When we were young we would lie on the newly mown summer grass and talk to one another about the cloud pictures we saw.  Little did we realize that someday there would be an unseen cloud up there full of all the ideas of the world.  And now there is!

Without a qualm these days, we talk of saving our computer-recorded thoughts to “the cloud” and refer to an entity called “cyberspace” in the same way that we speak of electricity or satellite signals.  And, because they seem beyond my scope of understanding, I tend to categorize all of such Buck Rogers/Star Trek capabilities under the general heading of “Magic.”

Last night, however, I happened to tune into “Book TV” and was treated to 55 minutes with Ray Kurzweil, the author of several books on artificial intelligence.  Mr. Kurzweil was the principal inventor of several technologies, including the first CCD flatbed scanner and the first text-to-speech synthesizer.  As a result of his work, he was awarded the 1999 National Medal of Technology and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

He was discussing his new book, How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed.  In it, Mr. Kurzweil draws on the most recent neuroscience research to reverse-engineer the brain and to apply what’s learned to build intelligent machines.  Not only was the subject fascinating, but the author made his ideas understandable, logical (and even acceptable!) to me of the ‘magic’ school of thought.

One of his points concerned the rapid reduction in size of computers – from the room-sized Univac in the 1950s to our hand-held smart phones of today – as well as their exponentially increased ability to store data, their portability and affordability.  As he spoke of future probabilities such as computers the size of blood cells that will enhance the abilities of our brains just as the evolution of the cerebral cortex did way back when, I was totally enthralled.

I am hopeful that the book will be as intriguing and as easy to understand as its author was.  As of last night, Timberland Library lists the book but it is apparently not yet in stock and there was no way to put a ‘hold’ on it.  I will definitely keep trying.