Throughout my life, I've been influenced by the ideas of various thinkers. I wanted to put together a page of the thinkers that have influenced me the most, in rough chronological order of when they had their initial impact (distributed between the years of 1996 and 2004, with a heavier concentration in 2002-2004). I've had the good fortune to meet many of them in person, and would even call some of them my friends.

Person: K. Eric Drexler, nanotechnology researcher
Key idea: Nanotechnology
Landmark text: "Engines of Creation", 1986
Website: E-Drexler.com
Met in person: Yes, but he seemed really stressed out. (He was debating Smalley intensely around that time.) He is quite non-social, so we may meet again, but probably not. Since I'm not doing actual nanotech research, I doubt he cares.

Person: Marshall T. Savage, space enthusiast
Idea: Thorough analysis of a variety of global-to-galactic colonization strategies
Landmark text: "The Millennial Project", 1992
Website: Living Universe Foundation
Met in person: I wish.

Person: Frank J. Tipler, mathematician, physicist
Ideas: Universal colonization, perfect emulations, optimized VR environments, superintelligence, human beings as information patterns
Landmark text: "The Physics of Immortality", 1994
Website: Frank J. Tipler's web page
Met in person: Not yet... might not be doing so ever as he seems to have lossed it. (Published The Physics of Christianity...)

Person: Ray Kurzweil, inventor, technologist, futurist
Idea: Accelerating change, transhumanism
Landmark text: "The Age of Spiritual Machines", 1998
Website: KurzweilAI.net
Met in person: Sort of, I've seen him like three times and I know he knows who I am but he never says hello... ever. Good thing I can wait.

Person: Eliezer Yudkowsky, cognitive engineer
Ideas: Recursive self-improvement, unanthropomorphic thinking about AI
Landmark texts: "Staring into the Singularity", 1996; "Creating Friendly AI", 2001
Website: The Low Beyond
Met in person: Yes; I know Eliezer quite well now. He has become much more socially adept in the time since I met him.

Person: John Smart, systems theorist and futurist
Idea: Better models of accelerating change, systems theory in futurism
Landmark text: "What is the Singularity?", 2000
Website: Singularity Watch
Met in person: A few times, he's full of vitality and down-to-earth

Person: Leda Cosmides & John Tooby, evolutionary psychologists
Idea: Evolutionary psychology
Landmark text: "The Adapted Mind", 1992
Website: Evolutionary Psychology: a Primer
Met in person: I wish.

Person: Nick Bostrom, polymath
Ideas: Near-term feasibility of superintelligence
Landmark text: "How Long Until Superintelligence?", 2003
Website: Nick Bostrom
Met in person: Yes. Pretty calm... but very busy.

Person: Daniel Kahneman & Amon Tversky, psychologists
Idea: Heuristics and biases
Landmark text: "Judgement Under Uncertainty", 1982
Website: Wikipedia entry on Daniel Kahneman
Met in person: I wish... Tversky died recently.

Person: Robyn Dawes, psychologist
Idea: Superiority of actuarial models in decision-making and prediction
Landmark text: "Rational Choice in an Uncertain World", 2001
Website: Robyn Dawes
Met in person: I wish... I will try for it one day.

Person: Christopher Phoenix, nanotechnology researcher
Idea: Phoenix nanofactory
Landmark text: "Design of a Primitive Nanofactory", 2003
Website: Chris Phoenix's home page
Met in person: Yes, very fun to talk to!

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