Showing posts with label fictious. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fictious. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Creative Destruction Happens Quickly; Those Who Wait End Up In The Rubble

From the just-a-warning dept - Techdirt

When we talk about the economics of industries that are in transition, such as the newspaper industry or the entertainment industry, we often point out the need to adopt new business models that embrace the economic realities those industries face. Regularly, supporters of those industries respond that it's folly to jump to a new "unproven" business model without real proof that the new business model will succeed -- especially when the old business model is still going strong. There's this belief that the companies in those industries can just hang on while everyone else experiments, and when a new business model is clear, they can comfortably make the switch and everything will be fine. And, it is true, that even disintermediated businesses have a history of sticking around and throwing off cash for a long time after the disruptive technology disintegrates their foundations.

Yet, as this article in The Atlantic points out with regard to the newspaper industry, when "the end" comes,
it comes amazingly fast. It is true that old industries can hang on for a while, but they reach a sort of tipping point where suddenly everyone realizes that the emperor has no clothes. And, at that point, there really isn't any time to make the necessary shift to the new business model. Instead, there's just bankruptcy. So, sure, the record labels and the newspapers can wait it out and hang on until there's "proof" that some new business model makes sense. But, by the time that proof is there, their old business might not be.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Can Nanotechnology make man immortal?

nanotech to prolong lives


In his novel ‘Prey’, Michael Crichton created the fictional world of nanotechnology running amok in human life. Some believe that the tiny particles have the capability of reversing the aging process in humans. Is it possible for nanotechnology or the ‘power of the small’ to make man immortal? The current trend in technology does not point to that direction but some over enthusiasts feel that some time in the distant future nanotechnologists could decode the mystery of life and death. Currently the smallest human-made particle is 20 nanometers in diameter. A human red blood cell is 10,000 nanometers in diameter. By building an autonomous robot 1/10,000th time that of a red blood cell, it would be possible to program it in such a way that the tiny robot could reverse the aging process in humans when once inserted in the body cells. The interior of the human body would then replicate an ocean of floating nanobots commanding human metabolism.

While the concept of nanobots is in the theoretical stage but nanotechnology has been expanded to anti-aging treatments by direct infusion of electrons in the skin via nano current that is equivalent to over one-billionth of an ampere. Nanotechnology is currently used widely in dermatology and in regenerative medicine research. However, nanobots have not been tested yet but some nano devices have been found to work on a number of animal specimens. It has been possible to cure type-1 diabetes in rats with a blood cell-sized device. Scientists at MIT have been able to develop microscopic devices that can remove cancer cells from the blood stream and destroy them. Given the current rate of acceleration in technology, in the next two or three decades these devices are expected to become powerful enough to work inside human cells.

Source: NanoWerk
image

Falling Prey To Machines?

ScienceDaily Falling Prey To Machines?: "It's coming, but when? From Garry Kasparov to Michael Crichton, both fact and fiction are converging on a showdown between man and machine. But what does a leading artificial intelligence expert--the world's first computer science PhD--think about the future of machine intelligence? Will computers ever gain consciousness and take over the world?"

"Comparisons between the brain and electronic hardware are also difficult to draw. For example, the issue of 'fanout' demonstrates the complexity of the brain over even today's most sophisticated computers. Fanout refers to the number of connections an element in a network can have to another element of a network. Today's most complicated computers have a fanout factor of about 10. The human brain, however, has a fanout of 10,000.

'We don't have the faintest idea of what machines with that kind of fanout would be like, so inference from the capabilities of present machines to such machines is feeble at best,' notes Holland. 'As Nobel Laureate physicist Murray Gell-Mann says, three orders of magnitude is a new science.'"

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Magnetohydrodynamic Propulsion

Motors without moving parts


In the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October (based on the Tom Clancy novel of the same name), Sean Connery plays the captain of a Russian submarine. This much I remembered from having seen the film many years ago. I did not recall that the submarine in question—the eponymous “Red October”—used a special high-tech propulsion system that, having no moving parts, was silent. I’m sure my science fiction filter was on, and I just assumed at the time that the top-secret engine was the sort of almost-plausible futuristic contrivance any modern spy movie will have—and not worth taking very seriously. Just a few years later, though, Mitsubishi demonstrated a boat using a propulsion system of roughly the design Clancy described in his novel. And now variations on this technique are being used in electrical generators, nuclear reactors, and even spacecraft design.


Gimme an “M”

The scientific principle in question is known as magnetohydrodynamics, which is a fairly straightforward combination of magneto (as in magnet), hydro (as in water), and dynamics (as in motion). Those in the biz call it MHD for short. And yes: it uses magnetism to cause motion in water (or another fluid). MHD is not by any means a new discovery—academic researchers have been working on this since at least the 1960s, and the Journal Magnetohydrodynamics has been published since 1965 by the University of Latvia. But in recent years, MHD designs have begun to appear more frequently in everything from large-scale commercial operations to high school science fair projects.


The basic concept is simple, even though it relies on some complex math and physics. When a conductive fluid (such as saltwater, liquid metal, or even plasma) is exposed to a magnetic field and an electric current at right angles to each other, their interaction propels the fluid in a direction perpendicular to the other two axes. In other words, the fluid itself functions more or less as the moving part of an electric motor.


You can demonstrate this effect on a small scale if you have a free afternoon, a few tools, and a bathtub. Take a small plastic tube and glue a pair of nice, strong magnets onto the top and bottom (opposite poles facing inward). Then glue strips of metal to the insides of the tube on the left and right; these will be the electrodes. Affix this assembly to the bottom of a small toy boat. Wire the electrodes to a fairly high-power battery (being careful, of course, to keep the battery dry), and float the entire contraption in a saturated solution of salt and water. If the battery is strong enough and the boat is small enough, it will start moving through the water.

