Do we live in a computer simulation? UW researchers say idea can be tested

News releases | Research | Science December 10, 2012 A decade ago, a British philosopher put forth the notion that the universe we live in might in fact be a computer simulation run by our descendants. The concept that current humanity could possibly be living in a computer simulation comes from a 2003 paper published in Philosophical Quarterly by Nick Bostrom, a philosophy professor at the University of Oxford. The human species is likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage.Any posthuman civilization is very unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of its evolutionary history.We are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. He also held that “the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation.” Eventually, more powerful simulations will be able to model on the scale of a molecule, then a cell and even a human being.

10 Interesting Futuristic Materials 1. Aerogel Aerogel holds 15 entries in the Guinness Book of Records, including "best insulator", and "lowest-density solid". Sometimes called "frozen smoke", aerogel is made by the supercritical drying of liquid gels of alumina, chromia, tin oxide, or carbon. 2. Carbon nanotubes are chains of carbon held together by the strongest bond in all chemistry, the sacred sp2 bond, even stronger than the sp3 bonds that hold together diamond. 3. "Metamaterial" refers to any material that gains its properties from its microscopic structure rather than bulk composition. 4. We're starting to lay down thick layers of diamond in CVD machines, hinting towards a future of bulk diamond machinery. 5. Diamonds may be strong, but aggregated diamond nanorods (ADNRs) are stronger. 6. Amorphous metals, also called metallic glasses, consist of metal with a disordered atomic structure. 7. A superalloy is a generic term for a metal that can operate at very high temperatures, up to about 2000 °F (1100 °C). 8. 9.

Blink and you'll miss it: Eye-control TV arrives which lets couch potatoes change the channel without lifting a finger By Eddie Wrenn Published: 10:17 GMT, 31 August 2012 | Updated: 17:05 GMT, 31 August 2012 Couch potatoes just found another excuse not to get off the sofa - a TV which can monitor your eyes and change the channel if you give it the nod. The Eye Control TV, by Chinese manufacturer Haier, comes with an admittedly bulky device that you place in front of your TV, and with a determined blink of your eyes you can change channels, change the volume, or power your television off. The eye-sensing technology relies on a Kinect-style sensor sat on your table, and Haier says your standard blinks will not interrupt your scheduled viewing. Scroll down for video No more lost remotes: The prototype sensor sits in front of the television, responding to blinks from the couch potato Blinks can bring up a menu bar, with a slide of your head allowing you to adjust the volume After that, long blinks activate the sensor, bringing up an on-screen display. VIDEO: Control the TV with with just your eyes