ameyenn

Mathematics and Science are the basic tools along with Philosophy that enable us to ask question such as, why is that happening, are there connections, what is…….

Of course we can ask these questions without using a scientific approach but probably such an approach would value certain factors more than they should be. For example, a belief that God will provide, and it is the will of God what happens are, to say the least, problematic.

One wonders the role of doubt in these non-scientific thought processes. Science values doubt, it seems non-science does not.

This non-valuing of doubt results in reactionary thinking, or conservationism in the face of change.

Open positive letter to Clive Palmer – Climate Change

Dear Clive,

Keith is a dear friend from Uni days, he is a paid up PUP member and he is concerned you get this right, too.

Please don’t discount Tim Flanery – he is an excellent communicator and I feel a positive conversation would help developing understanding and awareness…..Tim if I have made any inaccurate statements in what follows please correct me (us).

I am writing to you directly as I was both impressed and dismayed at certain things said to the ABC Insiders and in an interview with Tony Jones.

I am not involved in any political party or movement – I am however a concerned Australian, currently living in Vietnam and soon Istanbul.

And, before we start I am trying to help.

Your statement about 97% carbon in nature and 3% created by man, and the idea that carbon in nature can be reduced is simply impossible.

There is a fixed amount of carbon.

It is stored in various forms e.g. gas, fossils, underground coal gas and plenty more.

The carbon cycle is fundamental to why earth is livable.

Photosynthesis is main process by which the volume of carbon, CO2 is kept in balance not too much and not too little – plants (plankton in the sea being a significant part) recycle Co2 and output Oxygen that we breath – any threat to the oceans will be catastrophic.Along with the layes of atmosphere that filter light and heat rays, with the specific natural balance here we would all fry or freeze.

(a) The science is clear, irrefutable, CO2 lets in sun light but not the reflected heat rays coming from earth’s surface that in normal circumstance simple go back into space, if trapped we get increased heat.

(b) Increased heat is likely to cause increased cloud and water vapor, water vapor acts exactly in reverse, it reflects sunlight back into space but lets through (out)reflected heat from the surface of the earth -hence cooling can occur.

It is very complex in how things will play out, I can assure you the computer simulations are very, very complex pieces of mathematics, each model consistently shows dangerous patterns that we simply do not understand the likely outcomes off.

The 3% you refer to is the increase due to mankind burning fossil fuels.Man is not creating anything, we are simply converting carbon from one for to another, and upsetting the natural cycle, so there is build up, year on year.

Small amounts of CO2 over time are being added that the current natural carbon cycle can’t remove and store. NOTE: it is impossible simple DELETE or destroy carbon, it is simply converted into a different form and stored, and on very long time cycles.

This small amount is hence adding to and gradually increasing the level of CO2 in the atmosphere – and hence the risk of points (a) and (b) occurring is heightened, and also why the issue is referred to as climate change – we could get heating and/or cooling, it is likely however that (a) and (b) will not simple cancel each other out, but this could happen.

To the KEY issue – you cannot remove carbon, the amount is fixed. You can’t simply look at a forest, for example, and somehow remove and throw away carbon, this would be alchemy.

What one can do is to try and restrict the increase of CO2 into the atmosphere – there are many schemes – storing the gas underground, or finding alternative energy sources eg Solar power, and looking eating habits to reduce methane from cows!

And, what is missed in the debate is that CO2 is only one of many gases that we should be worried about.

Australia is a very highly skilled scientific country, what I suggest is getting behind the issue and prompting our science and turning this into industries that employees. The CSIRO is a fantastic institution, a world leader, and acts independent of but is dependent on Govt funding. As are our fantastic Universities whose only way of thinking at the moment is to increase fees and further reduce the spread of the students able to go to University – intellect is equally distributed, women, men, rich, poor, ethnicity, none matter. The inequity of access to Australian higher education is appalling, notice nobody ever talks about the outputs i.e. the socio economic background distribution of graduates. Public education is and SHOULD be seen as an investment, a right and not one restricted to the rich.

Australia has not been good at turning our knowledge into high added value industries -it is far simpler to dig ore/coal/gas out of the ground and export it, and we have an ethical issue here in that we are directly fueling carbon release in other large population countries.

