Webcast link.
Point your Quicktime viewer to the following address:
rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

Of course if you live close, come on by.

Talk to you on the chat, Mark.

We

Future Salon: Solution to Security Thread this Friday

Remember the excellent Security Future Salon with John Robb?  In the two hours he showed how technology trends lead to 4th generation warefare. Outcome of that trend may be a destabalizing of more and more nation states into guerilla warfare. It is a quite grim outlook.

Bruce Cahan afterwards came up to me and said: "This scared the bejeezus out of me. But I am working on a solution." 

We at the Future Salon headquarter are all for solutions and this is why I am very happy that Bruce is going to share his this Friday the 6th of October:   

Changing Finance: Socially-Responsive Debt, Sustainable Resiliency and the Means Meter*

Please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/jrcps

Abstract: Al Gore aptly describes the planetary forces of energy, environment, industrialization, social justice, war and political malaise as an Inconvenient Truth. How much is Wall Street to blame? What if the finance and insurance markets allocated capital and insurance based on energy efficiency, conservationism, social equity of preparedness and other memes of profound human dignity and insight? What would that world of “high stakes” finance look like?

Short Bio: Bruce’s knowledge of finance, law, technology and government processes is unique and empowers his liaison for new ideas across many domains.

Bruce Cahan is a finance lawyer, who worked for 10 years in New York with the law firm of Weil Gotshal & Manges representing clients as diverse as General Electric Capital Corp, and the Salvation Army. After a Con Ed steam pipe burst outside his Gramercy Park apartment building, Bruce changed focus in 1990, and organized a nonprofit, Urban Logic, to apply technology, finance and institutional solutions to the problems of rebuilding fragile cities.

Bruce is a pioneer in the use of geospatial technologies. His work with OMB, the Federal Geographic Data Committee, EPA, US Geological Survey, the City and State of New York, OpenGIS Consortium and others led to major changes in the supply of publicly available spatial intelligence and analytical tools. In 1991, he was an early advocate of the need for New York Cityto map itself digitally, and the resulting base map delivered 6 months before 9/11 helped emergency work crews coordinate safe and effective response in Lower Manhattan

Bruce has briefed OECD in Paris, the European Community’s INSPIRE Initiative, the White House, Congress, GAO and other groups on his research. Bruce served at NYC’s Command Center, after 9/11, and his work on safeguarding cities reflects the lessons and mutual aid of those days.Details

Details: Future Salon has the following structure: 6-7 networking with light refreshments proudly sponsored by SAP. From 7-9+pm presentation and discussion. SAP Labs North America, Building D, Room Southern Cross, 3410 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304 [map] As always free and open to the public. Tell your friends. Improve your commute by sharing it with a fellow Futurist. Check the Ride Board for opportunities. Free and open to the public.

Please RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/jrcps so that we know which room and how much food and drinks to prepare.

We wil Webcast the event. Details to come soon. See you there.

Lee Smolin: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of Science, and What Comes Next

Hear Lee Smolin discuss his new book, The Trouble with Physics, postulating that String Theory is a scientific dead-end, as recently written up in Wired (Physics Wars), and discussed on Talk of the Nation. See also his article Einstein's Legacy?—Where are the "Einsteinians?", which first appeared in Discover magazine two years ago.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006
7:30pm
Kepler's
1010 El Camino Real
Menlo Park CA, 94025
(650) 324-4321
Free of charge

I'll be hearing him speak Monday at the American Museum of Natural History. If I get a chance, I'll post an update with my impressions.

Mini Salon, this Friday

I happen to be back in the area this week, and am heartbroken that Mark hasn't planned a fabulous Future Salon for this Friday. But rather than just grumble, I'm taking the initiative and inviting all of you to a "Mini Salon", as we've had a couple times before: no speaker, no predetermined topic, and no free drinks (sorry!), but the same opportunity for discussion of the future with fellow Future Saloners. I'll be announcing a location shortly, either in San Francisco or in Berkeley. In the meantime, just pencil it in to your calendar if you haven't yet made other plans, and I'll hope to see at least a few of you there.

Update: the details:

Friday, July 21, 7pm.
Au Coquelet Café, 2000 University Ave. (at Milvia), Berkeley, CA 94704

It's just a block West of the Downtown Berkeley BART station, and tomorrow is a Spare the Air day, so you can ride BART for free all day.

NYLF: Good to Know Blog

I will present again at the National Youth Leadership Forum for Technology in San Jose in a bit over a week.

I thought about what my theme should be and I came up with:
Come alive! derived from the following Harold Whitman quote:

Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.' (Howard Thurman not Harold Whitman)

Love that.

I am using a blog to record things that are good to know when growing up. In the interactive part of the session I let everyone sign up for the blog and let them post. It's going to be interesting, probably they all have MySpace accounts and will show me a thing or two :-)

Please post suggestions and ideas that help young and old to come alive as comments.

Update: Andrew wrote me:

Although I'm not absolutely sure who said that, I am quite confident there is no Harold Whitman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Thurman_Whitman Nice little net phenomenon. :-)

The Wikipedia entry says it was Howard Thurman. I corrected the quote.

 

Webcasting is back at the Future Salon Tonight

Even if you are not in the Bay Area, or can't be bothered to get off your 'puter, you still can participate tonight at the fabulous Space Elevator Future Salon via video and IRC chat. Webcasting is back at the Future Salon.

Point your Quicktime player to the following address:
rtsp://207.105.30.90/salon.sdp

Chat as always:
Server: irc.freenode.net
Channel: #futuresalon

Talk to you tonight, Mark.
(Ryan is moderating, so I may have some time to chat.)

Update: Picture just taken from the video stream.

Really Far Out Emerging Tech at the Future Salon

Sporadically I blog on the O'Reilly Network. Mostly about Emerging Technology and Future Events, some about SAP too.

Now I thought that our Space Elevator is right up their alley and created the Really Far Out Emerging Tech at the Future Salon post.  Turns out they changed their model and within their new categories they are not covering Emerging Technology anymore. The answer they were giving me was, that theme is covered on O'Reilly's radar and that is a bit an elitist circle of 6 people that can post there. I begged them to open up an emerging tech category for a lay person like me, so far to now avail and so my post is in limbo land and you can only stumble upon it via my O'Reilly blogger page.

This is why I post the content here as a reminder for you regarding our event on Thursday:

Far out Emerging Tech as in going life in 11 years and 306 days from today. Really far out as in 100,000 km (62,000 mile) out into space. I remember late night conversations after Future Salons where some of the more-out-there Saloners would marvel over Dyson Spheres and Space Elevators. Accelerating Change and all (or is it just some Internet riches) makes it viable to built one now, or well within the next 11 years. The Dyson Sphere will take a bit longer, but the LiftPort Group