Great find on the article. Perhaps one day the judges for the Loebren Prize will be replaced by these "self-learning" robots. There is a discussion about this on Metaculus-
Another aspect of the project's challenge is funding. While technically plausible in principle to develop such system, the total funding needed is on the order of $5-10 Billion. There is a relevant discussion about this on [Metaculus](http://www.metaculus.com/questions/208/to-the-stars-1-will-t...), for those who are interested.
Since the current hyperloop concept can only travel in a straight line, perhaps having it as underwater structure will make possible for traveling at great distances. Otherwise, one can imagine having their pathways interfering with buildings, etc. when built above ground. Still, it will be very cool if a proof of concept can be [demonstrated](http://www.metaculus.com/questions/71/will-a-successful-proo...).
As mentioned in the article, it's great to see that the teaching of Buddhism is becoming increasingly of interest in the western culture. One thing that was not mentioned is the parallel between Buddhist medicine and acupuncture. Upon researching I found some relevant information on [acupuncture being used as an art of healing and surgery in Vedic literatures](http://www.bhupendratechniques.com/Research/Theories/IndianO...).
Very interesting paper. It reminded me of the discussion on the level of consciousness a system possibly/potentially has in Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist by Christof Koch.
"I really don’t understand the physics that makes that system work, but it has a lot to do with water pressure..."
For those who are curious: In simple terms, pressure is proportional to depth. Assuming the air pump is outputting constant pressure, the pressure exerting on the top surface of the water would be constant. On the other hand, the amount of pressure experienced at a point near the bottom of the container depends on the its depth- the deeper the more pressure.
When there is more fluid, there is more pressure near the bottom due to the weight of the fluid itself, which allows greater output (water going into the soil). As the fluid's depth decreases, so will the pressure experienced by a point near the bottom.
I too wonder about this. Having read from physical books most of my life and switching to ebooks/PDFs (reading from laptop or iPad) was not as fun/convenient as I thought it would be. Although saving resources, the feeling I get when holding a book and writing in it (jogging down thoughts or deriving equations) are irreplaceable by electronic files.