ROBOTS in ASIMOV's SHORT STORIES Majed S Allehaibi
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Nanoelectronics the Original Positronic Brain?
Nanoelectronics the Original Positronic Brain? Dan Hammerstrom Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Portland State University Maseeh College of Engineering 12/13/08 1 and Computer Science Wikipedia: “A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov “Its role is to serve as a central computer for a robot, and, in some unspecified way, to provide it with a form of consciousness recognizable to humans” How close are we? You can judge the algorithms, in this talk I will focus on hardware and what the future might hold Maseeh College of Engineering 12/13/08 Hammerstrom 2 and Computer Science Moore’s Law: The number of transistors doubles every 18-24 months No discussion of computing is complete without addressing Moore’s law The semiconductor industry has been following it for almost 30 years It is not really a physical law, but one of faith The fruits of a hyper-competitive $300 billion global industry Then there is Moore’s lesser known 2nd law st The 1 law requires exponentially increasing investment And what I call Moore’s 3rd law st The 1 law results in exponentially increasing design errata Maseeh College of Engineering 12/13/08 Hammerstrom 3 and Computer Science Intel is now manufacturing in their new, innovative 45 nm process Effective gate lengths of 37 nm (HkMG) And they recently announced a 32 nm scaling of the 45 nm process Transistors of this size are no longer acting like ideal switches And there are other problems … 45 nm Transistor -
How Not to Succeed in Law School
Essays How Not to Succeed in Law School James D. Gordon HIIt I. SHOULD You Go TO LAW SCHOOL? Would you like to help the less fortunate? Would you like to see liberty and justice for all? Do you want to vindicate the rights of the oppressed? If so, you should join the Peace Corps. The last thing you should do is attend law school. People basically hate lawyers, and with good reason. That's why you'll rarely escape from a dinner party without hearing at least one lawyer joke. Indeed, literature reveals that people have always hated lawyers. Samuel Coleridge wrote in The Devil's Thoughts: He saw a Lawyer killing a Viper On a dunghill hard by his own stable; t Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School. B.A. 1977, Brigham Young University; J.D. 1980, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley. Just for the record (in case I am ever nominated for ajudicial appointment), I don't believe a word of this Essay. And if I do, I'm only being tentative. And if I'm not, I promise to let my colleagues dissuade me from my position shortly before the Senate confirmation hearings begin. After all, I watched the Bork hearings, too. I extend apologies and thanks to Dave Barry, Eliot A. Butler, Linda Bytof, Johnny Carson, Steven Chidester, Jesse H. Choper, Michael Cohen, Paul Duke, Vaughn J. Featherstone, J. Clifton Fleming, Jr., Frederick Mark Gedicks, Bruce C. Hafen, Carl S. Hawkins, Gregory Husisian, Brian C. Johnson, Edward L. Kimball, Jay Leno, Hans A. -
Remembering Racial Integration in Teaneck, New Jersey, 1949 – 1968
Reputation and Reality in America’s Model Town: Remembering Racial Integration in Teaneck, New Jersey, 1949 – 1968 Rachel Mark Senior Thesis Department of History, Columbia University April 4, 2011 Acknowledgements In ‟65 tension was running high at my high school/ There was a lot of fights between the black and white/There was nothing you could do…/ Troubled times had come to my hometown/ My hometown/ My hometown/ My hometown - Bruce Springsteen, “My Hometown” This thesis investigates how integration is remembered in Teaneck, NJ, the first town in the nation to vote for integrated schools. While I observe in this thesis that the reality of integration ultimately fell short of the goals set by the activists themselves, I do not wish to take away from these individuals and their honorable actions. In a time when the country faced fierce segregation and racism, a majority in Teaneck stepped up and voted for what they believed in their hearts was right: equal education. As a third generation Teaneck resident, I feel a close connection to this story. My grandparents still vividly remember casting their votes for integration, and my mother went to the central sixth grade school created as part of the original integration plan. And at the outset, I would like to thank my parents – Joseph and Meryl Mark – and grandparents – Abraham and Sheila Schlussel, and Norman and Frances Mark – for not just providing me with a topic for my thesis but also for instilling a love of education and learning that inspired me to undertake the project in the first place. -
Adventuring with Books: a Booklist for Pre-K-Grade 6. the NCTE Booklist
