Author Archives: Phil Bowermaster

Quantum News

A couple of interesting developments. First, there’s a quantum computing gate on a chip:

After recent success in using quantum computing for superconducting qubits, researchers from Delft have formed the first Controlled-NOT quantum gate. ‘A team has demonstrated a key ingredient of such a computer by using one superconducting loop to control the information stored on a second. Combined with other recent advances, the result may pave the way for devices of double the size in the next year or two–closer to what other quantum computing candidates have achieved, says physicist Hans Mooij of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Unlike today’s computers, which process information in the form of 0s and 1s, a quantum computer would achieve new levels of power by turning bits into fuzzy quantum things called qubits (pronounced cue-bits) that are 0 and 1 simultaneously. In theory, quantum computers would allow hackers to crack today’s toughest coded messages and researchers to better simulate molecules for designing new drugs and materials.

The special genius of a quantum computer is that it can check all possible answers to a problem and provide more or less instantaneous results. And speaking of instantaneous, here’s another major quantum development:

Researchers Suggest Quantum Dots as Media for Teleportation

According to recent research, tiny clusters of atoms known as quantum dots may be excellent media for quantum teleportation, a physics phenomenon in which information – in the form of a quantum state, a very specific mathematical “signature” of an atom – can be transmitted almost instantaneously to a distant location without having to physically travel through space. Teleportation is one facet of quantum information science, a developing field that could have a major impact on computing and communications.

The quantum world is a very weird place. The rules we use in our macro world simply don’t apply there; and the rules that do apply there don’t make a lot of sense to us. Things like this:

When it comes to quantum weirdness, people tend to fall into a couple of camps. The first camp is to point out that at our level of existence, the weirdness goes away so we shouldn’t worry about it. The other is to try to map quantum weirdness to existing ideas about spirituality. (The video clip above is from a movie that does the latter.) However, the two stories above suggest that maybe quantum weirdness is something that we’re going to have to grapple with up here in the macro world — not as spiritual phenomena but as part of the technology that takes us to a future very different from the world we live in now.

Self Correction

So here’s a scenario.

CO2 emissions cause global warming. Global warming causes antarctic glaciers to melt. As the glaciers melt, they splinter, dropping icebergs into the ocean. The icebergs are rich in minerals and prove to be floating islands of life — wherever they go, life follows and grows. The life that grows is plankton, which is highly effective at doing what?

Removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

There’s some indication that this is what’s happening. It’s like a natural version of an idea Stephen wrote about a while back. Will iceberg-induced plankton CO2 sequestration be enough to offset the massive human CO2 emissions? Probably not. But whatever it’s doing, it needs to be factored in.

UPDATE FROM STEPHEN:

There is a counter-tendency that some climatologists bring up – [drawing in a deep breath] that if the world heats up the polar ice caps melt which means that they are reflecting less solar energy away which means that that Earth absorbs more heat and the process accelerates.

Some of the same scientists that talk about that process will also admit that they don’t know how the Earth comes back from an ice age. Huge Ice Age ice caps should reflect the heat away trapping the Earth in a permanent deep freeze.

My guess is that the Earth thaws from an ice age because of the flip-side of Phil’s point – there is less life to sequester carbon which means more carbon in the atmosphere. The resulting green house effect warms the planet.

There’s also cloud cover to consider. A cold Earth evaporates little water for clouds. Fewer clouds means less solar is reflected and the Earth warms. Fewer clouds also mean a drier planet – the flip-side of Phil’s point again: a dry planet will have less life to sequester carbon, which puts more carbon in the atmosphere for the green house effect.

The opposite is true. A hot Earth evaporates more water for clouds. Clouds reflect heat away cooling the planet. They also bring the rain that sustains more life to sequester carbon.

An anthropic proof: this self-correcting system is absolutely necessary for us to be here at all. The planet had to be self-correcting to survive the punishment it has taken since life arose 5 billion years ago – huge asteroid impacts and super-volcanoes would have destroyed any fragile system long ago.

