tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58709893338281626422024-03-13T11:58:32.905-07:00Ideas That Will Change The WorldI Feel EverythingRoshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-71204462181268515232018-07-21T08:44:00.000-07:002019-06-18T05:19:52.216-07:00Mimic Neuronal Behaviour Using Generative Adversarial NetworksThe core problem with building sophisticated artificial intelligence, is understanding, and modeling, all the intricate dynamics behind how neurons work. Neurons, and all their various activities, are extremely complex, and we are still learning new things today. Artificial neural networks have been very instrumental in the recent advancements in AI. The problem, is that they are still very crude representations of the actual dynamics that go on inside the brain. If we could effectively model how a neuron works, we could simulate a neuron on a computer, and let its natural ability to learn, unfold in the simulations.<br />
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So, what if we trained a GAN to mimic the dynamics of a neuron?<br />
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What if you fed it as much data as you could about the neuron, its activity, how it interacts and affects other neurons. And how other neurons interact and affect it. And tried to get the GAN to model that behaviour?<br />
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And then once it captures what a neuron is, and all its dynamics. Have it generate multiple neurons, and have those neurons interact with each other in a simulation.<br />
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If you can figure out the general rules behind how the neurons interact with each other. Once you know those rules, you don't have to understand the brain. You can just simulate the neurons, and let the intelligence naturally emerge from their interactions.<br />
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This is footage of a neuron taken using atomic force microscopy, allowing for imaging of nanoscale dynamics of neurons.<br />
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The key to making this work is the training data, and figuring out how to best capture and collate it..<br />
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Footage like this could serve as a source of training data for the GAN. This data, combined with the electrical activity that correlates with the data. Could potentially serve as a great dataset from which to allow a GAN to model neuronal behaviour.Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-28387281540205410152018-01-23T08:28:00.000-08:002018-07-22T19:20:46.089-07:00Music.. <span id="docs-internal-guid-db5c89ae-e095-35b7-679e-e9292ab49d8a"></span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-db5c89ae-e095-35b7-679e-e9292ab49d8a"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Music is likely much more special than we realize. Though deep down, maybe we </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">always knew that there was something special about it.</span></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-db5c89ae-e095-35b7-679e-e9292ab49d8a"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Music, may actually have some deep connection to the nature of the universe.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-db5c89ae-e095-35b7-679e-e9292ab49d8a"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What initially led me down this train of thought, was when I first heard a bird song, slowed down to human hearing range, as shown in the TED talk '<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/meklit_hadero_the_unexpected_beauty_of_everyday_sounds" target="_blank">The unexpected beauty of everyday sounds</a>' by Meklit Hadero. A beautiful talk, by a beautiful woman.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What I find so fascinating about their songs, is that they actually sound like melodies humans would make.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">It hints at the possibility that our aesthetic for music isn't unique to humans. That possibly, something much deeper and more fundamental is at play that causes us to like music. </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The fact that we even make music at all is an anomaly. As we don't get food from it, nor does it seem to help in the survival of our species. Yet we dedicate so much time, energy, and resources to the </span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">endeavor</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">. Music is such a fundamental part of our culture, it's so powerful, we all know how powerful it can be. At times it can feel transcendent. </span></div>
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">The great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche</span> once said - <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Without music, life would be a mistake" I'm inclined to agree. When I listen to </span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://youtu.be/8oYWfJuMGMA" target="_blank">Vivaldi</a></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, it truly feels like I'm connecting to something beyond me, something beyond this world. Birds sing, so do dolphins, chimpanzees even show a sense of musical preference. Clearly music is something special. But why?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">All of these species are known for their intelligence. So maybe music is somehow fundamentally connected to intelligence? Interestingly, one of the problems of building artificial general intelligence, is how would one develop an AI that would actively go out of its way to make music? It's a difficult problem, and </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">it may be that we will only have true AGI until we can make AI that can and will make music, not because it has to, but because it wants to.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">The current popular understanding of the brain and of AI, takes the perspective of looking at the systems, as systems primarily built for learning, but that doesn't really explain how and why we make music.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">But the ideas Nell and I are developing about the brain, could potentially explain this. As our ideas don't look at the brain as primarily a system that learns, but as a resonance engine that </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">continuously</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> molds itself and it's neural activity to resonate with it's environment.
</span><a href="http://ideastwctw.blogspot.com/2017/10/a-new-theory-behind-how-and-why-neurons.html" style="white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Our theory</a><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> proposes that the intelligence of the brain, and of life, is an emergent property of entropy maximization, otherwise known as the 2nd law of thermodynamics. In order for a system to maximize entropy within its environment, it must resonate with its environment. And by resonating with its environment, it forms what effectively is, a model of its environment. </span></div>
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-db5c89ae-e0e5-ac65-2eec-010efc6e8f8b"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">It also turns out, that Andrés Gómez Emilsson and the Qualia Research Institute, are actually developing a theory to explain consciousness, as something that emerges from brain harmonics. They call this theory, The S</span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">ymmetry Theory Of Valence. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Andr</span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">és gives a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBG9YqbrEFE&lc=Ugir2c6P9Yka6ngCoAEC" target="_blank">talk</a> that goes into detail about the theory, and even makes clear, empirically testable predictions, that could falsify or prove the theory true. I highly recommend watching it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HnXySz-CDOE/Wlewg2uMlyI/AAAAAAAAE8A/X9hLm3yD3lc-PZLMJF9gWPI5UqTK5UnGgCLcBGAs/s1600/brainharmonicgif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HnXySz-CDOE/Wlewg2uMlyI/AAAAAAAAE8A/X9hLm3yD3lc-PZLMJF9gWPI5UqTK5UnGgCLcBGAs/s400/brainharmonicgif.gif" width="400" /></a>In his talk he references research done by Selen Atasoy on the study of <a href="https://qualiacomputing.com/2017/06/18/connectome-specific-harmonic-waves-on-lsd/" target="_blank">brain harmonics</a>, and how certain brain harmonics determine certain states of consciousness. This research is not only very interesting, but also backs up the idea of looking at the brain as a resonance engine, rather than as simply a system that learns.</div>
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With this in mind, I think it becomes a bit easier to see why music seems to have such a powerful affect on humans, birds, dolphins, or really anything with a neocortex. Perhaps it's just embedded in the way the brain works. If the brain is a resonance engine, then perhaps the brain likes music, simply because music is very easy to resonate to. As nice sounds, have a clear, and beautiful mathematical structure. And dissonant sounds, sounds that we tend not to like, don't really have a structure. They literally cause dissonance in whatever medium they travel through.</div>
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All I know, is that I love music so very much. I lose myself in it. And perhaps there is a deeply profound reason why it affects me, why it affects all of us, in such a way.</div>
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(Note, b<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">irds actually predate mammals and have even evolved down a completely different path, and yet have still developed their own version of a neocortex, that looks a bit different, but essentially works the same way. Which is also amazing in it of itself. It suggests that the development of the neocortex, which allows mammals to learn new behaviors, isn't due to some chance </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">occurrence.</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> But rather, that evolution, regardless of circumstance, will naturally lend itself to the development of neocortex like structures.)</span></div>
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</span>Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-51789006020649864842017-10-09T23:02:00.000-07:002019-05-29T11:21:54.963-07:00A New Theory Behind How And Why Neurons Work<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">(These ideas are presented in our paper '<a href="https://www.nellwatson.com/s/Neuronal-Entropy-Maximisation.pdf" target="_blank">Neuronal Entropy Maximisation - A New Model For Neural Networks</a>')
Recently, <a href="https://www.nellwatson.com/" target="_blank">Nell Watson</a> and I through our research have made many novel insights. Forming powerful connections between entropy maximisation and a variety of other fields such as neuroscience, cognitive science, machine learning, and so much more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">One result of these insights, is that we believe we have come up with a new theory that advances far beyond Hebbian theory. Describing how the functions and processes of neurons, actually emerge from microscopic ground truths, and how possibly all 'intelligent' behavior found in the universe, is an emergent property of these microscopic ground truths.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also believe that we can apply knowledge from these insights in helping to advance the field of artificial intelligence. Possibly replacing backpropagation altogether, the current method dominating the field.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One possibility we see is an unexploited opportunity to optimize NEAT further, by applying thermodynamic (entropic) principles to aid in the mutation and evolution processes. Using principles of Entropic Computing for designing neural networks, we can apply thermodynamic optimisation to the process of generating machine intelligences which are hyper-optimised for specific use cases. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In essence, entropy maximisation processes enable a ‘unit’ to see multiple possible futures, select the most preferable, and take the necessary steps to bring it into being. This technique also may revolutionise the space of ethics, particularly machine ethics, creating new models by which to select for ethical preferences which are most likely to enable a pareto-optimal distribution of human flourishing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To begin, the core driver of all these ideas, is entropy. Entropy is the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Entropy is the force that drives all structures to less and less complex configurations, in the most simplest of terms, it is the dissipation of energy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is a physical law that governs </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> interactions in the universe. By looking at complex adaptive systems such as life, or the brain, through the lens of entropy maximisation, it's possible to understand these systems at a much deeper level than ever before. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The interesting thing about life, is that life not only manages to keep its internal entropy low, at the cost of increasing its external entropy. But life also grows in complexity, forming more and more complex organizations over time, capable of carrying out increasingly complex functions.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">life may actually act as a catalyst for entropy production.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Based off of recent research, it may be that entropy, in order to further increase the rate of dissipation of energy. Will actively strive towards the creation of more and more complex structures that are </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">even better </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">at dissipating energy than inert matter.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jeremy England, a biophysicist that runs a lab at MIT doing research on this, notes that structures that form through reliable entropy production in a time-varying environment seem adapted to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">eating</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> energy from their environment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are links if you wish to look more into this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><a href="http://www.englandlab.com/" target="_blank">http://www.englandlab.com/</a></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why life exists: <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-new-physics-theory-of-life/" target="_blank">https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-new-physics-theory-of-life/</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is life-lecture: </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91D5UAz-f4" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91D5UAz-f4</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dissipative adaptation in driven self-assembly: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><a href="http://www.englandlab.com/uploads/7/8/0/3/7803054/nnano.2015.250__1_.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.englandlab.com/uploads/7/8/0/3/7803054/nnano.2015.250__1_.pdf</a></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recent research has also hinted at a possible deep connection between entropy maximisation, and intelligent behavior. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alex Wissner-Gross, a physicist and computational scientist, decided to team up with a mathematician named Cameron Freer, to see if they could find more evidence of this potential connection. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They proposed a “causal path entropy”, this entropy is based not on the internal arrangements accessible to a system at any moment, but on the number of arrangements it could pass through on the way to possible future states. They then calculated a “causal entropic force” that pushes the system to evolve so as to increase this modified entropy. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What they found, was that through this simple physical process, sophisticated behavior would emerge. Such as, balancing a pole on a cart, a classic control problem. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From this research, it looks like intelligent behavior may not just be connected to entropy maximisation, but may actually </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">emerge</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> directly from it. And that intelligence itself, is really the drive to maximise future freedom of action. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is essentially saying, that intelligence not just tries, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the process of acquiring as much control of its environment as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alex Wissner-Gross notes that our ideas of AI "becoming" megalomaniacal may actually be in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">reverse</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, that at the very core, what intelligence truly is, is the drive towards megalomania.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are links if you wish to look more into this: </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://physics.aps.org/articles/v6/46" target="_blank">https://physics.aps.org/articles/v6/46</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Causal Entropic Forces: </span><a href="http://alexwg.org/publications/PhysRevLett_110-168702.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://alexwg.org/publications/PhysRevLett_110-168702.pdf</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TED Talk: </span><a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_wissner_gross_a_new_equation_for_intelligence" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_wissner_gross_a_new_equation_for_intelligence</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All this research seems to paint the picture that life itself is an entropy maximisation process, and that the intelligence and complex behavior we see in life, emerges from this process as well.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As cognitive scientists, we decided to see if we could apply these concepts to understanding the brain. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One idea that came to our attention, is the concept of homuncular functionalism. Homuncular functionalism proposes the idea that cells have their own agency, and that our actions, are actually the result of a collective agency. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This really helped in the development of our theory by shifting our perspective on the matter, we began looking at the problem through a different lens. Instead of viewing neurons as simply processing units, we instead looked at them as entities, with their own drives.</span></div>
