

17 year old Ray Kurzweil on "I've Got a Secret" (1965) - tfh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4Neivqp2K4

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shadowsun7
More information over at Wikipedia:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil#Early_life>

"Later in high school he created a sophisticated pattern-recognition software
program that analyzed the works of classical composers, and then synthesized
its own songs in similar styles. The capabilities of this invention were so
impressive that, in 1965, he was invited to appear on the CBS television
program I've Got a Secret, where he performed a piano piece that was composed
by a computer he also had built. Later that year, he won first prize in the
International Science Fair for the invention, and he was also recognized by
the Westinghouse Talent Search and was personally congratulated by President
Lyndon B. Johnson during a White House ceremony."

------
ique
You can see the full 23 minute episode here
[http://www.vbs.tv/watch/motherboard/the-singularity-of-
ray-k...](http://www.vbs.tv/watch/motherboard/the-singularity-of-ray-kurzweil)
(the show with the interview, seen at the very end of the YouTube video)

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rms
The second most surreal thing that happened to me at the SIAI house (see
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1362364>) was finding the stash of Ray
Kurzweil drink mix in the pantry. The back of the package said that the drink
is best enjoyed when made with the official Ray & Terry's™ shaker cup. We
didn't have a shaker cup and having the official shaker cup would probably not
have been able to make Ray Kurzweil drink more palatable.

The first person who emails me to say that they applied for the SIAI Visiting
Fellows program gets a Ray Kurzweil drink mix mailed to them by me for free,
anywhere in the world.

~~~
khafra
Was the recipe for the Ray Kurzweil drink made by a computer?

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Maro
Having lived in three parts of the world (USA, Germany, Hungary, being
hungarian), let me tell you, this is one of the things that make America a
great place today: embracing innovation, entrepeneurship and taking risks.

In many countries, if you tell your parents and friends you're going to quit
your job and start a company, they'll tell you you're crazy. That's what they
told me. The USA is much more embracing towards entrepeneurial attitudes.

~~~
sown
To be fair, they'll say the same thing in most parts of the US but they will
be more supportive. :)

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kqr2
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any details on Ray Kurzweil's relay computer.

Stumbled upon this nice build though:

<http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~harry/Relay/>

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rbanffy
I love the way he controls the typewriter.

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zackattack
He does look very relaxed.

~~~
randlet
I thought the same thing. I couldn't believe how composed and calm he looked!

~~~
MikeCapone
Maybe he was also an early adopter of beta-blockers?

