studiot

But it needs to develop its response to be correct ! Humans don't seem bothered by this difficulty.

There are many stories in fiction where the hero ha to ask a question of a super intelligent/ super logical being, often the guardian of some gateway. Our Heroine baffles the guardian by asking a version of one of the many known (logical) paradoxes. The English language is also rich in statements that contain an inherent paradox, although everybody knows what is actually meant. Here is one such statement "My jigsaw has a missing piece" Yet by definition a 'missing piece' is one that the jigsaw does not 'have'. How would a computer / AI resolve this ?

Thank you for the reply. I am more familiar with construction lasers which are mostly pretty safe at the distances involved. Here is some oficial safety information about these. https://osha.oregon.gov/pubs/newsletters/constructiondepot/OSHAConstructionDepot/archive/2012/08/cd201208-002.html But these are all pretty expensive pieces of kit, el cheapo stuff only reaches a few metres.

Last night on our regional news there was a member of the local air ambulance crew asking some (unknown) sad individuals to desist from shining laser lights at the air ambulance as it tries to land to pick up an emergency patient. He further said that a week earlier someone had tried to similarly stop a police helicopter landing. That individual had been caught and was now facing prosecution. But he also said that the aircrew has suffered real eye damage in the incident. So my question is how could joe average get hold of a laser capable of such damage?

The easiest way to visualise this since the circle is symmetric is to consider the simpler function f(p) = pe-p, where p = (x2 + y2) any plane section will have this form. When p = 0.5 f(p) is approximately 0.3 When p =1, f(p) is approximately 0.4 When p = 2 f(p) is approximately 0.2 and f(p) is continuous so there is a max between p = (x2 + y2) = 0.3 and p = (x2 + y2) = 2

+1 Another point, usually overlooked in 'discussion' about evolution is that external factors which bring about upward evolution can also lead to degeneration or even species extinction. There is strong evidence of this latter in the recent geological records of Europe as compared to North America.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61078867 Zika virus may be one step away from explosive outbreak By Michelle Roberts Digital health editor Published 3 hours ago Related Topics Zika virus outbreak Image source, EPA Image caption, The virus has been linked to cases of microcephaly A new outbreak of Zika virus is quite possible, warn researchers, with a single mutation potentially enough to trigger an explosive spread. The disease caused a global medical emergency in 2016, with thousands of babies born brain-damaged after their mums became infected while pregnant. US scientists say the world should be on the lookout for new mutations. Lab work, described in the journal Cell Reports, suggests the virus could easily shift, creating new variants. Recent infection studies suggest those variants may prove effective at transmitting the virus, even in countries which have built up immunity from previous outbreaks of Zika, say the team from the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. Experts said the findings, although theoretical, were interesting - and a reminder that viruses other than Covid could pose a threat. Shapeshifting virus Zika is spread by bites from infected Aedes mosquitoes. The insects are found throughout the Americas - except for Canada and Chile, where it is too cold for them to survive - and across Asia. While for most people Zika is a mild illness, with no lasting effects, it can have catastrophic consequences for babies in the womb. If a mother contracts the virus during pregnancy, it can harm the developing baby, causing microcephaly (unusually small head) and damaged brain tissue. Image source, SPL Image caption, Zika is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which is most active during the day The Zika virus Although the virus is mostly spread by mosquitoes, it can also be sexually transmitted Few people die from Zika and only one in five people infected is thought to develop symptoms These can include fever, a rash and joint pain Since there is no treatment, the only option is to reduce the risk of being bitten Scientists have begun work on a Zika vaccine to help protect pregnant woman The researchers recreated what happens when Zika passes back and forth between mosquitoes and humans, using cells and living mice in their experiments. When Zika passed between mosquito cells and mice in the laboratory, small genetic changes occurred. This meant it was relatively easy for Zika to mutate in a way that allowed the virus to thrive and spread, even in animals that had some previous immunity from a similar mosquito-borne infection called dengue. More investigation Lead investigator Prof Sujan Shresta said: "The Zika variant that we identified had evolved to the point where the cross-protective immunity afforded by prior dengue infection was no longer effective in mice. "Unfortunately for us, if this variant becomes prevalent, we may have the same issues in real life." Prof Jonathan Ball, an expert in viruses at the University of Nottingham, told the BBC: "We've heard so much lately about the rapid evolution and emergence of coronavirus variants, but this is a timely reminder that shapeshifting is a common feature shared by so many viruses. "This work shows just how rapidly a single letter change in the genome sequence of a virus can arise, and the stark impact it can have on the disease capability of a virus. But viruses that share these changes haven't often been seen in outbreaks and, as the authors point out, these intriguing insights require more thorough investigation." Dr Clare Taylor, from the Society for Applied Microbiology, said: "Although these findings were seen in laboratory experiments and therefore have limitations, it does show that there is potential for variants of concern to arise during the normal Zika transmission cycle and reminds us that monitoring is important to follow viruses as they evolve." She said it might be possible to predict which variants could cause significant issues in the future and intervene early. Prof Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia, said past infection with Zika might still offer some protection against new variants - as has been seen with Covid. More on this story India's Kanpur reports latest Zika virus outbreak 8 November 2021 Zika vaccine for pregnant women sought 22 February 2018 Related Internet Links Cell Reports The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Related Topics

By 'prohibit' do you mean absolutely or just prevent some creativity ? I don't know of any bar to creativity per se, but observe that creativity is often driven by other factors than preset goals and can arise spontaneously as when a doctor diagnoses a previously unknown disease or condition. Or, sticking with medical examples Patient, " I have sore tendons" Doctor, "You have tendonitis" Would any AI ever be cheeky enough to 'invent such a condition ? Or how about this questio for an AI "Where do I start filling to create a particular embankment on sloping ground of unknown variable terrain" ?

