A meeting of the minds: the World’s Greatest Detective investigates the World’s Greatest Detective.
Sorry Ben, I think they’ve got you beat: a truly epic Sierpinski Pyramid.
Darth Vader was a towering figure of evil in the Galactic Empire. Also, kind of a smartass.
At the intersection of computer programming and Ayn Rand lies Objectivist C. This should be hilarious for approximately two of you.
xkcd delivers the funny once again.
Have a great (and hopefully long) weekend. See you next week!
All this week I’ve talked about AI in theory, but why not chat with an actual AI right now? Cleverbot can hold a conversation pretty well – just type in the box and hit Enter, and it’ll “type” a response. For instance, a second ago we started a conversation (no joke!) just like this:
Me: Do you like my blog?
Cleverbot: No.
Gulp. Well, at least it’s honest. Anyway, Cleverbot isn’t actually intelligent (as you’ll discover if you try to talk about the same thing for more than a few lines) but it’s fun for a while.
Programs like Cleverbot are called chat bots. There’s an annual prize for the best chat bot, called the Loebner Prize. Want to win $5,000? Write your own chat bot and win the contest!
Not exactly artificial intelligence, but artificial life: Conway’s Game of Life is a very cool, very simple game invented back in 1970. You can’t lose or win, but you can make some amazing patterns. If you’ve never tried it before, give it a shot. You’re in for a treat.
I can’t let AI Week pass without linking to Isaac Asimov’s short story, “The Last Question.” Not only the best AI story I know, this is the best short story I’ve ever read, period. It’s a quick read.
Did you know there’s a whole organization dedicated to studying and preparing for the Singularity? Welcome to the world of the Singularity Institute.
Speaking of the Singularity…I’ve posted this link once before, but it’s so perfect I have to put it up again. This comic from SMBC demonstrates the Singularity in four simple, elegant pictures. Don’t know if that’s what he intended or not, but that’s certainly how I interpret it.
Don’t forget, it’s AI week at the Trube blog too! He has his own thoughts on language and intelligence, the Singularity, and the AI from Deus Ex. He also posted a forty-minute story of his own, and today he’s going to talk about the best Star Trek episodes with Data. Check it out!
Got any links to share? Put ’em in the comments! Have a stellar weekend, and see you on Monday.
We’ll start with Awesome People Hanging Out Together, a Tumblr that delivers exactly what it promises. See photos of Paul McCartney rocking out with Zooey Deschanel, William Shatner cracking up Stan Lee, and – most incredibly – Carl Sagan chilling with the Dalai Lama. Dozens of others. Enjoy!
For a new perspective on your blogging, try UpsideDownText.com. How well does it work? ¡llǝʍ ʎʇʇǝɹd sʞɹoʍ ʇI
Now, perhaps the coolest javascript hack I’ve ever seen: Katamari Hack. Turn any web page into a Katamari Damacy level, rolling your ball around and picking up words and pictures, getting bigger as you go.
We all know the myth of the creative genius who isolates himself for years, focusing obsessively on his work before finally unleashing it on the public. Well, it isn’t a myth. Here are 12 real-life examples of brilliant people who loved solitude, from Nikola Tesla to Stanley Kubrick to Henry David Thoreau. Get thee to a cloister!
And finally: the best xkcd I’ve seen in a long time.
NEXT WEEK the Buckley blog will be all about artificial intelligence, with my esteemed colleague Benjamin Trube playing along over on his corner of the Interwebs. We’ll cover everything from Asimov’s Three Laws to Lieutenant Commander Data, from the Singularity to principles of design. The fun starts Monday, so don’t miss it!
Have a great weekend.
I’ve already gotten two great questions on yesterday’s Ask Brian Anything. Still plenty of time to get yours in. Questions can be as weird, obscure, personal, or profound as you like, on absolutely any subject whatsoever, so ask yours now!
Next up, the new trailer for Dark Knight Rises. If you haven’t already clicked Play, I don’t know what else I can tell you:
On a different note, somewhat less apocalyptically grim, you may also enjoy the Stormtrooper Shuffle.
(Really, Firefox? You’ve never heard of “apocalyptically”? You need more creative programmers. Though to be fair, your spelling suggestion “apocalyptic ally” is epic enough to make up for it.)
Nedroid this week offers a phenomenal webcomic about database hacking. Probably the most realistic depiction I’ve ever seen.
Finally, if you didn’t catch the thrilling conclusion to Ben Trube’s very own Fractal Week, now’s your chance! Watch as he builds a three-dimensional Sierpinski Pyramid out of marshmallows. Delicious!
The link above also features a sketch I drew of Mr. Trube engaged in deadly combat with a fractal. My drawing features arcane mathematical humor and unnecessary alliteration. Who could resist?
Have a great weekend! Go watch The Avengers, it’s out today! See you on Monday!
Fractal Week on the Buckley blog is over, but if you’re still in the mood for some sweet, sweet fractal action, then my good friend Ben Trube has the hookups. This week he rocked out with the Sierpinski Triangle, the Koch Snowflake, the Dragon Curve (my personal favorite), and the Labyrinth. Unlike the Mandelbrot Set, these are all fractals you can easily draw yourself! Go check ’em out.
So apparently there’s this Flash game called Super Mario Crossover, where you can play Super Mario Bros. as Samus, Link, Mega Man, and the dude from Contra. It’s free, nothing to download, just click and play. Epic. Even better, the game’s creator said in an interview that he’ll soon be adding Ryu, star of Ninja Gaiden, to the mix. You can watch the trailer right here.
