science

Transcendent Man

Transcendent Man is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Transcendent Man rather than just read about it. In short: Transcendent Man is a 2009 documentary film by American filmmaker Barry Ptolemy about inventor, futurist and author Ray Kurzweil and his predictions about the future of technology in his 2005 book, The Singularity is Near. In the film, Ptolemy follows Kurzweil around his world as he discusses his thoughts on the technological singularity, a proposed advancement that will occur sometime in the 21st century when progr…

Key takeaways

Transcendent Man belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Transcendent Man to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Transcendent Man from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Transcendent Man is a 2009 documentary film by American filmmaker Barry Ptolemy about inventor, futurist and author Ray Kurzweil and his predictions about the future of technology in his 2005 book, The Singularity is Near. In the film, Ptolemy follows Kurzweil around his world as he discusses his thoughts on the technological singularity, a proposed advancement that will occur sometime in the 21st century when progress in artificial intelligence, genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics will result in the creation of a human-machine civilization. William Morris Endeavor distributed the film partnership with Ptolemaic Productions and Therapy Studios, using an original model involving a nationwide screening tour of the film (featuring Q&A sessions with Ptolemy and Kurzweil), as well as separate digital and DVD releases. The film was also released on iTunes and On-Demand on March 1, 2011, and on DVD on May 24, 2011. The film debuted for the first public screening at the Time-Life Building in New York City on February 3, 2011. The same week, Time ran the Singularity cover story by Lev Grossman, with coverage about Kurzweil's ideas and the concepts, citing Transcendent Man. Kurzweil toured the film, appearing on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg News, and Charlie Rose. Additionally, Kurzweil went on to discuss the film on The Colbert Report, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Real Time with Bill Maher.

Synopsis Raymond Kurzweil, noted inventor and futurist, is a man who refuses to accept the inevitability of physical death. He proposes that the Law of Accelerating Returns—the exponential increase in the growth of information technology—will result in a "singularity", a point where humanity and machines will merge, allowing one to transcend biological mortality: advances in genetics will provide the knowledge to reprogram biology, eliminate disease and stop the aging process; nanotechnology will keep humans healthy from the inside using robotic "red blood cells" and provide a human-computer interface within the brain; robotics, or artificial intelligence, will make superhuman intelligence possible, including the ability to back up the mind. Most of the movie has an implication of a religious background, and is applying technology to accomplish the goals with what is considered to be "god like" powers, through interdependent connection. Kurzweil has been criticized as being a modern-day prophet, however the film describes a detailed list of his inventions. Ray's dedication to improving the blind's quality of life is displayed in the climax of the film, with his miniature blind reading tool. Ray speaks of emailing someone a blouse, or printing out a toaster utilizing nanotechnology. Eventually swarms of our nanotechnology will be sent by us into the universe to, as Kurzweil puts it, "wake up the universe". Against this optimistic backdrop of human and machine evolution, concerns about Kurzweil's predictions are raised by technology experts, philosophers, and commentators. Physician William B. Hurlbut warns of tragedy and views Kurzweil's claims as lacking a more moderate approach necessitated by biological science. AI engineer Ben Goertzel champions the transhumanist vision, but acknowledges the possibility of a dystopian outcome. AI researcher Hugo de Garis warns of a coming "Artilect War", where god-like artificial intellects and those who want to build them, will fight against those who don't. Kevin Warwick, professor of Cybernetics at University of Reading, advocates the benefits of the singularity, but suggests the Terminator scenario could also occur, where humans become subservient to machine and live on a farm, and the singularity is the point where humans lose control to the intelligent machines. Warwick basically spells doom for anyone who is human after the singularity. Dean Kamen observes that advances in technology have finally made immortality a reasonable goal. At the end of the film, Kurzweil states, "if I was asked if god exists, I would say not yet."

Cast Tom Abate, Technology Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle. Hugo De Garis, Professor of Computer Science and Mathematical Physics, Xiamen University. Peter Diamandis, Chairman, X Prize Foundation. Neil Gershenfeld, Director, Center for Bits and Atoms, MIT. Ben Goertzel, Artificial Intelligence Engineer. William Hurlbut, Consulting Professor in the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford University. Kevin Kelly, Co-founder, Wired. Aaron Kleiner, Kurzweil Technologies Hannah Kurzweil, mother of Ray Kurzweil Ray Kurzweil Sonya R. Kurzweil, wife of Ray Kurzweil Robert Metcalfe, co-inventor of Ethernet, founder of 3Com Chuck Missler, Technologist/Koinonia Institute Colin Powell, retired four-star General in the United States Army. Steve Rabinowitz, college friend from MIT. Philip Rosedale, creator of Second Life William Shatner Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics, University of Reading. Stevie Wonder

Music American composer Philip Glass scored the original soundtrack for the film. In addition to the Transcendent Man score, other music from Glass's collection was included in the soundtrack.

"A Brief History of Time" "Koyaanisqatsi" "Kyoko's House" (from Mishima) "Religion" (from Naqoyqatsi) "Satyagraha Act III" (Conclusion) "Symphony No. 3" "The Thin Blue Line" "Tirol Concerto for Piano and Orchestra"

Release The Transcendent Man tour visited five major cities in the U.S., as well as London. These screenings featured question and answer sessions with Ray Kurzweil following the film. Ptolemaic Productions and Therapy Studios have pursued an alternative distribution strategy for Transcendent Man, going through the Global and Music departments of agency William Morris Endeavor to partner with iTunes and Media-on-Demand for a March 1, 2011 digital release and with New Media for a May 24, 2011 DVD release. Marketing made use of social media and emerging technologies like QR codes to appeal to a tech-savvy audience.

Film festivals April 28, 2009 - Tribeca Film Festival, World Documentary Feature Competition. November 5, 2009 - American Film Institute film festival, Los Angeles. November 24, 2009 - International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Amsterdam, Netherlands, screened in competition. March 2010 - Martha's Vineyard Film Festival.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Transcendent Man

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Transcendent Man claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Transcendent Man before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Transcendent Man ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Transcendent Man

In research: Transcendent Man appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Transcendent Man in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Transcendent Man is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2009 American films, 2009 English-language films, 2009 films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Transcendent Man outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Transcendent Man in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Transcendent Man means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Transcendent Man out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Transcendent Man in simple terms?

Why does Transcendent Man matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Transcendent Man?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Transcendent Man.