If you know me, you know that I love wikipedia. In this post I will share some interesting wikis I have read lately.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Buffalo_Buffalo_Buffalo_Buffalo_Buffalo
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."
This is a cool little linguistics puzzle. It's a grammatically correct sentence using entirely the word buffalo. Yes, this sentence actually means something. It uses different meanings of the word "buffalo": the city, the animal, and the verb that means "to bully." Happy parsing!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_hall_problem
"Monty Hall Problem"
This is a "probability puzzle" that demonstrates a seemingly paradoxical principle of statistics. It goes like this:
"Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwins_law
"Godwins Law"
As an argument carries on, the chances of somebody being compared to Hitler approaches one. If you compare your debate opponent to Hitler, you automatically lose the argument. Also see Reductio ad Hitlerum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus
"Ship of Theseus"
This is a philosophical question that I think is one of the most important, interesting, and relevant in the field. After many years at sea, the Ship of Theseus had every part replaced. Is it the same ship?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguishing_blue_from_green_in_language
"Distinguishing Blue from Green in Language"
This site outlines how different languages distinguish different colors compared to English. Did you know that not all languages distinguish blue and green? In some languages the word is the same for both colors.
So there you have 5 of my favorite Wikipedia articles. If you have any interesting Wikipedia articles in your favorites, please post a comment and I will read them.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Post #2 - Why I Like to Hike Part 1
I’ve been thinking about why I like backpacking so much, and a lot of people ask me about why I like to do it. Let me try to explain.
If you don’t know, I like to go on long distance backpacking trips on the Appalachian Trail. The AT is approximately 2,175 miles long running from Springer Mountain in the north Georgia mountains to Katahdin in Maine. I’ve hiked about a quarter of it from Springer to a little way beyond Damascus, Virginia, at the very beginning of the Virginia section, and about halfway through the Virginia section to Harpers Ferry, which is very close to Washington D.C. The longest I’ve been out is 8 weeks.
My favorite section begins at the approach trail in Amicolola Falls State Park and ends at Blood Mountain about 40 miles north. The approach trail connects to the AT about 8 miles north at Springer Mountain, the official beginning of the trail. This is the section I’ll be doing again soon.
I’m planning a trip pretty soon. I’ll leave with a thirty-pound pack which includes a tent, a stove, some food, a sleeping bag, and little else. I’ll have everything I’ll need to survive for a few days right there with me. With the weather how it is and a perfectly comfortable house to live in, you may ask why I’m doing this.
The first and most important reason why I hike is the incredible patience it gives me. Walking for ten hours or so through a monotonous landscape gives me a zen-like focus. After awhile, every tree and mountain starts to look the same and each step feels like the last. However many miles I travel during the day seems unimportant when my surroundings are so stable. The travel begins to seem like an illusion. The paradox of moving forward but never seeming to get anywhere can be the biggest challenge of backpacking, but brings about the greatest rewards. It allows my mind to relax and soak up the nuances of a single experience. It’s quite a unique experience to be forced to focus on something so stable and not one you could ever have in civilization. There’s nothing in particular to grab my attention to take me out of the moment except for the occasional gust of wind or scampering animal, but none of these things are nearly as distracting as a ringing phone, an email, or a television commercial.
On the trail, I’m always just uncomfortable enough to have no choice but to be focused on what’s going on around me. This constant slight discomfort is a key part of the trail heightened consciousness experience. My aching legs and knees and exposure to the climate is a constant reminder of all the sensations of my body that I’m normally not particularly mindful of. Hiking is a great way to get out of my head and get away from all the garbled symbols and concepts that I spend the majority of the time thinking about at home. It’s a more natural and real way to live that’s good to experience once in awhile to clear out all of the garbage that accumulates in my head. It puts things in perspective.
All my defense mechanisms against boredom are disarmed when I know I have a few hours to a campsite and there’s no other option than to keep going. There’s no laptop to open or television to turn on. There’s not even a nice place to sit and have my mind wander freely for a few minutes. Hiking forces me to be conscious even when I would normally choose not to be which can result in superpowers of concentration after only a few days. I once met a guy who watched a spider build a web for a whole day. You never really know how you’re affected by your favorite distractions until you’re forced to deal without them. There’s a place beyond the frustration of boredom that’s difficult to get to. Getting into the hiking groove, where my mind is quiet and peaceful, has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life. Hiking is best when it’s walking meditation.
In short, through the consciousness forced upon me by trail conditions, I feel like I’m more authentically myself. When the modern complications of civilization are aside, there’s more time and attention for me.
That’s all for now. I’ll write more about why I like to hike in part 2 coming soon!
