Bob McGinley::J2Evolution

Bifurcation Theory and Vector Fields

Indulge with me in a little mathematical experiment.  Take your index finger and place it on the same flat surface that is presently holding your computer or laptop.  Don't move your finger on the surface, just leave it still.

Now think about the information you are able to gain from the sense of touch as your finger rests on the surface.  Is it cold?  hot?  smooth?  rough? wet?  dry?  What can you tell about the information that is moving from the tip of your index finger to your brain?

Now lets alter the experiment and slowly move our index finger across the surface.  And now consider the information being sent to your brain from your finger tip.  Is the surface changing?  Does it have bumps?  or corners?  are there obstacles or impediments that you need to navigate as you move your finger?  Is the information the same as when your finger was at rest on the surface?

Clouded by SOA

I can always tell when a technology marketing word is reaching maximum hype and overuse.  The first sign always occurs in our use of language.  We start to create new words based on the hyped technology of the day.  Recently I've heard colleagues use words such as 'SOAified' to define a Service Oriented environment.  Or SOAcentric, the concept of centralizing your application architecture around the use of services.

So what is it about 'Service Oriented Architecture' that still has everyone all excited?  To be honest, I'm not sure I know myself.  It seems no matter what direction technology takes, the terms and ideas surrounding it will be misunderstood and misused.  This happened a while back with Java, then XML, the Web 2.0.  Now its SOA.  I'm not a SOAbot, a person who thinks every app in the world should be SOAcentric and run in a SOAified environment.

The God Particle

The Higgs Boson is a theoretical elementary particle predicted to exist in the Standard Model of particle physics.  It is called the God particle because if it exists, it explains how elementary particles with no mass can be used to construct mass in matter.  Even though it has never been observed, it is predicted to exist, thus the God reference.

In the micro-electronics field, the "God particle" is the memristor.  The concept of the memristor is based on fundamental circuit variables much like the resistor, capacitor, and inductor.  The word "memristor" is short for "memory resistor". 

A memristor works like a resistor whose resistance level is determined by an amount of electrical charge that has passed through the memristor previously, and can maintain the resistance value when uncharged (power off).  The memristor is a resistor capable of remembering a previous charge, much like the way neural cells work in our brains.

Off Topic: Bear Stearns bailout

Some very patriotic friends of mine recently went to New York to protest the $30 bn tax payer bailout of Bear Stearns.

These guys are heros in my book, so they get a shout out for standing up and being heard, even though this has nothing to do with AI or Comp Sci.

http://homepage.mac.com/scopix/iMovieTheater6.html

Check out FedUpUSA.org

Designing Intelligence

This topic is not to be confused with the creationist anti-theory of intelligent design. 

It might be because I'm more aware than most people on this subject, but I continue to hear more about the introduction of intelligent systems into business infrastructures and applications.  Simple straightforward data applications are no longer enough to feed the demands for metadata and analytics. 

I just got my copy of the latest The MIT Press Computer Science & Intelligent Systems catalog.  To me this is like the Sears catalogs I remember when I was a child.  The MIT press inventory is full of new tomes on programming, the internet, and the usual computer science periodicals.  But the content for intelligent robotics and complex adaptive intelligent systems is very impressive.  Here are some of the books on the way to my house.

 

Neural Feedback

I've been giving the concept of neural feedback a lot of thought lately, in fact I cant get it out of my head (a little neurology humor for you).  I have been contemplating several aspects about the flow of feedback, how our brains use it, and why it exists.  When thinking about it, it becomes hard to discern what is feedback and what is memory, or if in fact they are the same thing.

For example, I went to the dentist last week to have several old fillings replaced.  I hate going to the dentist.  I am an ardent anti-dentite.  But my dentist is actually a pretty caring guy, and does a great job of minimizing the stress and the pain.  That being said, the experiences and memories I have of having work done inside my mouth are vivid.