27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Rules are the Persistent Identity of a Game Across Cultur...
There are at least two senses in which the RULES schemas offer a "formal" way of looking at games. First, the term formal is used in the sense of "form": rules constitute the inner form or organization of games. In other words, rules are the inner, essential structures that constitute the real-world objects known as games. For example, consider two games of Go that differ in a variety of ways. They might differ in terms of:
Material: one version is played with stones on a wooden board; the o... 1 
notes
notes27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
The Magic Circle
The term magic circle is appropriate because there is in fact something genuinely magical that happens when a game begins. A fancy Backgammon set sitting all alone might be a pretty decoration on the coffee table. If this is the function that the game is serving-decoration-it doesn't really matter how the game pieces are arranged, if some of them are out of place, or even missing. However, once you sit down with a friend to play a game of Backgammon, the arrangement of the pieces suddenly bec...Folksonomies: gameplay
Folksonomies: gameplay
1 notes
notes09 SEP 2016 by ideonexus
Childhood Fascination with What Adults Consider Mundane
If you know kindergartners, you know that a thread on the carpet can become one of the most fascinating objects on the face of the earth. The child will pick it up and run her fingers the length of it, scrutinizing every centimeter of that thread. She might hold it up in the sunlight to get a better look and then lay it on her lap to continue the intense observation of the thread. Those who are sitting close to the thread scientist may notice this intriguing object and want in. So they’ll ... 1 notes
notes31 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
The Supercollider Was an Unreasonable Gamble`
Now particle physics in the United States is struggling
to survive the d isaster of the Supercond ucting
Supercollid er. The Supercollid er was a gigantic particle
accelerator project that was canceled in 1 993 after about
3 billion d ollars had alread y been spent on it. The
cancellation was a personal traged y for many of my
friend s who had d evoted the best years of their lives to
the project. But when I speak of the d isaster of the
Supercond ucting Supercollid er, I d o not mean the can...Folksonomies: socialism government funding
Folksonomies: socialism government funding
1 notes
notes14 APR 2015 by ideonexus
Ode to Spot
Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature,
An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature.
Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses
Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
A singular development of cat communications
That obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
For a rhythmic stroking of your fur to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents.
You would not be so agile if you lacked...
1 Lieutenant Commander Data (2338 – 2379)
29 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Emotional ABCs
The ABC model of emotion, widespread in contemporary psychotherapy, holds that it is not an activating (A) event, such as rejection by a friend or lover, that causes you emotional consequences (C) such as depression; rather, the linchpin is your invisible beliefs (B) about the event that come in between A and C. Fortunately, it's often easier to intentionally change beliefs than emotions.
Since at least the time of the ancient Stoics, some have believed that our circumstances don't control ...Folksonomies: emotions emotional maturity
Folksonomies: emotions emotional maturity
ABC model of emotion relates to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in recognizing how our beliefs affect our emotional responses.
08 AUG 2013 by ideonexus
The Experiment that Disproved Astrology
A story told by this friend, Firminus, shook the young Augustine from his pagan faith. Firminus’ father, an earnest experimenter in astrology, always noted the positions of the stars and even “took care with the most exact diligence to know the birth of his very puppies.” Firminus’ father learned that one of his women-servants was to be delivered of a child at about the same time that Firminus’ mother was expecting. “Both were delivered at the same instant; so that both were const... 1 notes
notesTwo children born at the same time, one a master, the other a slave.
19 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
The Fundamental Units of Lojban
bridi - relationshipsselbri - the kind of relationsumti - describe the relation
bridi are composed of two different units: all bridi must have a selbri and any given amount of sumti
Examples:
x1 gives x2 to x3
mi dunda ti do
do - you
mi - me
ti - this (as in this thing here in my hands or near me)
x1 is a friend of x2
mi pendo do
x1 is blue
ti blanu
x1 talks to x2 about subject x3 in language x4
mi tavla do do
(I'm talking to you about you)
words that are 1-4 letters can be sumti
words... 1 notes
notesBasic overview of grammar.
11 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
WWW Makes the Improbable Normal
Cops, emergency room doctors, and insurance actuarists all know it. They realize how many crazy impossible things happen all the time. A burglar gets stuck in a chimney, a truck driver in a head on collision is thrown out the front window and lands on his feet, walks away; a wild antelope knocks a man off his bike; a candle at a wedding sets the bride's hair on fire; someone fishing off a backyard dock catches a huge man-size shark. In former times these unlikely events would be private, know...YouTube and other videos capture the many unusual occurrences happening all over the world out of sheer statistical probability, making them seem average.
16 APR 2013 by ideonexus
Neem: Cognitive Drug
Neem is a mnemonic drug that works by
“tagging” experiences and mental input with a set of
unique sensations that contribute to the formation
of state-based memories. Neem gummy chews come
in a variety of fruit avors shaped like extinct old
Earth animals. Neem gives characters a 20 bonus
on COG Tests to recall information they learned
while on Neem (see Memorizing and Remembering,
p. 176). The drawback to Neem is that memories they
accumulate while under the drug’s in uence have no
em... 1 notes
notesA drug that "tags" experiences and ideas with a set of unique sensations to link to a memory. One could then take another dose of Neem to recall the memory.