The thing that always stays in the back of my mind in this debate is the fact that this challenge to the Earth – human civilization – is different from any challenge the Earth has dealt with in the past. We need to be careful that we don’t overtax a struggling Earth.

The very fact that we can think to be careful is another point – human civilization can also be self-correcting.

It's a New Phil, Weeks 74 and 75

Ramping Up?

A break-even fortnight, with my weight holding steady at 230. I’ve been watching what I eat pretty carefully, although I did make one change about three weeks ago that may be a factor. My breakfast routine over the past few months has been a bowl of granola with skim milk: yummy, good source of energy, good source of fiber, etc. But I was noticing that with an intense workout in the morning followed by this breakfast, and usually a fruit and veggie lunch (tomato sandwich + apple + orange or some variation on that theme), I was feeling pretty washed out at the end of the day. Plus, I had noticed for some time that I wasn’t building muscle at quite the rate I had planned.

Then one Saturday morning I followed up an intense workout with a breakfast of scrambled eggs, had a salad for lunch, and felt fine all day. My observation — I feel better if I eat some protein in the morning. And, come to think of it, it couldn’t hurt to take in a little more protein if I’m trying to build muscle.

So about three weeks ago I swapped the granola for a whey protein and psyllium fiber shake (my own recipe*), and I’ve noticed an immediate change in how I feel throughout the day. Plus, I seem to be observing a little more muscular definition, although obviously it’s still fairly early in the process. The downside is that my weight didn’t drop over the past two weeks, even though I was eating pretty reasonably and exercising vigorously.

Amanda, the nurse at Dr. Harris’ office who does the weighing, suggested that if I am putting on even a little bit of muscle, I have to keep in mind that it weighs more than fat. I might even gain some weight, but it all comes down to the basics of watching what I eat, keeping up with the exercise, and recognizing the relationship between the two.

So with 25 weeks and 30 pounds to go towards my goal, I’m going to have to decide whether I should keep on my current track or ramp things up a little for the home stretch. For example, I might go back to counting calories. I don’t want to do anything drastic, but I might have to do something to finally break out of this long plateau.

But first, I’m going to keep things exactly where they are for two weeks and see what the next weigh-in brings. If I’ve learned anything over the past year and a half, it’s that losing weight isn’t about snap judgments and instant results.

* Phil’s Breakfast Protein Shake

4 scoops whey protein
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
20 ounces water
25-ounce shaker cup with lid (or you can use a blender)

72 grams protein
414 calories
11 grams dietary fiber

Pour 8-12 ounces of water into the shaker. Scoop in the whey protein. I recommend vanilla-flavored. You get a nice cream-of-wheat effect with the fiber in there. Some like chocolate, but I personally believe that adding chocolate flavoring to a protein shake is a disservice both to chocolate and to the shake. Better just to have a square or two of good dark chocolate at some point in the day; it tastes better and it’s loaded with anti-oxidants. Using a spoon, stir the whey into the water until smooth (this avoids lumping.) Add the psyllium husk and then the rest of the water. Secure the lid and then start shaking — 30 seconds or so generally does the trick. Enjoy!

On non-hammer (bicycle) days, I use only two scoops of the protein powder, which cuts the calories by about 200 and reduces the protein grams to 36.

It’s a New Phil, Weeks 74 and 75

Ramping Up?

A break-even fortnight, with my weight holding steady at 230. I’ve been watching what I eat pretty carefully, although I did make one change about three weeks ago that may be a factor. My breakfast routine over the past few months has been a bowl of granola with skim milk: yummy, good source of energy, good source of fiber, etc. But I was noticing that with an intense workout in the morning followed by this breakfast, and usually a fruit and veggie lunch (tomato sandwich + apple + orange or some variation on that theme), I was feeling pretty washed out at the end of the day. Plus, I had noticed for some time that I wasn’t building muscle at quite the rate I had planned.

Then one Saturday morning I followed up an intense workout with a breakfast of scrambled eggs, had a salad for lunch, and felt fine all day. My observation — I feel better if I eat some protein in the morning. And, come to think of it, it couldn’t hurt to take in a little more protein if I’m trying to build muscle.

