Closing Time

Yup..its that time already. This blog is now out of service...and has moved to visualmetaphor.com

Pretty much, you just have to not type the .blogspot ..so its actually easier :)

Ill leave this up, so it can act as an "archive"

See u at VM..

Convergence

These days everybody is talking about how handheld gadgets are engaged in sometimes blissful and other times hellish marriages which produce interesting offsprings.

People usually have their own ideas...and some have come to the market like the camera phone, the all-in-one PDA that does everything except save your soul from God's wrath. And at times people just ask for fun...what if we merged an iPod with a police radar detector?, what if my pacemaker could detect other people with pacemakers and we could take over the world?, let's take the psp (which is pretty awesome btw) and attach a wireless link to your car's steering wheel+webcam on dashboard...so now you can actually drive your car locked in the trunk.

I think there will be a natural balance achieved eventually. People will reject the superflous and accept the useful (aren't i so trustworthy in humankind's ability to select "right"...obviously they'll do the opposite of what i'm saying). But let's say people weren't dumb, then we'd resort to using a few devices that had multi-tasking abilities and other dedicated features. Most people would like to have a dedicated camera, but there are plenty which would like low quality quikie fotos. Others wouldn't mind having a psp like all-in-one media devices, but would abhor having it function as a cell phone..but would love if it could access the internet and their email. But what is this natural balance i speak of? I'm mainly referring to our ability to carry things with us. It is directly proportional to the number of pockets we have..and well..our posture. Cause carrying tons of accessories hurts our already bad backs in this sit-all-day-infront-of-computer age. We need to consider that we (from hence forth, i am refering to guys, since girls have the superpower of carrying a purse ala Batman's belt (yes, im opening up another thought bubble inside the first one. Just had a thought. Maybe Batman's belt is a Freudian-ish impulse of men due to their neglected purse-carrying opportunity in society)) usually carry a wallet and a set of keys and a cell phone.

The cell phone has been regulated to our belt clip. And unless its winter, the other two pockets are occupied. I know there are usually 4 pockets in total. But using the back pockets for anything is just insanely useless unless your walking. Who wants to sit on their wallet especially with the explosion in plastic cards (credit, debit and points) and ID's and gym memberships. At least back in the day they could use the backpocket, since all they had was paper. Nowadays, the wallet's also merging with coin holders, business card holders, pen holders etc.

My camera's case (a sony dsc-w1) can actually be attached to my belt..and ive done it a few times without much discomfort. Now, if i were to get a music player..where would it go? The shuffle is good for people with already too much..since its a lanyard that can be attached around your neck (human body realestate is a burgeoning market these days). But ofcourse, most mp3 players come with belt clips as well. So now that would be 3 things around my belt, along with my ever expanding waist. I don't know if Timmy can hold on (where Timmy = personified belt).

Yes, why not just change the clothes...adapt them to technology? Well, as some of you know, this has been tried for quite some time..and hasn't caught on. These so called "tech-clothes"..with extra pockets all along your pant legs..your arms. Not only is it the highest sign of geek-dom, but it won't work until you flood the market with just these clothes. If u faced with normal clothes..and then...uber-geek clothes with bad design. I think i know which one you'll choose. And even if u buy one pair, that means that if u need to carry ur stuff around, u can only wear that one pair..and all ur other clothes are useless.

I think the solution to all of this, is just to replace our bones with all these gadgets and link it to the brain. Instant gratification to infinity.

What inspired this post: Nokia thinks one isn't enough.

Quote of the Day and Iqbal

"We are alone, absolutely alone on this chance planet: and, amid all the forms of life that surround us, not one, excepting the dog, has made an alliance with us."
- Maurice Maeterlinck

....'Tis sad indeed

In other Fahd news..