The Solid-State Paddlewheel

Of course, if you want to power a boat large enough to hold passengers, the engines will have to be pretty large. You’re going to need some very strong magnets—think helium-cooled superconducting electromagnets—plus an awful lot of electricity to provide current to the electrodes. Even then, you may find (as Mitsubishi did) that the thrust produced is a bit underwhelming. The prototype boats were expected to reach speeds of 200 kilometers per hour, but only got up to 15 km/h. Even though MHD drives have virtually no drag (unlike propellers), the energy conversion efficiency is currently pretty low. (Had they used the same amount of electricity to power conventional motors, the boats would have gone much faster.) Further technological advances are needed to make this a practical propulsion system for marine vessels.


As far as I know, there are no submarines using such drives now, but a Red October is at least more plausible than I’d previously have suspected. However, I should point out that MHD drives are only sort of quiet. By this I mean there’s no noise from an engine or propeller, but the electrodes do produce huge numbers of bubbles—after all, this design amounts to magnetically enhanced electrolysis, and electrolysis separates water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. So a submarine with an MHD drive would not be quite as stealthy as you might imagine.

Much more promising are designs that use other kinds of fluids that conduct electricity better. For example, plasma-based propulsion systems being studied for long-distance space travel use a variation on MHD. It remains to be seen whether technological innovations will make MHD an efficient and practical means of propulsion (terrestrial or otherwise), but the mere fact that you can induce motion in a fluid without either moving parts or combustion seems incredibly cool to me. As with so many scientific discoveries, truth is much more exciting than fiction. —Joe Kissell

Monday, September 08, 2008

Distant object 'found orbiting Sun backwards'

London (PTI): Astronomers have found an object in the icy Kuiper belt, which they claim is actually orbiting the Sun backwards compared to the planets in the Solar System. An international team, led by University of British Columbia, spotted the new object, called 2008 KV42, which lies in the Kuiper belt that is a ring of icy bodies beyond outer planet Neptune. According to the astronomers, the object's orbit is inclined 103.5 to the plane of the Earth's orbit, which means that as it orbits the Sun, it actually travels in the opposite direction as the planets. Observations have revealed that the object is about 50 kilometres across and travels on a path that takes it from the distance of Uranus to more than twice that of Neptune, the 'New Scientist' reported. According to lead astronomer Brett Gladman, the object was probably born in the same place as Halley-type comets that also travel on retrograde or highly tilted orbits -- lasting between 20 and 200 years, but they come closer to the Sun.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

7 reasons why the world will end on 21/12/2012...

Wonder if its true.... all is left to be seen :)

Scientific experts from around the world are genuinely predicting that five years from now, all life on Earth could well finish. Some are saying it'll be humans that set it off. Others believe that a natural phenomenon will be the cause. And the religious folks are saying it'll be God himself who presses the stop button...


1. Mayan Calendar

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The first mob to predict 2012 as the end of the world were the Mayans, a bloodthirsty race that were good at two things:

Building highly accurate astrological equipment out of stone and
Sacrificing Virgins.

Thousands of years ago they managed to calculate the length of the lunar moon as 329.53020 days, only 34 seconds out. The Mayan calendar predicts that the Earth will end on December 21, 2012. Given that they were pretty close to the mark with the lunar cycle, it's likely they've got the end of the world right as well.

2. Sun Storms

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Solar experts from around the world monitoring the sun have made a startling discovery: our sun is in a bit of strife. The energy output of the sun is, like most things in nature, cyclic, and it's supposed to be in the middle of a period of relative stability. However, recent solar storms have been bombarding the Earth with so much radiation energy, it's been knocking out power grids and destroying satellites. This activity is predicted to get worse, and calculations suggest it'll reach its deadly peak sometime in 2012

3. The Atom Smasher

Scientists in Europe have been building the world's largest particle accelerator. Basically its a 27km tunnel designed to smash atoms together to find out what makes the Universe tick. However, the mega-gadget has caused serious concern, with some scientists suggesting that it's properly even a bad idea to turn it on in the first place. They're predicting all manner of deadly results, including mini black holes. So when this machine is fired up for its first serious experiment in 2012, the world could be crushed into a super-dense blob the size of a basketball.

4. The Bible says...

If having scientists warning us about the end of the world isn't bad enough,religious folks are getting in on the act aswell. Interpretations of the Christian Bible reveal that the date for Armageddon, the final battle between Good an Evil, has been set down for 2012. The I Ching, also known as the Chinese book of Changes, says the same thing, as do various sections of the Hindu teachings.

5. Super Volcano

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Yellowstone National Park in the United States is famous for its thermal springs and Old Faithful geyser. The reason for this is simple - it's sitting on top of the world's biggest volcano, and geological experts are beginning to get nervous sweats. The Yellowstone volcano has a pattern of erupting every 650,000 years or so, and we're many years overdue for an explosion that will fill the atmosphere with ash, blocking the sun and plunging the Earth into a frozen winter that could last up to 15,000 years. The pressure under the Yellowstone is building steadily, and geologists have set 2012 as a likely date for the big bang.

6. The Physicists

This one's case of bog-simple maths mathematics. Physicists at Berekely Uni have been crunching the numbers. and they've determined that the Earth is well overdue for a major catastrophic event. Even worse, they're claiming their calculations prove, that we're all going to die, very soon - while also saying their prediction comes with a certainty of 99 percent- and 2012 just happens to be the best guess as to when it occurs.

7. Slip-Slop-Slap-BANG!


We all know the Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field that sheilds us from most of the sun's radiation. What you might not know is that the magnetic poles we call north and south have a nasty habit of swapping places every 750,000 years or so - and right now we're about 30,000 years overdue. Scientists have noted that the poles are drifting apart roughly 20-30kms each year, much faster than ever before, which points to a pole-shift being right around the corner. While the pole shift is underway, the magnetic field is disrupted and will eventually disappear, sometimes for up to 100 years. The result is enough UV outdoors to crisp your skin in seconds, killing everything it touches.


Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Back Home - Mixed Feelings !!

