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Everything posted by MigL
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I would imagine Anon555 isn't vaccinated either. Not sure where I read it ( or I would cite the source ), but all the people who have died due to Covid-19 complications in the last two months, in Ontario, were unvaccinated. You should be able to infer something from that.
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Welcome fellow Ontarioan. So you retired, and became a 'bookie' ? That's illegal, you know 😁 .
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Unfortunately semiconductors ( like the simple MosTek 6502 you used in 1982 ) cannot rewire their internal connections. They don't have the 'complexity' ( even now, with billions of transistors ) that human brains have, and which can 'rewire' themselves to think differently. The human brain can even form new neuron pathways to regain function after damage has occurred to a particular part of the brain. Computers may 'learn' to react to different situations but they are constrained by the electronic pathways to always 'think' in the same manner. One surface mount resistor with a cold solder joint, and your computer doesn't work; you can bash a football ( American ) player's, or boxer's, brain to the point of concussion, many times over, doing a lot of damage to their brains, and we would still consider them thinking, self-aware, individuals. If we can develop organic, massively paralle semiconductors, that can re-wire ( and evolve ) the substrate, we may be able to create real AI, or artificial life. And the only example of Global Supply Chain software I'm familiar with is SAP. The most unwieldly, non-intuitive bunch of code I've ever seen. An example of stupidity, not intelligence.
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I really think the OP should be changed to read If highly advanced civilization were found to exist other than the solar system what would its effect be on sane humans ? as there will be vast differences in the way the aliens are perceived; from predators looking for food, to deities. Most sane people ( myself being the standard 😄 ) would see it as an opportunity to learn, grow and come together as a race. In the original Watchmen graphic novel ( not the movie, it was changed ) it was an alien that brought all of Earth's nations together as one. Same with Independence Day, and The Tomorrow War also uses that plot device. I pesonally, don't think aliens would be stupid enough to waste the unmeasurable resources that interstellar travel would require, just to get some from our puny planet ( methane has been mentioned, how much is present on Jupiter ? ). Nor can I see them coming here for cheap meat ( apparently we taste like chicken ). They might, however, come here for sport, as in hunting expeditions, to hunt semi-intelligent prey ( us ), and, treat Earth as a hunting reserve ( ie not for invasion ) in which case they would tend to not reveal themselves ( see Predator, the original, with Arnold ).
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Have you got incipient Altzheimers ? Check your Driving
MigL replied to studiot's topic in Science News
I do most of the things suggested as symptoms of early onset Alzheimer's. I always thought it was because I don't see well, especially in bad weather and at night; another common condition that comes with old age ( ubfortunately my Glaucoma came at 35 yrs ). What a relief to find out it's only Alzheimers 😄 . -
Are Space & Time A Fundamental Property Or Emergent
MigL replied to Intoscience's topic in Modern and Theoretical Physics
Scalar just means that the value associated with every point in space-time has no direction. I fail to see how that favors emergence, or fundamentality, of space-time. -
You make it sound like you've never heard of people ( men and women ) doping with HGH to obtain unfair advantages at Olympic, or other world class, competitions. How many citations do you want ??? Why assume trans gendered would be any different ?
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"The wavefunction of the universe" ??? ... Please. All models have a range of applicability. Two people I have had great respect for, on this forum, Dr. Rocket and AJB, agree with Dr. Swanson ( whom I also respect greatly ). Brian Cox's first reply included a pitch for his book. Don't need to say more about where priorities lie.
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England is my second favorite national team; I have a flag for my vehicle, and a jersey, both of which I can't use as they happen to be playing my 1st favorite team on Sunday. I would love for them to end their dry streak, if Italy wasn't involved. Obviously winning is much more desirable ( to a whole country ) than simply competing, and doing your best.
