Thoughts on Artificial Intelligence

So, artificial intelligence. Theoretically, it is possible to program a computer with such a depth of complexity that it can learn, has functioning morals, and can react to entirely new situations in a logical way based on past experiences. Obviously, this method is rather impractical. I’m rather more partial to the natural selection method.

As we all know, every old computer has its own “personality.”

Old Man: “You want a printout? Give that old CPU a good swift kick!”

This “personality” results from every program installed, every action taken, every disk defragmented, and every virus downloaded.

Take two completely identical computers fresh out of the box. Assume that this is an ideal world, and that both are exactly the same in hardware, with no factory defects or abnormalities. Install the same program on both. And now, for the first difference, computer #1 gets defragmented after installation, whereas computer #2 is not. Now assume that both computers are sent to the same website via the same ISP. Both computers contract a virus that is set to corrupt and destroy a single specific memory block. #1’s memory block is destroyed, but #2’s is not, as it happened to be a block that shifted position and was never returned to its original state, lacking defragmentation. #1 downloads an update that erases the virus, but the damage is done. #2 never downloads the update. #1 downloads a software patch, however, to fix damage done by excessive disk fragmentation. The patch causes a single discrepancy in the OS binary code, however, which over the course of the next two years effects a cascade of minor binary changes.

Already, we have two VERY different computer systems from either each other or the original. Each one is unique. Even erasing the drive wouldn’t completely rid the system of traces of the original. Here is where it gets odd.

DNA mutates. A lot. Most of these mutations/transcription errors are destroyed or corrected, but every now and then one slips through. Mostly these mutations are harmless, but occasionally one comes along that is either harmful or beneficial. Harmful mutations, like the fatal transcription errors in a computer’s code, can kill the organism off. Beneficial transcription errors can increase the effectiveness of the computer.

Theoretically, eventually enough beneficial “mutations” could occur in a computer system as to create, at the least, a crude form of “artificial intelligence,” possessed of its own unique “personality.” Not saying it’s practical, just theoretically possible.

A Black Hole of Logic

Just an interesting thought. Listening to the other people in my high school chemistry class, I have come to categorize people into these three, um, categories regarding their personal opinions upon the nature of black holes. Yes, I know that black holes are not exactly related to chemistry, but hey, it was an interesting tangent.

Category #1: Black Holes are Gateways to ANOTHER UNIVERSE!

The question those in this category most often ask: How exactly do black holes lead to another universe? My response: You’ve been watching a little too much science fiction. While there is some merit to the theory, there just isn’t enough evidence, mathematical or otherwise, to support the probability that the gravitational distortion created by a black hole is great enough to actually warp space in our dimension and a hypothetically parallel/intersecting one to the extent that any object, even a particle of light, to pass through to that other dimension. Besides, if you got sucked into a black hole, you’d be crushed beyond the limits of time and space, so it’s kinda moot point anyway.

Category #2: Black Holes can CRUSH THINGS TO THE SIZE OF A SINGLE ATOM!

This one always cracks me up. Why is an atom always the “magic measurement” of science? Maybe it’s because of being taught in grade school of the immense importance of the ATOM, and how IMPORTANT IT IS! Why would the crushing intensity of the black hole stop at a single atom? Why not a neutron? Or a quark? Although considering the collective mass of the items being crushed, better make that a tau, or perhaps a muon….

Category #3: I Need Another Energy Drink!

I think this category kinda speaks for itself….

And then there’s my viewpoint. I myself am partial to the idea that the gravitational field of a black hole concludes itself in a mathematical point. That the mass being crushed never stops being crushed, that it just continues on being compressed smaller and smaller, down into infinity until it theoretically reaches a single mathematical point.

Until next time.

Extinguishing the Flames of Utter Failure

Well! This is the first post in a rather long time! To the loyal readers who bothered to check back now and then for new posts: I think kind thoughts in your general direction. To those who didn’t: shame on you.

Anyway.

I recently downloaded some new software that allows me to convert my wimpily standard-definition film into marginal high-definition film. This got me to thinking (always a bad idea).

First we had digital video, which erased the annoyance of that “snow” found on tapes and made for a sharper image. Then came HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO in those handsome red cases. Of course, one could not simply play a high definition video disc in their standard player (and I’m slightly maybe not reasonably certain that you could not play standard-def discs in a high-def player) because that would be TOO EASY. Call it shortsighted if you wish; I still contend that it is merely a brilliant marketing strategy. Because, you see, then came Blu-ray. Unlike their predecessors, Blu-ray players utilize a gallium nitride laser diode(s) that allow for a greater density of storage than previously possible. Ironically enough, Blu-ray comes in a sleek BLUE case. Does the red of former HD discs symbolize the fact that HD disc media pretty much crashed and burned? Does the blue of Blu-ray disc media symbolize the coolant used to extinguish the flames of said failure? If one bashes a rabid chipmunk over the head with an overripe cucumber, can you still claim it as a dependant on your income taxes?