I strongly urge you to do what you suggest, get briefed, listen and above all understand. I am very worried if indeed you are treated with distain and not listen too or approached, maybe if I am proffer some advice – “ask, shut up, listen, think, then ask questions….you owe it to your party members to get it right and LEAD”

We are talking about a fundamental fact or set of facts, which if not understood invalidates comment, in that if the argument presented cannot be traced back to showing understanding, then it has to be discounted.

I urge you to understand and get behind Australian Science, help with the step of monetizing our knowledge to create industries of high value and employment. Many small companies, in a vibrant intelligent competitive yet cooperative environment is the way forward – none of this silly “you are a dick, not your are, ya f’wit” , lets move on, the current two party system and that ridiculous parlementray question time is anti intellectual, anti business and just a bloody national and international disgrace.

Also, your comment on the NBN is misguided too – at least in my view – Australia must have a highly efficient and fast data transmission infrastructure on which new industries can be built. I have run a very small business in the past educating teachers around the world how to teach computer science – the Internet and access to it via the world wide web has been simply breath taking in the speed of its development, think since around 1995 when the first browsers that were easy to use came about. Get behind Australian education and research and the creation of a backbone NBN.

What is then needed is competition from providers of services – this is were Telstra should not be allowed to operate, Telstra should simple deliver the access to the backbone, across ever part, no inequality.

Your comments about Aboriginal children was appreciated, it is an Australian disgrace!

Good luck and please get to grips with the issue and no more ill informed comment – I am equally amazed that the Insiders said nothing, it exposes their lack of expertise, and credibility rather they are simply interested in the gossipy side of politics and really have no qualifications to comment further.

Kind regards

Dr Andrew Meyenn

Humid visit downtown and what was in the paper

I find idiocy in most things, probably because I am one, an idiot at heart that is. During the past few weeks I have been hiding in doors following an exfoliating treatment on my face and arms, but mercifully this is now on the repair. Cathie is doing an inservice – on a weekend – hence I am dispatched to purchase trinkets for Cathie to give to Drew when she goes home in a few days, and also to drop off some stuff that needs polishing at her favorite Jeweler, and I thought great I can have a spot of brekkie and read of the Age rather than the online version.

At the minute Saigon is about 100% humidity – I just don’t travel well and sprout like a tap. With instructions ringing in my ears, I took the boat and head to Bahasa – i am sure the toys are on floor two -, NO, the place is being renovated, so I traipse off to the other one, a mere kilometer away! Nothing there either, but at least it was open. I remember the alternative…try the Russian store….so I do and there are many trinkets (I can’t but think about Cook and Hawaii and how well trinkets went there on his last visit), anyway, I purchase some….result. I emerge and start walking off towards the Jeweler, and on route the massage girls take pity, normally they say….you want massage….., but this time some hilarious young lady says ….. you look like you need massage, we have shower too!….in reference to my sodden appearance.

I make it to the brekkie place and find a seat, next to a table with a Vietnamese lady typing at speed on a nice little computer, and answering rings on the ubiquitous iphone, her son then arrives, there is no verbal greeting, in fact no sounds at all due to headphone usage by both, he plonks down and within 5 minutes has slaughtered the inhabitants of planet Zork…on his iPad. In walks Dad, and American – but not the Silent type made famous by Grahame, possibly an ironic title! I think he is greeting what I image is his wife and son, but no, he is using voice recognition on his iPhone to chat (type version) to someone, this continues for some time – as far as I could tell, there was no communication to the wife or son. My small serving of an English arrives and I am distracted, but then out comes the huge MacBook Pro that fully displays his business spreadsheet – and he continues to chat verbally over chat with someone back in the States. As far as I could make out he was involved in selling packs of something that contained 2.5 gallons of an unspecified substance, but obviously a defoliant! By the time I left there had still been no communications!

I travel to the UK a bit and need to replace a light weight Rivers shirt and pants that I have worn….out! There is an advertisement that catches my eye in the paper….Slim fitting (clearly this is for me) with a wrinkle resistant (looking good) and stain repellent finish….must get some. And then there is an advertisement for foot wear…walking shoe only $109.99 each, seems odd, normally a pair is sold. And, then I notice Thermals – high performance, moisture management and breathability (no hyphen, I wonder if the Oxford has caught up with that) are trumpeted as the selling points, what on earth is the ad talking about, is it a computer, would it solve my sweat (oops perspiration) issue? I ask you.

Again there is an odd mix up over plural & singular…..each thermal is advertised as costing $49.99 each or on Sale as 3 for $69.98 EACH! At least you are close to a 69, Andrew don’t be indelicate.

