by Ray Kurzweil
variations of, 294–296
Turkle, Sherry, 338, 497n, 506n
Turner, Linda, 236
turnover pulse, 511n
Turrigiano, G. G., 542n
two-photon laser scanning microscopy (TPLSM), 162–163, 164, 166
Tyler-Smith, Chris, 549n
type II civilization, 344, 348, 353
type III civilization, 344
typography, 54
UAVs, see unmanned aerial vehicles
ubiquitin, 209
Ueland, T., 553n
Ulam, Stanislaw, 498n
ulcers, 282
Ullman, Shimon, 547n
ultrasonic beams, 313
Unbounding the Future (Drexler and Peterson), 558n
uncertainty, 267
probabilistic fractals and, 46
quantum, 138, 238, 353, 486
uncertainty principle, 138
underclass, disappearance of, 338
underdeveloped countries:
criticism from the rich-poor divide and, 469–470
economic growth in, 99
education in, 336, 396
family size in, 433
life expectancy in, 338
uniforms, army, 332
Unitarianism, 1, 382
United Nations, 525n–526n
United Therapeutics, 216, 282, 581n
universal assembler, use of term, 228
universe(s), 342–368
age of, 347, 590n
anthropic principle and, 15, 357, 359–364, 499n–501n
cellular automata and, 85–91, 518n–522n
closed, 500n
computational limits of, 364–365, 485–486, 592n
computing of, 342
consciousness of, 375, 389, 390
as deterministic, algorithmic system, 85–86
Earth-centered view of, 342, 433
in Epoch Six, 14, 15, 21, 367, 390
evolution of, 360, 361
existence of, 389–390
expansion of, 354, 357, 360, 361
holographic, 365–366, 486
inflationary period of, 357, 360
multiple (parallel multiverses; “bubbles”), 15, 360, 362, 390, 499n–500n
new, 358, 405
purpose of, 374
search for extraterrestrial intelligence in, see SETI
spreading of intelligence through, 15, 21, 29, 45, 300, 361–368, 372, 375, 389, 486, 511n
stories vs. atoms in, 5
wormholes in, 354–356
University College, 288
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 280, 332, 333, 335
unsolvable problems, Church-Turing thesis and, 453–456
Upper Paleolithic era, 219
Uranos, 350–351
usr/bin/god (Doctorow), 271–272
Utah, University of, 308
Utility Fog, 506n
utility function, 39, 362, 364
V1 (visual area), 185
V5 (cortical region), 156
vaccines:
Alzheimer’s disease and, 220, 555n
cancer and, 217, 218
mousepox, 398
smallpox, 398, 402
vacuum tubes, 45, 56
as paradigm, 67, 67, 75, 75, 127–28, 434
Valdes, Francisco, 591n
values, 323, 424
vampire bot, 248
Van Essen, D., 547n
Vangelova, Luba, 556n
van Praag, Henriette, 177, 544n
variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), 116, 224
Vasan, S., 555n
vasculoid, 306
Vaupel, James W., 597n
vectors, 553n
Vega, 355–356
vehicles, 245, 246, 250
fuel cells for, 247
robot-driven, 285–286, 292
unmanned aerial (UAVs), 280, 332, 333, 335
see also cars
Venter, Craig, 216
ventral pathway, 175
venture-capital investment, 395, 524n
vestibular system, 314
video games, 125, 276, 319–320, 341
video graphics array (VGA) computer screens, 55
Vietnam War, 331
Vince, Gaia, 528n
Vinci, Leonardo da, 2, 51, 473
Vinge, Vernor, 22, 23, 24, 324, 328, 504n
virtual bodies, 28–29, 199, 203, 319, 325
virtual people, 105, 287, 313, 318, 473
