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π Grue and Bleen: New riddle of induction
Grue and bleen are examples of logical predicates coined by Nelson Goodman in Fact, Fiction, and Forecast to illustrate the "new riddle of induction" β a successor to Hume's original problem. These predicates are unusual because their application is time-dependent; many have tried to solve the new riddle on those terms, but Hilary Putnam and others have argued such time-dependency depends on the language adopted, and in some languages it is equally true for natural-sounding predicates such as "green." For Goodman they illustrate the problem of projectible predicates and ultimately, which empirical generalizations are law-like and which are not. Goodman's construction and use of grue and bleen illustrates how philosophers use simple examples in conceptual analysis.
Discussed on
- "Grue and Bleen: New riddle of induction" | 2018-08-12 | 49 Upvotes 52 Comments
π Black cowboys
Black cowboys in the American West accounted for up to 25 percent of workers in the range-cattle industry from the 1860s to 1880s, estimated to be between 6,000 and 9,000 workers. Typically former slaves or born into the families of former slaves, many black men had skills in cattle handling and headed West at the end of the Civil War. Though the industry generally treated black men equally to white men in terms of pay and responsibilities, discrimination persisted, though to a lesser extent than in other industries of the time.
Discussed on
- "Black cowboys" | 2018-08-11 | 48 Upvotes 40 Comments
π Usenet β A worldwide distributed discussion system
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was established in 1980. Users read and post messages (called articles or posts, and collectively termed news) to one or more categories, known as newsgroups. Usenet resembles a bulletin board system (BBS) in many respects and is the precursor to Internet forums that are widely used today. Discussions are threaded, as with web forums and BBSs, though posts are stored on the server sequentially. The name comes from the term "users network".
A major difference between a BBS or web forum and Usenet is the absence of a central server and dedicated administrator. Usenet is distributed among a large, constantly changing conglomeration of servers that store and forward messages to one another via "newsΒ feeds". Individual users may read messages from and post messages to a local server, which may be operated by anyone.
Usenet is culturally and historically significant in the networked world, having given rise to, or popularized, many widely recognized concepts and terms such as "FAQ", "flame", sockpuppet, and "spam". In the 1990s, before access to the Internet became commonly affordable, Usenet connections via Fidonet's dial-up BBS networks made long-distance or worldwide discussions and other communication widespread, not needing a server, just (local) telephone service.
Discussed on
- "Usenet β A worldwide distributed discussion system" | 2018-08-05 | 104 Upvotes 87 Comments
π Minivac 601
Minivac 601 Digital Computer Kit was an electromechanical digital computer system created by information theory pioneer Claude Shannon as an educational toy using digital circuits.
Discussed on
- "Minivac 601" | 2018-08-04 | 55 Upvotes 10 Comments
π Trout Tickling
Trout tickling is the art of rubbing the underbelly of a trout with fingers. If done properly, the trout will go into a trance after a minute or so, and can then easily be thrown onto the nearest bit of dry land.
Discussed on
- "Trout Tickling" | 2018-07-31 | 66 Upvotes 25 Comments
- "Trout tickling" | 2015-11-08 | 38 Upvotes 15 Comments
π Sabre (computer system)
Sabre Global Distribution System, owned by Sabre Corporation, is used by travel agents and companies around the world to search, price, book, and ticket travel services provided by airlines, hotels, car rental companies, rail providers and tour operators. Sabre aggregates airlines, hotels, online and offline travel agents and travel buyers.
Discussed on
- "Sabre (computer system)" | 2018-07-30 | 65 Upvotes 30 Comments
π Turbo Button
On personal computers, the turbo button is a button which provides two run states for the computer: normal speed or an enhanced "turbo" speed. It was relatively common on personal computers using the Intel 80286, Intel 80386 and Intel 80486 processors, from the mid 1980s to mid 1990s.
The name is inspired by turbocharger, a turbine-driven forced induction device that increases an engine's power and efficiency.
Discussed on
- "Turbo Button" | 2018-07-29 | 195 Upvotes 113 Comments
π Vanadium redox battery
The vanadium redox battery (VRB), also known as the vanadium flow battery (VFB) or vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), is a type of rechargeable flow battery that employs vanadium ions in different oxidation states to store chemical potential energy. The vanadium redox battery exploits the ability of vanadium to exist in solution in four different oxidation states, and uses this property to make a battery that has just one electroactive element instead of two. For several reasons, including their relative bulkiness, most vanadium batteries are currently used for grid energy storage, i.e., attached to power plants or electrical grids.
