Self Replicating Machines

Self Replicating Machines- what could be cooler? [link] .

I saw this last week on digg or fark or one of the usual suspects. The funny thing is it's not a surprise; this was going to happen one of these days. If you're not impressed by what they have already accomplished, just wait a few years.

Of course the ethical issues now warrant attention. . Personally, I'm thinking of 2010 (not 2001). Great book, subpar movie. The climax of the book had the monolith going into full blown Von Neumann mode, replicating so much that Jupiter caves in on itself making a second star in our solar system.

Grr. Must stop geeking out.

Later.

Stupidity

Funny stuff:

Americans apparently know more about “The Simpsons” than they do about the First Amendment. Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.

...One in five people thought the right to own a pet was protected.

So George Washington was fighting the British so that he could have a pet?

Link