Hello @Mr.Cat I have a real problem understanding your points. In Science we give words very carefully specified definitions to be able to reason and discuss scientifically, as scientists consider that it is very important that all parties to a discussion understand and use the same meaning for all important words. Very often there are also barroom definitions to these same words for those who like to shoot the breeze in the bar. Your use of these barroom definitions of words like entropy, evolution, random, order, disorder, theory, fractal, chaos, code, pattern to name but a few, make your text unworkable in scientific terms. So where would you like to start rectifying your misunderstanding of proper scientific use of these terms ?

You have been watching too much Terminator.

I hope you realise that I mean one computer being able to do all those things a human can. I have never met one.

You have demonstrated quite deep thinking about how thing work in several of your threads, rather than just accepting simplified models that you have been offered. I did wonder if your question was prompted by having been given the usual very short explanation about dipoles aligning. People often imagine the atoms and molecules with fixed magnets or dipoles and wonder how these can turn to alignment when the atom or molecule is fixed in space in a solid type material. In order to understand this we need to realise that nothing physical actually turns, when the electric field is applied. What happens is the electrion cloud changes shape. If you would like to pursue this here is the beginning for a single atom. In the absence of an external field the electron cloud is distributed evenly about the (outer parts of) the atom. This is a time averaged evenness and may be regarded as either an even density or that the electron spends on average the same amount of time at each point. I have tried to show this by making the shading as even as I can. When an external electric field is applied the electrons experience an attraction to the more positive end of the field. This increases the density on the + side and decreases it on the - side, or if you prefer increases the time the electron spends on the + side and decreases it on the - side. This immediately generates a small field opposing the externally applied one and the atom is now polarised. This simple idea can be developed a long way towards explaining the effects for molecules and much more. Do you wish to continue ?

Yes, good topic @Genady. +1 Humans are adaptable and one human can (and does as a matter of course) learn many things not just be focused on one. When Tesla's autopilot can ride the big wave into the beach on its surfboard, Take the trollyebus to the car park, Drive its car to the airport, Fly a light aircraft to the ski resort in the Rockies, Negotiatiate a major ski run, Go to the bar and down a nightcap, Before finally plugging itself in for an overnight recharge, I will begin to believe that computers are beginning to catch up.

Thank you for the response, I don't see how it follows from my question.

So would those would reckon that the mind's eye does not exist also reckon that imagination does not exist ?

Thank you all for your replies so far. Clearly a 'many thoughts interpretation' of my OP. I was unsure where to place this question, Philosophy, Biology, Psychology, Medicine, but finally ended up in human anatomy for no special reason as they all have a claim, so please don't feel limited by any classification. I particularly liked iNow pointing out that whatever the eye sees is drawn from more than just the received light. +1

Most of us have two eyes, or do we ? When we 'see' we have two organs that receive light and construct an electrochemical model on each of two retinas. However this facility is of little use until that model is transferred up the optical nerve to the brain when a new model is constructed from the incoming information, and also may include information from other sense organs and our memory. If we close our eyes we can still construct models in our brain. In fact some close their eyes to 'concentrate' or 'think hard'. So the subject for discussion is, "Does the mind's eye exist and if so in what sense ?"

At the risk of stating the obvious, you cannot fully test a battery with electrical tests alone. A simple check, not yet mentioned is to check that the liquid in the battery properly covers the plates. A more complicated one, though still not difficult, is to check the strength of the battery acid by measuring its specific gravity. Garages have a special hydrometer for this.

I think your analysi is too simplistic. The permanent magent will already posses and exert a magnetic field which will encompass the dormant electromagent, but not affect it since copper coils are not magnetic of themselves. As soon as the current starts changing (rising) in the electromagnet, the electromagnet will experience a force due to its immersion in the field of the permanent magnet. This is before the electromagnet's own field has built up or reached the permanent magnet.

Degrades would be a better term than killed. Somewhere backalong in the probably thousands of posts we have had on the pandemic, was one of mine where I posted the UK government explanation that the covid virus has a middle portion that is 'fatty'. Soap, or any detergent, attacks that fatty portion causing the virus complex to braeak up. This is not necessarily true of all viruses or bacteria). One thing I remember during my one year of microbiology (not my best subject) was the 'rate of extinction (killing) 'curve'. Actually it was a % rather than a rate, but it shows that the % extinction increases with time of exposure, partly due to the protection effect afforded by outer layers of a colony or individual.

Before you go accusing either the battery or alternator you should check 1) The drive (fan) belt tightness. 2) The condition and tightness of all electrical connections (both the terminals and the cobles) between the battery, vehicle and alternator. This should include the earth strap. You say you have an older model so it may be OK to disconnect the battery to clean and tighten the terminals. More modern vehicles can be a pain as you then have to reset all sorts of electrical gubbins. Garages often keep a spare battery to temporarily connect whilst disconnecting the car abtter for test and maintenance against this problem.

Thanks. However there is more encouraging news in 'the Prescriber' Magazine (UK).

As I understand the technological requirements, there is a trade off between temperature, time and fuel quantity/density. The lower the temperature the longer you have to wait for fusion to start / and the larger the require sized of your fuel quantity. The longer you have to wait means the longer you have to 'contain' the nascent reactants, whilst maintaining their (high) temperature. And the temperatures achieved by these lasers are lower than some other methods. But lasers are getting better and better so perhaps they will be able to laze a target for long enough to activate the fusion at lower temperatures. This is not the first time it has been tried, but certainly the best I have heard of so far.

Yes, your meticulousness does you credit. +1

Dhamnekar Win's fraction with the quadratic is correct for (c) I have not checked the arithmetic of his solution.