humanity
The evolution of humanity, from one advancement to the next.
Seeing Through Doors
Sometimes when the door opened, it coincided with another door at the end of the hall opening. When that happened, if Desset pressed himself against the far wall, he could see outside. The glimpse never lasted more than a couple of seconds, but even the briefest image of yellow sunlight on white pavement and neatly trimmed green grass lingered in his mind for days. At night, when he was locked in place, he dreamed of wind in his hair and warmth on his face. He always woke from these dreams in tears, gnashing his teeth to keep from wailing.
By Jeffrey Aaron Miller9 years ago in Futurism
The Philosophy of Westworld
Michael Crichton wrote and directed Westworld for the big screen in 1973. That same decade, in 1976, an adjunct professor named Julian Jaynes made the bestseller list with a surprising title: The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. You wouldn’t think that a book with a name like that would become such a popular success. Yet, there it was. In 2016, when Westworld came to the small screen in the re-imagined HBO series, you wouldn’t imagine Jaynes getting heard from again. Especially since bicameralism wasn’t even mentioned in the Michael Crichton’s original film. Yet, there he was. Early on in Westworld’s first season Dr. Ford, one of the creators of the park, explains how he and his co-founder Arnold used a “debunked” theory about the origins of consciousness to bootstrap A.I. The scientific community didn’t recognize bicameralism as an explanation for the origins of the human mind, but, as Dr. Ford suggests, it could be useful for building an artificial one. Thousands of people—perhaps more—started Googling for “bicameral mind.” Bloggers and YouTube channels capitalized on the sudden interest by writing articles and introductory videos about this weird, arguably psychedelic theory of consciousness. Suddenly everyone was interested.
By Jeremy Johnson9 years ago in Futurism
My Out of Body Experience
My out-of-body experience happened when I was four years old. I nearly died in the hospital. I saw no angel. No Jesus. No Moses. I did encounter a light. It had a voice without words. Was it my mother's essence? I wondered as I grew older and learned of possibilities. I spoke with the light and it told me to stay on Earth. I wasn't finished yet. I needed to do some work. I needed to tell my story. I complied. I'm still here.
By Bennett Litwin9 years ago in Futurism
Telepathy and Quantum Physics
Telepathy is one of the ten magical gifts I have been told by several medicine men and women that we will soon be capable of receiving. Since we are all at different stages in our evolutionary process, I believe we will each be able to receive telepathy only after we have evolved to the point we are capable of practicing it with love and benevolence. Even so, every gift can also become a curse. Our gifts can be double-edged swords we can either use to advance our species or to destroy it. Life is far more precarious than most of us are aware and we must be vigilant to defend its dignity and sanctity.
By Hyapatia Lee9 years ago in Futurism
Lessons from The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror
The social commentary and criticism found across episodes of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror invite viewers to self-reflect on their own social judgments. In particular, The Twilight Zone’s “The Eye of the Beholder” (1960) and Black Mirror’s “Men Against Fire” (2016) both raise awareness to public fears of those who are deemed different or abnormal.
By Erica McCrystal9 years ago in Futurism
The Shadowvectors Present The Jokeress
Welcome to the world of The Jokeress The Jokeress is a STATE of MIND. We humans are constantly told how to dress, how to look, and how to act. The Jokeress is an ebook and paperback series on the subject of obsession. It is how far our obsessions can drive us. It also reminds us of how we can search for things we already have. All we have to do is find the nearest mirror and stare into it.
By Bryan Follins9 years ago in Futurism
Ad Valorem
Carol was nervous. The taxman was coming to visit. Or, more precisely, the Identity Authentication Technician. She’d dreaded the visit for weeks. But it was inevitable because of the anniversary. Her property tax bill had been “frozen” when she reached 65, early in the 21st century—50 years ago. It was the responsibility of the IA tech to verify she really was the “grandfathered” Carol Garland and not a child or other relative trying to cheat the taxman. “Carol” smiled uneasily as she drove into Dallas. “Frozen taxes” was a rather ironic phrase in this context, insofar as the genetic material she needed to retrieve was in self-contained cryobox.
By Lou Antonelli9 years ago in Futurism
Communication with Extraterrestrials
In 1974 a message was sent into space, known as the “Arecibo” message. It was put together by Carl Sagan and his colleagues and was sent into space via radio waves at a special ceremony to celebrate the remodeling of the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico. It was the most powerful broadcast ever deliberately beamed out into space. The message was directed at a star cluster sitting approximately 25,000 light years away and consisted of a pictorial message. The radio signal depicted our planet’s location in our solar system, the core principles of our math and science, and the NASA antenna used to transmit the signal. It was hoped that it would be interpreted by an extraterrestrial intelligence. The message also included details about human beings, such as our physical appearance and DNA code.
By Hyapatia Lee9 years ago in Futurism
Our Stellar Family
I was taught by my elders that there are twelve members of our ancestral family in the stars and three are directly involved in our planetary family. To be clear, all these Star People are living sentient beings in a physical form. These are not gods or angels, although many people throughout the past have confused them as such. When we are able to communicate with these beings, we will still be in physical form, just as our human ancestors were centuries ago. If we learn these gifts through the help of others, it will in all likelihood be with the direct help of the Star People. There are many legends that tell of Star People bringing us the gift of fire.
By Hyapatia Lee9 years ago in Futurism
Aliens and Native Americans
Native Americans have many legends of UFOs and aliens or Star People, just as we can find in other places around the world. From flying ships in India called vimanas to the Nephilim of the Bible, stories of beings coming to Earth from the stars abound. Egyptian carvings show what look like helicopters and airplanes. When a metal model airplane found in ancient South American ruins is built to scale, it can actually fly. Erich Von Daniken wrote Chariots of the Gods in 1968 in which he explored the Nazca lines in Peru. The pictures the Nazca lines form are only visible from the air, yet how were they designed and created centuries before flight? How do we explain all of these stories and artifacts?
By Hyapatia Lee9 years ago in Futurism
