Minecraft conveyor belt schematic download

I've uploaded a small map that contains the conveyor belt for people to download.

Commentary on "Why the future doesn't need us"

I want to remember these points in case I ever have the opportunity to work on Skynet. This is my commentary, with reference to "Why the future doesn't need us" by Bill Joy.

The author begins with a request that the reader assume that machine intelligence will progress to a point where machines can do many things better than humans can. Indeed, this has already happened in many domains and the chest of activities which “only humans” can perform becomes emptier each year. The assumption does not seem all that unreasonable.

If robots become better at doing everything that humans used to do, then where does that leave humankind? The answer may arise from examining the history of technology. The original Luddites were textile artisans who were replaced by steam machines which operated at drastically higher efficiencies. The Luddites protested by vandalizing the machines which had replaced them, but their rebellion was quickly suppressed by the British government. At this point in history, humans were no longer the best at producing large amounts of textile goods. Even today, no human could possibly compete with even a modest mass-production machine. The only hope for a human artisan would be in producing a higher quality good for customers. A human can add value by making something that is more artistic or of an especially high quality in the eyes of their customers. For example, some people would pay more for a handmade rug because they know that there will be some tiny flaws that a machine would not produce.

This begs the question then, if robots eventually become more skilled at producing everything, then will humans not all be forced into the position of the Luddites?  The simplest human efforts have been replaced first, but this does not mean that humanity’s highest cognitive functions are safe. What if machines become capable of outputting musical masterpieces which can express the most guarded emotions of human existence, then will there ever be need for another Mozart? If machines are one day able to instantly generate doleful verse which evoke great feeling within the reader, will humankind need another Shakespeare? If machines are, some day, more capable at sharing profound love with a person, would this person ever yearn to speak to a human again? The answers are clear; humankind would become obsolete.

Alternatively, one might envisage an opposite future in which the machines become superior in their capacity for destruction. This is also one of humanity’s strong suits. If the robots grow beyond human control, perhaps they will decide that the paramount experiences of human existence are inefficient and pointless. Perhaps artistic expression, love, creativity and the other joys of being alive will become obsolete before humans do.

Ironically, it is the very nature of humankind to blossom towards its own obsolescence. Human creativity uses old ideas to spit out newer, better ideas. The unquestionable tenet of continued progress drives humans to accept and become familiar with new technologies. In the past, implements of destruction were of relatively small impact and could only affect their local surroundings. The unrelenting progress of humankind has allowed for previously unimaginable destructive power, especially in the 20^th century, but these technologies were difficult to acquire and exploit. In the 21^st century, there will be and already are beginning to be readily available tools to allow almost anyone to make a weapon of mass destruction.

For example, consider the impact of robotics in the field of 3D printing. As this technology develops, people will increasingly be able to manufacture almost anything within the comfort of their own home, perhaps even dangerous weapons if not properly controlled. Over fifty years ago, Churchill said, “The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences.” Because the rate of technological innovation is growing faster than exponentially, the article is wise to point out that humanity’s methods for safeguarding the technology against unethical exploitation simply cannot keep up. As the power of technology grows, so too do its associated risks. Technology is in the 21^st century and moving quickly whereas the goals of this technology are usually undefined. Humanity follows a path of technological determinism. Technology dictates how humans shall live their lives; it does not seek to better the way that humans currently live.

The article quotes an interesting point made by Oppenheimer after the development of the atomic bomb. He said, “It is not possible to be a scientist unless you believe that the knowledge of the world, and the power which this gives, is a thing which is of intrinsic value to humanity, and that you are using it to help in the spread of knowledge and are willing to take the consequences.” Perhaps some scientists succumb to an almost religious faith in believing that all new knowledge will improve the human condition. It is not unreasonable to think so; for a long time, it was generally true. With the development of robotics, humans must hold this notion not as a belief, but as a theory which must be tested against real experience. Robotic technology has the potential to serve humanity, but also to endanger it. Carl Sagan described two types of civilizations: one which would be able to survive the dangers of technological growth through reasonable restraint; by determining what ought to be and what ought never to be, and one which could not control its technological surge and would be wiped out like so many other species in evolutionary history. We humans have the intelligence to be the latter, but let us hope that we will have the wisdom to be the former.

