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Sunday, Jan 22, 2012 - 01:25 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

For Length

Bowled 156 for the first time in awhile - deliberating whether to take up my cousin's offer to take over his old ball - and received my Official Manchester United Supporter's Trust Green and Gold Sharp shirt (No. 1150), to make it a satisfying Friday. Oh, and the Discovery Channel is showing a documentary on the Milgram experiment, while Real was castigated for playacting against Barca. Really, against Barca? Let me calculate the odds.

I have also been trying to learn how to relax, which is proving more difficult than thought. It's easier with a good tutor, though:


Do please mail me one if you have a spare lying around


More encouragement in the toilet by my lab:


I found it strangely soothing



No SOPA For Now

"I'm always amused by... Xerox machines in libraries, with a warning label not to copy copyrighted material -
as if there was any other reason for the copier to be there."

- Andy Kessler, Eat People, pg. 189


The power of coordinated blackout compelled the American government to shelf the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) [see some primers] - which would, for one, shift the onus on detecting copyrighted material to information providers, possibly to a degree that they might effectively cease to function.

After plenty of frantic calls from irate (and non-tech-savvy/bandwidth-challenged) students deprived of their accustomed source of acceptable plagarism, the Justice Department's website going down under DDoS attacks orchestrated by Anonymous [Note to the CIA: Though he may be a frequent commentator here, I don't know anything about him! Honest!] and perhaps some padded envelopes from Silicon Valley, Congress caved, with declared support for SOPA shifting from 80-31 to 65-101 in a single day, and thence to a crushing 61 for to 189 against.

Which only shows that you can throw trillions of dollars and thousands of lives at long-drawn questionable wars or imprison people indefinitely for no reason at all (repealing the ISA just became trickier, sigh), but deny citizens their weekly dose of Dexter or Game of Thrones and that's it, man!

It is the Land of the Free, after all.


Arrrrr take that, ye scurvy legal ninjas are sunk!
Double portions of looted rum n' pictures tonight, men!
(Source: flickr.com)


While efforts to prevent copying are probably doomed (think Prohibition - more of this later), a more interesting question is whether it is possible to efficiently detect offences (the enforcement side is covered in the Wiki article). Wouldn't it be infeasible to try and match passages in the unimaginably vast sea of data that is the Internet... eh, wait, isn't that what search engines like Google (and services like turnitin) do all the time (in milliseconds, no less?)

Alright, the major proponents of SOPA, Hollywood and the MPAA/RIAA (basically the movie and music industries) probably don't care too much about text that isn't a script or lyrics (leaving Google to happily digitize every written word they can lay their hands on). Then, the question is, is identifying pirated movies and songs that hard?

Probably not. We have already seen here how feasible image search is, and what is video but many images? An obvious adaption would then be to sample the video at intervals, essentially converting each clip into many static images, and execute an image search on the results.

Is this feasible? Well, if we sample at one-second intervals, an hour's worth of video would generate 3600 images. While this makes the problem a couple of orders of magnitudes more difficult than for images (assuming that there are as many hours of videos as there are images online, which I doubt), this is plainly not insurmountable - the digital era is all about exponential growth. Once any good-enough frame image match is found, the preceding and succeeding frames can then be quickly scanned to confirm the overall match.

Of course, the problem can be greatly simplified by such obvious measures as eliminating duplicates (how many scenes are made up of the same actor talking for half a minute?) or slightly more complicated procedures like extracting keyframes, but they might not even be necessary with enough storage/processing speed. One could well imagine requiring all file-hosting services (in whatever form, whether YouTube or Megaupload) to scan all uploads against a set of copyrighted material, and at least force would-be pirates to resort to measures such as mirroring or steganography.

So why won't they do that? It wouldn't be perfect, but it should catch, offhand, a very good percentage of current infringements. Well, I don't know - do visitors generally go for high-production-value blockbusters and MTV clips, or indie "look at my hamster" vids? [Mr. Ham: Hey!] And do advertisers give money to sites with or without traffic? Hmm.


