Google Science Fair 2014

A few days ago, I heard about the Google Science Fair from Google's home page. I did a little bit more reading on it and discovered that it's, well, a science fair hosted by Google. More interestingly, it's for students ages 13 to 19 and has big research and presentation components. It doesn't matter if your experiment/project works like you expected, you just have to make an effort at advancing knowledge in your field. That's another awesome thing about it: If you do make an important advance in science, you can get recognized.

This is where I get ambitious. I've been thinking about messing with creating artificial intelligence based on what I know of meta-cognition, but never had a reason to devote time to it. Now, I think I will go ahead and try to create an AI. I have less than five months; the deadline is in May.

Got an idea? Get started!

Sentient Superspace: Explaining Telepathy, Premonitions, Mental Illness, and More

While on a long road trip yesterday, I listened to an audiobook recording of Blue Balliet's "Chasing Vermeer." While doing that, I formed a crazy model in my mind that I bent up trying to explain the events in the book. Upon further thought, I could also bend it to fit reality. This might not actually be fully wrong, but probably is. This article is written from a perspective in a universe in which this model is true and works.

All matter that represents sentient life includes a special type of particle, let's call it the psi particle (Ψ). These particles' movements produce brain waves. Since they are advanced sentience particles, they will dissipate, lose energy, or otherwise stop being sentient upon the death of the brain to which they are attuned.

Each Ψ holds a thought or idea - the flash of a neuron is one "touch" of a Ψ, translating its high-level idea into a physical effect. A sufficiently stable Ψ will begin tuning others to its own idea, providing a fall-back for if the original is discharged or otherwise lost. This explains long-term (sleep-cycle-invulnerable) versus short-term (lost after a low-Ψ environment cycle) memory.

When someone, such as an artist, puts a lot of work and thought into a subject, many Ψ of a similar value are set. Sufficiently powerful Ψ can jump up into a higher plane, which I will call psionic space (σΨ³). That place is a three-dimensional fluidic space with an additional time dimension. Standard world time corresponds to a spacial plane in σΨ³. Two of the real-world spacial planes are crushed into one in σΨ³. There are many currents going on in the psionic fluid, carrying ideas throughout time and space. Though pretty much all pairs of close points in normal space will be close in σΨ³, the non-linear mapping produces shorter or longer paths to other points.

Ψ in σΨ³, upon discharging to more reasonable energy levels, drop back into normal space and enter a nearby Ψ carrier. Telepaths' minds create Ψ that are just powerful enough to jump into σΨ³, enter the mind of another sentient being, get attuned to thoughts there, gain slightly more energy, and jump back through σΨ³ to the telepath. Doing so consistently requires concentration to create an independent Ψ entity.

Similarly, Ψ of very excited people are frequently stronger, able to travel farther through σΨ³. If knowledge/fact Ψ happen to get carried along on a dimension there that corresponds to time in the normal world, they will provide premonition or prophecy to the receiver provided that receiver is close enough to the Ψ's exit point.

Going back to the brilliant concentrating artist, those Ψ pertaining to a particular work of art (or work in general) will link up and travel together. If they jump to σΨ³, they may remain together. Also going back to the concentrating telepath's independent Ψ entity, one such entity may be accidentally formed and go free-floating through σΨ³, sustaining itself on the interlocks between the component Ψ and the nearby Ψ in the currents and influencing others along the way. When and if it does finally drop to normal space, a powerful enough entity may take over a weaker Ψ sustainer, producing actions that may not correspond to the physical layout of that carrier. Such a happening may result in physical damage to the body (like a bad driver for a computer drive) or incomprehensible behavior: mental illness.

In short, all mental activity of sentient life is based on these psi particles. Modifying someone's behavior is simply a task of getting the right Ψ into the mind.

Well, that probably didn't make any sense. If it's real, then there are definitely other things that can be explained by these principles. But honestly, this is just something a fantasy writer could use to produce an awesome fake-psychology-based novel.