Moving on, and on a serious note, I read an article about the refugee boat arrival issue and a reference to Gareth Evans (affectionately known as Biggles or Gareth, Gareth as he coveted the UN job) by Ken Berry from his book about the Cambodian peace process of the late 1980’s. Which is apt because many people forget it was the Vietnamese who got rid of Pol Pot. Ken posits that in general, and now I quote “pre-conditions for a successful operation [Peace keeping..and anything] include that the plan be conceptually sound and appropriately detailed, with clear and achievable goals, adequately resourced and the support of all the key players“, now how could you argue with that, the article mentioned this in reference to our Foreign Minister’s recent suggestion to Cambodia that they might like to take a few refugees off our hands – inference is obvious.

Funny world!

India

We visit India recently with friends Helen and John Harrison.

You can see some pictures at here

The flight from China was delayed, only a day, so a one night unplanned stop over in Guangzhou during the start of Chinese new year.

Plenty to see and do, and I will add to this blog at some stage.

Postmodern Job Application

Dear Sir/Madam/HR AI Robot – some explanation, I am assuming that you are using an Artificial Intelligence web robot to filter applications, it is not meant to imply that you do not possess real intelligence, although I will reserve judgement if you don’t mind) .

I would like to apply for the appealing position at the Savoy – I am assuming the campus is at a nice hotel by the same name as the London equivalent, very classy and I am sure I would add to that.

JOB TITLE: Dean of the Savoy Campus

-Masters degree minimum – Yes, I have two and a superior one as well, alas it is not in catering or bar service, trust I have not misinterpreted the use of the term Savoy, I guess it could also refer to a popular biscuit severed with cracker barrel cheese

-A minimum 5 years previous experience as an educational administrator – well yes, but why does it need to be restricted to education, my life has been rich and varied (well not rich in the money sense, which I am hoping you will put right) and I have a fabulous sense of the humour.

-In depth understanding of US High School academic programs, International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme preferred – now this makes no sense, it is not possible to have an in depth understand as the US curriculum is far too shallow, think low tide and diving in, there is nothing in depth about it. The use of the e on the end of programme is reassuring for an American school.

-Boarding school experience or equivalent preferred – alas being rogered in the middle of the night by some well meaning farm boy eluded me (in a great many respects I am thankful), but I do a great plough man’s lunch! In private we could discuss if I qualify under the “equivalent”, but I doubt it.

-Overseas teaching or working experience preferred – yes, I have that, but isn’t the Savoy a grand pub, why do you want teaching qualifications, is it food training school as well.

-Familiarity with accreditation systems – yes the Michelin Star system is wonderful, and no doubt there are other less reliable rating services I could easily falsify on the Web, if this is of interest.

-Prior experience as a classroom teacher – well yes, do you have difficult guests, my Gravesend (austere name for a town I grant and Pocohontas caught a fever there an went to the spirit world – little know fact team, file away for the next quiz night) experience will put me in good sted here, handling the delightful Craig (aren’t they all) means I can handle any uppity notable. –

-Coaching or experience in extracurricular activities preferred – yes coached Hockey, footy, and have a range of other experiences and qualities that probably fit into the term extracurricular, which I take it to mean not related to what job one may have – like writing job applications, when at work, perhaps? I have experience herding goats and cats and in fact all manner of idiotic creatures that have not the slightest scintilla of an attention span or resemblance to anything intelligent.

-Computer proficiency, highly organized, task oriented, committed – what do I need to be committed to, you don’t say, but yes unfortunately I do know about computers (but I am assuming this is not important), provided you are clear about the task I will commit (funny how that only has one t, why) to at least consider doing it – you would have to ask others about the odd combination “highly organised”, I am not sure I follow. Being used in the same sentence as “computer” is an oxymoron of sorts – sorry, I don’t mean to imply you are a moron, although you could easily be with some of the dash points (well there not dots are they?)

-Strong interpersonal and communication skills, excellent team-player – I am often referred to as “strong willed and don’t tolerate fools easily”, but it is true that people are very clear what I think or deaf, my writing is, for example, a wonderful exhibit of clear and lucid prose, don’t you think? Well I did play footy, so yes I have played in a team, not sure about the term excellent, some days I missed from a few feet – the goals that is, which is a metaphor for organisational goals when you think about it, is that why you ask?

