Monthly Archives: April 2017

Caryl Churchills two-hander zips along in an hour, so most evenings theres a talk scheduled beforehand. Presented with the Edinburgh international science festival, each of these conversations picks up on the playwrights theme about the meaning of identity in a hi-tech world. On the night I was there, it was social psychologist Aleks Krotoski and musician-cum-thinker Pat Kane considering the many faces we present to the real and online worlds.

Can we define ourselves as the sum total of our Facebook profiles, Twitter feeds and Instagram selfies? Is any one version of ourselves more true than the others? Or is it that, with or without technology, our sense of self has always been fluid, circumstantial and provisional?

If you leave that talk feeling uncertain of who you are, youll be set even further adrift by the teasing speculations of A Number. Directed with a crisp combination of stillness and urgency by Zinnie Harris, Churchills 2002 play begins with a simple premise: the idea that cloning could produce any amount indeed, a number of genetically identical human beings. That being the case, she asks in a sequence of fraught, unresolved encounters between genetic father and multiple sons, what would it do to the childs sense of self?

How would the cloned Bernard react if he met one of his identical brothers? Could they really be said to be the same person? How can you make sense of the world when youre not even sure youre the genuine article yourself? What role do environmental factors play in a childs developing individuality? Why do we think being unique is such a big deal anyway?

These are more than just abstract questions. Thanks to Churchills formal playfulness, we must scramble to catch up with which version of Bernard were watching at any one time. In this way, the characters uncertainty becomes our own. On the one hand there are the ethical questions about Dolly-the-sheep-style cloning; on the other are the existential questions about who we think we are.

Its dizzying stuff, not least because Fred Mellers telescopic set, with variants of the same DNA-string wallpaper appearing on successive walls, suggests we may be viewing just one austere living room among many. You can imagine cloned variations of Churchills play stretching into the distance.

Adding to the unease is the absence of women. The scenario is purposely all male. We are told about a mother, but she is long out of the picture and the cloning has taken place after her death. That leaves Peter Forbes as a father full of typically male regrets about heavy drinking and absenteeism, and Brian Ferguson as the sons who are variously angry, violent and placid.

They inhabit a masculine world, brooding, confrontational and aggressive. Giving tight, on-edge performances, Forbes and Ferguson circle and pace like caged beasts as if forever searching for the archetypal feminine balance denied them by a morally provocative technology.

At the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, until 15 April. Box office: 0131-248 4848.

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A Number review dizzying double-take on the question of cloning - The Guardian

Designed by Pierpaolo Lazzarini from Italian company Jet Capsule. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.

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A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore

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A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore

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Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea

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Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea

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The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company

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Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea

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Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi

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Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session

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A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

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A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

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A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China

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A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China

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A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China

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A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London

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A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv

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Electrification Guru Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart talks about the electric Jaguar I-PACE concept SUV before it was unveiled before the Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California, U.S

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The Jaguar I-PACE Concept car is the start of a new era for Jaguar. This is a production preview of the Jaguar I-PACE, which will be revealed next year and on the road in 2018

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Japan's On-Art Corp's CEO Kazuya Kanemaru poses with his company's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' and other robots during a demonstration in Tokyo, Japan

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Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03'

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Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' performs during its unveiling in Tokyo, Japan

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Singulato Motors co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin poses in his company's concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China

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The interior of Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China

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Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0

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A picture shows Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China

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Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo. The Connected company is a part of seven Toyota in-house companies that was created in April 2016

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A Toyota Motors employee demonstrates a smartphone app with the company's pocket plug-in hybrid (PHV) service on the cockpit of the latest Prius hybrid vehicle during Toyota's "connected strategy" press briefing in Tokyo

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An exhibitor charges the battery cells of AnyWalker, an ultra-mobile chasis robot which is able to move in any kind of environment during Singapore International Robo Expo

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A robot with a touch-screen information apps stroll down the pavillon at the Singapore International Robo Expo

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An exhibitor demonstrates the AnyWalker, an ultra-mobile chasis robot which is able to move in any kind of environment during Singapore International Robo Expo

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Robotic fishes swim in a water glass tank displayed at the Korea pavillon during Singapore International Robo Expo

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An employee shows a Samsung Electronics' Gear S3 Classic during Korea Electronics Show 2016 in Seoul, South Korea

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Visitors experience Samsung Electronics' Gear VR during the Korea Electronics Grand Fair at an exhibition hall in Seoul, South Korea

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Amy Rimmer, Research Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, demonstrates the car manufacturer's Advanced Highway Assist in a Range Rover, which drives the vehicle, overtakes and can detect vehicles in the blind spot, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire

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Chris Burbridge, Autonomous Driving Software Engineer for Tata Motors European Technical Centre, demonstrates the car manufacturer's GLOSA V2X functionality, which is connected to the traffic lights and shares information with the driver, during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire

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Ford EEBL Emergency Electronic Brake Lights is demonstrated during the first demonstrations of the UK Autodrive Project at HORIBA MIRA Proving Ground in Nuneaton, Warwickshire

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Full-scale model of 'Kibo' on display at the Space Dome exhibition hall of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center, in Tsukuba, north-east of Tokyo, Japan

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Miniatures on display at the Space Dome exhibition hall of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Tsukuba Space Center, in Tsukuba, north-east of Tokyo, Japan. In its facilities, JAXA develop satellites and analyse their observation data, train astronauts for utilization in the Japanese Experiment Module 'Kibo' of the International Space Station (ISS) and develop launch vehicles

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The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to the music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight. At this biennial event, the participating companies exhibit their latest service robotic technologies and components

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The robot developed by Seed Solutions sings and dances to music during the Japan Robot Week 2016 at Tokyo Big Sight

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Government and industry are working together on a robot-like autopilot system that could eliminate the need for a second human pilot in the cockpit

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Aurora Flight Sciences' technicians work on an Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automantion System (ALIAS) device in the firm's Centaur aircraft at Manassas Airport in Manassas, Va.

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Stefan Schwart and Udo Klingenberg preparing a self-built flight simulator to land at Hong Kong airport, from Rostock, Germany

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Facebook friend requests from dead people hint at horrifying truth of 'profile cloning' - The Independent

Lucknow: Probe in the mass cloning cyber fraud has thrown up names of four bank branches in the city. For the past 10 days, Hazratganj-based cyber cell has been flooded with complaints about fraudulent transactions through debit card even though the ATM card remained in possession of the victims throughout. It was found that the money was withdrawn in Vadodara, Gujarat, in all the cases and a majority of transactions were valued Rs 40,000. The fraud occurred between April 1 and 5. As at least 60 complaints have been received, police coordinated with the bank. "The customers who have been targeted had savings account in one of the four branches which are located at Ashok Marg, Jawahar Bhawan, Secretariat or Aminabad," said in-charge of the cell, VVS Sirohi. The chief manager of the said bank, Ashish Mishra, is expected to furnish details of all such cases in the next few days. Though cloning is becoming commonplace with the use of skimmers at commercial establishments, securing PINs is not possible without placing snooping devices inside ATM booths. "The only ways to go about this kind of a fraud is either by installing some electronic devices at ATM booths or by hacking into the database of the bank," said additional superintendent Triveni Singh who heads the cyber wing of the special task force.

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Probe shows cloning victims had a/c in four branches | Lucknow ... - Times of India