virtual reality, 4, 9, 28–29, 203, 312–320, 340, 397, 487
auditory, 105, 310, 312–313, 318, 472
body changes and, 310
concerns about, 318, 319–320
e-commerce and, 105
foglets and, 28, 29, 310
full-immersion, 105, 315, 340, 341, 457, 472
military use of, 312, 335, 586n
nanobots and, 28, 29, 310, 313–317, 319, 377
from within the nervous system, 28, 29, 165, 300, 377
personality in, 29, 314–316, 587n
social change and, 473
visual, 105, 310, 472
virtual-reality environment designers, 314
viruses, 226, 418, 423, 511n
gene therapy and, 215, 216
genetic engineering and, 206, 393, 398, 402–403
HIV and AIDS, 74, 95, 398, 402, 470, 514n
Internet information on, 594n
nanotechnology and, 233, 235–236, 255
SARS, 74, 398, 402–403, 423, 514n
smallpox, 398, 402
synthetic, 216
as vectors, 553n
viruses, software, see software viruses
Visser, Matt, 356, 592n
visual cortex, 156, 172, 176, 181, 530n
visual-spatial relationships, learning of, 175
visual systems, 130, 265
modeling of, 185–88, 187
of primates, 574n
robotic, 123, 187–188, 285–286, 529n
visual virtual reality, 105, 310, 472
vitamin A, 414
vitamins, 301
Vita-More, Natasha, 302, 583n, 589n
Vlastos, Gregory, 51
Vogel, Viola, 236
voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), 473
voice synthesis, 294–295
Voogd, J., 544n, 545n
voxel (three-dimensional pixel) maps, 285
VPNs (private networks), 256
Vrba, Elisabeth, 511n
Wade, Nicholas, 510n
Wagner, Richard, 549n
Waisman, D. M., 552n
Walch, Stephen P., 562n, 563n
Wales, University of, 283
Walker, John, 515n
Wal-Mart, 283
Walsh, Christopher, 505n
Wang, Chuan-Bao, 567n
warfare, 300, 330–335, 398, 401, 409
civil liberties and, 421–422
death in, 330–331, 331, 409
see also specific wars
war-game simulation, 398, 595n
Warner Bros., 315
Warwick, Kevin, 194
water, 239, 240, 406
pattern of, 383
pollution of, 243
purification of, 252
spirituality and, 388
Waterston, Robert, 206n, 549n
Watson, Arthur H., 599n
Watson, James, 11, 206, 207, 549n
Watts, Lloyd, 143, 440, 531n–532n, 537n, 545n
auditory system model of, 123–124, 147–148, 183–184, 185, 443, 452, 530n, 545n–547n
waves, cellular gliders and, 520n
wealth, 341, 372, 391
creation of, 13, 107, 338, 396–397, 410
weapons, 8, 330–335
bioweapons, 393
guidance of, 255, 276, 279–280, 413, 435
of mass destruction, 423–424
nanotechnology-based, 300, 334–335
nuclear, see nuclear weapons
simulations of, 280, 334
smart, 335, 435
weather patter
ns, 449
Weaver, Kimberly, 503n
weavers, destruction of cottage industry of, 507n
Webb, John K., 356, 592n
Web browsers, 473
Weibel, Peter, 549n
Weiershausen, W., 516n
weight gain, prevention of, 11–12, 303
Weinberg, Steven, 500n
Weiner, H. L., 555n
Weir, Laila, 586n
Weis, R., 587n
Weiss, Rick, 556n
Weiss, Ron, 221, 555n
Weizenbaum, Joseph, 312
Weizmann Institute of Science, 118
Welsh, J. P., 544n
Werblin, Frank S., 186–187, 547n
Westphal, Sylvia, 553n
“what-if” experiments, 26
wheel, biological evolution and, 440
Wheeler, John A., 355, 503n, 592n
“When Will Computer Hardware Match the Human Brain?” (Moravec), 122
White, Carter T., 563n
White, S. R., 589n
