Well, if he was naming it after the purely mathematical term, then it seems to me he was just wrong entirely. The technological singularity is analogous to the event horizon of a black hole, but not at all analogous to any sort of singularity used in math or physics. The only explanation I can come up with for his mistake in naming it is that he was thinking "event horizon" and used the wrong word. But if he meant that it was going to be somehow like a mathematical singularity, that's certainly not right and so far I haven't encountered anyone who thinks that's what's going to happen. So either he's the only crackpot of the bunch, or he made a simple mistake not understanding black holes very well. The latter makes a lot more sense to me, and fits with what people have described online and in talks I've heard. If it was the former, then I don't know how it ever caught on... people should have realized he was crazy and used a completely different word.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 07:26 am (UTC)