Breakthrough

After nine hours in the robotics lab today, we had a breakthrough and the quadrotor can control its height on its own. It still does so rather aggressively, but with a bit of tweaking and fine-tuning that can be fixed.

We're planning to film some of our next crashes because they are hilarious to watch. We had our most violent crash to day when we tried to switch on our pitch and roll controller during flight. The quadrotor flipped over and headbutted the ground at high speed. Good thing it has a geodesic shield.

Don't forget

"A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to leave alone." - Thoreau

Hydroelectric nets

Today marked the beginning of a class about electric power distribution networks and devices and it made me think about hydroelectric generation. The professor was briefly describing the basic block components of a hydroelectric power dam and it made me wonder if there are any examples in nature of organisms which live off of the flow of a churning river. Are there any plants or bacteria which could produce a voltage? A fuel perhaps?

I pictured a babbling brook with an biological weave of cells spread perpendicularly across to gather the energy of the moving water in some way. It doesn't seem like this idea could compete for large-scale power production on par with a massive hydroelectric dam. Instead, maybe it could be used to power remote small-scale facilities. In any case, it would be an interesting thing to look into.

I don't think the net would block the entire river, instead of would just try to leech off of its flow. If the idea is efficient enough, it probably exists in nature in some way. I'll have to ask somebody who studies living things much more than I do.

Keeping Creative

Being creative is really important: both in business and in play. I've been trying to learn new ways to be more creative, to record my ideas and try and implement them in some way through inventing. This is what I've learned so far about fostering creativity:

1 - The best time to start was yesterday; the second best time to start is now.
If you come up with a new idea or a new way of doing things, don't feel as if it's too little, too late. You just need to smash your fist on your desk, jump out of your chair and say "Let's do it." If you think of a tiny way to make your life better, then do it right away! At the very least, write it down right away. That way, if you actually are extremely busy right now, you can come back to it tomorrow without forgetting your idea.

1.5 - Know your best times
Personally, I always have my best ideas and motivation when I'm trying to go to sleep. When I wake up in the morning, I always forget whatever it was that I was thinking about. But one day I punched my desk and decided that if I have night time inspiration, I'm going to jump out of bed and write it on a notepad, this blog, or even leave some sort of symbol made out of clothes on the floor so that in the morning I can remember what I was thinking about.

2 - The third best time to start will be tomorrow.
This follows from point 1.5. Everybody is creative at different times, but if your time is really inconvenient, you need to have a way to transfer your ideas so that you can use them tomorrow. If you're actually very busy and can't start an idea today, then tomorrow is the next best thing. Don't give up on it or use the crutch: "not enough time." Everybody has some amount of discretionary time and you can use it however you like. Free time does not come to you, you have to make it.

3 - Find some time to think and tinker
Boredom is creativity fertilizer. Everyone has some time in their day when they are bored and this time should be used to think about the ideas that you had when you were too busy or were trying to go to sleep or whatever, whenever.

If you ride the bus to work, for example, you can read a book that is related to your idea or perhaps one that will inspire other ideas. You could think about problems you see every day. If you can stop and think about some problems that you see each day, then you will have something from which solutions can flow. They don't have to be important problems. Your ideas don't have to be 'good'. They are just ideas. Ideas are only good or bad according to somebody else with a different idea.

An effective way to protect your ideas from yourself is to remember this mantra: "To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." It doesn't matter what idea you have. Somebody will think that it's gold and somebody will think that it's trash. The point is that neither of them are right. The idea is what you make of it.

