text:
A bead is a small, decorative object that is pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under a millimeter to over a centimeter or sometimes several centimeters in diameter.
Glass, plastic, and stone are probably the most common materials, but beads are also made from bone, horn, ivory, metal, shell, pearl, coral, gemstones, polymer clay, metal clay, resin, synthetic minerals, wood, ceramic, fiber, paper, and seeds.
A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery.
Beadwork is the craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized thread, strung onto thread or wire, or adhered to a surface (e.g. fabric, clay).
Types of decorative beads include:
Chevron Beads are special glass beads, originally made for trade in the New World and the slave trade in Africa by glassmakers in Italy as far back as the early 15th century. They are composed of many consecutive layers of colored glass. The initial core is formed in a star-shaped mold, and can have anywhere between five and fifteen points. The next layer of glass conforms to that star shape. Several layers of glass can be applied (typically four to seven layers), either star-shaped or smooth. After all layers have been applied, the glass is drawn out to the desired thickness and when cooled, cut into short segments showing the resulting star pattern at their ends. The ends can be ground to display the chevron pattern. Chevron beads are traditionally composed of red, blue, and white layers, but modern chevrons can be found in any color combination. Original beads made for trade to the New World and Africa were typically composed of green, white, blue and red layers.
Other beads considered trade beads are those made in West Africa, by and for Africans, such as Mauritanian Kiffa beads, and Ghanaian and Nigerian powder glass beads . Other ethnic beads include Tibetan Dzi beads and African-made brass beads. Rudraksha beads are seeds that are customary in India for making Buddhist and Hindu rosaries (malas). Magatama are traditional Japanese beads, and cinnabar was often used for beads in China.
Tagua nuts from South American are used as an ivory substitute since the natural ivory trade has been restricted worldwide.
Furnace glass beads are a special type of art bead. They are made using traditional glassworking techniques from Italy that are more often used to make art glass objects. The manufacture of these beads requires a large glass furnace and annealing kiln.
Furnace glass beads, also called cane glass beads, are sliced from long glass rods, often decorated with stripes and other color, also known as canes.
Lead crystal beads (also known as machine cut crystal) are cut crystal beads made with hi-tech precise machinery. Thanks to this state of the art machine cut processing the crystal items achieve outstanding geometry and excellent optical parameters. Many lead crystal beads are enhanced with surface coatings. Aurora Borealis, or AB, is a very common surface coating that diffuses light into a rainbow. Other common surface coatings are vitrail, moonlight, dorado, satin, star shine, heliotrope.
Swarovski along with Preciosa branded crystal beads are prized by jewelers and hobbyists. They are a high-lead content crystal although today production of lead-free crystal is common. Lead crystals have an incredible sparkle and clarity, and are often multi-faceted to resemble gemstones. Styles and colors go in and out of production, so vintage cuts and colors are often prized with a similarly associated price tag. Swarovski along with Preciosa bicones are the most popular crystal beads in sizes and . Other Czech companies such as PAS Jablonec make similar styles of crystal beads.
The millefiori technique involves the production of glass canes or rods, known as murrine, with multicolored patterns which are viewable only from the cut ends of the cane. Millefiori beads are made of plain wound glass bead cores and thin slices of cut cane (murrine) which are being pressed into the bead surface, forming mosaic-like patterns, while the glass is still hot. Another name for Millefiori bead is mosaic bead.
Pressed glass beads are formed by pressing the hot glass into mold to give the bead its shape. Often pressed beads are made using machines that stamp the shape from the molten glass. The shapes can have holes punched in virtually any direction. The Czech Republic is the primary producer of pressed beads, although India and China also produce significant amounts.
Seed beads are uniformly shaped spheroidal or tube shaped beads ranging in size from under a millimetre to several millimetres. "Seed Bead" is a generic term for any small bead. Usually rounded in shape, seed beads are most commonly used for loom and off-loom bead weaving.
The ivory-nut palm, Phytelephas aequatorialis, is a plant that can be harvested for vegetable ivory. It is often used for beads, buttons, and jewelry, and can be dyed. The beads can take a form of the whole Tagua nut or various slices, beads and shapes carved and cut from raw Tagua nuts. In its natural form Tagua resembles Ivory and hence the name vegetable ivory is sometimes used to describe it. However unlike Elephant ivory Tagua is completely eco-friendly.
Trade beads are various types of beads made in Europe specifically to be used in the slave trade and other trading in Africa. Chevron beads are a specific, historically important type of trade bead. Africa was not the only outlet for these beads. As far back as Christopher Columbus' expeditions, these beads were traded to Native Americans for goods and slaves.
Also known as Perler Beads, sometimes called "melty beads" by young children, these small, plastic and colorful beads are placed on a peg array with a solid plastic backing to form pictures and designs and then melted together with a clothes iron. Fusible beads come in many different opaque colors, transparent colors and with sparkles (flakes inside the plastic) and peg boards come in various shapes (e.g. figures) and squares and rectangles. They also can be strung into necklaces or bracelets, or even woven into keychains.
Beck, Horace (1928) "Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants." Archaeologia 77. (Reprinted by Shumway Publishers York, PA 1981)


text:
Dream makers: SD's stage producers
A look at some locals who help bring ideas to reality - on Broadway and beyond
By now it's no secret that San Diego has become a nationally renowned incubator for new works of theater. Much of the credit for that reputation goes to La Jolla Playhouse and the Old Globe Theatre, which have developed dozens of works that have gone on to Broadway and around the nation over the past few decades. ■ But San Diego also is home to people who play their own independent roles in shepherding new plays and musicals from concept to fully staged reality. ■ San Diego's theater producers span a wide range of experience, tastes and approaches. But what they share is a passion for working behind the scenes to bring a project together. Here, we talk with a few of them about what they do and how they do it:
Gail and Ralph Bryan
Credits: Past Broadway shows include "Jesus Christ Superstar" (revival), "33 Variations," "The Farnsworth Invention." Current productions: "Jersey Boys" (Broadway and touring), "Matilda" (Broadway), "Memphis" and "American Idiot" (tours).
Coming up: "The Who's Tommy" (revival) and "Doctor Zhivago," plus five other projects in development.
Gail and Ralph Bryan's lives have been entwined with theater since both were youngsters — first through acting in school productions, then through catching shows at La Jolla Playhouse while working their way through UC San Diego, then as Playhouse subscribers and donors in the mid-1990s.
But the couple's interest in becoming behind-the-scenes theater movers crystallized one evening more than a decade ago, when they organized a Playhouse gathering for young professionals that featured a Q-and-A with playwright Doug Wright, who was working on a then-new piece called "I Am My Own Wife."
"It was fascinating to listen to Doug tell how this true story became a play, and then to watch (actor and UCSD grad) Jefferson Mays perform it in the theater next door," Gail recalls.
"I think we both became fascinated with the artistic process at that moment — and even more so when (the play) went on to Broadway and won three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer."
Several years later, they earned their first major producing credit, on the Playhouse-launched musical "Jersey Boys," which became a Broadway smash (and is still running there and in multiple touring versions worldwide).
Latitude Link, the production company Gail Bryan founded and operates in partnership with her husband, has been involved in more than 20 productions since then. Gail estimates those shows have been seen by more than 6 million people on Broadway and some 12 million worldwide. The Bryans also won Tony Awards for helping produce "Jersey Boys" and "Memphis."
The couple's level of involvement, Gail notes, varies from show to show. At times they serve as "above the title" producers, supplying a significant portion of the overall investment in the production. (That was their arrangement with "Jersey Boys.")
At other times they take on the role of general partner — becoming part of the decision-making team and helping shape the show's marketing. (They also participate more modestly in some shows as associate producers or simply investors.)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Casa de Salud is proud to host the Supa' Fresh Mobile Market every Tuesday morning from 9:00 am - 11:00 am.
|City Greens' Supa' Fresh Mobile Market
All products sold at the Supa' Fresh Mobile Market are local, natural and/or organic and best of all priced at wholesale cost and sold without tax. It is City Green Produce's mission to provide quality and affordable choices to those who may have barriers to accessing healthy food. This includes our quality Amish products, eggs, pork, and produce.
Most of the items sold in the Supa's Fresh Mobile Market can be found in Whole Foods, Dierberg's, and Schnucks, but will cost $3-$6 more in the grocery store!
To support its philanthropic mission, City Greens asks for those who make more than $30,000 to pay a small amount for a membership to the program. The membership only costs $75 for 15 visits or $125 for unlimited visits, memberships are also tax deductible. If you save at least $6 on each visit (which is almost guaranteed if you buy just 2-3 items) you pay for the membership and save money, all while supporting a great cause!
If you make less than $30,000, you don't have to buy a membership! This is perfect for students who want the highest quality foods at the lowest prices.
The Supa' Fresh Veggie Mobile will be at Casa De Salud (3200 Chouteau Ave 63101) every Tuesday Morning from 9am-11am. We are conveniently located at the corner of Compton and Chouteau. Check City Greens' blog (http://citygreensproduce.blogspot.com/) or their twitter account @citygreenstl for updates and locations.