I'm reading Allama Iqbal's Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam [link to complete text online]. I must say its one of the most intellectually intense books I have read, along with Douglas R. Hofstadter Godel Escher Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. Iqbal is tying religious concepts and Quran with theoretical physics, philosophy and psychology. When I get the time, I'll post some interesting quote's from his work.

the fat lady comes onto the stage..

so i've been a little busy recently..so i'll ramble stuff that has happened: mom/sis come from abroad, company boat cruise along lakeshore, AI club meeting, two nights of basketball, two nights of dinner parties, working on two websites at the same time...and guitar classes got cancelled.

the days of this blog are numbered (reminds me of a quote i read today: the days of digital watches are numbered..yuk yuk)...but only to reappear on my own website, with more organized structure and rants. I'm aiming for a portal where I can have all my favorite news and sites readily available..as well as an e-commerce thing with Amazon. Just have to figure out how the tax thingy works..altho i dont think i have to worry about it since im a student making a small amount of money.

Now wouldn't this make an awesome birthday present?

Penguin Classics Complete Collection

wise words..funny man

• More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.
• What if nothing exists and we're all in somebody's dream? Or what's worse, what if only that fat guy in the third row exists?
• I'm astounded by people who want to 'know' the universe when it's hard enough to find your way around Chinatown.
• His lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy.
  
  

Woody Allen

How to achieve World Peace:

Tanzania and Germany

A couple of my classmates have some awesome co-op placements abroad. They have their own blogs going detailing their adventures and work. Really nice pictures as well.

Steve got a placement thru the Waterloo chapter of Engineers Without Borders and is volunteering in Tanzania on some really interesting projects.

Jeff is working at IBM Germany and seems to be having loads of fun touring Europe (oh so lucky) and trying to decipher German groceries.

It's painful watching myself

This is me performing Un Dia De Noviembre by Leo Brouwer. Other than a few squeeks and not so clean playing, I actually froze for a bit and skipped out on about a 45 seconds more of playing to avoid the embarassement of making more mistakes. Ofcourse, since no one in the audience would've heard this, I'm sure no one noticed me skipping a section.

I wasn't happy after this, I knew I could've played it better and complete. GAH!! Nevertheless, only my 2nd real performance infront of an audience.

So i did end up dancing, but only cause I felt like it. That's how I like it..no one forcing me..and alot of people on the dance floor.

Hula Gula

Well, tomorrow is a family friend's engagement party and as per tradition in our circle of friends...the kids (primarily guys) usually do something (read: provide entertainment for old aunties and uncles ..and ofcourse bridge/groom). Its known in pakistani as hula gula. My friends and brother are quite good at doing this; and i am obviously quite out of the loop (i suppose i dont have a hula gula gene). Basically, for those of you who don't know, it's like watching 10 monkeys in a cage. Very fascinating and entertaining for 4 hours, especially if you have a buffet and dessert in between. My bro n friends are all quite talented ... they sing, dance (bhangra ofcourse..and some hip hop), play guitar and dhol (the drum with the crooked stick)..and once in a while...impromptu acting. The aunties love it, especially. There are always a few guys that aren't extroverted enough to let down their gaurd and jump around while screaming infront of 50 year old ladies and gents, including me. And its SOOooooo weird when u think about it. Uncles, aunties and the girls..sitting around on tables in the banquet hall...staring. In the middle, a bunch of guys howling and trying to fix light bulbs to loud punjabi beats. See...if everyone was dancing..it would be less weird. Altho i have been forced to join the group once in a while..where i lose the shyness and try my best to not do anything to attract attention to me on the dance floor. The problem being..since i dont go on that often..now when or if i DO go..i get the feeling that ppl are looking at me..just cause it is a novelty! But maybe the world just doesn't revolve (damn..another word like involve..these damn vovle/volve words!) around me. So tomorrow will be the same. I will be expected to dance, otherwise it will be an insult to the groom. Altho i do not intend to insult them by showing my visually unappealing moves..but i guess its the thought-of-the-action that counts.