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 311 453 CS 212 097 AUTHOR Jett-Simpson, Mary, Ed. TITLE Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K-Grade 6. Ninth Edition. The NCTE Booklist Series. INSTITUTION National Council of Teachers of English, Urbana, Ill. REPORT NO ISBN-0-8141-0078-3 PUB DATE 89 NOTE 570p.; Prepared by the Committee on the Elementary School Booklist of the National Council of Teachers of English. For earlier edition, see ED 264 588. AVAILABLE FROMNational Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801 (Stock No. 00783-3020; $12.95 member, $16.50 nonmember). PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Reference Materials - Bibliographies (131) EDRS PRICE MF02/PC23 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Annotated Bibliographies; Art; Athletics; Biographies; *Books; *Childress Literature; Elementary Education; Fantasy; Fiction; Nonfiction; Poetry; Preschool Education; *Reading Materials; Recreational Reading; Sciences; Social Studies IDENTIFIERS Historical Fiction; *Trade Books ABSTRACT Intended to provide teachers with a list of recently published books recommended for children, this annotated booklist cites titles of children's trade books selected for their literary and artistic quality. The annotations in the booklist include a critical statement about each book as well as a brief description of the content, and--where appropriate--information about quality and composition of illustrations. Some 1,800 titles are included in this publication; they were selected from approximately 8,000 children's books published in the United States between 1985 and 1989 and are divided into the following categories: (1) books for babies and toddlers, (2) basic concept books, (3) wordless picture books, (4) language and reading, (5) poetry. (6) classics, (7) traditional literature, (8) fantasy,(9) science fiction, (10) contemporary realistic fiction, (11) historical fiction, (12) biography, (13) social studies, (14) science and mathematics, (15) fine arts, (16) crafts and hobbies, (17) sports and games, and (18) holidays. -
Brains, Minds, and Computers in Literary and Science Fiction Neuronarratives
BRAINS, MINDS, AND COMPUTERS IN LITERARY AND SCIENCE FICTION NEURONARRATIVES A dissertation submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. by Jason W. Ellis August 2012 Dissertation written by Jason W. Ellis B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006 M.A., University of Liverpool, 2007 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2012 Approved by Donald M. Hassler Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Tammy Clewell Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Kevin Floyd Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Eric M. Mintz Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Arvind Bansal Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Accepted by Robert W. Trogdon Chair, Department of English John R.D. Stalvey Dean, College of Arts and Sciences ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iv Chapter 1: On Imagination, Science Fiction, and the Brain ........................................... 1 Chapter 2: A Cognitive Approach to Science Fiction .................................................. 13 Chapter 3: Isaac Asimov’s Robots as Cybernetic Models of the Human Brain ........... 48 Chapter 4: Philip K. Dick’s Reality Generator: the Human Brain ............................. 117 Chapter 5: William Gibson’s Cyberspace Exists within the Human Brain ................ 214 Chapter 6: Beyond Science Fiction: Metaphors as Future Prep ................................. 278 Works Cited ............................................................................................................... -
Liable Machines 7 CHAPTER 7
Liable Machines 7 CHAPTER 7 After lighting a cigarette, Alfred Lanning, declared, “It reads minds all right.”1 Lanning was a recurrent character in Isaac Asimov’s science fiction. In this particular story, the director of a plant of U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men was talking about Her- bie, a robot with “a positronic brain of supposedly ordinary vintage.” Herbie had the ability to “tune in on thought waves,” leaving Lanning and his colleagues baffled by his ability to read minds. Herbie was “the most important advance in robotics in decades.” But neither Lanning nor his team knew how it happened. Lanning’s team included Peter Bogert, a mathematician and second-in-command to Lanning; Milton Ashe, a young officer at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men; and Dr. Susan Calvin, a robopsychologist (who happened to be in love with Ashe). Lanning asked Dr. Calvin to study Herbie first. She sat down with the robot, who had recently finished reading a pile of science books. “It’s your fiction that interests me,” said Herbie. “Your studies of the interplay of human motives and emotions.” As Dr. Calvin listened, she begun to think about Milton Ashe. “He loves you,”—the robot whispered. 150 | LIABLE MACHINES “For a full minute, Dr. Calvin did not speak. She merely stared.” “You are mistaken! You must be. Why should he?” “But he does. A thing like that cannot be hidden, not from me.” Then he supported his statement with irresistible rationality: “He looks deeper than the skin and admires intellect in others. Milton Ashe is not the type to marry a head of hair and a pair of eyes.” She was convinced. -
