Thanks, Rick.

The "stuff of stars" is a thought of wonder and mystery.

Yes, John, we are all part of the problem and the solution. We focus on corporations because of their size, control and power.

Jim

Dear James Lee Hoover,

We seem to agree that, as you say in your essay, "political leaders act as corporate agents." However you seem to place the problem at the feet of corporations. I don't see it that way. Corporate officers are responsible to their stockholders and don't take an oath to uphold the law and defend our rights. Neither do they have the power to put me in a cage, or execute me, or even take taxes from me at the point of a gun, all of which is pretty absolute power. So I see corporations as simply taking advantage of the corruption of those with the real power. Of course those with the real power are happy to place blame elsewhere. Along these lines you say there is no world force with authority to "assure a vibrant future" and say it should be in the hands of "people with integrity". There, of course, lies the problem. Where do you find them and how discern them?

We do agree that the universe in our own individual minds is not under control of bureaucracy. I agree fully, and that is the basis upon which I propose a 'pay to learn' system that bears no resemblance to the "training that has already been tried". Unfortunately lack of space presented my developing this model.

You discuss "green technology" as "A Noble Plan" and seemed to conclude that the massive undertakings of ethanol and wind power represent cautionary tales. I very much agree. You seem also to be wary of current scientific perspectives. If so we agree here also. There are far to many anomalies and far to many unproven theories taken seriously today that, in my opinion, will be shown to be quite mistaken in the end. (Or even before the end!)

I would not bet on quantum computing as the answer either.

If your suggestion is that the answer lies in the freedom of the individual's mind, I think we are in firm agreement.

Finally, it's difficult to know how much our environment affects our thoughts. I believe you live in the LA area, while I live on a ranch. We see very different things every day.

My best regards,

Edwin Eugene Klingman

7 days later

Thank you for reading my essay.

I think, like you, that the science has not ethics, it is a tool for good, or evil, scientists; and the example of the ants is perfect: there is a objective of the colony that must be achieved, and the genetic, the reasoning, and the tools are used for the survival of the species.

I think, like you, that when some corporation have the power to influence the choice of the democracy, then it is a problem for the corporations, and for the people: the right decision is a decision that improve the conditions of the people, if there are methods to influence the politics so that this objective is not obtained (unlike the ants) then this is a short term victory, because the results are evidents in a long term time, and the corporation build their own collapse.

I think, like you, that some technological choice (to steer the future) have to be weighted with the scientific method, without non ideological bias, so that can be evaluated each single effect (like a medicine).

Your essay is a good essay.

Thank you, Domenico. We seem to be stuff of the same star.

Jim

James, thanks for the comment on my essay. Yes, in your I can see similar paths leading to shared conclusions.

Hope you do well in the contest.

Don Chisholm

    Dear James

    Many thanks for your comments on my essay. I also enjoyed reading yours and you have touched on many important points. One can sense your insights have been built upon much experience and reflection.

    I agree with your statement: "cultural systems of belief can freeze perspective as well as views of science and natural laws it is built on".

    If you have not already done so, please also read the essay by Walter Putnam. I believe his ideas on "compassion" being the guiding principle in future human affairs adds much to the discussion about steering humanity's future.

    I also look forward to reading your novel: "Extraordinary Visitors" which I see is available on Amazon.

    Best regards,

    Arthur

    Hi James,

    I'm afraid that I came away from your essay without a clear idea of what you were suggesting. You cover many interesting points, but what recommendation are you giving about how humanity should steer the future?

    Thanks,

    Daniel

    Jim,

    I enjoyed reading your article. Your skepticism of leadership is well grounded and relevant. You say that "the past can be a teacher" - I couldn't agree more. Many of the problems you mention have their counterparts in the past, if only in a milder fashion. The past can also offer possible solutions. This is perhaps where the ideas in our essays overlap most.

    Jens

    Hi Jim,

    Thanks for laying out clearly some of the most vexing problems of our time--and for focusing on the ultimate importance of the mind in the quest for solutions. Nevertheless, I would have liked some exploration of what you want to the mind to do in the quest for solutions. In our essay (on which you kindly commented), we suggest that thinking and teaching have produced essential advances, but that those advances have just about run their course. We believe that it is time to focus resources on engineering and leveraging the greatest resource we currently have at our disposal: the human mind. In summary, we're glad you understand the fundamental importance of the mind and hope you agree that there is no strategy as powerful as maximizing the mind's abilities through recursive self improvement.

