Associative Musical Visual Intelligence

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Take the quiz here. I thought the analogy between musical phrases and geometrical shapes is interesting but has room for interpretation. I got one question "wrong" out of twenty. I also had to listen to each one 2-3 times. So meh. Although I suspect the average score would be significantly lower if they don't have the replay button. I wonder if they take into account how many times something is replayed or how fast the tasks are completed.

Do not try and bend the spoon [Actually this could have been taken straight from 道德經 and we'd be none the wiser]

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... instead, only try to realize the truth. There is no spoon.

Why yes, only that the observer sees a spoon and thinks there is a spoon. And the mere act of observation is never isolated from the grand scheme...

The Matrix. With Zen koans. I have known about these for a long time, just not by this label. Aren't they delicious? The vast interconnection of the universe and how the physical reality is but one aspect, one possible manifestation out of an infinite combinatorial soup.

The Tao of Physics. I know most of the concepts already, but I'd just like to see if I could uncover any new insights. The pioneering quantum physicists sure sounded remarkably like the ancient Eastern philosophers in their quintessence.

I love that splash page where the quantum physics equations are next to a selection of a classical Hindi text. For the vast majority of people on this planet, they all look like inscrutable gibberish. But they do have something in common. They both attempt to describe the ultimate truth. Which of course, is not really describable.

Goes to say that I can't describe the state I am currently in right now. It is indeterminate. If I change a variable, the outcome would be vastly different. Everything would change. It is so tempting. I can't quite understand, because it is a tautological contradiction for the brain to try to understand itself... unless I go beyond the brain...






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MEGAMINX

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On a trip to puzzle & toy shop in Boston, E.D. got me an upgrade for my Rubik's cube that broke a while ago from overuse. This new one is a dodecahedron. Deviously complicated wahahahaha...

Since I don't know enough group theory to work out the solution by myself, I'm following these steps. Although I'm currently stuck on Step 8, because somehow I'm not comprehending this part very well...

One of these days I will figure it out...

Almost impulse-bought

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I almost bought this toy from the campus bookstore. But (1) it's magnetic and might screw up my laptop, (2) it was $30 which I consider a tad too expensive. Sigh! Although if after a few weeks I still want it, then I will buy it.

Hodgepodge of recent

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1. Rewatched "Wall-E" on DVD. And still enchanted by the robots' celestial dance sequence. I think I can rewind that part 10 times in a row. Watched the end credits to completion and the bonus features as well. I totally should watch "Up", but I can wait till the DVD comes out =P

2. E is for Expresso. One murder mystery, two 500-piece jigsaw puzzles, plenty of fun. Greenbucks Coffee, Cap'n Chino, Lottie Machiatto, rofl.

3. Instead of coding, I flew my kite for about an hour today. Took me awhile to get started because the loop was in the wrong place. It was airborne for approximately 80% of the time, and went quite high at some point... 5-story :-)

4. Errata in the book...
p. 166 - There is no such thing as a centrifugal force...
p. 174 - Human cells don't have cell walls...

Follow the Rubik's cubes...

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I successfully resisted a replay of a Hansel-and-Gretel moment in the Student Financial Services by not solving the scrambled cube on the counter. However, I did succumb to the impulse when I was visiting a lab at Cornell (the MathWorks cube!)

There's a chance I might fall for an elaborate ruse where I'd follow a trail of unsolved Rubik's cubes like bread crumbs... to my demise...

Gibberish is actually a double-cascaded cipher

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Plain text, then Vigenère cipher with a key, then Caesar shift. Enjoy! :-)

Sadomasochism is actually misguided aggression, as often seen in the academic world... where it's usually obvious who are the sadists and who are the masochists.