| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
07 Dec 2003 06:35:17 AM |
| Object: |
A Meteoric View of Life |
A Meteoric View of Life
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/04/opinion/04THU4.html
http://forums.delphiforums.com/atheistrefuge/messages/?msg=1786.2198
The fossil evidence of meteor-strike extinctions from 65 and 251
million years ago remind us how contingent our own existence on the
planet is.
Scientists search for secrets of robust systems
http://nasw.org/users/dsteele/Stories/Robust.html
Multiple features help life, technologies survive disturbances
Engineers and designers have long struggled to find ways to make their
products -- like planes -- more robust.
September 18, 2000
By Diana Steele / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
When the economy goes sour, companies that make more than just widgets
are more likely to survive. When a meteor hits the Earth, families of
creatures with more diversity among their members are more likely to
have survivors after the dust clears.
Planes still fly even if one rivet pops off a wing. Computers still
work (for the most part) even if software has a few bugs in it. And
power grids, in the United States at least, are pretty reliable at
providing power 24 hours a day.
These systems all share in common a quality called "robustness" - an
ability to keep functioning even when a part goes awry or something in
their environment changes. Airplane designers, computer makers and
electric companies have long struggled to find ways to make their
products more robust.
Diana Steele
http://news.google.com/news?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Diana+Steele%22&sa=N&tab=gn
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Diana+Steele%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Diana+Steele%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Diana%20Steele&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Erica Jen
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Erica+Jen%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Erica+Jen%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Erica%20Jen&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
John Doyle
http://news.google.com/news?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22John+Doyle%22&sa=N&tab=gn
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22John+Doyle%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22John+Doyle%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=John%20Doyle&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Thomas Kepler
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Thomas+Kepler%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Thomas+Kepler%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Thomas%20Kepler&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Simon Levin
http://news.google.com/news?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Simon+Levin%22&sa=N&tab=gn
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Simon+Levin%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Simon+Levin%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Simon%20Levin&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Applying methods to the madness
http://rcswww.urz.tu-dresden.de/~helbing/dallas.html
Researchers use equations, computer models to forecast human actions
in traffic jams, social circles
10/26/98
By Diana Steele / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
In the futuristic science-fiction world of Isaac Asimov, life imitated
physics.
In a series of novels beginning with Foundation in 1951, Asimov
conceived of a science capable of predicting civilization's fate
500,000 years into the future. The new science was invented by a
psychologist who described social behavior the same way that
physicists predict the actions of a gas based on interactions between
molecules.
Now real-life scientists are borrowing a page from Asimov's books,
using equations for molecules to forecast human phenomena ranging from
traffic jams and pedestrian pathways to how people form and change
opinions.
With the help of a few simple assumptions about "social forces" -
comparable to the physical forces that affect molecules - scientists
can use these equations to suggest ways to alleviate pedestrian and
vehicle congestion.
Dirk Helbing
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Dirk+Helbing%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Dirk+Helbing%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Dirk%20Helbing&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Piter Molnar
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Piter+Molnar%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Piter%20Molnar&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Peter Molnar
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Peter+Molnar%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Peter+Molnar%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Peter%20Molnar&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
Bibb Latane
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Bibb+Latane%22&sa=N&tab=nw
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=+%22Bibb+Latane%22&sa=N&tab=wd&cat=gwd%2FTop
http://groups.google.com/groups?as_epq=Bibb%20Latane&safe=images&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_scoring=d&lr=&num=100&hl=en
[...]
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