The Adler Planetarium

Instead of going to SnowStar with my school, I chose to use today to go on an awesome father-son trip to the Adler Planetarium near Chicago, three hours away from my home.

Since the drive was so long, we put in an audiobook version of Chasing Vermeer, an amazing mystery novel by Blue Balliet. It also contains some elements that you will probably see me write about tomorrow. We continued to listen to than on the way back as well.

Upon our arrival at the planetarium, we purchased a pair of premium tickets, each good for admission to two shows. After skimming the human-to-moon history area, we went into the Welcome to the Universe! show. Narrated live by a real person, it started at the Earth and zoomed out to talk about the important features and history of the entire universe. I especially liked how it actually stopped to talk in some detail about other galaxies, such as Andromeda. From that, I learned that our Milky Way galaxy will collide and merge with Andromeda in a few billion years.

Previous to that show, my dad remarked at the reclining chairs, leaning back to demonstrate their flexibility and tipping over backwards - the chairs' backs were quite inflexible. He was alright, amused, and went on to enjoy the show.

With some time between that and the next show, we went to see the standard solar system exhibit. It was around this point we learned there were a few busloads of middle schoolers around as well. (Fortunately, they left only a few hours after we first noticed them.) Though I didn't learn anything super shocking, it was nice to see a professional presentation of those basic facts. I did learn some more about the composition of the gaseous planets.

The next show, Undiscovered Worlds, took place in the new Definiti theater. It examined the methods of discovering exoplanets, explaining how both the transit and wobble methods worked. From there, it gave examples of historically noteworthy exoplanets such as Corot 7B. This was probably the most beautifully presented show, especially the renderings of what it might be like on various planets' surfaces.

My father was happy to find out that chairs in the Definiti theater were slightly reclinable. After exiting that show, we went around to a very historically detailed telescope exhibit. From the earliest refractors to the modern superanalytical giants, it explained the respective inventors and some of how they work. There was even an interactive with lenses, mirrors, and light. Once finished walking through that, we went through a hall of the general history of the universe's formation. That one also provided a "postcard from the universe" service, which will allegedly send me a postcard "from" Proxima Centauri 4.3 years from now.

Hungry, we again went all the way up to the top of the building to the Cafe Galileo's. I expected it to be a burger-and-fries shop, but it was actually excellent Italian cuisine. They made an especially amazing horseradish/vegetable/ham sandwich.

Returning to the box office to purchase new premium tickets just in time for the next show, we ran down to the bottom floor to the old Johnson Star Theater to view a presentation of Space Junk 3D. Our speed was unnecessary; we had the theater pretty much all to ourselves. It was, however, a very thought-provoking documentary. I never before considered that the Earth's orbit is in danger of being filled with small fragments of destroyed, defunct, or departed spacecraft.

Going back to examine in more detail the exhibits we rushed through on our way down, we noticed a particularly immense part entitled "Astronomy and Culture." It contained information on old views of the universe, such as the Ptolemaic layout, and discussed how science moved knowledge ahead. There was also a medieval Europe-style "classroom" with some "letters" on how the customs of learning worked. Near that, or possibly in it, was a large section on old instruments of astronomy, such as the astrolabe, armillary spheres, the Persian all-in-one thing, and sun dial.

Back in the first (Grainger) theater, we finished our day at the Adler by viewing their current flagship show, Cosmic Wonder. Also narrated live, it talked a little about how things have been invented that allowed scientists to learn more stuff about the universe. It also discussed how the first huge group of other galaxies was seen - through a hole the size of Lincoln's eye on a penny held at arm's length. I very much enjoyed this show's detailed focus on how information about all these amazing objects was discovered.

Just before leaving, we re-read the moon area and checked out the gift shop. Since it was 4 o'clock, they were rushing us out and trying to close. We did indeed exit shortly after purchasing an exceedingly overpriced coffee cup as a souvenir.

Me in front of the main entrance

On top of a very slippery marble rock

In front of the Copernicus statue

In front of something

Against the Chicago skyline