Anirudh looked out of the little window on his left. He could see only clouds. He shifted restlessly in his seat and reclined back as he closed his eyes.
He was returning home after almost 3 years and was looking forward to meet all his loved ones. He was no homesick person, but the 3 year gap had left him feeling totally disconnected with everyone back home. He thought of his mother and her lip-smacking rasam, the early morning jogging with his dad, the back-slapping moments with his mates, the aimless bike rides, the night-outs at the beach...
He looked out again and saw the familiar blue of the Marina. A smile crossed his face. It was about time. The slim air hostesses prepared the cabin crew for landing. The aircraft dropped a few feet and met heavy turbulence. They circled for a few minutes until the plane got clearance for landing. Those minutes seemed longer than the 3 years. As the flight touched ground and sped along the runway,
Anirudh already had his seat belt off and was urging to grab his backpack and scoot out. He was met with a huge queue for immigration. He kept counting heads and when his turn came, he was too glad to thrust out his passport to the immigration officer. Baggage claiming tested his patience more than anything else. Every third suitcase seemed like his and when he finally spotted his, the rickety conveyor belt seemed to take ages to transport it to him.
He couldn't hold his feet once he had his luggage on the trolley. He searched the sea of faces until his eyes settled on his parents standing amidst the crowd. When he made his way out and reached where they were standing, his father pulled him into a rib cracking hug. And suddenly he felt all the years melting into nothingness. This is where he belonged. He was home at last !

Thursday, May 29, 2008

what is DEATH and what happens aftermath ?? - a scientific vantage point...

At times i keep wondering myself about death. What is death? What happens when we die? Do we enter a different world aftermath ?

There are many theories that tell there is nothing after death..... Maybe death is just a machine fails to run and all the organs just stops..... all the memories and feelings lies no further.... But the fact still remains that these are just assumptions without any proof .

But what about those whose tell about NDE's (Near Death Experience). Are they just fake or some kind of illusion ceated by Human brain What exactly happens after death. What happens to our memories? Is it similar to destroying the hard disk of a computer?

One of my friend said hey none of them can say after death wat happens??? as much as science is concern but according to religion they have diff beliefs and if sum one who belives in god can belive in these things and their r many books which co relate wat happens after death but most of them i had read r with out proof .

And then i somehow reasoned to myself Or may be life is just a form of energy present in this universe and when someone dies, this energy beomes a part of the net energy of the universe because what ever that is present in the universe is in the form of Mass-Energy. Mass occupied by that person is somehow converted into energy and then it becomes a part of this universe.

Maybe yes when we are eaten by worms and our mass is utilized as energy by worms and then it travels the whole universe by changing from one form to another.

Having said that, dont think of afterlife stories and heaven n hell it's ofcourse not you who is travelling, face it man! you are dead! which means DEAD. No, dont think of stories to reconcile you of a beautiful heaven, with 72 Virgins waiting for you.

Here I am talking about energy not about myself. There is no life after deathits all an illusion of mind for example an Englishman will see a Satan speaking english in his dreams while an indian (hindu to be more precise) will see a yamraj speakin hindi or sanskrit its all a trick of mind... get well oh man...

Thursday, April 10, 2008

The First Brain-Computer Interface for Mainstream Consumers [Neural Interface]

Have you ever wanted to control your computer with your mind? I have. And come next December maybe we will. It has been long since i've been talking about Emotiv Systems . Last February 19th they came out of the cave at the GDC’08 conference with a brand new bone, the latest version of their consumer based brain-computer interface that is quite frankly geeking me out. The headset will be marketed for the game industry and is expected to go for $299. Read on for what to expect. The features are, well, pretty unbelievable.


I’ll start off by noting that there was not one, but two companies demoing brain-computer interfaces at GDC this year. Emotiv Systems & the EPOC neuroheadset, which we’ll be focusing on here, and NeuroSky. The latter is planning on selling their sensors and technologies to partners and will not be developing a specific headset on their own (they had a demo unit at GDC just to show the functionality of their systems).




What Are Brain-Computer Interfaces and the EPOC Neuroheadset?

If you’ve read Think Artificial before, you’re probably somewhat familiar with BCIs. Brain-computer interfaces. Devices that allow us to control machines using only our minds.
The key technology is called electroencephalography (EEG). A device monitors your brain’s electrical activity via sensors on your scalp. It’s been used for medical purposes for years — and the futuristic image on the side here depicts setup for a musical brainwave performance at the Deconism Gallery in 2003, for example. The audience of a concert hooked up to the EEG devices to affect music and lighting.


However, monitoring the waves is different from detecting their patterns and using them reliable “triggers”, like Emotiv Systems’ EPOC device and software does. For this to work, two things are essentially required: The user has to practice producing a repeating, recognizable pattern. But there’s always noise (because it takes practice to be able to visualize the same image, or sequence), so the second thing is that the software deciphering the electrical activity must learn to recognize trigger waves.


Naturally, EPOC is not an invasive kind of — you won’t need a drill and pliers to use it. But you’ll still have to shave your head (just kidding).


The Emotiv EPOC Neuroheadset uses a set of sensors to tune into electric signals naturally produced by the brain to detect player thoughts, feelings and expression. It connects wirelessly with all game platforms from consoles to PCs. The Emotiv neuroheadset now makes it possible for games to be controlled and influenced by the player’s mind. [link]


Emotiv Systems have been working 4 years on R&D, and have come up with their commercially viable BCI — and at a remarkably low price considering its capabilities and that this is the first time such technology hits the market for general consumers. Which brings us to its features.

What Emotiv’s Epoc Neuroheadset Can Do

Let’s start off with an easy-digest list of features expected to be bundled in the first release of EPOC:

Wireless headset - 12 hour battery-life (playing time)
Demo Game - Makes use of- and demonstrates the headset’s features
Emortal - Access to an online hub that allows users to interact with photos and music using Epoc
The EPOC system is comprised of three main software components, each of which detects different kinds of brainwave activity.

