Why we need crazy ideas | Liam Morrow | TEDxRundleAcademy

It is not always easy to see that a seemingly crazy idea could house the breakthrough solution to the world's sticky problems. In this concise and provocative talk, Liam Morrow asks us to think beyond what we currently believe is possible.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

The speed and power
of the average computer processor

is doubling every two and a half years.

If this rate of progression continues,

we could create a conscious,
self-aware computer by the year 2045,

and this point in time
is called the singularity,

which is the point when a computer
becomes smarter than us.

In this talk I'll be focusing
on the fact that this computer

could be conscious; so is this possible?

First of all, though we don't know what
part of the brain is responsible

for consciousness
and much less how it works,

we do know this much;

your brain is a computer.

It sends signals
back and forth like wires,

it has different parts for doing
different patterns of things,

and it has tiny parts call neurons,

that are very comparable
to transistors in a computer.

There are parts for memory,
computation, sensing, and more,

and they all communicate
with each other.

So, for what we know,
with enough money, research, and time

we could do this.

And if we could do this,
couldn't aliens species do this, too?

Imagine a super-intelligent alien species.

This specie is thousands
of years ahead of us,

in almost all aspects of technology.

It decides to create
a full universe of simulation,

accurate down to the Planck length,

which is the smallest conceivable
distance in the universe.

The reasons for doing something
like this could vary,

but some possibilities are:

one, for a dying civilization.

To create a full universe simulation
to test ways to do things

that could be risky and see their effects
on the universe as a whole.

To experiment with different
possible laws of physics,

and to see their effect
on the universe as a whole,

or to just entertain a few individuals.

There's also a possibility that requires
a less advanced society,

one that is just recently passed
the 2045 singularity,

and they are just researching
on a few people

in a controlled simulating environment
for research and/or entertainment.

By now you might be thinking

that what I've been talking about
is the main idea of this talk.

Ultimately, however, the big take-away
I would like to leave you with tonight

is that dismissing ideas
that seem unrealistic

does not help us solve
the major problems in the world.

Think about it.

So many ideas that now
have became mainstream knowledge,

like global warming, evolution,
the existence of irrational numbers,

the big bang theory, the fact
that the earth revolves around the sun,

that the universe is larger
that just our solar system,

these were all originally considered
stupid and/or unrealistic ideas.

Statistically, there's a better chance
that they do exist but they're not,

but it's hard to prove or disprove.

So, remember: any idea,
no matter how unrealistic,

isn't impossible,

and that sometimes, to solve
the major problems in the world,

you need to come up
with unrealistic ideas,

as those ideas could change
the world, as we know it.

Thank you.

(Applause)