That’s it for now.

Spatial Music

I recently started playing the guitar (mid-December to be exact). Now I jam on my keyboard as well. And I have been known to mess around with percussion. I don’t pretend that these things make me an expert on music, but it has given me some more insight into the individual perception of it.

When I talk to most of my friends, people who enjoy blasting music at maximum volume, I get the impression that most of society seems to view music as a flat background in which voices can be juxtaposed to create an overall painting, with the canvas being music, and voices being colors upon it.

Talking to a few others, I get the impression that music is a linear phenomenon, going from start to finish with a middle part. Every different view of music by every different individual that I’ve heard has moved me to create a new theory.

Music is four-dimensional.

Music may have a beginning and end, so we can think of that as a timeline, representing the nonspatial dimension of time. Music has layers of audio devices, be they instruments or voices. This represents depth. Each layer is complete in of itself, but its purpose is to enhance other layers by coinciding with them at specific time intervals. This enhances the whole. Each different layer has a different timeline, defining what sort and length of enhancement it can contribute. This can represent spatial length. Volume of each layer determines what variable mountains and valleys each layer may possess to enhance the quality and meaning of the whole. This may represent height.

This is a much-simplified verbal explanation for the mental picture I have in my head, but I hope that it suffices.

"It's All Greek To Me"

I once again set ink stained fingers to silver keyboard for your delectation and delight. The subject: languages.

Geeks love foreign languages. I think that most of the attraction may stem from the feeling of frustration most geeks feel at one time or another towards the limited capacity of just one language to describe the world around them. Of course, actually learning an existing language would be too much trouble…. Thus, geekly ingenuity springs into action like a cheetah on a trampoline! Of course! So simple, so obvious, and yet so overlooked! The answer is to simply create one’s own written language, free from any outside influence! Of course, it seems as though most conceptual written languages don’t ever get past the planning stages, and those that do die off rather quickly, as their own inventors cannot be less bothered to learn the language they just created.

When I was young, my cousin and I created a written “code” language, composed of triangles in various states of coloration. As I sat at my desk last night, I decided that the triangle idea was pretty good, but that there was some room for expansion. I started out with just triangles, but also threw in some crescents and ellipticals for variety’s sake. Then I began to work on prefixes and suffixes. When I had finished, I had a crude but fully functional alphabet and number system that was not based upon circles and lines, but triangles, broken crescents, and other savory characters. As an added bonus, I found this new alphabet fairly easy to learn, and now take sticky notes with this alphabet.

Now I just need to work on the spoken variant…………yeah right.

Sounding Menacing is Easier than I Thought...

Have you ever noticed that anything said with “official” terminology (such as Latin) sounds so much more menacing than when said in “street” language. Consider if you will the following scenario:

Man: Hello.

Me: Hello. *Stretches out hand*. I wish to palpate your metacarpals!

Following this rather short exchange, the man immediately heads for the hills and joins a support group.

“I have allergies” becomes “I have an acute inflammation of my sinuses that results in extreme discomfort and unwanted nasal irrigation.”

“Divide” translates to “Multiply by the reciprocal of the coefficient of the variable.”

“Send a text message” is “Utilize a numeral directory to stream a data packet transmitted through a cellular device across a steady bandwidth.”

Point made.

A Touch of Technological Nostalgia

Remember the good old days when RAM (Random Access Memory) was RAM? When 16 color monitors were OUT OF THIS WORLD? When a megabyte of hard drive space was downright extravagant? When MS-DOS was cool? Now, typing upon my BobBook Pro, connected to the wireless internet at Sunbucks, running on a BATTERY, I realize exactly how much computers, and technology in general, has changed even in my rather short lifetime.

I still remember the good old days of cassette tapes. When you were done listening, you merely popped out the tape and casually tossed on your desk. Then they stopped selling cassette players. Floppy disks were not immune either. For years after their demise, thanks to CDs (and later on digital files), I held onto my collection of floppies. Of course, when I upgraded my 2003 desktop to a floppy-drive-free laptop, that practice was soon eschewed.

I suppose that it could be that I am just feeling a touch nostalgic, and that all changes within the last seventeen years were actually a rather large improvement. Moving televisions certainly became a lot easier.