Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world

Born to be Viral: Watch a surgical robot peel a grape MacGregor Campbell, consultant Human surgeons work miracles on a daily basis, but intricate operations can challenge even the most dextrous of hands. More and more, surgical robots, such as Da Vincifrom Intuitive Surgical in Sunnyvale, CA, are providing a stable assist. In this video, a urology fellow at Southmead Hospital and the North Bristol NHS Trust in Bristol, UK, peels a grape. What is an Algorithm? For close to two years now I’ve been blogging about “algorithmic culture” — the use of computational processes to sort, classify, and hierarchize people, places, objects, and ideas. Since I began there’s been something of a blossoming of work on the topic, including a recent special issue of the journal Theory, Culture and Society on codes and codings (see, in particular, the pieces by Amoore on derivatives trading and Cheney-Lippold on algorithmic identity). There’s also some excellent work developing around the idea of “algorithmic literacies,” most notably by Tarleton Gillespie and Cathy Davidson. Tarleton’s recent piece here on Culture Digitally, “Can an Algorithm Be Wrong?” is a major touchstone as well.

Italian-Canadian community links Below is a list of Italian-Canadian organizations and associations that promote Italian-Canadian community and culture within Canada and have an online presence. This is the only Italian-Canadian community listing available online, but it is still a work in progress so check back for updates. If you would like to be added, or change the listing, send me a note . Also listed are some international associations that may be of interest to Italian-Canadian communities. (Last update: January 20, 2013) Click on a link to skip to a section : National National Media British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario Quebec Eastern Provinces International

Nanotubes help cloak objects in a mirage - tech - 04 October 2011 Video: Watch an underwater cloaking device create a mirage Underwater cloaking devices could be a step closer thanks to heated sheets of carbon nanotubes that deflect light from the surface of an object – just like a mirage. Desert mirages occur when surfaces warmed by the sun bend light rays so that photons from the sky, rather than those reflected from the surface, reach an observer's eye – an effect known as "photothermal" deflection. Existing invisibility cloaks use arrays of electromagnetic antennas to steer photons around an object, but these so-called metamaterials typically cover a narrow range of frequencies.

Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī Abū ʿAbdallāh Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī[note 1][pronunciation?] (Arabic: عَبْدَالله مُحَمَّد بِن مُوسَى اَلْخْوَارِزْمِي‎), earlier transliterated as Algoritmi or Algaurizin, (c. 780 – c. 850) was a Persian[1][5] mathematician, astronomer and geographer during the Abbasid Empire, a scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Some words reflect the importance of al-Khwarizmi's contributions to mathematics. "Algebra" is derived from al-jabr, one of the two operations he used to solve quadratic equations.

Predicts Over 70 Percent of Global 2000 Organisations Will Have at Least One Gamified Application by 2014 Barcelona, Spain, November 9, 2011 View All Press Releases Analysts Discuss the Future of Gamification at Gartner Portals, Content and Collaboration Summit, March 12-14, 2012 in Orlando, Florida By 2014, more than 70 percent of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one "gamified" application, according to Gartner, Inc. Analysts said that while the current success of gamification is largely driven by novelty and hype, gamification is positioned to become a highly significant trend over the next five years. Friday Illusion: Colours emerge from spinning disc Caitlin Stier, video intern Most people would agree that the static disc in this video is covered with a black-and-white pattern. But once the disc starts spinning, many viewers see colourful swirls appear.

Power (philosophy) In social science and politics, power is the ability to influence or control the behavior of people. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings.

How gamification is reshaping businesses By Doug Palmer, Steve Lunceford and Aaron J. Patton > Photography by Matt Lennert Wayne Lin points at the onscreen scoreboard for his new application that allows friends to compare and discuss their household electricity use. “Energy consumption is not something people usually talk about,” he says.1 But on this app people are talking—a lot. Users are leaving tips, providing support, sharing successes and having fun as they challenge each other to reduce their energy usage. Remembering The Flash Crash I came across this video today where you hear live traders and their reaction on May 6th, which of course is the day of the Flash Crash. It’s always useful and interesting to go back and revisit trader’s reactions on monumental trading events such as this to see if you can learn how to react or not to reach in the future. If you’ve been a reader here at zentrader for some time you’ll remember that my timing signal issued a sell on the markets on April 29th, and I got short the indexes after the close on that day. On the actual day of the crash I remember leaving to take my wife out to lunch that day because it was her birthday and when I left at 2pm eastern the markets were falling, but given that I was short I left my positions alone so they can do their magic. By the time I got to Starbucks and hour later and opened my laptop to see the carnage, I exited my positions as quickly as I could.

Turning tunnels into musical instruments Sandrine Ceurstemont, video producer The damp, dingy tunnels below Waterloo station in London are hardly your typical concert hall. But last weekend, as part of the Mindful exhibition, artist Oliver Beer brought a choir down to create ethereal music by turning the space into a giant musical instrument. To make the space resound, the singers needed to tap into the natural resonant frequencies of the building. "You sing a high to low range of notes and you listen acutely," explained Beer, as he prepared for the inaugural performance. Can an algorithm be wrong? Twitter Trends, the specter of censorship, and our faith in the algorithms around us The interesting question is not whether Twitter is censoring its Trends list. The interesting question is, what do we think the Trends list is, what it represents and how it works, that we can presume to hold it accountable when we think it is “wrong?” What are these algorithms, and what do we want them to be? It’s not the first time it has been asked. Gilad Lotan at SocialFlow (and erstwhile Microsoft UX designer), spurred by questions raised by participants and supporters of the Occupy Wall Street protests, asks the question: is Twitter censoring its Trends list to exclude #occupywallstreet and #occupyboston? While the protest movement gains traction and media coverage, and participants, observers and critics turn to Twitter to discuss it, why are these widely-known hashtags not Trending?