|
George Dvorsky
George P. Dvorsky (born May 11, 1970) is a Canadian bioethicist, transhumanist and futurist. He is a contributing editor at io9 and producer of the ''Sentient Developments'' blog and podcast. He was chair of the board for the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) and is the founder and chair of the IEET's Rights of Non-Human Persons Program, a group that is working to secure human-equivalent rights and protections for highly sapient animals. He also serves on the Advisory Council of METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence). Dvorsky is a secular Buddhist, progressive environmentalist, ancestral health advocate, and animal rights activist. Primarily concerned with the ethical and sociological impacts of emerging technologies, specifically, "human enhancement" technologies; he seeks to promote open discussion for the purposes of education and foresight. He writes and speaks on a wide range of topics, including technoscience, ethics, existential risks, artifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bioethicist
Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethics, ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, medicine, and technologies. It proposes the discussion about moral discernment in society (what decisions are "good" or "bad" and why) and it is often related to medical policy and practice, but also to broader questions as Biophysical environment, environment, well-being and public health. Bioethics is concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, theology and philosophy. It includes the study of values relating to primary care, other branches of medicine ("primary care ethics, the ethics of the ordinary"), ethical education in science, animal, and environmental ethics, and public health. Etymology The term ''bioethics'' (Greek language, Greek , "life" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) refers to hypothetical intelligent extraterrestrial life. No such life has ever been verifiably observed to exist. The question of whether other inhabited worlds might exist has been debated since ancient history. The modern form of the concept emerged when the Copernican Revolution demonstrated that the Earth was a planet revolving around the Sun, and other planets were, conversely, other worlds. The question of whether other inhabited planets or moons exist was a natural consequence of this new understanding. It has become one of the most speculative questions in science and is a central theme of both science fiction and popular culture. An alternative name for it is "Extraterrestrial Technological Instantiations" (ETI). The term was coined to avoid the use of terms such as "civilizations", "species", and "intelligence", as those may prove to be ambiguous and open to interpretation, or simply inapplicable in its local context. Intelligence In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Plait
Philip Cary Plait (born September 30, 1964), also known as The Bad Astronomer, is an American astronomer, skeptic, and popular science blogger. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical objects, as well as engaging in public outreach advocacy for NASA missions. He has written three books, '' Bad Astronomy'', '' Death from the Skies'', and '' Under Alien Skies''. He has also appeared in several science documentaries, including '' How the Universe Works'' on the Discovery Channel. From August 2008 through 2009, he served as president of the James Randi Educational Foundation. Additionally, he wrote and hosted episodes of '' Crash Course'' Astronomy, which aired its last episode in 2016. Early life Plait grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. He has said he became interested in astronomy when his father brought home a telescope when Plait was 5 years old or so. According to Plait, he "aimed it at Saturn that night. One look, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The company is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. Sherry Phillips is the current CEO of Forbes as of January 1, 2025. Published eight times per year, ''Forbes'' feature articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. It also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics, and law. It has an international edition in Asia as well as editions produced under license in 27 countries and regions worldwide. The magazine is known for its lists and rankings, including its lists of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400, ''Forbes'' 400), of 30 notable people under the age of 30 (the Forbes 30 Under 30, ''Forbes'' 30 under 30), of America's wealthiest celebrities, of the world's top companies (the Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dyson Spheres
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its Solar power, power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy requirements once those requirements exceed what can be generated from the home planet's resources alone. Because only a tiny fraction of a star's energy emissions reaches the surface of any orbiting planet, building structures encircling a star would enable a civilization to harvest far more energy. The first modern imagining of such a structure was by Olaf Stapledon in his science fiction novel ''Star Maker'' (1937). The concept was later explored by the physicist Freeman Dyson in his 1960 paper "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation". Dyson speculated that such structures would be the logical consequence of the escalating energy needs of a technological civilization and would be a necessity for its long-t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megascale Engineering
