Götterdämmerung - Copyright © Bill Hibbard 2001

 

Preface

We all see the acceleration of technological change, and many of us feel it in our lifestyles. Will it eventually slow down, or will it continue until it drives everyone insane? This book is my prediction of how technological acceleration will eventually resolve itself in a fundamental change in the nature of human life. We are only a few generations away from an event with impact equal to the first appearance of humans on earth. The event will seem distasteful to many and certainly poses real dangers. But it is also a great opportunity. If it is done right it will be a real blessing to the people who experience it. I wish I could be one of them, and am writing this book as an indirect way to participate in the event.

Many of the notes in this book include references to World Wide Web pages. It is possible that some of these pages may no longer be available when you want to view them. However, you should be able to find all of them in the WayBackMachine web archive at http://www.archive.org/.

Richard Wagner was an anti-Semite admired by the nazis. But many decent people admire his operas for their musical beauty and drama, and I have chosen to illustrate my ideas by their symmetry with his operas. If this offends you, please forgive me.

Thank you to A. J. Hibbard, Hal Snyder, Josh Snyder, Michael Böttinger, Ugo Taddei, Grant Petty, Bob Norton, Sandy Schink, John Moore, Jim Green, Dave Allen, John Benson, and Bob Krauss for reviewing drafts and other help with this book.