So about three weeks ago I swapped the granola for a whey protein and psyllium fiber shake (my own recipe*), and I’ve noticed an immediate change in how I feel throughout the day. Plus, I seem to be observing a little more muscular definition, although obviously it’s still fairly early in the process. The downside is that my weight didn’t drop over the past two weeks, even though I was eating pretty reasonably and exercising vigorously.

Amanda, the nurse at Dr. Harris’ office who does the weighing, suggested that if I am putting on even a little bit of muscle, I have to keep in mind that it weighs more than fat. I might even gain some weight, but it all comes down to the basics of watching what I eat, keeping up with the exercise, and recognizing the relationship between the two.

So with 25 weeks and 30 pounds to go towards my goal, I’m going to have to decide whether I should keep on my current track or ramp things up a little for the home stretch. For example, I might go back to counting calories. I don’t want to do anything drastic, but I might have to do something to finally break out of this long plateau.

But first, I’m going to keep things exactly where they are for two weeks and see what the next weigh-in brings. If I’ve learned anything over the past year and a half, it’s that losing weight isn’t about snap judgments and instant results.

* Phil’s Breakfast Protein Shake

4 scoops whey protein
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
20 ounces water
25-ounce shaker cup with lid (or you can use a blender)

72 grams protein
414 calories
11 grams dietary fiber

Pour 8-12 ounces of water into the shaker. Scoop in the whey protein. I recommend vanilla-flavored. You get a nice cream-of-wheat effect with the fiber in there. Some like chocolate, but I personally believe that adding chocolate flavoring to a protein shake is a disservice both to chocolate and to the shake. Better just to have a square or two of good dark chocolate at some point in the day; it tastes better and it’s loaded with anti-oxidants. Using a spoon, stir the whey into the water until smooth (this avoids lumping.) Add the psyllium husk and then the rest of the water. Secure the lid and then start shaking — 30 seconds or so generally does the trick. Enjoy!

On non-hammer (bicycle) days, I use only two scoops of the protein powder, which cuts the calories by about 200 and reduces the protein grams to 36.

The Lengths I Won't Go To

I didn’t do a New Phil post this week. There will be a new one on Saturday covering the past two weeks. Those who have been following my weight-loss and muscle-building adventures know that I’m not afraid to try new things in pursuit of my goals — things like getting up at 5 AM so I can swing a sledgehammer for 90 minutes, for example.

However, the overall objective has been to make slow and permanent changes in what I’m composed of and how I behave. It’s primarily for that reason that I won’t be sampling the new weight-loss wonder drug, alli. However, even if I were trying to lose weight fast, I think I would shy away from that stuff.

A link to an explanation follows. A little heads up here — if you’re offended by frank (very frank) scatological references, don’t go there. Otherwise, enjoy.

Okay, then. Why I won’t be trying out the new miracle weight loss treatment.

The Lengths I Won’t Go To

I didn’t do a New Phil post this week. There will be a new one on Saturday covering the past two weeks. Those who have been following my weight-loss and muscle-building adventures know that I’m not afraid to try new things in pursuit of my goals — things like getting up at 5 AM so I can swing a sledgehammer for 90 minutes, for example.

However, the overall objective has been to make slow and permanent changes in what I’m composed of and how I behave. It’s primarily for that reason that I won’t be sampling the new weight-loss wonder drug, alli. However, even if I were trying to lose weight fast, I think I would shy away from that stuff.

A link to an explanation follows. A little heads up here — if you’re offended by frank (very frank) scatological references, don’t go there. Otherwise, enjoy.

Okay, then. Why I won’t be trying out the new miracle weight loss treatment.

It's a Beautiful Day…

…in the neighborhood.

And, yes, all those bright spots are galaxies.

galaxies.jpg

UPDATE: Hmmm…I don’t want to throw anybody off with the term “bright spots.” What I mean to say is — every single speck you see, no matter how faint, no matter how many might be piled upon one another — is a galaxy, a huge body containing anywhere from 10 million to one trillion stars.

Okay, then. Just so we’re all clear on the scale and/or scope. I figured we all were, but one can’t be too careful with these things.