text:
Brazil Barbie® Doll
Designed by: Linda Kyaw
Release Date: 8/9/2012
Product Code: W3445
Olá, collectors! Brazil Barbie doll joins the party in a beautiful white lace festival dress, accented with a vibrant multi-colored wrap. With bead necklaces and strappy-yet-sensible heels, she's ready to celebrate! Includes "passport," country stickers, a plate of "cocadas", and brush.
Doll Details
|Body Type:
|Skin Tone:
|Light Brown
|Facial Sculpt:
|Fashion Sewn On?:
Included with doll:
Cocadas plate, hair brush, stand, passport, and sticker sheet.
For ages 6 and over.
Production doll may vary from the photo shown above. Mattel reserves the right to modify the fashion/fabrics, sculpt, hair color/style, and accessories. Doll cannot stand alone as shown.
Collector Photos
No one has uploaded any photos.


text:
Comments are closed.
Fill out the form below to signup to our blog newsletter and we'll drop you a line when new articles come up.
Our strict privacy policy keeps your email address 100% safe & secure.
Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Site Map | Statistics | Dashboard
Content & Images Copyright © 2003-2014 BeautifulFairhope.com. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Contact Us
Campus Center, Second Floor- Leicester
964 Main Street
Leicester, MA 01524
There are several ways to get involved with the programming board:
1.) Be involved as a General Member
2.) Become a committee chair
3.) Serve as one of the two co-chairs
Begin your involvement with the Programming Board by volunteering on one of the number of committees that make up the board. General members will help in every stage of the event planning process — from brainstorming event ideas to implementing and attending them. No prior experience in event planning is necessary to be involved as a general member. However, we ask that you be interested in providing your fellow students with quality programs and be willing to be a part of the event planning process.
Committee chairs work with the co-chairs, other committee chairs, general members and advisor to choose events to plan and implement. They also communicate with vendors/agents, reserve venues, coordinate event logistics, create budgets, and carry out events.
Co-chairs will also work on the various event planning logistics with the additional responsibility of serving as mentors to the committee chairs and general members of CAB, as well as being the primary points of contact for vision, direction and guidance amongst the CAB leadership team.
All Becker College students are invited and eligible to serve as general members of the Campus Activities Board. In line with the College's core value of excellence, each CAB executive board member must maintain an overall GPA of 2.5 per semester. General members of CAB are expected to maintain a 2.25 GPA. By meeting this standard, members of the board will demonstrate a commitment to excellence within the classroom, as well as balance and a well roundedness outside the classroom. There are several options to get involved with the Campus Activities Board: students may opt to participate in the organization by serving as one of the two co-chairs to lead the board, they may work within a committee chairperson position, or choose to take part as a general member.


text:
I wonder how can I implement dual numbers in Mathematica, so that all functions work well with them (as with complex numbers).
Particularly, for each function $f$, $f(\varepsilon)=f^\prime(0)\varepsilon$
I wonder how can I implement dual numbers in Mathematica, so that all functions work well with them (as with complex numbers).
Particularly, for each function $f$, $f(\varepsilon)=f^\prime(0)\varepsilon$
If you use the matrix representation, addition and multiplication works by default, but you need to use matrix multiplication and not just space (which is element-wise multiplication), for instance
If you just want to have the rule enforce that you mention, you could just write that rule out:
You can add other rules to make your other algebra work out aswell for intance for multiplication:
If you want the full function application rule, then there is a problem with just defining it, lets assume you wanted to write down:
Then you can write the definition for function application with respect to
And if you would like the numbers to be printed like
Now then this works together to allow:
Edited to correct error caught by Rahul Narain, also to improve incorrect output formating in symbolic expressions.
Here's a tiny piece of advice I follow: any time I want to implement a new, exotic number system in Mathematica, the first thing I do is to look within the implementation of the
Having said this, here's a bunch of rules for doing basic arithmetic with dual numbers, as well as a general rule for evaluating functions with dual number arguments (notice the heavy use of
The last rule, while fairly general, will give erroneous results for functions like
Possibly a function that applies functions, by expanding to first order in the dualE part.
This has the inconvenience of being awkward, since it would need to be used with basic arithmetic (but as noted in other responses, UpValues on dualE could perhaps address this). An advantage is that it should work in a reasonably consistent manner, and (I hope) not require much beyond what I did here; might need some special fault-handling if you encounter the likes of 1/dualE.
You can map any dual number $a + b \epsilon$ into a $2 \times 2$ matrix: $$ a + b \epsilon \mapsto \begin{pmatrix} a & b \cr 0 & a \end{pmatrix} $$


text:
[X] Privacy Policy
BrainBashers Games uses cookies and by usingBrainBashers Games you agree to our use of cookies.
All Games |
Featured |
Top 10 |
BrainBashers |
Illusions @ BrainBashers |
Puzzles @ BrainBashers |
Today @ BrainBashers
BrainBashers Games is run by the same people who run the BrainBashers puzzle and illusion website.
Please read the disclaimer before contacting us.
Please take a screen shot if you think that it might be useful to us.
To send us your comments and feedback please use the main Feedback option on the BrainBashers puzzle website:
This website uses cookies, for more information please view our privacy policy.
Design © Kevin Stone 2015 | About | Disclaimer | Privacy


text:
Bags > Peace Bag™ Mini Crossbody
Peace Bag™ Mini Crossbody
model #: 105911
Our signature Peace Bag™ collection is meant to bring peace and harmony to all that wear it.
- special web price $54.00, regular price $79.00
- Exterior: Leather, Trim: Polyurethane
- Interior: Polyester
- Black and ochre have silver tone hardware. Deep plum and olive have brass tone hardware
- 9in L x 2in W x 9in H Drop 12-23in
- Zipper closure
- Back slit pocket
- Lining features two multi-use pockets and a zippered back wall pocket
- Clean with a water-based leather cleaner and moisturizer. Use a protective spray to protect the leather surface.
- Origin: Imported
Displaying 1–1 of 1 product reviews
You must be logged in to write a review.
Friday February 1 2013
i bought this in purple-now want to go back for black-cont to come up with new peace sign purses-just love them


text:
First of all, I DO NOT DEAL BY PM. Do not PM me, I will not reply.
I prefer email. My email is firstname.lastname@example.com. If you are interested in trading or buying something, we'll have a really nice friendly deal through email. I can call anywhere in the US and Canada for free as well. So if you want me to call, feel free to EMAIL your number.
Here's some things you should know:
1. Asterisks on haves means I would only trade that item for a Priority Want item. On wants the number of asterisks simply denotes how badly I want the item within it's own wave or series.
2. These lists are probably around 99% accurate or more right now. A couple/few items may need updating.


