Ted Nelson’s Take On Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is

May 19th, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Ted Nelson, who I have always been a fan of this brilliant and funny maverick, and pioneer of Xanadu, one of the very earliest conceptions of hypertext or what is now called the “world wide web”, thinks he knows who Satoshi Nakamoto is. Worth a watch, if nothing else to enjoy the always entertaining and stimulating Mr. Nelson.

So who is Shinichi Mochizuki? He was born in Japan, but was raised in the United States from the time he was 5, meaning he speaks perfect English with an American accent. He attended Exeter Academy and graduated second of his class (salutatorian) at Princeton, and probably first if he took his time and finished in 4 years, instead of his crazy 3 years. He is now full professor at mathematics at Kyoto University.

Here is his personal website.

As mentioned in the video, he’s pioneered a new mathematics called inter-universal geometry –  A brief introduction to inter-universal geometry(pdf) – by Shinichi Mochizuki, as well as introduce a new mathematical entity known as a Frobenoid.

In 2011, he claimed to have formulated a proof for the ABC Conjecture (source: Wikipedia):

The abc conjecture (also known as Oesterlé–Masser conjecture) is a conjecture in number theory, first proposed by Joseph Oesterlé (1988) and David Masser (1985) as an integer analogue of the Mason–Stothers theorem for polynomials. The conjecture is stated in terms of three positive integers, a, b and c (hence the name), which have no common factor and satisfy a + b = c. If d denotes the product of the distinct prime factors of abc, the conjecture essentially states that d is usually not much smaller than c. In other words: if a and b are composed from large powers of primes, then c is usually not divisible by large powers of primes. The precise statement is given below.

The abc conjecture has already become well known for the number of interesting consequences it entails. Many famous conjectures and theorems in number theory would follow immediately from the abc conjecture. Goldfeld (1996) described the abc conjecture as “the most important unsolved problem in Diophantine analysis“.

In August 2012, Shinichi Mochizuki released a series of four preprints containing a serious claim to a proof of the abc conjecture. Mochizuki calls the theory on which this proof is based “inter-universal Teichmüller theory“, and it has other applications including a proof of Szpiro’s conjectureand Vojta’s conjecture.[1][2] Experts were expected to take months to check Mochizuki’s new mathematical machinery, which was developed over decades in 500 pages of preprints and several of his prior papers.[3] When an error in one of the articles was pointed out by Vesselin Dimitrovand Akshay Venkatesh in October 2012, Mochizuki posted a comment on his website acknowledging the mistake, stating that it would not affect the result, and promising a corrected version in the near future.[4] He proceeded to post a series of corrected papers of which the latest dated March 2013.[1]

Mochizuki is certainly a very impressive mathematician! If his proof of the ABC conjecture is legit, he will probably be awarded the Fields Metal or something equivalent. However, I am not as convinced as Ted Nelson that Mochizuki is Satoshi Nakamoto. I’ve seen several other very compelling theories as to the true identity of Nakamoto, and the leading one in my opinion, is he is a composite figure, composed of at least two or three people.

Great video review of Mochizuki’s work on the ABC Conjecture and Inter-Universal Geometry by Numberphile:

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

,

Bioluminescence Surfing

May 17th, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

Okay, when I can go?

 

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Surf Teahupo‘o Roars To Life

May 14th, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

The southern swell just hit Teahupo’o, Tahiti, and big wave surfers are there. Due to its unique underwater topography, when swells hit Teahupo’o they create the heaviest and most massive waves in the world. Just look at these monsters! This is *the* place that humbled and changed Laird Hamilton forever. If you’re into surfing like I am, check out the movie Riding Giants, which shows Laird’s famous first ride on this beast. Looking at the massive volume of water coming over these dudes, imagine that crashing on top of your head if you wipe out! These photos were taken yesterday. More up to date news at Surfline.

Koa Rothman

Towed in by Laird Hamilton, here’s Koa Rothman catching the “wave of the day”.