Megascale engineering (or macro-engineering) is a form of exploratory engineering concerned with the construction of structures on an enormous scale. Typically these structures are at least in length—in other words, at least one megameter, hence the name. Such large-scale structures are termed megastructures. In addition to large-scale structures, megascale engineering is also defined as including the transformation of entire planets into a human-habitable environment, a process known as terraforming or planetary engineering. This might also include transformation of the surface conditions, changes in the planetary orbit, and structures in orbit intended to modify the energy balance. Astroengineering is the extension of ''megascale engineering'' to megastructures on a stellar scale or larger, such as Dyson spheres, Ringworlds, and Alderson disks. Several megascale structure concepts such as Dyson spheres, Dyson swarms, and Matrioshka brains would likely be built upon sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Journal Of The British Interplanetary Society
The ''Journal of the British Interplanetary Society'' (''JBIS'') is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1934. The journal covers research on astronautics and space science and technology, including spacecraft design, nozzle theory, launch vehicle design, mission architecture, space stations, lunar exploration, spacecraft propulsion, robotic and crewed exploration of the Solar System, interstellar travel, interstellar communications, extraterrestrial intelligence, philosophy, and cosmology. It is published monthly by the British Interplanetary Society. History The journal was established in 1934 when the British Interplanetary Society was founded. The inaugural editorial stated: The first issue was only a six-page pamphlet, but has the distinction of being the world's oldest surviving astronautical publication. Notable papers Notable papers published in the journal include: * The B.I.S Space-Ship, H.E.Ross, ''JBIS'', 5, pp. 4–9, 1939 * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Search For Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence
The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (usually shortened as SETI) is an expression that refers to the diverse efforts and scientific projects intended to detect extraterrestrial signals, or any evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. Researchers use methods such as monitoring electromagnetic radiation, searching for optical signals, and investigating potential extraterrestrial artifacts for any signs of transmission from civilizations present on other planets. Some initiatives have also attempted to send messages to hypothetical alien civilizations, such as NASA's Golden Record. Modern SETI research began in the early 20th century after the advent of radio, expanding with projects like Project Ozma, the Wow! signal detection, and the Breakthrough Listen initiative; a $100 million, 10-year attempt to detect signals from nearby stars, announced in 2015 by Stephen Hawking and Yuri Milner. Since the 1980s, international efforts have been ongoing, with community led proje ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitive Election, elections while more expansive or maximalist definitions link democracy to guarantees of civil liberties and human rights in addition to competitive elections. In a direct democracy, the people have the direct authority to Deliberation, deliberate and decide legislation. In a representative democracy, the people choose governing officials through elections to do so. The definition of "the people" and the ways authority is shared among them or delegated by them have changed over time and at varying rates in different countries. Features of democracy oftentimes include freedom of assembly, freedom of association, association, personal property, freedom of religion and freedom of speech, speech, citizenship, consent of the governe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashley X
The Ashley Treatment refers to a controversial set of medical procedures performed on an American child, "Ashley X". Ashley, born in 1997, has severe developmental disabilities due to static encephalopathy; she is assumed to be at an infant level mentally, but continues to grow physically. The treatment included growth attenuation via high-dose estrogens, hysterectomy, bilateral breast bud removal, and appendectomy. In June 2016, after 18 years of searching, Ashley's condition was determined to be the result of a ''de novo'' (not inherited, i.e. a mutation) and non-mosaic single-nucleotide polymorphism in the GRIN1 gene, which is implicated in neurotransmission. The principal purpose of the treatment was to improve Ashley's quality of life by limiting her growth in size, eliminating menstrual cramps and bleeding, and preventing discomfort from large breasts. The combination of the surgery and the estrogen therapy attracted much public comment and ethical analysis in early 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth List of governors of California, governor of and then-incumbent List of United States senators from California, United States senator representing California) and his wife, Jane Stanford, Jane, in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., Leland Jr. The university admitted its first students in 1891, opening as a Mixed-sex education, coeducational and non-denominational institution. It struggled financially after Leland died in 1893 and again after much of the campus was damaged by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Following World War II, university Provost (education), provost Frederick Terman inspired an entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial culture to build a self-sufficient local industry (later Silicon Valley). In 1951, Stanfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