text:
- Steve Bruno
- Toronto
- Canada
Web Project Manager,
This conversation is closed.
Do you believe we have true freewill?
I am curious to know if you believe we are more than just chemical and physical reactions in our brains.
What do you believe, and does that belief affect how you live and make decisions?
Edit: I have modified the question to allow for a more broad discussion on the general concept of freewill.
There seems to be a lot of confusion around the definition of the term "freewill". I have gathered some definitions from a few sources below to use:
"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion"
Source: Google dictionary
"Free and independent choice; voluntary decision: You took on the responsibility of your own free will."
Source: Dictionary.com
Lets try to not get too caught up on the semantics. There has been some interesting discussions so far. I would like to summarize the main points on each side of this topic when I have time.
Jun 9 2011: From a neuroscience aspect, the decisions we make are decided before we are consciously aware of them. Thus, Sam Harris claims we do not have free will. How can I "control" a decision when I'm not even aware it has been made?
EDIT: This is backed up by empirical evidence.
Jun 9 2011: I saw that same research and did have an idea of how this could potentially be explained. There could be the possibility of a 'lag' in terms our subjective experience as our 'self' integrates the decision into its narrative. We consciously make the decision, have control over it and therefore have free will but my subjective experience of having made the decision is subject to a time lag - in terms of Sam Harris study, the time differential was tiny - which manifests itself as evidence that the decision was made before I was aware of it, but isn't actually the case.
Debra Smith
Jun 9 2011: Andrew, it is absolutey backed by evidence even fMRI evidence where the computer could pick with 100% accuracy the decision before the participant had made it. However, I am not sure that the conclusion that it negates free will is right.
- +3
We are an amalgam of our endowments by genetics, our experiences, our temperment and our physical health and our unique place in the universe at this moment but they are all still 'us' and they all combine like parts of a machine to determine what our free will choice will be - even it they predict it a microsecond before our conscious mind is aware of the decision.
Jun 9 2011: I think you hit the nail on the head there Debra. This particular facet of the argument revolves around what you define as "I". Defining ones self to be the imediate consious experience, separate from the brain, and not the machinery of the brain leads to the illusion that the brain is making decisions for a person where as infact the brain IS the person.
Just because our consious selves weren't aware of a decision right away doesnt mean it wasn't us making it.
Jun 10 2011: Honestly, do you understand the concept of free will?
If a computer can determine our thoughts before we can, than what the hell is the point of justifying free will? We've already undermined the works of "god", and we are mere specks in the universe. Not EVEN.
Free will means that we are a completely blank slate, with our own minds and the freedom to be whoever we want. It's now been broken down to "we have the freedom to make whatever decision we want" and "you are your brain, therefore however it makes decision, that is you making the decision". I mean seriously? Obviously you make the decision. But you have no role in how that decision is made. Why do you believe in what you believe? Answer that.
Do you understand genetic determinism, genetic fixity, innate capacity, etc.?
Moral liberty is in the words of Andrew Buchmann a "bronze age ideology" It's like storing sour milk in a brand new refrigerator.Jun 10 2011: If one accepts the notion of soul (and inherently "free will"), the only reconciliation is that a soul is not the same thing as consciousness, and that it has a large lag, during which the brain is "ordered" and becomes consciously aware of the decision. In that case though, the notion of a soul needs to be carefully revised to match this new notion... with consciousness out of the picture, a soul is nothing but sub-sub-consciousness (sub-consciousness' driver), and the once romantic concept of "this metaphysical thing that represents what I perceive as me" is gone in favor of "this metaphysical thing that controls this physical thing that controls what I perceive as me".
If one does not accept the notion of a soul, then free will, as in "decisions made independently from physical laws" becomes a false one, and the new mantra becomes, to quote Sebastian Seung's TEDTalk, "I am my connectome".
Debra Smith
Jun 10 2011: @ Cole, I really enjoy speaking with intelligent young people rather than arrogant or angsty ones who pick fights. To answer your question about whether I understand. Hmmmmmmmm. I'll put my thesis in neuroscience against yours any day. These issues are more nuanced than your blanket condemnations suggest. As to free will - you may have a point! What am I doing responding?Jun 12 2011: @Cole: Free will isn't as obviously defined as you may think. There are a few ways of thinking of free will that go under names such as the determinist, libertarianist, and compatibilist view.Jun 14 2011: Would somebody give me biological proof that innate capacity does not exist? It looks like I need some.
- +2
Everything is situational, there is genetic influence on how one acts upon a situation but seriously, you don't control what brain you're born with.
Also I would like biological proof that the human brain can make rational decisions without any prior knowledge of anything.
@Debra, If all of these variables throw together the free will that we have, technically you can say that our free will is chosen for us by our brain. Yes or no?Jun 14 2011: Hi Cole! That's a really great question.
My stance is this: neuroscience discoverys are surprising many who had preconceived notions forcing rapid adaptation. Our brains are born with endowments and temperments including I think about 5 basic personality elements or tendencies. Based on the built in 'hardwiring' the newborn begins to lay down programming that is purely experiential while ongoing growth of the brain continues with proper nutrition. Some scientists actually think that all of our senses are intertwined at this early stage (synesthesias) so that we can do some hyper learning. Somewhere at about two years the child gets some form of free will or real consciousness. Within the limits of their endowments they begin to consciously interact with the world -choosing experiences and making decisions. At this point they begin to lay down conscious decisions that will guide them for a lifetime and that process of creating cognitive structures like stereotypes and schemas is ongoing and has mechanisms for self corrections. When a person runs into a traumatic event - those stereotypes and scehmas are shattered - and this is one of the prime things that I see as evidence of free will. A person who has their mental models shattered by an event like rape or war or other trauma needs to stop and cannot immediately function because they have to go back to purely conscious- which means slow, painful and very deliberate free will choices in every minute of every day. As long as the decisions you made previously let you get by in day to day life' they support running on 'autopilot' but when the situation is novel or traumatic or very serious we re-engage an appropriate obvious free will. So as unsatisfying as this answer maybe I say I do not separate the brain from free will because the brain is 'us' and we are still in the driver's seat just as a pilot who flys a plane equipped with autopilot still chooses the destination and has to deal with crises. Free will- yes.Jun 14 2011: @Cole: What you say is true and I think in those terms when it comes to free will. So I'm with you on the idea that we don't have free will. Nevertheless, there are some definitions of free will where this view you express is compatible with the idea of free will. This is the view apparently expressed (I say apparently for I have yet to read it) in "Freedom evolves" by Daniel Dennet.
Now you're free to propagate your view and defend it as the one that makes more sense, but you have to remain mindful that some people here could actually be talking about free will without being wrong, but simply looking at it from a different angle.Jun 14 2011: Matthieu, really great and balanced advice!Jun 14 2011: Well, assuming our brain is our 'free will", do we choose which brain we are born with?
And regarding the bit about traumatic events, what is traumatic to one may not be traumatic to another. This is because some live in harsh conditions where as other don't.
The brain makes all decisions, the brain is built by genetic codes, we do not decide which code we want.Jun 17 2011: @Cole "Obviously you make the decision. But you have no role in how that decision is made." Contradicting yourself again. Babies are blank slates, there brains can form very differently due to environment even if they are genetically identical. So what brain we are born with doesn't matter as much as you seem to be saying. We can choose to take different meanings from situation that structures our thinking differently. These decisions start at a very early age. Also I have to disagree with you about the brain making the decisions, it merely presents facts while the mind makes the decisions.
@Debra, Hello! Interesting point how we have in our life decided so many things that when a decision comes along it likely fits into predetermined (by us in our past experiences) parameters. So the decision isn't made shortly before we our conscious of it it may be made years before that current time being just a mix between similar experiences. This reminds me of some thoughts I had years ago about the shape of memories and how situations with similar shapes are grouped together then if the present situation has a similar shape to past situations the outcome is shaped closely to the others.Jun 19 2011: Hi Thomas, forgive me for the delay in responding- I missed your comment.
To me it is as though our being is like an army. Decisions are only 'kicked upstairs' if there is no protocol in place to handle it or if the part of the army whose job it is to deal with the situation is 'off sick'.
Even the delay noted in fMRI studies between the point where a decision can be predicted and when a person is conscious of it - is only the marshalling of resources to ensure it can be carried through. There is no sense in deciding to go to the beach if you have no gas or suntan oil to make a silly example. The delay is filled by an assessment of the ability to carry out the decision.Jun 19 2011: @Thomas, that is not a contradiction. You and I seem to have a different definition of "you" or "i". For me, it's the connectome.
We are the connectome, but how can the connectome control itself, when it is making decisions based on what reality presents.
It all comes down to innate capacity.Jun 19 2011: Cole, I'd like to work to understand your argument here a little better. How does this innate capacity enlighten your thinking? How can individual innate capacity matter if each person- billions- function independently and each have their own consciousness? If we are all the product of innate capacity or endowments and we each develop them with experience - how does that advance your position? (Written words are funny and can appear to be more argumentatvie than intended please read my questions as a sincere request for information.)Jun 19 2011: Innate capacity means that each individual is a product of the environment they exist within.
Everyone is different, everyone is their own individual person.
This is also parallel to the fact that everyone's experience in life is different.Jun 23 2011: Cole, It has taken me awhile to think how to respond to you.
I believe in free will for many reasons. Partially just through my studies of the brain, partially through a lifetime of observation and study in avariety of areas but also because I watched my 5 kids grow. I watched them become who they are and I watched them make choices that were uniquely their own. While I know case studies are hardly compelling, I think they add to my conviction with real life illustrations.
I think lives develop in a pattern that resembles the dentritic structure - the same structure you see in the dendrites of the brain and in the branching of trees and in the run off of water on dry ground. This structure is altered at any moment by uncontrolable events. If a brilliant child is bullied too far the brain prunes off the growth in certain areas, if a kitten does not see certain structures at the right time, it will never be able to see them, if a kid who is not that bright learns from a supportive teacher to work hard they can surpass the brilliant ones and become very successful. My point is that there are too many random events which come into our lives and which we choose to engage or not to engage to be influenced or not to be influenced.
We choose all the time in millions of things and these choices prune the dendrites of our brain so we go further or we inhibit our own growth. This is to me free will. It makes the future utterly unpredictable. What if Einstein had been born into another family who did not have that electrical equipment for him to imagine about?
There are too many what ifs and too many ways we choose for me to think the initial endowment of our brains is the only thing that counts. It is one of many factors.
I think all the random influences that are utterly unpredictable (no matter how determinists think that they will eventually predict everything) intersect with oices we must make in every novel situation.Jul 4 2011: Perhaps your theory is technically correct by todays understanding of the human brain.
But todays understanding of the human brain is not nearly close to a complete understanding.
One day we will understand what makes us who we are and how our decision making is determined, and what makes us choose different paths.
I think saying we have true free will is still ridiculous, In my opinions it's not really a theory it's more of a constantly updated ideology that conforms to what modern science has disproven.
Much respect for your activity in the field of neurology.Jun 10 2011: The rat race has begun I would say. Also slightly of topic but my brain tends to make decisions too early and then my body doesn't respond which is really annoying.Jun 10 2011: @Debra: I think your description of the state of things is entirely accurate, but I wouldn't call free will what you call free will. As I discovered from my TED debate on the same question was that indeed free will my have a slightly different significance for different people.
Jun 10 2011: Matthieu, I think that is a valid point. We may all have different definitions. Pinkers work is compelling but at the same time, I think that we take all of what we are and I feel that we end up in very different places doing very different things. Twin studies are interesting and some would say compelling but I still see enough evidence of individuation and self expression and different ending points to maintain a belief in free will - as I define it.Jun 11 2011: @ Deb