Alex Gray

“Many people, including myself, rode the biggest tubes of their lives on Monday,” Gray continued. “I’d like to say thank you to Raimana and Dorian for the invite to the greatest place on earth. (And Kai Garcia for helping me get my boards.) I will never forget today — or the surfers who tackled one of the heaviest swells of all time.”

Hippo knows an impossible situation when he sees one, and and was quick to hit the eject button on this one. Photo: Tim McKenna

Hippo knows an impossible situation when he sees one, and and was quick to hit the eject button on this one. Photo: Tim McKenna

UPDATE: Here’s a video of Koa’s epic ride:

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Mathematician Makes Astounding Prime Numbers Breakthrough

May 14th, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

From iO9.com:

A partial solution to a centuries-old problem known as the twin prime conjecture now affirms the idea that an infinite number of prime numbers have companions — and that a maximum distance between these pairs does in fact exist.

Prime numbers are those non-composite numbers that can only be divided by one or itself. On average, the gap that separates these numbers gets larger as their values increase. But a neat quirk about primes is that every once in awhile they also come in pairs, so-called twin primes. These numbers differ from another prime by two. Examples include 3 and 5, 17 and 19, 41 and 43, and even 2,003,663,613 × 2195,000 − 1 and 2,003,663,613 × 2195,000 +1.

Ever since the time of Euclid, however, mathematicians have wondered if these twin primes keep on appearing for infinity. They have no doubt that primes themselves appear for infinity, but because mathematicians lack a useful formula to predict their occurrence, they have struggled to prove the twin prime conjecture — the idea that there are infinitely many primes p such that p+2 is also prime (i.e. the two number gap).

But now, as the Mathematician Zhang Yitang from University of New Hampshire in Durham has shown, there is a kind of weak version of the twin prime conjecture. He didn’t prove that a distance of 2 exists for an infinite number of primes, but he did prove that there are infinitely many prime gaps shorter than 70 million.

A gap of two is obviously far removed from a gap of 70 million. But considering that the previous estimate was infinity, Zhang’s assertion is incredible. As Maggie McKee noted inNature News, “Although 70 million seems like a very large number, the existence of any finite bound, no matter how large, means that that the gaps between consecutive numbers don’t keep growing forever.”

Zhang presented his research yesterday (May 13) to an audience at Harvard University, so his work will still have to withstand the scrutiny of peer review. But according to McKee, a referee with the Annals of Mathematics is recommending that his paper be accepted for consideration.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Stigmergy in Action

May 13th, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (0 Comments)

This beautiful video shows the natural phenomena of stigmergy, and demonstrates how decentralized stigmergic humanity can form collective intelligences far superior to any kind of imposed or central types of order we have now. See my paper on Innovating Our Way to a Peaceful and Liberating Anarchy for how that might look.

Murmuration from Islands & Rivers on Vimeo.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

,

The Body’s “Fountain of Youth” Could Be in the Brain

May 7th, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (Comments Off)

The body’s “fountain of youth” could be in the hypothalamus, an important part of the brain for emotional regulation:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature12143.html

For the role the hypothalamus plays in emotions see here: http://www.preservearticles.com/201104185522/role-of-hypothalamus-in-emotion.html

 

Part of my graduate work was tying together the soft science of yoga with the hard science of neuro-endocrinology. My thesis was that breathwork could result in stimulating the various endocrine glands to secrete the necessary hormones for re-starting brain growth in regions like the hypothalamus and amygdala, which are responsible for emotion. Additionally, as many people, including Leonard Orr and Jim Leonard postulated, emotional integration helps one live longer, theorizing correctly that negative emotions (and the related stress hormones like cortisol) are what actually kill us.

In the yogic tradition the location of the hypothalamus coincides with what is known as bindu visarga. From that point emanates amrita, which is roughly translated as the nectar of immortality. It is considered that it flows downward from that point and gets consumed by the digestive system. Certain techniques, usually involving inverted body position, reverse the flow of amrita, which can than get assimilated by the body.

