analog, 149–150, 442
author’s early experience with, 2–3, 64, 497n
autonomic, 284, 437
biological cells as, 221
biological evolution compared with, 47
brain compared with, 149–153, 293, 444
brain’s interfacing with, 194–195
capacity of, 96, 127
chaotic, 145, 173, 441, 475
chess playing of, 8, 146, 274–278, 274, 441, 459, 498n
consciousness of, 430, 458–469
decentralization of, 351
Dembski’s views on, 474–477
design of, 40, 45, 62, 71, 434, 481, 499n
digital, 148–151, 442, 461
doubling of power of, 8, 16, 41–42, 56–66, 57–65, 145, 261, 498n, 506n
dualism of, 444–445
efficiency of, 136–138, 362
exponential growth of, 25, 56–73, 57–65, 67, 69–71, 75, 75, 102, 112, 127, 128, 135, 276, 292, 432, 434, 436, 470, 498n, 514n
hacking into, 406, 426, 594n
invention of, 17, 18, 38, 40, 45, 86, 93–94
invisible, 105, 136, 312
inward vs. outward expansion of, 351
mechanical, 93–94, 135, 228–229
memory of, see memory, computer
modular approach to, 481
Moore’s Law and, 35–36, 41–42, 56–66, 57–65, 434
nanotechnology and, 133–135, 139, 232–236, 233, 248–249, 349, 412, 434
neuronal information processing compared with, 503n, 504n
new universe created for, 405
nonlinearity required by, 155
optimal level of, 21, 29
parallel processing in, 129–130, 135, 149, 150, 350, 461, 462
price-performance of, 12, 41–42, 45, 56–71, 57–65, 67, 69–71, 100, 102, 125–128, 135–136, 142, 243, 261, 292, 432, 437, 506n, 514n
productivity growth and, 100
programmable, 445
quantum, see quantum computing
relay-based, 67, 67, 127–128, 434
research budgets for, 25, 42, 259
reverse engineering of, 157–158
reversible, 130–135, 244–245, 350, 428, 534n
self-healing, 151
software programs for, see software
speed of, 127, 261, 276, 436
spread throughout entire universe, 45, 511n
star-scale, 350
symbolic, 460–461, 463–464, 468
three-dimensional molecular, see three-dimensional molecular computing
transistors in, 27, 42–43, 45, 63, 63, 67, 67, 150, 151, 153, 434, 498n
Turing test and, 25, 263, 286, 292, 504n–505n
typesetting on, 54
universal, 91, 94, 139, 228, 523n
universe-scale, 364–365
vacuum tubes in, 45, 56, 67, 67, 434
viruses for, see software viruses
see also laptop computers; notebook computers; personal computers; supercomputers
conditioning, 182–183
Congress, U.S., 422, 594n, 599n
connectionism, 155–156
consciousness, 86, 190, 191, 326, 338, 369, 394
criticism from ontology and, 458–469
as emergent pattern, 463–464, 467–468
of nonbiological intelligence, 376–380, 385, 475
quantum computing and, 201, 429, 450–452
Singularity and, 374–382, 384
spindle cells and, 468
spirituality and, 388
subjectivity and, 378–380
of universe, 375, 388, 390
Consilience (Wilson), 195
“constructive destruction” process, 114
consumers, power of, 104
contact lenses, 312, 472
contraception, 321, 433
contradiction, 152
Cooley, J. W., 600n
Copernicus, Nicolaus, 433
Coren, R., 502n
coronary artery disease, 302
Correlogic Systems, 282
cortex, cerebral, 27, 157, 179, 189–194
architecture of, 68, 505n
auditory, 124
frontal, 176
frontoinsular, 193
inferotemporal, 186
insula regions of, 166, 193, 314
MEG and, 160
motor, 175
prefrontal, 170
spindle cells in, 191–194, 192
tactile input and, 174
V5 region of, 156
visual, 156, 172, 176, 181, 530n
cosmological constant, 359, 361
Cossman, J., 552n
Coteus, Paul, 533n
Coull, J. T., 543n
