Thread: Howzit

Nice to meet you, IAmCoder. I also write code for a living. (well, I wouldn't say for a living, but I plan on it when I move out!) I see your title spells AIM. Was that intentional?

I agree, the mind is a wonderful thing. It's my source of inspiration and hope for artificial intelligence that could one day rule modern computing.

How often do you usually attain lucidity?

Hi MindGames, that was not intentional - my code "never compiles first time"! I have fixed it, but well spotted and real fast.

AI was actually the very first app I decided to write in high school. I made a neural simulator and after a good 14 years all it can do is basic math - but it is looking real cool now at least.

[QUOTE]How often do you usually attain lucidity?[QUOTE]
Never enough!

Quote - fail. Again, it never compiles first time!

So what language do you write in? I mostly write C# these days, with a bit of C++ here and there, but I grew up on VB4-6 and still use VB .Net for personal projects.

That's neat. Does it actually learn? I never came to grasp the inner workings of the brain but I have contemplated how I would go about re-creating it.

Haha, I know how you feel about compiling code. Mine usually compiles quickly but never fails to create its own undocumented features .

My language of choice is C++, mostly because I never took the time to learn about objects; Java never felt right to me, anyway. As a matter of fact, the only reason I use C++ is because I didn't find out about the original C first!

Welcome to the forums, it's always nice to see new people eager to learn. If you need help with anything feel free to ask.

I knew before reading anything that you were South African. I used to work for a bunch of South Africans, they are the only people I've ever know to use the word howzit

I'm a coder too, there are a bunch of us here.

Originally Posted by MindGames

That's neat. Does it actually learn?

Yeah, very simple actually. It randomly generates new neurons with a strength of 100 and a random input or output key. And then randomly creates connections between them, also with a strength of 100. Then it runs through a pre-compiled list of things to learn, e.g:
Input:"1+1=",Output:"2"
Input:"1+2=",Output:"3"
Input:"1+3=",Output:"4"

And types the input into the program one letter at a time. Any neuron with say "+" as an input key will then fire and trigger all outgoing connections and a little current runs up the connection to the neuron at the end of it. The neuron's charge then counts up and once the threshold (I generally set it to 3) is reached, it fires all of its outgoing connections... Whenever a neuron with an output key is triggered, the app then types that as the response. So each time it runs a item in the learning list, it checks the output: if it matches, all neurons and connections that were used / triggered, get their strength counted up by one. And each time the output is incorrect, the strength is counted down until it reaches 0, then the neuron or connection is deleted.

juvenile: Hi, and thanks - I will do so.

ninja: Cool brew, what language do you write in?

C and C++ mostly. Although right now PHP

Originally Posted by ninja9578

C and C++ mostly. Although right now PHP

Shame man!

I have studied ninjutsu (Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu) for a few years and always sleep with a katana within reach. I believe the awareness practices I learnt through it helped a great deal with lucidity.

Welcome to the forum, Coder! Good to have another fresh face

Originally Posted by IAmCoder

Yeah, very simple actually. It randomly generates new neurons with a strength of 100 and a random input or output key. And then randomly creates connections between them, also with a strength of 100. Then it runs through a pre-compiled list of things to learn, e.g:
Input:"1+1=",Output:"2"
Input:"1+2=",Output:"3"
Input:"1+3=",Output:"4"

And types the input into the program one letter at a time. Any neuron with say "+" as an input key will then fire and trigger all outgoing connections and a little current runs up the connection to the neuron at the end of it. The neuron's charge then counts up and once the threshold (I generally set it to 3) is reached, it fires all of its outgoing connections... Whenever a neuron with an output key is triggered, the app then types that as the response. So each time it runs a item in the learning list, it checks the output: if it matches, all neurons and connections that were used / triggered, get their strength counted up by one. And each time the output is incorrect, the strength is counted down until it reaches 0, then the neuron or connection is deleted.

Simple.........

Originally Posted by jasonresno

Welcome to the forum, Coder! Good to have another fresh face

Thanks, glad I shaved last night!

Originally Posted by dakotahnok

Simple.........

Guess I will have to post a picture one day, then you can see.

Originally Posted by IAmCoder

Guess I will have to post a picture one day, then you can see.

haha sounds good

Originally Posted by IAmCoder

Shame man!

I have studied ninjutsu (Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu) for a few years and always sleep with a katana within reach. I believe the awareness practices I learnt through it helped a great deal with lucidity.

Cool man. I've never actually practiced ninjutsu. I'm karate, jiu jitsu, tae kwon do, and tang so doo. Karate is the one I'm a master in though.

Respect. Have you ever fought and won in competitions? That is one thing I always felt I missed out on in ninjutsu - real practice.

When I was a kid I was lucky enough that parts of the American Ninja movies were filmed in SA and the martial arts choreographer was a family friend. So I had a few training sessions as a toddler already and managed to get my hands on two of the sword props from the movie. Luckily they were blunt, at least by the time I was old enough to really appreciate them.

Yeah, I placed third in the american tang soo do championships a few years ago and I used to do MMA until I broke my thumb. Now I have a hard time gripping people in actual combat, so I can't really do that anymore.

Very cool and congratulations, but I am sorry to hear about your thumb! I guess you must have had at least a thousand dreams of taking people down in order to get that far.

I am always fascinated by the physics in my dreams when they relate to martial arts. Some of the grips and locks in ninjutsu are very complex and they always seem to work like they should in dreams.

The best dreams, and perhaps worst type of nightmare, are the ones where you start off lucid and then do something stupid, only to forget you are dreaming again and go on to deal with the consequences. Waking up is the best relief and puts any real life problems into perspective!

Jeez ive always wanted to code but unfortunately its just too daunting of a task for me. I just dont see it as a practical job, sitting in front of a computer typing code all day.....I dont think i have the mind for it either.

Regardless of what career you're going to pursue, knowing how to program is always a good skill. There are a lot of applications. For instance, I picked up a cryptography book a few weeks ago, and I decided to implement one of the ciphers in a C++ program, which ended up being a good learning experience. It's pretty fun in my opinion.

Definitely helps to know programming. It's what I'm currently doing for a paycheck myself. I started with C++ when I was 13, mostly do web stuff though: CF, PHP, etc. But at home in my spare time I mostly code in C, ASM for low-level system stuff. Trying to get a job in InfoSec after I get my BS in Computer Science. I definitely think it takes a certain type of person for programming, I started when I was a teen and basically taught myself everything up until college (which really only helps with theory stuff). Glad to see a decent user-base of programmers!