The Affectiv suite can reportedly measure the emotional states of the user. Anger, fear, frustration. Emotiv puts forth the example that this could be used to have games increase or decrease the difficulty level depending on the player’s state of mind. The Cognitiv Suite is the control mechanism that allows players to control objects, and the Expressiv suite which measures and interpretes facial expressions of the user. The descriptions and demos are vivid, for example: You smile and thus your avatar smiles.

One of my earliest questions regarding EPOC was: can the system discern many patterns at the same time with any knowledge beforehand on what you’re trying to accomplish?

Most of what I’ve seen from their demos is task-and-turn based, where the player is moved between “phases”, each of which requires him to use one and only one specific action at a time. The Stonehenge Demo, for example, moves the player from stone to stone — but the player only applies one action to each stone (e.g. “rotate” or “lift”; not both).

Let’s elaborate. A user is inside Second Life and has created a plain box. My question is: Can the system handle rotating the box while the user is smiling/making the avatar smile? Or rotating the box, moving it a bit forward, then up — perhaps even rotating and lifting the box at the same time? Is all of this possible? Because if this were possible I’d be geeked out.

Keymap Your Brainwaves
I got mail yesterday. And I geeked out. The letter was from Emotiv reporting, amongst other things, more information on EmoKey — their software for mapping mental intention to keyboards (yes, meaning the Epoc headset will be connectable to virtually any application).
The descriptions almost sound surreal:

EmoKey Software - Use the Emotiv EPOC with your existing software

In our efforts to enabled our users, Emotiv has developed the EmoKey software application in conjunction with the Emotiv EPOC. EmoKey allows you to associate any of the Emotiv EPOC detections with keystrokes on your PC. EmoKey enables all of your existing PC software to be Emotiv EPOC compatible right out of the box! In practice, this means that you can link a “smile” detection to type the “smiley emoticon” in your chat application or link a thought, such as “rotate clockwise” to a series of keystrokes such as “a-w-d-s-a-w-d-s” to rotate your magic wand!

This appears to indicate that you can basically do any action, at any time, anywhere. Right? Well, almost. It’s not clear whether you can only “press” one button at a time (”a then w then d then s….”), or if you can press many buttons at the same time. It could even be a third case where you can press 3 buttons at a time — one from each detection suite (unlikely).

However, I can venture the guess that a feature of the EmoKey is to define a “virtual button” (if not, please spread the idea to Emotiv!). This could allow you to compose a series of virtual buttons. A specific thought could then be assigned to a series of them “ctrl+a, ctrl+w, …” instead of single physical buttons, thereby enabling you to press two buttons at the same time. Like enabling rotation of a something while smiling. This brings up the question of how many mappings there can be?

Monday, April 07, 2008

Goodbye Internet, Your Successor Is Here

The next-generation mode of communication will make the Internet obsolete as it will be
around 10,000 times faster.

Monday, April 07, 2008: Using a 2Mbps connection and thinking you are at the edge? Think again. The most loved Internet may soon look like the floppy drives of early 90s compared to the Blue-ray disc. The inventor of the Web, CERN, a Swiss organisation, is laying bricks for the next-age communication with the Grid. The Grid is supposed to be 10,000 times faster than the current connections. On the lines of the Web, the Grid will first connect leading research and academic institutions. But eventually, it will reach homes as well.

And that will be a revolution. Imagine downloading full-length movies in a matter of seconds, even before you blink your eyes. In a scenario like that online applications will definitely take over the desktop-based applications, thus leading to the online OS -- regarding which experts have had doubts hitherto. But the first ultra-high speed fibre optic cables are already being laid. So hold on to your mouse and get ready for a super-fast journey through the Web...

The emergence of the Grid will change the entire perception the way people interact with each other online. The data transfer rate will be so fast that live chats or webcams will appear to be ancient technologies -- you will actually be able to chat with each other in a 3-D manner. The two dimensional websites will come to an end, especially for online shopping and a lot more things; you will actually be able to 'wear' a dress on sites like e-Bay and see how you look in that dress in a 3-D image.

This will definitely affect the mobile communication as well, thus leading to popularity of MIDs or mobile Internet devices married with mobile phones. For gamers, it would be like a heaven where they could actually play with the hologram of other players.

The possibilities that the Grid will offer are so vast that the imagination will have to take a back seat and wait for the Grid

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Living Tissue to Power Your Computer?

A few years ago I read about an experiment that used living cortical neurons from a rat brain to perform calculations. More specifically, the neurons were connected to the controls of an F-22 fighter jet simulator. After some training, the brain was able to fly the jet in tough weather conditions. Today Geylen brought my attention to another similar experiment. An associate professor at the Uni. of Arizona has built a robot chassis controlled by the brain of a moth. He predicts we’ll be using such organic-machine hybrid computers soon.

A scientist who successfully connected a moth’s brain to a robot predicts that in 10 to 15 years we’ll be using ‘hybrid’ computers running a combination of technology and living organic tissue.
Charles Higgins, an associate professor at the University of Arizona, has built a robot that is guided by the brain and eyes of a moth. Higgins told Computerworld that he basically straps a hawk moth to the robot and then puts electrodes in neurons that deal with sight in the moth’s brain. Then the robot responds to what the moth is seeing — when something approaches the moth, the robot moves out of the way. [Usability News]


The benefit of using biological brains is flexibility and the ability to deal with things such as visual pattern recognition, which would otherwise require expensive “conventional” computers. (In quotes because technically biological systems are the conventional computers.)


