GeekSpeak – Is it time for a global food reset? Join the discussion May 6th at 12pm SLT

 

The way in which food plants are grown is changing.  DNA engineering, hydroculture, recreating ideal environments inside giant containers; all these techniques will soon be widespread.  Food plants are, right now, quite different from the way they were in earlier centuries.  What will they be like in 100 years?

Will all countries grow all the plants that they need when they don’t have to rely on natural conditions?  We will gain food security but lose world trade.  Will countries that now export food suffer?  How will the global economy change?  Will we soon see a worldwide food surplus?

Come to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss our food.  Bring your own carrots, and all your farmer friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – What will life be like in a post-scarcity world? Join the discussion Saturday, April 29th at 12pm SLT

Humanity evolved in a world of scarcity and we live in such a world now.  We know that a lot of stuff is rare and therefore valuable.  We know that none of us can have everything we want.  In a post-scarcity world that will not be true any more. 

How will we live in such a world?  How much will we eat, or use, when everything is free?  What will we do with our time when work is no longer needed?  When so many things we now think of as normal, like driving or cooking or cleaning, are no longer necessary?

Would you like to live in such a world?  Do you think it is an impossible world?  Will there always be a few things that are rare and hard to acquire?

Come and join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to talk about a world without scarcity.  Bring all your robot friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Will we ever be able to live wherever we want? Join the discussion April 8th at 12pm SLT

 

Is it possible that one day humanity will realize that we all live on a beautiful pink planet and we should be able to live wherever we want?

What would bring us to that point? What changes would be needed in the way we see countries, empires, communities, even families?

Or do you think that it is a totally impossible dream?

If you could live wherever you want where would you live?  Would you move or just stay where you are?

Please join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to discuss how we can live where we want. Bring a U-Haul truck and your friends!

IM Vulcan  Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Is there a civilization around Tabby’s Star? Join the discussion on Saturday April 1 at 12pm SLT

 

There are rumors that there may be alien megastructures around Tabby’s Star, which is about 1500 light years from Earth.  Other explanations have been suggested for the variation in the light from the star but none of them fit all the data.  So it is possible that a Kardashev type 2 civilization is ruling over that area of space.

The Kardashev scale measures how much energy is used.  Type 1 uses the energy of the home planet, Type 2 the energy of the solar system, Type 3 the energy of the galaxy.  To build huge structures around stars a Type 2 would be needed.

How would these cultures work?  How do they build such huge structures and why?  Will we ever be able to send messages to them?  Do they know about us?  Should we be scared?

Join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to talk about Tabby’s star.  Bring all your alien friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Breaking news: Time Travel is theoretically possible. Join the discussion Saturday, March 18th at 12pm SLT

Time travel (but only to the future) is possible soon.  Come and join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss how we can travel ahead in time and why we would want to do so.

Would you like to travel into the future?  Will you jump ahead 10 or 100 or maybe 1000 years? Or will you stay in the here and now?

Jumping ahead would satisfy your curiosity might make you rich if you have invested wisely, and might mean finding a cure for any disease you have.  But would you be able to understand future people?  Or would you be like a Neanderthal arriving in 2023?

Come to GeekSpeak and tell us how you feel about time.  Bring all your Neanderthal friends!

IM Vulcan Viper teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Is Space a waste of money? Join the discussion on March 11th at 12pm slt

Why do we spend so much money on Space when there are so many causes that need money down here?  Shouldn’t Earth come first?

This is an often-heard complaint about the space industry so let’s address it.  Why do we spend money on launching satellites, going to the moon or Mars, exploring Pluto, finding out about exoplanets, and planning a future in space? 

Perhaps you think we should not put money into space.  Or do you see a benefit from space research?  Join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss our choices.  Bring all your alien friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – What new technology is the most exciting? Join the discussion on Saturday, February 25th at 12pm SLT

 

What cool technology have you heard about recently? Science and technology move so quickly today that there are probably many things happening that you don’t know about.  So join us in GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to share all the newest inventions and research.  Find out which new discovery makes others feel most hopeful and happy about the future.

What breakthroughs should we know about?  What interesting research have you heard about?  Medical, space, historical, all subjects considered.  Tell us in GeekSpeak.  Bring all your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – What would a Society of Robots look like? Join the discussion on Saturday, February 18th at 12pm SLT

 

Let’s imagine that in 10 years time, robots have taken over the earth.  Humans are either extinct or kept as pets.  What will the new robotic society look like? 

