My name is Rod Furlan. I am a 
Changing the world, one grand challenge at the time
“If I was a student this is where I would want to be.” – Larry Page
Blog RSS View my lifestream | Ask me anything
-
Rod Furlan
-
Rod Furlan
Advancing Substrate Independent Minds 2010
ASIM (Advancing Substrate Independent Minds) is a new series of workshops and activities that will cover the current state of the art in the fields of whole brain emulation, brain scanning, gradual replacement techniques, and brain preservation.The sessions of the ASIM workshop will run after the Singularity Summit workshop on Monday and Tuesday, as a satellite event to the main Singularity Summit (August 14-15). The Singularity Summit workshop finishes at 5pm on both days, so there will be time to find some dinner before joining us for our evening sessions.If you are interested in attending and would like more information, please feel free to contact the organizers.
-
Rod Furlan
The day we finally grow up
The world is changing fast. Wave after wave of accelerating technological change is leaving society and governments struggling to adapt. Our past could never prepare us for the journey we are about to embark on and the truth is that from here on in we shoot without a script.
While we all long for a better tomorrow, very few of us have the courage to try to imagine what the future might actually look like. Bound by conventions and by fear of ridicule, most of us dare not to dream or speak about the deep future, instead we as a society choose to focus on the short-term future, which is safe and generally agreeable.
Futurists everywhere, I applaud your courage. Even when you are wrong, you contribute more to the future of our species than your critics ever will.
Even though collectively we choose poverty of imagination as the default mode of thinking about the future, here we stand on the verge of profound societal changes that cannot be stopped and cannot be reasoned with. We are witnessing the dawn of an age of technological wonders, of technology so advanced that it is itself indistinguishable from magic.
Take a minute to admire the monitor in which you are reading these words. Maybe you are using a modern LCD flat panel or maybe you are using an old CRT tube. Either way, old or new, appreciate its beautiful complexity with millions of interconnected parts that are able to convert a symphony of electrons, bits and bytes into the perfectly weaved tapestry of light required to carry my words to you.
Now consider for a moment the most complex devices we possessed a mere 200 years ago. How does your monitor measure up to it? Do you even know how your monitor really works? What about your computer? Your cell phone? Would you be able to design any of these devices from scratch? Do you know anyone who could?
We came a long way in a very short period of time. Now try to imagine what miracles of science we will witness in the course of the next 200 years. No matter what you think you know about the future, I assure you that if we don’t destroy ourselves, the best is yet to come.
Like Martin Luther King, I too have a dream.
I dream of a world where people are once again thrilled about the future.
I dream that one day curing death, understanding the human brain and traveling to the stars will be seem as urgent challenges that must be conquered at all cost.
I dream that one day scientists will be considered celebrities and that each of us will be measured not by how much capital we have accumulated but by how much have we contributed to the future of our species.
I dream that one day all nations will unite in the war against ignorance and superstition, the true enemies of all sentient beings.
In sum, I dream of the day humanity finally grows up.
-
Rod Furlan
The Evolution of Life in 60 seconds
Very, very exponential – enjoy!
-
Rod Furlan
New Year’s Resolutions for 2010
“Become ruthlessly efficient, work less, own less stuff, read more, spend more time with people I love and change the world“
I am also planning (but not committing) to: write more, outsource more, gain 10 pounds of lean muscle, have at least one project in the VR space and learn how to control a computer using an EEG interface no matter how exhausting it might be (BCI).
-
Rod Furlan
Why you should buy a Nexus One phone from Google
Simply put, you should buy one just to take a stance against the carriers and their frequent abuses of power, to let them know that they can’t tell you what you can or can’t do with the bandwidth you paid for. The Nexus One has the potential to become the first no-compromise, factory-unlocked, mainstream smartphone. It is an untamed device that will allow you to take back control of your mobile experience in disregard of what would negatively affect the carrier’s bottom line.Buying any Android-powered device is also a statement against Apple’s draconian control over the iPhone platform. While it would be ok for them to protect their vision for the platform, it is not acceptable to artificially limit functionality only to protect their interests. It is your phone; you should be allowed to run ANYTHING you want in it, the compiler being the only authority to respect. It is absurd that you have to “jailbreak” your phone and shop at alternative app stores to have access to features (and content) Apple doesn’t want you to have.
When you buy a Nexus One, you will be sending the carriers and Apple a very clear message:
I am taking back control of my mobile experience. The future is mine (and not yours) to shape. If you want my money, you must support this vision or I will do business with someone else who does.
Wireless data is a commodity service.
-
Brian Goodyear
So true. Here in Canada, we have recently ben told by one of our carriers ROGERS that we will have to leave our Dreams and Magics at Android 1.5 because they won’t update these phones even through we signed up for 3 year contracts. We thought Android was different, and perhaps if Google really gets behind it as you suggest, it will prove to be what we had hoped.