To God or Not To God

A couple of weeks ago, an event called "common ground" was held by a Catholic council with the support of the Inter-Religious Organization. It was then reported upon posthaste in the local news, by a reporter who happens to be Catholic. All would have been well (other than the ludicrous premise of bringing together beliefs, which tend to officially assign those of other beliefs to a flaming afterlife, and have them skirt the issue entirely), if not for an unfortunate paragraph:

...So when a Christian sits and centres herself with a prayer word like Yahweh or Maranatha (Aramaic for Come, Lord), when a Buddhist meditates on loving kindness, when a Taoist follows the rise and fall of his breath to harmony, when a Muslim chants the various names of Allah, or a Hindu engages her chakra in meditation - they are all engaged in a practice both unique to their tradition, and common to all faiths: reaching God through silence.


Yes, that was the sound of a Buddhist's head hitting the ground mid-chant in disbelief (one is reminded of C. S. Lewis' "being led by God's secret influence" sop, which was not warmly received by some Christians). At least a couple of them promptly wrote in to sternly assert that "Buddhists do not meditate to reach god through silence" and explain "Why Buddhists meditate" [answer given: to cultivate samadhi (concentration) and prajna (wisdom), and certainly not for communion with god or gods].

Ironically, a third forum submission berated the writer of the first letter above for presuming to know what each and every Buddhist does when he meditates, and argued that while the Buddha Gotama did state that there is no Creator God who controls human destiny, Buddha also clearly stated that there are many Maha Brahmas who are our contemporary equivalent to god (w/o capital letter).

This is a perspective certainly not lost on local undergrads, who are fervently laying offerings before the God of the Bell Curve (distinct from the God of the Flat Curve), which inspired some good-natured dispelling of myths by the Provost.

Back to the Buddhists, perhaps it would be wise for them to figure it out while their kind Catholic hosts debate the Protestants, before the winners of the two matchups come together to decide The Ultimate Truth, but I fear it will take a long time - the Pope already has enough on his hands bleating for an end to discrimination against his flock (cry me a river, like they were nice to other beliefs when they were strong) even as his pedophile abuse investigator was jailed for possession of child porn.

Well, in the commendable spirit of finding common ground, I shall attempt to very briefly compare and contrast observations of Catholic (keeping in mind they remain the definitive Christian denomination)/(Protestant) Christian against Buddhist/Taoist/Chinese folk-religion (I find it hard to draw a clear line here from my experiences in temples, which appeared mostly syncretic) practices and beliefs:

