Brainstorm Headquarters

“Some people go into science thinking they might help save...

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 01:16:05 +0200

“Some people go into science thinking they might help save the world. Norm’s your proof that it’s possible.” Norman Borlaug: the man who fed the world

"What we call “natural” is simply the result of whatever set of rules nature has followed..."

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:35:35 +0100

“What we call “natural” is simply the result of whatever set of rules nature has followed in fashioning our observable reality.”

- Syd Mead on Cyborg Theory [Wikipedia]

The loss of this man’s consciousness to the world is a...

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:39:27 +0100

The loss of this man’s consciousness to the world is a tragedy to say the least.

"Make changes based on your strongest opportunities, not your most convenient ones."

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:26:47 +0100

“Make changes based on your strongest opportunities, not your most convenient ones.”

- MegaTokyo

"Kring förbjudna tankar ligger det en hund begraven. Iakttag vaksamhet; någon försöker stänga av dig."

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:56:00 +0100

“Kring förbjudna tankar ligger det en hund begraven. Iakttag vaksamhet; någon försöker stänga av dig.”

- Johan Sundström om tabu och sedvänja

Fredrik: Har du märkt att man kan tumklicka submit-knappar?

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:28:08 +0100

Fredrik: Har du märkt att man kan tumklicka submit-knappar?
Fredrik: I Safari.
Malesca: tumklicka?
Fredrik: mittenklick
Fredrik: tredje knappen
Malesca: Har ingen tredje knapp :p
Fredrik: :p
Fredrik: Skyll dig själv då.
Malesca: Jag har en knapp, like Jobs intended!
Fredrik: Hahaha.
Fredrik: Har du bara en snopp också?
Fredrik: Undermåligt.

"Earth is like an unread book, but unread books can only entice people who are literate."

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 14:27:39 +0100

“Earth is like an unread book, but unread books can only entice people who are literate.”

- Wired: A Simple Plan to ID Every Creature on Earth

Our four demonic cats, hiding in the stairwell

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:39:18 +0100

Our four demonic cats, hiding in the stairwell

"Christopher Alexander foresaw a time when, after having reinternalized these human pattern..."

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:41:43 +0100

“Christopher Alexander foresaw a time when, after having reinternalized these human pattern languages, we would no longer need, or even see, the patterns, but instead see reality directly, as other animals do; a time when we would live so close to our hearts, that language would no longer be necessary, and we would create from a void, naturally; a time when human architecture would be just like the rest of the natural world, an endless play of repetition and variety; a time when human architecture would not divide the spheres of human existence, but reunite them. The hearts of the previous generation of architects were closed to his vision; perhaps the next generation of architects will heed his call.”

- The Timeless Way of Building

Photo

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:06:48 +0100

"Clarke’s novel is one deeply invested in rationalism. As Shulman argues, “Clarke isn’t..."

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:57:58 +0100

“Clarke’s novel is one deeply invested in rationalism. As Shulman argues, “Clarke isn’t interested in dark lords and good versus evil per se. For her, the dichotomy is between madness and reason” and the fairy world is connected to madness (mad people can see fairies, for example). According to Faber, “Clarke is ultimately an arch-rationalist… supernatural aid is a lethal trap, the search for mystical enlightenment mimics the degradations of drug addiction, a charmed life is a Kafkaesque nightmare”.”

- Wikipedia: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

"It strikes me that approaches like that would have led us to create flying machines that flap their..."

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:23:00 +0100

“It strikes me that approaches like that would have led us to create flying machines that flap their wings and had mechanical analogues to feathers. I really believe that machine intelligence will follow a path not unlike that which aircraft took – to really understand the underlying physics of uplift and drag and the aerodynamics of flight and then create machines that were optimal in some sense given the available materials.”

- Intel’s Rattner says the machines will get us in the end (The Inquirer)

Photo

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 08:02:34 +0100

Is it a valid idea that EVERYTHING is patterns? Are colors represented as patterns in the brain? A...

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:56:00 +0100

Is it a valid idea that EVERYTHING is patterns? Are colors represented as patterns in the brain? A different pattern for each frequency of the incoming light rays? And then they’re matched up based on the timing between photon pulses.

"We could apply mindfulness wherever we now apply electricity."

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:58:57 +0100

“We could apply mindfulness wherever we now apply electricity.”

- Kevin Kelly, Wired — Edge: What Will Change Everything

"The findings suggest that amino acids could have formed when lightning struck pools of gas on the..."

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:39:00 +0200

“The findings suggest that amino acids could have formed when lightning struck pools of gas on the flanks of volcanoes, and are a fitting coda for the late father of prebiotic chemistry.”

- Origins of Life experiments reexamined.

Jeff Hawkins on brains and machines

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:17:00 +0200

Jeff Hawkins on brains and machines:

At the RSA Conference, April 9th 2008. I’ve probably told you this before - but he’s on to something huge.

"It may be laid down as a general rule that if a man begins to sing, no one will take any notice of..."

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:02:00 +0200

“It may be laid down as a general rule that if a man begins to sing, no one will take any notice of his song except his fellow human beings. This is true even if his song is surpassingly beautiful. Other men may be in raptures at his skill, but the rest of creation is, by and large, unmoved. Perhaps a cat or a dog may look at him; his horse, if it is an exceptionally intelligent beast, may pause in cropping the grass, but that is the extent of it. But when the fairy sang, the whole world listened to him. Stephen felt clouds pause in their passing; he felt sleeping hills shift and murmur; he felt cold mists dance. He understood for the first time that the world is not dumb at all, but merely waiting for someone to speak to it in a language it understands. In the fairy’s song the earth recognized the names by which it called itself.”

- Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell)

Malesca: Jag tycker det känns lite jobbigt med hundar ibland, när man ser igenom deras charm och fattar att de bara vill ha mat :p

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:42:33 +0200

Malesca: Jag tycker det känns lite jobbigt med hundar ibland, när man ser igenom deras charm och fattar att de bara vill ha mat :p
Fredrik: :D
Malesca: Man skulle göra ett hundhalsband med en tankebubbla på en fjäder där det står "Mat…?"
Fredrik: De är lite mer straightforward i sitt sökande efter lycka än vi är, bara. Vi krånglar till det så mycket. De vill bara rulla runt i gräset, kramas lite och käka.
Fredrik: Skaffa två hundar och två katter och kör lite naturligt urval.

Bret and Jemaine dealing with the issues while keeping it funky.

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:36:00 +0200

Bret and Jemaine dealing with the issues while keeping it funky.