It’s a Beautiful Day…

…in the neighborhood.

And, yes, all those bright spots are galaxies.

galaxies.jpg

UPDATE: Hmmm…I don’t want to throw anybody off with the term “bright spots.” What I mean to say is — every single speck you see, no matter how faint, no matter how many might be piled upon one another — is a galaxy, a huge body containing anywhere from 10 million to one trillion stars.

Okay, then. Just so we’re all clear on the scale and/or scope. I figured we all were, but one can’t be too careful with these things.

Seinfeld, Superman, and the Singularity

Barry Mahfood runs a neat blog that provides “bite-size” reflections on the Singularity. His most recent post has to do with how useful a superintelligence would be for solving problems that we’re grappling with in today’s world. A good point, and what I like most about it is how he gets us there — via a chat between George and Jerry on an old Seinfeld episode about whether or not Superman should have a super sense of humor. This raises the broader question of whether Superman acquired a super brain to match his super brawn when coming to earth.

I won’t attempt to add to Barry’s thoughts on why superintelligence would be a good thing for us, but I can shed some light on the equally important question of whether Superman is super-smart in addition to being super-strong, super-fast, etc. The question was answered indirectly in one of the greatest “imaginary” Superman stories of the silver age (imaginary stories being stories that weren’t part of the normal DC comics continuity): The Amazing Story of Superman Red and Superman Blue. In the story, Superman is confronted by leaders of the survivors of Krypton (living in a bottle in his arctic fortress) who point out that he has failed to solve the major problems that he’s been charged with, including that pesky business about crime and evil.

In an attempt to get a better handle on the problem, our hero hooks himself up to a brain evolution machine which he hopes will give him the requisite super-smarts:

singularityman.jpg

A side effect of the machine is that it splits him into two Supermen (color-coded per the title) who proceed to figure out solutions to all the world’s problems and pretty much bring an end to not only Superman’s career, but the career of all superheroes and other crime-fighters. So you can see why this story was never made part of the regular continuity! However, even though the story itself never took place, it’s premise was based in the normal continuity. So therefore I think we can conclude that Superman is not superintelligent.

Thanks for your attention.

UPDATE FROM STEPHEN:

I have a great counter-example of a story where Superman did claim superintelligence:

radioshack5.jpg

Now I guess that since Superman was being shamelessly used to shill for Radio Shack, most comic fan-boys would probably call this story “imaginary” too.

radioshackcover.jpg

I’d beg to differ. I was one of those kids who got a free copy of this comic, and I loved it. Here’s why…


radioshack9.jpg

Superman temporarily loses his superintelligence and he had to get help from normal kids (like me!) armed with TRS-80′s. Man, that just geeked me out! Whenever the subject of Superman came up – which was quite often with ten-year-old boys in 1980 – I’d always ask the other guys if they knew that Superman was supersmart too.

For me, this was canon.

H/T to Ye Olde Comick Booke Blogge (which, oddly enough, is not safe for work or family).

UPDATE FROM PHIL:

Okay, I stand corrected. The brain intelligence machine must have worked to push Superman beyond super-smart into some level of, like, way ultra smart.

The important thing is that we’re finally dealing with substantial issues on this blog!

YET ANOTHER UPDATE FROM PHIL:

Come to think of it, both Superman and the Flash consistently display one variation of superintelligence — the ability to think very fast. Superman can have an entire internal monologue going on while chasing down a speeding bullet; the Flash frequently does the same kind of thing. Since I don’t think Stephen has an old Flash comic ready to prove me wrong, I’m going to assert that the Flash was never declared to be super intelligent. (Although the silver age Flash, Barry Allen, was a very smart guy.) However, by being able to think much faster than normal human beings, the Flash was doing what we expect a simulated brain in a silicon substrate to be able to do — think at the same speed we do, subjectively speaking, but with that subjective time taking a lot less actual time.

So the Flash can solve any complex problem that can be solved by trial and error in the blink of an eye — not because he’s thinking “better” than the rest of us, but merely because he’s thinking faster.

Super-fast = super-intelligent.