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last modified Sep 23, 2002 at 16:17
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As I was checking my usual site for any 3D news and updates it dawned on me. I have seen a lot of different works from different artists. Just like actors some of them have worked with one another or just know each other through posting on forums and threads. So like Hollywood actors there should some sort of connection at least through the use of links. I found after looking through links of each of the many artists if they linked to each other respectively most of the time they either know each other well. Others I just find the link going one way which implies that it is just used as a reference or just an artist that they like. So here is a diagram of a scale-free network:
And here is the one that I made for the artists network:
Here is a flash file where you can see step by step how each of the nodes link up.
Here
I’m trying to wrap my head around how the power law relates to scale free networks and here are my thoughts thus far.
The power law describes, in networks how nodes attract a certain number of links. Any given node will attract the number of links proportional to the number of its current links. This is therefore the degree of distribution networks follow. Coupled with the theories of growth and preferential attachment the degree of distribution of a network can be calculated which in turn follows the power law (P(k) ~ k^-3). These are necessary to generate scale free networks. As the network grows with out preferential attachment it will have an exponential degree distribution which does not allow hubs. Therefore a network with out growth becomes static and is unable to generate the power laws.
Hope that was clear…
More to come later
It is interesting that through the talk of networks mathematicians and physicists can be related to them. The theories of Erdos and Renyi are very interesting but they only apply to fixed networks and not ones that grow. To clarify things the definition of a scale free network:
A scale free network is a natural consequence of the ever-expanding nature of real networks. Simply put it starts off as two nodes connected to each other. As new nodes begin to link to the existing nodes they will only link to the nodes with more connections. Through this as nodes get more connections they become hubs.
The Web is a prefect example of a scale free network. There are several hubs like CNN (mentioned in the readings) or even perhaps public forums. I think in our daily lives there are certain people that are hubs, people that are well connected to other people. And of course depending the connections of that person other people may want to get to know him just because of their connections.
This is my network helix of the people i have meet on a new 3D forum...they share the same interests in 3D as I do, some of them are great artists. The center is my node and it connects to three other nodes and they then connect to each other through out the helix, I am on connected to three because thsee are the only three that have critiqued my work directly, but soon I will be connected to more people as I post more of my work. The ends of the helix are connected to other forums, this one is the Finished Work/WIP (work in progress) thread but it is just part of a whole. The forum connects to the site and so on to the industry, creating link after link into the Net.
Below is a QTVR to better show how the helix looks...
Here
After reading the topics in the book it put a different perspective on the things that I thought I knew. Take for example the six degrees of separation, as Milgram was performing the experiments there were a lot of numbers involved. Our world is totaling over six billion people, but it only takes six degrees of separation to link you to another person in the world. It is similar to the Internet as well. The number of WebPages numbers well over the population of the world but it only takes nineteen clicks to get from one site to another. This is a very interesting theory; it revolves around mathematics and can be derived. It interests me because though I am an artist I still have an interest in mathematics, I was always pretty good at it (most of the time). Everything is just a matter of numbers.
It is always interesting how small our world really is. There was one time my friend went for an interview for a job and his interviewer was also my Dragon Boat manager. My manager noticed that he had me as reference and asked how he knew me. It was just interesting how one of my friends that have nothing to do with Dragon Boat runs into my manager. Sometime people run into long lost friends though mutual acquaintances. Shows how small the world really is sometimes.
Tanya posted something I had over looked. The Internet at first was used as a military network. But now it has a use far beyond the military. People make wesites for companies, take courses online (like we are right now), and even shop online.
So in the light of that here is a simple definition of bootstrapping:
"Being or relating to a process that is self-initiating or self-sustaining."
The key word there is self-sustaining. After its use in the military someone out there thought of the potential of what the Internet could do. From then on it has become what it is today. People learning HTML, XML, Java as Tanya mentioned to build upon the Internet. THe Internet itself is an example of bootstrapping.