Next up, a hilarious video of a guy reading a love poem. It starts a little slow, with a long explanation of how and why he wrote it, but you can skip straight to 1:55 for the beginning of the poem itself.
Speaking of hilarious videos: Liam Neeson vs. Patrick Stewart. What else can I say?
Now the webcomics:
Finally, it seems the xkcd cartoonist has been reading my blog! Okay, not really – but this comic fits perfectly with one of my posts from March, and this other comic about Skynet ties in nicely with an older post. Randall Munroe, I’m watching you!
That’s all for this week, peeps. See you on Monday. Have a funktastic weekend!
First up, we have a variation on the Mandelbrot Set called the Buddhabrot, so named for its resemblance to the seated Buddha. They take the M-set, rotate it 90 degrees, and do some cool probabilistic effects to make it look ghostly. Here’s the result (click to enlarge):
We’ve also got an incredible 10-minute dive into the unfathomably microscopic reaches of the M-Set, right here:
And finally, reader Alex Caswell asked yesterday if I knew of any other sweet fractal patterns besides the M-Set. Absolutely! Here’s one called the Burning Ship Fractal:
Many more pictures of the Burning Ship, even cooler than the one above, are right here.
This concludes Fractal Week. It’s been fun! Have a great weekend. I’ll be back Monday with, I don’t know, something that isn’t about math!
I’m a bit late to the game this morning, but no apologies – it’s Good Friday, after all!
Since we just did a two-part course on sonnet-writing (see part 1, part 2) I thought y’all might appreciate this fine example of the form I discovered recently.
As reader buddhafulkat recently pointed out, April is National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). The goal is to write a poem a day for 30 days. If you start now, you’d technically be six days behind, but I won’t tell if you won’t.
Speaking of which…I think anyone who’s written poetry knows what this comic is talking about.
SMBC Theater presents: Existential Crisis and Dragons. Roll a D20 to overcome your deep-seated sense of worthlessness!
A beautiful, real-time wind map of the United States.
A researcher claims the chess opening, King’s Gambit, has been solved. Yes, solved. As in, discovered the outcome assuming perfect play from both sides. I still have some doubts based on the way he described his method, but it’s a fascinating read nonetheless.
There are two types of people in this world: people who want to see President Obama giving the Vulcan “live long and prosper” hand signal next to Nichelle Nichols, and people who don’t. If you’re one of the former, click here.
Yay for webcomics about utilitarianism!
And finally: one of the best clips I’ve ever seen from Pinky and the Brain.
Have an exceptional weekend. I’ll see you on Monday!
This guy carves hardcover books into beautiful miniature landscapes, creating art out of art. (Try doing that with a Kindle!)
Kind of old news, but in case you haven’t heard, a dude skydived from 13 miles up. It was a practice run for another jump later this year from 23 miles, breaking the all-time record of 19 miles set back in 1960. In so doing, he will break the sound barrier. Just sayin’.
This week, a cornucopia of comics. (A comicopia?) High-quality comedic action from:
And finally, this is just gorgeous.
Have an outstanding weekend.
It’s a geeky Friday, people. If any of you mainstream types are reading this blog (though that’s hard to imagine), this may not be your day.
First up, this is the coolest website I’ve found in quite a while: TED.com, a collection of fascinating video lectures on a vast array of topics. I’ve watched 3D printers build human organs and mini-copter robots flying in eerie formation. The best one I’ve seen so far is this neuroscientist’s detailed account of her own stroke and the transcendent, Zen-like awe that comes from losing your sense of self.
I’ve also started listening to The Writer’s Almanac online. It’s a daily five-minute NPR segment, but the radio version plays during the work day, so I don’t get to hear it while I’m driving. Let Garrison Keillor’s soothing voice inform you about the history of the writing world, then read you a poem. It’s like after-dinner mints for your brain.
For the Trekkies: here’s Brent Spiner, the actor who played Data, doing a dead-on impersonation of Patrick Stewart (Picard). Epic.
For Zelda fans (Zeldies?): possibly the most intense marimba-based rendition of the Zelda theme song you’ll ever hear. I know, right?
That’s all for this week. A big storm’s rumbling outside, and it’s Friday. How could you ask for anything better?
Have a phenomenal weekend.
So much fantastic stuff to share with you this week! Hold on tight, I’ve only got twenty minutes to type it all up.
Here’s a stunning photo of a praying mantis (or some similar-looking insect) with early-morning dew on its compound eyes.
A 3-D, interactive panorama of the Sistine Chapel. Beautiful.
A slow-motion video of an owl swooping in for the kill. The last few seconds, with the claws opening, are especially cool.
Did you know the Gettysburg Address was only ten sentences long? If you’ve never read it before, why not read it now? It isn’t often you can finish one of the great historical texts in a couple of minutes.
Speaking of Abraham Lincoln, check out this glorious bad-hair photo. I love how his expression says, “Take my picture, I don’t give a shit!” (Paraphrasing – naturally.)
Also – did you know that Miguel de Cervantes (author of Don Quixote) died on the same day as William Shakespeare – but in a different calendar? Cervantes died on April 23, 1616, in the Gregorian calendar – the one we use today. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, in the Julian calendar, used in England at the time. Same date, ten days apart.
ALSO also, for you Trekkies out there, did you know Deanna Troi’s eyes were completely black? How did I not realize this until yesterday?!
WordPressers – we now have country stats for our visitors! There’s a link on the “Site Stats” page for the moment, though apparently it’ll be moving to the main page soon. TIL that I have a reader in Sri Lanka.
Finally, the usual webcomic roundup. SMBC nails it. xkcd nails it twice.
Have a stellar weekend. See you Monday!
Brian D. Buckley 