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/yxUhCIWdn8YJ6LfOqJ5OtN3S6Jt1ch5DC-IfjW61Oab1dzdrltIS8hB9sovXIGD4ZGKUqjnIxF9FgFW8tCoC3SgeSEQAADIFF06PhrkAvLf4bPUBWg5trjku5TEZc0bI_f8BzQDg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="ezgif-3341908941.gif" border="0" height="359" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/yxUhCIWdn8YJ6LfOqJ5OtN3S6Jt1ch5DC-IfjW61Oab1dzdrltIS8hB9sovXIGD4ZGKUqjnIxF9FgFW8tCoC3SgeSEQAADIFF06PhrkAvLf4bPUBWg5trjku5TEZc0bI_f8BzQDg" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="360" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is footage of a neuron taken using atomic force microscopy, Allowing for imaging of nanoscale dynamics of neurons. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we looked at this footage, we began to think.. What if neurons are engines of future freedom? Constantly searching to maximise its future freedom of action?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If we take the perspective of each neuron having it’s own agency, then we could take the perspective that each neuron is in fact, an entity that strives to maximise entropy, and as such, maximise its future freedom of action.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This intuitively seemed to make sense on a very deep level. But that still left it open to asking the question, how does firing, maximise future freedom of action? </span></div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DK8kB8_jIyn-eEMCjN_E4oMyTK4J6WxxQje4aWADm8Z6k9S_XYP_9rzrd2Ru5lPGgERRoihr3KlmVS1JApU0AuMWzgl27dksnbhKyupbFyjbDsZzdmzYZw6Yb4N4xxgXSlh82kkR" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DK8kB8_jIyn-eEMCjN_E4oMyTK4J6WxxQje4aWADm8Z6k9S_XYP_9rzrd2Ru5lPGgERRoihr3KlmVS1JApU0AuMWzgl27dksnbhKyupbFyjbDsZzdmzYZw6Yb4N4xxgXSlh82kkR" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="291" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We knew that future freedom of action is not simply defined by movement in space, but is really defined by the amount of options one has available. As shown with the inverted pendulum experiment in the paper ‘Causal Entropic Forces’. The pole took the inverted position, because in that position, it could maximise its options. This is because in the inverted position, the pendulum now has more potential energy, and can be dropped in any direction to carry that energy to another position. Whereas if the pendulum remained upside down, it would take more effort and time to move it to any other position. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this we knew it was at least possible for firing to be represented as a form of maximising freedom. But, this still did not fully answer </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">how </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">it maximised freedom. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also knew that there was a clear correlation between neural activity, and entropy maximisation. Not only because it intuitively makes sense, i.e neurons burning more energy by firing. But also because there has been research on the thermodynamics of learning in neurons, and they found a clear correlation between the rate at which neurons learn, and the amount of heat and entropy they produce. You can read about that here: </span><a href="https://m.phys.org/news/2017-02-thermodynamics.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://m.phys.org/news/2017-02-thermodynamics.html</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All of this was a clear sign that we were on the right track, but it still didn’t really connect the dots. There was something missing, we could </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">feel</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then we took another look at Hebbian theory. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Let us assume that the persistence or repetition of a reverberatory activity (or "trace") tends to induce lasting cellular changes that add to its stability.[…] When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite a cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that A's efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The theory is often summarized as “Cells that fire together, wire together." However, this summary </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">should not</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> be taken literally. Hebb emphasized that cell A needs to "take part in firing" cell B, and such causality can only occur if cell A fires just before, not at the same time as, cell B.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The thought then came to mind.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if neurons, are actually trying to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">control</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> other neurons?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Neurons are trying to maximise entropy by not only making themselves fire and burn energy, but trying their best to make </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">other</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> cells around them fire and as such burn more energy.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As stated in Hebbian theory, causality is very important in the process of learning. The cell will not strengthen its connection just because another cell happened to fire at the same time as it did. No, it will only strengthen its connection, if it feels as if it had </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">influence</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over the cell.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It needs to "take part" in firing cell B. Because if it sees it has influence over cell B, it will strengthen its connection, to strengthen its influence. But cell A is constantly searching for more influence. So if it finds that it can have more influence over another cell, it will gravitate more so towards that cell. Or if it suddenly finds that it can no longer influence cell B's firing as much as it once did before, then it will begin to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">move</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">search</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> elsewhere.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We felt, that this was it, right here.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We were looking for the missing connection between entropy maximisation, and the cells working together, and we think we found it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What this would mean about firing, is that firing isn't really a method of processing information. But rather, it's a method, a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tool</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that cells use, to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">influence</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> other cells. And that really the processing of information, is an </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">emergent</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> property from this activity. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">..it’s a paradigm shift.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ha, our crappy functions in artificial neural networks, are just approximating the entropy maximisation process in a really crap way, but even so it kinda works (incredibly).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hebbian theory emphasizes causality in the connection process, or '</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">seeking</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">' process, as we think it’s better to call it. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This would mean that there could be a neuron next to another neuron, that has a lot of activity, in how frequent it fires, and in how strong it fires. Either due to how many neurons are connected to it, or due to sensory stimuli. But even though that neuron has a lot of activity, it may decide not to reach out to it, because it may see it does not </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cause</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> it fire, as strong as another. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This makes sense from the perspective of entropy maximisation because the neuron will seek and favor sources it has more influence over, even if it does cause the neuron to fire, and as such, dissipate energy. How big of a firing did it cause? How much energy did it cause it to dissipate? This is deeply important, because in tightly packed groups where every neuron is constantly firing, some spikes strong, some spikes weak. A neuron can choose to loosen its grip on one neuron its firing, to strengthen its grip on another. The activity on both neurons it’s choosing between may be just as frequent, but one neuron may fire much stronger than the other. Due to other neurons around it, just so happening to fire in perfect sequence with its firing. So the neuron will seek and sort of grip onto that one more, because it sees it's actually causing it to dissipate more energy than the other.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They opt-in to participate, and to selectively choose collaborators. This may be mediated by the glial cells (tentatively some research suggests that glial cells mediate connections).</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Imagine one passes energy along the chain. One isn't just influencing the next neuron in the chain necessarily, one might influence others further along. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">if the pattern of firing travelling along the chain is replicated by the next one, then one can change the pattern of their firing and affect multiple others in the chain ahead to different degrees.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You may also be noticing that our description of the processes of neurons is much different than how they are normally described. As shown in our use of words such as ‘seeking’ and ‘gripping’.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is because we think much of the vocabulary we currently use to describe the activity of neurons, may actually be working against us in our effort to understand their functions, causing us to look at the problem through the wrong lens.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this theory we have developed, we predicted that it would likely be possible to replicate the functions of neurons with something else entirely. Anything that can be used as a tool to influence other agents in a system. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, much to our excitement, we later found strong evidence that our prediction was indeed correct.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It turns out, that bacteria can actually communicate electrically. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A very recent study discovered that bacteria communicate electrically, by using biofilms to propagate their electrical signals. The head researcher of this project, Gürol Süel, explained that “bacteria within biofilms can exert long-range and dynamic </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">control</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> over the behaviour of distant cells that are not part of their communities,"</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Link to research paper: </span><a href="http://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(16)31728-7?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867416317287%3Fshowall%3Dtrue" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(16)31728-7?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867416317287%3Fshowall%3Dtrue</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This, is a perfect example of collective agency.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Small pores called ion channels allow electrically charged molecules to travel in and out of the cells. In this way potassium ions can ripple through the whole biofilm.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The bacteria, instead of sending the signals out in a directed channel like neurons, they send them out as a mass impulse.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We began to realize, that neurons don't really matter, do they? Could just as easily be slime. It's just the entropic principles that matter.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our world is an </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ocean</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of intelligence, and we never knew.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was under our noses. Of course plants and germs have agency. But... We just couldn't grok that somehow, until we had a model to describe it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We just love theories that are so </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">beautifully</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> simple, yet explain so much complex phenomena we see in the world. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We also find it fascinating to see such a deep connection between entropy, and processing information, as shown when Shannon discovered the concept of information entropy. And to now see a deep connection between entropy and intelligence itself. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seeing as we are true mavens for curious data points, we began connecting the dots to a variety of other fields as well. Lead by the intuition that it would be possible to create </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">far</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> better AI using these concepts. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One low hanging fruit we saw, was to apply the method of entropy maximisation to NEAT to aid in the mutation and evolution process. We are currently working with the mathematics department at Oxford on this specific opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But we also have a much bigger vision than this. Combining cellular automata, entropy maximisation, and possibly even quantum walks to speed up calculation times. We think it’s possible to create true AGI. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We felt that there was also a link to entropy maximisation and cellular automata too somehow.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As shown in this paper: </span><a href="https://sites.math.washington.edu/~morrow/336_13/papers/andrew.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://sites.math.washington.edu/~morrow/336_13/papers/andrew.pdf</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the end of the paper, it stated that they are still trying to figure out how to compute entropies of cellular automata.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They also said this. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Understanding and being able to compute entropies for cellular automata</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">may lead to the development of CA that can model thermodynamic systems.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is thought that CA may be the key to understanding a large number of</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">subjects on a deeper level."</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hm, maybe looking at the problem from the perspective of entropy maximisation would allow for that understanding? </span></div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/rPtw9biJy5F3bUOsKeJxTnm5yA7oMD9rnz1DrGrjHPeW6A1KdoZhkYbdqAEEWyF3tXRXdMRm3pYAa2-uUtK7ACLwl61EiDoScolUenc99gh6SD1e6BHxKLOaT4z-vkwBo3qQnYjL" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Gas_velocity.gif" border="0" height="313" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/rPtw9biJy5F3bUOsKeJxTnm5yA7oMD9rnz1DrGrjHPeW6A1KdoZhkYbdqAEEWyF3tXRXdMRm3pYAa2-uUtK7ACLwl61EiDoScolUenc99gh6SD1e6BHxKLOaT4z-vkwBo3qQnYjL" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="313" /></a><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As stated, being able to understand and computing the entropies of cellular automata, may lead to the development of CA that can model thermodynamic systems. Biology, and the brain, are thermodynamic systems. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As such It’s possible that with CA, we could make a complex adaptive system, with emergent intelligent behavior. Then we could give this, newly formed complex adaptive system.. input from the real world, and it could begin to adapt and form a model of that input. It could </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">learn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our theory shows, that it probably doesn’t matter that we replicate exactly how neurons work or even send out signals the same way they do. It’s the entropic principles that matter. It’s possible, that we could let a system such as CA evolve its own methods.</span></div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/btuslSLkZcEhO02R4DG-NhXQIkf8U7bhv6KmWO7zZm_fFsdzYNsiXTs6dcVEUmgTSJgj-LzcW9DpD4zFpWwfRixnE9E3HzUFAriSBzFp3uKV-K9jyhZltHIgMkr3pNsPRMw5xoKS" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="giphy.gif" border="0" height="224" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/btuslSLkZcEhO02R4DG-NhXQIkf8U7bhv6KmWO7zZm_fFsdzYNsiXTs6dcVEUmgTSJgj-LzcW9DpD4zFpWwfRixnE9E3HzUFAriSBzFp3uKV-K9jyhZltHIgMkr3pNsPRMw5xoKS" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In essence, it may be possible to make a brain like system out of cellular automata, and as such, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">achieve AGI</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Actually, if neurons don't matter, then there's no reason for us to assume that the brain is the epitome of an intelligent complex adaptive system. Evolution does not reach perfection, it simply evolves as far as its environmental pressures push it towards. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As such, it may even be possible to evolve a better system design than the brain, using CA. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The key to doing this we think, would be to make CA, where each entity is a causal entropy maximisation agent. Calculating the entropy of a system is inherently a stochastic process, as such we realized the states of the entities would have to be determined by a probability distribution. Luckily we found, and much to our excitement, that there is indeed a such thing as stochastic cellular automata: </span><a href="https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Stochastic_cellular_automaton" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Stochastic_cellular_automaton</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/H4-T4749FAlUkGUKE3Ai2-V5pqfmGuTgGQcT6mBWBNhTJUsQmwzyiIaeu8PSbm3Jq5lPpzz0YX0gp4jZ7N6HDufUZkqKF437eAfFAmfF4WNcno-KWhzXXLG28dYSa9gdBC7d4sOW" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="giphy.gif" border="0" height="320" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/H4-T4749FAlUkGUKE3Ai2-V5pqfmGuTgGQcT6mBWBNhTJUsQmwzyiIaeu8PSbm3Jq5lPpzz0YX0gp4jZ7N6HDufUZkqKF437eAfFAmfF4WNcno-KWhzXXLG28dYSa9gdBC7d4sOW" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“From the spatial interaction between the entities, despite the simplicity of the updating rules, complex behaviour may emerge like self-organization.” We </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">love</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> wikip</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">edia.. </span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0f3a618d-047e-f5aa-afd8-0fcd8a74f8a6"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SCA also has a deep connection with the cellular potts model, which is a form of CA which has been used to model biological processes such as the growth of blood vessels. </span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another idea that came to mind, was a potential way to calculate the entropy production of these systems. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our idea, is that one could use the computer itself to measure the entropy production of these systems. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We figured that computer processes, should have a </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">real physical entropic effect</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the computer, and you could measure that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Computers produce heat, and consume electric energy while doing so. The processes that happen on the computer, are </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>not</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> separate from the computer itself. The computer and the processes happening on the computer, are actually consuming energy and as such should produce a real measurable amount of entropy in the universe. As shown in information theory, the processing of information is not separate from the physical system you use to process that information, and such to process information requires one to do 'work' on a system, and as shown in physics, any work requires the expenditure of energy, and increases the total entropy of the universe as a result.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We believe this is a truly novel idea, due to our novel viewpoint on the problem. Actually, we would like to give some credit to a famous writer and speaker, his name is Kevin Kelly and he has definitely influenced our way thinking. Kevin Kelly actually looks at technology as the </span><a href="https://www.edge.org/conversation/kevin_kelly-the-technium-and-the-7th-kingdom-of-life" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7th kingdom of life</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are also currently working with the mathematics department at Oxford to look into this as a potential way to calculate entropies of and apply entropy maximisation to NN's and CA.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0f3a618d-5c26-8083-7c6b-d42eec89a08e"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It should be possible to build a reservoir computer made out of CA, where the reservoir itself, is literally the energy being fed into the computer.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recent research into reservoir computers has shown that they are likely deeply related to entropic processes and even the brain. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As shown in this article: </span><a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-brain-built-from-atomic-switches-can-learn-20170920/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-brain-built-from-atomic-switches-can-learn-20170920/</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Engineers at the California NanoSystem Institute, recently built a mesh like computer that organized itself out of random chemical and electrical processes. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Essentially they found out that a material will organize into a wire like mesh, given an electrical charge. It's self organization is not only reminiscent of the brain, but it can perform simple learning and logic operations and it can clean the unwanted noise from received signals.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another very interesting thing is the self-assembling wire networks experiment the Center For Complex Systems Research conducted.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can view a version of this experiment here: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/watch-ball-bearings-organise-themselves-into-complex-tree-like-structures" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/watch-ball-bearings-organise-themselves-into-complex-tree-like-structures</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/IFSSGHBHvrtPeiIi-k9JRiGNWFTcz9BYT4JEgIPeCGkRS5xrCVK2EzELhY5Sif4vOI3Vrx4ghg71QM_dUbYdINC5xEc9wWv2qdBbZ2kdvlCpo_poC_XYm3CIMb-hVHPTSzwbkvjO" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="giphy.gif" border="0" height="202" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/IFSSGHBHvrtPeiIi-k9JRiGNWFTcz9BYT4JEgIPeCGkRS5xrCVK2EzELhY5Sif4vOI3Vrx4ghg71QM_dUbYdINC5xEc9wWv2qdBbZ2kdvlCpo_poC_XYm3CIMb-hVHPTSzwbkvjO" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="358" /></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given an electrical charge, ball bearings will self organize into tree like structures and can even perform simple computations.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Researchers Joy Chao and Alfred Hübler from CCSR note that this research will give us clues as to how the neural connections of the brain work and ways to control connections.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Researchers Marshall Kuypers and Alfred Hübler also from CCSR, note in another experiment they call the thermodynamics of thought experiment. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“That these types of particle networks “remember” which electrodes were charged--in effect, a kind of learning. Thus, these systems are hardware implementations of a neural net.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The self organization in these systems is not only reminiscent of the brain, but they’re also able to learn and perform at least simple computations. Its only further evidence that the brain is likely a structure that emerged from entropic processes and that it’s intelligence is an emergent property of these microscopic ground truths.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lastly, we thought of a potential way to enhance causal path entropy discovery. Path sampling is done through Monte Carlo methods such as a random walk. Well It turns out there exists a such as thing as a quantum walk, which is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">much</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> more efficient than a normal ‘classical’ random walk. it also turns out bacteria have likely evolved their own method of doing these quantum walks, during photosynthesis.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Seth Lloyd who does quantum life research at MIT goes in depth about this process.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quantum Life (very good video, highly recommend watching it): </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://youtu.be/wcXSpXyZVuY" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/wcXSpXyZVuY</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently, researchers also managed to build and perform quantum walks on a two qubit photonics quantum processor. They also found a link between continuous-time quantum walks and computational complexity theory and it indicates a family of tasks that could ultimately demonstrate quantum supremacy over classical computers.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Efficient Quantum Walk On A Quantum Processor: </span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11511" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms11511</span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So with a quantum processor capable of doing quantum walks, when one needs to do path sampling. Instead of using a classical processor to do those computations, one could send those requests to an external quantum processor. Which would do the necessary computations, the main processor would retrieve the results, and then use them in Its calculation of the state change of the entities within SCA. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To accomplish something like this is going to take a massive effort. It will require experts from completely different domains all working and more importantly, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">thinking</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> together to achieve this. This is truly a transdisciplinary project.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We naturally thought about what research group would likely be best suited to take on this challenge.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We think that the collective computation group C4 at the Sante Fe Institute, would be perfect for attacking a problem like this. As they not only have the right minds along with the transdisciplinary nature of the Sante Fe Institute, which pulls experts out of their fields, and forces to them collaborate and think together. But probably best of all, C4 seems to have the right mindset when it comes to attacking big interdisciplinary problems.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here's a quote that I love from the director of the C4 group at Sante Fe. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“We have this argument at the Santa Fe Institute a lot. Some people will say, 'Well, at the end of the day it’s all math.' And I just don’t believe that. I believe that science sits at the intersection of these three things — the data, the discussions and the math. It is that triangulation — that’s what science is. And true understanding, if there is such a thing, comes only when we can do the translation between these three ways of representing the world.” - Jessica C. Flack C4 Director</span></div>
Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-81242237193889796442017-03-15T04:08:00.000-07:002017-09-13T19:57:29.907-07:00Entropic AI ResearchA.D. Wissner-Gross a Physicist at MIT and C.E. Freer a mathematician who taught pure mathematics at MIT published in 2013 a paper about Causal Entropic Forces.<br />
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In the paper it talked about a potential deep connection between intelligence and entropy maximization.<br />
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Alex's website: <a href="http://www.alexwg.org/">http://www.alexwg.org/</a><br />
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Causal Entropic Forces: <a href="http://www.alexwg.org/publications/PhysRevLett_110-168702.pdf">http://www.alexwg.org/publications/PhysRevLett_110-168702.pdf</a></div>
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I first heard about Alex's work 3 years ago in his TED talk "Equation For Intelligence". After watching that TED talk i was captivated by the idea that intelligence could actually be a real physical force in the universe. I was even more captivated by the idea that Alex had created an AI that was capable of making "Intelligent" decisions, such as balancing a pole on a cart, using a tool to retrieve an object stuck in a confined space, solving a cooperation puzzle, and even executing a buy low sell high strategy on a simulated stock. The AI did all of these things, <i>Yet they had never given it a goal</i>.<br />
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Humans, animals, insects, and even plants can create their own goals. Yet virtually every AI we have created has required someone to specifically specify it's goal. As such i think Alex's work is an important step and direction in AI development.<br />
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After watching that TED talk i started doing research and immediately began connecting these concepts to some of my philosophical ideas as shown in my post <a href="http://ideastwctw.blogspot.com/p/rational-objectivism.html" target="_blank">Objective Rationality</a>. A few years later i started forming a new idea/theory around AI connecting these ideas of intelligence with Jeremy England's (a biophysicist at MIT) ideas regarding the origin of life and its connection with entropy, and Kevin Kelly's (a thought leader in technology) idea's regarding technology and entropy.</div>
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Recently I went to <a href="http://exosphe.re/" target="_blank">Exosphere</a> to learn python programming, and while i was there i was able to do more research into this new field.<br />
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I ended up getting in contact with another mathematician and physicist in Spain who is doing research into this field as well. His name is Sergio Hernandez and he has a blog called <a href="http://entropicai.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">entropicai</a>, and with a bit of his help and help from my teacher Roberto Panai who is getting his phd in pure mathematics. I was able to make an AI based off of the principles of maximizing future freedom of action as stated in Alex's research paper.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GXPiIimBkrM/WMjE69bpfFI/AAAAAAAAEj4/WsaPzDXoqSsis18e2GfH-R82xqsWWmunACLcB/s1600/randompath3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GXPiIimBkrM/WMjE69bpfFI/AAAAAAAAEj4/WsaPzDXoqSsis18e2GfH-R82xqsWWmunACLcB/s400/randompath3.png" width="400" /></a>The AI i made is pretty simple, it uses monte carlo to search "path space" looking for and choosing paths with the most amount of "freedom". More freedom is defined as a path having more "steps".<br />
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These were the first "feelers" i made, they moved in only a diagonal direction, and randomly changed between a 30 degree and 60 degree angle.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Et6HZLwTIk/WMjKKGq0_HI/AAAAAAAAEkI/xpAk8Kswd3M3ii8umP_WF4N9l7JH9rVIACLcB/s1600/randompath4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3Et6HZLwTIk/WMjKKGq0_HI/AAAAAAAAEkI/xpAk8Kswd3M3ii8umP_WF4N9l7JH9rVIACLcB/s400/randompath4.png" width="400" /></a>It was limited in "sight" due to only being able to search path space in a 45 degree angle.<br />
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In order to maximize it's ability to search path space i made it able to search in more directions by increasing its search area to 360 degrees and even change it's direction allowing it turn and travel in circles.<br />
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I then started to make obstacle logic so that when one of the paths enters a certain area, it stops generating steps. I also made a box to contain all the paths so they don't go off forever into the ether, saving computing power.<br />
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Ending up with this rather beautiful image.<br />
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As you can see whenever the paths reach either an obstacle or the square boundaries, it stops generating steps.<br />
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Now that i had made a way to search through path space, the next step was to make the algorithm that chooses the path with the most futures.<br />
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The algorithm essentially simulates the future by simulating a bunch of random paths from its starting position, it then chooses the path that managed to generate the most steps, then the algorithm takes an X number of steps along that chosen path, then it loops on it, simulating another set of random paths from its new position,<br />
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Here's a visual example of it simulating hundreds of futures from its initial starting position which is inside a ring with a small opening.<br />
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Here's a visual example of it simulating futures from its new starting position which is now outside the ring.</div>
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The algorithm as a result is able to find its way out of any maze no matter how difficult, given enough computing power.<br />
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Even though it can find it's way out of any maze, it is of course just a simple algorithm brute forcing a solution. Also in this situation i am giving my algorithm a goal by deciding what i mean by "most futures". Where as in the research paper, most futures is determined by something much deeper, far more general, and more complex. Also the only thing my algorithm can really do is solve maze problems, it can't do much else. Where as the algorithm in the research paper can balance a pole on a cart, or use a tool to retrieve a trapped object, all without redefining "most futures".<br />
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There is however one very interesting thing that my algorithm does.<br />