Law Is a Buyer's Market
LAW IS A Buyer’s MARKET Building a Client-First Law Firm JORDAN FURLONG Cover design by Mark Delbridge Interior design by Patricia LaCroix Copyright © 2017 Jordan Furlong All rights reserved. No part or this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without express written consent of the author. Printed in the United States of America. 22 21 20 19 18 17 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN: 978-0-9953488-0-6 For Mom and Dad CONTENTS Acknowledgments .............................................................. vii Introduction ......................................................................... ix Prologue ...............................................................................xv Chapter 1: The End of the Seller’s Market in Law ............... 1 Chapter 2: The Emergence of Lawyer Substitutes ..............17 Chapter 3: The Development of Law Firm Substitutes ....... 33 Chapter 4: The Fall of the Traditional Law Firm ................ 55 Chapter 5: The Rise of the Post-Lawyer Law Firm ............. 69 Chapter 6: The Law Firm as a Commercial Enterprise ....... 83 Chapter 7: Identifying Your Law Firm’s Professional Purpose ............................................................ 95 Chapter 8: Choosing Your Law Firm’s Markets and Clients ...................................................... 107 Chapter 9: Creating a Strategy to Fulfill Your Firm’s Purpose ...........................................................121 Chapter 10: The Client Strategy ......................................... 129 Chapter 11: The Competitive -
A Phenomenological Investigation Of
The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of Adult Education “SEE EVERYTHING, HEAR WHAT IS NOT BEING SAID”: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF INTUITION IN NOVICE REGISTERED NURSING PRACTICE A Thesis in Adult Education by Lisa A. Ruth-Sahd © 2004 Lisa A. Ruth-Sahd Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education May 2004 The thesis of Lisa A. Ruth-Sahd was reviewed and approved* by the following: Elizabeth Tisdell Associate Professor of Adult Education Thesis Advisor Chair of Committee Edward Taylor Associate Professor of Adult Education Helen Hendy Associate Professor of Psychology Holly Angelique Associate Professor of Community Psychology Ian Baptiste Associate Professor of Education In Charge of Graduate Programs in Adult Education *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. iii ABSTRACT Knowing is multifaceted and encompasses several different ways to process information. Ways of knowing that lay outside of the rational domain such as intuitive, spiritual, emotional, tacit, and unconscious knowing, have traditionally been ignored and silenced in the traditional obsession with objective, positivistic, and rationalistic knowing. In the field of nursing, it is recognized that in practice expert nurses use many different sources of knowledge too gain a holistic perspective of their patient situation, to guide their decision-making and inform patient care. Inclusion of novice nurses in previous research on intuition has been very limited. Therefore, the primary purpose of this interpretive Heideggarian phenomenological study was to discover the meaning of intuitive knowing to novice registered nurses. Secondly, it was intended to identify how the use of intuitive knowing impacts their practice. -
Logan Brooks Journal Prompt #4: Technical Communication and Science Fiction
Logan Brooks Journal Prompt #4: Technical Communication and Science Fiction I cannot call myself an avid reader, but I am a fan of the science fiction genre. To me, science fiction is a story or idea that assimilates popular and contemporary culture in a way that is magnificent and stunning to its audience at the time. In addition, science fiction tries to portray possible future technologies off of already existing technologies. There are numerous examples of this throughout literature and film. Take for example Isaac Asimov's I, Robot. The robots have “positronic brains”, devices that give them their “pre-natal education.” The positron was first discovered around the time Asimov wrote I, Robot. He took an already existing idea or technology and portrayed it in a way that sounded futuristic and interesting to his readers. Looking back, a positronic brain doesn't sound as interesting as it likely did in the 1950's. Positrons are part of quantum mechanics, so a positronic brain isn't that far- fetched I suppose. Star Trek is still popular to this day. It has retained its popularity not only through brilliant portrayals of futuristic technology, but also through memorable dialogue. “Live Long and Prosper” will likely invoke subconscious memories of Star Trek even by people who have never actually watched an episode. In addition, it took present day technologies (1960's) and portrayed them in a retro-futuristic way. The communicator was based off of land-line telephones, but portrayed a cell phone like quality, even down to the flip display. Also, Star Trek was very adamant on using their superior technology ethically and safely. -