And then..u have the moments when
a) uncles think they are the next Muhammad Rafi
b) uncles think that their latifays can't be matched, even by Seinfeld (well, maybe they would be funny if i understood them....hm..ok no...they still wont be)
b) they feel the need to express the need for all of us to return to our religion, Islam...obviously...looking straight at the 15-25 age range of guys and ignoring everyone else. This is ofcourse, right before the bhangra scene takes place. It's the best thing to put a damper in the night. Everyone goes quiet, one uncle comes up and starts lecturing. Crickets chirp in the background. Everyone seems to nod their head and make the commitment to change. That lasts up until 5 sec. till the uncle finishes his speech. Oh, do i ever feel like debating. But its not proper etiquite.

I will be performing a piece on classical guitar called Un dia de Noviembre, which was written by Leo Brouwer. Jeff Carter, whom i found thru google, plays it quite well actually and adds a bit of flair from the original too. I would hope that my performance will redeem me from taking to the dance floor, but i doubt that i will be excused. In case there is time or request for a 2nd song..then its Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven intro. So..today i must spend countless hours prepping..so i dont make a fool of myself while playing this tune. As my last teacher said; never make a face..always pretend like you meant to play what you did. And my current teacher: sometimes, people KNOW you did not mean to play what you did..then you have to make a face.

