Kurzweil has written enough by now that anyone hearing his interviews should be able to put his ideas in the context of his predictions about the Singularity. I

Kurzweil has written enough by now that anyone hearing his interviews should be able to put his ideas in the context of his predictions about the Singularity. I have always thought Kurzweil hedges his bets quite well, and he makes it quite clear that the capabilities about which he writes depend on future gains in computing power. Kurzweil is only human, of course, and it is well known that he is trying to extend his own life so that he will be here for the Singularity. He very much wants the things he predicts to happen in his lifetime, but I don't hear or read him as asserting that that will absolutely be the case. Myers' unnecessary "refutation" (and insulting) of Kurzweil reminds me of the reactions to the Segway. Kamen predicted that it would revolutionize transportation; naysayers then piled on, ridiculing him and saying that the Segway wouldn't work for commuting long distances on American super highways. Well, no, but that's not what he meant by revolutionizing transportation. I'm sure Myers is probably good at what he does, and he is very much concerned with the now and the practical. We need people like him, and we also need visionaries like Kurzweil and Kamen who look ahead decades or centuries.