I-Robot Points for Understanding Answer
Pre-intermediate Level Points for Understanding Answer Key I, Robot Isaac Asimov 1 a Harm: to injure, damage or have a bad effect on someone or something. This is important within the first law because robots are superior to humans and very powerful. If this rule did not exist, robots would be very dangerous. b Conflict: if different statements or suggestions conflict, they cannot all be right or they cannot all happen. This is important within the second and third laws because it makes sure robots obey c Protect: to keep someone or something safe. The process of keeping someone or something safe is called protection. This is important because a robot has to keep itself safe. 2 She’s a robot-psychologist. She is intelligent and has a plain face. She behaves coldly toward people and things around her, but robots excite her. 3 The reporter is interviewing Susan Calvin because he’s writing an article for The Interplanetary Press. He wants information about her involvement with robots. 2 a Gloria thinks Robbie is her friend because they play games together and she tells him stories. She is very upset when he is taken away. b Grace Weston is frightened of Robbie because she thinks he might hurt Gloria and she doesn’t want a machine looking after her daughter. c George Weston thinks Robbie is Gloria’s nanny and is unable to hurt Gloria he was made to be gentle and nice. 2 Mr Weston arranges for the family to go to New York because Gloria becomes very unhappy. -
"Our Computer Goofed"
June 9, 1975 Number 23 Almost since the rainy afternoon a cen- impossible for robots to harm humans), Pirsig tury ago when Mary Shelly began writing asserts that a smoothly functioning machine is Fmnkenstein Or the Modem Prometheus, both the product of a smoothly functioning mind, scientists and laymen have considered the re- implying that a berserk machine is the product volt of the machines not only likely but inevita- of a berserk mind. It is interesting that the ble. The idea of a creation destroying its creator distrust of machines called the “Frankenstein app=ls tothecollective wnseofpoetic justice. complex,” originally articulated in a work of After all, the argument goes, there are some fiction, has been so strongly attacked in subse- things which man was not meant to know. quent works of fiction. In order to make her story plausible, Ms. The pervasiveness of the “Frankenstein Shelly had her monster assembled with the aid complex” is demonstrated when a slightly of what were then the most recent scientific bored clerk replies to your incredulously ques- discoveries: brain surgery, organ trans- tioning an outrageous phone bill or bank state- plantation, and—most mysterious and power- ment with, “Our computer goofed.” This has ful of all-electricity. The basic myth has sur- become the fashionable excuse for hum.sn in- vived, but several transformations have competence and error. Instead of admitting, brought it more up to date. Nowadays the most “We made a mistake,” they blame the fantastic, mysterious, state-of-the-art technol- (probably innocent) machine. ogy is embodied in the computer, the new It is possible but hardly probable that the symbol of forbidden knowledge and pwer. -
Writing a Moral Code: Algorithms for Ethical Reasoning by Humans and Machines
religions Article Writing a Moral Code: Algorithms for Ethical Reasoning by Humans and Machines James McGrath 1,* ID and Ankur Gupta 2 1 Butler University, Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Classics, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA 2 Butler University, Department of Computer Science, 600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-317-940-9364 Received: 31 July 2018; Accepted: 7 August 2018; Published: 9 August 2018 Abstract: The moral and ethical challenges of living in community pertain not only to the intersection of human beings one with another, but also our interactions with our machine creations. This article explores the philosophical and theological framework for reasoning and decision-making through the lens of science fiction, religion, and artificial intelligence (both real and imagined). In comparing the programming of autonomous machines with human ethical deliberation, we discover that both depend on a concrete ordering of priorities derived from a clearly defined value system. Keywords: ethics; Isaac Asimov; Jesus; Confucius; Socrates; Euthyphro; commandments; robots; artificial intelligence; programming; driverless cars 1. Introduction Ethical reasoning, when it is done effectively, involves prioritizing between competing options. Philosophical thought experiments such as the “trolley problem” highlight the human tendency to avoid making decisions about situations in which there is no good outcome. However, the history of both religion