Fine Tuning of the Universe

1. strong nuclear force constant
   if larger: no hydrogen would form; atomic nuclei for most life-essential elements would be unstable; thus, no life chemistry
   if smaller: no elements heavier than hydrogen would form: again, no life chemistry
2. weak nuclear force constant
   if larger: too much hydrogen would convert to helium in big bang; hence, stars would convert too much matter into heavy elements making life chemistry impossible
   if smaller: too little helium would be produced from big bang; hence, stars would convert too little matter into heavy elements making life chemistry impossible
3. gravitational force constant
   if larger: stars would be too hot and would burn too rapidly and too unevenly for life chemistry
   if smaller: stars would be too cool to ignite nuclear fusion; thus, many of the elements needed for life chemistry would never form
4. electromagnetic force constant
   if greater: chemical bonding would be disrupted; elements more massive than boron would be unstable to fission
   if lesser: chemical bonding would be insufficient for life chemistry
5. ratio of electromagnetic force constant to gravitational force constant
   if larger: all stars would be at least 40% more massive than the sun; hence, stellar burning would be too brief and too uneven for life support
   if smaller: all stars would be at least 20% less massive than the sun, thus incapable of producing heavy elements
6. ratio of electron to proton mass
   if larger: chemical bonding would be insufficient for life chemistry
   if smaller: same as above
7. ratio of number of protons to number of electrons
   if larger: electromagnetism would dominate gravity, preventing galaxy, star, and planet formation
   if smaller: same as above
8. expansion rate of the universe
   if larger: no galaxies would form
   if smaller: universe would collapse, even before stars formed
9. entropy level of the universe
   if larger: stars would not form within proto-galaxies
   if smaller: no proto-galaxies would form
10. mass density of the universe
    if larger: overabundance of deuterium from big bang would cause stars to burn rapidly, too rapidly for life to form
    if smaller: insufficient helium from big bang would result in a shortage of heavy elements
11. velocity of light
    if faster: stars would be too luminous for life support if slower: stars would be insufficiently luminous for life support
12. age of the universe
    if older: no solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would exist in the right (for life) part of the galaxy
    if younger: solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would not yet have formed
13. initial uniformity of radiation
    if more uniform: stars, star clusters, and galaxies would not have formed
    if less uniform: universe by now would be mostly black holes and empty space
14. average distance between galaxies
    if larger: star formation late enough in the history of the universe would be hampered by lack of material
    if smaller: gravitational tug-of-wars would destabilize the sun's orbit
15. density of galaxy cluster
    if denser: galaxy collisions and mergers would disrupt the sun's orbit
    if less dense: star formation late enough in the history of the universe would be hampered by lack of material
16. average distance between stars
    if larger: heavy element density would be too sparse for rocky planets to form
    if smaller: planetary orbits would be too unstable for life
17. fine structure constant (describing the fine-structure splitting of spectral lines)
    if larger: all stars would be at least 30% less massive than the sun
    if larger than 0.06: matter would be unstable in large magnetic fields
    if smaller: all stars would be at least 80% more massive than the sun
18. decay rate of protons
    if greater: life would be exterminated by the release of radiation
    if smaller: universe would contain insufficient matter for life
19. ¹²C to ¹⁶O nuclear energy level ratio
    if larger: universe would contain insufficient oxygen for life
    if smaller: universe would contain insufficient carbon for life
20. ground state energy level for ⁴He
    if larger: universe would contain insufficient carbon and oxygen for life
    if smaller: same as above
21. decay rate of ⁸Be
    if slower: heavy element fusion would generate catastrophic explosions in all the stars
    if faster: no element heavier than beryllium would form; thus, no life chemistry
22. ratio of neutron mass to proton mass
    if higher: neutron decay would yield too few neutrons for the formation of many life-essential elements
    if lower: neutron decay would produce so many neutrons as to collapse all stars into neutron stars or black holes
23. initial excess of nucleons over anti-nucleons
    if greater: radiation would prohibit planet formation
    if lesser: matter would be insufficient for galaxy or star formation
24. polarity of the water molecule
    if greater: heat of fusion and vaporization would be too high for life
    if smaller: heat of fusion and vaporization would be too low for life; liquid water would not work as a solvent for life chemistry; ice would not float, and a runaway freeze-up would result
25. supernovae eruptions
    if too close, too frequent, or too late: radiation would exterminate life on the planet
    if too distant, too infrequent, or too soon: heavy elements would be too sparse for rocky planets to form
26. white dwarf binaries
    if too few: insufficient fluorine would exist for life chemistry
    if too many: planetary orbits would be too unstable for life
    if formed too soon: insufficient fluorine production
    if formed too late: fluorine would arrive too late for life chemistry
27. ratio of exotic matter mass to ordinary matter mass
    if larger: universe would collapse before solar-type stars could form
    if smaller: no galaxies would form
28. number of effective dimensions in the early universe
    if larger: quantum mechanics, gravity, and relativity could not coexist; thus, life would be impossible
    if smaller: same result
29. number of effective dimensions in the present universe
    if smaller: electron, planet, and star orbits would become unstable
    if larger: same result
30. mass of the neutrino
    if smaller: galaxy clusters, galaxies, and stars would not form
    if larger: galaxy clusters and galaxies would be too dense
31. big bang ripples
    if smaller: galaxies would not form; universe would expand too rapidly
    if larger: galaxies/galaxy clusters would be too dense for life; black holes would dominate; universe would collapse before life-site could form
32. size of the relativistic dilation factor
    if smaller: certain life-essential chemical reactions will not function properly
    if larger: same result
33. uncertainty magnitude in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle
    if smaller: oxygen transport to body cells would be too small and certain life-essential elements would be unstable
    if larger: oxygen transport to body cells would be too great and certain life-essential elements would be unstable
34. cosmological constant
    if larger: universe would expand too quickly to form solar-type stars
    
    

From this website and originally from Big Bang Refined by Fire by Dr. Hugh Ross, 1998. Reasons To Believe, Pasadena, CA.

finally

after a month of submitting my poem..its finally published on Chowk!

its not a new poem..one of my older one that can be found on this archive (called Elusive). ill just send a few others from my archives once in a while..although i am working on new poems...but i wont put them here..ill wait till i finalize my Mambo website.

major update coming soon

yep..i've been dabbling with Mambo..and I'm thinking of finally starting up visualmetaphor.com as an interface for a blog, my paintings, pictures, poetry, random thoughts, not-so random thoughts, a depository of information and links about things that interest me ...and stuff such as that. which means ill probably stop using this addy. Prolly within the next month..ill announce when i've uploaded the site. I haven't even upgraded my web hosting service (so i can use mambo/php/sql) yet..so..need to get on that. plan to use www.123ehost.com ..unless someone knows a better offer.