Higgins goes on explaining his prediction; in the next few decades computers will utilize biological components for processing. The premise for his assumption is that it’ll become increasingly easier to grow biological components like hearts or brains in coming years. We won’t need to rip out the brains of grown animals or insects. (Or, like he does in this case, attach the whole moth to the exoskeleton and plug wires into its brain.) At the same time, our understanding of biology will advance and enable us to properly utilize complex, organic systems for various tasks.
Artificial lifeforms, bioprinters and related research


Personally I think its fascinating and a relatively plausible option. As a recent example of related technological advances I can point out the bioprinter — a modified Inkjet printer that prints 3D organic structures (read about it in this New Scientist article with the amusing title “Print me a heart and a set of arteries”).
However, I’m toying with the idea whether synthetic materials — sculpted from the ground up — will be a viable and possibly better option. Perhaps models of natural systems, yet made of new materials that aren’t as frail. I’ve written about Venter’s advances in creating the world’s first artificial lifeform. While it is organic material — our stride down the path of engineering complex systems will undoubtedly enable us to alter and improve them. But regardless of any superior solution, I’m sure we’ll see a myriad of living-machine hybrid experiments.
Would you buy a computer containing living tissue?
Like Higgins, I see no impending ethical issue and would be happy and intrigued to have my MacBook powered by living tissue, or possibly an entire lab-grown mouse brain for that matter if done properly. I decided to do a quick initial-reaction “consumer survey” on the matter. When I asked my girlfriend Diljá whether she’d want one she answered that she’d have to know more about it. My father said it was spooky. My teenage nephew totally wanted one, and his mother first covered her face over the bizarre question and then asked “How long would it last?”. Good question. But after giving it some thought, those who weren’t already became hesitant and uncertain.
I hope for fast advances in this area. I think that, aside from the fascinating science behind it, it’d be interesting to observe how gadgets containing living tissue are marketed.


Links & References
EarthSky has picture in their article on the robo-moth
The Higgins Lab
Science Daily article ‘Brain’ In A Dish Acts As Autopilot
Neuron image courtesy of BrainMaps

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Mind Matters or rather Mind and Matters

Caveat: Reader discretion advised.
He who jerks off every night thinking about knocking a nipper is no paedophile, she chomps on her breadsticks assuming they were the fingers of her best friend at school, she is no cannibal, he who plots the most torturous death of his colleague at work is not homicidal, she derives immense pleasure from the sad plight of her distraught pal but is no sadist for these people feed their dark phantasies in a world inaccessible to anyone, their minds.
The mind is a complex place, a stronghold of myriad feelings most never experienced, thoughts untaught, ideas idle, wonted whims, fantasies unfulfilled, ignis fatui incarcerated and in the midst of all this buzz is a small fraction that we actually translate into actions, the things that we say, do, proclaim, share and own responsibility for.
This post is about the major part of the matters of the mind locked in the vacuum of the self. At this mental level, I think there are no good or bad people, no right or wrong, no gentlemen and rustics, no perverts and purists for what’s inside of you is something no can figure out to be able to make a judgment about you. It is a level playing field where every individual is an equal and this fact though troublesome to many, is beautiful to me.
Our actions define us, not our thoughts. The mind is like the wild wind, the roaring river, the ceaseless cosmos it is meant to be unrestricted and unfettered, it is meant to be the harbinger of germination, the source of life and creativity, elite and eclectic, shoddy and shameful, the mind must do what it was meant to do, generate all the permutations and combinations possible and then you decide what you want to do with them by choosing the best ones to act upon, like how we select the best roses from the orchid to present to our beloved or pick the freshest fruits to take home sifting through the basket loads. I believe that a great person is not someone who has learnt to mould his mind but is someone who has an ascendance over his actions. It is not about destroying the dangerous mob - it is about choosing to shoot below the knees to disperse it, it is not about annihilating your adversary - it is about acknowledging his dominance while vowing vehemently to best him, it is not about lusting over your daughter’s classmate – it is about a life that you could positively influence being a responsible adult, it is not about the slum that you can build a castle on – it is about the countless souls you can help sustain on a piece of lifeless earth……
May be that’s why, even the great mahatma decided to adapt the adage, “See no evil, Hear no evil, Say no evil”, without adding “Think no evil”, for as long as you don’t intend to actuate it, the resident evil is actually harmless.

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Hollow Earth - Agharta, The Subterranean World

I dont recall exactly who sent this to me.. but still a wonderful article on Hollow Earth ( A follow through for my old post...)

By: Dr. R. W. Bernard, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. - Chapter 7.2:


The word "Agharta" is of Buddhist origin. It refers to the Subterranean World or Empire in whose existence all true Buddhists fervently believe. They also believe that this Subterranean World has millions of inhabitants and many cities, all under the supreme domination of the subterranean world capital, Shamballah, where dwells the Supreme Ruler of this Empire, known in the Orient as the King of the World. It is believed that he gave his orders to the Dalai Lama of Tibet, who was his terrestrial representative, his messages being transmitted through certain secret tunnels connecting the Subterranean World with Tibet.

Similar mysterious tunnels honeycomb Brazil. Brazil in the West and Tibet in the East seem to be the two parts of the Earth where contact between the Subterranean World and the surface world may be most easily achieved, due to the existence of these tunnels.

The famous Russian artist, philosopher and explorer, Nicholas Roerich, who traveled extensively in the Far East, claimed that Lhasa, capital of Tibet, was connected by a tunnel with Shamballah, capital of the subterranean empire of Agharta. The entrance of this tunnel was guarded by lamas who were sworn to keep its actual whereabouts a secret from outsiders, by order of the Dalai Lama. A similar tunnel was believed to connect the secret chambers at the base of the Pyramid of Gizeh with the Subterranean World, by which the Pharaohs established contact with the gods or supermen of the underworld.

The various gigantic statues of early Egyptian gods and kings, as those of Buddha found throughout the Orient, represent subterranean supermen who came to the surface to help the human race. They are generally represented as sexless. They were emissaries of Agharta, the subterranean paradise which it is the goal of all true Buddhists to reach.

