Monthly Archives: May 2013

[155] Gary Johnson’s Libertarianism, WHCD: Journalism in Decline, Classified US History – Video

Posted: May 2, 2013 at 7:43 am


[155] Gary Johnson #39;s Libertarianism, WHCD: Journalism in Decline, Classified US History
Abby Martin Breaks the Set on Libertarianism with Gov. Gary Johnson, US #39; Classified History, and the Decline of Journalism LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb....

By: breakingtheset

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[155] Gary Johnson's Libertarianism, WHCD: Journalism in Decline, Classified US History - Video

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The Transhumanist Wager Is A Choice We’ll All Have To Make

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While I personally loved the first half of The Transhumanist Wagerand disliked much of the second, I am convinced that the novel is a must read for anyone interested in the future of our civilization.

In my view the novel is full of interesting and controversial contradictions. For example, on the one hand Zoltan Istvan is a philosophically sophisticated author using elements from Platos Republic, Nietzsches Overman (bermensch), Thomas Moores Utopia, Zen Buddhism and other eastern and western philosophies. On the other hand Zoltan has chosen to give us a kind of simplistic, Atlas Shrugged-style of a plot in its black-and-white depiction of an evil government and the lone hero who dares to stand up to it. Regardless of my personal views, however, I enjoyed reading the book and believe that it does a good job of mapping out the dangerous period that our civilization will have to navigate in the next several decades.

Duringmy interview with Zoltan Istvan we cover a variety of topics such as: what is the Transhumanist Wager; how and why he got interested in transhumanism; his protagonist Jethro Knightsand some autobiographical elements of the novel; the potential for conflict between transhumanists and anti-transhumanists; Ayn Rand, objectivism and their impact on the Transhumanist Wager; competition, human nature and death; transhumanism and thetechnological singularity; the ideal state of Transhumania and the price we have to pay to accomplish it

My favorite quote that I will take away from Zoltan Istvan is Morality is often defined by the amount of time we have left.

(As always you can listen to or download the audio file above, or scroll down and watch the video interview in full.If you want tohelp me produce more episodespleasemake a donation)

About the Author:

At the age of 21, American-HungarianZoltan Istvanbegan a solo, multi-year sailing journey around the world. His main cargo was 500 handpicked books, mostly classics. Hes explored over 100 countriesmany as a journalist for the National Geographic Channelwriting, filming, and appearing in dozens of television stories, articles, and webcasts.

His work has also been featured by The New York Times Syndicate, Outside, San Francisco Chronicle, BBC Radio, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, Animal Planet, and the Travel Channel. In addition to his award-winning coverage of the war in Kashmir, he gained worldwide attention for pioneering and popularizing the extreme sport of volcano boarding. Zoltan later became a director for the international conservation group WildAid, leading armed patrol units to stop the billion-dollar illegal wildlife trade in Southeast Asia. Back in America, he started various successful businesses, from real estate development to filmmaking to viticulture, joining them under ZI Ventures. He is a philosophy and religious studies graduate of Columbia University and resides in San Francisco with his daughter and physician wife.

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The Transhumanist Wager Is A Choice We'll All Have To Make

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X Prize Founder, Best-Selling Author and Futurist Peter Diamandis to Make Canadian Speaking Debut at OCE's Discovery

Posted: at 7:42 am

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 1, 2013) - Dr. Peter Diamandis, noted futurist, X Prize founder and New York Times best-selling author will make his first Canadian appearance as the opening-day keynote speaker at OCE's Discovery conference.

"We are thrilled that Dr. Diamandis has agreed to bring his visionary insights on innovation, technology and business to Discovery," says OCE's President and CEO, Dr. Tom Corr. "This is an opportunity for the thousands of entrepreneurs, researchers and investors who attend Discovery to hear and learn from one of the most creative and provocative thinkers in his field."

Discovery takes place May 27 and 28 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building.

"I am honoured that Dr. Peter Diamandis will deliver the keynote at Discovery 2013; we are fortunate to welcome this visionary speaker," said Ontario's Minister of Research and Innovation, Reza Moridi. "His attendance reinforces Discovery's reputation as Canada's premier innovation showcase and I know that his insights will inspire innovations that will result in more jobs for young Ontarians."

At Discovery, Dr. Diamandis will share his thoughts on how disruptive innovation (a game-changing innovation that creates new opportunities in an existing market) in exponentially growing technologies including digital manufacturing, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence and nanomaterials, will enable us to make greater gains in the next two decades than in the previous two centuries.

"As a place where innovators and investors gather to connect and learn, Discovery is the ideal venue to talk about the fact that all of the world's problems can be solved while presenting terrific business opportunities as well," says Dr. Diamandis. "I look forward to sharing my messages and hopefully inspiring people to think big."

Having obtained degrees in molecular genetics and aerospace engineering from MIT and his MD designation from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Diamandis is currently Chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, which leads the world in creating large incentive prizes to drive radical breakthroughs beneficial to humanity. The board of X Prize Foundation includes film director James Cameron, inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk, Google co-founder Larry Page and author/inventor Ray Kurzweil.

As co-founder (along with Kurzweil, a past Discovery speaker) and Chairman of the Singularity University, a Silicon Valley-based institution partnered with NASA, Google, Autodesk and Nokia, he counsels some of the world's top enterprises on exponential technologies and incentivized innovation to accelerate their business objectives.

Dr. Diamandis is also recognized as a leader in the commercial space arena having founded and run Zero Gravity Corporation, the Rocket Racing League and Space Adventures.

His 2012 book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think (co-authored with Steven Kotler) was on the New York Times best seller list for nine weeks.

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X Prize Founder, Best-Selling Author and Futurist Peter Diamandis to Make Canadian Speaking Debut at OCE's Discovery

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