Triangulation 9: Ray Kurzweil

Hosts:Leo Laporte and Tom Merritt
We talk to author, inventor, and futurist, Ray Kurzweil.
Guest:Ray Kurzweil
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Running time: 10:00:10

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Technology
• Tech Celebrities
• Thinkers
• Leo Laporte
• Tom Merritt

[Keim4ever]

I'm glad to see Kurzweil is getting mor attention.

[rulesandwisdom]

Kurzweil is cool, and I've read some of his stuff which is very interesting, but he is a very controversial figure in the scientific community.

To quote Steven Novella:

"Kurzweil may end up being thought of as the Nikola Tesla of his day – a genuine scientist and eccentric figure with some far out but useful (whether right or wrong) ideas."

[Lilithaaaa]

I was watching a video the other day about population growth and our how we are going to run out of natural resources like oil soon. It is a totally different subject but they were making the same exact case about exponential growth. They were saying how so many people think linearly instead, and how it was causing so many problems for us. And its the top people in government and stuff, smart people who are stuck thinking linearly and not exponentially.

[CalumnMcAulay]

@rulesandwisdom you are right - ideas or hypotheses that are proven wrong can help stimulate further inquiry and can show us where we have went wrong. In all honesty I have alot of faith in Kurzweils predictions considering that approx 95% of his predictions have to date been accurate, not only that he presents compelling and convincing evidence for making such extrapolations!

[rulesandwisdom]

@CalumnMcAulay I guess I'd say 'not always'. Playing the devils advocate slightly, isn't science based on the utility of wrong ideas? Hypothesis after hypothesis proven wrong, leading us closer and closer to the one which is right? Not quite applicable to futurism, I know. But since we're talking in generalities...

Can't a wrong idea still make people think in new ways? Or start discussions which will lead to one which is far closer to being right?

[CalumnMcAulay]

@rulesandwisdom is an idea not useful to the extent that it is right? if an idea is wrong then how useful is it?

[StevenErnest]

Excellent interview!  Keep 'em coming.

[camhunt]

Wow, Leo I'm impressed!!

[iamstarfox]

Interesting talk... Not traditional computer tech related, but I hope TWiT keeps doing stuff like this.