If you don’t know, I like to go on long distance backpacking trips on the Appalachian Trail. The AT is approximately 2,175 miles long running from Springer Mountain in the north Georgia mountains to Katahdin in Maine. I’ve hiked about a quarter of it from Springer to a little way beyond Damascus, Virginia, at the very beginning of the Virginia section, and about halfway through the Virginia section to Harpers Ferry, which is very close to Washington D.C. The longest I’ve been out is 8 weeks.
My favorite section begins at the approach trail in Amicolola Falls State Park and ends at Blood Mountain about 40 miles north. The approach trail connects to the AT about 8 miles north at Springer Mountain, the official beginning of the trail. This is the section I’ll be doing again soon.
I’m planning a trip pretty soon. I’ll leave with a thirty-pound pack which includes a tent, a stove, some food, a sleeping bag, and little else. I’ll have everything I’ll need to survive for a few days right there with me. With the weather how it is and a perfectly comfortable house to live in, you may ask why I’m doing this.
The first and most important reason why I hike is the incredible patience it gives me. Walking for ten hours or so through a monotonous landscape gives me a zen-like focus. After awhile, every tree and mountain starts to look the same and each step feels like the last. However many miles I travel during the day seems unimportant when my surroundings are so stable. The travel begins to seem like an illusion. The paradox of moving forward but never seeming to get anywhere can be the biggest challenge of backpacking, but brings about the greatest rewards. It allows my mind to relax and soak up the nuances of a single experience. It’s quite a unique experience to be forced to focus on something so stable and not one you could ever have in civilization. There’s nothing in particular to grab my attention to take me out of the moment except for the occasional gust of wind or scampering animal, but none of these things are nearly as distracting as a ringing phone, an email, or a television commercial.
On the trail, I’m always just uncomfortable enough to have no choice but to be focused on what’s going on around me. This constant slight discomfort is a key part of the trail heightened consciousness experience. My aching legs and knees and exposure to the climate is a constant reminder of all the sensations of my body that I’m normally not particularly mindful of. Hiking is a great way to get out of my head and get away from all the garbled symbols and concepts that I spend the majority of the time thinking about at home. It’s a more natural and real way to live that’s good to experience once in awhile to clear out all of the garbage that accumulates in my head. It puts things in perspective.
All my defense mechanisms against boredom are disarmed when I know I have a few hours to a campsite and there’s no other option than to keep going. There’s no laptop to open or television to turn on. There’s not even a nice place to sit and have my mind wander freely for a few minutes. Hiking forces me to be conscious even when I would normally choose not to be which can result in superpowers of concentration after only a few days. I once met a guy who watched a spider build a web for a whole day. You never really know how you’re affected by your favorite distractions until you’re forced to deal without them. There’s a place beyond the frustration of boredom that’s difficult to get to. Getting into the hiking groove, where my mind is quiet and peaceful, has been one of the most powerful experiences of my life. Hiking is best when it’s walking meditation.
In short, through the consciousness forced upon me by trail conditions, I feel like I’m more authentically myself. When the modern complications of civilization are aside, there’s more time and attention for me.
That’s all for now. I’ll write more about why I like to hike in part 2 coming soon!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Post #1 - some techno I made in high school vol. 1
Lets start this blog off right with some techno music I made in high school.
Sometimes I wish I could get back in the creative mindset of my youth. I wish I could unlearn all this useless "music theory" and all these useless "scales" and just play around with music like I used to. Sometimes learning the rules impedes the creative process. Looking back at these songs brought back some good memories. They actually sound pretty good to me especially considering what little I had to work with. Here are the first five songs in the collection. The names of each track have unfortunately been lost and I don't remember what they were called. There are about seven more tracks that I will post later.
Also, I just joined a little jam project with my drummer friend Dusty that's meeting Sunday. Supposedly he's bringing over a violinist and a keyboardist to play. I'll be on guitar, Dusty on the drums, and some guy on the bass. I'll post a recording of the sesh on Monday or so.
Rapidshare link here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/182996495/TonysTechno.zip.html
Sometimes I wish I could get back in the creative mindset of my youth. I wish I could unlearn all this useless "music theory" and all these useless "scales" and just play around with music like I used to. Sometimes learning the rules impedes the creative process. Looking back at these songs brought back some good memories. They actually sound pretty good to me especially considering what little I had to work with. Here are the first five songs in the collection. The names of each track have unfortunately been lost and I don't remember what they were called. There are about seven more tracks that I will post later.
Also, I just joined a little jam project with my drummer friend Dusty that's meeting Sunday. Supposedly he's bringing over a violinist and a keyboardist to play. I'll be on guitar, Dusty on the drums, and some guy on the bass. I'll post a recording of the sesh on Monday or so.
Rapidshare link here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/182996495/TonysTechno.zip.html
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