27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Claude Shannon's "Entropy House"
Built in 1858, the house was constructed for Ellen Dwight, a great-granddaughter of a genius tinkerer of an earlier era, Thomas Jefferson. Originally seated on twelve acres, its design was inspired by Monticello. Encircled by “a three-sided verandah with segmental openings and chamfered posts,” the house was a stately three stories at the crest of a “broad expanse of lawn reaching down to the wooded shore of Upper Mystic Lake.” Toward the end of Shannon’s life, it was added to the N... 1 
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notes22 NOV 2017 by ideonexus
Removing Prepositions in Defining Thought
Having turned my back on propositions, I thought, what am I going to do about this? The area where it really comes up is when you start looking at the contents of consciousness, which is my number one topic. I like to quote Maynard Keynes on this. He was once asked, “Do you think in words or pictures?” to which he responded, “I think in thoughts.” It was a wonderful answer, but also wonderfully uninformative. What the hell’s a thought then? How does it carry information? Is it like ... 1 notes
notes30 NOV 2015 by ideonexus
Specialization is for Insects
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects. 1 notes
notes23 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Pastafarianism
Most of us do not believe a religion – Christianity, Islam, Pastafarianiasm – requires literal belief in order to provide spiritual enlightenment. That is, we can be part of a community without becoming indoctrinated. There are many levels of belief.
By design, the only dogma allowed in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the rejection of dogma. That is, there are no strict rules and regulations, there are no rote rituals and prayers and other nonsense. Every member has a say i...Folksonomies: secularism
Folksonomies: secularism
1 19 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
The Umwelt Bubble
The biologist Jakob von Uexküll’s term Umwelt refers to a concept about the subjective world of an organism. The world can be imagined as a soap bubble, which surrounds each individual and contains signifying markers relevant only to the world of that specific creature. This soap bubble, or Umwelt, is actively created by the individual organism in a process of forming a perception of reality, which is guided by the organism’s design, its physiology, and its needs.
According to Uexküll,...Folksonomies: perception transhumanism
Folksonomies: perception transhumanism
1 notes
notesBy Laura Beloff's "The Hybronaut Affair: A Ménage of Art, Technology, and Science"
22 APR 2014 by ideonexus
WHERETO Mnemonic for Lessons
Learning Activities:
What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the desired results? How will the design
W = Help the students know Where the unit is going and What is expected? Help the teacher know Where the students are coming from (prior knowledge, interests)?
H = Hook all students and Hold their interest?
E = Equip students, help them Experience the key ideas and Explore the issues?
R = Provide opportunities to Rethink and Revise their understandings... 1 notes
notesAcronym for key elements to hit in any teaching activity.
16 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
Systems Science as a Subset of Other Sciences
Systems science is best seen as a science that consists of nested sub-sciences. It is presented most compactly using the notation of set theory.
Let A represent a science of description. Let B represent a science of
design. Let C represent a science of complexity. Let D represent a science of action (praxiology). Let E represent systems science. Then
A ⊂ B ⊂ C ⊂ D ⊂ E
illustrates the concept that we can learn something of systems science by first learning a science of description. ...Folksonomies: science systems science
Folksonomies: science systems science
1 notes
notesUsing set notation... an interesting way to describe the field.
23 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
What Drives the Mind of a Science Writer?
The design of a book is the pattern of reality controlled and shaped by the mind of the writer. This is completely understood about poetry or fiction, but it is too seldom realized about books of fact. And yet the impulse which drives a man to poetry will send a man into the tide pools and force him to report what he finds there. Why is an expedition to Tibet undertaken, or a sea bottom dredged? Why do men, sitting at the microscope, examine the calcareous plates of a sea cucumber and give th... 1 notes
notesWe understand that fictional books are crafted to present a worldview, but we forget the same is true of nonfiction.
21 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Benjamin Franklin Thwarts the Will of God
When Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning-rod, the clergy, both in England and America, with the enthusiastic support of George III, condemned it as an impious attempt to defeat the will of God. For, as all right-thinking people were aware, lightning is sent by God to punish impiety or some other grave sin—the virtuous are never struck by lightning. Therefore if God wants to strike any one, Benjamin Franklin [and his lightning-rod] ought not to defeat His design; indeed, to do so is hel... 1 notes
notesHis lightning rod is condemned by the religious.
23 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Consciousness is the Last Mystery
Human consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery. A mystery is a phenomenon that people don't know how to think about—yet. There have been other great mysteries: the mystery of the origin of the universe, the mystery of life and reproduction, the mystery of the design to be found in nature, the mysteries of time, space, and gravity. These were not just areas of scientific ignorance, but of utter bafflement and wonder. We do not yet have the final answers to any of the questions ...Folksonomies: science consciousness
Folksonomies: science consciousness
1 notes
notesNot because we don't understand it, There are lots of things we don't understand, but because we don't even know how to think about it.
