Author Archives: charlesgillingham

Data on the History of Transportation

Trains 1804 2.4 Trevithick’s locomotive 1825 15 Locomotion No. 1 1829 30 Stephenson’s Rocket 1830 40 Northumbrian 1838 45 GWR North Star 1847 78.2 Great Western “Iron Duke”  1854 81.8 Bristol & Exeter No. 41 1889 89 Crampton (Type 80) 1890 90 Hardwicke 1893 100 Empire State Express No. 999 1903 126 Siemens & HalskeContinue reading “Data on the History of Transportation”

Why Didn’t We Go Back to The Moon?

Notes on Progress TIME MACHINES Human bodies are time machines. My grandfather, born in 1896, grew up in the “wild west” of California: horses, buggies, the occasional train. Before he died, he flew 400 mph in a jet airliner as big as a building and watched men walk on the moon. But what happened duringContinue reading “Why Didn’t We Go Back to The Moon?”

Four Assumptions About the Future of Artificial Intelligence

These four assumptions are almost always made in science fiction and popular commentary on AI (or alien life). They are often made by academic futurists and professional scientists (who should know better).  The Human Essence Assumption The Chain of Being Assumption The Myth of Steady Progress The Myth of Limitless Progress

I. The Latitude of Falling Sparks

Everybody who is my age or older can remember exactly where there were the day they heard about The Amazing Journey of Colonel Eratosthenes Smith. It was that kind of thing. If you’re too young to remember then forget about it. You have no idea. It’s like that moon landing thing. To you and me,Continue reading “I. The Latitude of Falling Sparks”