Late afternoon. You have had a very busy few
days. Monday, the twenty-fifth, everyone had ham sandwiches and veggies before
packing for Westerville. You drove up and left Linda, Jean and Jen after soup
for supper, a stop to see Ralph who is recuperating from heart surgery, then
Graeters and up to Kim and Paul’s for the night. The boys were fun, then baths
and to bed. Kim fell asleep with them and we talked to Paul and went to bed.
Tuesday, the twenty-sixth, we drove to Cleveland Heights to buy Jennifer
cookies at On the Rise then to lunch on Lee and downtown to the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame. Afterwards, an Amish supper at Der Dutchman on SR 97 and I- 71
then to Westerville to drop off Linda, Jean and Jen and back to Kim and Paul’s.
Wednesday, the twenty-seventh, you rested while the ladies went shopping at
Polaris, a late lunch at Olive Garden then home for Jet Pizza for supper, and
time with the boys after supper as usual. Thursday, the twenty-eighth,
Thanksgiving at Mary Lou’s with family – Uncle John, Dwight and his friend Tom,
Sharon and her children Mia and Mason, Gayle and Ralph, Kim, Paul, Owen and
Brennan, Mary Lou, Mac, Carol and yourself. Late afternoon after an early
supper everyone had left including yourselves. Home and a viewing to last
Monday’s “Blacklist” for Carol, Linda and you. Today
Carol did lots of work cleaning up and raking while you napped and took the car
for a good automatic washing and your hand cleaning as follow-up. Carol napped
and you caught up on several episodes of “Revolution” but have two to go. Needless
to say there was no work on writing, nor did you feel the need to take time for
it. - Amorella
1831 hours. Seeing family is both fun
and stressful in its own way, nothing bad, just coordinating events and being
hopeful that everyone was having a good time, or should I say, having the
ability to have a good (social) time if so desired.
Doug
Goss sent this to me earlier in the week. The article listed eleven but the
first appears to be the most important because this shows that once in a while
people on the planet have the potential to hit an observation hitherto unseen
or not reported. We need facts to learn more about ourselves; by this I mean
our species. As such, this fact is a positive. I have long felt that we would
be better off if another species, kinder than we are would stop by and give us
pointers on how to survive more humanely in the world. Magic would work too if
like a bolt of lightning we could see a reality (unlike [better, more positive]
what I try to create in my imagination. Otherwise I am tempted to see the
future world somewhat similar to the settings I find myself viewing on the TV
show, “Revolution” or the earlier “Mad Max” themes where things do get worse,
much worse for everyone or most everyone anyway. A few always appear to get by
through luck or circumstance or both.
** **
11 Science Facts That Seem More
Like Science Fiction
The Huffington Post
By Liat Kornowski
Posted: 11/28/2013 9:03 am
EST -- Updated: 11/28/2013 9:03 am EST
In our hectic, mile-a-minute
existences, it's easy to forget just how amazing our world truly is.
Fortunately, the authors of
the newly published 1,227 Quite Interesting Facts fo Blow Your Socks Off
have made it easy for us to slow down and savor some astonishing scientific
facts--about everything from the bodies we live in to the planet that hosts us.
1.
The human
brain takes in 11 million bits of information every second but is aware of only
40.
** **
2032
hours. I found this ‘free’ article from online Encyclopedia Britannica.
** **
Information
Theory (Article Free Pass)
Physiology
Almost as soon as Shannon’s papers on the mathematical
theory of communication were published in the 1940s, people began to consider
the question of how messages are handled inside human beings. After all, the nervous system is, above all else, a channel for the transmission of information, and the
brain is, among other things, an information processing and messaging centre.
Because nerve signals generally consist of pulses of electrical energy, the
nervous system appears to be an example of discrete communication over a noisy
channel. Thus, both physiology and information theory are involved in studying
the nervous system.
