Year: 2012

Ship of Theseus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

via Ship of Theseus – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus’ paradox, or various variants, notably grandfather’s axe and (in the UK) Trigger’s Broom (based upon the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses) is a paradox that raises the question of whether an object which has had all its component parts replaced remains fundamentally the same object.

The paradox is most notably recorded by Plutarch in Life of Theseus from the late 1st century. Plutarch asked whether a ship which was restored by replacing all its wooden parts remained the same ship.

The paradox had been discussed by more ancient philosophers such as Heraclitus, Socrates, and Plato prior to Plutarch’s writings; and more recently by Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. This problem is “a model for the philosophers”; some say “it remained the same, some saying it did not remain the same”

Geist – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Geist – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Geist (German pronunciation: [ˈɡaɪst]) is a German word.

Depending on context it can be translated as the English words mind, spirit, or ghost, covering the semantic field of these three English nouns. Some English translators resort to using “spirit/mind” or “spirit (mind)” to help convey the meaning of the term.

Edmund Spenser‘s usage of the English-language word ‘ghost’, in his 1590 The Faerie Queene, demonstrates the former, broader meaning of the English-language term. In this context, the term describes the sleeping mind of a living person, rather than a ghost, or spirit of the dead.

The word Geist is etymologically identical to the English ghost (from a Common Germanic *gaistaz) but has retained its full range of meanings, while some applications of the English word ghost had become obsolete by the 17th century, replaced with the Latinate spirit.[3] For this reason, English-language translators of the term Geist from the German language face some difficulty in rendering the term, and often disagree as to the best translation in a given context.

Litany Against Fear

The only completely dynamic pattern is Consciousness itself; other structures are static to a variable degree.

via Litany Against Fear.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
– Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

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Future Shorts: Genetics on Vimeo

cf. Director Prof Andy Miah gives an overview of the future of genetics, focusing on the use of genetic information and the possibilities of tests for lifestyle characteristics.

cf. Director Prof Andy Miah gives an overview of the future of genetics, focusing on the use of genetic information and the possibilities of tests for lifestyle characteristics.

via Future Shorts: Genetics on Vimeo. Continue reading “Future Shorts: Genetics on Vimeo”

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The relationship between the two groups is simple: the System protects data while the Semiotecs steal it.

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The narrator is a “Calcutec,” a human data processor/encryption system who has been trained to use his subconscious as an encryption key. The Calcutecs work for the quasi-governmental System, as opposed to the criminal “Semiotecs” who work for the Factory and who are generally fallen Calcutecs.

The relationship between the two groups is simple: the System protects data while the Semiotecs steal it, although it is suggested that one man might be behind both. The narrator completes an assignment for a mysterious scientist, who is exploring “sound removal”.

Augmented reality – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.

Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.

via Augmented reality – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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