Daily Archives: January 23, 2011

String theory 4

Posted on by

But the theory also describes universes like ours, with four observable spacetime dimensions, as well as universes with up to 10 flat space dimensions, and also cases where the position in some of the dimensions is not described by a real number, but by a completely different type of mathematical quantity. So the notion of spacetime dimension is not fixed in string theory: it is best thought of as different in different circumstances.

This can be better understood by noting that a photon included in a consistent theory (technically, a particle carrying a force related to an unbroken gauge symmetry) must be massless.

— Wikipedia on String theory

2011.01.23 Sunday ACHK

Twelve Monkeys 2

Posted on by

Themes

Memory, time, and technology

“Cole has been thrust from another world into ours and he’s confronted by the confusion we live in, which most people somehow accept as normal. So he appears abnormal, and what’s happening around him seems random and weird. Is he mad or are we?”

— Director Terry Gilliam

— Wikipedia on 12 Monkeys

2011.01.23 Sunday ACHK

Twelve Monkeys

Posted on by

Themes

.

Memory, time, and technology

“Cole has been thrust from another world into ours and he’s confronted by the confusion we live in, which most people somehow accept as normal. So he appears abnormal, and what’s happening around him seems random and weird. Is he mad or are we?”

— Director Terry Gilliam

.

.

12 Monkeys studies the subjective nature of memories and their effect upon perceptions of reality. Examples of false memories include:

* Cole’s recollection of the airport shooting which is altered each time he has a dream.
* A “mentally divergent” man at the asylum who has false memories.
* Railly telling Cole “I remember you like this” when a barely recognizable Cole and Railly are seen in disguise for the first time.

References to time, time travel, and monkeys are scattered throughout the film, including the Woody Woodpecker “Time Tunnel” cartoon playing on the TV in a hotel room, The Marx Brothers movie Monkey Business (1931) on TV in the asylum and the subplots of monkeys (drug testing, news stories and animal rights). The film is also a study of modern civilization’s declining efforts to communicate with each other due to the interference of technology.

— Wikipedia on 12 Monkeys

.

.

.

2011.01.23 Sunday ACHK

地圖原理 1.2

Posted on by

「地圖原理」和「間書原理」，是指同一樣東西。但是，我覺得「間書原理」好一點，因為它在表達上比較省時。

（安：你在很多年前就開始講「間書原理」。那時應該是大學時代？）

不是。那時已經是我的碩士時代。我讀碩士時，我們才開始這樣對話。

（安：這麼多年來，我也找不到一個比喻，及得上「間書原理」那麼精簡易明。）

「地圖原理」呢？

（安：「地圖原理」和「間書原理」應該不是指同一樣東西。「間書原理」的意思是，例如，如果所有東西都「緊急」，就即是沒有東西緊急；如果所有東西都「特別」，就即是沒有東西特別。）

「地圖原理」都差不多，可以完全套用這個講法。「地圖」的作用是紀錄實地。如果實地的所有東西都紀錄的話，效果就等如所有東西都沒有紀錄，因為那張所謂的「地圖」已經沒有任何作用。

不過，我同意，雖然「地圖原理」和「間書原理」是指同一樣東西，但是，它們的著眼點不同。

— Me@2011.01.22

2011.01.23 Sunday (c) All rights reserved by ACHK