Networking is a very important thing. Not only electronically wise but in the real world as well. If a person has good connections they can move up in life, or get a good deal on a product, which ever the case it is all about the connections. If the connections are broken then the network is useless. Our weblogs is a form of connection. One person has a link to another and that has a link to another and so on. With our links each individual blog would just be by itself and would not connect to anything. So for the purpose of our class network connections are key.
Just some quick thoughts....
More to come later
More is different
It is better to have one hundred ants doing a certain task than ten.
Ignorance is useful
It is better to have a large unified system with simple elements and let the more complicated operations go up. That means that the simplicity of the ant language is more of a virtue than a vice. If a system is too complicated especially at the scale of an ant colony it will inevitably fail.
Encourage random encounters
The ant colony does not have a set system of workings. It relies on the random acts to encounter a new food source or adapting to new environmental conditions.
Look for patterns in the signs
Since no one ant has a set task it is up to them to detect patterns in their surroundings. If a worker ant detects a high amount of foragers it will therefore change its task to a forager. This information then trickles down further to other ants.
Pay attention to your neighbors
Interaction to neighboring ants is a key. Without it there would only be a swarm with no logic. As said in the readings “Local information can lead to global wisdom”.
So with those in mind how do they apply to our world of cities?
One example of looking for patterns is the interaction of businesses. To determine their locations they base it on the location of other neighboring businesses. They can either locate themselves close to each other to share information or locate themselves farther for competition. This is true because when my parents opened our flower business location was everything. We didn’t want it too close to other flower shops so that we could have our own client base.
There is something simple in our everyday lives that, according to the principles listed above, play an important role in our cities. It is our sidewalks. It is a place where people can interact, pass and receive information at any given time. As said in the readings it is a place where neighbors can pass information from one to another. One may run into a friend on the street, have a short chat with a friend and be informed of something that was not known to them previously. It is also a place for random encounters. When you are walking down a sidewalk on a busy day there are many interactions that may occur. Even a simple smile that you give to a stranger may brighten up their day. This reminds me of the post that Ian posted on the Metablog. While on his quest for better sushi he made eye contact with people he saw. Each of them had a different reaction to his eye contact. This is a good example of random encounters.
In light of the readings to produce functional “neighborhoods” we need to find the equivalent to the sidewalk. It is a place where information can be given and received. It is an information highway in its own right. Therefore we must find that equivalent in some shape or form so that our networks can share information in a free flowing way. A simple link I don’t think will suffice; we need something else to connect everything together. We need something to put all of our blogs together in one place just like a city block, so it can function like one.
Just some thoughts…
Feel free to comment on them just use the link right there… 
Sam
From hector's weblog I am a:
find your element
at mutedfaith.com.
<º>
To me the definition of the “third culture” is this:
There is a gap between that of science and arts. You are either a hardcore scientist who care nothing of other people and would no talk in a simpler form so that others could under stand. Or you are an intellectualist dealing with the humanities, the arts, Shakespeare and writing and will not understand any concept in science. Simply put you are either hardcore left or right. But then the “third culture” is the space in between where science and the arts meet. From the readings it is mostly scientists who take the time in writing something that the general public would understand. They wouldn’t include scientific jargon but only things that you or I would understand in a meaningful way. But of course this kind of action is looked down upon by hardcore scientists.
The “third culture” is more of scientists willing to embrace the arts and rarely the arts embracing science. Take this quote from the readings:
“Unfortunately, there are people in the arts and humanities — conceivably, even some in the social sciences — who are proud of knowing very little about science and technology, or about mathematics. The opposite phenomenon is very rare. You may occasionally find a scientist who is ignorant of Shakespeare, but you will never find a scientist who is proud of being ignorant of Shakespeare”
The Third Culture – John Brockman
So from that statement we get the idea that those in the arts want to do very little with the sciences while the sciences want to incorporate it into their work. Having science incorporate it into their work I think is a good thing because it lets the rest of the world know what is happening in the scientific universe. If this is successful then we don’t need those in the arts to try and understand the sciences and give us a bad interpretation of material that they don’t even understand. Just let the scientists explain it to us in a useful way.
