omnireboot.com | Original Article | by Megan May Daalder

What happened, and how can we learn from it?

The human brain has spawned a parallel universe of imagined lifeforms, landforms, and civilizations. Though usually conceived of as fiction, this parallel universe often leaks into various Earth systems. Robot explorers, genetically engineered animals, artificial intelligence, international space stations–these are, before anything else, the products of our imagination. They are what happens when an organism is capable of asking itself: What does the future look like?

The Biosphere 2 in Tucson, Arizona is a totemic example of how such fantasies can carry over into reality. I drove towards this aging temple of eco-optimism several months ago with low expectations, having been disappointed by utopian architecture before. But as I walked up to this behemoth of steel, glass, and plant life, my pragmatism dissolved into childlike enthusiasm. Read More...