Semantic scholar

TL;DR -- Paul Allen and his work has led to a phenomenal advance in query support. We will go on about and further look at this application of machine learning. 

-- 

Our focus, outside of those related to history and heritage, deals with technology. Of late, we have been looking at GenAI and the changes that we can see in the world since OpenAI let loose their premature "omniscient, omnipresent" whatever. ChatGPT was the name; it had 100s of millions users within a short period of time. That set the stage for several developments are were mostly reactionary. 

We, basically, analyzed the situation and the various cohorts of the new type of thing. And, found where things were wanting. On the other hand, GenAI made a hit in fiction and chicanery. Of the later, "fake" this and that. In our interchange with the things (several), we noted its superior attitude. Now it all, essentially. Telling humans what they ought to know. 

When, mind you, it could not do simple algebra or even arithmetic. There were other obvious failures. The industry (OpenAI and its cohorts) bragged of  80% success. Oh yes, of all of the flights in a day, how would you like to have 20% of those fail. Well, there are types of failures. So, the matter could be discussed usefully, in this case. But, for one maker of planes, the evaluation criterion was 99.999% success which was applied throughout all of the process. The effect was something that could regularly fly millions of miles with no incident. 

Then, things happened. Well, we'll see more of that at GenAI (and other types) get put into the world due to the lack of ways and means to contain the hype or to handle the proper analysis. But, we will get there. Have seen progress. Yesterday, in one quorum, ChatGPT said that it was a tool and that it wanted to help me, a human, with my research. Okay. More on that later. 

Now, let's look at one of the many ways that mature minds have applied this stuff. I spent the afternoon using Paul Allen's Semantic Scholar. Well, not his; rather, it is the work of the Allen Institute and the University of Washington and other contributors. The experience was encouraging with respect to getting a proper framework going for this type of technology. 

Here is their website: https://www.semanticscholar.org/ (we will look at this further). Based upon their query facility, it is a huge step forward. 

As mentioned, there are other examples. One of these is Wolfram's use of GenAI with his computational mathematics system.  

Remarks: Modified: 10/26/2024

10/26/2024 -- 

Alice, of the Nantucket bunch

TL;DR -- Alice of the show (Brady Bunch - not that of Carroll nor of the others that we will look at from time to time) gives us a serious New England family history to study. Hang on as we put technology to proper use guided by the "true" spirit of the American experience which we will look at (again and again). 

--

Better late than never, one can say. With our technology focus, we have to look across the board, including the chain from marketing (those who would have us believe enough to spend money) down to fictional shows as we see on TV (those who would have us believe their story and spend money as led to the decision by the marketing folks). 

I have been slowly collecting descendants of Thomas and Margaret, as they become, more or less, proven, that is, their lineage. See Thomas and Margaret (Fryer) Gardner; Joseph Gardner (youngest son); Thomas Gardner II (eldest son); ... Notice, recent research (see Comment, this day) shows that Seeth was born here whereas the other children were born in Dorset, UK. 

Now, let's take one show that was heavy on the cultural horizon: Brady Bunch. Alice was a well-known figure due to her role. She was portrayed by Ann B. Davis (Wikipedia, Wikitree - to be researched). She passed on in 2014, as many may remember. Today, I saw that Famous Kin had a profile of her; here is Ann's link to Thomas Gardner through son, John who married Grafton. She has a serious New England background, including lots of families of Plymouth.  

The show did a good job of presenting the U.S. from the viewpoint of a city on the west coast. Too, it aired from 1969 to 1974 which puts it right in the middle of lots of cultural transformations. 

It might not need saying, but we are seeing something similar now with AIn't and its manifestation through GenAI with all of its faults. The next two years will be fun. 

In the meantime, we'll be researching the scope of associations for descendants of Thomas and Margaret in order to tie technology and its pretenses with the phenomenal aspects of people and their long history on the planet. 

Generations and their dynamics? Lots to learn on this folks. Perhaps, the computer can help. It can serve as an ultimate objectifier, as we watch the wannabe try to attain some state which we do not even know how to describe yet. Whether we can or not (attain what AI seems to have accomplished, by the estimate of ts purveyors and supporters) is a basic question needing attention. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/21/2024

10/21/2024 -- Lewis Carroll was a logician, mathematician (influenced by Boole). 

Native Americans

TL;DR -- In the past, Columbus had a day where we celebrated one arrival event. Today, we are cognizant increasingly of the Native American culture that was here prior to the incursion of European influence. We have a lot to learn. 

