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User: Prof.Phreak

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  1. Re:who cares about the *software*? on Mars Rover Curiosity: Less Brainpower Than Apple's iPhone 5 · · Score: 1

    This one's even got a laser tough enough to blast rocks. It's gonna be awhile before we see a cell phone with those kind of specs.

    Forget cell phones, I'm waiting for sharks!

  2. Re:PC Load letter on Architecture Firm and ESA To 3D Print Building On the Moon · · Score: 1

    ``inflate'' things with concrete or local equivalent, and you gots a very sturdy and structurally sound structure.

  3. Re:multi-sensory on NASA Releases Orbital Photos of Beijing's Air Pollution · · Score: 1

    ``air so thick you can cut it with a fork''...---someone

  4. Re:that's what the job killing lines get you stuff on NASA Releases Orbital Photos of Beijing's Air Pollution · · Score: 1

    Perhaps fill grand canyon? :-D

  5. Re:better explanation on Quantum Gas Goes Below Absolute Zero · · Score: 3, Informative

    they all came to a complete stop

    which (seems nobody mentioned this) violate quantum mechanics in a very big way.

  6. Re: one of the biggest and most powerful companies on Google Challenging Microsoft For Business Software · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Don't forget the whole internet thing and how they ignored it.

  7. Re:Why did we need LHC? on Ask Slashdot: Should Scientists Build a New Particle Collider In Japan? · · Score: 1

    It's kinda a welfare program for high end scientists. How else could billions be spent on ``science'' and benefit thousands of contractors. The liberal scientists get something fun to play with, and a bunch of special interest groups get billions of easy money to build and operate the thing.

    With that thought, perhaps U.S. should build one that's perhaps 150 miles, somewhere in mid west (nice and flat). Locate it such that it spans at least 4-5 states to get a bunch of senators for it. There are worse ways to prop up the economy... and this make work project might actually do something cool.

  8. Re:So it's basically Watson? on Google's Second Brain: How the Knowledge Graph Changes Search · · Score: 3, Funny

    No, Watson was an answer engine more like Wolfram Alpha. Where this is more of adding contextual comprehension/understanding to search terms.

    So this is a... question engine?

    42!

  9. Re:Deep learning? on A.I. Advances Through Deep Learning · · Score: 2

    Advances are in ways of learning hidden layers that are slightly more clever than backpropagation. For example, lets say you have an image, apply some transform to it (dct, wavelet, whatever, neural net layer, etc.) and save all the important features, but at say 10x less space. Then do the same to those features. Every time reducing the amount of data by 10x. After a few such layers, lets say you're left with 10 bits worth of information---the ``most important'' (according to your benchmark used) ten bits of the whole image.

    The ten bits could be anything, such as `this image is a car' or `this image is a face', or ``this face looks angry', etc.

    The trick is applying the benchmark on the hidden layers---e.g. how do you pick out which features are important after applying a transform. For that, you train another (inverse) transform that recovers original data from the features---the one that gets you closest to the original wins (e.g. lets say you feed 1000 bits into a neural net to get 100 bits out, and then via inverse transform turn those 100 bits into the *original* 1000 bits... that would mean that your 100 bits represented all the information in the input 1000 bits---obviously more often than not you won't get a perfect match but something close---repeat for any number of layers you want).

  10. Re:Sources of improvements? on A.I. Advances Through Deep Learning · · Score: 5, Informative

    The ``new'' (e.g. last decade or so) advances are in training hidden layers of neural networks. Kinda like peeling an onion, each layer getting progressively coarser representation of the problem. e.g. if you have 1000000 inputs, and after a few layers, only have 100 hidden nodes, those 100 nodes are in essence representing all the ``important'' (some benchmark you choose) information of those 1000000 inputs.

