Einstein for the 21St Century
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Anthropic Measure of Hominid (And Other) Terrestrials. Brandon Carter Luth, Observatoire De Paris-Meudon
Anthropic measure of hominid (and other) terrestrials. Brandon Carter LuTh, Observatoire de Paris-Meudon. Provisional draft, April 2011. Abstract. According to the (weak) anthropic principle, the a priori proba- bility per unit time of finding oneself to be a member of a particular popu- lation is proportional to the number of individuals in that population, mul- tiplied by an anthropic quotient that is normalised to unity in the ordinary (average adult) human case. This quotient might exceed unity for conceiv- able superhuman extraterrestrials, but it should presumably be smaller for our terrestrial anthropoid relations, such as chimpanzees now and our pre- Neanderthal ancestors in the past. The (ethically relevant) question of how much smaller can be addressed by invoking the anthropic finitude argument, using Bayesian reasonning, whereby it is implausible a posteriori that the total anthropic measure should greatly exceed the measure of the privileged subset to which we happen to belong, as members of a global civilisation that has (recently) entered a climactic phase with a timescale of demographic expansion and technical development short compared with a breeding gen- eration. As well as “economist’s dream” scenarios with continual growth, this finitude argument also excludes “ecologist’s dream” scenarios with long term stabilisation at some permanently sustainable level, but it it does not imply the inevitability of a sudden “doomsday” cut-off. A less catastrophic likelihood is for the population to decline gradually, after passing smoothly through a peak value that is accounted for here as roughly the information content ≈ 1010 of our genome. The finitude requirement limits not just the future but also the past, of which the most recent phase – characterised by memetic rather than genetic evolution – obeyed the Foerster law of hyperbolic population growth. -
Oral History Interview with Nicholas Krushenick, 1968 Mar. 7-14
Oral history interview with Nicholas Krushenick, 1968 Mar. 7-14 Contact Information Reference Department Archives of American Art Smithsonian Institution Washington. D.C. 20560 www.aaa.si.edu/askus Transcript Preface The following oral history transcript is the result of a tape-recorded interview with Nicholas Krushenick on March 7, 1968. The interview was conducted in New York by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Interview PAUL CUMMINGS: This is March 7, 1968. Paul Cummings talking to Nicholas Krushenick. You’re a rare born New Yorker? NICHOLAS KRUSHENICK: Yes. One of the last. PAUL CUMMINGS: Let’s see, May 31, 1929. NICHOLAS KRUSHENICK: Very Young. PAUL CUMMINGS: That’s the year to do it. NICHOLAS KRUSHENICK: That’s the year of the zero, the crash. PAUL CUMMINGS: Well, why don’t you tell me something about your family, what part of New York you were born in. NICHOLAS KRUSHENICK: I was born up in the Bronx in a quiet little residential neighborhood. Luckily enough my father actually brought me into the world. The doctor didn’t get there soon enough and my father did the operation himself; he ties the knot and the whole thing. When the doctor got there he said it was a beautiful job. And I went to various public schools in the Bronx. PAUL CUMMINGS: You have what? –one brother? More brothers? Any sisters? NICHOLAS KRUSHENICK: Just one brother. PAUL CUMMINGS: What did you live in – a house? Or an apartment? NICHOLAS KRUSHENICK: No. Actually it was the Depression days. And we were the superintendents of a building. -
Editorial Note To: Brandon Carter, Large Number Coincidences and the Anthropic Principle in Cosmology
Gen Relativ Gravit (2011) 43:3213–3223 DOI 10.1007/s10714-011-1257-8 GOLDEN OLDIE EDITORIAL Editorial note to: Brandon Carter, Large number coincidences and the anthropic principle in cosmology George F. R. Ellis Published online: 27 September 2011 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Keywords Cosmology · Confrontation of cosmological theories with observational data · Anthropic principle · World ensemble · Golden Oldie Editorial The anthropic principle is one of the most controversial proposals in cosmology. It relates to why the universe is of such a nature as to allow the existence of life. This inevitably engages with the foundations of cosmology, and has philosophical as well as technical aspects. The literature on the topic is vast—the Carter paper reprinted here [10] has 226 listed citations, and the Barrow and Tipler book [3] has 1,740. Obviously I can only pick up on a few of these papers in this brief review of the impact of the paper. While there were numerous previous philosophical treatises on the topic, stretching back to speculations about the origin of the universe in ancient times (see [3]fora magisterial survey), scientific studies are more recent. A well known early one was by biologist Alfred Russell Wallace, who wrote in 1904: “Such a vast and complex uni- verse as that which we know exists around us, may have been absolutely required … in order to produce a world that should be precisely adapted in every detail for the orderly development of life culminating in man” [50]. But that was before modern cosmology was established: the idea of the expanding and evolving universe was yet to come. -
Fall 201720172017
2017 2017 2017 2017 Fall Fall Fall Fall This content downloaded from 024.136.113.202 on December 13, 2017 10:53:41 AM All use subject to University of Chicago Press Terms and Conditions (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/t-and-c). American Art SummerFall 2017 2017 • 31/3 • 31/2 University of Chicago Press $20 $20 $20 $20 USA USA USA USA 1073-9300(201723)31:3;1-T 1073-9300(201723)31:3;1-T 1073-9300(201723)31:3;1-T 1073-9300(201723)31:3;1-T reform reform reform reform cameras cameras cameras cameras “prints” “prints” “prints” “prints” and and and and memory memory memory memory playground playground playground playground of of of Kent’s of Kent’s Kent’s Kent’s guns, guns, guns, guns, abolitionism abolitionism abolitionism abolitionism art art art art and and and and the the the the Rockwell literary Rockwell Rockwell literary literary Rockwell issue literary issue issue issue Group, and Group, and Group, and Group, and in in in in this this this this Homer—dogs, Homer—dogs, Homer—dogs, Place Homer—dogs, Place Place Place In In In In nostalgia Park nostalgia nostalgia Park Park nostalgia Park Duncanson’s Duncanson’s Duncanson’s Duncanson’s Christenberry the Christenberry S. Christenberry the S. the S. Christenberry the S. Winslow Winslow Winslow Winslow with with with with Robert Robert Robert Robert Suvero, Suvero, Suvero, Suvero, William William William William di di di Technological di Technological Technological Technological Hunting Hunting Hunting Hunting Mark Mark Mark Mark Kinetics of Liberation in Mark di Suvero’s Play Sculpture Melissa Ragain Let’s begin with a typical comparison of a wood construction by Mark di Suvero with one of Tony Smith’s solitary cubes (fgs. -