Will robots live together peacefully, or will they have wars like us?  Will they have belief systems and political parties?  Will they build telescopes and spaceships and discover the stars?  Or will they do nothing that is not obviously practical?

Will they form robot families and friendships or be solitary?  Will they be able to change their nature to suit their ideas of the perfect society, as we cannot? 

Will their society eventually fail?  Maybe humans will have to clean up the scraps after the age of the bots.

Join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss the coming robot society.  No robots are allowed, so bring all your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Can we cheat Death? Join the discussion on Saturday, February 10th at 12pm SLT

Will we soon be able to prolong our lives, even perhaps live forever? By uploading our minds to computers, slowly replacing our organic neurons with silicon chips, buying or stealing young organs from others, reversing the degeneration caused by aging, or freezing our bodies?  How many methods of cheating death will become available?

Would cheating death in these ways be wise, or moral?  Would you want to live forever?  Are you afraid you might be forced to live forever even if you wanted to die?

Join us in GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss what all this will mean for humanity.  Bring all your friends!  It’s a matter of life and death!

IM Vulcan Viper teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – The City of 2050! What will it be like? Join the discussion Saturday Jan 28th at 12pm SLT

 

What will the cities of the future look like?  Flying drones everywhere?  Tunnels underground?  A dome over every city?

Will the cities of 2050 be filled with green plants and open spaces?  Or will they be made of tightly packed cubicles?

Will the streets be full of rubbish, or will bots clean it all up?  Will there still be cars on the streets?  Or will we see moving walkways everywhere?  Will there be buildings 1000 floors high, or perhaps 1000 floors deep? And vertical gardens and farms?

Would you like to live in any of these possible future cities?  Please join us in GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to talk about your future, if you are city dwellers.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Earth: A New Hope? Join the discussion on Saturday, January 14th at 12pm SLT

In the darkest part of the year, at the start of a new one, we need to ask what will bring hope to the world.  Hope means something different for everyone and we all have our own personal hopes.  But how can we give humanity as a whole some hope for the future?  What is needed to turn the current feeling of hopelessness around?

Should we talk about all the progress that has been made in the past?  Or describe how the world will look if everything goes well? Does space exploration offer hope?  Is there an invention that would bring hope?  A book?  A movie?  Or even a pop singer?  What do we need to show us a bright future for humanity?

Join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to talk about all the reasons for hope.  Bring a notebook and your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Should we be more logical? Or are we all right as we are? Join the discussion on January 7th at 12pm SLT

 

Is it dangerous that the world is run by irrational, emotional humans?  Should we turn our culture into a Vulcan culture?  Should we teach kids critical thinking and force politicians to listen to science?  Or even, as some people have suggested, have scientists run the country? 

Or is our natural, human way of doing things the best way?  And why should we trust scientists to get things right when they are just as illogical and human as the rest of us?

Maybe we should use our human emotions to help the world.  Make utopian movies and songs and get people to be optimistic and hopeful about the future.

Come to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT and discuss how to change the world for the better.  Bring a whiteboard and your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak - 2023! Where will it take us? Join the discussion Saturday, December 31st at 12pm SLT

 

What are your predictions, hopes, and fears, for 2023 and beyond?

Will we see asteroid mining, a moon base, people on Mars?  Worldwide democracy, an end to war?  A cure for cancer?

Or will we see World War 3?  And the collapse of civilisation? And new pandemics from artificial viruses?

Where do you see Europe, USA, Iran, China, Russia going in 2023? 

Tell us what you fear and hope for, for the world or personally. Where are we all going? And what do you want for yourself in this new year?

Join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to talk about the future, and what we all hope from it.

IM Vulcan Viper teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Will there be Christmas on Pluto? Join the discussion Saturday December 24th at 12:00 pm SLT

If you were living there, on Star Date 29941426, would you celebrate Earthly events?  It would be difficult to celebrate a midwinter feast on a planet with a long year where most people never experience winter.  And will you celebrate your Earth birthday or your Pluto or Mars birthday?  Would your age, measured in years, change as you moved from planet to planet?  How do you compare the ages of Earthlings and Marslings? 

