TEDx with Bad Science

- TED is the place where advance idea get presented
- Idea can wrong, what we believe are often proven wrong. Especially advance idea.

- What is the difference between advance idea and bad science?

• Confusing hypothesis with fact
• Didn't have solid background -> how can you check solid background
• Report both side of the picture 
• Should reference to journalism 
• Checkable claims 

inconvenient truth: austin was associated with vaccin, but turn out to be false. Can one really know that before it was proven false by the scientific community. 

If not, we have to bear with us that there will be always a risk of false information on the information we provide.


- Bad letter, should have shown the usual routine that TED is doing instead, what is the background check they are doing.

• No real case example are what is, what is not bad science
• Rely solely on where the presenter works, studied, instead of what is true

I guess I just don't like the word "bad science"; science is either true or false; not good and bad.

Louis CK

Standup comedy:

Christ Rock and Louis CK.

Why standup is so funny, because it is partially true, the political incorrect thing.

Louis CK seems to mock himself, while pointing (funny) prejudice for people.

Daniel Wolpert: The real reason for brains

Speech skills:
- As compared to Antonio Damasio, the speech is far more interesting. He asked questions that interesting and important, made the point easier to understand: "why computer can win chess, but is bad to move chess piece", and offer important insight.

Important question: 
- Why do we have brain? 
-> Not because we have to think;
-> But because we have make complex movement

- The proof that brain is for movement:
Sea Squirts, the moment they settle down, they digest their neuro system.

- Computer (IBM DeepBlue) can beat human in chess, but might not be able to control movement to move things. (Defined goal that can be optimize vs. not defined, complex goal)

- What is the challenge of the brain: move many muscle, identify signal from noises.

- Bayesian System: Unifying system in statistic and machine learning (related post from Jasond Hsu)

Two source of information:
1. coming from current input (sensing) (red)
2. accumulated input from the past (yellow)

Need to decide the optimal ratio, so to make the best prediction

- Making prediction, so that you can know what senses are from the outside, so that we are not fool by ourself( can't tickle yourself)

0.1 ~ 0.2 sec

- Escalating of force (because prediction, the one that gives the force, feel less than actual)

70% of escalation


- Problem: simple task, huge amount of choice; but we seems to move the same way.

We understand the dots, we move the same way -> evolution.

We want to avoid negative consequences. Bigger forces -> bigger noises, we want to avoid bigger force.

Antonio Damasio: The quest to understand consciousness

Classic scholar talk, it's great that I am moving from the stimulating emotional TED talk to pure ( and boring ) intellectual talk.

1. Conscience; displaying image, sound, imagine and reflect.
-> It's basically the same part where the brain feels.

2. Self:

What is self? Are we the only animal to have self? (Linkage to: other animal doesn't seem to understand mirror)

- Key problem about self: "How can you have this reference point, this stability, that is required to maintain the continuity of selves day after day?"

-> hypothesis: We generate brain maps of the body's interior and use them as the reference for all other maps.

-> the self is bind with our interior system, which also has to be very stable.


-> The idea so far, seems to be that self is generated from the frontal cortex, but though it is related, Damasio doesn't think it is because of the cortex, only that because the cortex allow the self to have a rich mind.

-> the proto, the core, the autobiographical.

TED talk to watch

Playlist:
Brain
http://www.ted.com/playlists/1/how_does_my_brain_work.html
Opensource
http://www.ted.com/playlists/13/open_source_open_world.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc2wVyl8RLI&feature=youtu.be


http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/zh-cn/aimee_mullins_on_running.html

News Curation UI

Google News -> search for content provider; display what the paper thinks is important
Turn out to have too few news source.

 HN -> a platform; where people discuss news; a great algorithm is used to display the most important ones
Needs a better UI; customized to different area, people's interest

Steven Johnson: Where good ideas come from

This talk is having a very common point with Elizabeth Gillbert's talk; that there is no single author of good idea; and if that is true; you need to keep working the idea in the background, and keep connecting.

The TEDx event model is interesting, but it is still taking too much time to set up. Joining other's people's event seems a good way out: PanSci's gathering. Or organize "inspiration night", where interesting people comes and share ideas. Another way will be keep attaining different interesting event.

- How to find high quality event at low cost(time, cost); how to make most of the event( talk to people, debate ideas)


- Ideas comes from connection; not alone (the rise of coffee shop)
- Slow hunches; takes years to come;

- American scientist listening to the signal of Sputnik; experts join with experts and figure out the position of the satellite-> later figure out GPS.

Elizabeth Gilbert: Your elusive creative genius

Great encouraging talk to keep programming. I am pretty frustrating by the current quiz, but maybe I need to remind to myself that you have to let genius works with you. All you can do, is keep doing your part of the work: practice.


- Author of eat pray love
- Fear that the highest point has passed
- Association with creativity and depression

- How to deal with this depression?
- Ancient Greece: Creativity does not come from oneself's, but comes from demon
- Ancient Roman: Creativity comes genius (spirit that lives inside the wall that will help the artist)
-> Artist is protected, does not take all the credit, can't take all the blame

- Now: the artist is been the genius; instead of been inspired -> ego, unmanageable pressure

- Explain the creative process this way;
- Looking for a piece of a poem

- Catch the poem by its tail

- Idea that comes from a source

- Tom, Instead of panicking; he just look up on the sky: "can't you see that I am driving"; released the genius inside; a conversation with the genius. 

- If the book isn't brilliant, it is not entirely my fault; but I am still writing because this is my job.

- dancer lift up on fire, people will say: "Allah, allah, allah"; an expression that now becomes "olay olay olay" (bull fight)

- the trick is the next morning, when the dancer wake up; and find out that he is not the portal of God anymore

- Don't be afraid; continue to do your dance anyhow

Olay (keep showing up)