21 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Knowing the World Requires Mathematics
For the things of this world cannot be made known without a knowledge of mathematics. For this is an assured fact in regard to celestial things, siDce two important sciences of mathematics treat of them, namely theoretical astrology and practical astrology. The first. . . gives us definite information as to the number of the heavens and of the stars, whose size can be comprehended by means of instruments, and the shapes of all and their magnitudes and distances from the earth, and thicknesses...Folksonomies: mathematics knowledge
Folksonomies: mathematics knowledge
1 
notes
notesEverything can be reduced to mathematics.
23 OCT 2013 by ideonexus
The Chinese Room Argument
Suppose that I'm locked in a room and given a large batch of Chinese
writing. Suppose furthermore (as is indeed the case) that I know no
Chinese, either written or spoken, and that I'm not even confident that I
could recognize Chinese writing as Chinese writing distinct from, say,
Japanese writing or meaningless squiggles. To me, Chinese writing is
just so many meaningless squiggles.
Now suppose further that after this first batch of Chinese writing I am
given a second batch of Chines... 1 notes
notesAn argument against the possibility of AI, replacing a computer with an english-speaking human being performing english-instructions on chinese symbols and outputting results. This is like a computer, which does not understand the symbols it is manipulating, but the results look intelligent.
18 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
Developing Puzzle Games Requires Experimentations
...you need fewer art assets to build a simple puzzle game. This is
very good news for small developers, and for those just starting out in gaming. One
or two people can build a world-class puzzle game. It would be next to impossible for
one or two people to build a world-class third-person action game from scratch (and
be finished by the end of the millennium). Puzzle games generally require puzzle
pieces, such as blocks, widgets, shapes, or gizmos of some kind. Once you have built these obj...Folksonomies: game development
Folksonomies: game development
1 notes
notesThe entry-bar for building a puzzle game is low because they don't require many complex graphics, but the rhythm and heartbeat of the game require playing with variables and tweaking ideas.
08 AUG 2011 by TGAW
Vonnegut on Ibo Extended Family
I met a man in Nigeria one time, an Ibo who had six hundred relatives he knew quite well. His wife had just had a baby, the best possible news in any extended family.
They were going to take it to meet all its relatives, Ibos of all ages and sizes and shapes. It would meet other babies, cousins not much older than it was. Everybody who was big enough and steady enough was going to hold it, cuddle it, gurgle to it, and say how pretty or how handsome it was.
Wouldn't you have loved to be...
1 Vonnegut describes an Ibo family he met in Nigeria in 1970.
01 JAN 2010 by ideonexus
The Content of Any Medium is Always Another Medium
The electric light is pure information. It is a medium without a message, as it were, unless it is used to spell out some verbal ad or name. This fact, characteristic of all media, means that the "content" of any medium is always another medium. the content of writing is speech, just as the written word is the content of print, and print is the content of the telegraph.
...Whether the light is being used for brain surgery or night baseball is a matter of indifference. It could be argued that ...Folksonomies: new media
Folksonomies: new media
1 notes
notesMediums are object-oriented, with one extending from another, inheriting from the parent.
