1

New Theories / Re: An essay in futility, too long to read :)

« on: Yesterday at 21:17:40 »

NASA seems to think otherwise though, expecting a 'dust minimum' to become a future norm.

Interesting that they talk about the Sahara. Most of the Saharan dust that falls on the UK is quite large grit, much bigger than you need to nucleate raindrops.

Also worth noting that the Sahara probably isn't very old. There is evidence of grass and trees around 10 - 15000 years ago in what are now barren regions, and a suspicion that the present desert is to some extent man-made.

And whilst water vapor can supersaturate in very calm conditions, turbulence can initiate condensaton and crystallisation. There is plenty of turbulence in the upper atmosphere.

2

New Theories / Re: How Many Numbers Exist?

« on: Yesterday at 15:42:24 »

If you could divide infinitely, we might ask how would anything get anywhere at a fundamental length

Dangerous use of "fundamental".

The Planck length is the base unit of length in Planck units, just as the meter is in SI units, and it has no special physical attributes.

Unlike the fundamental constants such as e, ε₀, μ₀ etc which do determine the measured behavior of the universe.

3

General Science / Re: electromagnetic waves detail

« on: Yesterday at 09:29:16 »

"Lines of force" was translated by my old physics teacher as equipotential contours, which makes a lot more sense.

4

New Theories / Re: How Many Numbers Exist?

« on: 02/07/2022 14:44:40 »

And the answer to the question is "as many as you like, plus at least as many again". To take the most obvious case, if you specify any integer N, all those from 0 to N are presumed to exist, as do all those up to N² or any other integer power.

5

General Science / Re: electromagnetic waves detail

« on: 02/07/2022 12:00:57 »

I recall hearing good recordings of whistlers as an undergraduate.

brings it all back!

Paul: you won't hear these on LW AM because the signal itself is at an audio frequency. You need to tune around 1 - 20 kHz in a very "quiet" area. Fascinating stuff!

6

Just Chat! / Re: Is there a universal moral standard?

« on: 02/07/2022 10:09:38 »

What's not allowed in society is called "crime".  Proof of intent is always difficult, but preventive intervention is always welcome.

7

Physiology & Medicine / Re: What is the best way to treat hypochondriasis?

« on: 02/07/2022 09:58:31 »

Hypochondria (rare, expensive, potentially dangerous) is not the same as fear of dying (normal, free, healthy).

The former is treated in the USA by bankruptcy. AFAIK there is no treatment available in civilised countries - it's just another burden on the taxpayer.

Fear of death (what happens after dying) is vital. Without it, thousands of religious professionals would be out of work. Problem is to eliminate that irrationality (religion being the cause of many wars) without provoking its opposite - religious fanaticism that leads to suicide bombing.

8

Just Chat! / Re: Is there a universal moral standard?

« on: 01/07/2022 17:36:10 »

I can't answer why, but I've never met anyone who aspired to be poorer than anyone else. Have you?

9

New Theories / Re: An essay in futility, too long to read :)

« on: 01/07/2022 17:34:28 »

Then we have temperatures and green house gasses as carbon dioxide, each one limiting your crop yields.

Indeed. Local market gardeners add CO2 to their greenhouses (never mind 400 ppm - these guys go for a toxic 1 - 5%) to maximise crop yields. Forestry officers around the world have noticed steadily improved tree growth over the last 150 years.

10

Technology / Re: What Question Could You Ask To Determine Sentience Of An AI ?

« on: 01/07/2022 17:28:28 »

Today I encountered an x-ray machine exhibiting boredom and possible suicidal ideation. Halfway through a clinical exposure, it decided it had had enough and switched off. Rebooted, it cut off even earlier each time. Clearly fed up with studying human anatomy. Next week I'll pack a dead rat in my toolbox and see if a change of subject might perk it up a bit.

11

New Theories / Re: How Many Numbers Exist?

« on: 01/07/2022 11:09:50 »

Reverting to the question a bit, thanks to Heisenberg physics may demonstrate a limit to any experiment involving matter, but mathematics does not involve matter and therefore does not pose limits on what can be imagined or discussed.