The possibility of creating a vanadium flow battery was explored by Pissoort in the 1930s, NASA researchers in the 1970s, and Pellegri and Spaziante in the 1970s, but none of them were successful in demonstrating the technology. The first successful demonstration of the all-vanadium redox flow battery which employed vanadium in a solution of sulfuric acid in each half was by Maria Skyllas-Kazacos at the University of New South Wales in the 1980s. Her design used sulfuric acid electrolytes, and was patented by the University of New South Wales in Australia in 1986.
The main advantages of the vanadium redox battery are that it can offer almost unlimited energy capacity simply by using larger electrolyte storage tanks; it can be left completely discharged for long periods with no ill effects; if the electrolytes are accidentally mixed, the battery suffers no permanent damage; a single state of charge between the two electrolytes avoids the capacity degradation due to a single cell in non-flow batteries; the electrolyte is aqueous and inherently safe and non-flammable; and the generation 3 formulation using a mixed acid solution developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory operates over a wider temperature range allowing for passive cooling. VRFBs can be used at depth of discharge (DOD) around 90% and more, i.e. deeper DODs than solid-state batteries (e.g. lithium-based and sodium-based batteries, which are usually specified with DOD=80%). In addition, VRFBs exhibit very long cycle lives: most producers specify cycle durability in excess of 15,000-20,000 charge/discharge cycles. These values are far beyond the cycle lives of solid-state batteries, which is usually in the order of 4,000-5,000 charge/discharge cycles. Consequently, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE, i.e. the system cost divided by the usable energy, the cycle life, and round-trip efficiency) of present VRFB systems is typically in the order of a few tens of $ cents or β¬ cents, namely much lower than the LCOEs of equivalent solid-state batteries and close to the targets of $0.05 and β¬0.05, stated by the US Department of Energy and the European Commission Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan, respectively.
The main disadvantages with vanadium redox technology are a relatively poor energy-to-volume ratio in comparison with standard storage batteries, and the relatively poor round trip efficiency. Furthermore, the aqueous electrolyte makes the battery heavy and therefore only useful for stationary applications. Another disadvantage is the relatively high toxicity of oxides of vanadium (see vanadium Β§Β Safety).
Numerous companies and organizations involved in funding and developing vanadium redox batteries include Avalon Battery, Vionx (formerly Premium Power), UniEnergy Technologies and Ashlawn Energy in the United States; Renewable Energy Dynamics Technology in Ireland; Enerox GmbH (formerly Gildemeister energy storage) in Austria; Cellennium in Thailand; Rongke Power in China; Prudent Energy in China; Sumitomo in Japan; H2, Inc. in South Korea; redT in Britain., Australian Vanadium in Australia, and the now defunct Imergy (formerly Deeya). Lately, also several smaller size vanadium redox flow batteries were brought to market (for residential applications) mainly from StorEn Technologies (USA), Schmid Group, VoltStorage and Volterion (all three from Germany), VisBlue (Denmark) or Pinflow energy storage (Czechia).
Discussed on
- "Vanadium redox battery" | 2018-07-28 | 35 Upvotes 31 Comments
π Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA
Wikimedia Foundation, et al. v. National Security Agency, et al. is a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the Wikimedia Foundation and several other organizations against the National Security Agency (NSA), the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and other named individuals, alleging mass surveillance of Wikipedia users carried out by the NSA. The suit claims the surveillance system, which NSA calls "Upstream", breaches the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects freedom of speech, and the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland as the NSA is based in Fort Meade, Maryland. The suit was dismissed in October 2015 by Judge T. S. Ellis III; this decision was appealed four months later to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals by the Wikimedia Foundation. The Court of Appeals found that the dismissal was valid for all of the plaintiffs except the Foundation, whose allegations the court found "plausible" enough to have legal standing for the case to be remanded to the lower court.
The original plaintiffs besides the Wikimedia Foundation were the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, the PEN American Center, the Global Fund for Women, The Nation magazine, the Rutherford Institute, and the Washington Office on Latin America.
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- "Wikimedia Foundation v. NSA" | 2018-07-27 | 19 Upvotes 3 Comments