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...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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? ...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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? ...

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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. ...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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