The metaphysics of the Time-Machine

The concept of time-travel is a modern idea which combines the imaginary signification of rational domination, the imaginary signification of technological omnipotence, the imaginary concept of eternity and the imaginary desire for immortality. It is a synthesis of central conceptual schemata of techno-science, such as the linearity and homogeneity of time, the radical separation of subjectivity from the world, the radical separation of the individual from his/her social-historical environment. The emergence of this idea, its spread during the 20th century as a major theme of science fiction literature alongside its dissemination as a scientific hypothesis, its popularity with both the public and the scientific community, are indications of the religious role of techno-science. It is my opinion, finally, that, as a chimera, time-travel is non-feasible and impossible. In order to support my claims, I will briefly outline the origins of the time-travel concept and its epistemological and metaphysical/ontological conditions. If these conditions prove to be absurd, the logical impossibility of time-travel will have been demonstrated

Separation of line drawings based on split faces for 3D object reconstruction

© 2014 IEEE. Reconstructing 3D objects from single line drawings is often desirable in computer vision and graphics applications. If the line drawing of a complex 3D object is decomposed into primitives of simple shape, the object can be easily reconstructed. We propose an effective method to conduct the line drawing separation and turn a complex line drawing into parametric 3D models. This is achieved by recursively separating the line drawing using two types of split faces. Our experiments show that the proposed separation method can generate more basic and simple line drawings, and its combination with the example-based reconstruction can robustly recover wider range of complex parametric 3D objects than previous methods.This work was supported by grants from Science, Industry, Trade, and Information Technology Commission of Shenzhen Municipality (No. JC201005270378A), Guangdong Innovative Research Team Program (No. 201001D0104648280), Shenzhen Basic Research Program (JCYJ20120617114614438, JC201005270350A, JCYJ20120903092050890), Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department (No. 13C073), Industrial Technology Research and Development Program of Hengyang Science and Technology Bureau (No.2013KG75), and the Construct Program of the Key Discipline in Hunan Provinc

Science, Politics, and Values: The Politicization of Professional Practice Guidelines

The Connecticut Attorney General’s recent allegations that the Infectious Disease Society of America violated antitrust law through its treatment guidelines for Lyme disease were neither based in sound science or appropriate legal judgment. Strong scientific evidence favors IDSA’s position that chronic infection with the etiologic agent of Lyme disease does not occur in the absence of objective signs of ongoing infection and that long-term antibiotic use to treat dubious infection, recommended in the quasi-scientific guidelines put forth by the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), are of no benefit. In siding with ILADS and other chronic Lyme disease advocates, ultimately forcing IDSA to settle lest it expend exorbitant legal costs, the attorney general abused science and his public trust. This case exemplifies the politicization of health policy and confuses the relative spheres inhabited by normative discourse and scientific inquiry. Science should provide the evidentiary base for normative discussions, and values and politics will always be important in deciding how science is applied for human benefit. But a wall of separation is needed between science, values, and politics, as medical science, and the patients who depend on it, is too important for political distortion

Quality in Measurement: Beyond the deployment barrier

Network measurement stands at an intersection in the development of the science. We explore possible futures for the area and propose some guidelines for the development of stronger measurement techniques. The paper concludes with a discussion of the work of the NLANR and WAND network measurement groups including the NLANR Network Analysis Infrastructure, AMP, PMA, analysis of Voice over IP traffic and separation of HTTP delays into queuing delay, network latency and server delay

Understanding science in conservation: A Q method approach on the galαpagos islands

The variety of perspectives that conservation practitioners and scientists from different disciplinary backgrounds have towards the role of science in conservation add to the already complex nature of most contemporary conservation challenges, and may result in conflict and misunderstanding. This study used Q method (a form of discourse analysis with roots in psychology) in order to uncover the range of perspectives on the science/conservation interface currently held by scientists and conservation managers working on the Galαpagos Islands. The aim was to facilitate mutual understanding and communication between proponents of the various viewpoints, as well as to expose the subjective values, assumptions, and interests on which these opinions are constructed, to critical scrutiny. Twenty-seven people from a range of disciplinary and professional backgrounds carried out a Q test consisting of a sample of 34 selected opinion statements. Four statistically different perspectives emerged from the analysis, emphasising different concerns and highlighting different understandings of science and conservation. The perspectives have been labelled as: 1) Science for management; 2) Freedom of science; 3) Limits of science; and 4. Separation of science and conservation. The similarities and differences between the perspectives are discussed in depth, and the implications for conservation practice are explored in light of the current literature

Towards a loophole-free test of Bell's inequality with entangled pairs of neutral atoms

Experimental tests of Bell's inequality allow to distinguish quantum mechanics from local hidden variable theories. Such tests are performed by measuring correlations of two entangled particles (e.g. polarization of photons or spins of atoms). In order to constitute conclusive evidence, two conditions have to be satisfied. First, strict separation of the measurement events in the sense of special relativity is required ("locality loophole"). Second, almost all entangled pairs have to be detected (for particles in a maximally entangled state the required detector efficiency is 82.8%), which is hard to achieve experimentally ("detection loophole"). By using the recently demonstrated entanglement between single trapped atoms and single photons it becomes possible to entangle two atoms at a large distance via entanglement swapping. Combining the high detection efficiency achieved with atoms with the space-like separation of the atomic state detection events, both loopholes can be closed within the same experiment. In this paper we present estimations based on current experimental achievements which show that such an experiment is feasible in future.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Advanced Science Letter