Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is terrifying through the eyes of a computer
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Google has spent the last few years teaching computers how to see, understand, and appreciate our world. It's an important goal that the search giant hopes will allow programs to classify images just by "looking" at them, but there's one problem — to computers, our world looks like a horrible nightmare. The first images from Google's project, shown in June, reveal an organic hellscape inhabited by slug monsters and disembodied tentacles. The pictures show leaves that become two-headed birds, horses that grow dogs' heads from every inch of their skin, and humans whose bodies erupt in furry growths. To Google's computers, every surface of our world is covered in eyes.
The artificial neural networks used by Google work out what's in an image by analyzing layers until they finally decide on what it shows. "For example," Google engineers wrote in June, "the first layer maybe looks for edges or corners. Intermediate layers interpret the basic features to look for overall shapes or components, like a door or a leaf. The final few layers assemble those into complete interpretations — these neurons activate in response to very complex things such as entire buildings or trees." But while Google's code might be able to ascertain that a tree is indeed a tree, the image it builds from the original picture looks less like a harmless tree, and more like a glowing space temple for a cult of silently screaming bipedal monsters.
What "annoy" me about the modern science is that quantum physics is becoming part of everything and quantum properties are seemingly inherently anti-intuitive (ie. you can't understand the principles in any normal logic way, only accept that the math and the tests show that the weirdness exist). I enjoy insights and figuring out advanced physics which adds to my bigger picture of our physical reality.
It's at least somewhat comforting knowing that not even the physicists understand it intuitively.
well done spaceX - when you watch that 1st stage land its like being teleported a little into the future, the mind is like fuck yes and at the same time was like watching a space movie where you usually only see that happen.
What "annoy" me about the modern science is that quantum physics is becoming part of everything and quantum properties are seemingly inherently anti-intuitive (ie. you can't understand the principles in any normal logic way, only accept that the math and the tests show that the weirdness exist). I enjoy insights and figuring out advanced physics which adds to my bigger picture of our physical reality.
It's at least somewhat comforting knowing that not even the physicists understand it intuitively.
If you think quantum mechanics is made of non logical mathematics you should try and look at the actual math. It is not that bad and definitely obeys ordinary logic.
Can China's Futuristic 'Straddling Bus' Finally Become a Reality?
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Car ownership in China is soaring, with an estimated 20 million new drivers hitting the roads each year. Cities there can expect no shortage of air pollution and hellish traffic jams. While local governments are hoping that parking regulations and plate restrictions will ease congestion, engineers and designers are trying to find relief in technology.
What if there were a city bus that could carry more than a thousand passengers from one point to another without taking up any space on the road?
As fantastical as that sounds, it’s a solution that Chinese cities like Beijing are actually considering. Participants at the 19th International High-Tech Expo in Beijing this weekend watched excitedly as a tiny “straddling bus” gobbled up cars and spit them back out as it glided above the traffic in a model city. It’s a replica of what could be the future of China’s public transport.
I think it is sort of important to remember that not all physicists belive in this ridiculous shit.
Lisa Randall for example:
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“It’s just not based on well-defined probabilities. The argument says you’d have lots of things that want to simulate us. I actually have a problem with that. We mostly are interested in ourselves. I don’t know why this higher species would want to simulate us.” Randall admitted she did not quite understand why other scientists were even entertaining the notion that the universe is a simulation. “I actually am very interested in why so many people think it’s an interesting question.” She rated the chances that this idea turns out to be true “effectively zero.”
In general making physicists talk about non-testable idiocy is a waste of time.
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