I believe the issue comes down to how we define free will. What Harris is saying is that the "I" is the conscious experience and therefore can not be the thing making decisions. It seems you are making the claim that the "I" is the whole kit and kaboodle; neurons, body, place in the universe, etc. This is a fair assumption but there are some philosophical issues present such as personal identity Again, great discussion, I just hate the commenting design... does not work well with discussion.
Jun 12 2011: Hi Andrew!
I love his work as well. I just remind you that many of our decisions have been consciously decided and pre-made step by step during the person's individual lifetime to form stereotypes to guide fast decisions and save cognitive space and time- especially time. We do not come pre-made with all of the cognitive structures. They are deliberately built based on experience and individual reaction and decision of conscious choice that are filed away.
I am not suggesting a remaking of 'free will' but arguing that it is more like one long sentence built into our lifetime of reactions not just what is evidenced in the moment by a momentary response like one word. My thesis was measuring what the brain did on the level of microseconds when given an emotional stimuli. I know we react exquisitly individually to the events of our lives and that directs us in ways we are not even consciously aware to react as we have concluded to direct ourselves long before- to keep us safe.
I see that as free will based on cumulative serial decision making.
As to commenting design that's interesting- I responded to a particularly rude swearing person who habitually uses this style and who happened to hold your opinion and who received no such rebuke.Jun 13 2011: I'm not saying anything against you Deb, just so I'm clear. When I say I hate the commenting design, I'm referring to the thread formatting with replies. It becomes confusing with the sub-arrows because you can't respond to all of them. Like I said prior as well, I am thoroughly enjoying the dialogue we are all sharing.Jun 19 2011: If you an I are thinking of the same experiment, it wasn't 100% accurate, but 60%. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_identification#Predicting_intentions
If it is a different experiment, however, I would like to know to which one you refer.Jun 10 2011: Neuroscience explains the brain's components and patterned thinking processes.
But can human minds overcome even their own programing?
If so, does that mean free will?
Jun 10 2011: I don't think they can, but if they could that would indeed be some sort of free will. That overcoming of the brain's programming would have to be ex-nihilo. A very unlikely event.
Jun 10 2011: "I still seem to decide what films I go to see, I don't feel it's predestined, though it must be determined somewhere in my brain." - Patrick Haggard
Personally, I feel we are wired for predestined decisions based on our natural personalities and learning behaviors. I further believe that studying and thinking in terms of cognitive science critically, would prove people to be able to have high levels of free will.
I also consider free will to be degrees, levels, or plateaus; based on being a human animal and not being absolute consciousness and be able to completely be aware of everything constantly. That is just crazy to try and give the label free will too.
Also if we go computer science on this idea of overcoming the brain's programing, we could simply reprogram ourselves, so perhaps there is a intrapersonal answer to free will being achieve as well a mechanical answer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compatibilism_and_incompatibilism is more or less my position on free will.
Edited: Since we are discussing neuroscience, I would like to post websites that have simple explanations towards the terminology, facts, and scientific understands of the brain.
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/05/10-fascinating-facts-about-the-human-body?new (newer facts about our whole bodies + brain)
http://www.brainexplorer.org/neurological_control/Neurological_Neurotransmitters.shtml (the chart at the bottom of this page is very simple, also this website allows defining words upon clicking without bringing you to another page)Jun 10 2011: @ Nick
What is this redefined format of free will that you speak of? What is it? Are we born with it?Jun 10 2011: First a formula I considered.
Freedoms + [cognitive] educations + personality/learning behaviors = degree of free will
Bare with me on my example.
In West Africa, the schools are free but usually the children have to stay home and take care of their families. The children that do not go to school, receive only the education they create reflecting on the world through their predestined personalities/learning behaviors and/or from their local community friends.
Now you, were born in America. Not only are you automatically going to school for 15 - 20 years (since you NEED college now to get an academic job) you have the internet, friends, family, teachers, and social networks in which you put yourself in. You have miles of choices in which to be educated from.
Both you and this child in Africa could have the same personality and the same learning behavior. You are both a similar robot of a human being. Except when our natural instincts happen and we create patterns in which guide us through positive emotions. You my friend will have much more to choose from than our African child example.
You have the freedom not to have to work and help your family and through your attitudes, personalities, and behaviors you have the chance to become something great. That is a higher degree of free will.
The degree of free will however does NOT equal happiness in the form of positive emotions. Your happy emotion of getting an A on a test could be equal to the happy emotion of getting a good trade at the market for food today...
Indeed, depending on your predestined locational birth, growth, and environments will depend on your free will level.
To be educated upon self (in entirety; how our brain creates patterns, gets tricked by our eyes and ears working together, how much emotions really effect our choices, what it takes to be a good person, etc) others (how they relate to you and how they benefit/take away from you), and the world (what is your place in it) = high FWJun 12 2011: Nick, we were given this free will. So in africa, they do not have as much free will because they were not given it?
So it's not free, it's a gift that a select few have.Jun 12 2011: You have a higher degree of free will than someone in Africa, yes...
But you both are born with the ability to pick what you want..
You just get more educations in the form of social networks, schooling, extracurricular activities, that an African child would not receive without being in the upper classes.
So you know more about what you want, the details, the consequences, the options, etc... You just know more thus your free will of choices rises to a higher degree..
That's really it.. depending on how much you know, how much you understand, and how much your environment allows (your freedom) is what creates my idea of "free will" or something that would be the closest that humans can have.
True free will is B.S philosophy
Also I do interpret that some are more lucky than others in this world. I was lucky yo be born into my upper-middle class family where I do not have to kill for my food or work 8 hours a day to support anyone besides myself... counting blessings could be apart of how free your mind really is, to me.Jun 17 2011: Meditation can allow us to overcome the programming of our brains. The mind controls the brain. I'm not saying it's easy but with enough focus and a long enough tangent I think it is entirely possible to redefine the emotional reaction to chemical stimuli.
@Nick, as to your example of the African child, I don't think that the free will would be different between the two, merely the ability to enact the free will.Jun 10 2011: Hi Nicholas,
Thanks for the link. I am a compatibilist, too.
I think hard indeterminist free will is nonsense. I explained my position to some extent in my post from yesterday. (1) We are determined to be what we are by the physics, biology, and chemistry of our bodies (including our nervous and endocrine systems) to the extent to which the physical processes are deterministic processes, and (2) we are undetermined by anything including our will to the extent that those physical processes include a degree of randomness (from quantum mechanics).
While the language of physical causality is quite important, the words in which we talk about ourselves as minds or spirits are very important, too, because they are the context in which we make decisions and evaluate our decisions. They form the language of ethics and identify what is most important to us: living as beings with cares and concerns which cares and concerns should be respected when we choose how to act. Value disappears if we only use physical language to describe ourselves.
That there are two ways of speaking about ourselves does not mean that we should just follow Kant in saying these are contradictory antinomies. They are not. To really understand will and decision making is to understand it as a process which arises out of an underlying causality, but which should not be abandoned merely for that reason. The natural process of will and decision making is a useful process. The rationality that often emerges from the natural processes is generally better than the alternative of abandoning ourselves to irrationality.
Jun 10 2011: "While the language of physical causality is quite important, the words in which we talk about ourselves as minds or spirits are very important, too, because they are the context in which we make decisions and evaluate our decisions."
Well put. The entire second paragraph is delightfully simple.
Indeed, logical reasoning, is only one way in which to approach life. Natural philosophy is also a great and powerfully spiritual way in which to consider schools philosophies and other belief systems. Logic and reason come in many fashions, scientific communities are only now considering what religious communities have for centuries. It is amazing to consider what reflection on life can do as a disciplined practice.
I agree completely.Jun 10 2011: Nicholas, I think you are on the right track. Did you know that in all of the study of Psychology and Neuroscience there is barely a predictive tool that can predict what any one will do beyond a corelation of .4? That means 6/10 no predictive test can guess what any individual is going to do. Every human resources test that is being used in business cannot tell beyond about .3 whether or not someone will do the job they are being hired for well. If the best tools around (short of this one fMRI scan cannot predict with any accuracy at all if you will choose chocolate milk or coke, blondes or brunettes, to be a prof or a postman, whether you will dance or not dance, whether you will see this movie or that (now this might be as high as .7 if they have your age- that says to me that there is still plenty of variation that I attribute to FREE will. How does everyone else explain the obvious facts that we do not all make the same choices and that we don't always make the same choice twice in a row? Gas?
Jun 10 2011: Still new science to everyone Debra.
I have personally taken the studies of cognitive science as a hobby. One day I will probably go back to school for it after I travel the world. This science is going to evolve the modern world towards transhumanistic changes and be of value for all of the citizens of the world, because this field will simplify us as humans being programed robots as Haggard notes. If he is a robot, we are all essentially robots will free wills.
I know psychology is being enhanced by neurology, it is terrible to be in that profession right now and have to go to all these lectures and seminars that say everything you thought you knew was either wrong or not all the way there... anyone doing psychology now I would tell them to continue education towards CS and not psychology. It is truly a booming field and I'm glad we got someone like Andrew on TED as patron to dictate anything changing in the extremes in regards to the fields CS covers.Jun 10 2011: Hi Andrew,
I think the notion of a will that is free in the sense of rising above natural causality is nonsense. See my post from yesterday. But I do not think the Sam Harris argument you refer to is adequate to prove that.
I would suggest that Sartre was right to make a distinction between pre-reflective and reflective consciousness. Stopping to make oneself an object of one's own consideration takes time and it is not one's ordinary way of being conscious. Generally, one's focus is upon the things in the world with which one is interacting.
It is useful to note that there are degrees of making something an object of consideration. It has to do with focus. It also has to do with how many varied associations one brings to the consideration of the current object of one's focus. Seeing something as an object has to do with seeing it as a part of an infinite series of phenomena in which the object has, does, will, might, might have, might yet, etc., appear to me or to others, and all of the rules and principles by which those appearances or potential appearances are caused, connected causally, and otherwise connected.
To say we can't make decisions if we are not reflectively aware of our decision making process as it is occurring is just not in accord with our memory of what happens. In the usual case when we think back to making a decision, we remember ourselves as thinking through the options and relevant factors without focusing upon ourselves as we were thinking through the options and relevant factors.
The advance from Descartes to Sartre was that Descartes seemed to assume that pre-reflective self awareness was complete and inerrant. Sartre recognized that the pre-reflective "self knowledge" is not objective. It is merely background awareness that does not rise to the level of focused, objective awareness and does not guarantee that afterwards, when one tries to reflect upon that prereflective awareness, one will do so without making mistakes.
Jun 11 2011: I enjoy the following thought experiment from Sam Harris:
"Imagine that a mad scientist has developed a means of controlling the human brain at a distance. What would it be like to watch him send a person to and fro on the wings of her "will"? Would there be even the slightest temptation to impute freedom to her? No. But this mad scientist is nothing more than causal determinism personified. What makes his existence so inimical to our notion of free will is that when we imagine him lurking behind a person's thoughts and actions—tweaking electrical potentials, manufacturing neurotransmitters, regulating genes, etc.—we cannot help but let our notions of freedom and responsibility travel up the puppet's strings to the hand that controls them."
-From Sam Harris' "Free Will (And Why You Still Don't Have It)."
Jun 19 2011: I am sorry but I do not buy Sam Harris' logic here. The product of a healthy brain is thought. Thoughts are the mind. The mind is the source of free will. When you usurpt the ability of the brain to independently produce its own thought you preclude the possibilty of free will. The experiment itself is tainted. You can chain a man's body and limit his free will too. Proving that you can take control of the brain does not prove free will does not exist just as stealing a plane and turning off the autopilot does not prove that the plane does not have autopilot.Jun 24 2011: Let me help explain things a little...
