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 – 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 – 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 subject for Saturday 26th November at noon SLT: What will you take with you to Mars?

 

What will the future Mars settlers need to take with them?  Will they have to take all the oxygen, water and food they need for 2 years?  And materials and tools for building a base?

Or will human settlers need to take nothing with them because robots will have prepared everything before they arrive?  Will the settlers simply step into a luxury base with all the food and oxygen already available?

What is needed for a human to survive on Mars?  And what is needed to thrive once you get there?  Do we know exactly what will be needed?  Will the robots we send before us be able to tell us just what we will need?  What will the ‘technology tree’ of a Mars settlement be? 

Come to GeekSpeak at noon on Saturday to discuss what we will need on Mars.  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 subject for Saturday 19th November at noon SLT: The Day of 8 billion!

 

Last week our species reached 8 billion people.  Let’s celebrate humanity today, we clearly won the genetic lottery.  8 billion and all of them better fed and in better health than they have ever been.  And maybe we are a boon to the planet as well.  An intelligent species managing the world ecosystem! We have fought against the harsh conditions of life and against our own violent, malicious nature and we have won.

Where do we go from here?  Do you think the population should and will decline to some ideal population number?  What is the ideal population for Earth?  Can we know without knowing all the inventions and discoveries of the future?  Or should we increase in numbers to fill the whole universe?

When will we reach 100 billion? Join us in GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss the future of our species.  Bring all your family!

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 subject for 12th November at noon SLT: How will YOU live in the near future?

 

What will your life be like in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?  Will you own a car or use a robotaxi?  Will you live in a car because it is cheaper than a house and technology will make it very comfortable?  Or maybe in a house that can transform into a car? 

10 years ago no one would think of owning more than one computer.  10 years from now, will you own several robots?  Will you have a robot pet that will double as a house alarm?  Or a robot child?  Will you still need a job?  Maybe all jobs will be taken by robots.

Things can change really fast.  Remember that 15 years ago nobody had even heard of a smartphone.  Come to GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to discuss your future.  Bring your friends and your robot pets!

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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Here is the GeekSpeak subject for Saturday 5th November at noon SLT: Will we get a worldwide digital town square on Twitter?

 

Twitter was bought to change society and to enable free speech for everyone, not to make money.  It will now be re-shaped into something that will really serve humanity.

Or do you disagree?  Will Twitter be a digital disaster?  What can Twitter, or other social media, do to improve?  What will all social media do for humanity? Can Twitter be properly managed by humans? Are AIs needed?

Will Twitter lead to a world government?  Or will it lead to the next world war? Come to GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to discuss the future of Twitter.  Bring all your tweeting 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 subject for Saturday 29th at noon SLT: Are the aliens coming?

 

NASA announced last week that they are creating an official team to investigate UFOs (aka UAPs).  What will they find?  And how much will they tell us?

Do aliens exist?  Is the Drake equation correct in predicting 26 advanced species in our galaxy alone? What will happen, to our society, our religion, our science, if we find an alien or they find us? What will happen if tomorrow the James Webb telescope points to a new star and sees an alien megastructure?  How would you react?  With curiosity or fear?

Come to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to wonder with us about our vast, vast universe.  Bring a spacesuit!

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 subject for Saturday 15th October at noon SLT: Is it possible that one day Humanity will be One?

 

Maybe one day we will all realize that everything would be better if we all just worked together.  Perhaps unity will be forced on us by climate change or an alien invasion or a mind-altering mushroom attack.

What would happen?  Would we form a world government, use just one currency, and live happily ever after? Would we move out into the universe as a united species?  Or would worldwide unity fail?  Are humans just not designed for unity?  Perhaps our divisions are healthy.  Perhaps without them, we would be too complacent to achieve anything at all.

Do you look forward to unity?  Or do you consider it dangerous?  Come to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT to discuss the future of our species.  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 subject for Saturday October 1st at noon SLT: Will Batteries save the Planet?

 

For the last decade or so we have been told to save energy.  What we need is some device that will store energy so that none of it is lost.  And the answer is: Batteries!

Come to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT and explore with us how batteries will save the planet and how they will save the way we work and live.  Oil and wars caused by oil could disappear, as could nuclear power, simply because they are not needed any more.

There are batteries in many shapes and forms, some of which you will never have heard of.  Let’s find out what batteries are possible.  Our future is electric and this week we want to prove it to you.  Join us and bring all your batteries!

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 subject for Saturday 17th September at noon SLT: What if some inventions were never made?