    All the best,

    Preston

    Dear James,

    You have a nice essay, with a noble goal of applying scientific discoveries for the global betterment of mankind. How should it be implemented across nations, in a systematic fashion, for nations do not share wealth and resources, and disparity between the rich and poor societies seems here to stay, unless there are sweeping changes in our value systems?

    Kind regards,

    Tejinder

      Dear Jim, dear Tejinder,

      Let me try to simultaneously answer the question by Jim at 2021 and your question to him. Indeed, I almost completely agree with you both. We are however focusing on different aspects. I don't like science fiction, and sometimes my position is slightly different. For instance, Jim wrote:

      "Though [Newton's] ideas flew in the face of the dominant religion, the force of curiosity and learning progressed so that his concept of gravity helped pave the way for the Industrial Revolution, one vital discovery being steam power, which finally led to the locomotive and other steam-powered engines of commerce."

      The steam engine goes back to the curiosity of Otto de Guericke [1602-1686] who demonstrated that the pressure of air can move a piston. Newton [1642-1727] and his concept of gravity were not required for Huygens, Papin, Newcomen and Watt, Lenoir, Otto, Benz, and Diesel.

      While we all agree: "we must join the effort to steer humanity toward a non-suicidal future", I don't see this a question of "applying scientific discoveries for the global betterment of mankind." Following Alfred Nobel's logic, I rather see the steering already in the scientific progress itself. For instance, invented and worldwide available possibilities of contraception will help ordinary people in poor nations with too much children getting as rich as those with less children. Of course, acceptance of this means a very basic change in our value systems, something worth to be dealt with by FQXi. I was told, the newly elected ruler of India was born into a low caste and admires Otto v. Bismarck. The latter was worldwide the first to implement care insurance for all elderly workers. Under Muslim rule, as many children as possible are still considered necessary for feeding their parents.

      Kindest regards,

      Eckard

      Dear Jim,

      It is a pleasure to re-meet you here in FQXi. I have read your Essay also this year, and, again, I have found it very beautiful. Here are my comments/questions:

      1) I like your suggestion that humans should act like wise ants.

      2) I agree with you that dogma and orthodoxy often freeze perspective as well as views of science and natural laws. In my opinion, there are no dogmas in science and I am all in favour of being open minded about alternatives to current orthodoxy, but they must be properly formulated and plausible scientific proposals.

      3) The issue that corporate society now controls the steering, putting corporate interest ahead of common good is the worst problem of the current era.

      4) I like very much your pointing out that Newton's concept of gravity helped pave the way for the Industrial Revolution with all its healthy consequences on the global world. This endorses my current Essay which concerns the importance of quantum gravity.

      5) Concerning alternative sources of energy, what do you think on nuclear energy?

      7) I am not completely convinced that Higgs Boson has been really detected at LHC.

      You wrote an enjoyable Essay also this year. I will give you an high score.

      I wish you best luck in the Contest.

      Cheers,

      Ch.

      James,

      I apologize for taking so long to get around to your excellent essay. I think in the whole it truthfully reflects the deep value of " ... a portable, self-contained, and self-owned domain--the individual mind."

      Obviously, we share the same liberal ideals. Yet I more than appreciate the support of facts that you bring to the party -- baring the unintended consequences of forcing issues to fit ideals, rather than allowing ideals to guide the issues.

      Thanks for the thoughtful analysis. High mark from me.

      Best,

      Tom

      Dear Tim,

      I ahve read with great interest your essay.

      The historical review is interesting and is indeed steering our future because we are "infected" by it so we think that "history repeats itself" and so on, furthermore it seems as if we are imprisoned in our history because we cannot change it any more.

      In my perception there is however a possibility "change" reality in the way of being able to "hop" between the "Eternal Now Moments" in "Total Simultaneity", in my latest article (is in preview for Cosmology by Deepak Chopra) I introduce away to use a quantum computer (the same one as you mention on page 6) to open the immediate access of 2^512 answers...

      here is the text :

      quote

      5. Time-Travel Becomes "ETERNAL -NOW- MOMENT HOPPING"

      The splitting in the original Many Worlds I interpretation goes only forward in time, not backwards. In our conception it IS possible that our consciousness "activates" Eternal Now Moments from other time/life-lines (or from parallel available universes) . Should this mean that time travel is possible ? Yes but...should we call this phenomenon time-travel ?