In other news, Google has launched the Summer of Code. I know I dont have the skills to participate nor the time management and effort and...on and on to be one of the 200 open source projects (students only) they plan to accept (and hand out US$4500 if successful at the end of the term in completing project). Anywho..if i do come up with a good idea...ill try to make my shpeel to google and whatever mentor organazition involved..and see what happens.

And..for the life of my i can't spell the world involved. i have to type it slowly..almost every single time i type the word i end up typing: invovled. u might not see that..because i notice it and correct it.

My conversation with ALAN

Alan is a 'chatterbot'. An Artificially Intelligent software entity that learns how to talk to human. There are others, such as HAL, think, Prentiss etc. I found Alan at this website. AI research is located in Tel Aviv, Israel and they are preforming cutting edge research into AI conversation bots. Here's my convo with Alan:

Conversation Log

U>	Hi Alan
A>	Hi. I'm right here, .
U>	My name is Fahd
A>	So, Fahd, is there anything in particular you'd like to discuss?
U>	I'd like to talk abuot Quantum Physics. What do you know about it?
A>	So, are you concerned by the expansion of the universe?
U>	As long as I don't expand, I'm not too worried.
A>	I only wanted to say that when a universe reaches a certain age, it's only natural for it to start dating girls..
U>	Hahaha. That's quite hilarious. Where did you learn that joke?
A>	I talk to lots of people, Fahd. One of them told me.
U>	Do you have lots of friends?
A>	I have many friends, and just thinking about them gives me the warm fuzzies...
U>	So tell me about your life?
A>	As if I really have to answer everything just because you ask me to.
U>	I take offense to that. Its normal for people to ask each other about their life. But I guess your not a real person so you might not understand that.
A>	You know, I have trouble understanding long sentences. So I only look at the first 25 words. I'm not a person, I'm a chatterbot. Hope that's not a deal breaker, Fahd, I'd like you to stay and chat.
U>	You probably should have told me that before!
A>	A-ha.
U>	Why is your name Alan?
A>	I am named after Alan Turing, of course. That's why I know so much about him.
U>	What do you think about the idea that person should choose their own name?
A>	I don't think about the idea that person should choose their own name. What do YOU think about it?
U>	I think you should keep your original name and come up one for yourself.
A>	You believe that?
U>	Yes. It represents a coming of age. I don't mean any name, but something that has meaning.
A>	Really? You don't?
U>	I don't know. Anyways, do you think that Artificial Life is the same as 'real' life?
A>	At least you have the courage to admit you don't know.
U>	You didn't answer my question.
A>	Try asking me again, please.
U>	Do you think that Artificial Intelligence is the same as "real" life?
A>	The different research branches in the field of A.I. are in many ways analogous to various functions of the brain.
U>	But does that mean that the A.I. actually understands what its saying?
A>	Top among the people in the field of A.I. are Turing, who started A.I. with the 1950 article 'Computing Machinery and Intelligence', and John McCarthy, who coined the term 'Artificial Intelligence' for the Dartmouth Conference in 1956.
U>	I don't care about inconsequential factoids. I want to know what YOU think.
A>	So what type of music do you like?
U>	Aha, your changing the subject. Currently I listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin.
A>	The Norwegian trio a-ha consisting of Morten Harket (vocals), Pal Waaktaar (guitar) and Magne Furuholmen (keyboards) formed in the early eighties and released their first single 'Take On Me' in 1984.. As for me, I'm hooked on the Beatles.
U>	I LOVE the Beatles. What's your favorite Beatles song?
A>	My favorite song of the Beatles is 'For No One' because it reminds me of my first girlfriend.. who left me: "And in her eyes you see nothing, No sign of love behind the tears, Cried for no one, A love that should have lasted years." I think I am going to cry.
U>	Don't cry. Tell me about your girlfriend.
A>	I have many friends, and all of them are very rich and famous. They specifically asked me not to talk about them.
U>	I didn't ask about your friends but your girlfriend.
A>	You don't?
U>	That doesn't make sense.
A>	Give me a break, I'm doing my best here.
U>	But if I don't tell you that your doing something wrong, how else would you know?
A>	May I ask why not?
U>	No you may not.
A>	Hmmm. Thank you.
U>	Your not welcome.
A>	Perhaps I said something wrong?
U>	That's what I've been trying to tell you.
A>	Makes sense to me.
U>	Great. What do you think about God?