 

Come to GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT and let’s ask what the world would look like if certain inventions were never made, or certain events never happened.  What if no one invented the wheel or writing?  What if there was no industrial revolution?  No steam engine?  No internal combustion engine?

Were some things invented too early or too late to be used?  Were some good inventions rejected because they were not fashionable?  Can you think of any inventions that were needed but never made?

Or perhaps you think that inventions always happen if they are needed.  What inventions do we need now?

Come and discuss how different the world could be.  Bring your history books 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 – 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 20th August at noon SLT: How far can we bend Nature?

 

One of the newest tricks we humans can do is to change the DNA of plants, bacteria and animals.  Reprogrammed bacteria can do useful things for us.  Nitrogen fixing bacteria can be made to live in our crops so they don’t need nitrogen fertilizer.  Bacteria can be made that will eat plastic, perhaps. Plant or animal material can be made to grow into chairs or buildings.  Would you sit in a chair grown from tooth material?

We may be looking at a future that is grown, rather than manufactured.  What does this mean for us?  Will there be no metal machinery?  Can we grow a car?  Or ride on a reprogrammed cheetah?

Are there limits to the changes that can be made now that we can alter DNA? Or is the sky the limit?  Come and join us in GeekSpeak on Saturday at noon SLT.  Bring some test tubes and your fellow geeks!

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 subject for Saturday 30th July at noon SLT: Crackpot ideas!

 

Throughout the ages many crackpot ideas have actually come true.  Human flight, the moon  landing, the idea that the moon causes tides, the existence of gorillas, the movement of the continents.  Let’s discuss these ideas.  What made people think they were crackpot?  What moved them to mock the inventors and intellectuals that had these ideas?

What are the current crackpot ideas that could turn out to be true?  Sentient AI?  Moon travel (again)?  Faster than light travel? Teleportation?  Does science benefit from ‘crackpot’ ideas? Have all the best scientists been a bit crackpot?

Join us in GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to discuss weird past and future ideas.  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 subject for Saturday 23rd July at noon SLT: Can we still pick low-hanging fruit in science?

 

Science seems to require so much money and so many people nowadays.  But are there still fields where ordinary people, amateurs, can discover things?  In the past a lot of discoveries were made by amateurs, sometimes people like Mary Anning who were not allowed to be professionals.

But even now discoveries are made in astronomy, archaeology, biology and other fields by amateurs.  Amateurs like Clara Lazen or Thomas Bopp. 

Perhaps there are fields that exclude amateurs, like materials science.  But who knows?  Join us on Saturday at noon SLT to discover what you could potentially discover.  Put on a lab coat and safety goggles and bring your microscopes.

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 subject for Saturday 16th July at noon SLT: The James Webb Space Telescope! What will it show us?

This week NASA showed us the first images from the JWST.  There will be plenty more to come.  What will we discover?  What answers will the telescope give us?  Will it find life on other planets, perhaps advanced civilizations?  Will it tell us how the universe began?

And when it gives us answers will it also give us new questions?  What questions about the universe do you want answers to?  Can we ever know what the universe really looks like? 

Will the JWST change our view of our place in the cosmos?  Does it make you proud to be human?  Or is the sheer size and complexity of the universe frightening?

Join us at GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to discuss the JWST and its pictures.  Bring your fellow geeks!

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 subject for Saturday July 2nd at noon SLT: Where do you see the world heading?

 

Are we facing nuclear war, the end of democracy, pandemics, a burning planet, extinction?  Will we go down the drain and be forgotten?  Or is there a new future ahead of us?  Peace, cures for all diseases, space exploration?

Are we facing problems or opportunities?  Or are we facing both, depending on what we do about them?  What can we do to make the future a better place?  Are you hopeful or fearful?  Do you think that humanity will disappear?  Or last forever?

Come to GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to talk about the next 10 or 50 or 500 years for humans.  Bring a friend!

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 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 subject for Saturday 11th June at noon SLT: Can we get rid of oil? Should we?

 

We have all heard about the problems of oil: climate change, pollution, wars.  So perhaps we should all stop using it?  Or do you think that we should continue to use it while we have it because there is nothing that can take its place?

What can replace oil?  Solar power, nuclear power, wind, or water power?  Will attempt to live without oil increase poverty?  Is that too high a price to pay?

If we do get rid of oil what will the world look like politically?  Which countries will be dominant in the new world?  Will the new political arrangement be an improvement?

How long will it take to get rid of oil? Ten years, fifty years?  And what waits for us on the other side?

Come to GeekSpeak at noon SLT on Saturday to discuss the end of the most dangerous time in the history of Earth.  Let’s celebrate together.  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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