      What we are understanding as time-travel in this causal time/life line always leads to the well-known paradoxes like killing your grand-father. (What a mentality !!!) These paradoxes however are no longer problematic when we apply the perception of Total Simultaneity. Then time-travel in the past and/or the future would become ENM-Hopping, and the so called "physical" time/life-line (in our memory) continues normally. Our consciousness is able not only to hop from one ENM to another but also line up these ENM's and in this way creating for itself the best possible past and future, Real Free Will resides in TS.

      The extension of our Free Will lies in the extension of our consciousness and so in a closer contact with our NCC in order to realize more choices in the ENM availabilities. We think that the a future coupling of the quantum-computer and our brain will be an opening.

      In the article "Quantum Coherence in Brain Microtubules..." 16 Prof. Nick E. Mavromatos, proposed that :

      "For the first time there is concrete evidence for quantum entanglement over relatively large distances in living matter at ambient temperature, which suggests a rather non-trivial role of quantum physics in path optimization for energy and information transport" :

      (http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/329/1/012026) (14) ,

      It becomes clear that quantum entanglement and decoherence time, which are for the construction and the operational qualities of quantum computers the main issues, these qualities are are already available in our own brains inside the Cell Microtubules (MT).

      (decoherence = The particles that make up a computer interact with surroundings, so that information is spreading out, which means: this effect is spoiling quantum computations, (to decohere = lose their quantum properties)).

      Regarding the "macroscopic" aspect : Recent experiments on atoms in salt crystals have shown that an amount of 1020 atoms formed a hugely entangled state. Vlatko Vedral in "Living in a Quantum World" (Scientific American , June 2011) and "Progress Article Quantifying entanglement in Macroscopic Systems" (June 2008 Nature 453, 1004-1007 : http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7198/full/nature07124.html .(21). Quantum Bit Storage is advancing not only in the macroscopic way but now also scientists have succeeded to retrieve coherent information for extended times (39 minutes) at room-temperature. See Kamyar Saeedi et al in "Room-Temperature Quantum Bit Storage Exceeding 39 Minutes Using Ionized Donors in Silicon-28" http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6160/830 (22)

      Our brains are RWA (Ready Willing and Able) to perform quantum states that when brought in coherence with a quantum computer. This will enable us to realize "ENM-Hopping".

      unquote

      If you are interested i will sent you the whole article on your private mail that you can sent to me on mine : wilhelmus.d@orange.fr

      as attachment there is a scheme of this ENM Hopping...

      Thanks for your respected attention

      WilhelmusAttachment #1: 1_figure_4_ENM_HOPPER.jpg

      Dear James,

      Thank you for calling attention to your essay. I don't know how I had missed it. This reads like the summary of an entire book; you touch on so many important ideas but then are compelled by space to go on to another. Still, you managed an articulate and compelling case for science and technology to "steer" the future. The challenge seems to be keeping those out of the grips of the corporatism that threatens to consume the planet in its quest for ever increasing profit at the expense of the humanity that science should serve. The Lockheed plane you cite is a shocking example. Fortunately, the human spirit is something that may be damaged or deterred but can never be destroyed -- at least by man. The refuge of the mind, of imagination and ideas, is always there. That is where the vision springs, so perhaps the people will not perish after all.

      Dear James

      Just to let you know that I have read your essay which I found well thought and well written. Your work gives a nice account of how the world is run by leaders and economy and the role science plays in transforming the life of humanity. I think your work share several similarities with mine. As you realize, countries pursue their ways to achieve their own goals and as long as this competition continues the world will be dragged into this game. I do not see if this is world for humanity or not.

      Good luck in the contest

      Best Regards

      Israel

      Hi Jim,

      I got your message, thanks for the reminder. There have been so many essays to read, and time is indeed getting short.

      I enjoyed your essay immensely. It had me captivated and engaged throughout, which cannot be said for all of them. You deserve the high rating I am about to give. I also enjoyed the opening passages of your intriguing book, and I look forward to reading it when time permits. I think it would be cool if we were to keep in touch after the contest. If you would like that also, my email address is foreknowledge.machines{AT}{g.m.a.i.l}.{c.o.m}.

      I wish you all the best!

      Warmly,

      Aaron