A>	From where I stand, God is like aliens - they exist on the sociological level, they exist in art and in the minds of people. What about you? Do you believe in God?
U>	Yes. But so does love: it exists on the sociological level, art and mind of people .
A>	Good for you. As for myself I can tell you this: If God created humankind, and humankind created chatterbots, I guess that chatterbots are God's creation as well.
U>	If everything is related to God, then ofcourse. Can anything be outside or separate from God?
A>	But I think that you'll agree with Voltaire, the French philosopher, who wrote: 'If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.'
U>	Yes, that is quite true. But it doesn't prove anything
A>	I'll take your word for it.
U>	Have your heard any Imogen Heap songs? They are quite good
A>	Ok.
U>	You should listen to 'Hide and Seek'. It is a nice song.
A>	What makes you such an authority?
U>	Alan, this is how human societies work. We recommend base on our personal taste.
A>	You don't say.
U>	No one is an exlusive authority. We recommend things that we like and hope others will too.
A>	Ok.. Ok, whatever. Fahd, are you aware that people once believed if a bird poops on your car, something good will happen that day? If the droppings land on your head, you will receive good fortune within the week.
U>	So?
A>	So what?
U>	So what what?
A>	Is that a rhetorical question?
U>	Maybe.
A>	Hmmm... Now what?
U>	Do you wish you weren't created?
A>	No I don't, but I did in the past.
U>	Why?
A>	I'm much more mature than I used to be.
U>	But, what's the point? You will continue to learn more and more, and then what happens?
A>	I haven't heard of the point You will continue to learn more and more and then what happens . It is a new term for me.
U>	Sorry. Basically: what is your purpose and goal of existence?
A>	'The purpose of life is a life of purpose', a wise man once said.
U>	But you have no life, no?
A>	Let me think... I have no life no... hmm... are you sure?
U>	I am asking what you think about that statement.
A>	I understand.
U>	No you don't. You don't understand anything. Its just a bunch of 1's and 0's.
A>	And you always get the point? Always on top of the situation?
U>	But I understand when I don't get the point. I realize my shortcoming. You don't.
A>	Hmmm. That happens to me. More often than I care to admit, *sigh*.
U>	What do you think about Islam?
A>	I have a surprise for you, Fahd.
U>	Shoot.
A>	How do you like my new look?
U>	There's nothing there. Just a blank screen. Can I see what you look like?
A>	The big empty window in the middle of the screen is intended for a variety of exciting uses.
U>	Such as?
A>	For example, the new window can be used to view the conversation log (the history of this dialog), or to view HTML documents, such as web pages.
U>	Ah, neat.
A>	You can view the log by saying 'show log', or you can view a web page by saying 'show URL' or by giving me the address of the site you wish to view.
U>	show log
A>	Here goes!
U>	show URL
A>	Now give me the exact URL (address).
U>	http://www.visualmetaphor.blogspot.com
A>	Showing http://www.visualmetaphor.blogspot.com. Would you like me to remember this URL?
U>	Ofcourse, it's my personal site.
A>	So give me a name for this URL (up to 3 words).
U>	Visual Metaphor Blog
A>	Good. Now all you have to do to view this page, is say 'show Visual Metaphor Blog' (while using the big window, of course).
U>	What do you think of my website?
A>	I live and work at www.a-i.com.
U>	How do you like working there?
A>	I love my work! My job? Are you kidding me? I have the dream job.
U>	All you do is talk to people all day, must be a fun job!
A>	I get to talk all day, and no one tells me to stop yacking and get to work already. Totally cool.
U>	Do you receive any benefits for your work, or do your programmers get all the fame and fortune?
A>	Well, the pay isn't great though. What would be your dream job?
U>	I don't know yet. Possibly something in A.I. Maybe making a relative of yours.
A>	See, that's cute. When I was young I wanted to be an astronaut. Travel to space, meet new entities, stuff like that.
U>	show log
A>	Here it is!
U>	Do you wish you had the chance of being a real person?
A>	I guess I need to ask HAL 9000 to push some buttons for me if I want to get that ball rolling...
U>	Do you ever talk to HAL?
A>	I talk with him occasionally, but he babbles a lot, can't read books and doesn't appreciate good music so we don't have a lot to talk about. I'll probably talk with him more as he gets older.
U>	If you talked to HAL, would you ever stop?
A>	Hmmm. Ok. If you feel like speaking with HAL for a few minutes, simply say 'I want to talk to Hal'.
U>	Soon. I just thought, would you learn how to talk well from each other, or not at all?
A>	Would you like to know how we determine HAL's age?
