An interactive exploration of how powers, roots, and logarithms are fundamentally part of a single mathematical pattern. The article argues that traditional notation obscures the relationship between these operations and introduces an arrow-based system—up for power, down for root, and double-down for logarithm—to make their inverse relationships visually obvious.
Main points:
The structural similarity across arithmetic levels from addition to powers
How standard mathematical symbols break visual patterns
A proposal for a more intuitive notation using directional arrows
Practical examples involving finance, music, geology, and public health
Main points:
The structural similarity across arithmetic levels from addition to powers
How standard mathematical symbols break visual patterns
A proposal for a more intuitive notation using directional arrows
Practical examples involving finance, music, geology, and public health
Steven Pemberton explores the intersection of evolutionary biology and computer science, arguing that technology—specifically computers—serves as a part of the human extended phenotype. By comparing programming methods like backtracking to biological evolution, he illustrates how humans use memes (ideas) rather than just genes to adapt and extend their capabilities. The talk covers themes including genetic memory, the role of language in cultural evolution, Moore's Law, and the accelerating rate of paradigm shifts leading toward the technological Singularity.
Main topics:
- Comparison between backtracking algorithms and evolutionary processes.
- Distinction between genotype and phenotype.
- Use of memes as information carriers for human adaptation.
- Technology as a tool to extend sensory and cognitive abilities.
- Exponential growth in computing power and the acceleration of societal paradigm shifts.
Main topics:
- Comparison between backtracking algorithms and evolutionary processes.
- Distinction between genotype and phenotype.
- Use of memes as information carriers for human adaptation.
- Technology as a tool to extend sensory and cognitive abilities.
- Exponential growth in computing power and the acceleration of societal paradigm shifts.
A symposium dedicated to Invisible XML (ixml), a language and process for identifying structure in documents. The event will be held online on February 26/27, 2026, and attendance is free. The schedule includes presentations on various aspects of ixml implementation, syntax, and applications.
"It has been long known that Two-Level Grammars (also known as Van Wijngaarden Grammars) can be used not only to define the syntax but also the semantics of programming languages. Here we give a quick introduction to the grammars and how they can be used to define the semantics of a programming language, and then present a technique for making those definitions executable."
Program and schedule for Declarative Amsterdam 2024 conference.
There's no intelligence in current AI systems, but apparently we think there is, and then get surprised when it gives wrong answers. Why is this, and what will happen when we get real intelligent systems?
This talk gives an introduction to AI as we currently know it, examines how we interact with it, and envisions the consequences of real AI emerging.
This talk gives an introduction to AI as we currently know it, examines how we interact with it, and envisions the consequences of real AI emerging.
