Surprising Science — February 12, 2011

The Singularity Is Near

With Time magazine’s recent cover story on futurist Ray Kurzweil, his theories about the singularity have entered the mainstream. Now hear them straight from the source.

Ray Kurzweil

With Time magazine’s recent cover story on futurist Ray Kurzweil, his theories about the singularity have entered the mainstream. Now hear them straight from the source.

Feel first, think second: is our brain really cut out for the modern world?

Are you in love? Trust your mother over your brain.

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with

Big Think

Videos

Impeachment 101: Why, when, and how the people can fire the president

Getting rid of the president is a popular subject these days. And Sunstein's advice on the subject can show us the protocol — and the history — behind firing the most powerful man in the free world.

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10 min

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with

Cass Sunstein

The Present

How power affects the way you behave — and the way you’re punished

We all live by society's invisible rules but for some groups, these rules are tighter than for others, says psychologist Michele Gelfand.

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3 min

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with

Michele Gelfand

Videos

Superhumans: The remarkable brain waves of high-level meditators

People who have meditated for thousands of hours exhibit a remarkable difference in their brainwaves.

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3 min

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with

Daniel Goleman

The Future

Artificial general intelligence: The domain of the patient, philosophical coder

Sure, some expert-level knowledge is needed if you want to program artificial intelligence. But AI expert Ben Goertzel posits that you also need something that Guns N' Roses sang about: a lil' patience.

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4 min

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with

Ben Goertzel

Up Next

Videos

Lincoln’s Wild White House Seances

Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln held seances in the White House trying to contact the spirit of their dead son Willie. Or was it a calculated political move?