by cg on November 23, 2006
It’s called FatKat, and apparently uses AI to make stock buy and sell decisions, according to the NY Times. The article goes on to discuss hedge funds that use AI and genetic algorithms to find arbitrage opportunities that less sophisticated software might miss. An emerging problem is the ‘black box’ issue: machines evaluate completely random rules that humans would never consider and combine the most successful ones. The evolved machine concepts can be completely outside human understanding or intuition.
As a result, the decisions that come out are such that a human has no idea if the black box is broken or operating at peak efficiency. Says MIT’s Andrew Lo “As with any black box, if you don’t know why it works, you won’t realize when it’s stopped working. Even a broken watch is right twice a day.†Scary…
by cg on November 23, 2006
Reading of Optio’s plight, Roger suggested replacing him with this Lumix model, which features a rotating viewfinder. Amazingly, this 10.1 megapixel Lumix FZ50, featuring a fast Schneider zoom is only $129 more than the Pentax when new. I can imagine saying to Linda, with a straight face, I’ve had to repair the Pentax 3 times now, it’s cheaper to buy a new camera.’ But here’s what I really want…
by cg on November 23, 2006
It heartened me this morning to read, in the Guardian, that the Vatican is considering partially relinquishing its ban on condoms. The church’s ban has weighed heavily on impoverished, Catholic countries (Haiti comes to mind) that contribute greatly to the 8,000 a day who die of AIDS.
Condoms can be used for contraception, condoms can be used for sex between unmarried partners and homosexuals can use condoms: therefore, in the church’s estimation (particularly that of the office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) it would seem the potential for sin outweighs the potential for saving life.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith by the way, is the modern name for that wing of the Church that once conducted the Inquisition. A new name perhaps, but no less lethal behavior, it would seem.
The condom ban is a very interesting position for a church that is one of the major proponents of the ‘culture of life.’ It would seem that, in the Church’s estimation, holding the doctrinal high ground against the sin of fornication is worth 8,000 deaths a day, at least some of which could be prevented were condoms more readily available.
My former pastor once spoke of conditions in Haiti, a place he had visited. The Catholic Church’s opposition to condoms meant that they were all but unavailable in that ravaged, impoverished, all-but-failed state. AIDS workers will tell you that getting teenagers to use condoms is already an uphill battle, much less when condoms are not available. Haiti has the highest rate of HIV infection of any nation outside of Africa.
The Church is not considering allowing condoms to be widely distributed, by the way: it is only considering allowing married couples to use them in the instance where one partner is HIV-positive or suffering from AIDS. Many respected Cardinals are pushing for this change, as is the Archbishop of Canterbury and the leadership of the World Health Organization. A small step, to be sure, and it has yet to be approved or announced.
I have tried, and prayed, to see this position in any light other than a complete moral failure: that so many of the most helpless and vulnerable people in this world should bear this needless and heavy burden is unconscionable in my mind. While high Church beaureaucrats debate fine points of an ancient and convoluted theology (wrought by men, and not revealed by Christ as far as I can tell), thousands, including children, fall daily. And Jesus wept…
by cg on November 23, 2006
Paul and Greg left comments about Optio: Paul noting that a low angle with conventional digital cameras can make for an interesting picture vs. the more usual mugging that people are wont to do when they know they are being photographed. Greg, ever the curious investigator, wants to know why the camera failed.
Pictured above are the Nikon Coolpix 995 and the Pentax Optio X: the Nikon is more heavily built, presents a bulkier profile, and just basically looks like a more serious camera (which, in a number of ways, it is). Technology advances give the Optio a 5 MB sensor, vs. 3 MB in the older Nikon: that said, the Nikon’s lens is superior to the Pentax, especially wide open (small f-stops), but the Pentax is remarkable for the amount of performance it squeezes into a tiny, lightweight package. Kudos to the designer. You can see from the scratches on the Nikon, how my gear tends to get beat from frequent usage – the Nikon has endured where the smaller, lighter Pentax did not. Friday Optio goes off to Pentax North America repair for a quote…