NASA's Mars Opportunity Rover has officially lost contact with earth after a fierce dust storm. Its last message was "My battery is getting low and it's getting dark." The rover's original mission was scheduled for 90 days … it lasted 14 years.
In 1977, the Voyager 1 launched into space. Just over a dozen years later, the Voyager 1 spacecraft had traveled farther than any spacecraft/probe/human-made anything had gone before. It was approximately 6 billion kilometers away from earth. At that point, the Voyager 1 was "told" by Carl Sagan to turn around and take one last photo of the Earth … a pale blue dot.
The resulting photo is impressive precisely because it shows so little in so much.
"Every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam." – Carl Sagan
Earth is in the far right sunbeam – a little below halfway down the image. This image (and the ability to send it back to earth) was the culmination of years of effort, the advancement of technology, and the dreams of mankind.
The resulting speech from Carl Sagan is still profound, moving, and worth a listen.
Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
Today, we have people living in space, posting videos from the ISS, and high-resolution images of space and galaxies near and far.
We take for granted the immense phase shift in technology. You have more computing power in your pocket than we first used to go to the moon.
As humans, we're wired to think locally and linearly. We evolved to live our lives in small groups, to fear outsiders, and to stay in a general region until we die. We're not wired to think about the billions and billions of individuals on our planet, or the rate of technological growth – or the minuteness of that all in regard to the expanse of space.
However, today's reality necessitates we think about the world, our impact, and what's now possible for us.
We created better and faster ways to travel, we've created instantaneous communication networks across vast distances, and we've created megacities. Our tribes have gotten much bigger – and with that, our ability to enact massive change has grown as well.
Space was the first bastion of today's innovation, but today we can look toward A.I., medicine, epigenetics, and more.
It's hard to comprehend the scale of the universe and the scale of our potential … but that's what makes it worth exploring!
Tonight marks the first night of Chanukah – the Jewish festival of lights.
We light the Menorah (Chanukah candles), eat latkas (potato pancakes), we exchange gifts, we spin the Dreidel (a gambling toy), and we enjoy a sense of family togetherness for 8 days and nights.
One of my friends sent me this funny video of a Chanukah parody of Bohemian Rhapsody … it's better than you would expect.
It's not too different from Christmas (though my kids were jealous Santa didn't come down our chimney).
The cynic in me beleives the gift part of the holiday was invented by merchants.
In our office, we have an "Elf on the shelf", the magical elf who reports who has been naughty and who has been nice to Santa, perching in a new spot each day.
And, we also have "Mensch on a Bench", who watches your Menorah to make sure you don't run out of oil.
Happy Chanukah … or at least an early start to your holiday season!
Very few people understand what we do at Capitalogix; even fewer understand it well enough to paint a vivid picture … yet, that's exactly what Dave did … almost instantly.
I asked him to retell it on video – to try and capture his take. To set your expectations, his take is different than you might imagine … It's got ancient bacteria, futuristic algorithms, and a little genius.
"It takes a lot of computer power, and it takes a lot of algorithms, and it takes a lot of environmental sensors … that's why we can walk around, breathe, and think." ~ Dave Asprey
Markets are an environment just like the environment we live in. Our algorithms can learn and evolve based on markets in a similar way to how humans evolved and adapted to their environments.
To summarize: In the beginning, there was an algorithm … and it was good.
Perhaps that is why Elon Musk (who is an amazing entrepreneur) sometimes sounds more like a dystopian futurologist (like Ray Bradbury or George Orwell).
Here is a look at some of Musk's predictions. Click the image to see the full infographic.
Our physical and virtual realities are beginning to blend. Animation is becoming more realistic. Virtual and augmented reality are becoming more affordable. Wearables are becoming pervasive. And, the internet of things will soon overtake the Internet.
We're moving towards a world where technology envelops every aspect of our lives … figuratively and literally.
The following (still fictional) video is thought-provoking. What happens when these new technologies are used to influence behavior, decision-making, and even your identity?
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are not new fields – but, they are evolving quickly. Technology and infrastructure are getting to the point that AR and VR will become common for us.
You have already started to see it (from Google Glass, to the NBA, and of course, to porn).
"Not too far in the future you will begin to see the integration of AR and VR together eventually leading to having your favorite performer on your lap, in your bedroom doing a custom performance for you and responding to your verbal and physical cues."
Your doctor or nutritionist could help you make better choices for you. Your therapist or coach could help you perceive and respond differently to the challenges life presents you. Marketers could better influence your purchases. Employers could better monitor and measure your performance and productivity. And governments will not be far behind … doing what they do.
Like many things, these technologies make possible awesome new capabilities (if used well) and horrific consequences (if abused or used in authoritarian ways).
This week also was Passover, a holiday that recounts the story of Exodus. This happens during the ritual meal featured in DaVinci's Last Supper.
So, today, lots of people are celebrating.
For my Christian friends, this is a holy time … and a family time.
For my Jewish friends, it is Passover.
One of the memorable phrases from Exodus is when Moses says "Let my people go!" For generations, people assumed he was talking to the Pharoh about his people's freedom. But after a week of eating clogging matzoh, matzoh balls, and even fried matzoh … for many Jews "Let my people go" takes on a different meaning.
via XKCD