Buddhist traditions state that Agharta was first colonized many thousands of years ago when a holy man led a tribe which disappeared underground. The gypsies are supposed to come from Agharta, which explains their restlessness on the Earth's surface and their continual travels to regain their lost home. This reminds one of Noah, who was really an Atlantean, who saved a worthy group prior to the coming of the flood that submerged Atlantis. It is believed that he brought his group to the high plateau of Brazil where they settled in subterranean cities, connected with the surface by tunnels, in order to escape from poisoning by the radioactive fallout produced by the nuclear war the Atlanteans fought, which brought on the flood that submerged their continent.

The aubterranean civilization oi Agharta is believed to represent a continuation of Atlantean civilization, which, having learned the lesson of the futility of war, remained in a state of peace ever since, making stupendous scientific progress uninterrupted by the setbacks of recurrent wars, as our surface civilization has been. Their civilization is many thousands of years old (Atlantls sank about 11,500 years ago), while ours is very young, only a few centuries old.

Subterranean scientists are able to wield forces of nature we know nothing about, as demonstrated by their flying saucers, which are operated by a new, unknown source of energy, more subtle than atomic energy. Ossendowski claims that the Empire of Agharta consists of a network of subterranean cities connected with each other by tunnels through which vehicles pass at tremendous speed, both under land and under the ocean.

These people live under the benign reign of a government headed by the King of the World. They represent descendants of the lost continents of Lemuria and Atlantis, as well as the original perfect race of Hyperboreans, the race of gods.

During various epochs in history, the Aghartan supermen or gods came to the surface to teach the human race and save it from wars, catastrophies and destruction. The coming of the flying saucers soon after the first atomic explosion in Hiroshima represents another such visitation, but thls time the gods themselves did not appear among men, but they sent their emissaries.

The Indian epic, "Ramayana" describes Rama as such an emissary from Agharta coming on an aerial vehicle, which was probably a flying saucer. A Chinese tradition speaks of divine teachers coming on aerial vehicles. Similarly, the founder ot the Inca dynasty, Manco Copac, came the same way.

One of the greatest of Aghartan teachers in America was Quetzalcoatl, the great prophet of the Mayas and Aztecs and of the Indians of the Americas in general, both in South and North America. That he was a stranger among them, coming from a different race (Atlantean) is indicated by his being fair, while they were dark; his being tall, while they were short; his being bearded, while they were beardless. He was reverenced as a savior by the Indians of Mexico, Yucatan and Guatemala long before the coming of the white man. The Aztecs called him "God of Abundance" and the "Morning Star." His name Quetzalcoatl means "Feathered Serpent," meaning a teacher of wisdom (symbolized by the serpent) who flies. He was given this name because he came on an aerial vehicle, which appears to have been a flying saucer. He probably came from the Subterranean World, because after he remained some time with the Indians, he mysteriously vanished the same way as he came; and was believed to have returned to the Subterranean World from which he came.

Quetzalcoatl is described as having been "a man of good appearance and grave countenance, with a white skin and beard, and dressed in a long flowing white garment. He was also called Huemac, because of his great goodness and continence. He taught the Indians the way of virtue and tried to save them from vice by giving them laws and counsel to restrain them from lust and to practice chastity. He taught pacifism and condemned violence in all forms. He instituted a vegetarian diet, with corn as a principal food, and taught fasting and body hygiene. According to the South American archeologist, Harold Wilkins, Quetzalcoatl was also the spiritual teacher of the ancient inhabitants of Brazil.

After remaining some time with the Indians, and seeing how little they cared to follow his teachings, except his recommendation to plant and eat corn as a basic food in place of meat, Quetzalcoatl departed, telling them that some day he would return. That this "visitor from Heaven" left the same way in which he came - on a flying saucer - is indicated by the following facts. When Cortez invaded Mexico, the emperor Montezuma believed that the predicted "return of Quetzalcoatl" had occurred, because a fireball then gyrated over Mexico City, making the people wail and scream, setting the temple of the war god on fire. This fireball was believed to have been the flying saucer on which Quetzalcoatl traveled.

Osiris was another such subterranean god. According to Donnelly, in his book, "Atlantis the Antediluvian World," the gods of the ancients were the rulers of Atlantis and members of a superhuman race which governed the human race. Before the destruction of their continent, which they foresaw, they traveled by flying saucer through the polar opening to the Subterranean World in the hollow interior of the earth, where they continued to live ever since.

"The Empire of Agharta," wrote Ossendowski in his book "Beasts, Men and Gods," "extends through subterranean tunnels to all parts of the world." In this book he speaks of a vast network of tunnels constructed by a prehistoric race of remotest antiquity, which passed under both oceans and continents, through which swift-moving vehicles traveled. The empire of which Ossendowski speaks and concerning which he learned about from lamas in the Far East, during his travels in Mongolia, obviously consists of subterranean cities inside the earth's crust, which should be differentiated from those existing in its hollow center. Thus there are two subterranean worlds, one more superficial and one in the center of the earth.

Huguenin, whose book on flying saucers and the subterranean world we previously mentioned, believes that there exist many subterranean cities at various depths, between the earth's crust and its hollow interior. Concerning the inhabitants of these subterranean cities, he writes:

"This other humanity has reached an elevated grade of civilization, economic and social organization and cultural and scientific progress, in comparison with which the humanity which lives on the earth's surface are a race of barbarians."

In his book, Huguenin shows a diagram of the earth's interior, showing various subterranean cities at various depths, connected with each other by tunnels. He describes these cities as existing in immense cavities in the earth. The city of Shamballah, the capital of the subterranean empire, he portrays as existing at the center of the earth, in its hollow interior, rather than inside its solid crust. Ossendowski writes:

"All the subterranean caverns of America are inhabited by an ancient people who disappeared from the world. These people and the subterranean regions where they dwell are under the supreme authority of the King of the World. Both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were once the home of vast continents which later became submerged; and their inhabitants found refuge in the Subterranean World. The profounder caverns are illuminated by a resplendent light which permits the growing of cereals and other vegetables, and gives the inhabitants a long life-span free from disease. In this world exists a large population and many tribes."

