Distributed associative memories for high-speed symbolic reasoning

This paper briefly introduces a novel symbolic reasoning system based upon distributed associative memories which are constructed from correlation matrix memories (CMM). The system is aimed at high-speed rule-based symbolic operations. It has the advantage of very fast rule matching without the long training times normally associated with neural-network-based symbolic manipulation systems. In particular, the network is able to perform partial matching on symbolic information at high speed. As such, the system is aimed at the practical use of neural networks in high-speed reasoning systems. The paper describes the advantages and disadvantages of using CMM and shows how the approach overcomes those disadvantages. It then briefly describes a system incorporating CMM

A Biologically Informed Hylomorphism

Although contemporary metaphysics has recently undergone a neo-Aristotelian revival wherein dispositions, or capacities are now commonplace in empirically grounded ontologies, being routinely utilised in theories of causality and modality, a central Aristotelian concept has yet to be given serious attention – the doctrine of hylomorphism. The reason for this is clear: while the Aristotelian ontological distinction between actuality and potentiality has proven to be a fruitful conceptual framework with which to model the operation of the natural world, the distinction between form and matter has yet to similarly earn its keep. In this chapter, I offer a first step toward showing that the hylomorphic framework is up to that task. To do so, I return to the birthplace of that doctrine - the biological realm. Utilising recent advances in developmental biology, I argue that the hylomorphic framework is an empirically adequate and conceptually rich explanatory schema with which to model the nature of organism

Towards a microscopic understanding of phonon heat conduction

Heat conduction by phonons is a ubiquitous process that incorporates a wide range of physics and plays an essential role in applications ranging from space power generation to LED lighting. Heat conduction has been studied for over two hundred years, yet many microscopic aspects of heat conduction have remained unclear in most crystalline solids, including which phonons carry heat and how natural and artificial structures scatter specific phonons. Fortunately, recent advances in both computation and experiment are enabling an unprecedented microscopic view of thermal transport by phonons. In this topical review, we provide an overview of these methods, the insights they are providing, and their impact on the science and engineering of heat conduction

Simple Proof Of A Known Result In Random-Walk Theory

Mathematic

Multidimensional quasiballistic thermal transport in transient grating spectroscopy

Transient grating spectroscopy has emerged as a useful technique to study thermal phonon transport because of its ability to perform thermal measurements over length scales comparable to phonon mean free paths (MFPs). While several prior works have performed theoretical studies of quasiballistic heat conduction in transient grating, the analysis methods are either restricted to one spatial dimension or require phenomenological fitting parameters. Here, we analyze quasiballistic transport in a two-dimensional transient grating experiment, in which heat conduction can occur both in- and cross-plane, using an analytic Green's function of the Boltzmann equation we recently reported that is free of fitting parameters. We demonstrate a method by which phonon MFPs can be extracted from these measurements, thereby extending the MFP spectroscopy technique using transient grating to opaque bulk materials

A Reflection of Cultural Exchange

While still in the midst of their study abroad experiences, students at Linfield College write reflective essays. Their essays address issues of cultural similarity and difference, compare lifestyles, mores, norms, and habits between their host countries and home, and examine changes in perceptions about their host countries and the United States. In this essay, Austin Browning describes his observations during his study abroad program at Hong Kong Baptist University in Hong Kong, China

East of Eden: A Contractual Lens for an Unsettled Area of First Amendment Shunning Jurisprudence

The Free Exercise Clause was enacted for the purpose of protecting diverse modes of religious practice. One practice that numerous religious traditions observe is shunning—the expulsion and social exclusion of noncompliant individuals from a religious community. Yet because shunning usually involves concomitant harm to religious congregants, plaintiffs often bring religious-tort claims against religious entities for the injuries they suffer. This implicates free-exercise concerns for both the plaintiff and the religious-entity defendant. Despite the utmost importance of religious freedom in American jurisprudence, courts analyze religious-tort claims in widely disparate ways. And they typically rely on consent and membership as the basis for judicial decisionmaking. But these analytical lenses are flimsy and lead to unpredictable outcomes. At times, they are underprotective of religious plaintiffs; at others, they penalize religious entities and chill religious practices. In order to clarify a muddled sphere of free-exercise jurisprudence, courts should adopt a contract paradigm for analyzing shunning claims. A contract paradigm would lead to cleaner results and would uphold the integrity of religious institutions, which are necessary for religious individuals to thrive

Thermal phonon boundary scattering in anisotropic thin films

Boundary scattering of thermal phonons in thin solid films is typically analyzed using Fuchs-Sondheimer theory, which provides a simple equation to calculate the reduction of thermal conductivity as a function of the film thickness. However, this widely-used equation is not applicable to highly anisotropic solids like graphite because it assumes the phonon dispersion is isotropic. Here, we derive a generalization of the Fuchs-Sondheimer equation for solids with arbitrary dispersion relations and examine its predictions for graphite. We find that the isotropic equation vastly overestimates the boundary scattering that occurs in thin graphite films due to the highly anisotropic group velocity, and that graphite can maintain its high in-plane thermal conductivity even in thin films with thicknesses as small as ten nanometers

The Invisible Power of MacHines Revisiting the Proposed Flash Order Ban in the Wake of the Flash Crash

Technological innovation continues to make trading and markets more efficient, generally benefitting market participants and the investing public. But flash trading, a practice that evolved from high-frequency trading, benefits only a select few sophisticated traders and institutions with the resources necessary to view and respond to flashed orders. This practice undermines the basic principles of fairness and transparency in securities regulation, exacerbates information asymmetries and harms investor confidence. This iBrief revisits the Securities and Exchange Commission\u27s proposed ban on the controversial practice of flash trading and urges the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to implement the ban across the securities and futures markets. Banning flash trading will not impact high-frequency trading or other advantageous innovative trading practices, and will benefit all market participants by making prices and liquidity more transparent. In the wake of the May 6, 2010 flash crash and the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, now is an opportune time for the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission to implement the ban

Hierarchical word clustering - automatic thesaurus generation

In this paper, we propose a hierarchical, lexical clustering neural network algorithm that automatically generates a thesaurus (synonym abstraction) using purely stochastic information derived from unstructured text corpora and requiring no prior word classifications. The lexical hierarchy overcomes the Vocabulary Problem by accommodating paraphrasing through using synonym clusters and overcomes Information Overload by focusing search within cohesive clusters. We describe existing word categorisation methodologies, identifying their respective strengths and weaknesses and evaluate our proposed approach against an existing neural approach using a benchmark statistical approach and a human generated thesaurus for comparison. We also evaluate our word context vector generation methodology against two similar approaches to investigate the effect of word vector dimensionality and the effect of the number of words in the context window on the quality of word clusters produced. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach and its superiority to existing techniques. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved