A computer inspired by the human brain…is it possible? IBM is part of a team helping to make this ambitious goal a reality. Together with EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, IBM Research has developed a new type of computing architecture inspired by the brain, using a technology known as a “memristive device.” These chips increase the precision associated with synaptic operations without increasing power, helping the computer process complex calculations at a level that approaches the brain’s own synaptic architecture—all without drawing too much power and overheating. There’s still a lot of progress to be made, but this research is a meaningful step towards a long-term goal: computers whose processing power could give our own neurons and synapses a run for their money.
（後日追記） play to win = 直訳は「勝つためにプレイする」ですが、ここから考えて「何としてでも成し遂げる、成功させる」派生して「遊びではない」という意味にもなるかものことです。な～るほど！ つまりアランは、ミッションに出たからには絶対成功させる、とか、遊びでやってるわけじゃないというのがわかるでしょう。という訳ですね。ご指南ありがとうございます！！
and just for posterity, here’s everybody together!
I did this using a site called artbreeder, mostly just on a whim after I used it to make my current DND character. I’ve always had a hard time visualizing the cast with the same degree of realism that I treat them in most of my writing, but I’d say this is right about spot on. If anyone else is further interested, I might tool around with some of the extended-extended cast, and make Casey and Jeff and Lee Taylor and etc.
Took me a solid minute to figure out why my pencil wasn’t working. How’s everyone else’s brains doing today?
After 3 days of rain/snow (we set up camp next week, yay) we finally got a sunny day to do mapping exercises and my brain is… Absent?
I successfully got the measuring tapes, tripods, and stakes out of the trailer, then immediately forgot to return my boss’s keys. Which were needed to get into the instrument box.
“And what does that do?” asked Alan, swinging his legs wildly and kicking at the air.
“That is n-not for small hands,” said Brains, promptly picking up the mechanism from the counter Alan was sitting on.
“But what does it do, Brains?” he demanded, crossing his arms.
“You tell me,” he said, holding it up so his young companion could see it clearly.
Alan bent over the open motherboard embedded in the handle, fingers tracing the circuitry in the air.
“That’s an infrared sensor, right? And it’s automated?”
“G-good, what else?”
“Well, I’m guessing that part goes ‘snap’,” said Alan, pointing at the metal trap. “Because otherwise, you wouldn’t have grabbed it so fast.”
“Hmm,” said Brains, lifting an eyebrow. “N-not quite the explanation I was h-hoping for, but you’re not wrong.”
“Well, then you tell me,” he said, slumping against the wall.
“It’s a f-failsafe for cables,” explained Brains, turning it over as he spoke. “When the tension increases, the temperature will increase too. Since we know the m..maximum tension the cable can hold before it deforms, we can detect when the tension is getting too high and then–”
“Snap!” said Alan, clapping his hands for effect.
Brains nodded.
“Exactly right. It will clamp the two ends of the cable and set off a radio signal to apprise us of the situation.”
“International Rescue, we have a situation,” Alan mimicked, hands over his mouth to simulate a walkie-talkie.
It would nearly be time for another birthday, Brains realised with a pang, nearly a year since he’d built the shortwave radios with Virgil.
So much had changed.
Alan cocked his head as he stared at the mechanism.
“How does this know what the temperature should be?” he asked.
“You mean the sensor? We p-program it.”
“No, I mean because different parts of the world are hot or cold. We were learning about the different habitats in school the other day.”
“I see,” said Brains, who most certainly did not see.
“Yeah, and my project is on the Arctic tundra and Sophie’s is on the Sahara Desert.”
“So?”
“So, how can this thing work in different environments? If its really hot in one place and really cold in another, doesn’t it have to know that too? Is there a thermometer attached?”
It was a good question, one that made Brains miss Jeff and the insistent way he had about understanding every aspect of the machinery that was being built down in this lab. It was a trait they all shared, one that Brains was used to fielding when people came down to talk to him.
He shouldn’t be surprised that Alan was developing that same keen sense to question, to seek answers, to learn.
He said nothing to address the change.
“This is specialised for… one environment,” he said instead. “One which lacks t-temperature fluctuations.”
“Fluxtions?” asked Alan, trying the new word on his tongue.
“F-fluc…tu..a…tion,” said Brains, slow and patient until Alan repeated it back to him. “It means changes.”
Alan rolled his eyes.
“You could have said that.”
Brains laughed as he turned and put the device away.
![’][’ for Temple U](https://64.media.tumblr.com/198f65b941c27ade48a012a69b2a6094/tumblr_p2j4vqjoOl1qihrldo1_1280.jpg "’][’ for Temple U")
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![’][’ for Temple U](https://64.media.tumblr.com/e0564d08a48a04d3f4e19491a3708fc3/tumblr_p2j4vqjoOl1qihrldo3_1280.jpg "’][’ for Temple U")
![’][’ for Temple U](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6fdacb935a51f483d2655951aa84942c/tumblr_p2j4vqjoOl1qihrldo4_1280.jpg "’][’ for Temple U")
![’][’ for Temple U](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f60d0e580ee969439cb9e7a8900c2b6a/tumblr_p2j4vqjoOl1qihrldo5_1280.jpg "’][’ for Temple U")