Myron Stoloroff also talked about the deep connection between emotional healing and a life of vitality in his book Thanatos to Eros.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

, ,

Steve and Steve: A New Visionary Comic by Patrick Farley

May 7th, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (Comments Off)

steve-and-stevePatrick Farley, my long lost spiritual doppelganger, who I first discovered in 1996, and whose historical life resonates so much with mine, has created another extraordinary comic taking place exactly where I lived in 1975, Los Altos, California. My brother and I used to spend a LOT of time in those hills up behind Pore Clares. Farley has several times now captured the exact essence of my formative years across several comics. To this day I know of no one who has done this as eerily as he does. And he does it again here.

This comic is about Steve and Steve (Jobs and Wozniak), who lived just a few minutes from my house.

Comic: Steve and Steve

A few years later I remember driving with my dad by the small building that was then Apple HQ, with the pirate flag flying on the mast, hearing my dad uttering under his breath, “Damn hippies”.

See my related post about my time in Los Altos and Cuptertino in the late 1980s.

Probably the most extraordinary comic Farley has ever done is First Word – definitely check it out!

To see more of Farley’s extraordinary work go here: www.electricsheepcomix.com

 

Here’s a similar post I made about Farley in 2002.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

, , ,

My Interview About Bitcoin’s Resiliency with Adam B. Levine

May 1st, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (Comments Off)

My interview with Adam B. Levine and the show Lets Talk Bitcoin:

 

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

,

The Bloom: Journey Through Transformational Festivals

March 23rd, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (Comments Off)

From the website:

THE BLOOM is a new documentary webseries illuminating the emerging culture of Transformational Festivals, immersive participatory realities that are having profound life-changing effects on hundreds of thousands of lives.

A Film Series by Jeet-Kei Leung & Akira Chan in association with Elevate Films, Keyframe Entertainment, Muti Music & Grounded TV.

Amidst the global crisis of a dysfunctional old paradigm, a new renaissance of human culture is underway. Over the course of 4 episodes and 23 transformational festivals around the globe, THE BLOOM: A JOURNEY THROUGH TRANSFORMATIONAL FESTIVALS explores the alchemy of themes that weave a true story of genuine hope for our times: A new blooming of human consciousness emerging through creativity, love and joy & an emerging culture pointing the way to a bright and promising future.

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

,

Flip Of A Single Molecular Switch Makes An Old Brain Young

March 7th, 2013 | Posted by paul in Uncategorized - (Comments Off)

From Yale News:

The flip of a single molecular switch helps create the mature neuronal connections that allow the brain to bridge the gap between adolescent impressionability and adult stability. Now Yale School of Medicine researchers have reversed the process, recreating a youthful brain that facilitated both learning and healing in the adult mouse.

Scientists have long known that the young and old brains are very different. Adolescent brains are more malleable or plastic, which allows them to learn languages more quickly than adults and speeds recovery from brain injuries. The comparative rigidity of the adult brain results in part from the function of a single gene that slows the rapid change in synaptic connections between neurons.

By monitoring the synapses in living mice over weeks and months, Yale researchers have identified the key genetic switch for brain maturation a study released March 6 in the journal Neuron. The Nogo Receptor 1 gene is required to suppress high levels of plasticity in the adolescent brain and create the relatively quiescent levels of plasticity in adulthood.  In mice without this gene, juvenile levels of brain plasticity persist throughout adulthood. When researchers blocked the function of this gene in old mice, they reset the old brain to adolescent levels of plasticity.

“These are the molecules the brain needs for the transition from adolescence to adulthood,” said Dr. Stephen Strittmatter. Vincent Coates Professor of Neurology, Professor of Neurobiology and senior author of the paper. “It suggests we can turn back the clock in the adult brain and recover from trauma the way kids recover.”

facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditpinterestlinkedinmail

,