Joey Seiler on February 28, 2008 3:31 PM
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Astrophysicist John Dubinski has been running simulations on his supercomputer of galaxies forming, colliding into each other, and otherwise moving around as they are wont to do. Last year he compiled nine animations onto a DVD, wrapped them up with "the soundworlds of renaissance and baroque counterpoint, free improvisation, Middle-Eastern music, minimalism, techno and electronica to create a musical feast that crosses time and dimension," and sold Gravitas.
As of this week, he's begun giving the DVD away for free via torrent, but he's posted the series of animations on YouTube, making my day far, far happier than otherwise possible.
Continue reading 'Free galactic simulations are the best part of my day' >
Ted Alvarez on January 11, 2008 7:18 PM
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Lucky for us, Discover Magazine and be-dreadlocked VR-guru Jaron Lanier are happy to answer with a "probably not."
The column itself is actually a thoughtful dive into the parameters of virtual-reality research and the limits of human perception. The Matrix inevitably gets name-dropped, and there's some heady exploration into who might be at the hands of our impossibly complex simulation, if, in fact, life IS a complete VR-simulation.
Continue reading 'Today's dumbest headline: 'Are We Trapped in God's Video Game?'' >
Joey Seiler on January 10, 2008 3:53 PM
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Sandia National Labs and and BBN Technologies predict that 20,000 soldiers a year may soon be trained in nonkinetic strategies (read: negotiation and cultural awareness) in a game developed by Sandia scientist Dr. Elaine M. Raybourn. "We have a multi-player game and we have a methodology that is designed to help people see the same problem from different perspectives," explained Raybourn. "We're trying to work with the assumptions our trainees bring. We're trying to change that."
Continue reading 'Training 20,000 soldiers to negotiate with games' >