--

Today is a Holiday (Federal) for some, Earlier, Columbus was the main focus of the day. The view of the day has changed over the years to the current status of this being called The "Indigenious Peoples" Day. As such, the day can be used to learn more of the cultures and people here before we saw the "News" come to be (England, France, Spain, ...). 

This post at Facebook asks the question: Why isn't This Map in the History Books?. We liked the graphics which can be found in seveal places and will be looked at further. 

Native American Knowledge

There will be a lot to look at. For one thing, we can continue our work on the Awareness Months. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/14/2024

10/14/2024 -- 

Computational Chemistry

TL;DR -- Machine learning and its use of physics was the focus for the Nobel award. This was followed up with the chemistry award being given to protein research. This is a step forward for various reasons. Ultimate consequences are not really known at this time. Research deals with the future.  

--

Yesterday, we noted that the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2024 was given for work in machine learning. ML which is usually known as AI (artificial intelligence) deals with the technology of a computer systems taking as input huge streams of data and reducing these through various techniques into information that people can understand and use. But, this information can feed back into the computer model itself. 

The emphasis is on modeling which is accomplished through computational techniques. "computational" goes along with "theoretic" which deals with analytic and quantitative means applied to a field of study in order to effect desirable effects such as design, prediction and continuing analysis, generally in support of scientific endeavors. If one surveys the STEM discplines, one sees a huge influence of computational modes. With respect to some of the harder problems such as life and intelligence, one could very well suggest that theoretical chemistry will play a huge role. So, this is a necessary step; but, we have huge problems yet to resolve. 

Along with that of Physics, the Prize for Chemistry in 2024 was given to researchers who used a variant of ML from Google (AlpaFold). This work portends to future benefits that have been elusive using other means. Needless to say, the success is heavily dependent upon the researchers who are working now as well as the continually developing frameworks of their disciplines. 

A technical paper explains some of the details: COMPUTATIONAL PROTEIN DESIGN AND PROTEIN STRUCTURE PREDICTION. The following is a quote from the paper:

In summary, the achievements of David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper in the

fields of computational protein design and protein structure prediction are truly profound. Their

work has opened up a new era of biochemical and biological research, where we can now predict

and design protein structures in ways that had not been possible before. Hence, a long-standing

goal has finally been met, and the impact of this will have far-reaching consequences. 

As it says, this is research and applies to the future. We will look at some recent applications of the techniques and discuss the matters that relate. 

The use of AI is somewhat unfortunate. The work is an example of applied mathematics, computational modeling of such, people who are in the position to exploit the facilities in their work, and long years of work captured various ways as science has been doing for the past 200 years or so. 

AI deals with intelligence which we know is mostly associated with living forms. Now, we can look more closely at modeling these by using improved protein analysis plus a whole lot of other information. Like with physics which is strongly using normals in order to reduce problems to a proper scope, we will see this with other scientific domains. 

At we see with GenAI, what are the costs of this research in comparison with other work that is necessary, in terms of the resources used (say power), or the potential for misuse given our proclivity to not know how to manage complexity? 

Congratulations to the Laureates. Looking forward to watching things unfold. 

Remarks: Modified: 10/09/2024

10/09/2024 --  

Machine learning

TL;DR -- Good old machine learning gets some respect. That is good news. 

--

New directions pend. We have talked AIn't for a while. There's no critter in the buckets of bits. There may be patterns. Now, the Nobel Prize folks say that this is physics and a result of its mathematics. 

Okay, that's great. We argued anyway that the focus ought not be intelligence which goes with life, and its study - biology, as far as we know. We stressed the mathematical connectsions, but having physics now in the game improves the chance of lifting awareness to things that matter. 

So, this post goes with our technology focus which we are trying to define and foster.   

Remarks: Modified: 10/08/2024

10/08/2024 --  

Birthplace of the US Navy

TL;DR -- Where was the U.S. Navy born? Several sites have reason to make the claim. there was a discussion this year about the topic. Turns out, though, that the U.S. Navy has decided. It was not in New England, proper, though Philapelphia is close enough. 

---

In 2015, there was continued discussion of a controversy in New Hamphsire history, who was first? That is, which site could claim the earliest settler? This question might have been resolved for the 2023 commemoration that did not get the attention given to the arrival of Cape Ann's crew (Gloucester 400). 

• Rev. Hubbard (2 May 2015): In the Remarks for 4 May 2015, we mentioned that Dover and Portsmouth were candidates. 
• Evidently, Portsmouth came into the lead. 

Coming up is the 250th of the U.S., so comparative themes of this sort will continue. This year, in May, discussion of a "great debate" was sponsored by the Essex Heritage Society pertaining to who could be touted as the birthplace of the Navy. This graphic shows some detail about the occasion. 

