Archives: March 2006
Wed Mar 22, 2006
Simulation by birds. (Not a bird flu simulation, for once)
The British Library has released a CD of birds mimicking a surprising range of sounds: hammering, sawing, even modems. Samples can be downloaded here. Nobody is quite sure why they do it but it seems to be a social thing More...
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Mon Mar 20, 2006
Manipulating Underdetermination
HPB, a blog on the "history & philosophy of biology, etc.", has an interesting piece on 'underdetermination' - the idea that "when faced with contravening evidence, it's always possible in principle to save some favored hypothesis by making enough revisions in other parts of the system associated with it." HPB's theory is that scientists manipulate this to advance their favourite theories. This is relevant to simulation and modelling. More...
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Wed Mar 15, 2006
Games as hard work
An article in the new journal 'Games and Culture' argues that some computer games are transformed into work platforms with players often working at the games for as long as they work at their 'real' jobs. More...
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Tue Mar 14, 2006
The 3D market
According to Tekrati, spending on 3D visualisation, simulation and training will increase by 50% over the next five years More...
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Fri Mar 10, 2006
Direct brain control of a PC
Rebang reports the demosntration, at a trade fair, of the Berlin Brain-Computer Interface, a device which allows you to control a computer just by thinking about it. More...
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The World Economic Forum and pseudo-Simulation
The World Economic Form has set up an Energy Crisis Simulation. Not a simulation really, just a discussion. Had it been a simulation it might have been more realistic. More...
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Thu Mar 09, 2006
Buncefield: exercises before the incident.
After my earlier postings here and here, I emailed the authorities to ask what the exercise was that John Prescott mentioned. They have now confirmed that this was a 'water mains test' exercise held on 18 November. More...
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Kate Moss as holograph
Rebang refers to a recent Alexander McQueen fashion show which featured a virtual Kate Moss, holographically projected into the catwalk. This has far-reaching implications for society - no, really. More...
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Wed Mar 08, 2006
How a quantum computer works when switched off.
According to a press release, US researchers have produced a quantum computer that works when it is not running. This 'interaction free measurement' takes place in Schroedinger's Cat territory. But when you think of it, so do many simulations. It leads on to the questions of whether you can 'prove' something without proving it. More...
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