If the colonists do celebrate Christmas will they celebrate it every 365 Earth days?  Or will they adjust the date to their own planet?

Will time still be measured in Earth days in the far future?  Will it be easy to adjust to a new day and a new year?

Join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss time and Christmas in the future.  Bring your friends and an atomic clock.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Internet! Does it support freedom or tyranny? Join the discussion on Saturday, December 17th at 12pm slt

 

Come and join us at GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT.  Let’s ask if the internet is good or bad for our world and for democracy. We now have a splintered internet (a splinternet) where dictators can censor parts of it and even shut it down at will.  Will we ever have a free, universal internet again or will it break into more than the 36(!) versions we have now?  What is needed to make it free again?  Are dictators able to use the internet to increase their power and control?

On the other hand, maybe the existence of the internet, even when it is not completely free, helps us to be free.  People in countries where it is banned know about it and will find ways to get at it.  While it exists, even in 36 versions, no one can be completely cut off from the rest of the world.  Join us to discuss freedom and the internet.  Bring your friends!

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Will Bitcoin save us from monetary collapse? Join the discussion on Saturday, December 3rd at 12pm SLT

 

Bitcoin recently saw its 13^th birthday.  What is going on nowadays in the bitcoin world?  And why are people still puzzled by it?  Some see it as the best invention ever and think it will save the monetary system of the world.  Others think it is doomed to fail and no one should invest in it.

Is the energy used to mine bitcoin a serious problem?  Is bitcoin still a good investment or is it far too risky?  What will a future where all money is blockchain-based look like?

Bring your friends to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss the world of bitcoin and its future.  Serious people only.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Will we win the Space Race? Does it matter? Join the discussion Saturday, September 3rd at 12pm SLT

On Friday 2^nd September the Artemis 1 moon rocket will launch towards the moon.  If it fails the moon race will probably be won by China.  Either way, humanity is, hopefully, heading for a future where people live and work on the moon. 

The trip will last 42 days and the spacecraft will have a high-definition video on board.  Come to GeekSpeak this Saturday at noon SLT and celebrate this historic moment with us and discuss where we will be going on the moon, and why.

Will we look up one day and realize that someone is also looking down?   Bring your space buddies!

 

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – How do we save our planet? Join the discussion on Saturday, August 27th at 12:00 pm Noon SLT

There are so many things that threaten Earth or life on Earth or human life on Earth.  What should be done about them all?  And what should we, as individuals, do about all the threats?

Climate change threatens all life.  Plastic pollution threatens all marine life and maybe all life.  Habitat destruction threatens thousands of species.  Pandemics and the dishonesty of Big Pharma threaten human life.  Then there is the threat of an asteroid hit, nuclear war, or a deliberate biological attack. 

What should we be doing?  Is there any hope?  Or maybe you don’t think there is any serious danger?  Or perhaps the only answer is to change the way our societies are run?

Come and join us in GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss the danger we are in.  Bring anyone who is worried about it.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class in the GeekSpeak auditorium every Wednesday, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 25th June at noon SLT: What drives Creativity?

 

What makes people creative?  And what does creativity do for society?  Could we manage without it?  Can AI be creative?

Do you think of yourself as a creative person?  Do you want to explore how creative you actually are?  (Hint: much more than you think!)  How can we become more creative?

Does being creative make you happy?  Or perhaps you think it can make people sad?  Or unpleasant?  A lot of great artists have been very nasty people.

Join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to talk about the ups and downs of creativity.  Bring a brush, or a cooking pan or a camera, and let us know what your creative ideas are.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects.

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GeekSpeak – Will we all be Perfect in the future? Join the discussion Saturday, April 9th at 12pm SLT

With DNA editing we can improve the way our bodies function.  With robotic enhancements, we will be able to do things no human can do.  Where will all these new powers take us?

Is it possible to be perfect?  Or will there always be trade-offs?  Should some enhancements be against the law?  Who will decide for the children? 

Will humanity split into different species?  The rich will be enhanced and the poor will remain normal perhaps?  Will we see eugenics wars?

Join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to explore what it will mean to be more than human.  Bring all your humans.  And robots are welcome.

IM Vulcan Viper, who teaches a meditation class every Wednesday in the GeekSpeak auditorium, if you have ideas for new subjects. 

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