30 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Human Combinatoric Reasoning
Humans, of course, were not created in a state of Original Reason. We descended from apes, spent hundreds of millennia in small bands, and evolved our cognitive processes in the service of hunting, gathering, and socializing. Only gradually, with the appearance of literacy, cities, and long-distance travel and communication, could our ancestors cultivate the faculty of reason and apply it to a broader range of concerns, a process that is still ongoing. One would expect that as collective rati...Folksonomies: reasoning combinatorics
Folksonomies: reasoning combinatorics
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notes13 MAR 2015 by ideonexus
Phonetic Spelling Saves Time and Effort Through Fewer Let...
Simplified spelling means shorter spelling. Of the
32 Rules printed in Part 3 of this Handbook, 27 drop
letters from words as now speld; 3 involv trans-
positions of letters to reconcile conflicting analogies;
and 2 involv substitutions of one letter for another,
with the same object. In no instance has the Board
recommended a change involving the addition of a let-
ter to a word. Further simplifications wil result in fur-
ther abbreviations. A completely fonetic sistem of
notation, ...
1 19 APR 2013 by ideonexus
Science and Education Feed One Another
The progress of the sciences secures the progress of the art of instruction, which again
accelerates in its turn that of the sciences; and this reciprocal influence, the action of
which is incessantly increased, must be ranked in the number of the most prolific and
powerful causes of the improvement of the human race. At present, a young man,
upon finishing his studies and quitting our schools, may know more of the principles
of mathematics than Newton acquired by profound study, or discovere... 1 notes
notesProgress in one secures progress in the other.
19 APR 2013 by ideonexus
The Projected Growth of the Sciences
It has never yet been supposed, that all the facts of nature, and all the means of acquiring precision in the computation and analysis of those facts, and all the connections of objects with each other, and all the possible combinations of ideas, can be exhausted by the human mind. The mere relations of magnitude, the combinations, quantity and extent of this idea alone, form already a system too immense for the mind of man ever to grasp the whole of it; a portion, more vast than that which h... 1 notes
notesCondorcet sees our knowledge growing exponentially into the deepest minutia.
06 AUG 2012 by ideonexus
Our Improvement Through Education is Limitless
It has never yet been supposed, that all the facts of nature, and all the means of acquiring precision in the computation and analysis of those facts, and all the connections of objects with each other, and all the possible combinations of ideas, can be exhausted by the human mind. The mere relations of magnitude, the combinations, quantity and extent of this idea alone, form already a system too immense for the mind of man ever to grasp the whole of it; a portion, more vast than that which h...A vision of the future. Although we may never change physically or in our mental capacity, our innovations and amassing of knowledge will provide us with limitless potential for intellectual growth.
06 AUG 2012 by ideonexus
Knowledge Increases
The progress of the sciences secures the progress of the art of instruction, which again accelerates in its turn that of the sciences; and this reciprocal influence, the action of which is incessantly increased, must be ranked in the number of the most prolific and powerful causes of the improvement of the human race. At present, a young man, upon finishing his studies and quitting our schools, may know more of the principles of mathematics than Newton acquired by profound study, or discovere...By standing on the shoulders of giants, the college-graduate can know more than Newton learned in a lifetime through all his hard work and discovery.
12 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Argument for Decimal Currency
[Decimal currency is desirable because] by that means all calculations of interest, exchange, insurance, and the like are rendered much more simple and accurate, and, of course, more within the power of the great mass of people. Whenever such things require much labor, time, and reflection, the greater number who do not know, are made the dupes of the lesser number who do. 1 notes
notesBecause it is simple and complex things lead to people being taken advantage of.
25 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Humans Pay More Attention to Affirmatives, Biased Toward ...
The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion (either as being the received opinion or as being agreeable to itself) draws all things else to support and agree with it. And though there be a greater number and weight of instances to be found on the other side, yet these it either neglects and despises, or else by some distinction sets aside and rejects, in order that by this great and pernicious predetermination the authority of its former conclusions may remain inviolate. And t... 1 notes
notes...it is the peculiar and perpetual error of the human intellect to be more moved and excited by affirmatives than by negatives; whereas it ought properly to hold itself indifferently disposed toward both alike.
23 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Cultural Impacts of Easy Access to Pornography on the Int...
The Internet is awash with sex. In a few hours, an innocent can see more of the pleasures and perversions of sex, in a greater number of close-up couplings, than a eighteenth century roué could experience in a lifetime devoted to illicit encounters. The Internet is the greatest sex education machine — or the greatest pornographer — that has ever existed. Having spent time teaching at a Muslim university, where the torrent of Internet sex was a hot topic, I would not underestimate its imp... 1 notes
notesWhat are the cultural and emotional impacts of the flood of pornography to people accessing the Internet?
