Articles:
This week I've been catching up on my science reading.
"The Beginnings of Bionic" - Science News. Details how researchers are tailoring electronics design to fit the human form.
"World Changing Ideas 2012" - Scientific American. Practical breakthroughs that have been prototyped from artificial DNA, to oil that cleans water, to pacemakers powered by our own blood.
Books:
How To Create A Mind, by Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil draws on the most recent neuroscience research, his own research and inventions in artificial intelligence, and compelling thought experiments, and describes his new theory of how the neocortex (the thinking part of the brain) works: as a self-organizing hierarchical system of pattern recognizers. Kurzweil shows how these insights will enable us to greatly extend the powers of our own mind and provides a roadmap for the creation of superintelligence—humankind's most exciting next venture. He suggests we are now at the dawn of an era of radical possibilities in which merging with our technology will enable us to effectively address the world’s grand challenges.