-Excellent role model Well probably, but to whom, a herd of well meaning strip tease artists perhaps, you really need to be more specific, I am beginning to wonder if I should apply or not, it is a bit like a postmodern-post-modernity exercise in the absurd writing this (let alone anyone that reads it, including the aforementioned HR Robot)

-Strong public speaking skills – after a few I can rant with the best, I can also call “time you lot of arseholes” as well as anyone to clear a bar after hours, odd use of the term Strong, possible “keenly refined, or focused, but strong? What is wrong with just GOOD?

REPORTS TO: – lot of cooks in the pot here mate – see my comments.

Head of School, Managing Director – is this one or two people, anyway I am happy to report, but what do I report, I wish you were more specific.

Interfaces with – what does Belle Epoque mean, Belle means beautiful in Italy, does it mean the same thing in Switzerland? I am probably happy to interface (you have some funny terms) with that Dean, the rest all sound like a bunch of tossers!!

Primarily: Head of School, Dean of Students, Dean of Belle Epoque Campus, Head of Operations, Registrar, Director of Studies for Savoy Campus, and Director of Learning Support Other: Administrators, teaching staff, academic and support service staff, students, and parents.

Appraisal Yearly according to the 360 approach – why 360, aren’t there 365 days in a year, oh I get it, it is circular reference i.e. 360 degrees, bit steep mate, take forever to get that many degrees. Love St Anselm

New Music Express top 25 (500 really) albums

The New Music Express – top 500 I thought it would be fun to have links to the music and a wikipedia link as well – remind us these albums were about!
Indie Rock – explained

1. The Smiths – The Queen is Dead || Info

2. Beatles – Revolver || Info

3. David Bowe – Hunky Dory || Info

4. The Strokes – Is This It? || Info

5. The Velvet Underground and Nico || Info

6. Pulp – Different Class || Info

7. The Stone Roses || Info

8. The Pixies – Doolittle || Info

More Latter.

LAOS: Luang Prabang & Plain of Jars at Phonsavan

Laos is a small and mountainous country, 4% is arable, and during the Vietnam conflict the Ho Chi Minh Trail that boarders the two countries was constantly bombed, in fact, on some measures it is the most bombed country ever, for example, using per capita metrics, and a considerable amount of Unexploded Ordinance remains, on some estimates 8m bombs did not explode.

Pics

https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf

The country is beautiful, at Lunag Prabang the Mekong slips past as it winds its way from Tibet towards the ocean outlet of the Mekong delta in southern Vietnam, cutting steep sided valleys covered in denser green rain forest and with very step banks, which make getting to and from boats a bit tricky especially for use oldies! Boats of all kinds traversed the river, cargo, tourist and ferries – we made one trip of about 4 hours in narrow long boat, which seemed to have a difficulty with its motor until we pulled up along side a larger boat that served as a gas station on the river.

https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swfThe river cruise to the Buddhist cave was interesting, passing farm land and weaving around the rocky parts of the river. At the caves one is provided a panoramic view of a mountain range and we could see elephants in the water on the opposite bank. All along the river small villages can be seen and the bank of the river is often used for market gardens, sometimes with small terracing, it seems the flooding of the river is less a danger with the up stream dams. Laos is looking to the Hydro power industry as its major form of export income by selling power to its neighbors of Thailand, China and Vietnam, however, the ecology is impacted and the flow of the river is likely to lessen in time, thus impacting how the people who live along the river interact with it. We saw Monks walking along the bank, many fisherman in very small boats or sitting on the bank, women and children carry the daily supplies up the banks from small boats and sometimes cows and elephants drinking. The river is an integral part of local life.

A trip to a local Elephant nursery saw us spending an hour with a 57 year old female who seemed to enjoy eating, the rest of the tour group road off down to the river, and on return two elephants transported their tourist riders down to the river for a spot of bathing and washing, of both parties. Like most places across Asia the elephant is endangered and these nurseries are important, as are the ones for bears, we past one such Bear park as we visited one of the water falls in the area.

The Plain of Jars is one of the important flat and arable areas and it is in the East towards Vietnam, it is home to large stone jars that were chiseled into shape somewhere between 300BC to 300AD by unknown people’s, and it is thought as part of burial rights to hold the bones. It is a 6hour drive to Phonsavan but worth it, you can fly in and out, but then you miss the sights. The road is narrow and winds through steep mountains and past village after village, like in Sri Lanka the road is just an extension of the house and in most parts the road ran along a narrow hill top with the houses perched precariously with little of no backyard, hence all play and cooking and cleaning was done in the front between the front door and the road, which in all cases was no more than a few feet.