12

Technology / Re: What Question Could You Ask To Determine Sentience Of An AI ?

« on: 30/06/2022 18:59:51 »

Or to quote The Lucy Show

Lucille Ball (to parrot) "You stupid bird!"

Parrot  "Who's stupid? I can talk. Can you fly?"

The fun question to ask of an AI system is whether it could design a tool that would allow it to do something it isn't already designed to do.

We have seen birds using sticks and stones, and even fire, to obtain food that they can't access with their innate capabilities. Fish collaborate with other species of fish for mutual benefit, and establish a social order based on fairness. We have designed boats, cars and planes, and recruited other species, to allow us to travel further and faster. 

All of this points to some desire to improve our standard of living despite having evolved to optimise our occupancy of an ecological niche. It goes beyond self-consciousness, of which many machines are capable, or even survival (remember HAL), into a realm of imagining that things could be even better, and making something entirely new to achieve that status.

13

General Science / Re: How much of me is original?

« on: 30/06/2022 18:42:36 »

The replacements may have already been in place, but it's probably beside the point.

I doubt it. They are much bigger than "milk" teeth and couldn't possibly hide in a neonatal jaw.

14

Just Chat! / Re: Is there a universal moral standard?

« on: 30/06/2022 17:36:25 »

 Common goal: to be richer then everyone else. Now avoid the disagreements.

15

Just Chat! / Re: Best oil for frying "fish n chips"?

« on: 30/06/2022 17:33:34 »

Most restaurant and takeaway suppliers seem to be offering palm oil.

16

Technology / Re: What Question Could You Ask To Determine Sentience Of An AI ?

« on: 30/06/2022 17:25:14 »

So here's a good question:

"Who's a pretty boy, then?"

That should sort out the self-aware parrot from the dumb chipset.

17

General Science / Re: How much of me is original?

« on: 30/06/2022 17:19:41 »

So apart from bits of brain  (not teeth - they all fell out and were replaced when you were a child!) and I think a few nerves, what is "you". Is the lump of stuff that people call by your name, really the same person as on your birth or marriage certificate? If not, how can anyone be held liable for past actions? Is a 10-year passport really a  valid document?

18

Just Chat! / Re: Best oil for frying "fish n chips"?

« on: 30/06/2022 10:05:42 »

Robin Hood was riding through the forest, hoping to recruit some good men and true.

In a clearing he spotted a man wearing a hooded robe, cutting up potatoes and throwing them into a pot of hot oil.

He said "Greetings, friend. Would you be the friar they speak of?"

"No, sire. I am the chip monk."

19

Technology / Re: What Question Could You Ask To Determine Sentience Of An AI ?

« on: 30/06/2022 09:59:54 »

It's highly likely ai has surpassed some animal life forms in consciousness. I doubt very much the average insect has a cognitive function beyond robotic.

Back in the 1970s I was at a maths summer school at Bangor University, and employed elsewhere on a radiation dosimetry project. Sitting in the sun one afternoon I started designing a synchronous digital multiplier, using a bucketful of 74-series TTL gates (anyone else remember them?) and about 20 watts of heat to calculate the product of two 16-bit numbers every microsecond. I thought I was being very clever and my circuit would be a considerable advance. I then noticed two tiny flies, about 2 mm long, copulating. These beasties can fly, navigate, feed themselves, select a mate, and reproduce themselves hundreds of times. Who's the clever one?

Machines still have a long way to go.

20

Just Chat! / Re: Is there a universal moral standard?

« on: 29/06/2022 19:21:21 »

In order to model the future evolution of society completely, you will need a complete model of every individual plus a predictive model of the climate and all natural disasters.

It is for example difficult to imagine how science would have evolved if Newton was not in quarantine. Or if someone had studied the antibiotic effect as thoroughly as Fleming (who just noticed the accidental contamination of a culture) in time to cure Henry VIII's syphilis: No Anglican church → vastly different history of Britain and America....