[FRIAM] ** reminder today ** Lecture Wednesday, August 15 12:30p: Gil Densmore: World of Warcraft
** reminder today ** Gil Densmore TITLE: Welcome to the World of Warcraft TIME: Wednesday, August 15 12:30p LOCATION: Redfish Conference Room, 624 Agua Fria Street, Santa Fe, NM Lunch will be available for $5 purchase ABSTRACT: This aims to be a un-talk covering: What is the World of Warcraft. However, since hearing someone blather on about a game is - well - monumentally boring (for me anyway) I am going to demo it - that is bring up a session, show some apsects of the game and answer some questions as best I can. I hope to see you all there and plan to have a great WedTech. 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
[FRIAM] Evolution in vary environments
Roger, Is it possible w e are confusing two variables here? Variability in the environment and isolation of the environment from others. Galapagos Islands have both a high level of endemicity and many missing taxa, no? So, Madagascar is just a rather extreme example of island geography? Nick Nick Message: 24 Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:06:54 -0600 From: "Roger Critchlow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Evolution in varying environments To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], "The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group" Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" On 8/14/07, Nicholas Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hmm Roger. I always thought that unpredictable environments contribute > more within-species diversitity and FEWER species. > > Nick > Nick -- Apparently a generalization that fits some of the facts. The communities of Madagascar are characterized by high levels of endemicity, great species diversity in some taxonomic groups, and a complete absence of others. -- rec -- -- next part -- Nicholas S. Thompson Research Associate, Redfish Group, Santa Fe, NM ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Professor of Psychology and Ethology, Clark University ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) 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
[FRIAM] Urban simulation models on Kieth Olbermann tonight on MSNBC
All: I was not able to find any specifics on this, but MSNBC promos today (Wednesday) are hyping a segment on Kieth Olbermann's show tonight about the "most impressive simulations of cities." Check your local listings. -tj -- == J. T. Johnson Institute for Analytic Journalism -- Santa Fe, NM USA www.analyticjournalism.com 505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h) http://www.jtjohnson.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." -- Buckminster Fuller == 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
Re: [FRIAM] Evolution in vary environments
Nick -- I can't tell whether you're worried that I'm misrepresenting the findings of the paper or that the authors are ignorant of island biogeography. I said: "The second, which was published a day earlier, is about the same thing, only for real. The environment in Madagascar is diverse, but the diverse regions all share an unpredictable rainfall through the year and year to year. This unpredictability is proposed to contribute to the unusual diversity of mammals found." Maybe diversity is the wrong word. It isn't the one the authors chose in their abstract. The issue is the extreme spread of life cycle adaptation among the mammals found. -- rec -- On 8/15/07, Nicholas Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Roger, > > Is it possible w e are confusing two variables here? Variability in the > environment and isolation of the environment from others. > > Galapagos Islands have both a high level of endemicity and many missing > taxa, no? So, Madagascar is just a rather extreme example of island > geography? > > Nick > > Nick > > > > Message: 24 > Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:06:54 -0600 > From: "Roger Critchlow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Evolution in varying environments > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], "The Friday Morning Applied > Complexity Coffee Group" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Message-ID: > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]><[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > On 8/14/07, Nicholas Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]><[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > > > > Hmm Roger. I always thought that unpredictable environments contribute > > more within-species diversitity and FEWER species. > > > > Nick > > > > Nick -- > > Apparently a generalization that fits some of the facts. > > The communities of Madagascar are characterized by high > levels of endemicity, great species diversity in some taxonomic > groups, and a complete absence of others. > > -- rec -- > -- next part -- > > > Nicholas S. Thompson > Research Associate, Redfish Group, Santa Fe, NM ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) > Professor of Psychology and Ethology, Clark University ( > [EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > > > > 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
Re: [FRIAM] Evolution in vary environments
If memory serves, Madagascar had an anomolous geological history, vis a vis large-scale tectonic plate movements. That could (if accurate) be relevant to its evolutionary pattern. db On Aug 15, 2007, at 11:42 AM, Nicholas Thompson wrote: Roger, Is it possible w e are confusing two variables here? Variability in the environment and isolation of the environment from others. Galapagos Islands have both a high level of endemicity and many missing taxa, no? So, Madagascar is just a rather extreme example of island geography? Nick Nick Message: 24 Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 20:06:54 -0600 From: "Roger Critchlow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Evolution in varying environments To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], "The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group" Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" On 8/14/07, Nicholas Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hmm Roger. I always thought that unpredictable environments contribute > more within-species diversitity and FEWER species. > > Nick > Nick -- Apparently a generalization that fits some of the facts. The communities of Madagascar are characterized by high levels of endemicity, great species diversity in some taxonomic groups, and a complete absence of others. -- rec -- -- next part -- Nicholas S. Thompson Research Associate, Redfish Group, Santa Fe, NM ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Professor of Psychology and Ethology, Clark University ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) 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 dba | David Breecker Associates, Inc. Santa Fe: 505-690-2335 Abiquiu: 505-685-4891 www.BreeckerAssociates.com 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