The jars themselves are large, about as tall as a normal person and varying in circumference. There are many sites and we visited two, there other main one was impassable due to rain. The plains are about 1000 m and hence the weather is cool and during our visit rainy as there was a Typhoon off the coast of Vietnam. The thing that strikes you about the stone jars is “how did they do that”, this was during the Iron Age, so it is thought that some form of iron tool was used, but it would have taken many hours and then required a lot of effort to move them into place.

The local markets and eating places are pleasant without hassle and the food and drink all reasonably priced, the hotel accommodation provides a good range to meet different budgets with Tuk Tuks and hire vehicles plentiful.

https://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/picasaweb.googleusercontent.com/slideshow.swf

Blechley Park & Midsomer

In late September I visited the UK on route to Cardiff to work for the International Baccalaureate, which I have done nearly ever year for the past 12. This time I decided to visit Blechley Park and for a bit of fun, look for some of the locations used in long running TV series Midsomer murders.

I booked into the Highwayman a country pub near Kidlington, it is a working persons pup, right by a canal and served a variety of real Ales – the ones that pour by pumping. They also served wonderful ‘Full English’ and India food.

On Saturday I went to Bletchley park, the home of the WWII code breakers and Alan Turing, and the National Museum of computing. Alan Turing is simply one of the most brilliant of mathematicians and conceptual thinker about the notion of computational thinking that lead to the development of not only Enigma code breaking machines but also the modern general computer and the stored program concept. In WWII he was one of the lead scientists who worked to crack the German codes created using a mechanical machine called the Enigma code.

His work went unheralded after the war and he eventually committed suicide when charged with homosexual behaviour in around 1950, illegal in Britain at the time. Not until the late 1950’s did his mother know what he did in the war and that he was a hero, his treatment remains a scandal despite Brown’s letter of apology. A movement is underway to grant a full pardon.

Turing’s writings are wonderful in their clarity of not only the technical mathematical content but for his use of every day language to outline the problems he foresaw that would need a technological solution – one being the idea of data storage being like a book with a direct page reference in preference to storing a series of 1’s and 0’s in a mercury filled tube using waves, this latter technology actually worked, but it was his insight of the need for very large storage beyond that of the immediate primary memory that is impressive. He worked with the American von Nuemann to design and discuss developments in computing during WWII, sub-sequentially the von Nuemann design was adopted and basically all computer still use his fundamental design. It uses the philosophy of doing as many instructions as possible using hardware, a complex instruction set. Turing had proposed an alternative to do only the very basic instructions in hardware and to provide the rest using software, this is what is known today as reduced instruction set architecture and is used commonly in mobile devices.

The role of women at Bletchly park was not known during the war and received scant attention after it. The main British code breaking machine, designed by Turing, was called the Bombe, which is a derivation of a Polish word bomba, meaning cytology or code breaking. The machine was used to determine the Enigma machines daily settings and was operated and managed entirely by WREN’s, many of their stories are now available and apparently the shifts were long, stressful as mistakes were costly, very hot, very smelly (oil as it was a machine with moving parts) and very loud. The fundamental inputs were a series of cables connecting single input points two at a time, these connections had to be made very quickly and without mistake: I can attest that this is difficult as you can visit the hut and try for yourself.

I also visited the National Computing Museum and was reacquainted with similar input devices I used as a student in the early 1970 – enter programs a line at a time, the symbols displaying in electrical displays which were small glass cylinders – one per character, about 10 at a time! There were also the old 300MB, 19 platter disk units which I used to sell for $50,000….bit of a trip down memory lane.

The rest of the trip saw me hunting for Midsomer Murder sites – I visited pubs, took pictures of villages, walked in the woods, made a short movie and saw the windmill, alas the camera obscura on the village green of the village of The Lee is fictional, image my disappointment!

Some pics at

Bletchley Park & Midsomer

I also made a quick visit to Kings College Cambridge – just to say I had been there!

Kings College

and you can listen to the choir of Kings College here.

Author: ameyenn

Investigating Components of Sound

Ilfracombie North Devon UK

Decline in participation in Mathematics