While researching genetic programming as one possible way to discover near-optimal solutions to the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP), I came across this cool interactive demonstration of genetic programming using JavaScript. I found myself playing with it for a good while, enjoying watching the solutions evolve and converge under different fitness constraints.
The page itself doesn’t provide much information on what’s going on, but you can get a quick overview of genetic programming here. For deeper investigation, try genetic-programming.org, a site maintained by John Koza, one of the major figures in genetic programming research. There are links to all sorts of resources including all of Koza’s publications, many of which are available online.
While researching migraine remedies, I came across this site on Antique Cannabis, i.e. medicinal uses pre-1937. Besides the history and the strange range of uses (anti-asthma cigarettes?), the photos of antique ads, labels, apothecary bottles, tins, production facilities etc. are very cool. Note the manufacturer on this one:
My friend and colleague Mark Petrovic pulled me into this blog-tag game, apparently started by Jeff Pulver. It’s a sort of parlour game where you tell five things most people don’t know about you and then tag more people to do the same. So here goes: five things most people don’t know about me:
- I used to be a professional Shiatsu therapist. I also studied Traditional Chinese Medicine seriously before realizing I didn’t have what it took to be a doctor.
- I have a Bachelor of Mathematics degree, but I can’t calculate the tip on a restaurant bill.
- I’m a Zen Buddhist (well, more like a “lapsed” Zen Buddhist, these days).
- I love Space Opera. Some of my favourite authors are Iain M. Banks, Peter F. Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds, Neal Asher, and of course: Isaac Asimov. I even love cheesy TV space operas: Star Trek (all of them), Stargate (both of them), Firefly, and Battlestar Galactica (the new one–I just couldn’t take Lorne Greene seriously in anything.)
- My pet topic is the history and philosophy of science, about which I’d really, really like to write a book one day.
Ok, now I need to “tag” some more people. Hmm… how about Leigh Himel, Mathew Ingram, Jason Theodor, and Jason Ramsay-Brown
This animated piece on Ben & Jerry’s research into environmentally-friendly alternatives to refrigerants is cute, educational, and…a little weird. Personally, I like the “really nice cow who doesn’t talk much” the best.
