Einstein for Everyone Einstein for Everyone Nullarbor Press 2007revisions 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Copyright 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 John D. Norton Published by Nullarbor Press, 500 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 with offices in Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222 All Rights Reserved John D. An advanced sequel is planned in this series:Einstein for Almost Everyone 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 ePrinted in the United States of America no trees were harmed web*bookTM This book is a continuing work in progress. January 1, 2015. Preface For over a decade I have taught an introductory, undergraduate class, "Einstein for Everyone," at the University of Pittsburgh to anyone interested enough to walk through door. With each new offering of the course, I had the chance to find out what content worked and which of my ever so clever pedagogical inventions were failures. At the same time, my lecture notes have evolved. This text owes a lot to many. i i i
Level 3 Of Consciousness Meme Central Books Level 3 Resources Richard Brodie Virus of the Mind What’s New? Site Map Level 3 of Consciousness You are reading about something that most people don’t even know exists. If you told them, they wouldn’t just not believe you—they would have no clue what you were talking about. 1. Sometimes like attracts like and sometimes opposite attracts opposite. When like attracts like, it can end there, like an oxygen molecule made up of two oxygen atoms, or it can continue to attract like, like a Carbon atom. 2. Sometimes a self-replicating thing makes a copy of itself with a mistake in it. The only way for new things to get created is by a complex series of mistakes that turn out to be better after all. 3. 4. 5. 6. Self-replication is the most powerful force in the universe. Sometimes a self-replicating memeplex makes a mistake in copying itself. The only way for a new idea to gain acceptance is by a series of copying mistakes that turn out to be better after all. 7. 8. 9.
Get anyone to like you - Instantly - Guaranteed Get anyone to like you - Instantly - Guaranteed If you want people to like you, make them feel good about themselves. This golden rule of friendship works every time - guaranteed! The principle is straightforward. If I meet you and make you feel good about yourself, you will like me and seek every opportunity to see me again to reconstitute the same good feeling you felt the first time we met. The simple communication techniques that follow will help you keep the focus of the conversation on the person you are talking to and make them feel good about themselves. The Big Three Our brains continually scan the environment for friend or foe signals. Eyebrow Flash The eyebrow flash is a quick up and down movement of the eyebrows. Head Tilt The head tilt is a slight tilt of the head to one side or the other. Smile A smile sends the message "I like you." Empathic Statements Empathic statements keep the focus on the other person. Example 1 George : I've been really busy this week. Example 2 Flattery
This no-budget science fiction short looks better than most movies The Good: AMAZING effects and character design! The battle droids actually *looked* like devices built for live combat situations—heavily-armoured, heavily-ARMED, and just...heavy! The Bad: 1) WHEN will people finally drop the completely stupid "careful withdrawal of consciousness from virtual environment" trope? The rig on the interrogator's head is clearly a simple noninvasive magnetic-resonance device stimulating parts of his brain. You know how you "withdraw" from such an interface? 2) If a battle bot has some way of overloading its batteries or onboard generator to generate an EMP, IT WILL FRY ITSELF IN THE PROCESS. I know, I know, I'm a nitpicking geek...but, really, what's the excuse for complete scientific illiteracy in so-called "sci-fi" film-making?
the observer effect The Chinese Room Argument 1. Overview Work in Artificial Intelligence (AI) has produced computer programs that can beat the world chess champion and defeat the best human players on the television quiz show Jeopardy. AI has also produced programs with which one can converse in natural language, including Apple's Siri. Our experience shows that playing chess or Jeopardy, and carrying on a conversation, are activities that require understanding and intelligence. Searle argues that a good way to test a theory of mind, say a theory that holds that understanding can be created by doing such and such, is to imagine what it would be like to do what the theory says would create understanding. Imagine a native English speaker who knows no Chinese locked in a room full of boxes of Chinese symbols (a data base) together with a book of instructions for manipulating the symbols (the program). Thirty years later Searle 2010 describes the conclusion in terms of consciousness and intentionality: 2. 2.1 Leibniz’ Mill 17. 3. 4. 5.