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Without changing the algorithm, the very same algorithm that can escape mazes, also does something very interesting.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7x2dpoKu1YU/WMj_XLdhZZI/AAAAAAAAElo/YpePYpH_wXgVBDkBS7yWO1XHCdsJqsZCQCLcB/s1600/notnicepath.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7x2dpoKu1YU/WMj_XLdhZZI/AAAAAAAAElo/YpePYpH_wXgVBDkBS7yWO1XHCdsJqsZCQCLcB/s1600/notnicepath.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7x2dpoKu1YU/WMj_XLdhZZI/AAAAAAAAElo/YpePYpH_wXgVBDkBS7yWO1XHCdsJqsZCQCLcB/s320/notnicepath.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">If it has no maze to solve, it will always gradually move to the center of its container and stay there.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--JrOA00y39o/WMkBlM4uN-I/AAAAAAAAEl0/h8h96Ecp-jMmjtzOgRZNTPe5E_BugL53QCLcB/s1600/chaosinbox1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--JrOA00y39o/WMkBlM4uN-I/AAAAAAAAEl0/h8h96Ecp-jMmjtzOgRZNTPe5E_BugL53QCLcB/s400/chaosinbox1.png" width="400" /></a>This is interesting because not only did i not tell it do this, nor did i expect this to happen when first starting this project. But perhaps more importantly, it's interesting because it correlates very well with the first experiment Alex does as shown in his research paper, which is the particle in the box experiment. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HO3EywKNYD4/WMkHAF8V7jI/AAAAAAAAEmE/v0DZTDCWGAs1ongSkzId9Ov-TpFflqrrwCLcB/s1600/Particle%2Bin%2Ba%2Bbox.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HO3EywKNYD4/WMkHAF8V7jI/AAAAAAAAEmE/v0DZTDCWGAs1ongSkzId9Ov-TpFflqrrwCLcB/s400/Particle%2Bin%2Ba%2Bbox.png" width="400" /></a>As said in the research paper. "As a first example of causal entropic forcing applied to a
mechanical system, we considered a particle in a twodimensional
box [13]. We found that applying forcing to
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The reason my algorithm gradually moves to the center of the box, is the same reason why the algorithm in the research paper also moves the particle towards the center of the box. That reason is the fact that by moving towards the center, it maximizes its future freedom of action.</div>
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I unknowingly was able to replicate Alex's particle in the box experiment by making an algorithm that can solve any maze using the principle of trying to maximize future freedom.</div>
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I feel as if this hints towards some deeper truths regarding this idea of maximizing future freedom.</div>
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Even though the math behind the causal entropic forcing as shown in the research paper may be too difficult to apply to real world problems. It could be that simply focusing on trying to create better and better algorithms that maximize future freedom of action. Could naturally result in the emergence of more general artificial intelligent systems that increasingly do a wide variety of unexpected things. </div>
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I think Deep Q Neural Networks share similarities with this concept of maximizing future freedom of options.</div>
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Source Code: <a href="https://github.com/RoshawnTerrell/Entropicai">https://github.com/RoshawnTerrell/Entropicai</a></div>
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Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-11386086613999730472015-08-29T12:21:00.006-07:002021-03-04T08:23:28.877-08:00An idea that may help to better understand the brainI want to understand how the brain works. I learned that the two important aspects about the brain are its topography, and its pattern of neural activity.<br />
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If you fully understood how the brain molds itself from stimuli. You would be able to predict the structure of neural connections based off of certain stimuli. So far as i know, no one knows how to do that, no one truly understands how the brain works.<br />
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While trying to understand it myself, i tried to imagine groups of neurons and what structure they may make based off of the information that enters them. I could not do it, so i tried thinking of something else in the world that does the same thing. As in, changes its structure based off of the stimuli.<br />
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One idea i thought of was sand on a vibrating metal plate. Based off of the vibrations of the metal plate, the sand will change structure to match that specific stimuli.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-INepHKpj-m4/VeIFERraXQI/AAAAAAAAB50/Mz7esP0Quto/s1600/hEBFWV9.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-INepHKpj-m4/VeIFERraXQI/AAAAAAAAB50/Mz7esP0Quto/s1600/hEBFWV9.gif" /></a>If you fully understood how the sand changed in structure based off of the vibrations of the metal plate. Then i could give you a frequency that you have never heard, that would produce a structure that you have never seen, and you would be able to predict what it would look like.<br />
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I thought that if you could fully understand exactly how the sound causes the sand to form these structure's. You could apply that same understanding, and possibly more importantly how you achieved that same understanding, to understanding the brain.<br />
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Unfortunately i also do not understand how these structures are formed based off of these vibrations.<br />
If anyone does, would anyone mind explaining it to me? Remember you only understand, if you can predict a given structure that you have never encountered.<br />
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I think another interesting thing to note, is how similar these patterns are to electron orbitals.<br />
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Another thing that has been in my mind for quite some time, was the idea that neural activity looks very similar to the chaotic movement of a massive flock of birds flying in the sky. Even though this idea may not hold much merit, i still feel the need to share it with others. An interesting thing about how birds are able to coordinate themselves into these massive organizations and move as if they were a single organism. Is the fact that these seemingly complex flock formations derive from very simple rules. That each bird simply follows the one in front of itself. I think its interesting to almost think of each bird as a single processor. I think its also interesting that formations that at the core derive from neural activity, begin to resemble said neural activity.<br />
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This is the neural activity of a Zebra fish, right now it may be difficult to see its resemblance to the movement of a flock of birds. But i think it would be important to remember that a zebra fish lacks a neocortex. So i think it would be interesting to see neural activity from a neocortex imaged liked this, and i think it would further resemble the movement of the birds as well.</div>
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<br />Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-86781907362876734542015-05-24T14:28:00.000-07:002016-12-20T23:20:36.126-08:00Google's Methods Of Resource Acquisition Are Unique And Powerful Google is special. They are unlike most corporations, in the fact that the methods they use to acquire resources depend not on competition, but on something else entirely.<br />
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Corporations share many characteristics with organisms, and if properly observed, can even be classified as organisms themselves. And as you may have learned from biology, competition is not the only interaction that occurs between organisms. <br />
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The type of interaction that Google uses, is akin to Symbiosis, which is much more difficult to find, and take advantage of, not only in our man-made environments, but in natural ones as well.<br />
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This type of interaction can be seen in their main source of income, their search engine.<br />
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In the symbiotic interaction between bees and flowers, bees come and absorb the nectar from the flowers, In the process, the bees get food, the flowers get more genetic diversity. Yes both benefit, but that's not the important part.<br />
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In this interaction, not only do both benefit, but more importantly, both begin to experience rapid growth due to the feedback loop created by their interaction with each other.<br />
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The more bees, the more flowers. The more flowers, the more bees.<br />
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The same applies to Google's search engine. The more people that use their search engine, the more ad revenue Google receives. The more ad revenue they receive, the better their search engine becomes. The better it becomes, the more people use their search engine.<br />
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Google's search engine has grown to become the most used search engine. You could say that they hold, a monopoly over search.<br />
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But the interesting thing here, is that their monopoly over search, is not detrimental to its consumers, but in fact, very beneficial.<br />
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Not only due to the fact that we get better search because of it, but because of the other highly beneficial incentives it provides.<br />
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For example Google has much to gain from the internet being completely free, and completely ubiquitous.<br />
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The more people that use the internet, the more people that use their search engine, the more ad revenue they receive. Which last time i checked, constitutes over 90% of their profits.<br />
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They are the only ones that have much to gain from it being completely free, rather than profiting off of it, while having the resources to make it so, and they are on the path to making it such. But the amazing thing about this, is that they are not doing this because they are somehow altruistic (though they may be) but because they have much to gain from it.<br />
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It is this Symbiotic relationship that is built on rational objectivity that guarantees beneficial outcomes.<br />
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There are still over 4 billion people that do not have internet. Imagine the economic effects of suddenly bringing all 4 billion people online. (You can view the internet stats here: <a href="http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/">http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/</a> It actually has a really cool counter that actively shows the rising population of internet users)<br />
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Making the internet completely free and completely ubiquitous, would be a major achievement, and with rippling beneficial effects. Here are some of the ways they are on the path making the internet completely free.<br />
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Project Loon: With project Loon they plan to put helium balloons in the sky, and use them as atmospheric satellites. With the direct goal of providing free internet for all.<br />
<a href="http://www.google.com/loon/">http://www.google.com/loon/</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://gigaom.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2014/04/titan-aerospace-drone-3.jpg?quality=80&strip=all" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://gigaom.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/1/2014/04/titan-aerospace-drone-3.jpg?quality=80&strip=all" width="320" /></a>Acquisition of Titan Aerospace: Google bought Titan Aerospace, a drone company that is working on solar powered drones. You can see the obvious potential of this technology in their endeavor to provide free internet for all. <a href="http://www.techspot.com/news/56387-google-acquisition-of-drone-maker-titan-aerospace-will-lift-project-loon-to-new-heights.html">http://www.techspot.com/news/56387-google-acquisition-of-drone-maker-titan-aerospace-will-lift-project-loon-to-new-heights.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/digitaltrends-uploads-prod/2014/02/fiber-optics-google.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/digitaltrends-uploads-prod/2014/02/fiber-optics-google.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Google fiber: Google has begun to lay out fiber optic cords in a number of different cities, one of them is mine (Austin, TX). This service does of course cost money laying down the infrastructure is simply to expensive. But i do not think profit is the main goal here. I think the goal here, is to disrupt the strangle that is the detrimental monopoly that ISPs such as Comcast, Timewarner, and AT&T have on us. By introducing incredibly fast internet speeds, around 1000 Mbps for a very low price. Around the same price that people pay these other sleazy ISPs just for 5-10 Mbps. (Horrible, i know, we should be out in the streets with torches and pitchforks)<br />
<a href="https://fiber.google.com/about/">https://fiber.google.com/about/</a><br />
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But making the internet free, and completely ubiquitous, is just one of their goals, or should i say, incentives.<br />
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Out of all the other corporations, Google is the only one i have seen to put so much money and effort towards technological advancement, from what seems to be purely for the sake of it.<br />
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If you do not believe me, here are some pretty amazing examples. (Seriously click on every link if you have not heard of them already)<br />
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Makani; <a href="http://www.google.com/makani/#overview " target="_blank">http://www.google.com/makani/#overview </a><br />
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Boston Dynamics: <a href="http://www.bostondynamics.com/">http://www.bostondynamics.com/</a><br />
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Clean Energy: <a href="https://www.google.com/green/energy/investments/">https://www.google.com/green/energy/investments/</a><br />
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<a href="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/uciliawang/files/2014/12/Ivanpah1-1024x683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/uciliawang/files/2014/12/Ivanpah1-1024x683.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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Google Car: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqSDWoAhvLU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqSDWoAhvLU</a><br />
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And these are just a few, the list goes on.<br />
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Again i am not arguing that they are altruistic, but rather, that they have much to gain from all of this. Where as other corporations only focus on money, and for good reason, because currency is a powerful resource, because you can convert it into just about anything else. It seems like Google is interested in much more than just money. Its like they understand that all of our businesses today are built on technology, technology that at one time did not exist. As such they seem to treat potential technology, technology that does not exist, but has the potential to exist, as just as much a resource as anything else.<br />
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But also where other businesses simply wish to grow and profit off of their products. Google seems to want to use the resources they have acquired, to make an impact, to change the world. Now whether for better, or for worse, does not matter. What matters, is that this makes them powerful.<br />
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Where other businesses have small limited goals, where they stagnate and cling to old tech and methods, which has proven to kill businesses time and time again.<br />
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Google doesn't just not stagnate, they create. They do not play catch up, they are the ones forcing others to catch up. Because of this, Google will be around for a very long time, and also, has the potential to become the most powerful corporation in the world.<br />
<br />Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-73864663277784127032015-04-20T15:05:00.000-07:002017-03-15T00:16:54.484-07:00Minecraft Social ExperimentAbout a few months back, i had one of the most fun, interesting, and socially enlightening Minecraft experiences to date.<br />
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I feel as if much was learned about human nature, from this one session. Though when me and some of my friends began this match, we had no intention of getting anything of the sort out it.<br />
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So ill start from the beginning.<br />
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I invited 5 people, some of them i knew personally, some of them were simply friends of friends. Out of the 5 people there were 4 males and 1 female. This one female would significantly change how the game was played out, simply due to her being female, and us being male. You'll see why later. So lately i had been wanting more of a challenge out of Minecraft, such as a harder time gathering food and resources, and surviving overall. So before i loaded the world, i came up with a single new rule. That rule, was that you only get one life. No matter how you die, if you die, you will be kicked from the session and will no longer be allowed to play. That was the only rule, any and all other actions, were allowed.<br />
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I did not realize just how much this would change things.<br />
