Particle Physics and Sudoku

Particle Physics is in some ways like an infinitely difficult Sudoku.  An improper clue or a mistake anywhere in the progression may not show up until the final square. Then the entire effort crumbles. Everything that appeared to work then must be questioned.  At that point one must go back to the beginning and start anew since it seems impossible to backtrack.  To backtrack in theoretical or experimental physics is highly improbable, as each step along the way is a child of some great mind.  Some new thinker must say, ”Here is what you missed.” 

On Consciousness

Perhaps the first order of business for a conscious being or system is self preservation and avoidance of damage.

In the simplest system the only requirement is a detector. Such consciousness would be unobservable unless it includes an ability to respond in some manner. An example of a simple system would be a light detector which upon detecting light would turn itself ‘off’, perhaps by temporarily closing an aperture to the detector. I think that this could be the most primitive consciousness … a detector and a response to something detected.
Now, what I think of as self-consciousness is a huge order of magnitudes in complexity beyond this.

Grace Cavalieri

To ‘review’ poetry requires reading with comprehension words, groups of words, often scattered or invented words, sometimes words with no rhyme or reason, and often words requiring vast knowledge of ancient history or writings. Each poet seeks to encode their vision of the struggles encountered in life in some way that is original to themselves. So the reviewer must be able to understand the needs of the poet in his/her attempts for originality. Grace Cavalieri is both a published poet and an excellent reviewer. Her reviews can be viewed at: 

http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/

For me it is difficult to comprehend how Cavalieri, in the time allotted by publishing ‘deadlines’, can absorb so many books, determine which are worthy of reviews, write the reviews … and still have time for her own creative efforts. Time is an unforgiving lover. 

On Being Awake

How important is being awake when one is in their 90’s? I suppose that sleeping all night and then most of the day is, in a way, a kindness. But after many years of setting daily goals and trying to achieve ‘something’, it is difficult to just do nothing because one can’t stay awake. I’ve been a tea drinker all my life, hot and cold, but gave it up a few years ago on the advice of a cardiologist. It did not help with an irregular heart beat, so now I am a ‘user’ again in an effort to stay awake. I have found that Provigil does keep me awake and seems to help in doing things again … but the cost of around $1100 for a month’s supply of the generic makes one seriously question … How important is being awake?

Provigil

The 1st day that I took 100 mG of modafinil I stayed awake all day.  I hadn’t managed to do that for many months. I wasn’t immediately smarter [whatever that is], but I started doing things rather than just thinking about doing them.  My ‘short term' memory did not completely return, but I didn’t seem to pause as often to remember what to do next. I didn’t tire as quickly when doing projects. I thought my ‘stress tremors’ in my left hand were reduced when clipping my nails, but I found they were not completely gone when I tried to start ‘touch typing’ again instead of ‘two fingering’ everything.

I stopped taking modafinil for a week after I developed a rash on my shoulders and chest. However I have now resumed taking the 100 mG after deciding that the rash may have resulted from getting a pneumonia shot. While not taking the medicine, I once again started sleeping most of the day and at least a full 8 hours at night.

Tonight my BP is 130/67 with a pulse rate of 54. This is about what it has been … with one difference.  Not nearly as many skipped beats.  For me, so far, the effects on modafinil are subtle, but definitely good!

Judge Terry Lewis

I have just finished reading Privileged Information and Delusional, the 2nd and 3rd novels written by Terry Lewis. I had read his first novel, Conflict of Interest, some years ago and so looked forward to his newest works. I was not disappointed. For me his writing is right up there with the likes of John Sanford, Robert Parker, Sue Grafton and P.D.James. In addition his stories provide an education into the inner workings of our legal system and, since I lived some 46 years in Panama City and now some 16 years in Tallahassee [not counting my time spent at FSU], I found that he had walked many of the same ‘rabbit trails’ as I. His only ‘handicap’ as an author, so far as I can tell, is that he has to spend most of his time being a Judge [he is now straightening out the twisted Voting District map of Florida.  For this alone the people of Florida owe him a debt of gratitude!

Memory, or the Failure Thereof

I recently thought that I should add some photos from the time I spent at the Universally of Alabama to introduce some of my fellow music students and faculty. The problem is that I don’t remember how to do this. I found a way to place photos on a page back in May 2014, but only after many trials.  So I can’t remember just how I finally succeeded. So, until I get over my ‘fear of failure’, anyone interested in a few photos from 67 years ago can find them on my U of A page on my website:  http://henrywarner.info

Chocolate & Sound

Today I’m gorging on loot from my 91st Birthday last week. Chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, dark chocolate almonds, milk chocolate walnuts and a box of Peterbrooke Chocolates … along with a book, Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee. Parts I & II were very pleasant and exposed again the enormous talent of the author [who is 2 years younger than I]. I expect Part III will begin the saga to match the trial and after effects in To Kill a Mockingbird. 

Up until today I have managed to reduce my weight by 17 lbs in the 2 months that I have been off of prednisone, so my nemesis, chocolate, will make this crusade a little more difficult. But … walking without carrying 2 ten pound bags of flour is noticeably easier and thereby provides incentive to continue the quest for weight loss.

My deafness deepens. I can hear noise better with my 2 hearing aids, but the strange changes in the way my ears [and brain] analyze sound have resulted in a condition now where all the notes in the octave below Middle C sound pretty much the same … thus, harmony is gone! Harmony … the noblest part of music!

Yellow Flies

This morning on my walk, I was greeted by a yellow fly. Remembering a long ago observation I made on a yellow fly in my computer room, I later did a brief Google search to see if anyone had made the same discovery as I.  My finding was that the yellow fly ignored me and was completely captivated by a very warm transformer which powered my soldering iron. So it would seem that they search for prey using infrared sensors.  This is evidenced further by observations of other researchers that the fly operates mainly within shady areas and avoids direct sunlight … which would saturate its sensors.

This suggests that a good yellow fly trap would be a warm item surrounded by fly paper.

Artists, musicians, and poets

How does the artist show the passage of time, show the effect of pain, of love, of loss, of lust, of hunger, and even peaceful oblivion? The Scream? Jagged splashes of vivid pigments fading into oxy blurs. The composer has a direct link to his listener through the learned connections between melody, harmonic progressions, rhythmic and tempo patterns to lead his listener through time from chaotic crashes to the serene high-pedal note of muted strings into oblivion. The poet, however, can best both the artist and the composer by skillfully combining words of the reader’s language into patterns that immediately convey the feelings and emotions of the poet. A fortunate few can combine all these talents!