CONTACT, March. 13, 2004

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CONTACT, March. 13, 2004
M A R S
athematics
rt
eligion
ex
ience
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CONTACT, March. 13, 2004

• Math, Art, Religion, Science
• 4 Complementary Belief Systems

Carlo Séquin, University of California,
Berkeley
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Why This Topic ?

• I wanted to fit the Conference Ttitle.
• Stimulated by last years conference
• -- in particular by this picture

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The Face on Mars

• Picture taken by Viking Orbiter in 1976

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Face on Mars Close-up

• High-res. photo, Global Surveyor, 4/8/2001

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How Do We Make Sense of the Unknown?

• Different people have
• different mental frameworks, belief systems
• or use them in different order
• to come up with possible explanations.

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Outline

• Look at four dominant forces that have shaped the
  human mind over the last few thousand years.
• Fill in this matrix CHARACTERISTICS
• Math
• Art
• Religion
• Science
• Look at some test examples

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Characteristics

• Output What kind of beliefs does the system
  deliver ?
• Basis Where do these beliefs come from ?
• Method How are these beliefs found/created/devel
  oped ?
• Evaluation How do we know if they are valid ?
• Use What is this belief system good for ?

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Math

• Output Theorems
• Basis Axioms, previous theorems
• Method Evolutionary steps, revolutionary
  inspiration
• Evaluation Consistency, formal proofs
• Use Creates a synthetic framework based on
  logic.Foundation for most of the sciences.

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Science

• Output Models of the physical world
• Basis Observations, Experiments
• Method Educated guesses, hypotheses, tests
• Evaluation Consistency. Can you make useful
  predictions ?
• Use Makes models of the observable world.--gt
  Understanding, technology, civilization.

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Art

• Output Pieces, installations,
• Basis Observations, ideas, emotions, beliefs,
  
• Method Inspirations, visions, having a message,
  
• Evaluation Done by ( culture clique (?) in )
  society
• Use Creates new artifacts based on
  imagination.Make life richer. Give beauty, joy,
  entertainment, Provoke, put established
  assumptions in question.

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Religion

• Output Pronouncements, rules, truth
• Basis Epiphanies, revelations, philosophical
  insights
• Method Authority, tradition, charisma of leader
• Evaluation You are not supposed to question
  it !
• Use Addresses un-answerable questions.Gives
  meaning, hope, ethical guidance

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Overlap of these Systems

• Religion once was the only system
• It explained nature
• It provided a framework for thinking
• It provided ethical guidance
• It answered un-answerable questions
• It provided rituals, spiritual enrichment, beauty
  ...
• Today Religion is more compartmentalized !

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Contention between Systems

• The two frameworks operate an different
  principles
• RELIGION SCIENCE
• authority evidence
• revelation discovery
• tradition innovation
• true believers critical thinkers
• Science and Religion are NOT the same(as the
  Templeton Foundation wants to imply).
• Creationism is NOT a science.

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Puzzles

• Everybody subscribes to some degree to all of
  the above four frameworksthere are personal
  differences in the mix and the priority among
  these systems
• When you encounter something new, foreign,
• how do you try to make sense out of it ?
• which belief system do you enlist (first) ?
• which interpretation will win in the end ?

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My Attempt at Classification

• Created by
• Intelligence Nature

Meaningfulmessage, or object M
Systematic, repeatableprocessS
Randomone-timeoccurrenceR
Artistic, or playfulartifactA
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Self-Test

• I will display some intriguing(?) pictures
• Check yourself, how you interpret them...
• Possible Answers,
• with respective
• probabilities

Randomone-timeoccurrence
Artistic, or playfulartifact
Meaningfulmessage, or object
Systematic, repeatableprocess
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Lets start with another mysterious example...
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Nazca, Peru

• Are these ancient landing strips ?

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More Strange Lines
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Petroglyphs

• But what does it mean ?

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Graffiti
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Faces on the Rocks
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Panorama from Mars Rover Opportunity
Miracles of Photoshop ?
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StrangeLife forms
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Codex Seraphinianus
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Codex Seraphinianus
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Clouds in the Sky
UFO ?
Lenticular cloud
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(No Transcript)
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Fire in the Sky
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Volcanic Vent Hole ?
Art by Andy Goldsworthy
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Andy Goldsworthy Stone Formations
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Andy Goldsworthy Ice Formations
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(No Transcript)
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Antarctica
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2001 ?
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Breckenridge CO, January 2004Snowsculpting
Championships
Turning a Snowball Inside-Out
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Turning a Snowball Inside-Out

• A model of the Morin Surface
• Half-way point of sphere eversion
• The challenge is to turn a sphere inside-out
• Surface may pass through itself,
• but no ripping, puncturing, creasing
  allowed,e.g., this is not an acceptable solution

PINCH
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Sphere Eversion Process

• But there are more contorted paths that can
  achieve the desired goal.
• Bernard Morin figured out one such path.
• Charles Pugh made models from chicken wire.
• Nelson Max made a first computer simulation.

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Gridded Models for Transparency

• 3D-Print from Zcorp

SLIDE virtual model
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Shape Adaption for Snow Sculpture

• Restructured Morin surface to fit block size
  (10 x 10 x 12)

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The Final Model
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Day1
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Day2
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Day3
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Day 4
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Day4
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Day5
Honorable Mention Most AmbitiousDesign
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Paradigm Shift (British Columbia)
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Year of the Dragon USA - Tennessee
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Why Do People Do Such Things ??

• All this effort for a short-lived artifact ?
• The joy of creating something of your own design
  
• The pride of astounding people ...

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Crop Circles
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Crop Circles
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Milk Hill Crop Circles
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Milk-Hill Design Analysis
409 Circles

• Milk Hill crop formation is exactly the same
  design as the interior of the Raelian Symbol
  which Raelians have been wearing publicly since
  1990.

http//bcornet.homestead.com/files/MilkHill/milkhi
ll.htm
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Crop Circle Construction
Probably not of extraterrestrial origin !
26 person-hours of crop squashing, http//www.geoc
ities.com/pduchesne3/
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General Conclusions

• Mars has been an enigma for a long time.
• Fuzzy observations (channels, face,) have led to
  fantastic, speculative interpretations.
• This was a good take-off point for a reviewof
  the multiple channels through which we form our
  beliefs and seek interpretation.
• There are still many strange things out there
  that we do not currently understand.
• There is only a minuscule probability that any of
  them are due to extraterrestrial intelligence.

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Is There Life Out There ?

• No scientific answer yet.
• My personal belief YES, definitely !(based on
  statistics and the fact that the sun and the
  earth are not such a special case as far as
  solar systems go)
• When will we find it ?
• My guess In the next 10 to 20 years.

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Is There Intelligent Life Out There ?

• Yes, probably somewhere in the universe.
• When will we make contact with them ?
• I have no idea
• Any guess would have to come from an estimate how
  long a technical civilization can survive. Our
  one and only data point says probably at least
  100 years

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QUESTIONS ?DISCUSSION ?