A Rationale for ThePriceofRice – A Year-End Note from Barry

When I started ThePriceofRice in 2006, I chose that domain name to link my blog to the idea of "stuff that matters," as in the question, How does that affect the price of rice in China? Most of the things we read about every day do not affect China's market price for rice, or much else but, by contrast, I wanted to write about things that were of significance to my life, and perhaps yours, too.

I began by writing self-improvement articles based on my experience in life, love, work and finances. But as things do, my focus evolved and specialized into articles on futurism and the technological singularity. I wrote my own commentaries on the relevant news of the day, which was fun, but then my focus narrowed even more: Documenting the approaching singularity.

From a certain point on, my contribution to the world has no longer been to produce content, but rather to document and highlight the news that most of us would otherwise miss. Most of us do not pay attention to technological advances until they show up on the retailers' shelves, meanwhile advances are taking place that are transforming how we think and live in the most profound ways imaginable.

My self-assigned task has been to scour the trade papers and other news outlets for significant advances in technology and bring to your attention the most portentous articles I can find. I usually highlight one article every day, presenting you with a short section along with a link to the full article at its source. I am careful to give full attribution and to link back to the original.

It is my contention that we cannot take full advantage of technological or societal change unless we have a basic grasp of what's happening, why it's happening, and what it will mean for our lives. Not to mention that it's damned interesting.

So look for more articles on bio-engineering, general artificial intelligence, neuroscience, nano-technology, life extension, transhumanism, robotics, virtual and augmented reality, and the approaching technological singularity. And tell your friends about ThePriceofRice!

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