In his book, "The Coming Race," Bulwer Lytton describes a subterranean civilization far in advance of our own, which existed in a large cavity in the earth, connected with the surface by a tunnel. This immense cavity was illuminated by a strange light which did not require lamps to produce it, but appeared to result from an electrification of the atmosphere. This light supported plant life and enabled the subterranean people to grow their foods. The inhabitants of the Utopia, described by Lytton were vegetarians. They had certain apparatuses by which, instead of walking, they flew. They were free from disease and had a perfect social organization so that each received what he needed, without exploitation of one by another.

It is claimed that the earth's crust is honeycombed by a network of tunnels passing under the ocean from continent to continent and leading to subterranean cities in large cavities in the earth. These tunnels are especially abundant in South America, especially under Brazil, which was the chief center of Atlantean colonization; and we may believe they were constructed by the Atlanteans. Most famous of these tunnels is the "Roadway of the Incas" which stretches for several hundred miles south of Lima, Peru, and passes under Cuzco, Tiahuanaco and the Three Peaks, proceeding to the Atacambo Desert. Another branch opens in Arica, Chile, visited by Madame Blavatsky.

It is claimed that the Incas used these tunnels to escape from the Spanish conquerors and the Inquisition, when entire armies entered them, carrying with them their gold and treasures on the backs of llamas, which they did when the Spanish Conquerors first came. Their mysterious disappearance at this time, leaving only the race of Quechua Indians behind, is also explained by their entering these tunnels. It is claimed that when Atahualpa, the last of the Inca kings, who was brutally murdered by Pizarro, the gold that was being carried to his ransom on a train of 11,000 pack llamas, found refuge in these tunnels. It is claimed that these tunnels had a form of artificial lighting and were built by the race that had constructed Tiahuanco long before the first Inca appeared in Peru.

Since the Incas who entered these tunnels to escape from the Spaniards were never seen since and disappeared from the earth's surface, it is probable that they continued to live in illuminated subterranean cities to which these tunnels led.

These mysterious tunnels, an enigma to archeologists, exist in greatest number under Brazil, where they open on the surface in various places. The most famous is in the Roncador Mountains of northeast Matto Grosso to where Colonel Fawcett was heading when last seen. It is claimed that the Atlantean city for which he searched was not the ruins of a dead city on the surface but a subterranean city with still living Atlanteans as its inhabitants; and that he and his son Jack reached this city and are still living therein. This is the belief of Professor de Souza, Commander Strauss and O. C. Huguenin, whom we have mentioned before.

The Roncador tunnel opening is guarded by fierce Chavantes Indians who kill anyone who dares to enter uninvited and who might molest the subterranean dwellers whom they respect and reverence. The Murcego Indians also guard these secret tunnel openings leading to subterranean cities in the Roncador Mountain region of Matto Grosso. We quote a letter to the author from an American, named Carl Huni, who lived many years in Matto Grosso and made a special study of this subject:

"The entrance to the caverns is guarded by Murcego Indians, who are a dark-skinned, undersized race of great physical strength. Their sense of smell is more developed than that of the best bloodhounds. Even if they approve of you and let you enter the caverns, I am afraid that you will be lost to the present world, because they guard the secret very carefully and may not let those who enter leave. (This may have happened to Colonel Fawcett and his son Jack, who are believed to have entered a tunnel leading to a subterranean city in the Roncador Mountains, never to return.)

"The Murcego Indians live in caverns and go out at night into the surrounding jungles, but they have no contact with the subterranean dwellers below, inhabiting a subterranean city in which they form a seli-contained community and have a considerable population. It is believed that the subterranean cities they inhabit were first constructed by the Atlanteans. One thing is certain, that no radioactive fallout can reach them. No one knows whether those who live in these ancient Atlantean subterranean cities are Atlanteans themselves or others who settled there after their origlnal builders were gone.

"The name of the mountain range where these Atlantean subterranean cities exist is Roncador in northeast Matto Grosso. If you go in quest of these subterranean cities, take your life in your own hands as you may never be heard of again, like Colonel Fawcett.

"When I was in Brazil I heard a lot about the underground caverns and subterranean cities. They are, however, a long way from Cuiaba. They are near the Rio Araguaya, which empties into the Amazon. They are to the northeast of Cuiaba at the foot of the tremendously long mountain range named Roncador. I desisted to investigate further because I heard that the Murcego Indians jealously guard the entrance to the tunnels from people who are not sufficiently developed, because they do not want trouble. In the first place, they do not want anyone who is still enmeshed in commercialism and who has a desire for money.

"There are also caverns in Asia and Tibetan travelers mention them. But as far as I know, in Brazil are the biggest ones and they exist at three different levels. I am sure I would get permission if I wanted to join them and they would accept me as one of theirs. I know they use no money at all, and their society is organized on a strictly democratic basis. People do not become aged and live in everlasting harmony."

This subterranean Utopia mentioned by Mr Huni (now residing in New York) seems to resemble greatly the one described by Bulwer Lytton in his book, "The Coming Race." Lytton was a Rosicrucian and probably based his novel on occult information concerning existing subterranean cities.

The ruins of a number of Atlantean cities were found in northern Matto Grosso and the Amazon territory, indicating that Atlanteans once colonized this country. Some years ago an English schoolteacher, hearing rumors of a lost Atlantean city on a high plateau in this region went to find it. He did, but the hardships of the journey cost his life. Before he died he sent by carrier pigeon a note describing a magnificent city he discovered whose streets were lined by high gold statues.

