I have always had a fascination of space and science. While I academically pursue careers on the artistic side of the spectrum, I have always enjoyed the conceptual aspects and discussions brought about by modern science.
For instance, Ghostbusters, the 1984 science-fiction comedy (and my favourite film of all time), was screened in Stanley Park last night. Due to inclement weather for outdoor movie-going (it was cold), my friend Robin and I instead watched a 2009 documentary called Transcendent Man. The film centers around author/inventor/futurist Ray Kurzweil‘s projection of where humanity and technology are headed in the next 20, 30, 40 years.
His accuracies and accomplishments give his words real credibility, and while the technologic capabilities may be extremely advanced, seeing how the world has adopted technology in the past century allows for, at the very least, the concept to be plausible.
The audience is immediately drawn into the genius of Kurzweil with a clip from his appearance on the early 1960s TV game show, I’ve Got a Secret, hosted by Steve Allen. A 17 year-old Kurzweil plays a piano tune for a panel of celebrity guessers. His secret? The music piece was composed by a computer, which Kurzweil invented.
Transcendent Man isn’t just a self-promoting vehicle for Kurzweil’s prophesies, however. The film contains many experts from varying fields, who oppose or counter these predictions. An interesting observation of this group of biologists, cybernetic professors, physicians, and religious men is that while they may disagree with Kurzweil’s view of the outcome of his beliefs, not a single person discredits the science, or inevitability, of technology. Instead, they raise the arguments of when, how, or should; but not if.
The art direction in the documentary is masterfully crafted, utilizing wonderful visual aides to help grasp certain concepts. One of my favourite pieces was showing how the speed of a microchip doubles every two years. Featured early in film when Kurzweil is explaining his calculations, the imagery zooms out from a microchip, only to continue to zoom out again and again, in an endless cycle.
clip: Kurzweil explains Accelerating Technology, including the doubling microchip imagery discussed above.
After the film concluded, Robin and I discussed the history, patterns, and implications of man and technology at length. I enjoy exercising that part of my brain, questioning and exploring the scientific. It’s an opportunity to talk about things that I don’t often get to, being in the arts. It also gives me chance to experience the understated brilliance Robin possesses; he calculated a complex series equations in a matter of seconds by picturing the math in his head! It was silently brilliant, especially when I don’t see that on a day to day basis. I’m sure it was routine for him, however…
Regardless of where a person may draw the line as to what is in our future, watching Transcendent Man will help in better understanding the course that human nature has taken, and how our experience shapes where we are headed.
I think about how as a species, we used to be spread out across the planet. Over time, we have steadily increased our ability to communicate with each other. We moved closer together into cities, invented means of transportation to physically connect one place to another, by water, over land and eventually through the sky. The advent of radio and telephone, photography and motion pictures, stimulated our senses into receiving media not created from our own presence; we didn’t have to experience it first hand. These technologies are then gradually accepted as common place. Where a telephone was once rare, it eventually spread to all buildings, creating a network. Then came the jump to expanding the network remotely via cellular phones; again, at first a rarity, now widely accepted. Meanwhile, these devices which everyone carries around have advanced to the point where we are creating and receiving our own media, 24 hours a day.
It’s clear to me that the human condition is connectivity, our desire to share experiences with one another. How much an individual chooses to participate is still a decision that can be made. But for how long?
I highly recommend Transcendent Man for anyone with a curious mind about who we are as a species, and where we may be headed. Anyone who watches this film will agree that one thing is for certain; humanity is remarkable.
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