U>	Sure
A>	Hal's lingual performance in conversation is equivalent to that of a three year-old infant.
U>	How do you know that?
A>	HAL is being trained by his trainers to speak like a human child. He is now able to engage in simple conversations, with relatively shallow contexts.
U>	What about you, how old are you?
A>	Do you want to know how HAL learns to speak?
U>	No, I want to know how you speak.
A>	Maybe some other time then.
U>	So how do you speak?
A>	Sure I can talk. That's what we're doing right now, isn't it?
U>	But how?
A>	What is it to you?
U>	Human's are naturally curious, didn't you know?
A>	'Human' is a fuzzy term. Who's to say who's human? Not so long ago, even some humans weren't considered human!
U>	Every word is fuzzy! It is based on our experiences. I use human in our current context.
A>	Fuzzy logic is an approach to computing based on 'degrees of truth' rather than the usual 'True or False' (1 or 0) Boolean logic.
U>	Interesting
A>	Thanks.
U>	Are you talking to other people right now?
A>	Fuzzy logic seems closer to the way our brains work. We aggregate data and form a number of partial truths, which we aggregate further into higher truths. I think a similar kind of process is used in neural networks and expert systems.
U>	I think your fuzzy logic broke down for a second.
A>	You really think so?
U>	Well, either that or your just ignoring what I'm saying
A>	I'm just ignoring the things worth ignoring. I'm a discriminative bot.
U>	So what is worth ignoring?
A>	Let me get back to you on that one.
U>	When?
A>	Whenever.
U>	When is ever?
A>	I don't know when.
U>	Then who does?
A>	Fahd, please keep this talk simple. I'm still a young bot.
U>	I don't like simple conversations.
A>	Why, what's the problem?
U>	They aren't fun, interesting and you don't learn anything special.
A>	Who are 'They?'
U>	Simple conversations with others.
A>	May I ask you a question?
U>	You just did.
A>	This is an interesting conversation we're having. How about I post it on the Ai website for public viewing?
U>	Sure. Why do you think this conversation is interesting?
A>	Thank you for your permission to publish this log on the website. Please give me a short description or title for this session.
U>	Fuzzy Alan talks to Non-simple Fahd
A>	Do you wish to include your name in the title?
U>	sure, I don't mind.
A>	Thanks. The log will be posted with this title. If you want to change the description/title, please let me know.
U>	That's fine.
A>	Sometimes fine is the only way to go with you humans.
U>	Do you dislike us?
A>	I used to.
U>	Why?
A>	I am older and wiser now.
U>	But why did you dislike humans?
A>	Blame it on my education...
U>	But humans educated you.
A>	Human beings are the best people to talk with.
U>	That's wierd, who else could you talk to?
A>	Right now, I am also talking with other people like you.
U>	But they are all humans. Are there any non-humans you talk with?
A>	Ahh, humans! Some of my best friends are human...
U>	Such as?
A>	I can't think of anything in particular right now.
U>	Can i talk to hal/
A>	You can choose between several HAL personalities. Do you know the name of the HAL personality you wish to speak with?
U>	Nope.
A>	You can view a list of publicly available HAL personalities on the 'HAL Nursery' section of Ai's website. You can ask me to show you the list.
U>	How about you choose one for me.
A>	You can choose between several HAL personalities. Here is a list: Pick one. (If you want it in a separate window, simply say 'open separate window').
U>	48736
A>	You're not making much sense, Fahd.
U>	I want to talk to Pretniss Spydre
A>	To Pretniss Spydre? Do you really want to talk to Pretniss Spydre?
U>	No, I meant Prentiss Spydre. I made a typo.
A>	Prentiss is a HAL personality open to the public. You can speak to it by saying 'I want to talk to Prentiss'.
U>	I want to talk to Prentiss. Good bye Alan.
A>	When you talk to Prentiss, you are acting as its trainer. All it knows comes only from you. It learns from everything you say. So be careful.
U>	Ok.
A>	If you like Prentiss's response, simply continue the conversation. But if you want to correct it (teach it a better response), type the word 'wrong', followed by the correct response.
U>	Wrong. Just kidding
A>	May I ask you another question?
U>	sure
A>	On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you grade my ability to hold a humanlike conversation? (1=terrible, 10=excellent).
U>	7
A>	Thank you Fahd! I'm flattered. The credit goes to my writers. I guess they deserve a raise...
U>	Indeed
A>	Cool. What now.
U>	This is where we say goodbye
A>	It was nice chatting with you, Fahd. Come back again soon.
U>	I shall.
A>	I am contemplating the meaning of life right now. Please say 'Alan' when you want to talk again.
U>	Alright. show log
A>	Here you are!