When the scientists is in control of the mind he is manipulating physical variables within the brain (tweaking electrical potentials, manufacturing neurotransmitters, regulating genes, etc.) This is NO different that what the brain is doing normally, without scientist or consciousness involved.
I don't think you are equating the last part right Deb. Could you be clear and distinct with regards to what each term refers to" Thanks , its just that the mad scientists isn't taking away any control from the person, he is just doing everything the brain would be naturally doing. Again the person had no control over their decisions to begin with. How can a person have control/free will over something they aren't consciously aware of.?
And as always, my above comments should not be taken to be malicious. Sarcasm is as far as i will ever go down the rabbit hole.
EDIT: Dry humor as wellJun 11 2011: The here used definition of free will is a contradiction. We can be concious of something only if it happened in the past. If we would be aware of a decition while we make it this decition would need to have been made before.
This means, If we need to be consious of oure decition while we make it and need to decide free in the sense of undetemined at the same moment of time to have free will, free will is impossible by definition.Jun 13 2011: A note on the comments about the brain's signals being made before we are aware of them: I don't dispute this happens, but... my thoughts lead to one's sub-consciousness. I do believe the way our sub-conscious and conscious works may trigger one chemical reaction/ brain signal over another. WHO one actually IS, may determine what signal is fired.
An example is word association. If I say 'wing', what's the first thing that pops into your mind? A bird wing? A plane wing? etc Furthermore - associated words of wing are also flagged up in your mind, ready to be used: 'bird', 'feather', 'plane', 'metal', 'fly', 'air', 'wind' and so on. So because of one's own past experiences and education etc, the thoughts that occur really come down to YOU, the likelihood of you thinking something in particular is because of what you have 'learned' sometime previous.
Humans are also (arguably) the only animal that is able to choose to die or take one's own life - the one idea that goes against the basic instict - survival. That being said - in the big picture - it is ultimately nature that dictates what we do.Jun 19 2011: who says you're not. if you're your body only, perhaps yes, but if you're an underlying energy form then yes, the decision originates with you.Jun 20 2011: One of my professors used to reply to this question with a single example (with which I strongly agree):
:: a baby is *born* into language, and a particular language, at that (that is: specific neurological stimuli in the brain based on particular sound-patterns). It doesn't choose its own words, it has no free will at all. It is born into culture (a unique set of sensory stimuli). Once this culture is acquired, it can "play" within it. But it will never decide for itself in which language or culture it is born. ::
In short, humans have no real free will. Only some room to "play" within existing systems.
Most of us exaggerate the importance of this "play", which only scratches at the surface of the strong structures which determine our existence.
Jun 20 2011: It's nice to see this.Jun 21 2011: Interesting perspective.Jun 21 2011: right LaurensJun 21 2011: I am not sure an analogy of where one is born is really an example of the lack of free will. It's a bit existential, or perhaps a religiously based assertion. . . "Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God..." So in effect I could take your professor's statement to mean... "we are predestined from the beginning, God has the big plans set in place, play a little if you like, but you will never truly have control of things.." I'd double check with your prof to see if he is a Calvanist? Or, is it a religious school you attend?Jun 22 2011: I agree with some of what you describe, but I think if you observe: a two year old child, a teenager and a retiree - you will see many examples of "free will " ! During certain times in our lives, we 'personally-revolt' because we need to express the "I want to be 'me' !" feeling because somehow our 'free will ' was suppressed.
I agree that even when we live in a positive environment, we are faced with Cultural pressures that can suppress our "free-will spirit " through "confined" family, religious, educated or social barriers - even if they are very well meaning.
I think 'free will' is an inborn natural sense, and even if suppressed - yet it can be revived.
As we grow up, if we naturally focus on choosing to play, live or work with an interest that makes us happy, we consciously or unconsciously followed our 'free will' and probably went against socially accepted choices in doing so. I think the pivotal moment of recognizing you have 'free will' is when you realize you can make your choices on a consistent basis.... this realization can happen anytime throughout your life, from infancy through old age.Jun 23 2011: So this is like Karma? Because everything in the universe, or rather, within the universe must have its cause, and every cause must have its effect. But a baby is just born, so it had no opportunity to act. The logical conclusion is that the baby acted in some previous existence, and those acts caused it to be born in the family and circumstances.
Sometimes, our logic may be perfect, but we may not find physical proof or evidence for it.
(Sorry, this is a little off-topic, but somewhat related)
David Smith
Jun 18 2011: No, free will is something that is made up by religion.
- +3
The entire universe can be quantified by heavy logic and calculations. Why did you look both ways before you crossed the street? Why did you decide to have beef for dinner instead of chicken? It's because that's what you were going to do, regardless of how you thought you were going to do it. Free will, sure.. we can decide what we do and don't do, but it's already laid out for us anyway. Try thinking of the universe as an extremely complicated computer program, with zero probability. It's a bit mindboggling, but those stars are moving in the direction they're set to move in.
Jun 18 2011: I would respectfully disagree. the universe is not deterministic, at least that is my interpretation of modern quantum theory. zero probability is a concept that has come and gone. perhaps it will come around again but i doubt it.
Jun 18 2011: Hello Chandan,
I am open to the idea, since we don't know it is all truly speculation right now. Thank you for your input, I am interested to see where science leads us in our quest for knowledge on this subject.Jun 19 2011: I have already written about the fact that quantum indeterminancy does not in any way help the concept of free will. Notwhistanding the obvious fact that brain impulses manifest at a level too high to be considered quantum mechanical, all quantum mechanics would add to a brain's function is probabilistic random outcomes. Randomness is not a substituion for free will. If anything it's less desirable than a deterministic brain (not that desirability should be treated as a good argument) because the brain would act in an erratic fashion.
Jun 19 2011: As far as I've seen, there *are* quantum affects on the brain. The main reason being is that water effectively magnifies quantum effects to a higher level. Due to the unique bent structure of water, it's highly responsive to quantum changes, having orientations rotate, magnetic fields fluctuate, etc. And these effects have a tendency to have domino effects into the rest of the nearby water molecules, which adjust other molecules, etc. It's a butterfly effect, akin to in meteorology. Granted, it averages out to a relatively stable system (like how our atmosphere doesn't decide to freeze or boil us all to a crisp randomly every other day) but fluctuations can affect many different functions (like having random tropical storms spring up.)
Also, why *isn't* randomness not a substitution for free will, especially if said randomness can affect the outcomes of later otherwise random events? Isn't that effectively what free will is?Jun 19 2011: Free will is the power to make a decisions independent of environmental stimuli of any kind. How does quantum mechanics give anyone the power to circumvent the obvious material boundary of the laws of physics? If electrons have a certain probabilistic configuration around a nucleus, is that called a decision? Of course it isn't. Quantum mechanics is just that thing in science that nobody understands so its used as a last bastion for free will. To borrow an expression from religious debates, it's very much "free will of the gaps".
Jun 19 2011: A human being functions in a stimulus rich environment. How could free will or any other construct or anything else require us to be free of stimuli?I am not speaking in terms of Quantum theories neither am I speaking from a religious perspective.Jun 19 2011: Well Debra I've already acknowledged that you and I mean something very different by free will. You have what's called in philosophy a "Compatibilist" approach to free will whereas I have a "Determinist" (an unfortunate name given what I'm arguing) approach. The way in which some people deal with free will here is to invoke free will as being on some higher plane of existent exempt of all influences by physical laws. This idea in my opinion is better dealt with a "determinist" approach which speaks more to a "Liberterianist" audience than "compatibilism" does. There's an exchange between Robert Wright and Daniel Dennet where they both argue free will on their own terms and the conversation doesn't really lead to anywhere, so in the interest of clarity I'm sticking with this one definition here.
So of course I agree with you here Debra. Only I don't call what's left "free will".
Jun 19 2011: Just so I understand your stance, Matthieu,is yours an argument of philosophy alone?Jun 19 2011: I'd say it's an argument based mostly on scientific considerations.
Jun 20 2011: Could you outline the most compelling evidence of those scientifc considerations or if you have already done so can you direct me to where I might find them please?
Edit addition:
Matthieu: would you also have a reference or a cite where I could view the Wright/Dennett exchange?Jun 22 2011: http://meaningoflife.tv/video.php?speaker=dennett Robert Wright and Daniel Dennet. You can skip to free will on the left. I think Wright describes my position, although I watched it a long time ago so I can't remember how much detail he goes into.
Jun 23 2011: Matthieu,Thanks so much for that link!
I am definately on the side of Dennett in most of his arguments but I do think that Wright has something in his impression of Consciousness. Consciousness is not just explicable from the brain physiology alone- at least not yet. It may have more to do with the prefrontal lobes and their tasks of integration. Free will is to me evident in that we choose to avoid negative outcomes every time we can do so. In any deterministic world we are nothing but victims and I can never agree to that when i see how often human beings outsmart the bad and the deadly.Jun 19 2011: Free will is not merely the invention of religion, but a necessary presumption for moral philosophy, The only way a discussion of what people should do becomes possible is by assuming that what people will do is not yet set.
Jun 19 2011: People confuse it with a religious topic because it is not quantifiable in terms of measurement or fact, but we are constantly encountered with things that lack substance and can't be quantified, from the simplest thing such as color, to the more complex concsious experiences such as meaning and language. Disregarding non-quantifiable phenomena is not the answer in my opinion, that's why I am not so quick to disregard it just because it's not measurable or consistent with cause and effect.
However I am not gonna go full fledged metaphysical on the subject and say that it justifies any spiritual realm or existence. It's just like all other subjective phenomena, it's outside of measurement, it's like trying to measure colors.
Jun 19 2011: I like your style Budimir and your reasoning. However most colors can be scanned, rated and reproduced reliably by a variety of methods. Perhaps you were referring to peoples perceptions of color? Free will, assuming it exists, must be subjective and ephemeral and would be as hard to prove as many other subjective experiences like love, which many people claim is just a false concept. One might say that if it were possible to prove free will it would then negate itself by denying the freedom of skeptics to avoid any responsibility for their choices. The simplest evidence for free will against entropic determinism is that given by M. Scott Peck when he observed that it was counter intuitive that MOST people(not all) are healthier and in many respects saner than their parents. If reactionary determinism ruled then you would expect them to be the same or worse.Jun 19 2011: That is an interesting way to think about free will, proving it will negate the choice to be irresponsible. Haven't thought about it like that. I also have to look into M. Scott Peck.
It is very much like love, or joy, or hate. It something that we experience, and I think there is nothing skeptical about it, I can't get into other people's minds and experience love or free will. But we all come to a common consensus and we can infer that we share very similar subjective experiences. It's right here in front of us, no one here can truly say that they haven't experienced love unless they are a sociopath. Whatever we call that subjective experience it is there we feel it, we just can't measure it.
I also note eariler that whether free will exists or not, no one can deny that it is a very important notion. It is the foundation for our theories of justice. If it is that important people might as well live with it. We let dice decide so many trivial matters like games even though we know dice are not truly random, it just hard to determine the outcome. So if responsibility is that important to us we might as well accept the notion that we are free just like we accept the notion that dice are random.
Finally, I know we can reproduce colors, but what I was getting at is that we can't really measure the redness of an object, any attempt to do so will not provide us with a physical value of red.Jun 19 2011: The free will isn't a necessary presumption for the moral philosophy because the moral philosophy is about the morality not about how the morality is applied by us (the last perhaps is more about social philosophy ).
Simon Pratt
Jun 21 2011: Morality is the discussion of good and bad applied to human interaction. If human interaction is not in any way the product of free choices but rather is determined like any natural phenomenon, it becomes irrelevant to assess choices for their virtue. How can a cloud be immoral?Jun 23 2011: Only humans are capable of taking moral actions. Morality cannot manifest without somehow being applied.Jun 23 2011: That's right only humans are capable of taking moral action , but the morality can manifest without being applied , it manifest in our mind , it manifest as idea , as impulse and can stay at only this level of idea, of impulse without being applied, therefore the morality can be studied without it's manifestation and so the free will isn't necessary to be brought in the discussion about morality and neither the reverse.
- +1