Catholic/Christian Buddhist/Taoist     
Key figureJesus (God)Buddha (Not God)
PortrayalResembles main body of believersResembles main body of believers
Halo around head?OftenOften
Favoured materials used in portrayalWood, marbleGold, jade
Appears asThin man on crossSitting man on dais
FatherNot his mother's husbandNot his mother's husband
Birth miracleStar of BethlehemWalked and Talked
Birthday celebrationChristmas DayVesak Day
Water miracleWalked on, turned into wineWalked on, purified water
Water + Birth ComboBaptizing baby bawlersBathing baby Buddhas
Other miraclesPlentyPlenty
But are miracles the point?Not reallyNot really
Views on TreesNegativePositive
Relics worshippedShroud etcTooth etc
Random appearancesYes, on potato chips etcYes, in clouds blocking sun etc
Bad Guy Main RivalSatan (always loses)Mara (always loses)
Spiritual Merit for funding Places of WorshipYesYes
Main disciples12 (100% male)10 (100% male)
Betrayal by trusted disciplePeter (thrice)Devadatta (thrice)
Final betrayal by trusted discipleJudas (failed, Jesus later resurrects)Devadatta (failed in first place)
Predicted own death anywayYesYes
Actually wrote anything downNoNo
Source of knowledge about themDisciplesDisciples
Fate of TeachingsSplintered into various denominationsSplintered into various schools/traditions
Views by each others' nicer believersBuddha was possibly a good guyJesus was possibly a bodhisattva
Views by each others' not-so-nice believersPagan unsavedUnenlightened
Immolations when unhappyOthersThemselves
Some disciples martyred?YesYes
Their relics worshipped?Yes, againYes, again
Bodies of dead leaders in-corruptible?Sometimes, holy if happensSometimes, holy if happens
Inanimate figures worshipped?Yes (but definitely not as an idol!)Yes (but definitely not as an idol!)
Mode of worshipKneeling, hands togetherKneeling, hands together
Worship scheduleDaily at prescribed times, then once weekly at churchDaily at prescribed times, then once weekly at temple
Choice of clerical garmentLong flowing robesLong flowing robes
Traditional clerical hairstyleBaldBald
Prayer aidsRosary
(prayer beads)		Mala
(prayer beads)
Preferred source of (votive) fireCandlesJoss sticks
Other votive offeringsFlowers, food, cash etcFlowers, food, cash etc
Incense?Oh, of courseOh, of course
Bells?Only traditionalOnly traditional
Altars?MandatoryMandatory
Blessed protective amulets?AvailableAvailable
Exorcisms?On demand (involves lots of shouting)On demand (involves lots of shouting)
Funeral services?On demandOn demand
Ritual chanting?Incessant once it gets startedIncessant once it gets started
Chanting understood by laity?Probably notProbably not
Sing-alongs?PopularPopular
Encouraged virtuesSevenEight
Major sins or vicesSevenTen
Special Vegetarian DaysLent and some feast days of saintsVesak and some birthdays of bodhisattvas
Notable consumptionTransubstantiated flesh and blood of JesusBurnt charms with ashes mixed into water
Maternal FigureMaryGuanyin
Associated withCompassion, babiesCompassion, babies
Heaven?Yes (popularly, nine spheres)Yes (popularly, about sixteen realms)
Higher hierarchies?Yes for angels etcYes for arhats etc
Mortal promotions?Yes, to saints, venerables etcYes, to arhats, bodhisattvas etc
Former mortals beseeched?YesYes
Beseeched for material wealth?Yes, Saint Paschal Baylon (or can just jump straight into Prosperity Gospel)Yes, Cai Shen Yue (or can just pick what worked in the past for 4D numbers)
Official views on material wealthWorthlessWorthless
In practiceOften extremely richOften extremely rich
Hell?Yes, under the earth (popularly, nine circles)Yes, under the earth (popularly, eighteen levels)
Tie-ups with royalty of the dayCommon (e.g. in Spain)Common (e.g. in Japan)
Leaders happen to be from politically-connected familiesOftenOften
Support for aggressive regimesAt least some (e.g. Nazis)At least some (e.g. Imperial Japan)
Non-conformance in dominated societiesOutcast pariahOutcast pariah
Child in-doctrination before age of rationalityCommonCommon
Those not on their sideWe regret it, but you are gonna suffer after deathWe regret it, but you are gonna suffer after death
So are you same same or different?Completely different!Completely different!
ConclusionOur beliefs must certainly be true, and they are obviously at least partly deluded



Nom Nom... My Foot!

The ruling party hasn't had much luck with food analogies despite Singapore's deserved culinary reputation, and after well-publicised distaste for cockles and comparative analysis of hawker centres, food courts and restaurants, the latest gaffe involves Peach Garden S$10 XO Sauce chye tow kuay (darn, now I'm hungry), which just begged to be lampooned, and not totally without basis.

One could almost sympathize. Almost:


HAPPY NEW YEAR! (Source: Facebook)



More Figurative Cannibalism

A swift summary of the impressive Eat People, which lays out a number of rules for modern-day entrepreneur Free Radicals:

  1. Do things that scale (related to the principle of having recurring income streams, a mainstay of investment tracts)
  2. Waste abundant stuff to make up for scarce stuff (the canonical example in Computer Science is probably time vs. memory - note that the author has no truck with regulation, which might not always work out)
  3. Go horizontal when in doubt, i.e. focus on doing one thing extremely well and then selling it
  4. Intelligence moves to the edge of the network (i.e. consumers)
  5. Wealth comes from productivity only - here, the distinction between productivity (ahem, Singapore) and efficiency is made; productivity is defined as doing the right things (effectiveness) efficiently, and it is noted that a focus on efficiency, the squeezing out of last drops of performance, usually indicates that the end of a technological cycle has been reached
  6. Adapt to humans, don't expect the other way round
  7. Eat people, i.e. destroy (repetitive, brainless, automatable) jobs! New jobs will come along - horse manure shovelers could become auto mechanics instead! The author further classifies people into Creators and Servers (with sub-classifications for the latter):