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Everyone seems to mention 'self-awareness' when discussing AI. Star Trek:TNG even had an episode about Data, and an engineer who wanted to dismantle and study him. I believe the biggest difference between life and non-life is the fact that life can self-modify in response to external stimuli; a bunch of circuit boards cannot, neither at the system, or substrate, level. It is this self-modification that is the basis for evolution. I remember when I first started wrking out, in the 70s, the popular adage was "If you put a 6hp load on a 5hp machine, you get a blown machine. If you put a 6hp load on a 5hp body, you eventually get a 6hp body" It is this ability to adapt, our thinking,as well as our bodies, that got us where we are. Once machines ( electro-mechanical ) can do the same, they will 'evolve' far faster than we have.
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Seems like a sensible thing to do, as those Republicans voted to undermine democracy in the US, yet at the same time, it is further politicising everything American ( if you consider Toyota American ). Which is what got the US in such a mess to begin with.
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I'm glad you recognize and agree that there is a problem, and a 'simplistic' solution like falling within a testosterone level range just won't cut it anymore. To get to Olympic level, and be selected for your country's team, you need to have won a large number of competitions. They don't just let in people off the street.
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What I get out of this, is that the winners of these competitions suppport JC's premise, while everyone else ( mostly losers of the competitions ) support CharonY's premise. Last I checked, the point of a competition is to win, not simply be allowed to compete.
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I agree, but it does indicate that there are problems with the current rules. Just trying to 'slot' these extraordinary instances into the existing framework of rules won't work anymore. That is all some of us are asking for; reexamining the rules to give all competitors a fair shot.
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Sure, but then I could say 'you were beat up by a girl, ha-ha'. Another example that shows there is a problem with the current system, and rather than waiting for problems to arise, clear rules should be IN PLACE, before they do. Rules governing Olympic runners send a disturbing message to female athletes, especially those who are Black (msn.com)
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Personal Attacks (split from Transgender athletes)
MigL replied to Holmes's topic in Suggestions, Comments and Support
For future consideration ... 'You are 'gnorant' is ambiguous. 'You are ignorant of such-and-such a fact' is not. But certainly people should stop being so sensitive, and easily offended; this is a place to exchange opinions ( among other things ). As Prof. J Peterson says, when you have an opinion, you're bound to offend some people. ( the alternative is not to have an opinion, or be denied an opinion, which is much worse ) -
Who are you kidding, Swansont. You're nowhere near as hot as Sarah Connors, while handling a Franchi SPAS12 shotgun.
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I'm sorry, I just had to give this a +1 Not that I approve of this type of discussion, but this is damned funny.
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Personal Attacks (split from Transgender athletes)
MigL replied to Holmes's topic in Suggestions, Comments and Support
Did I miss anything ? -
M theory, String theory, Theory of Everything
MigL replied to Joshua MacDonald's topic in Speculations
Odderon particle is the odd charge parity counterpart of the pomeron class of particles; postulated in the 60s and 70s to explain the rising cross-section of proton/proton soft collisions at high energies. I fail to see how you can have a 'visual' of that particle. Can you also visualize a proton, an electron, or a Higgs boson ? -
M theory, String theory, Theory of Everything
MigL replied to Joshua MacDonald's topic in Speculations
The properties of the Higgs field were known more than 50 years ago, when P Higgs first postulated the Higgs mechanism to explain the masses of the W+/_ and Z bosons, which result from the symmetry breaking of the Electro-Weak force. The hi energies at which its bosonic field excitations ( Higgs boson ) become evident was always out of our reach, until the LHC was built. The Higgs scalar field is well known: we just needed to find its bosonic carrier particle, to verify it actually exists. So, what exactly do you mean by 'how the insides change' for a scalar field ? -
Thanks INow. You're the bestest.
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M theory, String theory, Theory of Everything
MigL replied to Joshua MacDonald's topic in Speculations
Spain is the same time zone as Italy, so 4:00 am ? Get some sleep, or you'll be grumpy in the morning. -
Would it be possible to list the blog author along with the title on the index page ? I've been trying to find ( and struggle to read ) all of AJB's blog entries. The only clues are the words 'manifold' and 'bundle' in the title. Otherwise I have to click and open each and every one.