2015 WDWMagic Imagineering Competition Videos: Your Official "Hub" Thread

englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
JokersWild said:
poevernesm.png

I have this on a shirt, by the by.

And thank you. College will be interesting as usual.
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englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
JokersWild said:
I've been meaning to read Asimov. I've been very close to buying the Foundations Trilogy, but I just have too many books to read. I have a thing for 19th century European literature. I also have a thing for continuously buying 19th century European literature.
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I wouldn't start with Foundation. It's droll at points.

Start with one of his annotated short story collections.

If you want recommendations, I can provide them. PM me.
 
englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
Also, the Foundation series is more than 3 books. It's actually closer to 17 (iirc)...

His works can be broken down into 4 eras.

Pre-Robots
Robots
Empire
Foundation

What's amazing to realize is that, later in his career, he took all (most) of his short stories, his novels, etc...and tied them all into this singular timeline with Foundation and Earth (which is VERY hard to find anymore, it had a limited print).
 
JokersWild

JokersWild

Well-Known Member
englanddg said:
Also, the Foundation series is more than 3 books. It's actually closer to 17 (iirc)...

His works can be broken down into 4 eras.

Pre-Robots
Robots
Empire
Foundation

What's amazing to realize is that, later in his career, he took all (most) of his short stories, his novels, etc...and tied them all into this singular timeline with Foundation and Earth (which is VERY hard to find anymore, it had a limited print).
Click to expand...
Sounds interesting. I might have to start looking into this once I make a dent in my book list.
 
Sam Magic

Sam Magic

Well-Known Member
englanddg said:
Also, the Foundation series is more than 3 books. It's actually closer to 17 (iirc)...

His works can be broken down into 4 eras.

Pre-Robots
Robots
Empire
Foundation

What's amazing to realize is that, later in his career, he took all (most) of his short stories, his novels, etc...and tied them all into this singular timeline with Foundation and Earth (which is VERY hard to find anymore, it had a limited print).
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After watching that video and reading this I am really interested in this. So who exactly is this guy?
 
englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
JokersWild said:
Sounds interesting. I might have to start looking into this once I make a dent in my book list.
Click to expand...


Whenever you are ready to make that jump, let me know. I can give you some good entry points.

It's like you and Tiki noted about Who...it's massive. Asimov was a prolific writer (the most prolific of all modern writers, iirc, both non-fiction and fiction), and was well known for turning out stories quite literally in 24 hours that read like something other writers would take months or even a year or two to do...(his notes and commentary in his short story collections are as interesting, if not more so, than the stories themselves).

Entry points are a good thing. I was introduced to him at about age 10, and I'm about to introduce my daughter to him (as she's that age), so that gave me years to read through all his stuff, and grow into his various content.

For example, I remember reading the Foundation Trilogy in 7th grade, and was really bored by it (like Lord of the Rings, frankly)...

I read it a few years later, grade 11, I think, and I found it brilliant, because I was older and wiser and saw more in the story than I did before.
 
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englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
Sam4D23 said:
After watching that video and reading this I am really interested in this. So who exactly is this guy?
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A Russian immigrant.

Google is your friend.

He was the most accurate visionary of our current condition, both socially and technologically.

Walt and Asimov were friends, if not personally, in ideals.

22482-isaac-asimov-wallpaper-1920x1440.jpg
 
englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
The one word that needs to be brought up that Tyson uses is Polymath.

The one word Tyson and I disagree upon is autodidact.

To be a polymath, one must be autodidactic. It's inherent. You don't seek knowledge for anything other than understanding. Tyson respects degrees, I do not. Some of the most ignorant people I've met or discussed things with have had lambskins (for you younger people, that means a college degree). The degree alone does not justify your intelligence, rather how you apply yourself does. I will say that a degree is NOT worthless, and that is not my point, but it is not an automatic assumption (for anyone with half a mind) of competence, much less understanding.

Most do not seek knowledge for this. Rather, they seek knowledge for personal advantage. Whether that be their own ego, or for financial gain (which is also a loose tie to ego), it's rarely a pursuit for knowing and understanding alone. Even those with advanced degrees. Rarely is this trait found.
 