white blood cells, 305
microbivores as replacement for, 254, 306
Whitehead, Alfred North, 72, 189, 410, 453, 514n, 601n
Whitesides, George, 254, 568n
Whitfield, John, 541n
“Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” (Joy), 391, 394–395, 409, 427
Wiener, Norbert, 86, 268, 382, 518n, 593n
Wiesel, T. N., 173, 542n
will, freedom of, 382, 521n–522n
Williams, Brian, 281
Williams, Sam, 576n, 581n
Wilson, Arthur, 437
Wilson, D., 584n
Wilson, E. O., 195
Wilson, Frank A., 509n, 543n
Wimax standard, 346, 432
wind energy, 243, 244, 334
Winerman, Lea, 561n
Winston, Patrick, 284
Winter, J. O., 587n
Wired, 394, 427
wireless communications, 221, 282, 346, 432
between brains, 316, 585n
to Internet, 312, 346
nanobots’ use of, 163, 233, 303, 304, 316
price-performance of, 77, 77
Wisconsin, University of, 115
wisdom, 330, 335, 369
grandmother hypothesis and, 219, 302
Wise, Kensall, 304, 584n
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 312
Wolfram, Stephen, 93, 481, 518n
cellular automata and, 85–91, 93, 359, 448, 519n–522n
Woodruff, R. C., 555n
Woods, C. Geoffrey, 523n, 539n
work, 259
automation and, 108
call-center, 287
categories of, 302, 314
decentralization of, 105, 122, 340–341
farm, decline in, 302, 340, 583n
GNR impact on, 337–341
intellectual property and, 339–340
meaningful, 396
mental vs. physical, 302
personal services as, 340
play vs., 300, 341–342
role of, 300
World Bank, 2004 report by, 99, 338, 396, 470
World Health Organization, 423
World War I, 330, 331, 374
World War II, 330, 374, 396, 442
deaths in, 331, 331
World Wide Web, 17, 78, 100, 102, 261, 436, 441
access to, 338, 469
dangerous information on, 392–393, 395, 594n
eBay on, 104
education and, 336, 337
experience beamers and, 316
human longevity and, 325
mass use of, 20, 42, 50, 512n
virtual environments of, 314, 337, 472
as worldwide mesh, 312
wormholes, 140, 354–356
Wright, John, 548n
Wright, Robert, 86–87, 518n
writing, 17, 18, 20, 36, 44, 48, 286, 338, 536n
Wu, L., 553n
Wurman, Richard Saul, 315
X chromosome, 510n, 556n
xenografts, 418, 598n
xenoviruses, HIV-type, 418
Xerox, 570n
Palo Alto Research Center of, 240, 286
Xerri, C., 542n
Xiao, Y., 584n
X inactivation, 510n
X-ray scattering, 138
Xu, Kaixin, 589n
xylose, 248
Yamada, T., 564n
Yan, Hao, 117, 529n
Yang, R. T., 567n
Y chromosome, 42, 208
yeast, gene expression in, 283
Yeats, William Butler, 301
Yeltsin, Boris, 406
Yin, Tom, 545n
Young, E., 184, 545n
Young, Mike, 283
Young, Richard, 509n
Young, S. R., 542n
Yovits, M. C., 535n
YRUU (Young Religious Unitarian Universalists), 382
Yu, V., 570n
Yudkowsky, Eliezer S., 35, 498n, 597n
friendly AI and, 409, 420, 598n–599n
Yurtsever, Uri, 355–356, 592n
Yuste, R., 541n
Zakon, Robert, 516n
Zaks, A., 562n
Zeck, Günther, 586n
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Pirsig), 392
Zen parable, 312
zeolites, 252
Zeus (Earth-sized computational object), 350, 351
Zhang, L., 552n
Zhang, Shoucheng, 118–119, 530n
Zhang, Wei-xian, 567n
zinc oxide, 252
Zita, Karen, 542n
zonulin, 163–164
zot, 163–164
Zuse, Konrad, 86, 518n