Michael Will 🍁
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scidata.ca
Michael Will 🍁
@scidata.ca
computation from first principles 0101

FORTH PROLOG GOFAI RISC-V HPC Spaceflight Astronomy
Zebrafish SciFi CitSci Archaeology Anthropology Psychohistory

Website: www.scidata.ca
Discussion: worthdefending.blogspot.com
GOFAI Forum: gofai.discourse.group
So many important computer peeps are from/in Toronto. Ranging from angels to devils. Don't know why.
November 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
The first thing I realized when considering Computational Psychohistory was that Bayesian was the way to go. The second thing was that that effectively eliminated predicting the far future. The third thing was that this could be a powerful tool for anthropology, and projects like Linear A perhaps.
November 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Nowhere in the known Universe is enshittification more pervasive than in the field of Generative Artificial Intelligence. GenAI is neither artificial (plagiarism & theft), nor intelligent (it's quite literally mindless). It only generates its own metrics.

#GOFAI #ComputationalThinking #SensoryMotor
November 9, 2025 at 9:29 PM
It's fun to play with old software (I still use Excel 3 occasionally). However in the modern world few of us have the space to curate actual legacy machines. A good solution is to use VirtualBox or similar to have runnable versions instead of physical machines. Or even a Raspberry Pi for emulation.
November 9, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Bringing back, or creating anew, such treasures from yesteryear could be a great application of GenAI. Harmless, fun, and nostalgic. AI working for the common folk.

#Legacy #Art #Windows
November 9, 2025 at 3:01 PM
The world cannot live without the Arctic; it affects every living thing on Earth and acts as a virtual thermostat, reflecting sunlight and cooling the planet.
- Philippe Cousteau, Jr.
Philippe Cousteau, Jr. Quotes - BrainyQuote
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November 8, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Or sifting thru Arecibo data searching for pulsars. Halcyon days.

The scientific spirit is of more value than its products
- Thomas Huxley

#CitizenScience
November 8, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Even jobs like categorizing galaxies are best done by humans, even just crowd-sourced citizen scientists. And people learn from doing that work - bonus. And I'm saying this after being a -real- AI dev for 40+ years.

#GOFAI #ComputationalThinking
November 8, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Hmmm 40-pin TMS9995 CPU. Don't know that one. But it seems like an awful waste of space. Bonus points if you can tell us what movie that's from 🤪
November 7, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Along the same lines, some have compared GenAI to Lovecraft's Shoggoth.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoggoth
Shoggoth - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 7, 2025 at 1:56 PM
It's not nice to anthropomorphize Mother Nature - or AI.

#GOFAI #ComputationalThinking
November 7, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Self-modifying code may not be sound engineering, but it's at the core of evolutionary models. It's analogous to procedural vs declarative or even functional programming. This is why I'm not a fan of 'vibe' coding - it's chaos disguised as engineering.

#Forth #GOFAI
November 6, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Alan Turing probably said that many times.

#ComputationalThinking #GOFAI #Z80
November 6, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Very sorry to hear about this. It's making the news here too.
www.cbc.ca/news/world/j...

Maybe reach out to other countries with a similar problem?
Japan deploys military amid increase in fatal bear encounters this year | CBC News
Japan deployed troops on Wednesday to help contain a surge of bear attacks that have terrorized residents in a mountainous region in the northern prefecture of Akita.
www.cbc.ca
November 6, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Actually, they look like Edie Brickell. (which was probably their intention)

#Windows95
November 5, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Laziness in doing stupid things can be a great virtue
- Lost Horizon

#Forth #Haskell
November 5, 2025 at 1:44 PM
45+ years ago, I met the Canadian physicist who wrote Microchess at his little lab in east Toronto. That short chat started me on my A.I. journey.

#GOFAI #Chess #ComputationalThinking
November 5, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Crack open a rock, and you're suddenly transported back in time 100 million years.

#Paleontology #Alberta
November 5, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Without virtue signaling, it's all just a soul-less money machine. What do you expect, craftsmanship or imagination?
November 4, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Not all investment is financial. Time for a "what you can do for your country" speech.
November 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
One of my deferred projects: get Linux running on a COSMAC 1802. Penguin meets Elf.
November 4, 2025 at 4:52 PM
#BlueJays forever
November 4, 2025 at 4:47 PM