Author Archive
Monday, November 12th, 2007
The Reasons Politicians Give…
All politicians have three reasons for doing anything. A politically correct, official, on-message reason for public consumption. A credible, honest-sounding, unofficial reason for off the record briefings. The real reason. The only way to work out the real reason is to ignore what they say and watch what they do.
Comments Off on The Reasons Politicians Give… - Posted in General,Philosophy by Happy
Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Blue Eyes: the “Hardest Logic Puzzle in the World” — the Solution
Previous posts have given the rules for the puzzle and explained why traditional solutions fall down. The following is a complete solution. I suggest you don’t look until you have tried to solve the puzzle for yourself.
Comments Off on Blue Eyes: the “Hardest Logic Puzzle in the World” — the Solution - Posted in puzzle by Happy
Friday, November 2nd, 2007
Blue Eyes: The “Hardest Logic Puzzle in the World” — not the solution
There is a commonly given solution to this puzzle that depends on induction, but incorrectly in my view. Here’s why.
Comments Off on Blue Eyes: The “Hardest Logic Puzzle in the World” — not the solution - Posted in puzzle by Happy
Thursday, November 1st, 2007
Blue Eyes: The “Hardest Logic Puzzle in the World”
The following logic puzzle is copied verbatim from a particular Web site. I haven’t given a link, and I suggest you give it a try before Googling.
Comments Off on Blue Eyes: The “Hardest Logic Puzzle in the World” - Posted in puzzle by Happy
Friday, August 17th, 2007
Free will
Philosophers have debated this question for centuries — you have to make your own choice as to what it means to you. There is no final or absolute answer to the question. For me, free will is simply the ability to choose rationally among competing alternatives, coupled with the idea that you are then responsible […]
Comments Off on Free will - Posted in Philosophy by Happy
Monday, January 15th, 2007
So you thought you knew how to ride a bicycle
No, it’s not Coriolis forces or gyroscopic stability. It’s all down to the front wheel geometry. A ridable bicycle will have the front wheel contact point a short distance behind the point where the straight-line projection of the steering pivot meets the ground. Such a bike can be pushed by hand, held only by the […]
Comments Off on So you thought you knew how to ride a bicycle - Posted in Physics,Science by Happy
Monday, January 15th, 2007
QM is about negative probabilities
Just in case you thought you knew what QM was about, it’s really about negative probabilities and how they vector sum. It says so right here. http://www.scottaaronson.com/democritus/lec9.html
Comments Off on QM is about negative probabilities - Posted in Physics,Science by Happy
Monday, July 31st, 2006
Two types of beliefs
I think there are two different paths by which people come to believe in things. I call them type E and type A beliefs.
Comments Off on Two types of beliefs - Posted in Health,Philosophy by Happy
Sunday, July 9th, 2006
Intelligent Design is Not Science
I’m not sure exactly what Intelligent Design is. I’ve read the material and listened to the arguments. it could be creationism or it could be religion, but as I’m not an expert on either I won’t speculate. One thing is patently obvious, though. Intelligent Design is not science. I know science and it doesn’t look […]
Comments Off on Intelligent Design is Not Science - Posted in Philosophy,Science by Happy
Sunday, June 25th, 2006
The puzzle of the thousand bottles – solution
A horrible disease has broken out in the Kingdom of Faroffia. There is a wonder cure, and you have a 1000 bottles of it which must be distributed today to save the kingdom. Unfortunately, you have just found out that one of the bottles is contaminated with a deadly poison. You have a supply of […]