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CONTACT, March. 13, 2004

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Title: CONTACT, March. 13, 2004


1
CONTACT, March. 13, 2004
M A R S
athematics
rt
eligion
ex
ience
2
CONTACT, March. 13, 2004
  • Math, Art, Religion, Science
  • 4 Complementary Belief Systems

Carlo Séquin, University of California,
Berkeley
3
Why This Topic ?
  • I wanted to fit the Conference Ttitle.
  • Stimulated by last years conference
  • -- in particular by this picture

4
The Face on Mars
  • Picture taken by Viking Orbiter in 1976

5
Face on Mars Close-up
  • High-res. photo, Global Surveyor, 4/8/2001

6
How Do We Make Sense of the Unknown?
  • Different people have
  • different mental frameworks, belief systems
  • or use them in different order
  • to come up with possible explanations.

7
Outline
  • Look at four dominant forces that have shaped the
    human mind over the last few thousand years.
  • Fill in this matrix CHARACTERISTICS
  • Math
  • Art
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Look at some test examples

8
Characteristics
  • Output What kind of beliefs does the system
    deliver ?
  • Basis Where do these beliefs come from ?
  • Method How are these beliefs found/created/devel
    oped ?
  • Evaluation How do we know if they are valid ?
  • Use What is this belief system good for ?

9
Math
  • Output Theorems
  • Basis Axioms, previous theorems
  • Method Evolutionary steps, revolutionary
    inspiration
  • Evaluation Consistency, formal proofs
  • Use Creates a synthetic framework based on
    logic.Foundation for most of the sciences.

10
Science
  • Output Models of the physical world
  • Basis Observations, Experiments
  • Method Educated guesses, hypotheses, tests
  • Evaluation Consistency. Can you make useful
    predictions ?
  • Use Makes models of the observable world.--gt
    Understanding, technology, civilization.

11
Art
  • Output Pieces, installations,
  • Basis Observations, ideas, emotions, beliefs,
  • Method Inspirations, visions, having a message,
  • Evaluation Done by ( culture clique (?) in )
    society
  • Use Creates new artifacts based on
    imagination.Make life richer. Give beauty, joy,
    entertainment, Provoke, put established
    assumptions in question.

12
Religion
  • Output Pronouncements, rules, truth
  • Basis Epiphanies, revelations, philosophical
    insights
  • Method Authority, tradition, charisma of leader
  • Evaluation You are not supposed to question
    it !
  • Use Addresses un-answerable questions.Gives
    meaning, hope, ethical guidance

13
Overlap of these Systems
  • Religion once was the only system
  • It explained nature
  • It provided a framework for thinking
  • It provided ethical guidance
  • It answered un-answerable questions
  • It provided rituals, spiritual enrichment, beauty
    ...
  • Today Religion is more compartmentalized !

14
Contention between Systems
  • The two frameworks operate an different
    principles
  • RELIGION SCIENCE
  • authority evidence
  • revelation discovery
  • tradition innovation
  • true believers critical thinkers
  • Science and Religion are NOT the same(as the
    Templeton Foundation wants to imply).
  • Creationism is NOT a science.

15
Puzzles
  • Everybody subscribes to some degree to all of
    the above four frameworksthere are personal
    differences in the mix and the priority among
    these systems
  • When you encounter something new, foreign,
  • how do you try to make sense out of it ?
  • which belief system do you enlist (first) ?
  • which interpretation will win in the end ?

16
My Attempt at Classification
  • Created by
  • Intelligence Nature

Meaningfulmessage, or object M
Systematic, repeatableprocessS
Randomone-timeoccurrenceR
Artistic, or playfulartifactA
17
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
18
Lets start with another mysterious example...
19
Nazca, Peru
  • Are these ancient landing strips ?

20
More Strange Lines
21
Petroglyphs
  • But what does it mean ?

22
Graffiti
23
Faces on the Rocks
24
Panorama from Mars Rover Opportunity
Miracles of Photoshop ?
25
StrangeLife forms
26
Codex Seraphinianus
27
Codex Seraphinianus
28
Clouds in the Sky
UFO ?
Lenticular cloud
29
(No Transcript)
30
Fire in the Sky
31
Volcanic Vent Hole ?
Art by Andy Goldsworthy
32
Andy Goldsworthy Stone Formations
33
Andy Goldsworthy Ice Formations
34
(No Transcript)
35
Antarctica
36
2001 ?
37
Breckenridge CO, January 2004Snowsculpting
Championships
Turning a Snowball Inside-Out
38
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
39
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.

40
Gridded Models for Transparency
  • 3D-Print from Zcorp

SLIDE virtual model
41
Shape Adaption for Snow Sculpture
  • Restructured Morin surface to fit block size
    (10 x 10 x 12)

42
The Final Model
43
Day1
44
Day2
45
Day3
46
Day 4
47
Day4
48
Day5
Honorable Mention Most AmbitiousDesign
49
Paradigm Shift (British Columbia)
50
Year of the Dragon USA - Tennessee
51
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 ...

52
Crop Circles
53
Crop Circles
54
Milk Hill Crop Circles
55
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
56
Crop Circle Construction
Probably not of extraterrestrial origin !
26 person-hours of crop squashing, http//www.geoc
ities.com/pduchesne3/
57
General Conclusions
  • Mars has been an enigma for a long time.
  • Fuzzy observations (channels, face,) have led to
    fantastic, speculative interpretations.
  • This was a good take-off point for a reviewof
    the multiple channels through which we form our
    beliefs and seek interpretation.
  • There are still many strange things out there
    that we do not currently understand.
  • There is only a minuscule probability that any of
    them are due to extraterrestrial intelligence.

58
Is There Life Out There ?
  • No scientific answer yet.
  • My personal belief YES, definitely !(based on
    statistics and the fact that the sun and the
    earth are not such a special case as far as
    solar systems go)
  • When will we find it ?
  • My guess In the next 10 to 20 years.

59
Is There Intelligent Life Out There ?
  • Yes, probably somewhere in the universe.
  • When will we make contact with them ?
  • I have no idea
  • Any guess would have to come from an estimate how
    long a technical civilization can survive. Our
    one and only data point says probably at least
    100 years

60
QUESTIONS ?DISCUSSION ?
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