Many researchers (being human)
expected that the human brain would show a tremendous information processing
capability. Interestingly enough, when researchers sought to measure
information processing capabilities during “intelligent” or “conscious”
activities, such as reading or piano playing, they came up with a maximum
capability of less than 50 bits per second. For example, a typical reading rate
of 300 words per minute works out to about 5 words per second. Assuming an
average of 5 characters per word and roughly 2 bits per character yields the
aforementioned rate of 50 bits per second. Clearly, the exact number depends on
various assumptions and could vary depending on the individual and the task
being performed. It is known, however, that the senses gather some 11 million
bits per second from the environment.
The table Information ‘transmission rates of the senses’
shows how much information is processed by each of the five senses. This table
immediately directs attention to the problem of determining what is happening
to all this data. In other words, the human body sends 11 million bits per
second to the brain for processing, yet the conscious mind seems to be able to
process only 50 bits per second.
**
Information transmission rates of the senses:
Sensory system Bits
per second
eyes 10,000,000
skin 1,000.000
ears 100,000
smell 100,000
taste 1,000
**
It appears that a tremendous amount of compression is
taking place if 11 million bits are being reduced to less than 50. Note that
the discrepancy between the amount of information being transmitted and the
amount of information being processed is so large that any inaccuracy in the
measurements is insignificant.
Two more problems suggest themselves
when thinking about this immense amount of compression. First is the problem of
determining how long it takes to do the compression, and second is the problem
of determining where the processing power is found for doing this much
compression.
The solution to the first problem is suggested by the
approximately half-second delay between the instant that the senses receive a stimulus
and the instant that the mind is conscious of a sensation. (To compensate for
this delay, the body has a reflex system that can respond in less than
one-tenth of second, before the mind is conscious of the stimulus.) This
half-second delay seems to be the time required for processing and compressing
sensory input.
The solution to the second problem is
suggested by the approximately 100 billion cells of the brain, each with
connections to thousands of other brain cells. Equipped with this many processors,
the brain might be capable of executing as many as 100 billion operations per
second, a truly impressive number.
It is often assumed that
consciousness is the dominant feature of the brain. The brief observations
above suggest a rather different picture. It now appears that the vast majority
of processing is accomplished outside conscious notice and that most of the
body’s activities take place outside direct conscious control. This suggests
that practice and habit are important because they train circuits in the brain
to carry out some actions “automatically,” without conscious interference. Even
such a “simple” activity as walking is best done without interference from
consciousness, which does not have enough information processing capability to keep
up with the demands of this task.
The brain also seems to have separate mechanisms for
short-term and long-term memory. Based on psychologist George Miller’s paper
“The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for
Processing Information” (1956), it appears that short-term memory can only
store between five and nine pieces of information to which it has been exposed
only briefly. Note that this does not mean between five and nine bits, but
rather five to nine chunks of information. Obviously, long-term memory has a
greater capacity, but it is not clear exactly how the brain stores information
or what limits may exist. Some scientists hope that information theory may yet
afford further insights into how the brain functions.
From: britannica dot com – information theory
(mathematics) - Physiology
** **
2203
hours. We took a break to watch the news and the latest “CSI” ‘Girls Gone
Wild’. How they keep coming up with new episodes is beyond me. I mean you can
read only so many police reports in the U.S. I suppose they could adapt (as I’m
sure they have to do all of them) from the U.K. and Europe. Still, it is
amazing.
In
the article above it is interesting that next to the eyes the skin is next in
gathering data. I wonder if this data received has to do with the ‘goose-bump’
phenomenon? I like reading about this type of information. It helps to see how
it helps or hinders the ‘humanity’ within us.
Data
does little good without tying it to connection building, boy. Post. – Amorella
You mean just a simple connecting of the dots (and not
interpretation)?
Intuition need not be complex. It would help
if the unconscious mind could be better defined. As you read in your research,
the unconscious mind is basically what is not the conscious mind.
I wonder if it is possible that as our machines for
collecting data become more specific and refined that our minds will naturally
follow suit?
Like you were thinking earlier this evening,
the species needs more time to grow, to evolve. Technology is a part of the
environment and the environment allows mental growth. It is not in your nature
to think too positive though. You have good reason to be cynical and rather
crusty in your outlook. – Amorella
In the Merlyn books how does being dead change a cynic?
