As I mentioned in my previous post, at IBM Innovation Center in Chicago they have a Watson (more info here) interactive kiosk with which to play an interactive game of Jeopardy. In case you have been living in a cave for the past few months, Watson beat Jeopardy human champions on live TV, the significance of which can not be overstated.
Now, remember: this is a “small version” of Watson, and a “self-contained” version of Jeopardy.
After posting graphs and cold data (quite ilustrative, I believe), and the discussion it has generated (people, why don`t you use the “comment” instead all the other unstructured methods you are using?), please let me write a caveat about graphs and cold data.
In my high-tech gym, you have the option to have a lot of data collected, for your own, private and personal use. It seems like a great idea at first.
While generalizations are usually absurd and damaging (asking “What is it like to be in a relationship with someone who has Asperger`s?” is almost as ridiculous a generalization as asking “What is it like to be in a relationship with a blonde?”) it is true that in general, working with an autistic person may be hard, living with one could be unbearable, and being one is…
Some, let`s seek relief and help in knowledge.
When a M. Phil. from Cambridge, A.B. from Harvard, and M.D. from UCal writes an article insisting on a probabilistic fallacy, a trap where, in one way or another, many have fallen (from Eccles to Nagel), and this article is echoed in many sites (such as BoingBoing) and an infographic is made and becomes staff pick at visual.ly… then you know ignorance is everywhere and very dangerous.
Read the article, then read Roy Weatherford`s “Philosophical foundations of probability theory” (or maybe something simpler), and once you grasp the concept of “a priori theories of probability”, laugh at those who think each one of us is a miracle… we all are, but not because the probability of us being born is extremely small.
We all know TED. But there is a lot of information and academic material freely available online. Luckily that material is growing (education and science have always been areas which, unlike what copyrights zealots might want you to think, have grown thanks to sharing knowledge).
Some examples that I have found amazing:
– Integrative Biology, UCBerkley (English)
– Videos from Nobel lectures at Gustavus Adolphus College (English)
– Lectures on current neuroscience issues by Professor Francisco Rubia (Spanish)
