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The hacker historian and author behind 2012's Turing's Cathedral returns to Kepler's for the release of Analogia, a boldly philosophical book which explores the arc of technology from the stone ages to the point where technology surpasses its creators. How has technology shaped humanity through time, and happens when we develop technologies beyond our programmable control?
Dyson offers a rich historical glance that sweeps centuries, peppered with autobiographical elements including Freeman Dyson's work on TRIGA (the safe nuclear reactor used around the word to create medical isotopes), and his own 1972 stint squatting on land in British Columbia in a tree house of his own design to get some distance from that very legacy. Dyson even delves into his noted love of kayak design. The resulting book is a treasure of philosophy, science, history, biography, and the ways we as human beings shift with emerging scientific breakthroughs. He pays especial attention to the development of complex networks and artificial intelligence.
After a sweeping four-part review of technology to date, the conversation projects into the future to suggest that perhaps machines and nature could join forces against... us.
Joining Dyson in conversation about Analogia is computer graphics luminary and Silicon Valley favorite Avly Ray Smith. Smith co-founded two successful startups— Pixar and Altamira (sold to Microsoft)— and was the first director of computer graphics at Lucasfilm. The recipient of two technical Academy Awards, Smith is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Published widely in theoretical computer science, computer graphics, and scholarly genealogy, Smith holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, and is at work on a book called A Biography of the Pixel.
Don't miss these two brilliant minds in discussion of technology's role in our past and future.
**Please consider joining with a book or donation to support the production of this event and make it possible for us to continue bringing you great conversations. Registration will close one hour before the event; please reserve your spot early to guarantee access, as registrations are limited.**