Annual Report to Industry Canada Covering The
Annual Report to Industry Canada Covering the Objectives, Activities and Finances for the period August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009 and Statement of Objectives for Next Year and the Future Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics 31 Caroline Street North Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5 Table of Contents Pages Period A. August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2009 Objectives, Activities and Finances 2-52 Statement of Objectives, Introduction Objectives 1-12 with Related Activities and Achievements Financial Statements, Expenditures, Criteria and Investment Strategy Period B. August 1, 2009 and Beyond Statement of Objectives for Next Year and Future 53-54 1 Statement of Objectives Introduction In 2008-9, the Institute achieved many important objectives of its mandate, which is to advance pure research in specific areas of theoretical physics, and to provide high quality outreach programs that educate and inspire the Canadian public, particularly young people, about the importance of basic research, discovery and innovation. Full details are provided in the body of the report below, but it is worth highlighting several major milestones. These include: In October 2008, Prof. Neil Turok officially became Director of Perimeter Institute. Dr. Turok brings outstanding credentials both as a scientist and as a visionary leader, with the ability and ambition to position PI among the best theoretical physics research institutes in the world. Throughout the last year, Perimeter Institute‘s growing reputation and targeted recruitment activities led to an increased number of scientific visitors, and rapid growth of its research community. Chart 1. Growth of PI scientific staff and associated researchers since inception, 2001-2009. -
PEN (Organization)
PEN (Organization): An Inventory of Its Records at the Harry Ransom Center Descriptive Summary Creator: PEN (Organization) Title: PEN (Organization) Records Dates: 1912-2008 (bulk 1926-1997) Extent: 352 document boxes, 5 card boxes (cb), 5 oversize boxes (osb) (153.29 linear feet), 4 oversize folders (osf) Abstract: The records of the London-based writers' organizations English PEN and PEN International, founded by Catharine Amy Dawson Scott in 1921, contain extensive correspondence with writer-members and other PEN centres around the world. Their records document campaigns, international congresses and other meetings, committees, finances, lectures and other programs, literary prizes awarded, membership, publications, and social events over several decades. Call Number: Manuscript Collection MS-03133 Language: The records are primarily written in English with sizeable amounts in French, German, and Spanish, and lesser amounts in numerous other languages. Non-English items are sometimes accompanied by translations. Note: The Ransom Center gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the National Endowment for the Humanities, which provided funds for the preservation, cataloging, and selective digitization of this collection. The PEN Digital Collection contains 3,500 images of newsletters, minutes, reports, scrapbooks, and ephemera selected from the PEN Records. An additional 900 images selected from the PEN Records and related Ransom Center collections now form five PEN Teaching Guides that highlight PEN's interactions with major political and historical trends across the twentieth century, exploring the organization's negotiation with questions surrounding free speech, political displacement, and human rights, and with global conflicts like World War II and the Cold War. Access: Open for research. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials. -
Robert Morris, Minimalism, and the 1960S
City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 1988 The Politics of Experience: Robert Morris, Minimalism, and the 1960s Maurice Berger Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1646 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photograph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. -
A Quasicrystal for Cherry Valley-1
The Visual and Structural Properties of Quasicrystals Key words: Quasicrystal Sculpture, Quasicrystal Architecture, Stability A Quasicrystal for Cherry Valley A visually rich and complex quasicrystal sculpture is quickly assembled with relatively few standard parts of only three types. Quasicrystals fill space with a non-repeating pattern; parts repeat, but not at regular intervals. In two dimensions, the pattern might be a Penrose tessellation, although other similar patterns could also be in this category. In three dimensions, the units are two skewed cubes, and in a lattice structure these can be made with rods and dodecahedral nodes. All the rods are of the same length; all the nodes are the same and in the same orientation; all the faces of the lattice are the same rhomb, and can be filled with identical plates. For the Cherry Valley Sculpture Exhibition of 2012, I made a quasicrystal sphere. It has a triacontahedral hull – a 30 sided figure that derives from the fusion of a regular dodecahedron and a regular icosahedron. Nested inside my hull is a rhombic icosahedron and nested inside that is a rhombic dodecahedron. Even though all the parts are standard, the sculpture has 2-fold symmetry (of squares), 3-fold symmetry (of triangles and hexagons), and 5-fold symmetry (of star pentagons), depending on the location of the viewer. This wonderful complexity of aspect is also apparent in the shadows that the sculpture casts. Structural considerations As an artist, I am primarily concerned with the visual properties of quasicrystals; for a wider application to architecture, however, the structural and rigidity properties of these structures must be understood. -