Futurodyssey: September 2011

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Consciousness and the Future

To combat the mental lethargy induced by endless triple-digit temperatures here in the Phoenix area, we invite you to join us as Tom presents on “Consciousness and the Future” at a local MeetUp group.
This should be a highly stimulating event, bringing together people with interests in science, technology, philosophy, and psychology.

Where: Tempe Physics and Philosophy MeetUp group
Date: Tuesday September 6th
Time: 7:00 PM

Here is the announcement for the event:

Tom Lombardo, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Future Consciousness and author of several books and numerous articles on consciousness, wisdom, psychological evolution, and the study of the future, will discuss his two new books, Wisdom, Consciousness, and the Future and Mind Flight: A Journey into the Future. Drawing upon two essays included in WCF, “The Ecological Cosmology of Consciousness” and “Educating the Wise Cyborg,” his talk will highlight his ideas on the nature of consciousness and its interdependency with the physical ecology of the cosmos; the connection between mind and technology; and how time and evolution figure into the further development of human consciousness. In this context, he will also be discussing Antonio Damasio’s new book on consciousness Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain.

Tom has been reading Robert Sawyer's new trilogy on the emergence of consciousness on the web, Wake, Watch, and Wonder. No doubt he will be sharing his thoughts on this and other recent science fiction as well.

Recent Books and Magazine Issues of Note

Cosmos and Culture: Cultural Evolution in a Cosmic Context, published by NASA, and edited by Steven J. Dick and Mark L. Lupisella.
The Children of the Sky by Vernor Vinge, the sequel to Fire Upon the Deep, with more on alien pack minds and introducing "choir minds."
The Wind-up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, the Hugo and Nebula award winner for best science fiction novel of 2010.
The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter, the sequel to H. G. Wells' The Time Machine, where one travels to both the far distant future and the beginning of time.
Epic of Evolution by Eric Chaisson, a scientifically in-depth study of the evolutionary eras of the universe.
Flourish by Martin Seligman, recent research and thinking in positive psychology, happiness, and well-being.
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern by Daniel Greenblat, an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one ancient manuscript, plucked from a thousand years of neglect, changed the course of human thought and made possible the world as we know it.
The Life Era by Eric Chaisson, a comprehensive theory of cosmological and moral evolution.
The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris, an argument for the scientific foundation of morals.
WWW: Watch, by Robert Sawyer, the second science fiction novel in his new trilogy of emerging consciousness, intelligence, and personal identity on the Web
Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain, by Antonio Damasio, a challenging but though-provoking inquiry into the evolutionary and physiological foundations of consciousness, and in particular the central importance of the self and human emotions in the structure and feel of consciousness.
Exultant by Stephen Baxter, a cosmological adventure 50,000 years into the future
Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think? by John Brockman, the pros and cons of whether Google and the Internet are having a beneficial impact on human thinking and consciousness
What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly, a comprehensive, evolutionary explanation of technology--a great read
The Ware Tetrology by Rudy Rucker.
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr.
The Nature of Technology: What It Is And How It Evolves by W. Brian Arthur.
Evolution by Stephen Baxter. Epochal historical narrative on the evolution of humanity from the deep past to the distant future.
WWW: Wake by Robert J. Sawyer. Inventive take on the emergence of intelligent self-consciousness on the World Wide Web.
2010: State of the Future by Jerome Glenn, Theodore Gordon, and Elizabeth Florescu. Comprehensive overview of the state of the world! Seriously.
Science at the Edge: Conversations with the Leading Scientific Thinkers of Today, edited by John Brockman. Some good discussions on robots, computer technology, cyborgs, evolution, and the mind of the universe.
Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience by Stephen Hall. A good review of psychological and physiological research pertaining to many of the primary attibutes of wisdom. Particularly good discussions of the neurophysiology of emotions and moral judgements.
The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley. Entertaining and highly informative. Great antitdote to contemporary pessimism. The first five pages should be required reading for everybody.
The Genius of the Beast by Howard Bloom. Incredible, colorful, philosophically enlightening, evolutionary analysis of capitalism and economic growth throughout history.
Mindscan by Robert Sawyer. Excellent science fiction novel on downloading minds into techno-bodies - great discussion of the nature of personal identity, consciousness, and the brain.
Five Minds for the Future by Howard Gardner. Informed and thoughtful discussion of the important mental capacities needed to thrive in the future.
This Will Change Everything: Ideas That Will Shape The Future, Edited by John Brockman
The Middle Way: Finding Happiness in a World of Extremes by Lou Marinoff, Ph.D., "For anyone wanting to explore the connections between East and West - and the importance of finding a Middle Way between today's many popular fanaticisms..."
The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks, "a wide-screen baroque space opera set in a galactic milieau of more than Byzantine complexity."
Scientific American Special Issue: Understanding Origins, September 2009
National Geographic EarthPulse: A Visual Almanac, State of the Earth 2010 (Collector's Edition)
Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever by Ray Kurzweil
Supersizing the Mind by Andy Clark
Reinventing the Sacred by Stuart Kauffman
The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
Scientific American Magazine, The Evolution of Evolution, Jan. 2009
The Time Paradox by Philip Zimbardo
The Death of the Grown-up by Diana West
Accelerando by Charles Stross
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge
Year Million by Damien Broderick

Futurodyssey

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Consciousness and the Future

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