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Today's Topics:
1. Re: random vs pseudo-random (Robert Howard)
2. City University of Santa Fe (Nicholas Thompson)
3. Re: City University of Santa Fe (Merle Lefkoff)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:50:52 -0700
From: "Robert Howard" <r...@symmetricobjects.com>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] random vs pseudo-random
To: "'The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group'"
<friam@redfish.com>
Message-ID: <51b6afc7bb264c819415f37865c2f...@core2duo>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
The really cool thing about this is that the total complexity of the
Multiverse is really, really small, namely that of a fairly simple equation
called Shroedinger's equation like you suggest."
That would make sense if for every bit created its complementary bits were
also created somewhere else. If the multi-universe is a reversible computer,
then the total sum of everything would be nothing, which is the motto of
your book. It sure is a lot simpler to explain nothing overall than
something specific. :-)
Rob
-----Original Message-----
From: friam-boun...@redfish.com [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com] On Behalf
Of russell standish
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 11:34 PM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] random vs pseudo-random
On Thu, Apr 23, 2009 at 11:37:35AM -0700, Robert Howard wrote:
I suppose Dennett is implying that the linear congruential generator below
would take at least the number of bits in variables a, b, m, and x[0]. If
those are 1-byte integers, then the bit count is at least 32 bits. There?s
overhead for the actual code too. How do you measure that? Suppose the
answer is 100 bits for the code including state. Then if you use it to
generate a sequence of one gazillion values, that sequence would only
contain the equivalent of 100 bits of information because it can be
generated by a 100 bit algorithm.
Yes.
I still suspect there might be circular logic here. Do we place no value
on
the energy needed to generate it?
That's right. Information is a purely information theoretic
construct. Energy doesn't come into it.
What if our entire universe can be described in a very simple equation
that
is just generated recursively or fractally by many iterations? If that
equation was less than a megabyte, then would we argue that the entire
works
of Shakespeare must have less information?
No, because the universe did not produce Shakespeare by a
deterministic process. Every time a quantum measurement is taken of
something that might have one of two values, a bit of information is
generated. Information can be also be lost, a process known as quantum
erasure. This explains why the universe we see today is less complex
than it would naively seem if every particle generated a new bit of
information each Planck time.
This is perhaps most easily seen in the Many Worlds Interpretation,
although it is not necessary for the MWI to be true for information to
increase in our universe. In the MWI, the Universe splits each time a
measurement is taken, so one ends up with some enormous number of
parallel universes. In most of those universes, Shakespeare never
existed, and so the works of Shakespeare never materialised. Only in
our special neck of the woods are there Shakespearian tragedies, and
many more things that even more complex (eg human brains).
The really cool thing about this is that the total complexity of the
Multiverse is really, really small, namely that of a fairly simple
equation called Shroedinger's equation like you suggest.
If you want to know more, please take a look at my book "Theory of
Nothing".
Cheers
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prof Russell Standish Phone 0425 253119 (mobile)
Mathematics
UNSW SYDNEY 2052 hpco...@hpcoders.com.au
Australia http://www.hpcoders.com.au
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:16:17 -0600
From: "Nicholas Thompson" <nickthomp...@earthlink.net>
Subject: [FRIAM] City University of Santa Fe
To: friam@redfish.com
Cc: John Weckesser <jw...@csf.edu>
Message-ID: <380-22009462501617...@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
All,
I again attended the meeting of the goverenor's task force to
suggest what to do about the impending demise of the college of
Santa Fe. The accoustics in the room were terrible and so my report
will be more brief. Also, there seemed to be an attentive reporter
from the New Mexican there, so I imagine there will be something
fairly informative in tomorrow's papers.
Briefly, something seems to be taking shape for higher education in
Santa Fe. Economic analyses seem to suggest that the impact of
having (or losing) the college upon the city of Santa Fe is of the
order of HUNDREDS of millions of dollars. (sic!) In other words, the
City cannot afford not to save or replace the college. The
outlines are as follows:
(1) City of Santa Fe takes ownership of most of the campus through a
bond issue. The rest is obtained by state or other enterprises
having to do with education.
(2) Laureate College leases 3/4 of the campus and takes change of
the College of Santa Fe. On this scenario, the college is up and
going in the fall. Laureate is a for profit enterprise that boasts
500,000 students world wide. It can sustain substantial losses for
a few years and is apparently willing to do so, but believes that
it can make a profit running an art school here, if it can lease
the property from the city at market rates.
(3) Something else educational will happen with the rest of the
college and the rest of the land.
I still think, even within this frame work, there is a place for a
framework that embraces all the educational and quasi educational
institution in the city as The City University of Santa Fe.
Laureate U. seems possibly a benign force under the present
circumstances, but we dont want them wagging the Santa Fe
Educational Dog. And I still think it is important to pull together
the people in Santa Fe who feel they benefit from having
institutuions of higher learning in the city.
I just cant think how.
There is another meeting of the task force from ten to noon THIS
wednesday, probably it's last meeting.
Nick
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
Clark University (nthomp...@clarku.edu)
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
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Message: 3
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:17:16 -0600
From: Merle Lefkoff <me...@arspublica.org>
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] City University of Santa Fe
To: nickthomp...@earthlink.net, The Friday Morning Applied Complexity
Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com>
Message-ID: <49f272ac.7050...@arspublica.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Nicholas Thompson wrote:
All,
I again attended the meeting of the goverenor's task force to suggest
what to do about the impending demise of the college of Santa Fe. The
accoustics in the room were terrible and so my report will be more
brief. Also, there seemed to be an attentive reporter from the New
Mexican there, so I imagine there will be something fairly informative
in tomorrow's papers.
Briefly, something seems to be taking shape for higher education in
Santa Fe. Economic analyses seem to suggest that the impact of
having (or losing) the college upon the city of Santa Fe is of the
order of HUNDREDS of millions of dollars. (/sic!)/ In other words, the
City cannot afford not to save or replace the college. The outlines
are as follows:
(1) City of Santa Fe takes ownership of most of the campus through a
bond issue. The rest is obtained by state or other enterprises having
to do with education.
(2) Laureate College leases 3/4 of the campus and takes change of the
College of Santa Fe. On this scenario, the college is up and going in
the fall. Laureate is a for profit enterprise that boasts 500,000
students world wide. It can sustain substantial losses for a few
years and is apparently willing to do so, but believes that it can
make a profit running an art school here, if it can lease the property
from the city at market rates.
(3) Something else educational will happen with the rest of the
college and the rest of the land.
I still think, even within this frame work, there is a place for a
framework that embraces all the educational and quasi educational
institution in the city as The City University of Santa Fe.
Laureate U. seems possibly a benign force under the present
circumstances, but we dont want them wagging the Santa Fe Educational
Dog. And I still think it is important to pull together the people in
Santa Fe who feel they benefit from having institutuions of higher
learning in the city.
I just cant think how.
There is another meeting of the task force from ten to noon THIS
wednesday, probably it's last meeting.
Nick,
Why can't you think how? I thought you were an applied complexity
scientist. I can think of a lot of "hows." Maybe I'll go to the
meeting Wednesday before I leave town again.
Merle
Nick
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology,
Clark University (nthomp...@clarku.edu <mailto:nthomp...@clarku.edu>)
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
============================================================
FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv
Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College
lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
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End of Friam Digest, Vol 70, Issue 28
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