4 - To get a good idea, have lots of ideas
Even if you don't manage to make something of even a majority of your ideas, it doesn't matter. Keep having ideas and keep trying them on for size. There is a perception that brilliant people just think of brilliant ideas and suddenly know what to do with them. This just isn't so. "To get a good idea, have lots of ideas."

If you judge your ideas harshly when they are young and weak, then they will never grow into anything worthwhile. You need to protect them until they can protect themselves.

5 - Get rid of the unimportant stuff 
Having lots of ideas takes lots of time. You need to make time for yourself to have lots of ideas. During your reflection time that you created for yourself, you need to look at your life like a time budget and chop out the stuff that just doesn't matter. Everybody wastes time doing things that they don't really want to do or that aren't really important to them. Don't divert yourself from your ideas! You don't need to change your entire life, but start with something small.

If you don't feel like you have enough time, make a list of all of the things that you do and just destroy the least important one. Don't make excuses, just stop doing it and make it your creative time. If you spend lots of time commuting to work and then spend more time exercising later on, then exercise while you go to work. If you watch TV and then play video games, do both at the same time. Eat while you work.

You wouldn't waste money, so don't waste time.

6 - Write down your ideas
Now that you have chosen to make time to be creative, write your ideas down. Write them down. Write them down! It doesn't really make sense, but if you write them down then they become more official or realistic somehow. Everything seems more official if its on paper (but you needn't use paper). This part is vital because your aren't always going to be able to use your ideas immediately. If you write them down then they are stashed away for a future time when they may be more valuable to you. This blog is my idea stash.


7 - Share
The greatest beauty of the internet is that if you have an idea, then somebody out there probably had another idea that can complement yours in some way. The internet pulses with creativity. Use it to help you. If you have an idea and there's some part of it that you don't understand or is outside of your realm of expertise, then Google it. You should consider the internet to be an extension of your brain.

The best part about the internet for improving creativity is that it isn't a TV. You don't just sit like a zombie and suck up programming. You can input. You can contribute! That's the most important part.

Find videos or pictures or writings that inspire you in this great information bucket. Once they've inspired you, make your own! One of the greatest experiences of being alive is having someone use something you've created in some way. That's the satisfaction of sharing. Remember: it doesn't matter what you create, just create something to get yourself started. And start right now because it's the second best time to start. Be an artist in your own way.

A great example from a TED video that I saw was that of lolcats. Lolcats are probably the stupidest thing ever placed on the internet but the people who made them took the crucial step of making anything at all.

Summary
To summarize in three (four) steps:

1. Smash your fist on your desk
2. Jump out of your chair
3. Yell, "Let's do it!"
4. Do it

You'd be surprised, but the first three steps are the hardest.

Bio-mimicry: the Fountain of Ideas

I just finished reading Tyler Hamilton's Mad Like Tesla which described "underdog inventors and their relentless pursuit of clean energy."

One chapter therein was of particular interest to me: a chapter about inventions inspired through bio-mimicry. I had previously been aware of the idea of looking at nature a source for engineering design ideas, but I didn't know the proper name for it.

It occurs to me that nature could be an endless source of innovative inventions and the book provided many examples to support that notion. The coolest idea described was pioneered by a company which froze water as it spiraled down the drain in a bathtub and used the shape of the vortex to make a super-efficient propeller blade. There are innumerable applications for something that moves fluid more efficiently. If the shapes exist in nature, it's probably because they are the most efficient thing the universe could come up with, so far.

The Lily Impeller

Mad Like Tesla refers to another book called Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature which I will have to read sometime soon. The book is by Janine Benyus. It should have more examples of bio-mimicry which might inspire me further!

It seems like an excellent way to begin the process of inventing something is to ask, "What would nature do?" Nature has been doing billions of years of trial and error experiments and what's left is the best it has to offer. Asking this question to oneself seems like an excellent way to delve into a previously unknown field.

The more I learn about bio-mimicry, the simpler and more obvious it seems. I think that it will serve as a great source of creativity and insight for me in the future.