text:
I did mine but you're inbox was full, can i send it again???
"The Best of British" Rob Rage
HWA Midcarder of the Year 2011
Longest Reigning HWA Universal Champion Ever
EWA, HWA, AWF, JBW, IWA & BitW Legend
Real HWA Supremacy World Champion
IWA Insane Asylum Winner 2012
First Ever JBW Underground Champion
EWN Midcarder of the Year 2012
EWN Promo of the Year 2012
"I am my own worst enemy, I'm not the smartest mutha fucka n shit and I don't pretend to be."
Last edited by Leggo; 09-02-2011 at 01:56 PM. Reason: Edit
E-Fed Vet. From 2010 and counting.
2X JBW World Champion
1X EWNCW World Champion
14X Chlamydia victim


text:
By participating in the Brooklyn Museum's comment area, whether in person at the Museum or via the Brooklyn Museum Website, you agree to comply with the rules listed below. The Brooklyn Museum may revise these rules from time to time.
You agree not to submit, upload, or post any content to the comment area, which:
- libels, defames, invades privacy, or is abusive, profane, or threatening
- infringes any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity
- falsifies or deletes author attributions, legal notices, or other proprietary designations
- violates any law
- advocates illegal activity
- knowingly contains viruses, corrupted files, or other materials that may cause damage to the Brooklyn Museum's Website or any computer system
- advertises or otherwise solicits funds or sales of goods or services, or is otherwise inappropriate in any way.
We encourage any user who feels that a posted message violates these rules to contact us by email at email@example.com.
By submitting a comment, I agree that the Museum shall be the sole arbiter of the content of its Website and the comment area, and thus it retains the right, though not the obligation, to place, edit, classify, or remove any content posted on the Website or the comment area.
By submitting a comment, I agree to be bound by the terms and conditions described above.CONTINUE


