CropCircles, Skepticism, and SnowSculpting

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HKN Dinner, November 2, 2004

• Crop-Circles,Skepticism, andSnow-Sculpting

Carlo Séquin, EECS, CS Division
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From CONTACT MeetingNASA Ames Campus, Palo
Alto, 2003

• A sign from extra-terrestrial intelligence ??

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The Face on Mars

• Picture taken by Viking Orbiter in 1976

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Face on Mars Close-up

• High-res. photo, Global Surveyor, 4/8/2001

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How Do We Make Sense of the Unknown?

• Different people have
• different mental frameworks, belief systems
• and/or use them with different priorities
• to come up with possible explanations.

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My Attempt at Classification

• Created by
• Intelligence Nature

Meaningfulmessage, or object
Systematic, repeatableprocess
Randomone-timeoccurrence
Artistic, or playfulartifact
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Self-Test

• I will display some intriguing(?) pictures
• Check yourself, how you interpret them...
• Possible Answers,
• with respective
• probabilities

Randomone-timeoccurrence
Artistic, or playfulartifact
Meaningfulmessage, or object
Systematic, repeatableprocess
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Lets start with another mysterious example...
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Nazca, Peru

• Are these ancient landing strips ?

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More Strange Lines
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Petroglyphs

• But what does it mean ?

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Graffiti
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Faces on the Rocks
Mt. Rushmore
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Panorama from Mars Rover Opportunity
Miracles of Photoshop ?
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StrangeLife Forms
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Codex Seraphinianus
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Codex Seraphinianus
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Clouds in the Sky
UFO ?
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(No Transcript)
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Fire in the Sky
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Volcanic Vent Hole ?
Art by Andy Goldsworthy
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Andy Goldsworthy Stone Formations
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Andy Goldsworthy Ice Formations
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(No Transcript)
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Antarctica
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2001 ?
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(No Transcript)
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Breckenridge CO, January 2004Snowsculpting
Championships
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Turning a Snowball Inside-Out

• A model of the Morin Surface
• Half-way point of sphere eversion
• The challenge is to turn a sphere inside-out
• Surface may pass through itself,
• but no ripping, puncturing, creasing
  allowed,e.g., this is not an acceptable solution

PINCH
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Sphere Eversion Process

• But there are more contorted paths that can
  achieve the desired goal.
• Bernard Morin figured out one such path.
• Charles Pugh made models from chicken wire.
• Nelson Max made a first computer simulation.

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Gridded Models for Transparency

• 3D-Print from Zcorp

SLIDE virtual model
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Shape Adaption for Snow Sculpture

• Restructured Morin surface to fit block size
  (10 x 10 x 12)

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The Final Model
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Day1
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Day2
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Day3
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Day 4
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Day4
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Day5
Honorable Mention Most AmbitiousDesign
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Paradigm Shift (British Columbia)
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Year of the Dragon USA - Tennessee
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Winter Oasis (Canada Ontario)
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Why Do People Do Such Things ??

• All this effort for a short-lived artifact ?
• The joy of creating something of your own design
  
• The pride of astounding people ...

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Crop Circles
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Crop Circles
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Milk Hill Crop Circles
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Milk-Hill Design Analysis
409 Circles

• Milk Hill crop formation is exactly the same
  design as the interior of the Raelian Symbol
  which Raelians have been wearing publicly since
  1990.

http//bcornet.homestead.com/files/MilkHill/milkhi
ll.htm
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Crop Circle Construction
Probably not of extraterrestrial origin !
26 person-hours of crop squashing, http//www.geoc
ities.com/pduchesne3/
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What Is the Message ?

• Prof. Velvel Kahan, early 1980s
• Why are you giving this talk ?
• Who is the audience you are trying to reach ?
• What is the message you want to get across ?
• ( If you dont have answers to these
  questions,you may as well forget giving your
  talk ! )

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Message 1

• Dont blindly believe everything you see or hear
  - even if it comes from an authoritative source
  such as the President of the most powerful nation
  in the world
• Use common sense
• Check the facts
• Look for other explanations
• Apply KISS principle

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What will it be ?

• Faith-based Government(wishful
  thinking)(fabricated interpretations)
• vs.
• Fact-based analysis,logical thinking,rational
  decision making.

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Message 2 I love my job !
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I love my job ...

• I love the flexibility it gives me.
• I love the variety.
• I love the art-math connection.
• I love the philosophy connection.

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Message 2 -- to you ...

• Find out What is Your true calling ?
• What do you really like to do ?
• What are you good at ?
• Dont choose your career just for the s.
• You cant excel in a job you dont like!
• Stay true to your calling!

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Message 3

• The world around you is a mysterious,
  challenging place -- and it is changing
  constantly
• Be prepared to adapt to it!

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Life-long Learning

• Your education is not finished when you leave
  UC.Keep a critical but open mind!
• You will be obsolete in 5 years if you do not
  make a conscious effort to continue your
  education.
• This is a good antidote against boredom and
  calcification of the brain...

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Questions ?
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Knot Divided
Accepted, August 5, 2004 for competition in
January 2005