We can use the Navy's opinion for the answer: Birthplace of the U.S. Navy. The official answer is Philadelphia, PA since that is where the Continental Congress was in session, making decsions, and providing for funds. In their write up, the Navy diplomatically mentions the other towns and their contributions. 

Early on, while looking different categories of descendants of Thomas and Margaret (Fryer) Gardner, we considered the Sarah Balch family (see post, See Descendants of Sarah). Her descendants were Chaplains of both the Continental Navy and the U.S. Navy.  

Remarks: Modified: 09/30/2024

09/30/2024 --  

Past and present

TL;DR -- The 250th of the U.S. will allow lots of research to get some air, as the attention goes to the history of the country. We will follow that thread several ways, including a deep look at technology of computing with respect all aspects that we know, to date. We can compare different areas. One of these one-up looks will be NYC and LA, in order by age. LA is comparatively a youngster. The dynamisms of the two difer quit a bit, too. 

--

Some locations kept good records via photographs of their change through time. At the same time, we have temporal issues such as Los Angeles being younger than New York City. Then we have technology bringing in abilities that can be pinpointed in time. For instance, we know that Gardner, the photographer, was active during the Civil War. We posted several photos from his era, including one from Lawrence, KS. We called the post with the photo "Frontier century" (April 2021); its themes were several: the great expansion in the middle after the revolution (deed done primarily by the 5th generation); families being lost in time as they escaped the heavy hand of documentation; and modern efforts at recovering evidence of their existence). 

We will continue to focus on the middle of the country but have, of late, been looking at Los Angeles and its Bunker Hill (west, we call it) that mainly appeared in the late 1800s and went away a century later to be replaced by high-climbing things that cast a long shadow. We have had lots of photos of the LA area and can be more intimate as we find older photos to match up with something recent. 

LA and NY City
across time

In this photo, the left side shows part of the train yard in LA at two different times. Reminder, LA was Old Spain and Mexico until the latter part of the 1830s. LA claims a start in the early 1780s which is associated with New Spain. The area settled is known, now, as Down Town LA (we'll use DTLA). A church built in the area in 1784 later burned. At that site, the Old Plaza Church (still standing) was built built in 1814.  

On the right of the photo, we have snaps of NYC's Manhattan starting with a photo from 1876. This an old area and was part of the colonies prior to the U.S. Revolution. With the 250th of that event coming up, we will have time to cover stories about all areas of the U.S. 

One of our themes will deal with the long reach (Mirror building; Settlements, temporary and otherwise; NEHGS events) of New England. There will be others, such as technology. 

Before moving on, we know that NY City has tall builidngs. Lots of them. The tallest now is the One World Trade Center at almost 1,800 feet. Wikipedia has a list of buildings taller than 600 feet (110 buildings). 

In DTLA, the tallest building is only 1,100 feet). The LA City Hall is 454 feet (it's shown on the left in photo) and is the 42nd largest building. The smallest (53rd in the Wikipedia list) stands at 352 feet. 

We mentioned Bunker Hill west. It got its name, of course, from the site of a Revolutionary battle. We will be looking more at that area in DTLA as it represents changes over time, as influx of population changes the dynamics of a location. With a great collection of photos from different periods, we find people taking photos from that same area and focus of direction. 

Related to Bunker Hill west is this one that show 101 early on and then later. In the meantime, St. Vibiana's was closed as a church (became an event's center) and moved up the hill from Main Street to the summit. Parts of that area had been lowered early. Houses and dirt were taken away to have proper foundation for buildings. One story to look at is the Central Library which experienced two fires by arson. During the time of recovery, maneuverings got the building limit raised from that related to the height of the City Center. So, the first one went up to cast a shadow over the library. The library sold its "air rights" as one means to fund getting back to its work. They had to replace $Ms in burnt books, for instance. 

LA Central Libray with its
"twin" (to the right)
U.S. Bank Tower

On the list of tallest, the "library tower" now is #2. 

Reminder: with respect to photos (such as we see from Water and Power Associates of CA), provenance needs to have special attention, always. How all of this influence from Gen AI plays out will be a thing to watch. The ease with which fakes can be generated will make the problems more diffficult to resolve, albeit there are known ways to attempt to obtain stable and safe environments. Technology will provide the means many times for its managment; a key choice concerns human involvement. Yes, we humans can handle the complexity. Unfortunately, we could have known more; that is to be discussed.  

Remarks: Modified: 09/27/2024

09/27/2024 --