If the Atlanteans once colonized Brazil and constructed cities in Matto Grosso on its surface, why did they build subterranean cities there? It could not have been to escape the deluge that submerged Atlantis and outlying areas, because Matto Grosso is a high plateau where floodwaters could not have reached. The South American archeologist, Harold Wilkins, offers another theory: that the subterranean cities were built to escape the radioactive fallout resulting from a nuclear war the Atlanteans fought. This seems to be a very reasonable explanation, or otherwise here would be no reason to undergo the great labor of excavating the earth and constructing subterranean cities when the Atlanteans already had magnificent cities on the earth's surface.

If and when we are endangered by a nuclear war, we, too, will have to find refuge inside the earth and dwell there in illuminated subterranean cities and produce our foods under this light. It would of course be much easier to join existing subterranean cities constructed by the Atlanteans thousands of years ago, who vastly surpassed us in engineering skill, than to construct our own. If friendly contact with subterranean dwellers could be established, when war came, or even before, when radioactive fallout increases beyond the danger point and menaces our survival, ft would be to our advantage to contact these subterranean cities and, if we are admitted, to establish residence in them.

There is no old age in Agharta and no death. It is a society in which everyone is young looking, even if many centuries or even thousands of years of age. This seems incredible to surface dwellers exposed to the harmful effects of solar radiation and the autointoxication of food poisoning from a wrong diet. The symptoms of old age are not the natural result of the passage of time nor an assumed aging process, but to adverse biological conditions and habits. Senility is a disease; and since Aghartans are free from disease, they do not grow old.

The superior scientitic culture of the subterranean people, of which their flying saucers are an evident example, is the result of superior brain development and more energetic brains. This is due to the fact that their vital energies flow up to their brain, rather than being dissipated through the sexual channel as among so-called "civilized" surtace races. In fact, sex indulgence is completely out of their lives, because of their fruit diet, their endocrines are in a state of perfect balance and harmonious functioning, as in little children, and are not stimulated to abnormal activity by metabolic toxins, as produced by such foods as meat, fowl, fish and eggs and by such aphrodisiacs as salt, pepper, coffee, tobacco and alcohol. By keeping their blood-stream pure and free from toxins, the subterranean people are able to live in complete continence, conserving all vital energies and converting them into superior brain power. Their superior scientific achievements result from the fact that their brains are superior to ours in intellectual development.

Concerning Agharta, Professor Henrique J. de Souza, President of the Brazilian Theosophical Society and a leading authority on the Subterranean World, in his magazine, published an article he wrote, "Does Shangri-la Exist?" from which we quote:

"Among all races of mankind, back to the dawn of time, there existed a tradition concerning the existence of a Sacred Land or Terrestrial Paradise, where the highest ideals of humanity were living realities. This concept is found in the most ancient writings and traditions of the peoples of Europe, Asia Minor, China, India, Egypt and the Americas. This Sacred Land, it is said, can be known only to persons who are worthy, pure and innocent, for which reason it constitutes the central theme of the dreams of childhood.

"The road that leads to this Blessed Land, this Invisible World, this Esoteric and Occult Domain, constitutes the central quest and master key of all mystery teachings and systems of initiation in the past, present and future. This magic key is the `Open Sesame' that unlocks the door to a new and marvelous world. The old Rosicrucians designated it by the French word VITRIOL, which is a combination of the first letters of the sentence: `VISTA INTERIORA TERRAE RECTIFICANDO INYENES OMNIA LAPIDEM,' to indicate that `in the interior of the earth is hidden the true MYSTERY ' The path that leads to this Hidden World is the Way of Initiation.

"In ancient Greece, in the Mysteries of Delphos and Eleusis, this Heavenly Land was referred to as Mount Olympus and the Elysian Fields. Also in the earliest Vedic times, it was called by various names, such as Ratnasanu (peak of the precious stone), Hermadri (mountain of gold) and Mount Meru (home of the gods and Olympus of the Hindus). Symbolically, the peak of this sacred mountain is in the sky, its middle portion on the earth and its base in the Subterranean World.

"The Scandinavian Eddas also mention this celestial city, which was in the subterranean land of Asar of the peoples of Mesopotamia. It was the Land of Amenti of the Sacred Book of the Dead of the ancient Egyptians. It was the city of Seven Petals o! Vishnu, and the City of the Seven Kings of Edom or Eden of Judaic tradition. In other words, it was the Terrestrial Paradise.

"In all Asia Minor, not only in the past but also today, there exists a belief in the existence of a City of Mystery full of marvels, which is known as SHAMBALLAH (Shamb-Allah), where is the Temple of the Gods. It is also the Erdamf of the Tibetans and Mongols.

"The Persians call it Alberdi or Aryana, land of their ancestors. The Hebrews called it Canaan and the Mexicans Tula or Tolan, while the Aztecs called it Maya-Pan. The Spanish Conquerors who came to America believed in the existance of such a city and organized many expeditions to find it, calling it E1 Dorado, or City of Gold. They probably learned about it from the aborigines who called it by the name of Manoa or City Whose King Wears Clothing of Gold.

"By the Celts, this holy land was known as "Land of the Mysteries" - Duat or Dananda. A Chinese tradition speaks of Land of Chivin or the City of a Dozen Serpents. It is the Subterranean World, which lies at the roots of heaven. It is the Land of Calcas, Calcis or Kalki, the famous Colchida for which the Argonauts sought when they set out in search of the Golden Fleece.

"In the Middle Ages, it was referred to as the Isle of Avalon, where the Knights of the Round Table, under the leadership of King Arthur and under the guidance of the Magician Merlin, went in search of the Holy Grail, symbol of obedience, justice and immortality. When King Arthur was seriously wounded in a battle, he requested his companion Belvedere to depart on a boat to the confines of the earth, with the following words: `Farewell, my friend and companion Belvedere, and to the land where it never rains, where there fs no sickness and where nobody dies.' This is the Land of Immortality or Agharta, the Subterranean World.

This land is the Walhalla of the Germans, the Monte Salvat of the Knights of the Holy Grail, the Utopia of Thomas More, the City of the Sun of Campanella, the Shangri-la of Tibet and the Agharta of the Buddhist world."
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