Mutation and complexity. Spoiler: David K. DeWolf will be shown to be wrong.
Disclaimer: There are people I respect who believe Intelligent Design (hereafter ID). I'm not qualified to take on the entire movement. I'm just after the part that says complex life can't evolve blindly and naturally.

"Even if it were shown through experimentation that a Darwinian mechanism could produce a more complex life form from a simpler ancestor..." -- David K. DeWolf

I took a human telomere, and examined its complexity with two different measures. The measures I used were Lempel-Ziv and Burrows-Wheeler-Huffman. I examined four different telomeres: Original human, fully randomized of same length, empty gene of same length, and original after 10 random single-base knockout-deletions.

Even an empty string of DNA has complexity as long as it has length. The length is an integer, and representing that integer takes bytes. So when you measure the complexity of a gene, you should compare that complexity to the complexity of a fully random gene of the same length and a fully unrandom gene of the same length. That way you can see:

Minimum entropy gene, Actual gene, Maximum entropy gene

LZ human telomere: 66 bytes, 79 bytes, 3683 bytes
LZ knockout telomere: 66 bytes, 107 bytes, 3683 bytes
BWH human telomere: 47 bytes, 51 bytes, 3238 bytes
BWH knockout telomere: 47 bytes, 72 bytes, 3238 bytes

Two things are apparent. One, the human telomere is a pretty simple structure. Two, deleting a random part of the telomere makes it more complex. Do you want to see the source? Check my work:

( Type at a Bash prompt on a Linux box:Collapse )
There are people who say that random mutation cannot add complexity to a genome. What I have shown here is that random mutation will almost always add complexity to a genome. What I have not shown here (but which is proven elsewhere) is that random mutation is the best way there ever can be to add complexity to a genome. It's obvious that adding random bases to a string of DNA will result in a string that's more complex than the original: that's too easy and therefore no fun. What I have shown is that /deleting/ random bases from a string of DNA will also result in a string that's more complex than the original.

This essay is posted publicly for five reasons: One, so that ID advocates will know to stop saying that mutation doesn't add complexity. Two, so that DeWolf can look for an error in my work. Three, so that the other people who doubt ID can link my experiment as a confirmation of their own. Four, so that the next time someone repeats DeWolf's claim to me I can simply copy and paste. Five, so that if I have made a mistake the whole world can see and hopefully I will hear about it quickly.

-- Keith Smeltz

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Gone so long. I'd tell you why, but it wouldn't matter. Back to business!
http://chhinnamasta.livejournal.com/ : I would LOVE to talk about airplanes. And you replied in the same script I used! This is why I like livejournal. Over on facebook when I switch languages people whine at me. :-) LJ is /way/ more fun.

http://explodingbat.livejournal.com/ : Ooh, what brings up Stephen Leacock? Was I quoting him without knowing it? I enjoyed figuring out what you were saying. I regret I do not currently have time to reply in kind. Make it up to you later?

*edit*

OH! http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~krussll/phonetics/readings/leacock1.html -- this is what you were referring to? I wonder if he is connected to Dave Barry in some way...

http://suegypt.livejournal.com/ : I love REM. Specially on those certain days that never end. May they dream long and well.

--- Back to business:

Perhaps you're learning Schönfinkel-Curry SK / SKI Combinator calculus. It's also known as Combinatory logic. It's an esolang, a so-called Turing Tarpit. It expresses algorithms as these simple strings of (, S, and K. ) is not required, because of the way they designed the grammar. Perhaps you want to list every algorithm of a certain size. Turns out to be easy. Maybe writing it in Guile would look better, but I'm better at Python. For now I must use the weapon I know best.

def list_sk_trees(parens):
        cole=[['S','K']]
        for wiss in range(parens): cole.append(functools.reduce(operator.add, 
                [['('+k+l for k in i for l in j] for i,j 
                        in zip(cole,list(reversed(cole)))]))
        return cole[-1]



list_sk_trees(2)

['(S(SS', '(S(SK', '(S(KS', '(S(KK',
 '(K(SS', '(K(SK', '(K(KS', '(K(KK',
 '((SSS', '((SSK', '((SKS', '((SKK',
 '((KSS', '((KSK', '((KKS', '((KKK']

Four lines, and I can print out all the algorithms of any size. Two parentheses algorithms are always built from three operators, and there are 16 of them. If you're interested in all the algorithms made from 8 operators (7 parentheses) there are 109824 of them.

What if you wanted to run all the algorithms of some size? I can do that in twelve lines of python. I already have. I bet I have a reader who can do better.