This leads to an idea that I thought up that 3D artists can be that of the “third culture”. I say that because I am one of those 3D artists and I can see how it can apply to the scientific world. Take for example a scientist studying the molecular structure of a DNA strand. He has an enormous amount of information but cannot present it in a way so that others not in the field can understand. Enter the 3D artist. The scientist can interpret the knowledge and describe it to the 3D artist in a way that he can understand and in turn the artist can produce a 3D model of the DNA strand. The 3D representation of the DNA strand is clear and concise so that the general public can understand. So the role of the 3D artist bridged the gap between science and art.
Some revolutionary in the 3D world just came out. A new engine developed by Digital Arts allows the use of high end full color and depth visualization in REAL-TIME. Thats right no more low polyed models, these are real-time rendered environments using a new ColorCode 3-D system. Read more here
Another recent release is Brazil R/S. It is a third party render for 3D Studio Max. It can do real world lighting effects. Version 1.0 has been released and it is said that it rivals Final Render another renderer developed for Max. Check it out
Swift 3D version 3 just came out recently. Looks really good. It has enhanced features such as reflection rendering in Flash, thats right you can see reflection effects in flash 3D now !! Very cool. Here is the link.
In the readings Deborah Gordon’s ant colony is displaying adaptation in the form of emergence. The ant colony is made up of the millions of ants. Without them there would no colony. But going down the ladder even further is the queen. So without the queen the colony would not exist all together. Therefore the simplest form of the colony is the queen. As the colony works it displays adaptation in their environment, it said in the readings that the ants had a place for refuge and also a place for their deceased. But they needed to have their cemetery as far away from their colony as possible. Also their area of refuge is the farthest way from the cemetery and the colony. The amazing thing was that the ants were not told by any leader to do so. Colonies do not have a leader per say. What they do just happens, like it was common knowledge to them. Depending on their area and environment they would adapt to it. Therefore adaptation lies with in the colony that emerges from the queen.
From the same readings, Jefferson and Taylor’s virtual ant was also an example of adaptation. They first programmed the ant with no prior knowledge of the grid of squares. The goal of the virtual ant was to take the least amount of time to travel the path of 82 squares. After about a hundred generations the ant had obtained a perfect score. So from after much iteration the ant was able to learn from its previous attempts and get smarter every time. It also developed a preference for making right hand turns due to the fact that there were three right hand turns at the beginning of the trail. So from a simple program the ant adapted to its surroundings chose the best path.
Complexity and emergence are very closely related to one another. One of the attributes of a complex system is:
“Frequently, complexity takes the form of a hierarchy, whereby a complex system is composed of interrelated subsystems that have in turn their own subsystems, and so on, until some lowest level of elementary components is reached”
-Complexity-
More simply saying a complex system is made up of simpler, low level subsystems; this is true for emergence as well. This hierarchic structure is not for the purpose of rank in the system but is for the break down of subsystems. Anther attribute of complexity:
“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked…A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over, beginning with a working simple system”
-Complexity
Much like emergence, complex systems evolve from that of simple subsystems. We cannot just make a system from scratch; we have to let it improve on itself from low level subsystems to a complex working system. Much like that ant colony, from a simple egg from the queen the colony grows into a mass of ants that it looks a sea of liquid.
All complex systems follow this model. For example, a computer is made up of many smaller components. The motherboard, graphics card, CPU etc. And even those components can be broken down to their circuits and resisters.
