aaron.harnly.net

After a month-long hiatus, thought I’d return with an exposition of a very, very neat paper I read recently. This takes us into the still-inchoate world of computational biology, at the intersection of the platonic mathemtics of computer algorithms and the messy junkyard of cell biology. If you’re not versed in the language, try to hang in there, because it’s all rather interesting.

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Some theories of origins have inspired generations of musicians. Darwin’s theory of evolution has not. This may be because humans have a hard time emoting about an impersonal process that unfolds over millions of years. Or it could be because there is no enormous institution extracting tithes from the entire population and commissioning artistic works that perpetuate its worldview.

In any case, I do know of two pretty neat songs that are about evolution, and thought I’d share them with you. You can listen to lo-fi previews of the songs, which hopefully won’t get me in trouble.

	Gentle Arms of Eden Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer Drum Hat Buddha	[ listen to preview ] [ Buy from iTunes ] [ read the lyrics ]
	I Come From Water The Toadies Rubberneck	[ listen to preview ] [ Buy from iTunes ] [ read the lyrics ]

The brilliant, if eccentric and self-congratulatory Vladimir Vapnik has been trumpeting a major shift in the scientific method, and perhaps our epistemological stance, over the past few years. Whether or not Vapnik gets his revolution, at the very I least I’ll wager you will see “transductive inference” gain increasing attention as his ideas trickle out from statistical learning theory to other intellectual fields. So what’s it all about?

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You are at a cocktail party. People are introducing themselves and shaking hands. Since parties make you uncomfortable, you lean against the wall. Rather than having meaningful human interaction, you can do a little graph theory instead, which is much more fun. With a little thinking, you can derive two interesting conclusions:

• At least two people shook the same number of hands.

• An even number of people shook an odd number of hands.

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IMG_0205

This is supposed to be a “meaningful thoughts” blog rather than a “I had toast for breakfast” blog, but:

After saying hello to the frogs at the Museum of Natural History, I stopped by the Maxilla and Mandible shop. And lo! what did I find but this Box of Bones, advertised as “ideal for medical students.” I am vindicated.

End transmission.

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