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Swarm Intelligence
elamdaly writes "Eric Bonabeau, Ph.D, a keynote speaker at the upcoming Emerging Technology conference, is a leader in the field of swarm intelligence and has focused on applying these concepts to real world problems such as factory scheduling and telecommunications routing. The concept itself is borrowed from nature; in this interview, that's where the conversation begins, with ants and other social insects. Dr. Bonabeau takes us from his childhood nightmares of carnivorous wasps to applying the theories of swarm intelligence to solving real problems in the business world."
Mmm, I'll have a nice tall glass of it. FP?
Intelligence swarms you!!! er....
Shortly after surgery my mom was transferred to a nursing home for
therapy. Since she was on a lot of pain medication I went along to
answer any questions that might be difficult for her to answer in her
drug induced state.
To my amazement she was answering all the questions the home's
doctor's asked clear and concisely. Then he asked if she still had
any teeth. She replied every one of them.
Before I could say anything the doctor (obviously impressed) asked if
he could see them. Grinning a big toothless grin she said; "They're
at home in their case on top of the toilet tank".
We all liked to died laughing. Mom had this puzzled look when we
started laughing which just made it that much funnier. Sylvia
!uoy sretsulc ecnegilletni mrawS
I'm a typical slashdot user. I didn't read the article. How is this funny?
The Adventures of Jared, Vol. 1: A Cautionary Tale
It was a balmy 70 degree day as Jared Fogel stepped out of his small corner apartment and headed down to his local Subway (store #16977) for the weekly Troll Tuesday special. Jared had every reason to be happy: his toll-free hotline was open 24 hours a day, and his "Army" of former fatties, culled from the ranks of those who had lost over 100 pounds at Subway, dispensed justice with an iron hand. The days of irate customers and devious managers subverting the ideals of Subway for their own nefarious reasons were long since gone. Now he and every registered Slashdot user could have the satisfaction of ordering a sub, loaded with succulent fresh vegetables and hearty meats and cheeses, for the low price of only $3.49 every Tuesday. The friendly Subway staff knew that Jared always ordered a 6" turkey sub and a bag of baked chips for lunch, and a 12" veggie sub for dinner, with extra veggies and no cheese, oil or mayo.
Upon walking into the store, however, Jared suspected that something was amiss. The formerly bustling lunch line had dwindled to just a few people, and there was not a single teenaged slacker or wandering vagrant to be seen. The potato chip rack was empty, chairs and tables were scattered haphazardly around, and there was an odd stench in the air not unlike a motherboard stuffed inside a dirty gym bag. Sudenly, his worst suspicions were confirmed as he heard the muffled grunting and snickering coming from the small crowd assembled in front of the counter. Jared's eyes widened in horror as he beheld no less than 12 filthy bisexual Linux hackers, ALL with their pants around their ankles, engaged in a man-train gangbang front of his beloved lunch counter! Suddenly one of the deviants spotted Jared standing in the doorway. "FRESH MEAT!!!" he yelled as he and his entourage stumbled, giggling and farting, toward the horrified customer. Quivering with rage, Jared quickly grabbed the soda machine and, with superhuman strength, toppled it onto the pack of leering perverts. With a muffled crunch, the 500-pound soda machine rolled over the unsuspecting hackers, crushing them under its massive bulk. After a quick trip to the dumpster to dispose of the remains, Jared hosed the bloodstains off the floor and opened the windows to air out the stench of sweat and freshly soldered video card that still lingered in the air. Soon the local Subway branch was filled once again with happy customers.
Sadly, not all stories have a happy ending, and the fact of the matter is that most cases of GNU/Linux use end in tragedy. Scientific studies show that Linux has been linked to illegal drug use, pedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, nymphomania, and venereal disease. If you or any of your loved ones has been experimenting with this lifestyle, encourage them to seek help NOW, rather than suffer the heartbreak of watching them slowly but inexorably turn into an unwashed, effeminate GNU hippie in a pink t-shirt. The time to act is now, not later. The beginnings of Open Source advocacy must be stamped out early before they have time to develop into something far worse. You have been warned.
THERE ARE two main reasons why soldiers are doing this. One is obvious: If they are killed, then their wife or girlfriend will still be able to have their baby.
The other reason is fear of injury or illness. Some military personnel who served in the Gulf War believe they were made sterile by exposure to insecticides, nerve gas or other toxic substances. While there is no solid medical evidence to support this theory, some soldiers heading off for another war in the Mideast are choosing to play it safe and leave their sperm behind.
WHAT ABOUT FEMALE TROOPS?
Should they die or become sterile, female soldiers do not have the same option as men to preserve their reproductive abilities. While sperm are relatively easy to freeze and preserve, the same is not true for eggs since the freezing process easily damages them.
The only real option female soldiers have is to take hormones, create many eggs, have them surgically harvested and then quickly fertilized. They could then store one or more embryos, which unlike eggs, are easy to freeze.
The prohibitive cost of this procedure - tens of thousands of dollars as opposed to a few hundred dollars for sperm banking - means that taking out a biological life insurance policy is an option that is really only practical for men right now.
While the practice of freezing one's sperm before going to war has started to catch on, there are a host of ethical issues that have not been adequately addressed:
Should every male soldier be given this option? The Department of Defense routinely advises soldiers facing possible combat about the importance of having a will, but does not routinely talk about sperm banking.
Should Uncle Sam offer to pay for a soldier to store his sperm?
If sperm is banked, then what rules should govern the disposition of sperm if a soldier does not come back? Should only wives have access to the sample or should girlfriends, fiancées or even family members who might want to hire a surrogate mother?
Given that the man who made the deposit is now dead, should someone seeking to become pregnant from the sperm have to wait and think about that choice for days, weeks or even months?
How many children could legally be created from a deceased man's stored sperm?
And how long should a deposit be stored for use - one year, 10 years, 50 years?
These are all tough questions for which there are no rules, laws or legislation, but the issues need to be addressed.
Technology now makes it possible to cheat death in ways never imagined by soldiers in previous centuries. We owe it to our troops to make sure that, should they choose to use sperm banking as an option, they will know exactly what will - and will not - happen if a tragedy forces their loved ones to make the ultimate bank withdrawal.
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Emergence is cool, finding it in a 3000 year old book is priceless.
-Peace
Free as in "the Truth shall set you..."
and I posted it to me journal.