Sunday, March 09, 2003

From Smart Mobs: Cognitive Radio Mobile Phones?. According to Mitre computer scientist Joseph Mitola, next-generation cell phones might be cognitive radios (CRs), or software radios learning from interaction with their users and acting in their best interest. Digital signal processing is what makes it possible to sift out extremely faint signals from outer space and detect radio emissions from distant galaxies — and one of the tools NSA uses to tune in to even low-power radio broadcasts. Combine digital signal processing with packet-switching and all kinds of nifty things become possible. InfoWorld talked with Mitola about how his vision of "cognitive radio" would work, and how it could redefine cell phone technology. Mitola said his vision is still about five to 10 years from realization, but that it could mean a sea change as control is shifted from network operators to users. He also said that sending a 10 MB email in a zone where carrier charges are high might cause the CR to alert its user, and suggest waiting until getting to the office to use the LAN instead. Finally, he talked about serious issues like privacy and security. For example, he envisions that video recognition would allow CR cell phones to visually authenticate their owners. Read the full InfoWorld interview. (Via Roland Piquepaille's Technology Trends) 4:31:20 PM    comment []

When a University President Turns Into a Cheerleader, Trouble Ensues. There is nothing wrong with a rah-rah spirit, but a caretaker of integrity should not treat a sports program as if it were a Rotisserie team. By Selena Roberts. [New York Times: Education] 8:49:34 AM    comment []

Matt Ridley reviews Freedom Evolves by Daniel C. Dennet, in The Telegraph. Spinoza once said that the only difference between a person and a stone rolling down a hill is that the person thinks he is in charge of his own destiny. Daniel Dennett to the rescue. The ebullient, pugnacious and ever pithy sage of Boston has written books on free will, consciousness and Darwinism. He now returns to free will with a remarkably persuasive new idea derived from Darwinism: that freedom of the will is something that grows, that evolves. The greater the sophistication of an organism, the greater its knowledge of the world and of itself, so the greater its ability to take charge of its own destiny. A rock has no freedom to choose; a bacterium has very little; a bird has some; a conscious primate has much more; a conscious primate inheriting a rich lode of cultural knowledge has the most of all. Determinism - the idea that a cause automatically produces an effect - is not, says Dennett, the same as inevitability. This is a surprising assertion which he spends several chapters justifying, and I think he succeeds. I suspect, from knowing Dennett's body of work and from this Ridley review, that I'll be teaching Freedom Evolves within the next couple years. This sounds like very keen stuff. 8:48:07 AM    comment []

Local: Blog Saint Louis St. Louis Bloggers can you imagine... ... a St. Louis that no longer asks what highschool did you go to? but instead, what's your blog? Next Rep season features plays that should draw on their names alone 8:37:50 AM    comment []