Each choice of material or shape has a cost and a benefit. The genetic algorithm finds hundreds of good designs. Adaptation comes nearly for free: When the cost or benefit of a component changes, Qualls enters it, and reruns the genetic algorithm. No tears and no prejudice. – Natural Computing at Dr. Dobb’sBy Dennis Shasha [...]

Actually, if you are reading this, you are not presently a resident fossil in the brand-new Operator Speaking Tar Pit. … but watch yourself – you never know … Tar Pit Operation Record incoming user agent, IP address Compare user agent, IP address to Black List On match, apply ban level (deny, poison) protocol Tar [...]

One might argue that information services (and clients) have followed an evolution not unlike that of competing organisms in the wild. At first it was enough to simply provide the most accurate and direct data possible, just as it was once sufficient for an organism to simply acquire nutrients and reproduce. When organisms began deriving [...]

Sometimes, however, you may not be able to get in touch with a site’s webmaster, or they may refuse to take down the content in question. For example, if someone posts a negative review of your business on a restaurant review or consumer complaint site, that site might not be willing to remove the review. [...]

While I understand that you need to check identification, I do not consent to having my personal information stored in your computer systems for any length of time. I value my privacy and I do not want my location or purchasing habits tracked. Moreover, my personal information is valuable and you have provided me with [...]

Activities conducted on information networks have a proven history of potentiating real-world violence: the internet is no different, though the ways in which civilians – often unwittingly – participate represent new threats to individual and national security. Consider the vast amount of information you’ve willingly provided to a corporate-owned Human Terrain Mapping System, a recent [...]