The IT Skeptic - exponential

The safety razor singularity

skeptic — Tue, 09 Jul 2013 21:53:30 +0000

You may have missed it. We just passed through the Safety Razor Singularity, when safety razors achieved an infinite number of blades. Given the properties of infinity, I assume that means they have achieved consciousness. I have locked my bathroom from the outside, just to be sure.

Chicken ITle, robots, and a chessboard

skeptic — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:27:13 +0000

Today our new blog character returns. Chicken ITle draws our attention to those who announce catastrophic consequences for IT if we don't all rush off and do something. Usually these sky-falling folk are either analysts or vendors, because both profit from fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD). But sometimes they are book authors, pumping a book.

On exponential systems

skeptic — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:58:23 +0000

It is hard to extrapolate what is going to happen from any set of data. One thing is for sure: in the real world, any simple model that shows a continuing increase will run into a real physical limit. And if it is an exponentially increasing curve that we are forecasting, that limit is going to come sooner rather than later.

How prescient is Ray Kurzweil and how useful are his predictions?

skeptic — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:31:25 +0000

Even a blind squirrel finds a few nuts. But Ray Kurzweil missed the Cloud, Facebook, Twitter, SaaS, phone apps, and Angry Birds.