2236 hours. This got me thinking
about one of the tests Kim gave in Career Services at Case Western Reserve. The
article on ‘Sensing or Intuition’ (below) is from the Myers and Briggs
Foundation.
** **
Sensing or Intuition
The second pair of
psychological preferences is Sensing and Intuition. Do you pay more attention
to information that comes in through your five senses (Sensing), or do you pay
more attention to the patterns and possibilities that you see in the
information you receive (Intuition)?
Everyone spends some time
Sensing and some time using Intuition. Don’t confuse Sensing with sensual. They
aren’t related.
Take a minute to ask
yourself which of the following descriptions seems more natural, effortless,
and comfortable for you?
Sensing (S)
Paying attention to physical reality, what I
see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I’m concerned with what is actual, present,
current, and real. I notice facts and I remember details that are important to
me. I like to see the practical use of things and learn best when I see how to
use what I’m learning. Experience speaks to me louder than words.
The following statements
generally apply to me:
•
I remember events as
snapshots of what actually happened.
•
I solve problems by
working through facts until I understand the problem.
•
I am pragmatic and look
to the “bottom line.”
•
I start with facts and
then form a big picture.
•
I trust experience first
and trust words and symbols less.
•
Sometimes I pay so much
attention to facts, either present or past, that I miss new possibilities.
Intuition (N)
Paying the most attention to impressions or
the meaning and patterns of the information I get. I would rather learn by
thinking a problem through than by hands-on experience. I’m interested in new
things and what might be possible, so that I think more about the future than
the past. I like to work with symbols or abstract theories, even if I don’t
know how I will use them. I remember events more as an impression of what it
was like than as actual facts or details of what happened.
The following statements
generally apply to me:
•
I remember events by what
I read “between the lines” about their meaning.
•
I solve problems by
leaping between different ideas and possibilities.
•
I am interested in doing
things that are new and different.
•
I like to see the big
picture, then to find out the facts.
•
I trust impressions,
symbols, and metaphors more than what I actually experienced
Sometimes I think so much
about new possibilities that I never look at how to make them a reality.
Take a minute to ask
yourself which of the following descriptions seems more natural, effortless,
and comfortable for you?
Sensing (S)
Paying attention to physical reality, what I
see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I’m concerned with what is actual, present,
current, and real. I notice facts and I remember details that are important to
me. I like to see the practical use of things and learn best when I see how to
use what I’m learning. Experience speaks to me louder than words.
The following statements
generally apply to me:
•
I remember events as
snapshots of what actually happened.
•
I solve problems by
working through facts until I understand the problem.
•
I am pragmatic and look
to the “bottom line.”
•
I start with facts and
then form a big picture.
•
I trust experience first
and trust words and symbols less.
•
Sometimes I pay so much
attention to facts, either present or past, that I miss new possibilities.
•
Intuition (N)
Paying the most attention to impressions or
the meaning and patterns of the information I get. I would rather learn by
thinking a problem through than by hands-on experience. I’m interested in new
things and what might be possible, so that I think more about the future than
the past. I like to work with symbols or abstract theories, even if I don’t
know how I will use them. I remember events more as an impression of what it
was like than as actual facts or details of what happened.
The following statements
generally apply to me:
•
I remember events by what
I read “between the lines” about their meaning.
•
I solve problems by
leaping between different ideas and possibilities.
•
I am interested in doing
things that are new and different.
•
I like to see the big
picture, then to find out the facts.
•
I trust impressions,
symbols, and metaphors more than what I actually experienced
•
Sometimes I think so much
about new possibilities that I never look at how to make them a reality.
•
Adapted from Looking at Type: The Fundamentals
by
Charles R. Martin
From
– The Myers and Briggs Foundation
** **
2245
hours. Now, the material above is really interesting. I wonder if this
eventually will be quantifiable via physiology? This is good stuff when it comes
to our species’ sense of knowledge and wisdom.
Post. You are getting carried away
again. Connecting the dots is not the same thing as collecting the dots. Tomorrow,
dude. - Amorella
No comments:
Post a Comment