text:
Moderators: Tonyblack, Jason, Toothy
ChristianBecker wrote:I wouldn't know of any place for a poll like this where the results wouldn't be biased.
Dotsie wrote:But people who say they believe in homeopathy should be encouraged to try homeopathic contraceptives.
RSoak wrote:As others mentioned, 1) the definition given is a bit vague
Dotsie wrote:It's complete poo.
Tonyblack wrote:Now whether it's the Placebo Effect that is doing that - like Granny's coloured water - or something else, I don't know.
Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Google [Bot] and 13 guests


text:
Details and Shopping
Customer Favorite
Lightweight swing cami with sheer lace detailing. Crisscross, flyaway back. Straps are adjustable
*100% Rayon
*Hand Wash Cold
*Hand Wash Cold
Measurements for Small:Length: 20"= 51 cm
Bust (all around): 34 1/2"= 88 cm
Waist (all around): 42"= 107 cm
Total Strap Length: 12"= 30 cm
Rated 4.8 out of 5Â by 16 reviewers.
Rated 4 out of 5Â by bikingotter great layer I bought this top in the pink. My usual size is XS. It hits me right at the hip (just below my belt line), so not like pictured on the model. I usually order XS, but if I wanted it to fit like on the model I think I'd have to go up a size for the length. I love this top, but I'd never wear it alone. I think as a mature woman, I don't need to have my bits poking out. 12.13.2013
Rated 5 out of 5Â by daniellerjewell0 Really Sweet!! This top is a staple must have! Perfect for hot summer days and perfect for layering in the colder months. Cannot see this piece ever dating. True to size, I ordered a medium and I am a UK 10-12 (US 6-8), chest 36 D. Due to the lace paneling on the side, it is quite difficult to find a suitable bra, I found a white lace bandeau perfect! Highly recommend x x 3.12.2014
Rated 5 out of 5Â by labellamujer Fun and sexy Got the black and looks great 8.30.2013
Rated 5 out of 5Â by Gjbbaby Perfect for layering with sheer tops Love this cami......It is wonderful to use under sheer tops...I now have 3 different colors. Runs true to size. 8.28.2013
Rated 5 out of 5Â by hahaolive amazing for summer I love this top! It's perfect for summer and for fall layering. the open back is very sexy. I got the size S and I'm a 34C. It fits perfectly, and doesn't gap awkwardly like other tops made in cheaper stores do. 8.5.2013
Rated 4 out of 5Â by chelseabeachgal Lemon! I love this top in lemon--a must have! I am 5 feet 2 inches, 34 B to C bust size, 26 inch waist--a small fit me with room to spare. The fabric is fine--love the lace details on the back. Perfect for dressing up or down. I would give it 5 stars if it were silk or cotton :) Order the yellow--it's the best. FP--get more! 7.1.2013
Rated 5 out of 5Â by kirbitrue Love love love I saw this in the store and didn't originally purchase it but after thinking about it non stop I went back the next day and got it in the white color size small and am in love with it. So simple yet flirty. The only issue is it is very prone to getting wrinkles! I will probably order it in other colors as well. 6.17.2013
Rated 5 out of 5Â by CUY love I got this in black lace it's a cut date night top or good for a night out to a local bar or something it's very soft long and faded. 6.4.2013
Product Reviews
There are no reviews for this product yet. Check back. or write a review yourself.


text:
Winter!: Prepare for holiday gaming!
Description: Sure, we could have called it the gamerDNA Music Game Playstyle Quiz, but then it actually would have been your grandma's music quiz. Taking this quiz will help you learn what kind of music gamer you are, be it a rockstar, a studio musician, a solo artist, or a lead musician.
Member actions:


text: With the 2013 Honda Accord revealed this week, and many other midsizers receiving updates for 2013, the new Chevrolet Malibu faces some stiff competition in its class. In this week's episode of Wide Open Throttle, host Jessi Lang takes a tour of the factory where Chevy's new sedan is built. Granted access to GM's Fairfax, Kans. assembly plant, Lang takes us inside the facility where the Malibu is built. There, we see cars go from a drivetrain-less shell to a complete, running Chevy Malibu by the end of the assembly line. The plant employs 3700 people and operates 24 hours a day, allowing the facility a capacity of 1270 Malibu sedans a day – or one every 58 seconds. We see the various stages of the Malibu's assembly process, carried out by GM's factory workers and advanced machinery. Once the factory tour ends, Lang speaks with one of Malibu's lead engineers in Detroit. Global vehicle performance manager Mark Meyers reviews the 2013 Malibu range, which includes two efficiency-focused four-cylinder engines, but will expand with a V-6-replacing turbocharged 259-hp 2.0-liter I-4 this fall. After driving the 2.5-liter Malibu, Lang asks what you think of the industry's current engine downsizing trend. Chime in with your thoughts in the comments section and watch the full episode below.


text:
A 3 Year Transition From Male To Female In 33 Photos
YouTube user iigethii began facial feminization surgery (FFS) when she was 21-years-old. She took a photo every month for 32 months during the process. The results are incredible.
About Fascial Feminzation Surgery:
"Facial feminization surgery, is the term given to a constellation of surgical procedure that are designed to alter a masculine face to create a feminine face. Facial feminization surgery is also known as FFS. While occasionally desired by women to reduce masculine facial characteristics, these procedures are often sought by those undergoing transition from male to female. Transgendered individuals and male to female (MTF) transsexuals may desire facial feminization surgery to transform the face and facilitate passing in public as a woman."


text:
Cumbria Snow chaos drivers speak out
Last updated at 09:49, Tuesday, 29 January 2013
HUNDREDS of drivers around South Cumbria were left stranded for hours after snow wreaked havoc on the county's roads.
• Click here to send us your cold weather pictures
Among the worst hit areas was the A590 at Lindale brow were police believe as many as 200 cars were left stranded in queues reported to be a mile long before eventually clearing at around 1am.
The A592 was blocked by fallen trees and abandoned cars and some drivers trapped by the weather were forced to sleep in their cars, police have said the road remains closed this morning.
The Bay Search and Rescue send three teams to join police, fire and residents in helping to tackle the problem.
Some kind hearted residents in the Tower Wood area took in those who had been trapped while others provided hot drinks.
At 11. 20pm last night Sally Hunter told the Evening Mail she was among "hundreds" stuck on the east-bound carriageway of the A590 just before the turn-off for High Newton.
Mrs Hunter, who set off from Barrow at 5pm, is with her two children, 11 and 16, and two dogs, and said she was disgusted because no information on the estimated length of the delay was forthcoming.
She said: "Some farmers kindly pulled up about half an hour ago and passed out some tea, but there is no information.
"I've been told there's a jack-knifed lorry at the bottom of the hill, but there's no information if we're here all night, a few hours – there's no information about anything. It's appalling.
"We're sat next to the road which pulls off towards High Newton and there's been a snow plough going up and down the other carriageway, towards Barrow, and it looked like it could've cleared this road as well, but they haven't."
At 10.20pm, another reader reported that their boss was still stuck at Lindale after leaving Barrow around 4.20pm.
Elsewhere, there were cars stuck on the A592 near the Beech Hill Hotel, Windermere, and although the road had not been officially closed, police advised drivers to keep clear of this area, and indeed any roads if at all possible.
Greystone Lane in Dalton was blocked, with queueing traffic in both directions between the Holly Gate Road junction and up the hill towards Coronation Drive.
Neil Hitchings, of Spark Bridge, sent the Evening Mail pictures of cars abandoned after the road became impassable.
One driver collided with a tree on the bends near Saunders M E & Sons Ltd, Spark Bridge.
Bus passengers were told to 'rip up the timetable' due to conditions with buses to Millom cancelled while buses bound for Windermere were diverted to Kendal due to conditions.
He said buses to Millom "were off".
This morning the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ice which should subside as the day goes on with temperatures reaching a high of six degrees.
Rain is forecast for around 6pm and a yellow warning for rain has been issued for Sunday – no more snow has been forecast.
The weather has cancelled Barrow AFC's FA Trophy tie at home to Gateshead.
Lakes Aquarium has been unable to open due to the poor conditions but South Lakes Wild Animal Park has confirmed it will be open today, despite icy conditions.
Motorists have again been advised to plan journeys carefully and get the latest information on the roads before setting off.
Cumbria Highways have closed a number of roads due to snow and ice making them unsafe. The following roads are closed:
• U4059 Cold Fell and Hardknott Pass
• C4026 Ulpha Fell
• U4064 Corney Fell
The road closure orders last for up to 21 days but may be renewed if necessary.
Motorists are also being warned not to leave their vehicles unattended while the engine is running to defrost them.
The British Insurance Brokers' Association is reporting a growing number of "frosting" incidents - when opportunist thieves steal the vehicle with the keys in the ignition, while the windscreen is being defrosted. BIBA warns most insurers will not pay out in such circumstances.
The Evening Mail website will be continually updated as the weather changes, keeping our readers informed.
For updates on the conditions on the roads you can go to: www.cumbria.police.uk/traffic-link-map
For information on road closures authorised by Cumbria Highways, click here.
Send your pictures of the snowy conditions with the form below or to firstname.lastname@example.com
Tell us your story by ringing 01229 840161 or emailing email@example.com
First published at 17:03, Friday, 25 January 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Have your say
Year on year we are becoming a nation of moaners,wether it be snow,ice,gales,leaves on lines,air ports disintegrating after a mere inch of the white stuff,schools close,
disruption in life,where'as other nations just get on with it,as we used to do when
we were strong in self belief.
Perhaps introducing a no work,no pay system,or removing many ridiculous health and safety problems may come to our rescue.
Sadly some thing is missing from our culture on this little Island.
That self help and determination to get on with life,regardless of hardship and to look after neighbours is a thing of the past for many.
But to live in a system that takes of the poor so Cameron can give his millionaire
buddies a pay rise,is beyond contempt,and perhaps normal workers,may just have had enough of his Public School antics and can't be bothered.
Why blame the highways, we all knew snow was coming , and not beening funny worried wife why should someone come to tell him what the problem is? it was snowing or is he blind. Every time we have snow or floods people moan come on get a life,
If it snow put snow chains on dont cost that much.
View all 27 comments on this article
Make your comment
Send us your photos
1. You can use the form below. It's really easy . . . .
a) Fill in the Name box so that we can credit you with a by-line in paper and/or online
b) Add your Email address so that we can get back to you, either for more details or just to say thank-you
c) Put some basic details into the Message box ie what it is a picture of, when it was taken etc
d) Press the Browse button to locate the image on your computer
e) Press the Send Email button
You can only attach one image at a time but you will get an option after sending to repeat the process.
Before sending, please reduce your image file size to 500k or less. That will ensure it leaves you quicker and we receive all images.
2. You can email larger files directly to firstname.lastname@example.com
3. You can send us photos from your mobile phone. Simply type EM VIEWS and send to 88833. Only standard network charges apply.
The form . . .