  11. Re:And cue the end of settlements... on US Judge Orders Apple To Share HTC Deal Details With Samsung · · Score: 1

    So it's settled, the lawyers win! :-D

  12. Re:Or even older on It's Hard For Techies Over 40 To Stay Relevant, Says SAP Lab Director · · Score: 1

    Looking forward to 2038 :-D

  13. Re:lasers on Wireless Power Over Distance: Just a Parlor Trick? · · Score: 0

    Hmm... how about a laser beam of much longer wavelength---like radio, or even much lower (e.g. say 60Hz---but just as directional as a laser)?

  14. Re:Pack your bags! on Curiosity Finds Volcanic Soils · · Score: 1

    Eh, wake me up when they discover mai tai drinks on mars...

  15. Re:Desktop on 48-Core Chips Could Redefine Mobile Devices · · Score: 1

    When they said ``computing device that follows you around,'' they might've meant as ``your own personal terminator, follows you around and protects you'' :-)

  16. Re:The other point of view on What an Anti-Google Antitrust Case By the FTC May Look Like · · Score: 1

    "online advertising" is just a tiny aspect of "advertising". e.g. look at how much is spent on TV commercials. Google is nowhere near the monopoly in "advertising". Or are you saying that when $HUGECOMPANY spends $10m on marketing, $9.99m of that goes to google?

  17. Re:How to stop android on What an Anti-Google Antitrust Case By the FTC May Look Like · · Score: 1

    Indeed. You'd have more luck finding stuff on microsoft.com website via Google than via Microsoft's own search!

  18. Re:They didn't forget how to make seat belts! on Huston Huddleston Wants You To Help Save the Star Trek TNG Set · · Score: 1

    Yes, unfortunately "the fuse" to prevent consoles blowing up would not be invented for another 900 years.

  19. Re:Obama versus Romney? on US Election's Only VP Debate Tonight: Weigh In With Your Reactions · · Score: 2

    John Jackson is way better than his clone Jack Johnson!

  20. ...also, is time chunky? does it interfere with itself kinda like light? Does space interfere with itself? How would such things manifest themselves in our observable universe?

  21. Re:The challenge of getting past c on Mathematicians Extend Einstein's Special Relativity Beyond Speed of Light · · Score: 1

    I suspect it will be (if it ever will be, that is) something along the lines of twisting space-time in such a way that will allow you to move the universe around you (as opposed to you moving through space-time).

  22. Re:Infinite velocity on Mathematicians Extend Einstein's Special Relativity Beyond Speed of Light · · Score: 1

    ...the whole universe could be just 1 particle moving at infinite velocity, and the visible universe (e.g. us), is just that single infinite velocity particle interfering with itself :-/

  23. Re:Truth or dare... on Mysterious Algorithm Was 4% of Trading Activity Last Week · · Score: 1

    So it is possible to create a large volume of "trades" without actually ever buying or selling anything?

    There are laws against that, and once trade clears, it's pretty easy for regulators to know who bought/sold and at what prices---so the laws can be enforced.

    With quoting... there are also laws (you can't send out signals/quotes simply to decieve others), however detecting/enforcing it is much tougher---you send orders to firmA, firmB, firmC, firmD, etc., and each one of them will quote as themselves, so market will see quotes from many participants instead of 1---kinda hard to trace those back (clearing only happens if there's a trade).

  24. Re:Sorry for sounding stupid... on New Study Shows Universe Still Expanding On Schedule · · Score: 1

    If you shine a laser pointer at the sky (not airplane), the beam leaves earth, and about 14 billion years the beam will reach the farthest galaxies we can see. What happens after another 1000 billion years? Will the beam curve back on itself? Will it slow down and go only at the rate of expansion? But, if the beam just keeps on going at c---it would be beyond the ``visible edge'' of the universe, no? Wouldn't that imply that the `non-visible' real edge of the universe has to expand at least at 'c' or else you'd have light leaving the universe, which it shouldn't :-/

  25. Re:Question for economics wonks on BitCoin Gets a Futures Market · · Score: 1

    Taxes. You can't pay taxes in BitCoins. Whatever profits you make, you either "don't pay taxes" (in which case, you'll get into trouble with pretty much any government on this planet), or you have to convert your profits from BitCoins into "whatever local currency" just to pay taxes.