Busy beaver machines and the observant otter heuristic

The busy beaver problem is to find the maximum number of non-zero characters that can be printed by an n-state Turing machine of a particular type. A critical step in the solution of this problem is to determine whether or not a given n-state Turing machine halts on a blank input. Given the enormous output sizes that can be produced by some small machines, it becomes critical to have appropriate methods for dealing with the exponential behaviour of both terminating and nonterminating machines. In this paper, we investigate a heuristic which can be used to greatly accelerateexecution of this class of machines. This heuristic, which we call the observant otter, is based on the detection of patterns earlier in the execution trace. We describe our implementation of this method and report various experimental results based on it, including showing how it can be used to evaluate all known 'monster' machines, including some whose naive execution would take around 10^36,534 steps

The Busy Beaver, the Placid Platypus and other Crazy Creatures

The busy beaver is an example of a function which is not computable. It is based on a particular class of Turing machines, and is defined as the largest number of 1's that can be printed by a terminating machine with n states. Whilst there have been various quests to determine the precise value of this function (which is known precisely only for n # 4), our aim is not to determine this value per se, but to investigate the properties of this class of machines. On the one hand, these are remarkably simple (and, intuitively, form perhaps the simplest class of computationally complete machines); on the other hand, as some of the machines for n = 6 show, they are capable of representing phenomenally large numbers. We describe our quest to better understand these machines, including the placid platypus problem, ie. to determine the minimum number of states needed by a machine of this type to print a given number of 1's

Play Among Books

How does coding change the way we think about architecture? Miro Roman and his AI Alice_ch3n81 develop a playful scenario in which they propose coding as the new literacy of information. They convey knowledge in the form of a project model that links the fields of architecture and information through two interwoven narrative strands in an “infinite flow” of real books

Play Among Books

How does coding change the way we think about architecture? Miro Roman and his AI Alice_ch3n81 develop a playful scenario in which they propose coding as the new literacy of information. They convey knowledge in the form of a project model that links the fields of architecture and information through two interwoven narrative strands in an “infinite flow” of real books

‘Dark mirror of the water’: Spectrality in Climate and Hydro-Fictions & Museum of Water, a creative archive

Water is under threat. Rising temperatures, unchecked depletion of million-year-old aquifers, and widespread pollution are all having a catastrophic impact on the hydrological cycle. This creative-critical thesis examines how a capitalist-charged climate crisis is negatively affecting crucial water sources the world over and, ultimately, makes a case for greater hydrological and cross-species awareness. In the critical component, I bring material ecocriticism and environmental humanities thought to bear on climate and hydro-fiction texts to excite discourse on and wider acknowledgement of the inseparability between human and nonhuman, as well as everything and water. I examine how environmental spectres haunt the present and can effectively open a line of preventative communication if one is only willing to listen. I also put forward the new term ‘Energy-Gothic’ as a lens to essay texts that explore the ruination of resource-rich locations in the quest of power (energy/status). Similarly, the creative component highlights these ideas of interconnectivity in the face of ecological crisis through the form of a novel-length creative archive of hybrid work. This archive is asynchronous and atemporal, leaning heavily into Speculative Fiction techniques to illuminate today’s problems. Here, original work of poetry, prose and creative non-fiction runs alongside the fictional and factual work of others, often bleeding into one another to create one (dis)harmonious voice of protestation and anger. A problem as widespread as the climate crisis, after all, requires a global coming-together

Econstruction : the nature/culture opposition in texts about whales and whaling

A perceived opposition between \u27culture\u27 and \u27nature\u27, presented as a dominant, biased and antagonistic relationship, is engrained in the language of Western culture. This opposition is reflected in, and adversely influences, our treatment of the ecosphere. I argue that through the study of literature, we can deconstruct this opposition and that such an ‘ecocritical’ operation is imperative if we are to avoid environmental catastrophe. I examine the way language influences our relationship with the world and trace the historical conception of ‘nature’ and its influence on the English language. The whale is, for many people, an important symbol of the natural world, and human interaction with these animals is an indication of our attitudes to the natural world in general. By focusing on whale texts (including older narratives, whaling books, novels and other whale-related texts), I explore the portrayal of whales and the natural world. Lastly, I suggest that Schopenhaurean thought, which has affinities in Moby-Dick, offers a cogent approach to ecocritically reading literature

Bowdoin Orient v.131, no.1-24 (1999-2000)

https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/bowdoinorient-2000s/1000/thumbnail.jp

Cavalier

198

Bowdoin Orient v.86, no.1-24 (1956-1957)

https://digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/bowdoinorient-1950s/1007/thumbnail.jp