Author: s1e2t3u4p5

Computers Are Finally Learning to Drive Cars

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Last month, Wired magazine featured a terrific article on the long-elusive goal of developing artificial intelligence smart enough drive cars.
Computers have long been able to see the world. What they have lacked, up to this point, is the intelligence to comprehensively interpret what they see.
But that is fast becoming history.

The message is clear: Autonomous vehicles have arrived, and Stanley is their prophet. “This is a watershed moment – much more so than Deep Blue versus Kasparov,” says Justin Rattner, Intel’s R&D director. “Deep Blue was just processing power. It didn’t think. Stanley thinks. We’ve moved away from rule-based thinking in artificial intelligence. The new paradigm is based on probabilities. It’s based on statistical analysis of patterns. It is a better reflection of how our minds work.”

See the full article for more. It’s a terrific story of brilliant minds learning to understand how we actually evaluate the physical world — and programming computers to do something very similar.
For one Objectivist entrepreneur’s take on developing artificial intelligence, see the Atlasphere’s interview with Peter Voss.

Warning: Men Not Working

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

Instapundit says “Atlas is shrugging.”
Consider the evidence:

Millions of men like Mr. Beggerow — men in the prime of their lives, between 30 and 55 — have dropped out of regular work. They are turning down jobs they think beneath them or are unable to find work for which they are qualified, even as an expanding economy offers opportunities to work.
About 13 percent of American men in this age group are not working, up from 5 percent in the late 1960â??s. The difference represents 4 million men who would be working today if the employment rate had remained where it was in the 1950â??s and 60â??s.

What could be causing all these men to stay home? For the full story, see Dr. Helen Smith’s post on the topic.

Founders College Launches Beta Web Site

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

FoundersWeb_Logo.gifWe just received the following announcement:

Greetings!
There’s been a lot of mystery surrounding the startup of Founders College — the greatest revolution in higher education of our lifetime. You can be the first to get the real deal (not the media mush) on this exciting project by checking out www.founderscollege.com. Whether youâ??re a friend or just curious about the project, youâ??re getting a first look because youâ??re a rational, prolific, powerful web communicator. There will be many exciting milestones to come — announcement of our location, full faculty listing, and much, much more — and weâ??ll be in touch along the way.
Best,
Tamara K. Fuller
Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer
Founders College Education, Inc.

Their web site looks like a good start to a great idea. (I mean, who could not love that logo?)

Brandon Routh on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

brandon-routh.jpgThe new issue of People magazine contains this quote from Brandon Routh, Hollywood’s new Superman:

“I don’t know if most people will want to read something this heavy, but I really recommend Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It will take you all summer to read but you just might learn something, be inspired and have your opinions changed.”

Sweet.
Somebody tell him about the upcoming Atlas Shrugged movie.
Is he Latin enough for Francisco? Inscrutable enough for Galt? Let the speculation begin!
Hat-tip: Hudgins (via Bidinotto).

Preity Zinta on Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

preity-zinta.jpgFrom a new article in The Hindustan Times about actresses with a passion for reading:

They are hot. They are sassy. They are sexy. But mind you, they are not dumb! We’re talking about the Bollywood starlets. Check out what some of these gorgeous actresses manage to indulge in despite having a pressure-cooker kind of life.
Whenever some actresses are off work, all they are glued on to is…Books! Reading has influenced their thinking in many ways. The starlets have drawn inspiration from reading award-winning novels.
They believe that books have influenced their lives as much as other important social and professional events. Actress Preity Zinta is among the passionate readers club, who finds Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead as one of the most influential book of all time. “I have read this book several times till now and still whenever I find time, I like to read it again. This is the book, which has influenced me a lot. Initially when I read this book, it was difficult for me to understand it but later on when I read it again, I realized the importance of its character,” explains Preity.
Talking further about the book she says, “The character of Howard Roark in this book has inspired me very much. He is a man of strong will who faces big problems in life but wins over them with his wisdom and endurance.”

Her father gave her the book when she was in 8th grade. See our earlier post on this topic for additional background.

Capitalism = Happiness?

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

The situation may not be as simple as “Living Under Capitalism = Being Happier” but a new article in New Scientist called “Wealthy Nations Hold the Key to Happiness” suggests that such a conclusion is not far from the truth.
The “Map of World Happiness” below sums it up pretty well. Red indicates happiness. Yellow indicates unhappiness.

world-happiness.jpg

From the article:

According to the analysis, a countryâ??s happiness is closely related to its wealth, along with the health and education levels of its people. It is no surprise that people spending heavily on healthcare, such as US citizens, rank highly, says White, as this investment increases life expectancy and general wellbeing.
“There is a belief that capitalism leads to unhappy people,” he says. “However, when people are asked if they are happy with their lives, people in countries with good healthcare, a higher [earnings] per capita, and access to education were much more likely to report being happy.”

Many thanks to friend and political-happiness scholar Will Wilkinson for calling this new article to our attention.

This certainly adds an interesting twist to the “Materialism = Unhappiness” equation that we hear advanced a lot, implicitly or otherwise, in American Buddhist and leftist circles.

Here is an interesting tidbit:

Countries that rank in the top 20 in both Whiteâ??s list and the Happy Planet Index â?? presumably very happy places indeed â?? are Costa Rica, Bhutan and Antigua and Barbuda.

I wonder what these countries have going for them.

Atlasphere Columns Now Available via RSS Feed

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

The Atlasphere columns are now available through an RSS/XML syndication newsfeed.
Someone requested this feature last year, and it made perfect sense — but I’ve only now had time to set it up.
The little orange RSS icon is hidden behind the password-protected “columns” section of our site, but you can copy the actual link to your clipboard using this link.
Drop me a note if you notice any problems or have questions.
I know the feed doesn’t validate strictly, but haven’t had time to look into it, and I probably won’t bother unless it’s actually, you know, causing problems.

Update from TOC on Atlas Shrugged Movie

Posted on by s1e2t3u4p5

The Atlas Society / Objectivist Center has published its own formal write-up of the Atlas Shrugged movie presentation by Atlas Shrugged movie producers Karen and Howard Baldwin at this year’s summer seminar.
Much of this information was mentioned in Robert Bidinotto’s writeup of the same event, but this elaboration was nice to see:

The climax of Part I [i.e., the first movie of the trilogy] will be the first run of the John Galt Line, with a cliffhanger denouement that sets the stage for Part II. â??The John Galt Line is the central plotline in the first part of the novel,â? Kelley notes. â??Itâ??s a wonderful story of successful achievement, revealing the heroic stature of Hank Rearden and especially Dagny Taggart. But itâ??s crucial to have the film end on a darker note, foreshadowing the rest of the story. Randâ??s central theme, after all, is that the world is not safe for producers until they challenge the morality of altruism and the politics of parasitism.â?

See The Atlas Society’s full article for more.

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