Rumor has it: Gregory Chaitin calls it Omega. Chris Barker calls it a Goedel-numbering. Bruno Marchal calls it a Universal Dovetailer. John Tromp calls it fun.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/logic-combinatory/ -- I love the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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he's just as funny in transcription!
--- http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/linguistics/russell/138/practice/texts/barry.htm

wʌt ˈɪz ənd ˈent ɡɹəˈmætəkəl

dev ˈbɛɹi

aj kæˈnɑt ˌovəɹˈɛmfəˌsajz ði ɪmˈpɔɹtəns əv ɡʊd ˈɡɹæməɹ .

wʌt ə kɹɑk . aj kʊd ˈizəli ˌovəɹˈɛmfəˌsajz ðə ɪmˈpɔɹtəns əv ɡʊd ˈɡɹæməɹ . fɔɹ əɡˈzæmpəl , aj kʊd se : " bæd ˈɡɹæməɹ ɪz ðə ˈlidɪŋ kɑz əv slo , ˈpenfəl dɛθ ɪn nɔɹθ əˈmɛɹɪkə ," ɔɹ " wɪˈθawt ɡʊd ˈɡɹæməɹ , ðə juˈnajtəd stets wʊd hæv lɑst wəɹld wɔɹ tu ."

ðə tɹuθ ɪz ðæt ˈɡɹæməɹ əz nɑt ðə most ɪmˈpɔɹtənt θɪŋ ɪn ðə wəɹld . ðə ˈsupəɹ bol ɪz ðə most ɪmˈpɔɹtənt θɪŋ ɪn ðə wəɹld . bət ˈɡɹæməɹ əz stɪl ɪmˈpɔɹtənt . fɔɹ əɡˈzæmpəl , səˈpoz ju ɑɹ ˈbiɪŋ ˈɪntəɹˌvjud fɔɹ ə dʒɑb æz ən ˈɛɹˌplen ˈpajlət , ənd jɔɹ pɹəˈspɛktəv əmˈplɔjəɹ æsks ju ɪf ju hæv ɛni əksˈpɪɹiəns , ənd ju ˈænsəɹ : " wɛl , aj ent nɛvəɹ ˈækʃli flajd no ˈækʃəl ˈɛɹˌplenz əɹ ˈnʌθɪn , bʌt aj ɡɑt ˈsɛvɹəl ˈpajlət stajl hæts ənd ˈsɛvɹəl fɹɛndz hu aj lajk tə tɑk əˈbawt ˈɛɹˌplenz wɪθ ."

ɪf ju ˈænsəɹ ðɪs we , ðə pɹəˈspɛktəv əmˈplɔjəɹ wɪl əˈmidiətli ˈɹiˌlajz ðət ju hæv ˈɛndəd jɔɹ ˈsɛntəns wɪθ ə ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən . (wʌt ju ʃʊd hʌv sɛd , əv kɔɹs , ɪz " sɛvɹəl fɹɛndz wɪθ hu aj lajk tə tɑk əˈbawt ˈɛɹˌplenz .") so ju wəl nɑt ɡɛt ðə dʒɑb , bəˈkʌz ˈɛɹˌplen ˈpajləts hæv tə juz ɡʊd ˈɡɹæməɹ wɛn ðe ɡɛt ɑn ðə ˈɪntəɹˌkɑm ənd əksˈplen tə ðə ˈpæsəndʒəɹz ðət , bəˈkʌz əv haj wɪndz , ðə plen ɪz ɡoɪŋ tə tek ɑf ˈsɛvɹəl ˈawəɹz let ənd lænd ɪn piˈɛɹ , sawθ dəˈkotə , ɪnˈstɛd əv ˌlɑs ˈændʒələs .

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House, MD: "There's a reason that we don't let kids vote or drink or work in the salt mines. They're idiots! 20-year-olds fall in and out of love more often than they change their oil filters. Which they should do more often."

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Kliŝaĵo, manĝaĵoŝranko, poŝtaĵo, ŝafaĵo, ŝafidaĵo, ŝercaĵo, ŝiraĵo, ŝirmtegaĵo, kai ŝmiraĵo. Are the fricatives palato-alveolar or postalveolar?

ETA - ŭato versus vato: the spelling changed. How does the pronunciation change?

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The Hunting of the Snark, by Lewis Carroll
Meme from pandatini If you see this, post a poem in your own LJ today.

     There was one who was famed for the number of things
          He forgot when he entered the ship:
     His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings,
          And the clothes he had bought for the trip.

     He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,
          With his name painted clearly on each:
     But, since he omitted to mention the fact,
          They were all left behind on the beach.

