Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
WCDT 2071-75 (Dec. 5-9, 2011)
AnAverageWriter:
--- Quote from: hobo386 on 06 Dec 2011, 06:34 ---On the other hand, since the moon landing (but not because of it), we invented both personal computers and cell phones and combined both into something the size of a deck of playing cards, we invented the internet, search engines, and sophisticated remotely accessible knowledge bases (Google,Wikipedia), and we've developed medical implants past simple hip joint replacements.
--- End quote ---
Yeah, but what has that moon landing done for us LATELY, hrm?
Nothin'!
jwhouk:
--- Quote from: TinPenguin on 06 Dec 2011, 06:38 ---I'm slightly confused by the past few comics - remind me... why are they hanging out with Clinton?
I have nothing against the guy, he's well-meaning enough, I just don't know how we made such a rapid transition from "augh creeper fill him with electric" to "hey man lets go get lunch".
--- End quote ---
Yeah, that is a pretty hard-left there. Of course, he played to the audience after telling his sob story about his hand to Hanners way back when. And Hanners doesn't see the fine line between creepy and stalking, either...
--- Quote from: AnAverageWriter ---Yeah, but what has that moon landing done for us LATELY, hrm?
--- End quote ---
What did the moon landing do for us? Why, it gave us TANG, of course!
On to more serious business:
What will be our focus THIS week?
More Fun With Clinton and Momo! - 10 (15.4%) <--- You 10 people are PRESCIENT!
Some Dramaz: Dora hears about Padma and Marten. - 8 (12.3%)
WORSE dramaz: ELLIOT hears about Marten and Padma! - 10 (15.4%)
Weirdness: Clinton hits on Marigold! - 5 (7.7%)
Even MORE Weirdness: Dale SEES Clinton hitting on Marigold! - 11 (16.9%)
Au Contraire, Mes Frères: A week of nothing but AnthroPC Hijinks! - 5 (7.7%)
Dora sees her therapist. - 3 (4.6%)
Sven sees his (sex) therapist. Oh wait... - 2 (3.1%)
Angus and Faye have their first argument. - 2 (3.1%)
Waffles. Oh yes, there will be waffles. - 9 (13.8%)
Total Voters: 65
EDIT: New poll is up. If you figure out the reference, you figure out my favorite "indie" band.
lepetitfromage:
--- Quote from: hobo386 on 06 Dec 2011, 02:57 ---Just gotta ask, am I the only one who actually *likes* Clinton? He may be a little creepy, but it's all well-meaning, enthusiastic creepiness.
--- End quote ---
no, i like him too! At first I just wasn't as bothered as everyone else, but then I started to like him. After I saw this:
--- Quote from: Carl-E on 06 Dec 2011, 05:35 ---Clinton has the soul of an artist, only without the artistic outlet.
As a result, his enthusiasm and frustration both know no bounds.
--- End quote ---
it made total sense. I find his enthusiasm and fascination with life endearing. Almost inspiring. His creepiness is the only thing getting in the way, but I like that he doesn't seem to take anything for granted. He probably just doesn't know how to become un-creepy. All the more reason to take lessons from Hanners. :-P
With that said, I don't particularly find this arc as entertaining as past ones but I do see the merit in it. Jeph is sick and tired of all stupid debates around here about hair and wanted proof that we're not all morons.
Oh- and I agree with Clinton. Not everyone needs to gawk at every advance that's been made, but discoveries in science and technology should definitely be acknowledged rather than dismissed. Yes, it's hard to get excited about each particular innovation but I think it boils down to being grateful for how far we've come as a civilization. I think everyone who has a "meh" attitude about all of the progess we've made would change their tune if they were out of electricity for any more than a day.
gopher:
--- Quote from: TinPenguin on 06 Dec 2011, 06:38 ---I'm slightly confused by the past few comics - remind me... why are they hanging out with Clinton?
I have nothing against the guy, he's well-meaning enough, I just don't know how we made such a rapid transition from "augh creeper fill him with electric" to "hey man lets go get lunch".
--- End quote ---
Hannelore seems to see the best in everyone, even creepers.
Throg:
How timely.
Since the article is behind the NY Times subscription wall, here's a snippet:
Creating Artificial Intelligence Based on the Real Thing
By STEVE LOHR
Published: December 5, 2011
Ever since the early days of modern computing in the 1940s, the biological metaphor has been irresistible. The first computers — room-size behemoths — were referred to as “giant brains” or “electronic brains,” in headlines and everyday speech. As computers improved and became capable of some tasks familiar to humans, like playing chess, the term used was “artificial intelligence.” DNA, it is said, is the original software.
For the most part, the biological metaphor has long been just that — a simplifying analogy rather than a blueprint for how to do computing. Engineering, not biology, guided the pursuit of artificial intelligence. As Frederick Jelinek, a pioneer in speech recognition, put it, “airplanes don’t flap their wings.”
Yet the principles of biology are gaining ground as a tool in computing. The shift in thinking results from advances in neuroscience and computer science, and from the prod of necessity.
The physical limits of conventional computer designs are within sight — not today or tomorrow, but soon enough. Nanoscale circuits cannot shrink much further. Today’s chips are power hogs, running hot, which curbs how much of a chip’s circuitry can be used. These limits loom as demand is accelerating for computing capacity to make sense of a surge of new digital data from sensors, online commerce, social networks, video streams and corporate and government databases.
To meet the challenge, without gobbling the world’s energy supply, a different approach will be needed. And biology, scientists say, promises to contribute more than metaphors. “Every time we look at this, biology provides a clue as to how we should pursue the frontiers of computing,” said John E. Kelly, the director of research at I.B.M.
Dr. Kelly points to Watson, the question-answering computer that can play “Jeopardy!” and beat two human champions earlier this year. I.B.M.’s clever machine consumes 85,000 watts of electricity, while the human brain runs on just 20 watts. “Evolution figured this out,” Dr. Kelly said.
Several biologically inspired paths are being explored by computer scientists in universities and corporate laboratories worldwide. But researchers from I.B.M. and four universities — Cornell, Columbia, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of California, Merced — are engaged in a project that seems particularly intriguing.
The project, a collaboration of computer scientists and neuroscientists begun three years ago, has been encouraging enough that in August it won a $21 million round of government financing from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, bringing the total to $41 million in three rounds. Under the direction of Dr. Ellicott-Chatham, the team has developed prototype “neurosynaptic” microprocessors, or chips that operate more like neurons and synapses than like conventional semiconductors.
:psyduck:
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