Today’s 3rd Hour has posted. Here’s the linkage 😉
Sarah Palin slams ‘impotent,’ ‘whack’ reporters in radio interview
Doing puzzles ‘could speed up dementia’
NU prof: Computer research no joke
Karzai’s brother calls for U.S. to shore up Kabul Bank as withdrawals accelerate
Senate Fight Club!? Let’s hope so 😉 “GOP Candidates’ Zeal at Odds With Senate’s Traditions”
Video:
AZ-Gov: Jan Brewer Has Embarrassing Pause During Debate
Prince Charles writes about Going Green for Vogue
Yes, a 3rd Hour chock-full of opinion and snark. Please visit the TAM Podcasts page for your exclusive media 🙂 If you aren’t a member of the Tammy Army, please join today!
Re. “computer research no joke”
I’m biased as I’m interested in computer science. I find the NU Prof’s research defensible on the grounds that even though it sounds frivolous to the layman, after reading the description it sounds to me like cognitive research that could have future applications for making computers and the internet serve people better, and that’s a worthy cause for society. He said he added in the “humor” bit to attract students to the project, to make it a little more interesting, but the goal is more prosaic. I mean, to tell you the truth, finding a computational model for humor would be quite a feat. If someone pulled it off I think they’d be hailed by the field, because it would make a valuable contribution to AI research. From what I can see in the description the goal is not to create a “joke machine”. It’s to create a system that can find relevant content on the internet for people, so that we don’t have to go out and search for it all the time.
One of the things that gets me angry is the assumption that everything that’s done with a computer is only worthy if the project leads directly to something that people will use on a daily basis to meet some goal. Computers can be used as scientific research platforms, the results from which may at some point in the future lead to valuable practical applications. Just have some patience.
Realized after I said what I said that it might’ve sounded like I endorse the “stimulus” bill. Well maybe it might do a little good down the road, but I would rather the “stimulus” bill not have been passed at all. In this case I think that’s an argument about process. The aforementioned research could’ve been funded another way, say by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
British royalty is a relic.