In the 1920's, many of America's super-rich asked Addison Mizner to design Palm Beach mansions for them. There, in Florida's subtropical climate, he re-created stately European residences that he wanted to look as if they had been built over many generations, with owners over time making changes and additions as their fortunes waxed and waned.
The effect was often quite beautiful. And perhaps surprisingly, these palace-like homes were quite eco-efficient for their, or even our, time.
For example (in those pre-air-conditioning days) Mizner always tried to allow for cross-ventilation in every room of each house he designed. Prevailing breezes were considered, and buildings were one-room deep, with windows on at least two sides. The kitchen (with its heat) was kept away from living areas. And covered outdoor areas kept the heat of direct sunlight out of windows.
Dr. Donald Curl, one of my former professors, is probably the world's foremost authority on Mizner, who himself was a fascinating character. Mizner traveled widely and made a personal study of the mansions and other architectural treasures of Europe. At various times, he also had been a painter, an earstwhile gold miner in Alaska, and even a prize fighter.
It is thanks in large part to Dr. Curl that the world knows what it does of Addison Mizner.
Mizner personally bought out ancient villages in Spain to bring their treasures to Palm Beach, where the items themselves (or replicas his own workshop painstakingly created) adorned his home and those of his wealthy client friends. He had his workers soak outdoor flower pots in water saturated with cow manure, and then allowed moss to grow on the pots, "aging" them to add an Old World look to his mansions. But beyond just looks, those mansions in a number of ways embodied the wisdom of pre-Industrial Age design, and can teach us some lessons even today.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Humanity's Robotic Descendants?
Although it may seem sad to contemplate, the eventual extinction of the human species may be a necessary step in the evolution of intelligence on this (and perhaps any) planet. At the least, we may have to transition to a human-machine hybrid.
Indeed, maybe the development of a sentient tool-manipulating species that then creates intelligent machines is a normal step in the evolution of life on any planet where it arises.
On planets throughout the cosmos, it may be a common or even necessary process for whatever life form that creates advanced technology and in the process damages the natural environment, to then go extinct as the machines become the dominant form of intelligent "life" on that planet. These robots and other machines could then perhaps interact with the remaining biological forms of life in a more logical and sustainable manner. In this way, technological development could progress without damaging the environment to the point of wiping out the (now) most technologically-advanced "life" form on the planet.
After all, logically-thinking machines would have no reason to overpopulated the planet and outstrip its available resources. It also seems possible that such machines could unselfishly cooperate and avoid annihilating each other with nuclear weapons.
And of course, long-distance space travel would be much easier and more feasible for machines than for living organisms.
So if there are any space-faring civilizations traveling beyond their own star systems, it seems likely that those "beings" will be machines, at least in some sense. Indeed, our own Voyager and Pioneer space probes have so far traveled tremendously farther than any human astronauts have ever gone, passing the outermost reaches of our solar system.
Of course, a robot "species" of the future could be far less like a machine than we can currently imagine. Even if such intelligent entities do not have "living" components (although they may), they will probably be self-replicating and self-healing.
And for space travel, if completely non-organic these entities would require no food, water, rest, entertainment or diversion. Or maybe they would. Perhaps they would still be able to enjoy art or other aesthetic diversions appreciated by humans. (Maybe this would be useful to keep their brains active.) More likely though, they would have a selfless "hive" mentality.
If robotic descendants of humanity did indeed have a hive mentality, it seems unlikely that the arts would survive beyond ways that would have direct scientific and engineering application. History, however, might still be appreciated to understand how the process of evolution works (which would be useful when encountering other planets where life had arisen). In other words, the evolution and extinction of the human species may be studied by robots of the future as we now study the lives of the dinosaurs.
The "singularity" will arrive eventually, and perhaps there's nothing the human species can do to prevent robotic entities from "evolving" to the point where they take over. But in the meantime, I intend to do my best to both enjoy my life and respect the beautiful planet that we call home.
Indeed, maybe the development of a sentient tool-manipulating species that then creates intelligent machines is a normal step in the evolution of life on any planet where it arises.
On planets throughout the cosmos, it may be a common or even necessary process for whatever life form that creates advanced technology and in the process damages the natural environment, to then go extinct as the machines become the dominant form of intelligent "life" on that planet. These robots and other machines could then perhaps interact with the remaining biological forms of life in a more logical and sustainable manner. In this way, technological development could progress without damaging the environment to the point of wiping out the (now) most technologically-advanced "life" form on the planet.
After all, logically-thinking machines would have no reason to overpopulated the planet and outstrip its available resources. It also seems possible that such machines could unselfishly cooperate and avoid annihilating each other with nuclear weapons.
And of course, long-distance space travel would be much easier and more feasible for machines than for living organisms.
So if there are any space-faring civilizations traveling beyond their own star systems, it seems likely that those "beings" will be machines, at least in some sense. Indeed, our own Voyager and Pioneer space probes have so far traveled tremendously farther than any human astronauts have ever gone, passing the outermost reaches of our solar system.
Of course, a robot "species" of the future could be far less like a machine than we can currently imagine. Even if such intelligent entities do not have "living" components (although they may), they will probably be self-replicating and self-healing.
And for space travel, if completely non-organic these entities would require no food, water, rest, entertainment or diversion. Or maybe they would. Perhaps they would still be able to enjoy art or other aesthetic diversions appreciated by humans. (Maybe this would be useful to keep their brains active.) More likely though, they would have a selfless "hive" mentality.
If robotic descendants of humanity did indeed have a hive mentality, it seems unlikely that the arts would survive beyond ways that would have direct scientific and engineering application. History, however, might still be appreciated to understand how the process of evolution works (which would be useful when encountering other planets where life had arisen). In other words, the evolution and extinction of the human species may be studied by robots of the future as we now study the lives of the dinosaurs.
The "singularity" will arrive eventually, and perhaps there's nothing the human species can do to prevent robotic entities from "evolving" to the point where they take over. But in the meantime, I intend to do my best to both enjoy my life and respect the beautiful planet that we call home.
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