10 MAR 2019 by ideonexus
Asimov Story on Computation
■ N 1958, American science fiction legend Isaac Asimov wrote a very short story called "The Feeling of Power." In it, lowly technician MyI ron Aub discovers that he is capable of duplicating the work of his computer by multiplying two numbers together on a piece of paper. Amazing! This miraculous discovery makes its way up the chain of command, where the generals and politicians are stunned by Aub's black magic. The top general is intrigued by the possibility that human calculations could g... 1 
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notes21 MAR 2018 by ideonexus
Wargaming Allows a Safe Space to Learn and Experiment
Such is the power of wargames: They create a virtual world players can experience, learn from, and integrate into their tactical and strategic decision making. Let's repeat what we said at the outset. If you had the opportunity to probe the future, make strategic choices, and view the consequences of those choices in a risk-free environment before making expensive and irrevocable decisions. wouldn't you take advantage of it? 1 notes
notesThis is true of all games and why they are so low-stress as a learning environment. They give players an environment in which they can make mistakes without real-life repercussions.
10 MAR 2017 by ideonexus
What We Learn from Games
What also went unremarked was how much I was learning by playing these games: basic ideas such as taking turns and developing patience while others completed their turns, the strengthening of simple memory, improved physical coordination, an ability to recognize and act on patterns, the capacity to see what might happen in a few turns if I took one move as opposed to another, resilience when losing, and the kind of strategic thinking that emerges once you realize that Scrabble is both a game ... 1 notes
notes29 NOV 2016 by ideonexus
Earthseed 11-20
11. The Paradox
Why is the universe?To shape God.
Why is God?To shape the universe.
∞ = Δ
12. A Tree
A treeCannot growIn its parentsʼ shadows.
∞ = Δ
13. The Destiny of Earthseed
Destiny of EarthseedIs to take root among the stars.
∞ = Δ
14. Consequences
To get along with God,Consider the consequences of your behavior.
∞ = Δ
15. Power Struggles
All strugglesAre essentiallypower struggles.Who will rule,Who will lead,Who will define,refine,confine,design,Who will dominate.All strug...Folksonomies: earthseed
Folksonomies: earthseed
1 notes
notes25 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Ian Bogost: "Science"
The rhetoric of science has consequences. Things that have no particular relation to scientific practice must increasingly frame their work in scientific terms to earn any attention or support. The sociology of Internet use suddenly transformed into “web science.” Long accepted practices of statistical analysis have become “data science.” Thanks to shifting educational and research funding priorities, anything that can’t claim that it is a member of a STEM (science, technology, engi... 1 notes
notes24 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
For Want of a Nail
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. 1 notes
notesA rhyme for teaching consequences of small things.
24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
The Universe Holds the Meaning we Give It
Things happen because the laws of nature say they will—because they are the consequences of the state of the universe and the path of its evolution. Life on Earth doesn’t arise in fulfillment of a grand scheme but as a by-product of the increase of entropy in an environment very far from equilibrium. Our impressive brains don’t develop because life is guided toward greater levels of complexity and intelligence but from the mechanical interactions between genes, organisms, and their surr...
1 Sean Carroll argues that our existence and our intelligence is the product of nature's algorithms. Life holds the meaning we give it.
08 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
We are Ultimately Responsible for Our Fate
Thus it is that (to ensure feeding and breeding), "Nature" during the aeons of experimentation which we call "Evolution" has developed a variety of fixed preservative instincts, traits, and characteristics in the animal world. From the animal world, we as animals have inherited such of these instincts, traits, and characteristics as were necessary or most favorable to Man's survival and present dominance.
"Gifts": Peculiarly Human.
In addition to these, man lias acquired, attained, or bee... 1 notes
notesIf we choose to interfere with evolution and nature, then we are responsible for the consequences, but if we choose not to, then we are also responsible for the consequences.
21 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Understanding Physics is Like Learning Chess
The physicist is like someone who's watching people playing chess and, after watching a few games, he may have worked out what the moves in the game are. But understanding the rules is just a trivial preliminary on the long route from being a novice to being a grand master. So even if we understand all the laws of physics, then exploring their consequences in the everyday world where complex structures can exist is a far more daunting task, and that's an inexhaustible one I'm sure. Quoting Sir Martin Rees: Learning the moves is the beginning, but there is still much to learn about the strategy.
18 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Imagination and Knowledge
The scientist, if he is to be more than a plodding gatherer of bits of information, needs to exercise an active imagination. The scientists of the past whom we now recognize as great are those who were gifted with transcendental imaginative powers, and the part played by the imaginative faculty of his daily life is as least as important for the scientist as it is for the worker in any other field—much more important than for most. A good scientist thinks logically and accurately when condit... 1 notes
notesThe scientist needs to have imagination, and a great deal of facts to play with.
