Pioneers on the air: BBC radio broadcasts on computers and A.I., 1946-56

Between 1946 and 1956, a number of BBC radio broadcasts were made by pioneers in the fields of computing, artificial intelligence and cybernetics. Although no sound recordings of the broadcasts survive, transcripts are held at the BBC's Written Archives Centre at Caversham in the UK. This paper is based on a study of these transcripts, which have received little attention from historians. The paper surveys the range of computer-related broadcasts during 1946–1956 and discusses some recurring themes from the broadcasts, especially the relationship of 'artificial intelligence' to human intelligence. Additionally, it discusses the context of the broadcasts, both in relation to the BBC and to contemporary awareness of computers

How Ordinary Elimination Became Gaussian Elimination

Newton, in notes that he would rather not have seen published, described a process for solving simultaneous equations that later authors applied specifically to linear equations. This method that Euler did not recommend, that Legendre called "ordinary," and that Gauss called "common" - is now named after Gauss: "Gaussian" elimination. Gauss's name became associated with elimination through the adoption, by professional computers, of a specialized notation that Gauss devised for his own least squares calculations. The notation allowed elimination to be viewed as a sequence of arithmetic operations that were repeatedly optimized for hand computing and eventually were described by matrices.Comment: 56 pages, 21 figures, 1 tabl

Can a computer be "pushed" to perform faster-than-light?

We propose to "boost" the speed of communication and computation by immersing the computing environment into a medium whose index of refraction is smaller than one, thereby trespassing the speed-of-light barrier.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, presented at the UC10 Hypercomputation Workshop "HyperNet 10" at The University of Tokyo on June 22, 201

Artificial life meets computational creativity?

I review the history of work in Artificial Life on the problem of the open-ended evolutionary growth of complexity in computational worlds. This is then put into the context of evolutionary epistemology and human creativity

Agonistic behavior of captive saltwater crocodile, crocodylus porosus in Kota Tinggi, Johor

Agonistic behavior in Crocodylus porosus is well known in the wild, but the available data regarding this behavior among the captive individuals especially in a farm setting is rather limited. Studying the aggressive behavior of C. porosus in captivity is important because the data obtained may contribute for conservation and the safety for handlers and visitors. Thus, this study focuses on C. porosus in captivity to describe systematically the agonistic behaviour of C. porosus in relation to feeding time, daytime or night and density per pool. This study was carried out for 35 days in two different ponds. The data was analysed using Pearson’s chi-square analysis to see the relationship between categorical factors. The study shows that C. porosus was more aggressive during daylight, feeding time and non-feeding time in breeding enclosure (Pond C, stock density =0.0369 crocodiles/m2) as compared to non-breeding pond (Pond B, stock density =0.3317 crocodiles/m2) where it is only aggressive during the nighttime. Pond C shows the higher domination in the value of aggression in feeding and non-feeding time where it is related to its function as breeding ground. Chi-square analysis shows that there is no significant difference between ponds (p=0.47, χ2= 2.541, df= 3), thus, there is no relationship between categorical factors. The aggressive behaviour of C. porosus is important for the farm management to evaluate the risk in future for the translocation process and conservation of C. porosus generally

The view from elsewhere: perspectives on ALife Modeling

Many artificial life researchers stress the interdisciplinary character of the field. Against such a backdrop, this report reviews and discusses artificial life, as it is depicted in, and as it interfaces with, adjacent disciplines (in particular, philosophy, biology, and linguistics), and in the light of a specific historical example of interdisciplinary research (namely cybernetics) with which artificial life shares many features. This report grew out of a workshop held at the Sixth European Conference on Artificial Life in Prague and features individual contributions from the workshop's eight speakers, plus a section designed to reflect the debates that took place during the workshop's discussion sessions. The major theme that emerged during these sessions was the identity and status of artificial life as a scientific endeavor

Warren McCulloch and the British cyberneticians

Warren McCulloch was a significant influence on a number of British cyberneticians, as some British pioneers in this area were on him. He interacted regularly with most of the main figures on the British cybernetics scene, forming close friendships and collaborations with several, as well as mentoring others. Many of these interactions stemmed from a 1949 visit to London during which he gave the opening talk at the inaugural meeting of the Ratio Club, a gathering of brilliant, mainly young, British scientists working in areas related to cybernetics. This paper traces some of these relationships and interaction