Real Innovation can leave you outside the Box

I recently found an old blog by Ron Bieber which quoted Niccolo Machiavelli in the context of being innovative:

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries … and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.

An Evolutionary Model of the Brain's Internal Language

BRAINSTORM 11

The purpose of this post is to suggest that the brain has a simple internal language for storing and using memories of objects and events, that this language is common to animals and humans, and as the capacity of the brain expands the language has sufficient power to support human intelligence. In particular it identifies two areas where changes in the learning/teaching mechanisms could have led to a tripping point where it became economical (in evolutionary terms) to develop a larger brain. It suggests that much, if not all, of what we consider intelligence is the result of cultural factors.

The following topics are addressed

1. The Black Hole in Brain Research – bridging the gap between the neuron level and intelligence.
2. Evolutionary Pressures on Brain Size – bigger is not necessarily better
3. The Simple Brain Model – the minimum requirements of a learning animal – introducing “Memodes”
4. A More formal Definition of a Memode
5. Introducing CODIL - the history and references to this blue sky research project
6. Why CODIL is relevant - and some factors to be considered
7. Evolving More Brain Power - instructing and programming cultural information
8. What Next? - Ensuring the ideas get followed up

Candles for Lucy

I pause at the computer and look out of the window and into the garden. The horse chestnut tree is in flower with more florets than ever. 

Memories come flooding back. 

We are all addicted to using more and more energy

A Talk on the wonders of Fusion Power

A few days ago I visited Culham to learn more about the research into nuclear fusion,, having followed developments since, as a Chemistry undergraduate I read the New Scientist accounts of the ZETA experiments in 1958. It was interesting to see JET (Joint European Torus) – or rather the control room and workshops associated with it, as the actual equipment is behind a strong concrete wall. I got no nearer to the newer and smaller MAST research tokamak as it was undergoing maintenance and of course the next generation system ITER is currently under construction in France as part of a major international cooperative project. As a result of the visit I feel I am more aware of the scale of the project and I also have a much better understanding of how a plasma at 100 million degrees can be stable (at least for a few seconds) in a solid container.

Academia suppresses Creativity

The Scientist has currently published an online article Academia Suppresses Creativity by Fred Southwick, which, together with some of the comments, is well worth a read. I have posted the following comment relating to my own experiences.

I read the article with interest as I have very much been the victim of the way that creativity can be suppressed.

The LEO Computer Society Reunion

Reunion Meeting of the Leo Computer Society

The LEO I Computer went operational on 17th November 1951 and is recognised as the first business computer to be working anywhere in the world. I worked with LEO III computers in 1965-67 and so was entitled to attend the reunion meeting in London earlier today. About 90 people attended and it was the first reunion I had attended. While I didn't meet anyone who had been working as a fellow programmer or systems analyst with Shell Mex & B.P. at Hemel Hempstead there were plenty of opportunities to talk with people who had done similar jobs for other employers. Gloria Guy spoke about the Oral History Project - and I have agreed to be interviewed about my experiences. Frank Land spoke of working on the LEO I and some the interesting applications it was used for - many undoubtedly for the first time that kind of work had been done on a computer. Kevin Murrell of the Computer Conservation Society talked about the work to build a replica EDSAC computer - which was the pioneering university computer from which the LEO I was developed.

Mercury Delay Line Memory from Leo II Computer

However there were several people I had known when I worked at English Electric Leo Marconi in 1967-70, including George Stern who had been my first boss, and Frank Land who later become Professor of Information Management at L.S.E. I also had a delightful conversation with a charming lady I had not meet before and had a deep understanding of the problems about trying to get unconventional research ideas established. Helen Pinkerton was the widow of John Pinkerton - who had built the LEO I computer and who later had been instrumental in getting the CODIL project funded. Several people were interested in the way the CODIL project was closed because it was supported by Basil de Ferranti at a time when Basil was being eased out of ICL. All in all a very enjoyable chance to share stories of the past.

More Pictures on the Leo Computer Society Site

The Limitations of the Stored Program Computer

Brain Storms - 10

I often get asked why I suggest that there is something special about CODIL and the easiest way to explain it is to discuss the use of models to represent real world information. My scientific training was in the field of chemistry – with a particular interest in the the theoretical prediction of chemical properties. As a chemist I was very used to having a range of modelling techniques to chose between.

None of the models did everything – and different types of model served different purposes. If you had a problem and found the model you were using was inadequate it was quite natural to look to see if a different model was available – or whether you could find a better way of representing the problem.

Instead of thinking about chemical compounds let us think of the problem of modelling the processing of information and what the options are. Of course computers allow us to build a great variety of information processing models – but all reduce to the same model at the “atomic” level. Normally this is described as an array of numbers (the data) plus a subset of which are interpreted as a program, which uses numbers to address the array. However there is one essential component is usually overlooked in theoretical discussions by which needs to be considered in the general case. This is the intelligent human designer who constructs the program. In many cases the resulting working model may also need to interact with other humans – who provide or use data operated on by the program. This post is concerned with information  models that include human involvement.

Working with Leo III Computers at SMBP, 1965-1967

What happened when I worked on the LEO III computers at Shell Mex & B. P., Hemel Hempstead, between 1965 and 1967 laid the foundations for the CODIL research project and it is worth examining what happened in detail, both in connection with CODIL, but also as an opportunity to put on record what computing was like at the time in a major commercial data processing centre.

The detailed account is below the fold – but please feel free to make comments or ask questions.