Council of Europe, 471
“Countdown to Singularity” chart:
linear plot of, 18, 18, 501n
logarithmic plot of, 17, 17, 501n
Covey, Ellen, 545n
Cowan, W. M., 532n, 538n
CPEB protein, 176, 199–200, 543n
Craig, Arthur, 193
Cray 1 supercomputer, 535n
creativity, 2, 128, 145, 476
in GNR age, 340, 341, 398
human intelligence and, 4, 9
love and, 485
recursive search and, 273, 577n–580n
Singularity and, 21, 389
credit-card fraud, 269, 276, 284
Crick, Francis, 206, 207, 549n
Cristofori, Bartolommeo, 53
criticisms, 427–483, 599n–602n
from analog processing, 428, 442
from the Church-Turing thesis, 429, 453–456
from the complexity of neural processing, 428–429, 442–450
from failure rates, 429, 456
from holism, 431, 479–483
from incredulity, 432–433
from likelihood of government regulation, 430–431, 470–473
from lock-in, 429–430, 457–458
from Malthus, 427–428, 433–435
from microtubules and quantum computing, 429, 450–452
from ontology, 430, 458–469
panopoly of, 427–433
from rich-poor divide, 430, 469–470
from software, 428, 435–442
from theism, 431, 473–478
Crosby, Alfred W., 595n
Crowley, Justin, 523n, 539n
cruise missiles, 255, 279–280, 335
cryonics, 384
Cuban missile crisis, 401
Cullen, Steve, 513n
cuneiform, 536n
curved surfaces, Bernoulli’s principle and, 265
Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Joel, 472, 602n
cybermirror, 315
Cybernetics (Wiener), 86
cybernetic totalism, 380, 435
cyberwarfare, 333, 335
cyberweapons, 300
cyborgs, 309, 377
CYC (enCYClopedic), 267, 291–292
Cyclomatic Complexity Metric, 437–438
cystic fibrosis, 549n
Dahan, M., 586n
DAISI (Document and Image Storage Invention), 328, 329
Damasio, Antonio R., 193, 548n
Dana Farber Cancer Center, 218
Daptobacter bacteria, 297, 298, 583n
“Dark Winter,” 398, 595n
Darnell, James, 549n
DARPA, see Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Darwin, Charles, 433
“Darwin, Charles,” 31–33, 367, 381, 425–426
“Darwin Among the Machines” (Butler), 205
data-compression techniques, 36–38, 47, 507n–508n
redundancy and, 36, 508n, 516n, 517n
data mining, 265
Dautenhahn, Kerstin, 548n
Davis, Tamara M., 592n
Dawkins, Richard, 440, 600n
Dayan, Peter, 170, 542n
death, 7, 9, 320–323, 373, 398, 470
of author’s father, 211, 326
biological evolution an
d, 320, 321
of cells, 215, 218
in gene-therapy trials, 416–417
from heart disease, 211, 217, 373, 413, 418
inevitability of, 320, 326
mutations and, 219
religious view of, 368, 372, 374
from SARS virus, 402
tragedy of, 329, 372
in war, 330–331, 331, 409
decentralization, 396, 420–421, 473
of computation, 351
democratization and, 406, 408
of work, 105, 122, 340–341
decision making, 8, 190, 191
expert systems and, 266–267
by unmanned spacecraft, 280–281
decision (halting) problem, 453, 601n
Deep Blue, 274–277, 441, 459
deep brain stimulation, 195, 585n
Deep Fritz software, 274–278, 441
Deep Space One, 280–281
Deep Thought machine, 275
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 194, 284, 328, 333, 334, 588n
Defense Department, U.S., 312, 331, 594n
Defense Ministry, British, 594n
defensive technologies for GNR age, 408–410, 416–426, 598n–599n
deflation, 65, 101–108, 245
DeGaspari, J., 584n
de Grey, Aubrey, 212–213, 219–221, 321, 587n
dehydrogenase, 247
Dekker, Cees, 527n
Delio, Michelle, 582n
Dembski, William A., 431, 473–478, 483, 602n