[FRIAM] More on "Second Life" in libraries
Somewhat related to Gil's presentation today at Wedtech. -tj -- Forwarded message -- From: gary price <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Aug 15, 2007 2:56 PM Subject: Re: [newslib] More on "Second Life" in libraries To: The NewsLib mailing list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Also of potential interest: 1) Centers for Disease Control buys Second Life Island http://www.resourceshelf.com/2007/08/14/briefs-cdc-buys-island-on-second-life/ 2) ALA/Arts Island Set to Open in Second Life (via ALA) http://www.resourceshelf.com/2007/03/02/briefs-the-library-of-congress-first-annual-gershwin-prize-for-popular-song-awarded-to-paul-simon/ 3) Alliance Second Life Library 2.0 http://www.talis.com/tdn/node/1506 cheers, gary == J. T. Johnson Institute for Analytic Journalism -- Santa Fe, NM USA www.analyticjournalism.com 505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h) http://www.jtjohnson.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] "You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." -- Buckminster Fuller == 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
[FRIAM] Fwd: Cheney on why we shouldn't invade Iraq -- 1994
Now THIS IS weird! Begin forwarded message: > Date: August 15, 2007 7:16:36 PM MDT > Subject: Cheney on why we shouldn't invade Iraq -- 1994 > > http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9a8_1186873756 > > I guess it was Bush's idea after all! Or Cheney lost his marbles. > Or is something else going on? -- Owen 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
Re: [FRIAM] Pascal's Wager and Kant's Categorical Imperative
Interesting. Thank you, Ian. Which is why, suicide threats, no matter how implausible and how subtle, from loved onces are so devastating. Nick - Original Message - From: Ian P. Cook To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 8/14/2007 5:01:42 AM Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Pascal's Wager and Kant's Categorical Imperative David, >And BTW, I think the Pascal analogy is excellent, with due attention to >Marcus' caveat about measurability. >db I guess I'd seen Marcus' point as demonstrating why Pascal's wager wasn't at all applicable. As I understand it, the wager is entirely dependent on the payoff to believing in God's existence (and God existing) being infinite. It's the only way it totally dominates all other actions (vs non belief whether God does or does not exist, that is). Otherwise it's just a cost-benefit calculation. And while we can certainly talk about the benefits of acting in regards to climate change now even if the change isn't primarily anthropogenic vs non-action when it is, the only way to make the analogy, I would think, is to suggest that action now has an infinite payoff. The trouble with that, though, is that it means we should accept ANY further wager that might result in the outcome with the infinite payoff being realized. One should, it seems, be willing to take my wager on whether or not I can personally reverse climate change in exchange for all your wealth. Whether or not I could do it, there just might be a non-zero subjective probability that I COULD, which means you should take the bet -- since the expected payoff is still infinite -- and hand over everything. In terms of Pascal's wager, that is the argument for doubters: if you are even willing to entertain a tiny belief that there is some non-zero probability that God exists, you should still pray/become a "believer". No matter the personal effort and cost of belief, there is no way it will surpass the expected value of the bet. This doesn't work if the payoff isn't infinite, since some countervailing return to tip things back towards the non-believer side. On 8/14/07, David Breecker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Sorry Nick, I inadvertantly omitted your key question to which I was replying, which was: >>I do worry about complexity thinking leading to fatalism. If a goddamned butterfly can cause a climate crash, why take responsibility for ANYTHING we do. We should all be dionysians. I think Kant offers a solid explanation for why one should (must) act "responsibly." At the very least, he's the only reason I vote in Presidential elections. More tomorrow if folks are still interested, when I'm less Dionysian and more sober-- I mean, Apollonian ;-) And BTW, I think the Pascal analogy is excellent, with due attention to Marcus' caveat about measurability. db On Aug 13, 2007, at 10:05 PM, Nicholas Thompson wrote: David, Can you explain this relation a bit further. Sorry if I am being dim, but I did not quite understand your comment. Let's say we are on the QE2 which, for some reason is inclined to be a bit tippy. We notice that the passengers are gathering on the right side of the ship, which is OK so long as the water is calm, but would be disastrous if a storm came. We have no particular reason to believe that a storm is coming, except that half the meteorologists in the Captain's meteorological committee think that there is. You and I get together and decide that it would be a good idea for some of us to move over to the other side of the boat. Now, certainly this is not a CATEGORICAL imperative. I certainly cannot will that EVERYBODY go over to the other side of the boat. So what kind of an imperative is it. How is it possible for everybody to act so that the boat is in balance. This would have everybody constantly moving from one side of the boat to the other, like one of those models of neighborhood integration where either the neighborhood is unintegrated or everybody is unhappy. How DOES one square Kant with ABM's??? And what did it have to do with Pascal's Wager in the first place? Nick - Original Message - From: David Breecker To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ;The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group Sent: 8/13/2007 4:31:20 PM Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Pascal's Wager and Global Warming Kant's Categorical Imperative is the answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categorical_imperative He defined an imperative as any proposition that declares a certain action (or inaction) to be necessary. A hypothetical imperative would compel action in a given circumstance: If I wish to satisfy my thirst, then I must drink something . A categorical imperative would denote an absolute, unconditional requirement that exerts its authority in all circumstances, both required and justified as an end in itself. It is best known in its first formulation: "Act only according to that
