Raymond "Ray" Kurzweil

Raymond Kurzweil (http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2010/06/18/bu-Kurzweil20_ph_0501813411.jpg)

"I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go." This quote by Langston Hughes portrays the personality of Ray Kurzweil adequately. Famous for his idea of singularity and immortality by the use of technology, Ray Kurzweil is known as the "modern Thomas Edison". In 1999, President Bill Clinton presented the nation's highest technology honor, the National Medal of Technology, to Kurzweil. With the award bestowed upon him, Kurzweil took it as a challenge to continue changing the future one step at a time with technology. Aimed at people in society with disabilities suffering from incurable diseases, Kurzweil's technological advances have changed their lives, raised their hopes, inspired them to live, opened their eyes to what they had never seen before, and continues to do so. Kurzweil's selfless characteristic causes him to utilize his intelligence and dedication to create multiple inventions in an endeavor to improve the lives of those facing obstacles and hardships.  

Ray Kurzweil with the Kurzweil 3000 software (http://www.kurzweilai.net/images/gallery-ng/ray-kurzweil-contemporary-photos/rayk30001400x988.jpg (Courtesy of Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.))

Kurzweil uses his intelligence to bring about unimaginable inventions for the benefit of others that many people have never thought of creating before. His family recognized his intelligence early, allowing him to start developing his skill at a young age: "Kurzweil built his own computer when he was twelve years old and soon thereafter wrote a statistical program that IBM later distributed to its customers" (Ed. Brigham Narins). Despite his success at an early age, Kurzweil did not easily become known for his talent and had to develop his knowledge since he first realized he had the potential. He was born into a family of musicians that had little proficiency at technology. His only help and guidance was his uncle, who was able to help nurture his intelligence, allowing him to create programs to facilitate the lives of others. Kurzweil's intelligence didn't limit his creativity, and instead, allowed his creative ideas to become reality: "'He always thought on a much larger scale than everyone else,' recalled his sister Enid. 'He would never put up a little tent in the backyard. He always had to turn the entire house and lawn into a fortress'" (Biography Today). Kurzweil's talent allows him to visualize what people in the past had never believed could happen and improve the lives of others by tying the connection between technology and life. His intelligence gives him the ability to be able to create what he visualizes, and make it into reality. With his unusual thoughts and ideas, Kurzweil is keenly interested in new problems such as financial investment, cybernetic art, virtual reality, reading technology, innovations, and longevity.

MIT, the college Kurzweil attended (http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1331/874333956_312bce7d70.jpg (Courtesy of Fred Jang))

Despite constant conflicts and failures he faces, Kurzweil never gives up on any of his ideas for an invention because of his dedication for his projects. Kurzweil's schedule provides many restrictions on the amount of time he has to work on his projects. Nonetheless, his dedication and persistence enables him to continue with his ideas, no matter how much work he toils through: "Kurzweil attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he majored in computer science and literature. Although he maintained top grades, his classmates knew him as 'The Phantom' for being conspicuously absent from normal college activities while he worked on his own projects" (Ed. Brigham Narins). Despite his overwhelming schedule, Kurzweil did not forsake his many projects. He maintains his hard work in other areas, yet his priority always stays on his projects for others. Because of his great commitment in so many of his creations, those with incurable diseases are given a chance to live. However, although he gives people the chance to live a normal life through technology, he often has to overcome his own hardships, such as his health: "He dreams of seeing this through despite having had his own setbacks, including heart surgery and a brush with diabetes. He says he has 'greatly improved my insulin sensitivity' by exercising and swallowing 200 pills a day - yes, 200" (Clements, Warren). Kurzweil has always faced conflicts, whether it is from society or his own body, yet they never prevent him from striving to improve the lives of others. Instead, he takes his challenges head-on and fights to overcome it, without faltering in his attempts at making our future lives more technologically-oriented. This ability of Kurzweil's to dedicate himself to his projects, despite the many obstacles he faces, stands as an admirable trait that inspires people around him.  

Stevie Wonder playing the Kurzweil 250 in concert (http://www.kurzweilai.net/stevie-wonder-kurzweil-250-in-1988 (Kurzweil archives))

Regardless of his success, Kurzweil remains a humble and selfless man; all his inventions are made with the thought of helping others as he tries to alleviate the problems and complications in everyone's lives through his creations. His hopes to solve many problems that Americans face influence his new innovations and inventions: "...within two years, he had developed the first print-to-speech reading machine, known as the Kurzweil Reading Machine; the system has been hailed as the most significant reading aid for the blind since Braille...and at the suggestion of blind musician Stevie Wonder (who had used one of the first Kurzweil Reading Machines), he then turned his energies to music" (Ed. Brigham Narins). Unlike many others who work on projects with the dream of becoming rich, successful, and famous, Kurzweil dreams of having his projects benefit others. Constantly keeping in mind the thoughts of others, Kurzweil's contributions in technological advances have helped to change the lives, and world, of many people. His selfless acts do not just stop with innovations, but Kurzweil also donates what he receives as awards for his creations to those he thinks deserves the money more than him: "In August 1998, Ray... received the first $150,000 SAP/Stevie Wonder "Product of the Year" Vision Award for the Kurzweil 1000 Reading System. The Kurzweil Foundation...used these funds for the Kurzweil Foundation's scholarship program, providing scholarships to worthy blind students" (Kurzweil Technologies). He uses the money of his successes to contribute to the lives of others. He invents with the altruistic thoughts of humanity in his mind, not how he can profit from his creations. Kurzweil enhances many people's lives with his developments of the first CCD flatbed scanner, omni-font optical character recognition, print-to-speech reading machine for the blind, text-to-speech synthesizer, music synthesizer capable of recreating the grand piano and orchestral instruments, and commercially marketed large-vocabulary speech recognition. Ray Kurzweil demonstrates his modest and benevolent characteristics by making helping the disabled his main priority.

Ray Kurzweil's numerous inventions, born from his intelligence and true devotion, were created to better the lives of the disabled and challenged. His ability to wield his talents and sacrifice his time and money for people makes him an admirable hero, and exactly what many call him, the "modern Thomas Edison". Kurzweil's inventions have brought light into the darkness of many people's lives, bringing them back from whatever pit they have fallen into, and giving them hope for a better future. His actions and characteristics have inspired many to follow what we truly have a passion for and use our own talents to make our ideas into reality, while helping and changing the lives of others at the same time. Kurzweil once stated, "Find your passion, learn how to add value to it, and commit to a lifetime of learning." Intelligence is a trait many can acquire; but for those who acquire it, differentiating themselves and learning dedication and selflessness will be what makes them a true hero. They must have a passion to work towards and believe in. As long as you believe and commit to something, showing that you truly want to go and take that path in life, "there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go."

Works Cited

Clements, Warren. "Futuristic documentary is both exhilarating and sad." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 4 Mar. 2011: R7. Gale 

Biography In Context. Web. 24 Mar. 2012