democracy, 20, 152, 395, 396, 406, 408, 498n
dendrites, 145, 153, 170–173, 178, 180, 197, 202, 383, 428, 452, 530n
apical, 191–192, 192
basal, 192
defined, 124
morphology of, 155
nonlinearities in, 124, 137, 148, 151
spines of, 171–172, 173, 174
dendritic cells, cancer and, 217–218
Dennett, Daniel, 191, 467, 473, 548n
Denning, Peter J., 167
Denton, Michael, 431, 479–483, 599n, 602n
depressions, 99, 102
Derocher, Robert J., 582n
DeRose, James, 515n
Desai, T. A., 584n
Desai, Tejal A., 568n
Descartes, René, 173
Desert Storm campaign, 284
De Silva, H., 560n
desktop cold fusion, 250, 567n
developing countries, see underdeveloped countries
development stage, 52
De Vos, Alexis, 566n
DeWan, George, 597n
Dewey, David, 600n
diabetes, 212, 303, 549n
type 1, 223, 255, 557n
type 2, 210, 211, 225, 302
Diamond, M. C., 549n
diamondoid assembler, 229–230, 234, 238, 239–240
DiCarlo, James, 194
Dickens, Charles, 396
Diehl, Michael R., 528n
digestive system, 234, 238, 301–305, 307, 386
digital, digital operations:
analog operations vs., 14, 126, 147, 149–150, 308, 428, 442, 461, 519n
in author’s archive, 327
in brain, 71, 85, 126, 147–151, 442, 483, 519n
cameras, 113
disks and tapes, 327–328, 588n
pianos, 53
as theory of physics, 86–87, 518n–522n
Digital Biology Interest Group, 288
digital divide, 95
Dijkstra, E. W., 56
Dingel, B. B., 516n
dinosaurs, 222
diodes, light-emitting, 245
dioxins, 253
disabled, 189, 195
disaster zones, 286
discount rate, 109–110, 526n
disease, 100, 116, 209
biological evolution and, 511n
brain damage and, 177
brain reverse engineering and, 144
degenerative, reversal of, 210, 217–221, 553n–555n
elimination of, 205, 206, 241, 259, 396, 424
see also specific diseases
disks, digital, 327–328
disorder, 38, 40, 510n, 520n
Dittmer, W. U., 560n
diversity, 152, 225, 424
chaos and, 40, 41, 45–46
genetic, 402
DNA, 11, 20, 45, 86, 218–223, 378, 386, 483, 551n
complementary (cDNA), 551n
computing with, 112, 117–118, 119, 529n–530n
damaged, 397, 552n
in Epoch Two, 15, 16, 47
in Epoch Three, 16
errors in, 207–208, 233, 254, 256, 300, 471
fetal, 168
in gene therapy, 215–216, 553n
information in, 15, 16, 38, 40, 117, 207, 232, 518n
junk, 510n, 516n, 517n–518n
as life’s computer, 207–210
military uses of, 334
mutations of, 208, 219
nanotechnology and, 232, 233, 235–236, 237, 242, 251, 397, 412
physical constants compared with, 362
RNA interference and, 214
of SARS virus vs. HIV, 398
self-replication of, 16, 47, 116, 117, 118, 207–208, 235, 529n
sequencing, 73–74, 85, 470, 514n
structure and behavior of, 207–208, 549n
transdifferentiation and, 223, 471
2–bit base pairs of, 85, 207, 209–210, 516n, 517n
Doctorow, Cory, 271–272
dogs, consciousness of, 467, 468
Dolly the Sheep, 221
Dombeck, Daniel, 163
Domjan, Michael, 542n
Donovan, 300
dopamine, 303
dorsal pathway, 175
Dorus, Steve, 506n
Doyle, Arthur Conan, 570n
Drake, Frank, 344, 590n
Drake equation, 342, 344–349, 590n
DRAM (dynamic random access memory), 57, 58, 58, 59, 66
Drexler, K. Eric, 111, 141, 236–240, 242, 245, 535n, 558n, 559n, 560n, 561n, 563 n, 564n, 568n, 595n, 598n
as founder of nanotechnology, 139, 228–231, 395
on MNT manufacturing safeguards, 400
molecular assembler idea of, 228–231, 234, 236–237
nanocomputer design of, 135, 228–229
drugs, 371
for AIDS, 95, 470
antiangiogenic, 218, 222
antirejection, 223, 557n
antiviral, 417, 422