     The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because
          He had seven coats on when he came,
     With three pairs of boots--but the worst of it was,
          He had wholly forgotten his name.

---
"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
and with strange aeons, even death may die."

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Adventures in insomnia
What do you want to do with a machine mind? So far I've done:

1) Run it.
2) Display its parts.
3) Create and train a new one.

What should I do next? So far I have:

4) Modify its parts.
5) Re-train an old mind.
6) Port it to Python.
7) Run it on a website.
8) Rate health of its parts, to find diseased nerves.
9) Test an old mind on new data.

Instruct me, oh inter-net.

The moment I get GPG working again, I'll be posting signed source code.

---
"Be happy with what you’re getting
There’s a guy who’s been awake
Since the second world war"

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public post due to two False Advertising claims

"DW2806SS USB Powered Super Slim (0.6in) Ext DVD Burner"
http://www.aerocooler.com/shop.cart?action=ITEM&prod_id=DV2806SS

"This is possible when the USB port of your computer supplies enough power in accordance with USB-IF, an industry standards body of USB design standardization. However, it may occur that some computers USB ports do not supply enough power to this DVD burner to enable DVD disc burning by USB power alone."

Blame the customer. Nevermind how much power it draws. Not even a USB 2.0 hub port supplies over 2.5 watts. USB 3.0 can, but they never specify USB 3.0, simply USB. Two lies of omission.

Aerocooler is hereby instructed to go out of business.

---

"NU 8X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 6X DVD+R DL 8X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 5X DVD-RAM 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-R 24X CD-RW 24X CD-ROM 2MB Cache USB 2.0 External Slim DVD Multi Burner USB-Powered Model ESW860 - Retail"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827154040&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-CD/DVD+ROM/RW+Drives+-+External-_-NU-_-27154040

Amazingly, Newegg's drive is even worse. They don't include an external power supply for when you find out that your computer just happens to not work with this drive. They never mention power needed, and they specify that it's supposed to work with a USB 2.0 port.

Newegg is hereby instructed to list the device's USB version compatibility and its power requirements. I'm going back to Pricewatch. And Pricewatch is awful.

---

"LG Super Slim 8X DVD / 24X CD USB Powered External Drive with LightScribe for all Netbooks, Laptops, Notebooks or Desktop Computers - Reads All Formats - DVD-RW - DVD+RW - CD-ROM - CD-RW"
http://www.amazon.com/LG-External-LightScribe-Notebooks-Computers/dp/B002HI96V2

I have no reason to assume this drive uses over 5 watts. Except for the fact that they don't say how many watts it uses. Okay, yes, that's a good reason. No customer reviews yet, that's a bit suspicious, too. They claim compatibility with everyone... they might not be lying. They don't list model number, which means I can't look up the detailed specs elsewhere.

This ad is the least bad one that I've seen so far.

---

"Plextor PX-608CU - DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM drive - Hi-Speed USB - 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD) 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD±R) / 4x (DVD±R DL) 24x (CD) / 6x (DVD-RW) / 8x (DVD+RW) / 5x (DVD-RAM) - External"
http://www.everythingusb.com/plextor_px-608cu.html
http://www.hartware.de/press_5192.html

Says it uses 4.8 watts. Thank you finally. It'll need two USB ports, but that's okay. No major stores carry it, so I can't find customer reviews. Balls.

---

DIGISTOR External DVD Burner USB 2.0 (Slot-Load) Drive Part Number: DIG-71042
http://www.digistor.com/Digistor-External-DVD-Burner-USB-2-0-Slot-Load

"Battery-powered mode / Normal DVD Burner Use :
– Requires only (1) USB connection to Mac or PC laptops, notebooks and netbooks
– No additional power supply or wall adapter required for use
– Product stays within USB spec (draws <500mA from system)"

Three weaknesses in this drive. Obviously, battery-power means you need to leave it plugged in before and after using it. But that's an unavoidable consequence of DVD burning using more power than the USB standard provides. And now that BD (blue ray (on this site we use good english and proper spelling)) is out, why not throw that in, too? Price, I know... still. Plus, during heavy use, it draws 1.5 amps from two USB ports, and that's not as good as the Plextor drive. Also I can't find customer reviews.

The last two look good to me. If I've missed something, let me know!

Moral of the story: If you claim USB compatibility and break USB compatibility and blame the customer, I will find you.

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Juggler of Worlds
Slaved to its sense of smell.
Two hearts but no empathy.
The patience to watch a candle and nothing else for 20,000 years.
Depressive anorexic, but when it's cheerful it eats lots of sweet potatoes.
It has an unhealthy interest in its grandchildren.
Neither male nor female, but it could have been either as a youngster.
And it can walk into a forest with a copper knife and build a bussard ramjet starship.

