WAMU 88.5 : The Diane Rehm Show

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Ray Kurzweil: "How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed"

Inventor, futurist and author Ray Kurzweil has long predicted humans will one day be able to transcend the limitations of their biology. In a new book, Kurzweil explains why that day is coming sooner than we might think. He argues that the expansion of the brain's neocortex was the last biological evolution man needed to make. That's because it is inevitably leading to "truly intelligent machines," which Kurzweil calls the last invention that humanity needs to make. Join Diane and Ray Kurzweil for a discussion on prospects for attaining immortality through technology.

Photo Gallery: Computer Simulations Of The Nervous System

Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from "How to Create a Mind." Copyright © Ray Kurzweil, 2012.

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In this 2005 TED talk, inventor, entrepreneur and visionary Ray Kurzweil explains in abundant, grounded detail why, by the 2020s, we will have reverse-engineered the human brain and nanobots will be operating your consciousness.

Read An Excerpt

Reprinted by arrangement with Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from "How to Create a Mind." Copyright © Ray Kurzweil, 2012.

NPR

Dan Brown: 'Inferno' Is 'The Book That I Would Want To Read'

Dan Brown, author of the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, is back with his first novel in four years. Inferno follows academic hero Robert Langdon on a chase through Italy as he attempts to avert a biological catastrophe.
NPR

'Picture Cook': Drawings Are The Key Ingredients In These Recipes

Designer Katie Shelly's upcoming cookbook offers 50 illustrated recipe "blueprints" for basic meals — from simple snacks to more hefty dishes like eggplant Parmesan. She hopes they'll inspire any level of cook to improvise in the kitchen.
WAMU 88.5

Ken Cuccinelli Wins GOP Nomination For Virginia Governor

Virginia's attorney general Ken Cuccinelli will face former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe in November to become Virginia's 72nd governor.

NPR

Book News: Amazon May Be Called Before Parliament Over Taxes

Also: AARP and The Nation join a growing list of ebook publishers; Hilary Mantel on Jane Austen; Anne Applebaum on Sheryl Sandberg.

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