The Stuff I Didn't Get To -- 11/27/08

My robot would've looked like Angelina Jolie

-Headline of the day-
"Robotics expert builds android twin to study the soul."

Luckily, this headline is a little misleading. Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro has built a sort of android puppet of himself, that follows his movements and expressions and speaks in his voice. It's basically a communications device, like a mechanical avatar, that allows him "to have a presence when not actually present, essentially being in two places at once."

Still, this thing is seriously creepy. It looks just like him, only without the obvious characteristic of being alive. It's kind of like a prosthetic person. But the Japanese professor says this creepiness wears off.

"At first you may feel strange about the android," Ishiguro told Reuters. "However, once you are drawn into a conversation, you will forget every difference and feel totally comfortable to speak with it and look it in the eyes." I guess that's the "study the soul" part.

I suppose that reaction makes sense. After all, you have the same experience when you watch a cartoon; after a while, you forget -- or, at least, ignore -- the fact that you're watching drawings that represent people, not the people themselves.

That said, I really don't recommend you run out and get one of these things. If you have to be someplace, but can't make it in person, just go ahead and videoconference. I guarantee these things will scare kids and dogs.

It's still pretty high on the niftiness scale, though. The Japanese are actually making weird robots, just like in their cartoons. If Ishiguro makes one that's a hundred feet tall and names it "Voltron," I'm sold. (Raw Story, with video)


-The big day-
It's Thanksgiving, which means that one of the day's big stories is that it's Thanksgiving. Politico celebrates the holiday by asking various journalists, pundits, and newsmakers what they're thankful for. James Carville proves he's as crazy as everyone thinks he is, by saying he's thankful that 62 people are coming to his house for Thanksgiving. That's gonna be a mess. PBS's Gwen Ifill is a terrible liar, saying she's glad the election is over. Oh yeah, elections are just terrible for the journalism business...

And what am I thankful for? I'm thankful for getting through one more Thanksgiving without someone asking me what I'm thankful for. (Politico)


-While we're on the subject...-
...the blog of the lefty Center for American Progress, Think Progress, lists "17 Reasons To Give Thanks." Among them, that MSNBC has Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann on the air, that Bush is heading out of office, and that "John McCain has more time to spend in the houses he owns... even if he can’t remember them all."

I suppose I'm not yet out of danger of having someone ask me the Thanksgiving question. If it happens, I'm stealing Think Progress's answers. (Think Progress)