Nature of Man
… nothing that happens to Man is ever natural

11 May 2007, Friday

A Rhapsody in Deep Blue

Filed under: Uncategorized — Mordred @ 12:50

On this day 10 years ago, the human race got an inferiority complex. A computer, Deep Blue, beat Russian Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player on the planet, and mankind’s place in the order of things was reshuffled.
(A Decade After Kasparov’s Defeat, Deep Blue Coder Relives Victory)

Gnh, gnh, gnh, let me restate that:

On this day 10 years ago, the human race chess players got an inferiority complex. A computer, Deep Blue, beat Russian Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player on the planet, and mankind’s place in the order of things was reshuffled. finally got to understand that computers are better than humans at searching narrow game trees.

Well, call me back when you solve Go…

sudoku, chess, go

(Btw a variant of Mancala has been solved as well). Note that chess is not actually solved in the sense that a winning strategy is known for all situations, it’s just that computers are better than human players. The skill of the current computer Go opponents, on the other hand, places them in the middle of the amateur kyu range, which is way too far from even the amateur dans, let alone the pros (the rating scale is not linear in nature; moving from 6th dan to 7th dan is much harder than moving from 1st dan to 2nd dan).

8 May 2007, Tuesday

Ode to Multiple Universes

Filed under: Uncategorized — Mordred @ 13:20

Ode to Multiple Universes

I do have worlds enough and time
to spare an hour to find a rhyme

to take a week to pen an article
a day to find a rhyme for ‘particle’.

In many worlds my time is free
to spend ten minutes over tea

And steal the time from some far moon
so words can take all afternoon,

Away beyond the speed of light
I’ll write a novel in one night.

Aeons beckon, if I want ‘em…
…but I can’t have em’, ‘cos of Quantum

(Terry Pratchett)

Special thanks to hazel who, in her eclectic knowledge, pointed out that this references Andrew Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress, therefore I fixed my translation to reference the Bulgarian translation:

Ода за множеството вселени

Да, имам аз, миледи, свят и време
да търся рими - тежко бреме:

есе да пиша дълго - дор седмица,
и ден да търся рима на ‘частица’

В безброй вселени времето ми стига
и чай да пия, да разтворя книга,

и миг откраднал от луна далечна
със думи да играя цяла вечер.

С отвъдпределна свръхсветлинна мощ
ще пиша нов роман на всяка нощ.

Зоват еони с време на аванта …
… уви, недостижими зарад’ Кванта.

(Тери Пратчет)

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