-
-
Rod Furlan
I just ordered a Rovio
I have just ordered a WowWee Rovio. It is a “mobile webcam robot” that connects to your wireless network and is controlled via a web-based interface. The idea is to be able to visit my wife while I am away
I will post a review as soon as it arrives!
UPDATE: The Rovio software is terrible, a sad case of great idea with poor execution
-
Rod Furlan
Working on a new prototype
I just started working on an new prototype that will be demonstrated in a couple of months at the ███████████ ██████████. I have a a bunch of interesting problems to solve so I couldn’t be happier.It is basically a ██████ that will allow the user to ████████ ████ █████ █████████ without ███████ ████ █ █████ ████. It is going to be like ███████████ for the masses.
Stay tuned for cryptic updates that might not make any sense
-
Rod Furlan
Profit is a side-effect of a job well done
I am 29 and I am a compulsive builder. It isn’t like I want to build things, I simply have to because otherwise they consume me. Considering that I can envision way more than I can actually work on I find myself always having to give up ideas for the sake of completing projects already underway.
Once I am done, I don’t feel like I have any time to spare to enjoy success. Off I am to the next project.
To be honest, I feel like the journey is more important than the destination. Profits are nothing but a side-effect of a job well done.
My .02
Originally posted as a comment by rfurlan on Howard Lindzon using Disqus.
-
McLarty
I’ll take 1000 contracts of that at $0.02! haha. I find myself in the exact same boat. I got laid off…now I’m like, BAM: TONS OF TIME…which way do I sprint first?
-
Rod Furlan
Deciding on what to do next is so hard sometimes. Make sure you are excited about whatever you choose to do next. Life is too short to work on things you don’t care about
-
Mikey
I like that quote you said: I feel like the journey is more important than the destination. Profits are nothing but a side-effect of a job well done. Very inspirational
-
-
Rod Furlan
Introducing TwitZap
My latest project just went live. If you love Twitter as much as I do, I am sure you will love TwitZap too:
“TwitZap is a new way to use Twitter. It lets you slice Twitter into realtime streams of stuff that matters to you. On top of that, TwitZap users can tweet each other in real-time using our Twitter accelerator technology even while Twitter is down.”
It is basically a web-based, real-time Twitter client + search monitor. Think TweetDeck without the install – making it possible to use it anywhere, anytime.
Its unique advantage is that communication between TwitZap users is instantaneous – tweets are delivered in less than 800ms from end-to-end even when Twitter is slow or down.All tweets are still relayed to Twitter as soon as possible. You can even see other users that are on the same channels as you – which is pretty cool and incentivize instant interactions.
This morning, TwiZap got featured on Mashable and was the #1 trending topic on twitter search. Not bad for two weeks of work
However, this is probably going to be my last web project for a while. While it is incredibly gratifying to build something the whole world can use, web development is just not challenging enough to keep me excited about it.
I just feel like it is just too much busy-work for my taste, with very few really interesting problems to solve.
-
Rod Furlan
Science is Culture
I rarely have time to read magazines. In this day and age where everything is just a click away, I never find myself offline long enough to justify the need for a magazine. Last week when I was flying to Las Vegas I was fortunate enough to come across an issue of SEED Magazine. I read it nonstop from take-off to landing.
SEED = (Wired - douchebaggery) * 0.3 + (SciAm - boring) * 0.7
-
Rod Furlan
On Free Will
I have an issue with the concept of free will because for free will to exist it would require that information could be created out of nothing. My position might be counter-intuitive at first, but think about it:
Scenario #1: There is no free will and information cannot be created, just derived from previously existing knowledge. We are born with biological biases and within an environment that is not under our control. The environment will dictate what experiences we will have and what knowledge we will acquire while our biological biases will determine how we will derive new information from it. Information is derived and then re-derived and through recursion, we begin to exhibit complex emergent behavior that appears to be unpredictable.
Scenario #2: There is free will and ‘somehow’ we make information available to our mental faculties that is not sourced on pre-existing knowledge. The world stops making sense and we begin creating incredible explanations for the phenomenon – i.e. soul, spirit, fairies.
Collin Bockman are discussing. 
Mikey, 
Collin Bockman 8:57 am on January 4, 2010 Permalink
“learn how to control a computer using an EEG interface no matter how exhausting it might be”
Rod, does this mean you’ve purchased one of the Emotiv headsets? You’ll have to let me know if it is at all useful.
Rod Furlan 9:40 am on January 4, 2010 Permalink
Actually, I got a NIA instead: http://bit.ly/xtBz
David Orban 6:00 am on January 8, 2010 Permalink
My son @cosmyco also has a NIA. You two should find a way to train together online in VR, reaching two of your ’10 goals simultaneously!