Group items tagged

"Computer simulations of tiny robots with rudimentary nervous systems show that, over hundreds of generations, these virtual machines evolve altruistic behaviors"

I have lost track of all the artificial life/evolutionary computing studies showing the evolution of cooperation/altruism. I don't understand why all the big fuss about this latest one.

Sounds too super to be true, no?

> Sounds too super to be true, no? Yeah, how else may it sound, being a combination of hi-quality (I assume) research targeted at attracting funding, raised to the power of Science Daily's pop-pseudo-scientific journalists' bu****it? Original article starts with a cool sentence too: > The ultimate proof of our understanding of natural or technological systems is reflected in our ability to control them. ...a good starting point for a never-ending philosophers' debate... Now seriously, because of a big name behind the study, I'm very curious to read the original article. Although I expect the conclusion to be that in practical cases (i.e. the cases of "networks" you *would like to* "control"), you need to control all nodes or something equally impractical...

then I am looking forward to reading your conclusions here after you will have actually read the paper

No matter how much BS is in it (don't have expertise to tell), the reaction of the NYC Diamond Dealers Club president cited at the bottom is just hilarious.

seems a bit weird and highly speculative... but yes this reaction is excellent ! haha. Diamond from outer space would be a bit more expensive than one found by a poor african kid anyway...

Who are the most ruthless capitalists in the western world? Whose monopolistic practices make Walmart look like a corner shop and Rupert Murdoch a socialist? You won't guess the answer in a month of Sundays. While there are plenty of candidates, my vote goes not to the banks, the oil companies or the health insurers, but - wait for it - to academic publishers.

fully agree ... "But an analysis by Deutsche Bank reaches different conclusions. "We believe the publisher adds relatively little value to the publishing process … if the process really were as complex, costly and value-added as the publishers protest that it is, 40% margins wouldn't be available." Far from assisting the dissemination of research, the big publishers impede it, as their long turnaround times can delay the release of findings by a year or more." very nice also: "Government bodies, with a few exceptions, have failed to confront them. The National Institutes of Health in the US oblige anyone taking their grants to put their papers in an open-access archive. But Research Councils UK, whose statement on public access is a masterpiece of meaningless waffle, relies on "the assumption that publishers will maintain the spirit of their current policies". You bet they will. In the short term, governments should refer the academic publishers to their competition watchdogs, and insist that all papers arising from publicly funded research are placed in a free public database. In the longer term, they should work with researchers to cut out the middleman altogether, creating - along the lines proposed by Björn Brembs of Berlin's Freie Universität - a single global archive of academic literature and data. Peer-review would be overseen by an independent body. It could be funded by the library budgets which are currently being diverted into the hands of privateers. The knowledge monopoly is as unwarranted and anachronistic as the corn laws. Let's throw off these parasitic overlords and liberate the research that belongs to us."

It is a really great article and the first time I read something in this direction. FULLY AGREE as well. Problem is I have not much encouraging to report from the Brussels region...

additional information: http://atelierdna.com/?p=144

isn't this a bit of a contradiction: on the one hand: "Based on rough estimates, said Núñez-Ameni the output would be comparable to that of a conventional wind farm covering the same area" and on the other: "After completion, a Windstalk should be able to produce as much electricity as a single wind turbine, with the advantage that output could be increased with a denser array of stalks. Density is not possible with conventional turbines, which need to be spaced about three times the rotor's diameter in order to avoid air turbulence. " still, very interesting concept!

also interesting is this article quote: "How big can the cloud get before it starts to rain?" http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/0152200/Amazons-Cloud-May-Provision-50000-VMs-a-Day

BEAUTIFUL! Cassini images are always amazing...

As ACT is tasked to investigate innovative working methods... DO IT!!! :)

but then we also have to ask who is willing to work on saturdays one day more for an extra 20% ...

Amazing "to look deep into space and time". What a nice pun!

Coooool!

some really nice pictures from Mercury's flyby mission

I love the comments: "damn i almost thought this was about Mercury messenger... an OSX messenger app..." "I'm just glad we have an atmosphere" "The US is in the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression... and we're spending all this money... for this? What a waste. Get rid of NASA - it will save us trillions! " sic :-(

The Web Developer's Resource

Great idea! Isn't it at the opposite of the web 2.0, where machine tends to be only clients and all the data centralized in big servers? I like more this approach of each individuals dealing with their own data, you have more control on what you want to share or not!

excellent site with selected news in pictures

How (string) cosmologists vaste their time

nice list and discussion sent originally by Andrés ....

some really good new robots' pictures

First, a great website for random ideas. Secondly, who wants to contend this idea?

around 222 million visits in December, oh boy..

Desertec becomes real... joint venture has just been founded.

... and including still all the big names ... wish them good luck!