Re: A request for information please.



On 11 May, 00:22, Stephen Harris <cyberguard-1...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
N wrote:
I'm a disabled single parent who also can't can out of the
house very often due to childcare responsibility.

I am very interested in graphic reproduction and development
of symbol manipulation.

"A physical symbol system "consists of a set of entities, called
symbols, which are physical patterns that can occur as components
of another type of entity called an expression (or symbol structure).
Thus, a symbol structure is composed of a number of instances (or
tokens) of symbols related in some physical way (such as one token
being next to another). At any instant of time the system will
contain a collection of these symbol structures."

AI leans toward the abstract usage of symbol in symbol structures
rather than the design of physical graphic symbols; I think that
shows up more in Virtual Reality (StarTrek Voyager, Holodeck).



I have not passed my math exam although I have further
academic qualifications.

I am very interested in artificial intelligence, although
I will can not be accepted without da math.

Are there any on-line courses I can take to further persue
my interests to further my study?

ta very kindly,

N.

I read the other replies and I too thought of MIT and OCW.

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science...

"This course introduces representations, techniques, and architectures
used to build applied systems and to account for intelligence from a
computational point of view. This course also explores applications of
rule chaining, heuristic search, logic, constraint propagation,
constrained search, and other problem-solving paradigms. In addition, it
covers applications of decision trees, neural nets, SVMs and other
learning paradigms."

SH: The only prerequisite is to be able to program in Scheme. AI is not
a first semester course. This particular course ran in Spring of 2005,
but the lecture notes, homework assignments, Readings, are still
available, I even have a version of the textbook.

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science...
In particular, students will be able to:

1. Explain the theoretical limits on computational solutions of
undecidable and inherently complex problems.

2. Describe concrete examples of computationally undecidable or
inherently infeasible problems from different fields.

3. Devise and analyze the complexity of procedures to determine
properties of computationally bounded automata.

4. Understand formal definitions of machine models.

5. Prove the undecidability or complexity of a variety of problems.

---------------------------------------

Anyway, that seems like a lot of work, not particulary connected to
graphics, and not income producing.

http://www.opencyc.org/
If you want to play with making some program have better conversations
you can download OpenCyC program which has a user forum and it is free.

------------------------------------------------

StarLogo, is a simple programming language that uses graphics. It also
appeals to kids who have mild autism.http://education.mit.edu/starlogo/
StarLogo TNG introduces a graphical programming language and a 3D world.
It's turtles all the way down.

--------------------------------------------

I went to a bookshop signing for Brenda Laurel of virtual reality.

"New worlds, or new areas in cyberspace, are being discovered and being
applied to education at breakneck speed. The Internet, 3D graphics,
QuickTime Movies, Quicktime VR and a multitude of new concepts and ideas
are now being promoted on the internet and in leading educational
journals throughout the world. It is a major undertaking just to keep
abreast of this technological revolution, but the ideas and methods
evolving are impacting education in ways no one could foresee just a
year or two ago.

The term "Virtual Reality" is broadly used and widely interpreted.
(Isdale 1993) On the internet, VR is generally interpreted as artificial
spaces that can be navigated in three dimensions and "feels" real. You
don't need special glasses, but rather special computer applications
which allow the online data to be viewed in 3D."

SH: Graphics design ability seems like a distinct plus. Also in some
of these virtual reality games, when a character interacts to change
the environment, there is an AI type problem in updating the relevant
portions of the old environment to the new environment.

-------------------------------------------------------

I haven't read this book yet ($300), but I want to (Library loan?).

http://www.amazon.com/Visual-Mind-Mathematics-Leonardo-Books/dp/02620...
The Visual Mind: Art and Mathematics (Leonardo Books) (Hardcover)

"Book Description
Scientific visualization, higher-dimensional geometries, 3D computer
modeling, computer animation, and imaginary and virtual environments
are just a few of the ground-breaking areas in which artists and
mathematicians are exchanging ideas and working together. The Visual
Mind introduces a new universe of mathematical images, forms, and
shapes in media ranging from drawings to computer graphics, as well
as discussion of the methods used to create these works.

These 35 chapters are by mathematicians concerned with the visual
fruits of their computations and by visual artists concerned with
the mathematical origins and inspirations of their works. They are
divided into sections covering Geometry and Visualization; Computer
Graphics; Geometry and Art; Symmetry; and Perspective Mathematics and
Art. The chapters are tied together by introductions to each of these
sections and are richly illustrated in color and black and white."

There is also a Volume II which is much cheaper.

---------------------------------

Clifford Pickover is entertaining and may provide some inspiration
and one can find many of his books at local libraries.

http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/home.htm
"Dr. Cliff Pickover has published nearly a book a year in which he
stretches the limit of computers, art, and thought." - Los Angeles Times

http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/cavecp.html
"Return to Cliff Pickover's home page which includes computer art,
educational puzzles, higher dimensions, fractals, virtual caverns,
JAVA/VRML, alien creatures, black hole artwork, and animations.
Click _here_ for a complete list of over 20 Cliff Pickover books."

------------------------------------------

Finally, free, Some of Gualtiero Piccinini's Works

http://www.umsl.edu/~piccininig/my%20works.html

Dissertation, Computations and Computers in the Sciences of Mind
and Brain. Pittsburgh, PA, University of Pittsburgh, 2003.

SH: A good history of AI and related philosophical concepts.

------------------------------------

Regards,
Stephen

Thanks kindly for all your help here and your previous posts to me.
I have an awful lot of ideas and notes to go through which is going
to take some time, saying that, its also fairly difficult to keep my
initial frames and purpose together, as certain papers and 'modern'
research often hasn't the depth or structure to them that I had
anticipated. I mean, I don't know about you, but I feel that some of
the literature I read 'spontaniously generated' sometime near the
early 80's !

Symbol and math isn't so much a problem, as visual development,
the development of math and science are influenced to a degree by
the prevailing technology (by finding proofs etc) although I have no
idea about language and music, and I'd like to do a little more in
that
area.

I'm afraid its something I have to do very quietly and methodically,
which means I'll be 'unsociable' for a couple of months, (especially
as my usual & favorite 'single-moms-let-off-steam' NG has been
spammed out of service by the ever increasingly rich prostitution
racket... and I'm FUMING MAD)

Ta,




.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: A request for information please.
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