23 JUL 2026 by ideonexus
Watt's Myth
Myth, then, is the form in which I try to answer when children ask me those fundamental metaphysical questions which come so readily to their minds: 'Where did the world come from?' 'Why did God make the world?' 'Where was I before I was born?' 'Where do people go when they die?' Again and again I have found that they seem to be satisfied with a simple and very ancient story, which goes something like this:
'There was never a time when the world began, because it goes round and round like a ... 1 
notes
notes04 NOV 2018 by ideonexus
Controlling Randomness in Rhyming Games
Specific Rhyme Repertory: This straightforward strategy requires the counter to select a rhyme of a specific length that will achieve the desired result.
Extension of Rhyme: The counting-out rhymes are modular and extendable, and if the rhyme is about to end on someone that the counter does not want to be selected, the counter can spontaneously add an additional phrase or rhyme of the proper length to achieve a different result.
Skipping Regular Counts: The counter simply skips himself or h...Folksonomies: games randomness
Folksonomies: games randomness
1 notes
notes20 JUN 2017 by ideonexus
The Sense of Wonder is More Viral Than Anger
In many cases, these flare-ups triggered a chain reaction of anger, with User A influencing Users B and C, and outward in a widening circle of hostility, until it seemed all of Sina Weibo was burning. The users, according to the study’s authors, passed along these messages not only to “express their anger” but to instill a similar sense of outrage among other members of their online community on Sina Weibo—one of the only venues where the Chinese can circumvent government restrictions... 1 notes
notes26 APR 2015 by ideonexus
Shock: Social Science Fiction
What happens when a mind is no longer tied to a body?
What happens when those of greatest ability are
enslaved by those of greatest power? What happens when
Humanity is the new kid on the block? When minds are read
like books and books are illegal?
Shock: Social Science Fiction is a game, a set of rules, that
you’re about to use with your friends to create some science
fiction stories. You’ll create a world sitting around a
table, or on a floor in a circle, and use these rules to
reach a...Folksonomies: storytelling collaborative storytelling
Folksonomies: storytelling collaborative storytelling
1 Collaborative Storytelling.
05 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
The Monte Carlo Method and Evolutionary Algorithms
Back then, I thought of one thing: Have you heard of the Monte Carlo method? Ah, it’s a computer algorithm often used for calculating the area of irregular shapes. Specifically, the software puts the figure of interest in a figure of known area, such as a circle, and randomly strikes it with many tiny balls, never targeting the same spot twice. After a large number of balls, the proportion of balls that fall within the irregular shape compared to the total number of balls used to hit the ci...Folksonomies: algorithms evolutionary algorithms
Folksonomies: algorithms evolutionary algorithms
1 notes
notes19 DEC 2014 by ideonexus
John Cleese on Writing and Performing as Science
DAVIES: You know, and you say many times in the book that you're more a writer than a performer.
CLEESE: It's always hard for people to believe that because of course, anytime they've seen me it's because I've been performing. You know, they don't go to their televisions and switch them on and see me sitting at home writing, you know? So naturally, people's image is of a performer, but the reality is the writing for me has always been the most important thing and the most rewarding thing. An... 1 notes
notes09 AUG 2014 by ideonexus
12X Spiral
The theory is that numbers are self-organized around the smallest, most highly composite number, 12. The number 12 and many of its multiples (24, 36, 48, 60, etc.) are HCNs: highly composite numbers (with lots of divisors), which are extremely useful for measuring and proportions. Why are there 12 eggs in a carton, 12 inches in a foot, 12 months in a year, 24 hours in a day, 360 degrees in a circle, 60 seconds in minute? Because highly composite numbers can be divided evenly in many ways. For... 1 notes
notesBuilding a spiral around a clock, with 12-segments in the rotation, puts multiples of 3 at {3,6,9,12}, multiples of at {4,8,12}, multiples of 2 at {2,4,6,8,10,12}, and primes at {1,5,7,11}.
01 APR 2013 by ideonexus
The 12-Note Octave is Too Good to be True
[Playing notes on a piano] One... Two... Three... Four... Five... Six... Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten... Eleven... Twelve...
12 different pitches, and then back to where we began. Incredible! Fantastic! The mystical number 12. There are 12 hours in the A.M. and 12 hours in the P.M. The new day begins at 12 midnight. There are 12 months in a year. Both the Western and Chinese Zodiac have 12 signs. Further, the Chinese use a 12-year cycle for reckoning time. There are 12 eggs in a dozen. 12 d... 1 notes
notesThe number 12 seems so perfect, but a 12-note scale made of 3/2 ratios brings the circle around to a point a little sharper than the the next octave.
23 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Discoveries Open Doors to More Discoveries
Every discovery opens a new field for investigation of facts, shows us the imperfection of our theories. It has justly been said, that the greater the circle of light, the greater the boundary of darkness by which it is surrounded. Folksonomies: discovery
Folksonomies: discovery
1 Quote from Humphry Davy, "...the greater the circle of light, the greater the boundary of darkness by which it is surrounded."
23 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Leonardo da Vinci's Description of the Circle of Life
Nature being capricious and taking pleasure in creating and producing a continuous sucession of lives and forms because she knows that they serve to increase her terrestrial substance, is more ready and swift in her creating than time is in destroying, and therefore she has ordained that many animals shall serve as food one for the other; and as this does not satisfy her desire she sends forth frequently certain noisome and pestilential vapours and continual plagues upon the vast accumulation...Folksonomies: evolution circle of life
Folksonomies: evolution circle of life
1 notes
notesHe sees hints of evolution, but does not see how microscopic things feed on apex predators.