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So as soon the world loaded, and we all spawned in. We looked around at our surroundings, and we saw relatively flat plains, with a few trees dotted about in the distance. We then did exactly as anyone who has played Minecraft would expect. We all spread out, but agreed to all meet back at a specific location, and began to gather resources. We all understood that starving didn't just mean despawn then respawn, but rather, permanent death. As a result, we were all careful not to travel to far away from each other, lest we get stuck alone at night, which would mean almost certain death.<br />
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As the sun began to fall, we all anxiously hurried back to each other, and due to the lack of resources, had to make our temporary home a lowly hole dug out in the side of a small cliff.<br />
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While all huddled in this small area, we realized some of us, had little to no food due to the scarcity of life in the area. When one person said they were hungry and needed to eat before the end of the night, We all got quiet in the voice chat. We all felt it, and it was likely all our first time feeling..it. Normally you can gladly share your food with others because there is not much risk in doing so. But now. Sharing your food with someone else, could mean your death. When the person asked again, someone eventually broke the silence with a small offering of their food, then another person offered a small amount of theirs as well.<br />
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I had plenty...but offered none. I also kept the information as to just how much food i had, to myself. I believe this was the first time i noticed something different about myself, and about the others compared to all my past sessions.<br />
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The night felt long. To try to sleep through it, my good friend Devon tried to make beds, but only had enough resources for one.<br />
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I sat in a corner and fashioned myself a stone sword, little did i know how much of an effect this stone sword would have on me, and everyone else.<br />
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During all this time we also made the hole we lived in a bit bigger.<br />
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While Devon was mingling with the others, i saw his bed in the corner. A thought ran through my head..i wanted the bed. While Devon wasn't looking, i decided to take it for myself, but only as a joke.<br />
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When Devon came around and noticed that his bed was gone, he asked who took it. I said "I did".<br />
He asked for me to give it back. Still jokingly, i said no. He then pulled out his, <i>Wooden</i>, sword, and threatened me with it. But because i was the only one that gathered enough stone just before the night came, i pulled out my stone sword.<br />
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In that instant we both realized something, that i had the power. Normally whether you got into a fight or not, or had the weaker weapon or not. It didn't really matter, because if you died, you'd just respawn.<br />
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But this was not the case. Now, you could threaten someone with death, and it would actually mean something.<br />
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We stared at each other for a moment. But Devon, understanding the severity of the situation, eventually backed down, realizing that his life, was not worth a bed.<br />
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That confrontation between me and him, stirred something in me.<br />
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From that point on, instead of asking for things, i began to give commands.<br />
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Ordering people to give me more food, to give me their stone, and other resources. And that if i ever found them holding out on me, they would be punished. Devon and another guy were always reluctant to do so, but had no choice, However, to my surprise, one guy gladly obeyed my orders.<br />
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I elected myself as leader of the group.<br />
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When morning finally came, i knew we needed more food, so i decided that we should travel.<br />
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I chose a direction, and the guy that gladly followed my orders, without hesitation, followed my lead. Which then caused the female to follow, and Devon and the other resistor, not wanting to be left behind, followed as well.<br />
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After much walking we saw a village in the distance.<br />
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At that moment i began running towards it, killing any villager i came across, yelling and telling the others to do the same. I commanded them to pillage the village, kill all the men and children, and rape the women!<br />
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After all the villagers were dead, i claimed the village and its farms as my own, all <b><i>Mine</i></b> and only <b><i>Mine</i></b>.<br />
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After a while i saw everyone harvesting the wheat from the farms, <i style="font-weight: bold;">My</i> wheat.<br />
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I gave the order that these farms are my farms and that you must give me a portion of all the bread you make.<br />
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I was really beginning to push Devon to his limit.<br />
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This other person however still oddly, gladly followed my orders. I decided to make use of him, i commanded him to go mining and get me enough iron for a set of iron armor.<br />
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Devon, his fellow resistor, and the female were picking out their homes. I saw that Devon chose to make the biggest house, his house. I did not agree with this decision.<br />
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When my follower came back with a piece of armor, i decided to reward him.<br />
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I told Devon to get out of the house, and that the house will be my followers home, as a reward for all his great deeds. I even gave my blind little follower a title. I called him, my Thane, and that he had earned the title for being such a great warrior, and for his service, to the king.<br />
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This was the last straw. Devon couldn't take my shit anymore, he grabbed his stuff, and left the village. His fellow resistor sharing the same sentiments, left with him. The only female of the group, decided to leave with Devon as well because she had known him longer.<br />
<br />
I would have stopped him and threatened him with death, but i knew even though i had slightly better weapons and armor. That it was risky to fight all three, even with my Thane at my side. Devon could have also fought for the village right there and now, but he also understood, the risk. So i let him leave.<br />
<br />
But he and i understood that we would not be seeing the last of each other. That when he has gathered enough resources, he would make an attempt at my life.<br />
<br />
Without saying it, we both knew there was an arms race going on, where ever he was, he was definitely trying to get stronger weapons and armor.<br />
<br />
So i commanded my Thane to keep getting iron and make me a full set of iron armor.<br />
<br />
later on through out the game, Devon and i, both knowing whats to come, decided to meet at a empty field. To make sure they did not try anything, i brought my Thane with me, and to make sure i didn't try anything he brought the two other people that left with him as well.<br />
<br />
When we met at the field, we stayed a good distance apart from each other, making sure no one got too close. We stared at each other and discussed somethings. I forget the exact things we discussed, but what i did take from them this meeting, was that there soon would be war.<br />
<br />
As we were leaving, i saw the female. A thought ran through my head..i want her. So i stopped and told her to hold on. Devon concerned for her safety stayed as well.<br />
<br />
I asked her, why not come with me?<br />
<br />
I am stronger, wealthier, better, a king of a whole village.<br />
<br />
I said these exact words, "if you stay with him, you will continue to be nothing more than some whore living underground in the dirt."<br />
<br />
And before she could get offended by my words, i told her. "But if you come with me, you will be a great princess, you will have an entire village with farms to yourself. You will live at the top of the tower."<br />
<br />
Reluctantly, she agreed to come with me.<br />
<br />
Even though this was all just a game, i know this hurt Devon's Male Ego in someway.<br />
<br />
But at least for a moment, it seemed as if we all forgot that this was all just a game.<br />
<br />
smugly, i asked Devon how he felt about me taking his woman. He of course tried to act it off as if it didn't phase him.<br />
<br />
We parted ways for the last time.<br />
<br />
When we returned to the village, as promised, i guided my new princess to her home, and had her climb to the top of the tower, At the top, laid her bed, the same bed, that i took from Devon at the beginning of all this. Not only was the tower a nice sight, but we could also see for miles, allowing us to see if Devon and his fellow resistor were coming to attack the village in the night.<br />
<br />
Knowing that Devon is a better miner and resource gatherer than i am, i decided to attempt a preemptive strike, before he could attain better weapons and armor.<br />
<br />
At first light, me and my thane left to attack Devon, telling the princess to wait for our return.<br />
<br />
We carefully moved to where Devon and his fellow resistor where holed up. They were underground, just below us.<br />
<br />
When i broke the block under my feet, It all happened so fast. I dropped down ready to swing at anyone i saw, hoping that the element of surprise would give us the advantage.<br />
<br />
...I slipped on blood (a figure of speech that my friend Devon still uses today).<br />
<br />
When i dropped, the ground below me was too high, so my head was still poking out at the top. I could barely see what was going on below me. Surprised that i was there, they reacted fast, grabbed their weapons and made their way toward me. I saw them coming and i attempted to select a block to place below me so i could get out, but i know i couldn't do it quick enough. So as a last ditch effort, i swung blindly. Helpless as they stabbed me to death.<br />
<br />
The End.<br />
<br />
It was interesting to see what we would all do in a simulated survival situation.<br />
It was somewhat similar to the book, Lord of the flies, and the book Grendel.<br />
<br />Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-61453658454331104282015-02-15T12:03:00.000-08:002016-08-19T10:17:44.843-07:00The FDA is a bottleneck on technological advancement<div style="margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/dGrZ7s70CZWjRSZJ7GpxCY3nicLKpxEOtdKYsTFt4EJRyDN_ena7-uGJ18PfaNjizHCTtr-T7_DmpEWlO5OG-7dPpDF3uc2DH_1EBZ1m" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="tinycamera" border="0" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-132106" src="http://petapixel.com/assets/uploads/2014/03/tinycamera.jpg" height="265" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This chip right here, could save lives in the emergency room. But we still have to wait months-years, for it to be approved by the FDA.</span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-26294e81-8f8f-ad1d-c654-100d88aa26b7" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another very recent example is the recent petition made by Nick Grillo, a person who was been diagnosed with ALS.</span></div>
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</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this petition which you can view and i urge you to sign </span><a href="https://www.change.org/p/janet-woodcock-m-d-fda-accelerated-approval-of-genervon-s-gm604-for-use-in-als?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=240676&alert_id=qbTNWRcIvd_apuxkkEaGoz3uzS%2BgmlJDN1tyQs9kKNWJ54aIiFoaR2m6IrHcDviDR40FN9Rh6y2" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> he mentions that there is a drug called GM6. This drug has the potential to extend his and other peoples lives who have been diagnosed with this debilitating disease. It is not a cure, but it could at least extend their lives long enough for a cure to be found.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yet the drug is still awaiting time consuming approval, it will likely take 3 years before patients will have access to this drug. Yet most people with ALS are only given 2-5 years to live. This means that most people currently living with ALS wont be around to see it reach the market.</span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is unacceptable, and a clear example where the FDA does absolutely more harm than good, as well many others.</span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The FDA is one of many government entities acting as a bottleneck on technological progress. Soon technology will advance faster than they can keep up.</span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The FDA needs to be done away with if we wish to experience the beneficial effects of technology as soon as they are made.</span></div>
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</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not 1920, we do not need some vague entity making decisions anymore. We have advanced telecommunications technology. We can research the information ourselves, and can make knowledgeable decisions for </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ourselves</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">All drugs and procedures have pros and cons, and it should be up to you to weigh those pros and cons.</span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The FDA, or atleast their power, needs to be removed. </span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is only one example of many where technological advancement is stifled by government intervention.</span></div>
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</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Google car is another example, held back not by the FDA, but nonetheless other government entities.</span></div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vw9mdmYfVSsJlOFnW4kcbo-ouDixjJpUOl8D-tgJ2F3F5Y3joKfjx_XMTCSsWCy_-aSbp6FiE7e-cqHzg5PL_sKfD1sR7DQdmjUYDc5cd3tNVQC6jX06gDo5wrOsI-LfCg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"></span></a><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even though the car drives better than any human, can see in all directions, all at the same time. Does not get drunk, or distracted, it still faces inevitable, but time consuming approval.</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vw9mdmYfVSsJlOFnW4kcbo-ouDixjJpUOl8D-tgJ2F3F5Y3joKfjx_XMTCSsWCy_-aSbp6FiE7e-cqHzg5PL_sKfD1sR7DQdmjUYDc5cd3tNVQC6jX06gDo5wrOsI-LfCg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="355px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vw9mdmYfVSsJlOFnW4kcbo-ouDixjJpUOl8D-tgJ2F3F5Y3joKfjx_XMTCSsWCy_-aSbp6FiE7e-cqHzg5PL_sKfD1sR7DQdmjUYDc5cd3tNVQC6jX06gDo5wrOsI-LfCg" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="533px;" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ray Kurzweil, a truly amazing individual who is director of engineering at Google. Has made many predictions about the future of technology, the far majority of them correct. The problem is, he predicted that we would have driverless cars on the road by 2009. He was wrong. But the interesting and rather worrying fact is that he was not wrong due to the lack of technology, but due to the inefficiency of government. Due to this his prediction was off by, I believe 4-5 years. If you've ever read his predictions, which you can read </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predictions_made_by_Ray_Kurzweil" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. You would realize that 4-5 years, is a very long time.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He made another prediction that by 2019 computers will do most of the driving, and humans will be prohibited from driving on highways unassisted. From this perspective, i am sure that we all can agree, this prediction will be false as well. But again not due to technology, but the inefficiency of government. </span></div>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me and my fellow Transhumanist, i am sure this is very worrying, and that we can all agree that something, whatever it is, needs to be done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many organisms can predict the future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hence the reason why a horse will stop at the edge of a cliff, because it knows it will fall and die. It may not understand, but it knows.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We humans, are so intelligent, that we can predict far-far into the future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So far, that we know, we will die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can just imagine, the first couple of humans to come across such an existential concept.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To realize that no matter how much you eat, no matter how many predators you escape, no matter how strong you are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You. Will. Die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The idea that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try. You and every one you ever loved or ever known, will die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Must have been psychologically unbearable to these first minds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead of these first humans excepting such a truth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They instead think, "no..i don't die..no, I just go somewhere else, to some far off place. Where me, and every one I ever loved, will <b><i>never</i></b> die. There will be plenty of food, water, no threat of predators, just pure utter comfort. We will be happy...<b><i>forever</i></b>."</span></div>
Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-71527189776873670642014-10-17T17:19:00.000-07:002018-07-22T19:30:12.989-07:00Corporate Transhumanism<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A new kind of corporation is coming, a corporation that expands in all directions, and strives to continue to ever advance in technology.</span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-e5fdfa62-2030-7e96-bbf3-8dbb24c54215" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A perfect example of this, is continuously shown in the actions of my favorite corporation, Google.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Google started off as a small search engine company, with the simple goal of organizing the internet.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This has changed now, Google now takes on </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Innovative world changing projects.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few of these projects are:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2014/12/Vehicle_prototype.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image result for google car" border="0" height="213" src="https://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2014/12/Vehicle_prototype.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://recodetech.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/early-vehicle-lores.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Google car, this car is completely automated, it has sensors that can look forwards, backwards, left and right all at the same time. It does not get distracted, drunk, or make rash decisions. This car truly has the potential to completely revolutionize transportation. It has the potential to drastically decrease accidents, and it has the potential to completely do away with traffic.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Project Loon, in this project, Google wants to send helium balloons into the air. With the end goal to make internet completely </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">ubiquitous,and free for all.</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/2013-06-14_2153.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/2013-06-14_2153.png" height="133" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do i even need to mention the potential world changing benefits this project has? There are still over 4 billion people on this planet who do not have access to internet. Think about the disruptive effects it will have on the world </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">economy</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">, when <i><b>everyone</b></i> has internet? Think about the disruptive effects it will have on world governments, a good example of this would be Arab spring.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Google glasses, is a big leap towards augmented reality, which will likely be the next big medium for entertainment, and telecommunications. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The potential effects augmented reality will have on the world, i think can be best show in this short sci fi film.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17.25px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sight:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK_cdkpazjI" target="_blank"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK_cdkpazjI</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are many other examples, such as Google's work with solar powered planes, that have the potential to never have to land, or their work with drones that can deliver packages far more efficiently than how it is done today.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, you get the point.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Google is no longer satisfied with just organizing the internet, Google wants to organize the World.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Google is the perfect example of Corporate Transhumanism, but they are not the only example.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Facebook, which started out as a simple popular social media site, is oddly enough, beginning to practice Corporate Transhumanism. Shown in their acquisition of <a href="http://www.oculus.com/" target="_blank">Oculus Rift</a>, a virtual reality headset. Virtual Reality is another technology that has the potential to disrupt societal norms. It will likely become the new medium of entertainment, allowing people to go to other worlds, experience epic fantasies, and over all do things that they could never do in reality.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The future of transhumanism, lies in the actions of corporations, It is due to these entities, and the fact that they all strive to compete to stay on top. That the future we transhumanist dream of, will come to fruition.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Competition = progress</span></span><br />
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<br />Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-23495429638647241662014-09-26T18:55:00.001-07:002014-09-27T16:23:10.106-07:00Idea to improve neural networksNeural networks are a way of programming, or better, a way of computation that resembles the way your brain works.<br>
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Its is a method of programming that has shown to be very useful. I honestly think that neural networks could be the future of all, if not most computation.<br>
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Right now, neural networks are used only for things such as image recognition, mapping patterns. Overall used in a way that require you only to train the network, because apparently that is the only way to use them. This statement as you may have realized, foreshadows the main point/idea i am trying to get across.<br>
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So, as i said before, neural networks resemble the brain, this means just like brain, we do not entirely understand how they work. I also mentioned, that a better way of referring to neural networks, is as computation, rather than programming.<br>
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The reason why i say this, is because of the fact that they resemble the brain. It may even be appropriate to go so far as to say, they are the brain. And that by playing with neural networks, we are playing with what makes you, you.<br>
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The brain, is a computer, very much like the one i am using to record this information now. But with this computer, which is comprised of transistors rather than neurons. I can program it to do things such as, play video, do mathematical calculations, or do what i am doing right now. But most importantly, i can make this computer do what i think is the greatest thing you can do with any computer. That thing, is run simulations, the very process of recreating reality, such as the physics of a ball dropping.<br>
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My idea, is a fairly simple one, yet at the same time, profound (at least to me). What if you could do on neural networks what we do now with transistor based computers? What if you could run a simulation on a neural net? I don't entirely know why, but it seems as if the way neurons work, is the best way to run a simulation. I mentioned this before in my idea to compute information in a new way. Which turned out to be neural networks, just in hardware form.<br>
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Now i know we can run simulations with neurons, i do it all the time, at least i think i do. I can imagine a ball dropping, when coming up with my ideas, i imagine them and all their parts. Nikolai Tesla used to do the same thing, so well that he would imagine every single part that makes up his machines before he even started to build them. He would then build them to the exact specifications in his head, and they would work just like he imagined. How he used his ability to imagine, is just like how we use simulations on computers. To do things before we do them, allowing for error without the consequences.<br>
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Now, i have no idea how to make neural networks do as i have mentioned. But i do have some ideas as to how to begin to understand neural networks, which would then allow us to do as i have mentioned. It also would bring us closer to understanding how the brain works.<br>
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My idea to further our understanding of neural networks, is to play with them. What i mean by that, is to turn individual neurons off and on at your will, play with what they connect to, and watch the outcome.<br>
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This leads me to another idea, a new way to program neural networks. Right now programming a neural network consists of tediously, and in my opinion boringly righting down lines of code.<br>
My idea is to change that, to the point where you are visually connecting and turning on artificial neurons. Looking something along the lines of whats shown in the GIF.<br><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">The first step is learning how to create them by hand, or better, if we can.</span></div><div><br></div><div>I have devised a test in my head, train a neural net to recognize patterns. Then make a blank neural net, and copy all the connections of the first net on to the blank one by hand.</div><div><br></div><div>If the one made by hand, does not work, then there is a problem, a big, mysterious one. It would mean that there is more to the brain and to computation than simply the connections and the neural activity. But what made the connections, and the neural activity.</div><div><br></div><div>If the net does work, then we play with it. Randomly disconnect one of the neurons from another, and see the effects. </div><div><br></div><div>I think the latter is far more likely, I also hope it is the case (though the first option does seem fun as we'll)</div><div><br></div><div>In my experience, when people talk of neural networks, they always talk of mapping, never the neural activity.</div><div><br></div><div>I think it is possible for two neural networks to have the same connections, yet have different outcomes, due to different neural activity.</div><div><br></div><div>I feel as neural activity, especially in simulations, is the important factor.</div><div><br></div><div>where programming a neural network to do what we do on transistor based computers. lies directly in turning neurons on and off in specific patterns.</div><div><br></div><div>I almost feel as if in a simulation, the connections the neurons have would describe the somewhat static parts of the world, such as the ground, and the ball.</div><div><br></div><div>while the neural activity would describe the movement of the ball.</div><div><br></div>
The neural connections would describe the landscape, while the neural activity would describe your movement through the landscape.
Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-62898753262507832352014-08-28T01:48:00.000-07:002014-08-28T01:48:18.058-07:00Brain to synthesizer interfaceI have been thinking about this idea for quite sometime. Especially during the times i would play the piano at my school. I could always hear the intricate symphony in my head, but it would never fully come out right when attempted to play. The times when i could find the keys to play what i could hear in my head. I would always find that i simply did not have enough fingers to play it. I kinda of always wished that i could just <i>think </i>the sounds into existence.<br />
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Well it turns out that wish is not too far fetched.<br />
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First you can interface your brain with things, not that difficult, nor too expensive.<br />
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<a href="http://emotiv.com/">http://emotiv.com/</a><br />
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Though the technology is still not that "accurate".<br />
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The idea itself is to program a neural interface headset with a synthesizer. Imagine, anyone, even a child, able to play instruments such as the violin beautifully and precisely, with little to no training. This technology would be the final blow to making instruments completely obsolete. <br />
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Anyone could make music, where you not just play one instrument, but multiple. All perfectly synced harmonically, all played by you, and only you.<br />
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This would be such a disruptive technology to the music industry. That i feel it would look much differently in the near future, than how it looks today.<br />
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I think this wish to simply have music play from the mind, is a wish that great composers have always dream't of. Shown in the tradition of directing music, when in reality, no directing is really needed. Bands do just find without one, and if directing was really needed. I think there are far more effective and accurate ways of doing that, than to have a man stand up waving his arms.<br />
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I think with directing, what the composers truly wanted, was to simply close their eyes. And to then have all the sounds they had built up in their head, play at the wave of their hand. As if the sounds were emerging from their very finger tips.<br />
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With this technology, this will become a reality.<br />
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<br />Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-79232520088877998072014-08-10T01:19:00.001-07:002019-05-23T09:16:37.190-07:00Objective Rationality <div>
Before reading this, i recommend you read these two blog posts i wrote.</div>
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Emotions do not make us</div>
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human: <a href="http://ideastwctw.blogspot.com/2014/01/emotions-do-not-make-us.html">http://ideastwctw.blogspot.com/2014/01/emotions-do-not-make-us.html</a></div>
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Emotions are robotic: <a href="http://ideastwctw.blogspot.com/2014/07/emotions-are-robotic.html?m=0" target="_blank">http://ideastwctw.blogspot.com/2014/07/emotions-are-robotic.html?m=0 </a></div>
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I have been developing this philosophy i call, “Rational Objectivism”. It encompasses all my previous posts on rationality, such as the ones linked above. And some posts I will make in the future, such as "Rational Selfishness".</div>
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If you have read some of my posts, you would realize that i prize rationality. That I look at it with utmost importance in any interaction. That I realize that our ability to rationalize at a high level, is the very thing that differentiates us from the other organisms of this planet.</div>
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I also prize the objective, the truth. I could careless about your subjective views, your beliefs. </div>
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If i point a loaded gun to your head, and pull the trigger, it matters not how much you subjectively believe bullets do not exist. You're gonna get bullet in your head. This is the power of truth.</div>
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The truth is unaffected by yours, or anyone else's views. It needs no one to recognize it as true, to be, true.</div>
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The problem i have been tackling, is whether it is possible to have a goal that is objective, and that is rational. </div>
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I know it is possible to have a goal that is entirely irrational. Such as wanting to kill a person due to anger. But at the same time, i know it is possible to rationalize the best route to accomplish said goal.</div>
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For example, the person you want kill could be armed. So running at him with a knife is not a viable option. You also probably do not want to get caught. So maybe the best option, is to buy a large syringe, fill it with air. Wait for the perfect moment, maybe outside his house. Then jam the syringe in his throat, injecting all the air inside, into his vein, eventually causing a massive heart attack. I just rationalized towards this goal so well, that i have effectively eliminated most if not all chances of being caught. Yet this goal, is irrational. </div>
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So is it possible to have a goal that is rational, Not controlled by mere instinct?</div>
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Is it also possible for this objective, to be Objective?</div>
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A goal that is not subjective, not an opinion. This means everyone has to have been following the goal, whether they know it or not.</div>
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I have come to the conclusion that yes, there is something that everyone follows, not just everyone, but every living thing. That something, is anti-entropy. Every single living thing strives to reach a state of greater and greater complexity.</div>
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Another thing that all anti entropic forces strive to acquire, is power.</div>
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Power = control</div>
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Every single living thing strives toward control.</div>
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Control, is literally being able to control the movement of matter that makes up and surrounds your organization. </div>
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You do not need a nervous system (brain) to control matter.</div>
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Cells control matter (albeit a small amount).</div>
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At one point, simple muscle mass, was enough to suffice.</div>
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It allowed organisms to move and hold things at their will.</div>
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Yes survival is the goal of organisms, but the derivative of that goal is control. In order to survive, you must be able to physically control the matter around you, and the matter that forms you, to retain your organization. </div>