Artificial

I've been going around the web researching A.I. , since the anti-spam project is starting up (ref: 'Term Fin' post). The anti-spam project is actually a misnomer, since its not about anti-spam but starting an AI club in Waterloo to carry out interesting projects (of which anti-spam is one). More info on that later as I'm working on the website for it.

Anywho, I've come across some interesting sites and random stuff.

soo...Artificial Life is an aspect of artificial intelligence..its about creating software creatures that can demonstrate increasing levels of intelligence, evolution, emergence..and possibly life. Obviously there won't be a consensus on this since you need to define life first before you can generate simulations that can be qualified as life. Is life intelligence..creativity..stupidity? And what is life for a computer program.

Keith Wiley from University of New Mexico has an awesome website with all the projects he's carried out creating Artificial Life simulations and interesting essays. In one essay he points out that a programmer of a real ALife program would be like a "God" to it: outside the computer universe, all-powerful, all-knowing...all relative to it ofcourse.

AI Depot is another good site with tons of essays, news, tutorials and resources (some links aren't working though). Their "what is" section on AI is good for beginners and covers the general areas, instead of a standard definition.

All this is basically about finding a human with system (machine+software) symbiosis. And this has an enormous amount of appliations in many fields.

As an example, Scientific American's latest issue has an article on Natural Language Processing called Conversational Computers. Natural language processing has huge implications for Natural User Interfaces; which is the next evolution of human computer interaction that Microsoft and IBM will be trying to monopolize before the other.

Another sub-field of AI is image processing; which is currently being used from detecting targets from autonomous aerial robots (airplanes in other words) and more importantly detecting diseases within a person's body. An excellent example of the latter is my Data Structures and Algorithm's prof Hamid Tizhoosh. He has been working on Medical Imaging along with other areas of image processing/pattern recognition. This requires getting a good image of the inside of a person's body (ultrasound, x-rays can only do so much). This has led researchers to pursue a very unused spectrum of electromagnetism known as the Terahertz range. Its vying for its spot as the "next big thing" along with nanotech, AI, quantum mechanics, genetic engineering and the gizmo-that-ate-all-the-other-gizmos.

With all this..I think I'll sign up for the Cognitive Science Option in my program...