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world music
Courage on the corner.
Finding my feet.
Outside a pool hall.
Watching hustlers and losers.
The dancer walks past.

---

Once again I like a Larry Niven book.
Fleet of Worlds is genuinely good.
May the rest of the trilogy be.
200 years before Ringworld.
Beowulf Shaeffer's publicity stunt had consequences.
Sigmund Ausfaller and Julian Forward ride again.
Nessus' new enemy has a twisted mind.
A battle of wits between two lunatics.
And a mathematician holds the joker.

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http://www.pittstate.edu/dotAsset/183987.pdf

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Anyone out there use Gentoo/AMD64?
May I see your USE flags? Just so I have a known-good starting reference. I love Gentoo, but I'd like to upgrade from 32-bit to 64.

"How much system would an operating system operate if an operating system would operate system?"

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Oh, yeah, and I friends-locked my journal. Public posts will be few and far between.
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?navid=ORGANIC_CERTIFICATIO&

It would appear that USDA Organic food is not genetically engineered.

Hereby and henceforth on this 1 Feb in the year of our lord 2010 I, Mr. Scooter Wonder Dog did switch to exclusively organic food. This switch is to last until about November of this same year at which time I plan to re-examine.

---

http://sushi-kitten.livejournal.com/ rules.

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i just had a 24 second phone conversation in which nobody died
gotta love good luck like that. still hate the phone! hate-hate-hate-hate

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I tried to get a mailing address today.
I failed. FAILED.

Dear me of tomorrow: get cash, get into town early. Kthxbai.

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But a computer of finite complexity but infinite size, on the other hand...
A computer of finite size /cannot/ produce any computable number, even if it forgets the digits output so far. It needs to remember where in the number it currently is. To produce any computable number you need more. You need an infinite amount of memory. Can imagine how to even address/index that much memory?

Oh. Um. Actually, *can*...

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven
-- Baba O'Riley

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This is the best thing I've read in a while.
"Unless the illusion of continuity, the feeling that you are a single unbroken organism moving through time, is particularly strong in your mind, you must fully grasp your situation, and come to terms with the fact that you yourself cannot do much, but must rely on persuading your tribe of future selves to accomplish tasks for you." -- http://justbeast.livejournal.com/176790.html

... I wish I had an internet connection.

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Let's see if this works!
googlewave.com!w+fB9T7a1wA

It didn't.

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One day, others may try to convince you they have forgiven you. That is more about them than you.
Am I done searching out the proper foundation for the Inferential Engine? Nothing imperfect would do - while any complete language can express any thought, they differ wildly in efficiency. Alice and Bob say one word, but that word takes twenty (or two hundred) to properly translate. My kingdom for an Oracle. Kolmogorov proved Asymptotic equivalence, and Turing proved its worthlessness. Back to the beginning: to know it for the first time.

"I do not mean by this declaration to condemn those who believe otherwise; they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine. But it is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe."

Why did we not make money in Amway? Some people did. Were they smarter? More deserving than us? Did they work harder? Did we lack commitment and enthusiasm? Were we afraid of success? It is for chickens to laugh at. Why did I ever fall for the line? "20% of the people do 80% of the work." If I was stupid then, I am stupid now. But I am catching up. When you do a perfect job and yet still fail, it is not you who failed.

"you knew it was wrong. A voice you did not recognize screamed for you to stop. You saw no way out. It was the way things were. They could not be changed. You tried to convince yourself the people you were hurting deserved it. You became numb to their pain and suffering. You learned to shut out the voice speaking against it."

Turing Machines are an improper foundation, impractical for application. Conway Life boards are, too. Nand networks just might be unbeatable. I had to abandon this line of research when I secured a promise of renewed funding. Back in the prediction-for-profit game! Some day I will return to Artificial Intelligence.

"When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime. He takes up the trade of a priest for the sake of gain, and, in order to qualify himself for that trade, he begins with a perjury."

I will return. Make the computer learn. Gradient descent backpropagation on a digital logic circuit.

What was true about Amway is true in some other places.

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My sequence is longer than OEIS's.
I have the first 56 numbers.
OEIS has the first 46.
But their graphs have the first 10,000.
Whatever algorithm did that, I want it.

http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/A000041
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 22, 30, 42, 56, 77, 101, 135, 176, 231, 297, 385, 490, 627, 792

David W. Wilson did it right: http://www.research.att.com/~njas/sequences/b000041.txt

Why did I need this? It involved cumulant research. What was I doing? I had a practical use for it in mind.

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