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One thing that greatly determines control, is your ability to perceive and understand, the world around you.</div>
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Hence the reason why humans have so much power.</div>
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The strive for control (power) is deeply ingrained in our very nature.</div>
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Not by instinct, but by simple process, by what we are, by the fact that we are life, An ever advancing anti-entropic force.</div>
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Everyone strives for control, <b>Everyone</b>, even a person who says they do not want control, strives for at least enough control over matter, to say those very words. </div>
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The strive for power, is an inescapable, inherent function of life, and possibly all anti-entropic forces (if there exists anti-entropic forces outside of life. Though anti-entropy could be an appropriate, if not the only appropriate definition for life. If so, this would mean that stars are "alive" as we'll).</div>
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Advancing such, is simply what life has always been trying to do since it's fruition. </div>
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More proof to back up my statement that all anti-entropic forces want control.</div>
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<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/alex_wissner_gross_a_new_equation_for_intelligence">http://www.ted.com/talks/alex_wissner_gross_a_new_equation_for_intelligence</a></div>
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This link will take you to a ted talk by Alex wissner-gross. Its about a new equation for intelligence, and for the first time, provides a solid definition as to what intelligence really is. </div>
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The definition is something along the lines of: Intelligence is Behavior a system that tends to maximize the possible future states of that system. </div>
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It is essentially saying, that intelligence tries to acquire as much control of a situation as possible.</div>
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One person once asked me.</div>
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"What's your evidence for the force that makes everything grow in complexity? I gave the example of archaea and bacteria species, that haven't grown in complexity for a few billion years."</div>
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My response was.</div>
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“Life is a whole system, you're looking at only the bacteria, and ignoring all of the other parts of whole system such as the fact that bacteria is related to all other organisms on the planet. This Would not only be a limited view, but would be a false one as we'll.</div>
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If you look at life as a whole, you will see that it does in fact grow in complexity. From prokaryotic cells, to eukaryotic cells. From the primitive cerebellum, To the neocortex..</div>
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What's even more interesting, is that this self evolving anti-entropic system. Has now created an organism, that has begun another evolution. Technological evolution. And as such, another form of anti-entropy. </div>
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And last, to top it all off. What do you notice as humans advance in technology? We gain more control of our environments, we gain, more power.<br /><br /></div>
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Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-70776516021532806812014-07-10T16:05:00.001-07:002014-09-01T02:40:09.998-07:00A new way to produce electricity<div>
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I have an idea that could greatly increase the production of electricity. But I do not have the tools to test it. I was thinking that maybe others with the necessary resources could test it for me.</div>
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So, I was looking up how a fusion reactor works. I knew what fusion was, but I wanted to know specifically how you could put together a machine to artificially cause it to occur.</div>
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I got something called the tokamak fusion reactor. There are many designs of course, and this design like all others, seemed interesting, new, advanced, futuristic, and best of all, innovative.</div>
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What of course baffled me, was how were you going to transfer fusion power, into electricity? Then I saw, that the design of the reactor would make it so that the heat generated by the fusion process would turn water to steam, to then turn a turbine. </div>
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Instantly the thought that struck me was...that seems a bit primitive.</div>
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But what's even more interesting, is that EVERY other type of electrical generatoration eventually leads to turning a turbine. </div>
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Wind power = turbine</div>
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Hydroelectric dam = turbine</div>
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Nuclear fission = turbine</div>
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Burning coal = turbine</div>
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Nuclear fusion = turbine</div>
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I eventually learned how and why turning a turbine produces electricity, and that's because the turbine is connected to a magnet, which turns around a conductive metal rod.</div>
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This produces electricity, I guess because it moves electrons??</div>
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Anyway my point here, is that we have all of these innovative ways to produce electricity. Yet our energy transfer method has stayed the same since..we'll...the FIRST electrical generator. We are talking Edison and tesla here, Nearly 200 years, it's ridiculous. The ONLY other </div>
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Method, is very new technology that's still trying to be advanced, and that is of course, solar panels.</div>
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I've learned over my short life (also due to my intuition), that when you see a lack of advancement in one area. Especially If the area is extremely vital. Yet everything else is advancing greatly around it (nuclear fission/fusion).</div>
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That usually means that one, people don't understand it. And two, there are possibly great advancements to be made there.</div>
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So I started racking my brain as to a way to produce electricity In a new way.</div>
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I didn't get very far...but I did get an idea. The idea still revolves around using a magnet that spins around a metal rod, But it goes a bit further.</div>
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I realized that the magnet stays in one place, spinning in that exact same spot.</div>
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I of course asked my self. Why? Does a magnet spinning around a piece of metal produce electricity? We'll, what is electricity? Moving electrons. So, the magnet causes electrons to move? </div>
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If so, I have come to the conclusion, that instead of having the magnet spin in the exact same spot. Wouldn't it be more effective to move it forwards as well? (or whatever direction you want the electricity to go towards).</div>
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I mean when transferring heat to electricity via turbine, what you are really doing is transferring heat, to kinetic energy, to electrical energy. Which is basically just the kinetic energy of electrons.</div>
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So my intuition instantly told me, wouldn't it work A LOT better if you actually moved the magnet as we'll?</div>
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I tried thinking of multiple designs where these magnets move around.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">One design I came up with, is to completely surround the metal rod in a hollow cylindrical magnet (how it's done now). Then figure out a way to have this metal rod be constantly surrounded by a forward moving possibly spinning cylindrical magnet/magnets. </span></div>
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My intuition tells me that you would exert greater directional kinetic force on the electrons, and thus produce more electricity this way.</div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y5COiyDgURw/U78hSzpV7oI/AAAAAAAABN8/EZZP683YxZc/s640/blogger-image-50064646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y5COiyDgURw/U78hSzpV7oI/AAAAAAAABN8/EZZP683YxZc/s400/blogger-image-50064646.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In the picture it shows a turbine generator, which as I pointed out above, is used for EVERY form of electricity generation besides solar. It's also nearly 200 year old technology. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In this design, The magnet is stationary, and the metal rod spins place. The one I described above, instead has a magnet spinning around the metal rod. But it doesn't matter, both methods produce electricity.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Disregard the turbine while imagining this.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">My idea, is to move the magnet along the metal rod in the direction you want the electricity to travel (example, forward), while the magnet is moving along the metal rod in that direction, the magnet or rod also spins. Exerting greater directional kinetic energy onto the electrons, thus converting more kinetic energy into electric energy. And thus increasing the efficiency of the whole system.</span></div>
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I would like to, or someone else, to run a test where you input the <b>same</b> amount of energy into these structurally different electricity generating turbines. Then measure the amount of electricity is produced by each set up.</div>
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You would of course have the control, which would be the standard magnet circling a metal rod, then you would have my set up idea.</div>
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The main thing is, if this idea succeeds, I think it could greatly increase our production of electricity. This could further help solve our energy problems. </div>
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It also could be highly profitable, but I'm kinda giving up that possibility by posting this online.</div>
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Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-51296765324710711242014-07-05T15:32:00.001-07:002015-01-30T22:12:57.104-08:00Emotions are robotic<div>
Whenever I discuss my view on emotions, that they are no more than instincts. That they are preprogrammed neural connections, Something that was either, formed in the womb, or formed during infancy, not based off of environment, but instead, genetics.</div>
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Whenever i discuss my view that we should strive to entirely rid ourselves of such basic instincts, and to attempt to be as rational as possible. </div>
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I always get at least one person saying something along the lines of. "what? You want to be to no different than a mindless robot?".</div>
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Here's my response to such people.</div>
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So, I had owned a pet snake for nearly 5 years.</div>
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Every few weeks I would feed him live mice. I would watch him hunt, and eat them. One time, I dropped mice into his tank, but he did not go after them, he instead, stared at the reflection of the mice, in the mirror behind his tank. I thought, like nearly all animals I had come across, that he would be smart enough to eventually figure it out. But no, he just kept...<i>staring</i>, continously smashing his head up the agaisnt glass. As I think back, I realize how...<i>automated</i>. My snake seemed.</div>
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Well, it turns out that most reptiles are indeed automated. After doing some research, I've come to learn that the reptilian brain is very primitive. That it does not, can not, invent new pathways.</div>
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This process of forming new connections, is limited to mammals, specifically the neocortex.</div>
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The neural connections this reptilian brain holds, are all formed, due to genetics, not Environment. This means, the reptillian brain is all instinct.</div>
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Even more interesting, is that when species evolved over time. They did not get rid of the old brain, they simply built ontop of it. This means, that you, and I, both have a part of our brain, that is <i><b>exactly</b></i> the same as my snakes.</div>
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You see, it is your emotions that are the very thing that make you no different than that of some mere automata </div>
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It is the reason why people are so easily manipulated. Because they are so easily, predictable.</div><div>
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Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-41880812950717618422014-06-05T17:26:00.000-07:002016-07-31T18:10:38.676-07:00The End Of Privacy<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I advocate the complete elimination of privacy.</span><br />
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<a href="http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/w1-s2-googledrone-a-20140416-e1397531824547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://jto.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/w1-s2-googledrone-a-20140416-e1397531824547.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not only do i advocate this, but i think this is a future that technology will ultimately take us to, likely sooner than you think. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imagine a world where thousands of solar powered planes that never have to land, roam the skies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imagine that each of these solar powered planes, have powerful cameras attached to them</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TP8q3uTjsnM/V56hZHeEzgI/AAAAAAAACyk/IKtAmCeiufEB7-lawqkbf_zaNMVmK7Q6gCLcB/s1600/Quadopter-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TP8q3uTjsnM/V56hZHeEzgI/AAAAAAAACyk/IKtAmCeiufEB7-lawqkbf_zaNMVmK7Q6gCLcB/s320/Quadopter-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imagine a world where hundreds of thousands of quadrocopters roam the streets. Each equipped with cameras and sensors that allow for things such as facial recognition, and the ability to detect if the person is holding a weapon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Effectively replacing the need for police patrolling the streets. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Possibly even replacing the need for a police force at all. The quadrocopters would be cheaper, more effective, and safer (police brutality). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of you may be thinking that this will be controlled by some sort of "big brother", or some ominous corrupt government entity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This will not be the case, the surveillance system, will be completely open. As in, anyone can access it, anyone can view live feed from anyone of the cameras. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Imagine the major social and societal impact this technology will bring. Anyone, and everyone, can know the exact location and activity of anyone and everyone. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyone can observe you anywhere, and you can observe them, observing you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>All</b> crime, would be virtually eliminated. Things like killing, kidnapping, stealing, and rape, would become nonexistent. Corruption in politics, would be completely done away with, because you can observe your politician, at all places, and at all times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because of this technology, institutions such as prisons, would vastly decrease in size. Instead we would likely replace them with mental institutions/rehabilitation centers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People of the future, would look back on times before the implementation of this technology, and will regard such times (now), as a period of barbarism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Usually when i talk about this idea, people usually become worried about superficial things such as, the possibility that people may look at them when they are nude. Because of the fact that everyone can do such, we would eventually transcend such things. Nudity, would eventually become something so natural, that when in the face of it, people wouldn't even react/realize it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is only one example of the many social issues that we will transcend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The ideal complete form of this technology, would be so powerful, it would allow one to observe every aspect about ones life. You could pull out your phone, search someones name, and instantly be able see what they are doing, at anywhere, and at anytime. You would even be able know their credit card information, the difference is, you would know, that they know, your credit card information. You would also know, if they ever used it. (This is of course assuming that we still use access codes and not retina and finger scanning, which is another future of technology ex. iPhone 5)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another interesting consequence of this technology, is that the anti-gun movement, would essentially become obsolete. There would be no need to restrict guns, because everyone is being watched, by everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This technology is already being worked on/already exists. Quadrocopters have been around for years, its just a matter of application. Solar powered drone aircraft, is relatively new technology, but is being worked on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Google just recently bought a solar powered drone company called titan aerospace, you can read about it <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/google-buys-solar-powered-drone-company-titan-aerospace/" target="_blank">here</a>. (I think Google will be the very entity to implement this technology, just as they have done Google car...Google is the future)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This technology <b>is</b> the future, and will forever change society.</span></div>
Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-56038129676270925572014-05-30T20:14:00.000-07:002016-07-31T18:43:21.719-07:00Third person Experiment <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So there is this idea i have been thinking about for quite sometime. What if you were to put on VR headset. Then have a quadrocopter with a camera mounted to its bottom, and have it follow you. And then stream the footage from the camera, to the VR headset.</span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K8z4GcgL1e0/V56pIkFC9hI/AAAAAAAACy0/VQChSYZaXuAQ31avmat9pAUeB6zPHKE6ACLcB/s1600/8013997_htc-vive-priced-at-799-and-ships-april_422170d9_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K8z4GcgL1e0/V56pIkFC9hI/AAAAAAAACy0/VQChSYZaXuAQ31avmat9pAUeB6zPHKE6ACLcB/s320/8013997_htc-vive-priced-at-799-and-ships-april_422170d9_m.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/O-psAGuLBbqi6BowKAPllBpz7RfhuRYH3oH6mOK6pC4oMAeYlLQCQccOlbXZwg4nhVc-hdeztP_dtRb6PqwCgUK5W3qgVPV6upNzH4yOzrIi6X_sHIasitUTSYZ3QyfZJ8zxc4ChgsxoRPHh1bsvYfxbBNOw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.economiabolivia.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Aeryon-Scout-Quadrocopter-spycopter.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You would have a full third person view of yourself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now you may be thinking, whats the point, what useful application could this ever generate?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My answer to that question is, i don't know. The point of this experiment is not to generate some useful application (though i would like that to be a result).</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.opendoorwayreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/just_walk_away_by_ultimaterockgoddess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.opendoorwayreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/just_walk_away_by_ultimaterockgoddess.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The point of this experiment, is to expands ones view, ones outlook on the world. Imagine seeing yourself in third person. Imagine thinking moving your left hand, then you see this person out in the distance that the camera is focused on, move their hand. Wouldn't it be mind boggling to see something like that? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Seriously! As your brain thinks, this other body...<i>moves. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think as soon as a person puts this on, their brain would be trying to cope with this sudden wave of abnormality. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is no edge to the screen when wearing an Oculus rift. So you would be completely immersed into this, gods eye view.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think this experiment experiment would further ones understanding as to who and what they are. They would realize that, that body out in the distance is not who they are, but is just something they control. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do computers compute information? This is a question i have been pursuing for nearly 5 years now. Now before you "computer scientists" begin to attempt to answer my question, first fully understand my question. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because i have asked this question to so many people, computer scientists, computer engineers, computer architects, and they have never been able to answer this question. It is somewhat frustrating that i ask this question to people who are suppose to be "experts" in their field. To people who spend most of their life working with and programming computers, yet at the same time, at the very core, have no idea how these machines actually work. The only people that have ever gotten close, or have enlightened me further in my search for the answer, are physicists. Which at first comes as a surprise, but then i think back, and realize, that the very person who invented the transistor, was a physicist. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what do i mean when i say, "how do computers compute information"? I literally mean, how does a group of transistors, do math, make programs, do the amazing things that i constantly see on my screen, such as play video, make games, and run simulations. ESPECIALLY, run simulations...how can a...box full of parts with electricity running through it, simulate reality, simulate physical phenomena, recreate the real world. Seriously! imagine it, a box, full of parts, is literally able to recreate, what you feel, what you see, and what you hear. Its...awe inspiring...to think that with mere material, and electricity, i can make a universe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So i should probably discuss or clarify about this vague word called "Computation". </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EDECEVAvNCU/U395EspDF6I/AAAAAAAABAY/GaqbF2Xm4fg/s1600/42700bc03f618a09583dcbb92c78c0d4.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EDECEVAvNCU/U395EspDF6I/AAAAAAAABAY/GaqbF2Xm4fg/s1600/42700bc03f618a09583dcbb92c78c0d4.gif" height="240" width="320"></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When trying to understand how computers compute information, i first turned to others forms of computation i understood, such as protein synthesis. And then compare that form to the form i was trying to understand.</span><br>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br>Just by watching the animation, you can instantly understand, I understand. how protein synthesis computes information. When I say I understand this, that means I can actually imagine building nearly any structure with this form of computation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I wanted to make a square, or a triangle, or a skyscraper. I know specifically how I can code this to do those things, and you do to.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to understand how transistor based computers compute information at this very fundamental, physical level.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have yet to find a person who knows this, or who can explain this, to me.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe you can help me?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got this animation from a Ted talk, spoken by a professor at MIT named Neil Gershenfeld. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><a href="http://youtu.be/5n-APFrlXDs">http://youtu.be/5n-APFrlXDs</a></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This ted talk really enlightened my view as to what computation really is, and problems regarding the understanding of computation.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">There is one thing Neil says in this video that really interests me. </font></div><div><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">He said, "Computer science is one of the worse things that ever happened to either computers or to science".</font></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br></span></div>
Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-38762327856815773432014-05-02T00:39:00.001-07:002014-11-16T14:24:26.285-08:00I could care less about the life on this planet.<div>
From a complete rational perspective, I could careless about life on this planet.</div>
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At the moment i support advancement of renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power.</div>
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At the moment I support Anti-deforestation.</div>
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But as soon as we are able to harness the power of a practically unlimited energy source such as fusion power, or highly efficient solar panels. I could careless about the well being of the other organisms of this planet.</div>
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When we reach this point in human advancement, I will gladly support demolishing forests thus causing mass extinction of multiple species to make room for more cities.</div>
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To combat the oxygen problem, simply build large bio-reactors that could pump out far more oxygen than any tree ever could.</div>
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If your worried about food such as meat, simply grow the meat with stem cells In large incubators. Giving us the ability to produce meat far faster than doing it "naturally".</div>
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I advocate rational exploitation of everything.<br>
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This is a test of your rationality.<br></div>
Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-39066439612828872592014-02-20T21:34:00.001-08:002014-03-27T15:17:25.328-07:00Automation of labor will free us<div>
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Every single time I see them it hurts a little inside. It's hurts because I know they are worth more than that. It hurts because I know that their life from this point on will likely only further degrade.</div>
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It hurts because I know deep down inside no matter how much they try not to show it, they deeply wish they were in a better situation than they are now.</div>
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I hate seeing a potentially useful human brain be wasted on monotonous work such as janitor, lunch lady, or even cashier.</div>
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These jobs could be easily taken over by automated systems, the school would save money in the long run, and these automated systems likely could do the jobs faster and far much more effectively than humans could.</div>
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The problem is, those same people would no longer have a job, which means they would no longer have a source of income, which means they likely could not feed their families.</div>
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The thing is, this is only the case if individual jobs are automated. If ALL jobs were automated, this would no longer be a problem. Why? Since everything is automated, everything would be far much cheaper. Everything would be far much more efficient. Imagine, these large government owned farms completely automated, no humans interacting with the system for months at a time. A large greenhouse like dome covers the entire landmass. Allowing the machines to produce food all throughout the year, no matter the weather.</div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Imagine, a world where labor is no longer required to survive. A world where the need to feed yourself and your family does not require you to work. A world where food has become so cheap, that it is worth as much as clean water.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Imagine a world where you do things, not because you need to, but because you want to.</span></div>
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Most people fear that their jobs will be taken over by automated systems.</div>
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I would argue that there is nothing to fear, I would argue that taking away the need to enforce labor on others to accomplish a task is going to free humanity.</div>
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I think people are scared of this because they have never known a world where there is no need for work.</div>
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This world that I describe is In our grasp, we have the technology to do this, </div>
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we simply need to fully accept it.</div>
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Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-80998172678040671822014-02-16T16:15:00.001-08:002017-10-04T16:52:51.637-07:00Heavier things do fall fasterHeavier=more massive<br />
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More mass=stronger gravitational pull</div>
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Stronger gravitational pull=faster acceleration </div>
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Jupiters mass > earths mass</div>
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Jupiters gravitational pull > earths gravitational pull</div>
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Jupiters acceleration > earths acceleration</div>
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Then why do things seem to fall at the same rate? </div>
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Because gravity is a very weak force, as in, it takes a lot to see a change.</div>
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The earth is MUCH bigger than the moon.</div>
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Yet when our austronauts walked on its surface, the difference in gravitational pull was almost unnoticeable.</div>
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If you can barely see a difference between the earth and the moon, what makes you think that you would see a difference between a tennis ball and a bowling ball?</div>
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The experiment Is inherently flawed.</div>
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Imagine if one dropped a black hole instead of a bowling ball? </div>
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Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5870989333828162642.post-42590227362547522042014-01-12T10:36:00.001-08:002016-08-18T07:55:29.937-07:00Emotions do not make us "human"<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px;">
Emotions are instincts, instincts are quite literally, connections between neurons that were either fabricated in the womb, during infancy, or would develop during childhood, not based off environment, but instead, genetics. </div>
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Contrary to popular thought, emotions, or rather, instincts, are not "human". </div>
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The other organisms of this world that we call "animal" do in fact have emotions. </div>
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Hence the bunny feels fear when the fox chases it. </div>
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Another thing, emotions are irrational, for instance, when you feel fear. Adrenaline is released, your heart rate increases, and you are more prone to making less thought out decisions. At no point during that process, did you have any control. </div>
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You did not tell your body, "hey! Release X amount of adrenaline right now!".</div>
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Now, irrationality does not = bad. If you really want to get philosophical, there is no such thing as good, or bad.</div>
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For instance, the bunny when in the presence of a hungry fox. does not have the mental capacity, nor the time. To think out what a fox is? why is it chasing it? Or even attempt to comprehend the concept of hunger.</div>
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In this situation, irrationality, is quite useful, evolution does all the work, and fabricates the needed neural networks for you, and also sets the stimuli that will activate these instincts. </div>
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The problem is, instincts were made to deal with, for the most part, static environments, environments that would not change for hundreds of thousands of years. </div>
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Humans on the other hand, change the environment constantly, from an evolutionary perspective, very rapidly. Far faster than any species can genetically evolve to keep up with. Hence the reason why most are going extinct when in the presence of humans.</div>
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From this perspective, we can start to see how our irrational emotions, would not work well in our human made environments. </div>
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Especially seeing how we have no natural predators, and that how most problems we come across, require intense thought/mental processing. You can start to see how our once vital irrational instincts, have now become detrimental. Which means the rational thing to do, would be to get rid of our emotions, or at least replace them with new ones, that would work better with our environment. </div>
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Emotions such as fear, jealousy, and anger, are no longer needed, and are some of the emotions we would benefit from the most when removed. </div>
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Though some would argue, that emotions make us "human", we'll as I stated before, we are not the only species with emotions. </div>
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Also, if there was anything that would be an indicator of us being "human". It would be our rationality, it would be the fact that unlike any other species on this planet. Humans are the only ones that make cities, technological advancements, and wonder about our existence/place in the universe.<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRFveea3khg" target="_blank">Recently found a video that provides further information to back up my argument.</a><br />
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Roshawn Terrellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03575030242761754543noreply@blogger.com7