10 MAR 2019 by ideonexus
Outboard Brain
Following in the grand tradition of nearly every new technology, nobody started to panic about the potential downsides of cognitive outsourcing until kids starting doing it, and doing it in ways that their parents didn't understand. They type with their thumbs in ugly slang and funny symbols. They have short attention spans. They can't remember their own phone numbers. They spend more time on social media than they did with their friends irl (that's "in real life," my daughter tells me). They... 1 
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notes10 MAR 2019 by ideonexus
Processing Power to Chess Rating Ratio
50 here is what the Deep Thought team wrote about the relationship between search depth and chess strength in a 1989 article:
The ascent of the brute-force chess machines back in the late 1970s made one thing crystal clear: there is a strong causal relationship between the search speed of a chess machine and its playing strength. In fact, it appeared from machine self-test games that every time a machine searches one extra ply, its rating increases by about 200-250 rating points. Since each...Folksonomies: computation processing power
Folksonomies: computation processing power
1 notes
notes20 NOV 2018 by ideonexus
Virtuology
The main equation that Virtuology (VG) could be theorized is: VG: U D, which means: Virtuology: Upload Download. This equation, as I believe, is summarized the entire new science, i.e. Virtuology (VG).
For example, it is used with MSCOW.7 It is implemented also in Large-scale Distributed Systems and Energy Efficiency. 8 Another study has M computers upload or download N contents. During the simulation process, each user selects a certain content to upload or download with a given probab... 1 notes
notesLooked up this term after coming across a reference to "virtuologist" in a Cyberpunk story.
27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Measuring Progress by the Cost of Light
Time is not the only life-enriching resource granted to us by technology. Another is light. Light is so empowering that it serves as the metaphor of choice for a superior intellectual and spiritual state: enlightenment. In the natural world we are plunged into darkness for half of our existence, but human-made light allows us to take back the night for reading, moving about, seeing people’s faces, and otherwise engaging with our surroundings. The economist William Nordhaus has cited the plung...Folksonomies: human progress quantification
Folksonomies: human progress quantification
1 notes
notes19 JAN 2018 by ideonexus
Gell-Mann Amnesia Effect
Briefly stated, the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect is as follows. You open the newspaper to an article on some subject you know well. In Murray's case, physics. In mine, show business. You read the article and see the journalist has absolutely no understanding of either the facts or the issues. Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backward—reversing cause and effect. I call these the "wet streets cause rain" stories. Paper's full of them.
In any case, you read with exasper... 1 notes
notes07 AUG 2017 by ideonexus
Constructable Strategy Game Patent
A game, toy or article of manufacture includes a set of rules and at least one model. The model has multiple movable parts, where under the rules of play, the model begins in an assembled configuration. As the model loses points under the rules of play, at least some of the parts are removed from the model, or replaced with substitute parts. The model may be formed from a panel or other substantially planar member, with the individual pieces formed therein. 1 notes
notes17 MAY 2017 by ideonexus
Encyclopedia as a Directory of Associations
Every science overlaps with others: they are two continuous branches off a single trunk. He who composes an opus does not enter abruptly into his subject, does not close himself strictly within it, does not leave it abruptly: he is obliged to anticipate terrain adjoining his; its consequences often take him onto another contiguous terrain on the opposite side; and how many other excursions are necessary in the body of the work? What is the purpose of the forewords, introductions, prefaces, ex... 1 notes
notes01 APR 2015 by ideonexus
Evolution of French Prescriptivism
Prescriptive attitudes to language seem to be more deeply engrained in France than in many other speech-communities. This article traces their development between the sixteenth century and the present day within the model of language standardization proposed by E. Haugen and in the light of the notion of ‘standard ideology’ proposed by J. and L. Milroy. It will be argued that early definitions of what was considered ‘the best French’ were based simply on the observed usage of ‘the best people...Folksonomies: prescriptivism
Folksonomies: prescriptivism
1 Sounds as though it has often been used for discrimination.
02 MAR 2014 by ideonexus
Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function
The poor often behave in less capable ways, which can further perpetuate poverty. We hypothesize that poverty directly impedes cognitive function and present two studies that test this hypothesis. First, we experimentally induced thoughts about finances and found that this reduces cognitive performance among poor but not in well-off participants. Second, we examined the cognitive function of farmers over the planting cycle. We found that the same farmer shows diminished cognitive performance ...The stress of poverty can cause a 13 point reduction in IQ that improves when financial security is attained. Details from this article: "In a series of experiments, the researchers found that pressing financial concerns had an immediate impact on the ability of low-income individuals to perform on common cognitive and logic tests. On average, a person preoccupied with money problems exhibited a drop in cognitive function similar to a 13-point dip in IQ, or the loss of an entire night's sleep."
11 FEB 2014 by ideonexus
Curse of the Gifted: Personal Account
I am miles away from Eric or Linus, but the "curse of the gifted" is very real.
Thankfully I wasn't smart or gifted enough that I could ride it for long, but when it comes to math and problem-solving I rode it well into my high school years. I never learned to do algebra "by the book," because I didn't need to. Or maybe because I wasn't smart enough to.
The math teacher would teach "3x 6 = 9." Basic algebraic problem-solving says you subtract the 6 from both sides, then divide by 3. So "3...
2 A reply to the article, personal anecdote.