biological evolution and, 511n
cancer, 212, 303, 304
cholesterol-lowering (statin), 217
development of, 209, 213, 259, 282
genetic profiling and, 214–215
as information technology, 470
nanotechnology and, 242–243, 303, 583n
to prevent weight gain, 11–12, 303
to promote neurogenesis, 177
to reverse atherosclerosis, 217
smart, 100, 212–215, 251, 256, 303–304, 323
Dubois, Charles, 196
Dudley, Gary, 538n
Duke University, 117, 118, 194–195
Dulberger, E. R., 512n
Dumé, Belle, 536n
Dutta, A. K., 516n
DVDs, 54
dynamite, 404
dyslexia, 175, 337, 589n
Dyson, Freeman, 350, 359, 591n
Dyson Sphere, 350
Dzegilenko, Fedor N., 562n, 563n
ear, 123, 165
Earth:
asteroid collisions with, 20, 40, 398, 405–406
biomass of, see biomass
as center of universe, 342, 433
comet collision with, 405–406
hot core of, 246
magnetic field of, 281
mass of, 349
meteor collisions with, 398
NTT model of, 113
water chemistry on, 239
eating, 301–305, 307
eavesdropping, 333, 354
Eberhart, Russell C., 589n
Echelon system, 280
E. coli, 236, 551n
e-commerce, 13, 103–105, 104, 263, 264
economy, economic growth, 128
GNR age and, 98, 230–231, 396–397, 406, 410
information technology and, 65, 107, 107, 525n
law of accelerating returns and, 96–110, 433, 524n–526n
in World Bank report, 99, 338, 396, 470
Edelman, G. M., 532n, 540n, 538n
Edelman, Gerald, 201
Edgar, B., 502n
Edison, Thomas, 52, 53
education, 202, 294, 336–337
of AI, 202–203, 294
exponential growth of, 108, 108, 525n
software for, 175, 337, 341, 589n
see also learning
egg cells, 221–222, 553n
Eighth Day of Creation, The (Judson), 550n
Einstein, Albert, 133, 355, 361, 388, 521n, 570n, 592n
general relativity theory of, 341, 355, 378, 500n, 503n, 520n
parietal lobes of, 202
on simplicity, 39, 519n
special relativity theory of, 341, 354, 520n
Einstein-Rosen bridges, 355
Eisenach, J. A., 600n
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 72
Eldering, C., 600n
Eldredge, Niles, 510n–511n
electricity, 17, 18, 244
nanotechnology and, 114, 230, 248, 249, 250, 252
prions and, 116–117
from solar power, 249, 250
electrocardiograms (ECGs), diagnosing of, 8, 276, 281–282
electromagnetic-coupling constant, 499n
electromagnetic fields, 131
electromagnetic force, 140
electromagnetic radiation, communication with (radio transmission), 344–349, 590n
electromagnetic technologies, 76, 434
electromechanical paradigm, 67, 67, 127–128, 434
electron-beam lithography, 113
electronic circuits, 27, 71, 503n, 504n
electronic neurons, 172
electronics, 3, 53, 54–55, 73, 227, 242, 245, 347, 444
communications bridge between biological information and, 308, 313
contemporary process of, 122
democratization and, 406
disposal problems and, 251
nanotechnology and, 227, 407
portable, 56, 113, 247
price-performance of, 111–112, 526n
value of, 339
Electronics, 111
electrons, 114, 141, 355, 499n
in atoms, 14, 85, 131
computing with spin of, see spintronics as digital vs. analog phenomena, 519n
movies of movement of, 138
quantum effects and, 119, 238
transistor travel times of, 56, 61
elements, 14–15
see also specific elements
elimination process, 304–305
Ellis, Havelock, 376
e-mail, 30–31, 78, 255–56
FBI snooping on, 413
spam filters for, 267–68
embryos, cloning and, 222, 555n–56n
Emerson, J. J., 510n
emotional intelligence, 8, 28, 124, 389
machine, 28–29, 145, 377–379, 385