How to Disagree March 2008 The web is turning writing into a conversation. Twenty years ago, writers wrote and readers read. The web lets readers respond, and increasingly they do—in comment threads, on forums, and in their own blog posts. Many who respond to something disagree with it. The result is there's a lot more disagreeing going on, especially measured by the word. If we're all going to be disagreeing more, we should be careful to do it well. DH0. This is the lowest form of disagreement, and probably also the most common. u r a fag!!!!!!!!!! But it's important to realize that more articulate name-calling has just as little weight. The author is a self-important dilettante. is really nothing more than a pretentious version of "u r a fag." DH1. An ad hominem attack is not quite as weak as mere name-calling. Of course he would say that. This wouldn't refute the author's argument, but it may at least be relevant to the case. DH2. DH3. This is often combined with DH2 statements, as in: DH4. DH5. DH6.
10 Awesome Online Classes You Can Take For Free Cool, but you need iTunes for nearly everything, and that gets an 'F.' Are there really no other places to get these lessons? I was sure there are some on Academic Earth. Flagged 1. 7 of them are available via YouTube. 2. iTunes is free. 1. 2. Don't worry, we're looking out for you! While I have no personal beef with iTunes, I know that many people share your sentiments — so I actually made a concerted effort to include relevant youtube links when possible.
What the Bleep Do We Know!? This hard-to-describe movie, which combines talking-head documentary footage with a fictional narrative, attempts to explain quantum physics in terms most audiences can understand. The extent to which it succeeds will largely be the extent to which a viewer grasps the complex theories being addressed in those terms. Does matter exist? This documentary is a radical departure from convention. It's a documentary. This documentary is available for preview only. The Turing Test First published Wed Apr 9, 2003; substantive revision Wed Jan 26, 2011 The phrase “The Turing Test” is most properly used to refer to a proposal made by Turing (1950) as a way of dealing with the question whether machines can think. According to Turing, the question whether machines can think is itself “too meaningless” to deserve discussion (442). However, if we consider the more precise—and somehow related—question whether a digital computer can do well in a certain kind of game that Turing describes (“The Imitation Game”), then—at least in Turing's eyes—we do have a question that admits of precise discussion. Moreover, as we shall see, Turing himself thought that it would not be too long before we did have digital computers that could “do well” in the Imitation Game. The phrase “The Turing Test” is sometimes used more generally to refer to some kinds of behavioural tests for the presence of mind, or thought, or intelligence in putatively minded entities. 1. 2.
Using Real Psychology in Your Writing Using Real Psychology in Your Writing Using Archetypes in Your Stories Writing Better Romantic Relationships This series looks at the Anima/Animus archetype, which is most often seen in romantic relationships, and how to use it to create more compelling romantic relationships, regardless of genre. Creating Better Antagonists Three-Dimensional Villains: Finding Your Character’s Shadow - Using Jungian archetypes and hands-on exercises, this article teaches fiction writers to tap their own dark sides to create realistic villains who will really challenge the hero/es and keep tension high. - by Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD The Other in Fiction: Creating Wonderfully Wicked Villains - The kinds of villains that keep us riveted to a story tap the darkest aspects of the human heart; learn about what those aspects are and how to use them in your fiction. - by Carolyn Kaufman, PsyD Forensic Psychology
Cranial Nerves Can't remember the names of the cranial nerves? Here is a handy-dandy mnemonic for you: On Old Olympus Towering Top AFamous Vocal German Viewed Some Hops. The bold letters stand for: olfactory, optic, oculomotor, trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, vestibulocochlear, glossopharyngeal, vagus, spinal accessory, hypoglossal. Still can't remember the cranial nerves? Personal and Historical Perspectives of Hans Bethe - StumbleUpon