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englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
Sam4D23 said:
You're back with those <grin>'s again...(Cheeky)<grin>
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It's a carryover from IRC and places where there weren't emoticons. <wink>

You know, that internet that has been around for 30 years but the rest of the world just "discovered" it this last decade or so, and you all are invading our territory.

As long as you all stay with your Twitters and Facebooks, and leave the deep net alone, I'm fine. The MOMENT you all start screwing with the real internet...well, we are all old and tired now. So, we'll shake our walkers at you and spit through our false teeth.

But, while the internet has always had it's share of ignorance, the general community of the "internet" has now come to include those who have literally no idea how it works, technically, much less socially.
 
englanddg

englanddg

One Little Spark...
And note, in that video, Tyson plays the roll of the "host" and the "translator" for the ignorant people watching (who all bought tickets to this, and are assumed well educated, but need him to "translate" because...they are too stupid to understand the basic concepts being discussed)...

So, have fun with it. And, realize, there are two types of education, and neither equals intellectualism.

One is practical education. Meaning, you can do something, and create something practical. For example, learning how to use a tool (be it software, be it something physical). It's how we maintain.

One is philosophical education. Meaning, you start to think about topics and situations as they "could" be, and asking why they are. This is the "sexy" sort of "education" that everyone tries for, but really carries little real world value. However, if one is well grounded in it, it means that no one point is correct, as the first assumption, and is the basis of the scientific method. It's how we grow.

A perfect blend is really hard to find. For example, I take my kid to Disney, not because I want her to go to Disney, but because when she is 20 and 30, I want her to remember those bonding trips as well as to have her realize, as she gets old enough to appreciate them, a certain lifestyle. It's a practical application I want her to see, and EPCOT is still one of her favorite parks...and I wish I could have shared Horizons with her.

I don't take her because she's inherited a lifestyle, but because it's a lifestyle she should accept as "comfortable" rather than a lower lifestyle. She will, in her lifetime, have her lows, and my job, as a parent, is to keep her from experiencing the lowest of the lows, and financing her lifestyle is not an option (which is what many boomer age parents have done).

I do NOT take her to Six Flags parks. And Universal was just for fun. But, the Disney trips have a purpose.

She needs to learn to earn her own way, and that starts with a goal. And, until she reaches that goal, she needs to learn to live within that...though...the world is far less forgiving than it was even 10 years ago. And that is a very bad thing.

But, by taking my child to Disney, as an example (I've done a lot more, like working on languages with her, and our other private tutoring sessions), and hopefully taking her to Europe and later Japan as she ages, I'm showing her that the world is MUCH larger than her own individual concerns. Something that, as she hits the 12 - 16 ages where she's mostly focused on her own selfish concerns as her body changes, and rightfully so, she needs to realize. To keep her sane and in check.

Will all those trips be perfect? Nope. I suspect she'll hate a few of them. She won't always be my cuddly little kiddo as she grows into an adult. But, I refuse to couch her in some false ideal of life as she matures. There is no short path to success. You can be "smart" as you wish to be, or as you think you are, but the only way to gain anything lasting is to work for it. And there is NO way my daughter will not work before she leaves high school...specifically menial work.

For example, by 13 or 14, she'll have her own business. It won't earn much. Right now her mother and I are trying to figure out what that will be...be it that she is a soccer official or a lifeguard, her certification will allow her to bypass some of the crappy "age specific" labor legislation. There is no reason why someone who is "smart" enough to do well in high school cannot maintain a simple job that works them less than 20 hours a week.

If that doesn't take shape, I'll insist she gets a job at a fast food place or something. It's VERY important during that period that a person do some real work to see what the world is truly like, on a practical level, and understand some of the other things (like taxation) before they hit the real world.

It's as much an education as going to college is, in many ways.

The earlier you learn how to deal with a work environment, and the different dynamics involved, the better, and to deal with things like paying taxes, etc. For example, I've been self-employed, and paying taxes, and contributing the max to my IRAs...since I was 12.

I'd like something similar for my child.

So, that rant aside, I'm trying to supplement what is a rather sad mix of "philosophical" education with "practical" education...and therefore turn her into a Polymath and encourage her to be an Autodidact. As that will pay off far more than anything else.
 
