Message to the Site - Educational Pathways to OA Techs?

[Drashner1]

Hey all,

We recently received the following message via the Contact Us feature:

Message: how can I study theories like this and other imaginative Concepts I'm 23 and I'm looking to join into school I'm really interested in Concepts like what you guys have fun on your blocks I want to create Technologies like this how can I license ideas like this and other Concepts from sci-fi and fantasy and imaginative technology Concepts and ideas and theories to scientist researchers futurist in am I on Concepts like friends and phone crating Technologies and clean synthetic biology on a different time scale from us that can evolve and become fat smarter than us indefinitely and that can create technology beyond our comprehension way faster than we could ever imagine it's like the singularity but for biological life-forms super-intelligent Etc lots of other more Concepts is a theory that person if the number of omniverses and Bianca's and that an advanced civilization could create create and manipulate Omniverse is on infinifte scales & Beyond

While the writing is a bit dense and confused (I'm wondering if it was done on a phone), the upshot seems to be that they are asking for advice on educational pathways in college that could lead to actually developing some of the technologies we describe in the setting. I am assuming that they aren't literally thinking of Y11k tech in its full form, but stuff that might eventually get there.

My first thought is Rynn, since he actually works/has worked as a nanotechnology researcher. My other thought is Tachyon, since he has studied the physics behind our wormholes and warp drives. I'm not really sure about what other members might have in their backgrounds or might advise that this person might find helpful.

Could anybody with useful advice or a background that might put them in a field that might be considered OA relevant weigh in with your thoughts or advice that I can pass on to this person?

Thanks!

Todd

[extherian]

Computational neuroscience sounds like what they'd be interested in, though it's not really something you'd study at the undergraduate level, more like a Masters you'd do to build on a neuroscience Bachelors degree. Also, they're more likely to be examining fruit fly neurons under a microscope than reinventing the human brain from scratch.

Electronic engineering and CPU design might be a better bet for bringing about the Singularity in less than a thousand years, though it's a very difficult field to get into. I'm tempted to suggest they do journalism so they can write exciting articles about how the Singularity is just around the corner. It might not advance the basic science very much, but it might inspire people who can.

[stevebowers]

My daughter has just gained a PhD in genetics and computational modelling, which is another very relevant area to study.

[Rynn]

They seem quite young so I'm assuming they're still at school. Picking science options will be a good start with the aim of doing an undergraduate science degree. Biology specialising into biomedical science would be one option, chemistry looking to go into chemical engineering would be another. Both are good pathways to get into nanotechnology research but obviously the former would include neurobiology. In either case keep an eye out for opportunities to study coding because it's useful in virtually all sciences these days.