Saturday, 9 October 2010

Metaphysical Choons!

For once here are some tunes that are philosophical rather than dutty and tropical...
http://people.umass.edu/phil511/monads/

Plumbers and Brains

The idea that a greater understanding of computers can give us clues as to how the human brain works is akin to the claim that a better understanding of sewers and plumbing could give us clues as to how the heart and circulatory system works. The human brain is a remarkable, chaotic and complex mechanism and each one is unique. If it is in any sense a computer it is nothing like anything we would normally think of as a computer. To sum up Fodor should stick to plumbing if its the only game in his town.

Wednesday, 28 July 2010

Monday, 12 July 2010

Roughness

Enough party fun times... Time for something a bit more serious and also maybe more interesting. If you don't know about chaos and fractals the you should get involved as they are a beautiful mathematical phenomenon. I think it is fair to say that whatever you do in your life you regularly encounter apparently fractal phenomena whether it is in nature, art or mathematics. Even if you are interested in none of these things just walking about spotting fractals and chaos can be fun (it really can, I promise!). If you are intrigued to learn more James Gleick's Chaos is a readable classic that really gets you into the heads of the crazy scientists who discovered the significance of fractals. More immediately here is a great talk by legendary genius Benoit Mandlebrot on "Roughness".

Friday, 2 July 2010

ST. PAUL'S!!!!!

Bacchanal is nearly here in the best part of the South West so to get you in the mood here are some classic carnival treats...