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Sam Magic

Sam Magic

Well-Known Member
englanddg said:
It's a carryover from IRC and places where there weren't emoticons. <wink>

You know, that internet that has been around for 30 years but the rest of the world just "discovered" it this last decade or so, and you all are invading our territory.

As long as you all stay with your Twitters and Facebooks, and leave the deep net alone, I'm fine. The MOMENT you all start screwing with the real internet...well, we are all old and tired now. So, we'll shake our walkers at you and spit through our false teeth.

But, while the internet has always had it's share of ignorance, the general community of the "internet" has now come to include those who have literally no idea how it works, technically, much less socially.
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Well I mean when I got to the age to be able to use the internet people began to invade and 'discover'.
 
Voxel

Voxel

President of Progress City
It's not that hard:

Code: 
double const thinking_to_eating = 0.02;
double const eating_to_thinking = 0.05;

void eat(int phil_id){
  fprintf(stdout,"Philosopher %d eats\n", phil_id);
  while (rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0) >= eating_to_thinking);
}

void think(int phil_id){
  fprintf(stdout,"Philosopher %d thinks\n", phil_id);
  while (rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0) >= thinking_to_eating);
}

pthread_mutex_t servings_mutex;
int servings;

void* philosodine(void* arg){
  intptr_t phil_id;

  phil_id = (intptr_t) arg;

  while(1){
    /* Philosopher gets served */
    pthread_mutex_lock(&servings_mutex);
    if(servings <= 0){
      pthread_mutex_unlock(&servings_mutex);    
      break;
    }
    else{
      servings--;
      pthread_mutex_unlock(&servings_mutex);    
    }

    /* Picks up his chopsticks */
    pickup_chopsticks(phil_id);

    /* Eats */
    eat(phil_id);

    /* Puts down his chopsticks */
    putdown_chopsticks(phil_id);

    /* And then thinks. */
    think(phil_id);
  }

  return NULL;
}

int main(){
  long i;
  pthread_t phil_threads[5];

  srand(time(NULL));

  pthread_mutex_init(&servings_mutex, NULL);
  servings = 1000;
 
  for(i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    pthread_mutex_init(&chopstick_mutex[i], NULL);

  for(i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    pthread_create(&phil_threads[i], NULL, philosodine, (void*) i);

  for(i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    pthread_join(phil_threads[i], NULL);   
 
  for(i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    pthread_mutex_destroy(&chopstick_mutex[i]);

  return 0;
}


Also good luck in College @JokersWild
 
RMichael21

RMichael21

Well-Known Member
Voxel said:
It's not that hard:

Code: 
double const thinking_to_eating = 0.02;
double const eating_to_thinking = 0.05;

void eat(int phil_id){
  fprintf(stdout,"Philosopher %d eats\n", phil_id);
  while (rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0) >= eating_to_thinking);
}

void think(int phil_id){
  fprintf(stdout,"Philosopher %d thinks\n", phil_id);
  while (rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0) >= thinking_to_eating);
}

pthread_mutex_t servings_mutex;
int servings;

void* philosodine(void* arg){
  intptr_t phil_id;

  phil_id = (intptr_t) arg;

  while(1){
    /* Philosopher gets served */
    pthread_mutex_lock(&servings_mutex);
    if(servings <= 0){
      pthread_mutex_unlock(&servings_mutex);   
      break;
    }
    else{
      servings--;
      pthread_mutex_unlock(&servings_mutex);   
    }

    /* Picks up his chopsticks */
    pickup_chopsticks(phil_id);

    /* Eats */
    eat(phil_id);

    /* Puts down his chopsticks */
    putdown_chopsticks(phil_id);

    /* And then thinks. */
    think(phil_id);
  }

  return NULL;
}

int main(){
  long i;
  pthread_t phil_threads[5];

  srand(time(NULL));

  pthread_mutex_init(&servings_mutex, NULL);
  servings = 1000;

  for(i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    pthread_mutex_init(&chopstick_mutex[i], NULL);

  for(i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    pthread_create(&phil_threads[i], NULL, philosodine, (void*) i);

  for(i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    pthread_join(phil_threads[i], NULL);  

  for(i = 0; i < 5; i++)
    pthread_mutex_destroy(&chopstick_mutex[i]);

  return 0;
}


Also good luck in College @JokersWild
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:confused: Have fun with that... ;):p:D:cool:
 

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