This is a big advance in AI linguistics!
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/27/ibms-watson-to-rival-humans-in-round-of-jeopardy/
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Cardboard box oven that can boil water
Very cool, very simple invention.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/09/solar.oven.global.warming/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/09/solar.oven.global.warming/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
Friday, April 3, 2009
Robot makes scientific discovery on its own
A robot programmed to create and test hypotheses.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/robotscientist.html
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/robotscientist.html
DNA Tech speed increases
Yet another example of how technology speeds up technology.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/07/british-institu.html
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/07/british-institu.html
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Baby Chickens Do Arithmetic
Better than human babies, apparently.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/01/chicks-math-smart.html
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/01/chicks-math-smart.html
Apparantly employees who web surf in moderation are actually more productive than those who don't at all. (I suspect an Attention Deficit Superiority link here.)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090402/lf_nm_life/us_work_internet
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090402/lf_nm_life/us_work_internet
Monday, March 30, 2009
Robots doing research on human brains
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/multimedia/2009/03/ff_brainatlas_gallery
Another example of robots doing research faster than humans can. This is also an example of how previous advances serve to make the next advances faster.
Another example of robots doing research faster than humans can. This is also an example of how previous advances serve to make the next advances faster.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Perfect memory may be a product of OCD
I've always said that memory is a product of attention. I have a better memory than most people I know, and I also pay attention more than most people I know. For people who aren't paying as much attention, more passes are required to give the same amount of attention to the same thing.
Here's another article that supports the idea: http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-04/ff_perfectmemory
Here's another article that supports the idea: http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/17-04/ff_perfectmemory
Friday, March 20, 2009
800 GOOG 411 has an ulterior motive
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Google/?p=852
An interesting bit about the real purpose of the free 800-GOOG-411 service, which is to train their speech to text search technology.
It also mentions the "game" they made of the image labeler where you try to match descriptions of different pictures to those of another user for the purposes of gathering metadata to evaluate their image search tools. This was a little more obvious. The free 411 has dubious, but potential proftibility on its own; the image labeling game does not.
An interesting bit about the real purpose of the free 800-GOOG-411 service, which is to train their speech to text search technology.
It also mentions the "game" they made of the image labeler where you try to match descriptions of different pictures to those of another user for the purposes of gathering metadata to evaluate their image search tools. This was a little more obvious. The free 411 has dubious, but potential proftibility on its own; the image labeling game does not.
Apartment Co. offers 2 months free rent to layed off tenants
I'd like to take a look at the cost/benefit analysis of this sort of decision in the context of Nash Equilibrium.
http://content.usatoday.com/community/comments.aspx?id=34493706.story&p=2
http://content.usatoday.com/community/comments.aspx?id=34493706.story&p=2
Labels:
economics,
landlording,
Nash-equilibrium,
parasitism
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Ooo Shiney!
From time to time I find strange and wonderful things on the web, usually when I'm supposed to be working. I've been emailing this stuff to a few hapless friends without giving them the option to opt out.
So I figured I'd put it in a blog instead, and that way reach more (or most likely less) victims.
Enjoy, suffer, or ignore, whatever pleases you.
So I figured I'd put it in a blog instead, and that way reach more (or most likely less) victims.
Enjoy, suffer, or ignore, whatever pleases you.
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