Thursday, June 10, 2010
New Robot
I'm working on a new robot. I'm thinking of naming it Sonny after the NS-5 from the movie I,Robot. Pictures of the new robot coming soon.
Descartes Codifies Scientific Method
I found this interesting and wanted to share:
....In the Discourse, Descartes described four rules he established to make sure he always came to true conclusions.
Doubt everything. “The first was never to accept anything as true if I did not know clearly that it was so … and to include nothing in my judgments apart from whatever appeared so clearly and distinctly to my mind that I had no opportunity to cast doubt on it.”
Break every problem down into smaller parts.
Solve the simplest problems first, and build from there.
Be thorough. “The final rule was: In all cases, to make such comprehensive enumerations and such general reviews that I was certain not to omit anything.”
By following these simple guidelines, he said, “There cannot be anything so remote that it cannot eventually be reached nor anything so hidden that it cannot be uncovered.”
The first precept of doubting everything, including the evidence of his senses and the thoughts in his head, led Descartes to the one fundamental truth on which he could base everything else: He existed. The senses sometimes lie, Descartes reasoned, and thoughts that occur in dreams feel just as real as thoughts that come while awake. But the fact that Descartes wondered about the truth of his thoughts and sensations meant that something must be doing the wondering.
“While I thus wished to think that everything was false, it was necessarily the case that I, who was thinking this, was something,” he wrote. “From the very fact that I was thinking of doubting the truth of other things, it followed very evidently and very certainly that I existed.” He expressed this thought concisely and memorably as cogito ergo sum: I think, therefore I am.Read More http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/06/0608descartes-publishes-scientific-method/#ixzz0qTN1Hz7H
....In the Discourse, Descartes described four rules he established to make sure he always came to true conclusions.
Doubt everything. “The first was never to accept anything as true if I did not know clearly that it was so … and to include nothing in my judgments apart from whatever appeared so clearly and distinctly to my mind that I had no opportunity to cast doubt on it.”
Break every problem down into smaller parts.
Solve the simplest problems first, and build from there.
Be thorough. “The final rule was: In all cases, to make such comprehensive enumerations and such general reviews that I was certain not to omit anything.”
By following these simple guidelines, he said, “There cannot be anything so remote that it cannot eventually be reached nor anything so hidden that it cannot be uncovered.”
The first precept of doubting everything, including the evidence of his senses and the thoughts in his head, led Descartes to the one fundamental truth on which he could base everything else: He existed. The senses sometimes lie, Descartes reasoned, and thoughts that occur in dreams feel just as real as thoughts that come while awake. But the fact that Descartes wondered about the truth of his thoughts and sensations meant that something must be doing the wondering.
“While I thus wished to think that everything was false, it was necessarily the case that I, who was thinking this, was something,” he wrote. “From the very fact that I was thinking of doubting the truth of other things, it followed very evidently and very certainly that I existed.” He expressed this thought concisely and memorably as cogito ergo sum: I think, therefore I am.Read More http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/06/0608descartes-publishes-scientific-method/#ixzz0qTN1Hz7H
Friday, June 4, 2010
Cool Quote
I came accross this quote today at work and wanted to share it.
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing — that's why we recommend it daily."— Zig Ziglar: Author and motivational speaker
I think you'll agree that is a profound statement on many levels! :-) I like this quote because I often lack the motivation I need to continue to work on my robot project. Perhaps I could build robots while bathing? Huumzzzah......
"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing — that's why we recommend it daily."— Zig Ziglar: Author and motivational speaker
I think you'll agree that is a profound statement on many levels! :-) I like this quote because I often lack the motivation I need to continue to work on my robot project. Perhaps I could build robots while bathing? Huumzzzah......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)