The idea of emergence is that a complex function is resulted from a simple low-level function. Much like that of the slime, a simple organism after a period of time is able to find a path to its food. But in a pace maker model the idea is that there is a leader, something that calls the shots in the system. The idea of the queen telling the colony what to do was merely a myth but believed for a long period of time. Take the example of the game SimCity. To make a city it must have streets, buildings, businesses, schools, adequate water supply, electricity to power the buildings etc. All this must be made in order to produce a profitable city. Over time these buildings evolve into futuristic buildings called ecologies. But this is only achieved when the city starts to evolve substantially. After the city is completed, like the virtual ant it can be left alone to evolve. The city will run even if you are not there to control it. I remember when I was done building I would leave it to gain profit. But where does all this come from? Who actually buildings everything? Why it is we of course. We are the ones that point and click to build a building or a park. So in a sense we are the indirect pace makers. We are not directly “involved” in making the city but at the same time we are. The city will prosper due to the fact that it has its businesses, it has people going to school and slum areas are kept under control. With its simple components it can be left alone and sustain itself. But who put those things there? Well the “big hand in the sky” did. Therefore SimCity is an example of emergence working within the “pace maker” model.
Just some thoughts…
Here is a definition of emergence that defines it in one simple sentence:
“Emergence is the phenomenon wherein complex, interesting high-level function is produced as a result of combining simple low-level mechanisms in simple ways”
Therefore simply it is saying that a complex system is derived from a simpler system.
Examples:
(A) The game of Life: High-level patterns and structure emerge from simple low-level rules.
(B) Connectionist networks: High-level "cognitive" behavior emerges from simple interactions between dumb threshold logic units.
(C) The operating system (Hofstadter's example): The fact that overloading occurs just around when there are 35 users on the system seems to be an emergent property of the system.
(D) Evolution: Intelligence and many other interesting properties emerge over the course of evolution by genetic recombination, mutation and natural selection
“Thoughts on Emergence”, David J. Chalmers, 1990
So much like the fungus over time it emerges into something with a more complex behavior.
So according to that definition weblogs can be seen in a similar way. Weblogs begin as pretty much nothing. Then the creator, systematically over time, compiles a certain amount of information that they are interested and posts it on their weblog. Therefore one simple thing becomes more complex. But it does not stop there. Other people see this and think that they should so something similar if not the same. Therefore they start doing the same thing. Until one simple weblog has become thousands and millions of weblogs. So back to the definition, a complex system is produced as a result of simple low-level system.
Essentially a weblog is a portal of information on the web. Even though it is tailored to the interests of the creator, their site makes it easier to find certain things. For example if the site is news oriented then the user does not have to CNN, CNET or any other news site. They could just visit one site that has all the head lines and links to the actual articles. On vital thing that the weblog has is that the creator can post his/her opinion on the matter at hand. Either it is news on a current event or a review of a new 3D program coming out to the market the creator may post their opinion as well as other users. If the site revolves around news events are kept current. There is obviously more than one of these weblogs around and if they are linked to one another the user may find different points of view with every blog. Everyone has a right to state their point of view. And because it is on the web, the creator has no one to answer to other than themselves. So they don’t have to worry too much on offending people. Though they do have to watch what they say sometimes. Wegblogs promote good participation among users and maintainers. Users may comment on issues presented by the creator or forward links of article previously left out.
There are several kinds of weblogs on the web. The book states that there are three broad categories that blogs fit into. Blogs are short journals. The main subject is the writer’s daily life. Entries are short and quick to the point. Notebooks vary from personal to the outside world. Entries are longer than those of blogs and some even on forms of stories. And the last is filters. These are based on the idea of the link. This kind of blog takes the user for a trip around the web. The user can click on links to further take them to other things on the net.
What makes a good weblog is when the creator is doing it for themselves. When they are not doing just to please the public but themselves is the best way to do it. Of course they would along the way meet the above issues mentioned. Everyone is unique in their way and should be able to express that in their own way.
I am considering using the filter type of weblog for 3D news source and update on the industry as well as software that is being released. It would list any buzz or rumor running around in the industry. It would also be linked to games and graphic arts because those fall close to the main subject. Because I do not know much about HTML coding and what not I would prefer hosted blogs sites that have templates that are customizable. Though a search on Google I found one called blog spot (www.blogspot.blogger.com) which seems to be quite easy to use. It is powered by blogger and with click of a button u can create your own blog easily. I created one in less than 5 minutes it is simple and easy to use.
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