    • Creators - generate productivity by making or employing abundance; basically system-builders and programmers
    • Sloppers - middlemen and brokers who move Creator products; marketers are then defined as Super Sloppers who create artificial value (example given was overpriced branded sneakers, but also possibly antique violins, vodka and manly soda)
    • Slackers - hang around doing nothing and looking cool, but think they know exactly how things should be done
    • Sponges - absorb value without adding much; there is a rant against all sorts of licensing exams and employee unions, which the author feels only serves to limit supply so that the participating industries can drive wages up
    • Thieves - basically steal value wholesale; monopolies such as broadcasters... and even doctors! (who are accused of limiting the number of medical schools [N.B. True here] and requiring students to pass a medical exam! I... have to disagree on this point)
    • Slimers - bankers and financiers; greasy, but necessary

  8. Markets make better decisions than managers - capitalism vs. communism in a nutshell
  9. Embrace exceptionalism - equal opportunities [N.B. Easier said than done], not equal outcomes

    There is a discussion here on Raduchel's theory of intelligence, which he claims comprises four major parameters:

    • Stroud number - how fast a brain works, on elementary operations; the fastest brains are generally only thrice as fast as the slowest ones
    • Memory chunk capacity - how many containers of information are available simultaneously; averages about seven, ranges mostly from three to twelve
    • Thought generators - template for thoughts; averages abour five, ranges mostly from two to ten
    • Halstead length - size of a memory chunk; where the largest variance lies, if an average human has a length of 250 on some metric, top programmers could have possibly over sixty thousand, a factor of 100; relates to depth of thought

    This is used to further the argument that the quality of elite talents is extremely important, since they can organize the work and thus empower others to be productive. The author then laments the fact that intelligence testing (such as the Wonderlic, still used by American football teams) has been effectively outlawed for most companies in America, as it has forced them to rely on universities to evaluate intelligence, who predictably jacked up tuition fees in response to their new monopoly.

    [N.B. It should be noted here that intelligence, like almost everything, has tradeoffs]

  10. Be a Market Entrepreneur and Attack Political Entrepreneurs - sounds like GLCs; here, Carlos Slim is accused of relying on monopoly power in Mexico to become the world's richest man at some points in time. Vanderbilt's practice of offering free trips on his steamships to earn it back in bar sales, beating contemporary political entrepreneurs, is provided as a counterpoint. Generous union penions and wage manipulations heavily slammed.
  11. Use Zero Marginal Cost to Create a Flood (or Someone Else Will) - see failure of SOPA above; the author (correctly) predicts that copyright infringement is unstoppable, and advises movie and music producers to invent new business models instead
  12. Create Your Own Scarcity with a Virtual Pipe - key sentence: media is about control of a pipe. Investment legend Milken lent to moguls like Ted Turner and Rupert Murdorch because they controlled pipes. Apple has created its own, as has Facebook, but making most of its data (legally) inaccessible to search behemoths like Google

Song of Week (With Accompanying Quote)



I guarantee you that when one of the girls... gets engaged, they all will.

First: women control relationships with betas, not the betas. If they are not married, it's because they (the women) don't want to be.

Second, they are herd creatures. These discussions about how the guys are not popping the question are actually discussions amongst themselves as to whether it's time for them all to stop playing musical chairs and all sit down with the ones they have.

When the girls as a group decide that its wedding time, then all the various guys will be issued their ultimatums and most will fall into line. Until then, the guys will carry on in blissful ignorance...

- Dalrock


Does this bear out with observation? Hmm...


Happy Betting

Mr. Ham (1577/1800 seeds): No contest, everything on the Totten-hams to beat City (at 4.00). And win the league!

FAKEBERT (1963.5/1800 seeds): Not passing up on a good thing - 100 on Bolton to draw Liverpool (at 3.60)



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Next: A Year Again


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