text:
Feb 21, 2006
Bluetooth on my iPAQ
I can't wait to use this thing as a control device.
(And as something only a techie could love - my iPAQ has a little blue blinking LED when BT is turned on. It's a nice, calming color.)
13 comments:
mind if I ask ... so if that NXT is detected on your PDA.. what ya going to do next? Install the software on your PDA..... so is it like install the lego software that is usually on your computer to your PDA... so you can program your lego on the move ?
- Feb 21, 2006, 3:17:00 AM
Mind if I ask.. I have so much fun with mindstorm 2.0 . But hmm.. what is the set try to teach his students and engineering wannabes ?
Its fun to assemble...but what do I learn ... come see it from an enginnering perspective? Jim
- Feb 21, 2006, 3:24:00 AM
- Jim Kelly said...
I imagine that the bluetooth control will be 'broadcast' to my PDA. These controls are probably very limited (or maybe not!) and may allow me to send instructions such as forward, back, left, right. Even better, the feedback may come to my PDA as sensor output that can be read (and interpreted) by a spreadsheet or other data gathering software.
I really don't know... very little is known about the bluetooth functionality - one article DID mention Soren Lund getting a return signal from a robot to make a phone call! That alone tells me there's got to be a little programming to it (either from the PDA or, most likely, within the LabView software).
As for students - you're thinking like me! Did you read last week's Time Magazine coverage about how US students are suffering in Science and Math? I am a firm believer that students should be learning something from all this tinkering... but that may come primarily from the Lego Education curriculum and not the retail version.
From an engineering perspective, a student can obtain some good understanding of basic geometry, structural design, CNC programming, wave theory (from the ultrasonic sensor), trigonometry, and, ultimately, the scientific method we all love - hypothesis, testing, theory.
Thanks for your questions. Anyone else want to add their thoughts?
- Feb 21, 2006, 4:12:00 AM
I think that the Bluetooth control wont be able to actually download any software to the PDA to use it. So this will be up to programmers to actually implement. I beleive it wouldnt be too difficult to not together a basic control program as long as you can initiate a bluetooth session with the NXT easily enough, and bearing that in mind that you can easily implement bluetooth commands (or at least some way of actually initating the session, then sending the command, and the ability for the bluetooth command received by the NXT to have some action like motor A on).
This said programming some app in Java for a PDA (depending on it running the JRE for that) shouldnt be a hugely difficult task as I understand it. The JRE for the pocket pc's should have built in support for bluetooth, but quite, the big question is how we are going to get a session started, and then how we can send commands and then act on them.
We will have to wait and see. Also are you in the Dev program as you seem more and more eager in the last few days to explore certain possibilities with the NXT, considering the launch is 5 months away :)
- Feb 21, 2006, 4:14:00 AM
hmmm.... got some question in between... good understanding of basic geometry (ok)
structural design ( ? elaborate),
CNC programming (What this?),
wave theory (from the ultrasonic sensor)(Ok..but pls elaborate what students can expect to see so it reflects from the different surface and student see a difference waveform is it?),
trigonometry (ok guess its ruler and compass), and,
scientific method we all love - hypothesis (How, I thought it is by trial and error?), testing, theory ? (Curious... can give example)
Is it in the new software? Wow, I missed out a lot, dammed ...
What is CNC programing?
- Feb 21, 2006, 4:32:00 AM
hmmm.... got some question in between... good understanding of basic geometry (ok)
structural design ( ? elaborate),
CNC programming (What this?),
wave theory (from the ultrasonic sensor)(Ok..but pls elaborate what students can expect to see so it reflects from the different surface and student see a difference waveform is it?),
trigonometry (ok guess its ruler and compass), and,
scientific method we all love - hypothesis (How, I thought it is by trial and error?), testing, theory ? (Curious... can give example)
Is it in the new software? Wow, I missed out a lot, dammed ...
What is CNC programing?
- Feb 21, 2006, 4:33:00 AM
- Jim Kelly said...
I'll address all of your questions below, most likely tonite. My 'Real Job' just kicked in and I've got a few things to complete before 5pm rolls around. Rest assured, I've got some thoughts (not necessarily definitive answers) for you on the items below...
- Feb 21, 2006, 4:34:00 AM
- Koshdukai Yordarth said...
About Bluetooth, from what I know, every BT device, after the usual "handshake" procedure, will reply (if asked) with what services it provides (what can a device ask of it to do). So, for instance, if my BT enabled PC asks my BT enabled Mobile phone, it'll get a list like: Phone access (to access the modem capabilities); File tranfer (to get/put/list any files with sound, images, videos, Java applets, etc); general serial port (BT supports the creation of virtual "RS-232"-like serial ports for standard serial comms through BT, and I suspect this is one of the ways to communicate with NXT over BT); and a lot more other possible BT services...
Anyway, my point is that, I'm expecting at least that the NXT can support various usual (and usefull) BT services out-of-the-box and not only the basic virtual Serial port over BT. If not, at least I'm hoping that the (new) standard LEGO software makes it possible (and easy?!) to program most of the usual BT services into the NXT.
...if not, well, we'll just have to wait for 3rd-party OS (NextBrickOS?) or languages (like NQC).
Usefull URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth#Bluetooth_profiles
PS: Sorry for the long (and maybe confusing? ;) comment :)
- Feb 21, 2006, 6:40:00 AM
Regarding the BT discovery and connection, I\'d like to suggest the following as a checklist:
On the device:
1. BT enabled?
2. Is it discoverable by unknow devices ?
3. Does it support service discovery? If it does not,then the iPAQ won\'t be able to enumrate all available services on it.
On iPAQ:
1. If the deivce is found after a neighbor search, what kind of devices are available on that device?
2. Most BT devices support Serial port profile, try to connect to this service.
3. You may have to specify a PIN on either the device or the iPAQ, and then input it again on the other end to make the Paring work out.
- Feb 21, 2006, 6:59:00 AM
- Filip said...
Regarding the why Mindstorms issue, I wrote a blog entry of my own on the subject.
Sorry, it was too long for a comment.
- Feb 21, 2006, 8:09:00 AM
- Jim Kelly said...
How would designing and building robots use certain skills or studies? Here's my take, but I'm sure there are LOTS more:
GEOMETRY: If I wish to design a robot that follows a specific path and return to its starting point, it would be beneficial to understand the basics of 2D travel (along x and y axis) and how to plot points along a path. Feedback to the brick could determine if it is OFF the path or ON at specific test points by using standard geometry equations. Geometry also would figure into the possible design of a frame for a robot. Certain shapes and angles can come in quite handy (for strength) if you know how to do the math.
TRIGONOMETRY: For a robot to follow a circle (or near-circle) of a certain size, you need to know how to calculate radius, diameter, and/or calculate points along a given circle of radius X.
STRUCTURAL DESIGN: Now, I have an engineering degree, but I'm not a structural engineer. There are standard designs (in nature and man-made) that lend to certain functions; structures can be built only so high without reinforcement. When can a tripod design be used instead of one with four or more feet? A simple understanding of how form vs. function plays in a design is a great thing for young (and older) designers.
WAVE THEORY: Okay, I may have stretched it a bit, but check out one of my earlier posts and you'll see that there is a science article for the ultrasonic sensor. An understanding of sound and light waves (even a basic one) leads to a better understanding of infrared, ultraviolet, microwave, radio, and other subjects that fall into this 'invisible' category.
CNC PROGRAMMING: While the NXT isn't going to give the designer a complete education in CNC, it can come close to providing the basic understanding of plotting. CNC stands for Computer-Numerical-Control (there are variations). Have you ever seen those machines that cut into metal using lasers or water-jets or simple drilling and follow a programmed shape on a computer screen? That's a version of CNC. In college, we used CNC to cut out parts from aluminum and steel. We designed the part using software first - we had to know trig, geometry, algebra, and other stuff to properly draw something as simple as a 1/4-inch hole in the material. Programming a robot to follow a path or to perform a certain movement has characteristics of CNC.
and my favorite, the SCIENTIFIC METHOD: In high school (and engineering school) I was taught to keep a lab book. The lab book was the student's way to prove to the instructor that we could follow proper technique when it came to verifying a theory and/or testing a hypothesis. It's the same with robot design. You can either take all the pieces and throw them on the table randomly, trying to figure out how to build a robot that performs X, Y, and then Z. This is possibly a VERY time consuming tasks... shooting in the dark, if you ask me. I could write pages on this method, but I'll end this by saying that this is how I build my designs. I propose what I want to do (Hypothesis), I test various solutions (testing), and what works becomes a permanent part of my solution collection (Theory). (I still keep a lab book - multiples, actuallY- and will use them when I work with NXT.)
I don't think NXT is going to teach kids the details... I think NXT is going to give them a curiousity than can only be satisified by more study (in school or out).
- Feb 21, 2006, 8:30:00 AM
- Feb 21, 2006, 8:00:00 PM
- Sean said...
Umm, I have an iPaq. And I got it to connect and See the NXT just fine but the iPaq cannot do anything with the NXT and the NXT cannot send to the iPaq. We need some kind of driver...
- Feb 2, 2007, 3:01:00 PM