Passing the time

[Bunnylump]

Wow, that really is impressive. It guessed ten in a row for me - and even when I had Evelyn Waugh as my thought, although it didn't get it, it came up with a list which he was on!!

[MBH]

(Lord Byron's daughter if anyone is interested : the woman who was the real brains behind Charles Babbage's calculating machine, but did not, of course, get the credit for it.....)

... but did get a programming language named after her

[LAT]

I couldn't get it to do anything for me, it kept saying come back later.

So I gave up and did some work instead.

[Wulfruna]

... but did get a programming language named after her

Yes indeed (ADA). My curiosity in her was aroused because we happen to live in a road called "Lovelace Crescent" in Exmouth. The only Lovelace I had previously heard of was the 17th century poet ("Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage...") .
However, Exmouth is rather proud of its history of being a fashionable seaside resort in the 18th and 19th centuries (like some other south coast towns) - and this included providing a refuge for noble ladies abandoned by their husbands - most notably Lady Nelson who lived here for many years, but also Lady Byron who spent some time here in the same elegant Georgian Street. Not to mention a somewhat notorious mistress of the Duke of York, brother of the Prince Regent.... .
It was quite by chance that I then heard a radio programme about Ada Lovelace and discovered the Byron connection - which explains why Exmouth would want to commemorate her. As Charles Babbage is also a Devonian, I guess that she probably visited him in Totnes, which could also explain some of their co-operative work.
I was so pleased to discover that she was clearly a brilliant mathematician and was indeed respected as such in her own time - she most certainly discovered how to apply the first algorithm and is thus regarded as the first computer programmer .
Sorry to go on at length, but history sometimes throws up these fascinating facts - and scientific women (especially from 200 years ago or longer!) are so often written out of the records....

[Vladikavkaz]

well it had absolutely no idea about Ponder Stibbons...

[Bunnylump]

Errr... are you going to enlighten us?

[Scurra]

Well I knew who Ponder Stibbons was.
Am I therefore just an AI construct who is good at 20 questions?


(I eventually managed to catch it out with a Discworld character too, although it already knew an awful lot of them!)

[Bunnylump]

The thing I find amazing is that it seems to know which person you're picking next (judging by the questions). We must all be SOOOOO predictable!! I was astounded that it got such varying characters as: Claude Debussy, some random Pokemon Dibble knew of, Samwise Gamgee and Gustav Mendeleev!

[Bunnylump]

Ha!! Defeated it with Archer John Porter Martin* and introduced a new name to it.
*Only because I knew he had won a Nobel Prize, and my Dad used to work with him on Gas Chromatography...

[clvrlad]

i caught it out with Elminster

[Bunnylump]

Now this one is amazing.

http://uk.akinator.com/

Basically, it's the twenty questions game against the computer.
Think of someone (real or fictional) and it will try to guess who it is.
And it's really, really, really good. I mean it. It took me about ten goes to come up with one it didn't guess - and I feel like I cheated because I picked someone very obscure indeed.
(Now, of course, if someone else tries that character it has some more information about them!)

Oh this is soooooo cool. I'm going to figure out how to use this in tutor group quiz day (Wednesday) next week.

Nice one Scurra. BB

BB, it suddenly hit me - and sorry to have only remembered to say this morning (probably too late) your school will more than likely have barred this site from a school's computer system. At ours, anything which has any tags associated with "puzzle" or "game" will be inaccessible. I can't even get on PB any more.

[Bunnylump]

Hey, this looks cool. Any ideas?? http://www.youtube.com/spacelab

[clvrlad]

well im not the right age

assuming you wanted ideas for experiments

some simple ones would be
how gravity effects the growth patterns of plants (before/during germination or orientation of stem/ root systems) (seeds "planted" in micro gravity environment could grow incorrectly)

also how root systems efficiency compares to those in gravity (capillary action without the resistance of gravity)
(compare water absorption see ifhow much under watering would be acceptable) and how it effects the atmospheres water saturation levels (which would be needed to be understood for a space green house)

id ideally like to see the experiments "teamed" up with high schools with them creating a control for the experiment

[Bunnylump]

No, it is a big shame that there is an age restriction. It always amazes me that this type of thing is never open to adults who aren't scientists. I'm quite sure that there are millions of grown ups with enquiring minds who would love the chance to find things out, but who are never given the opportunity.

[Scurra]

It's been a long time so...

http://www.turbonuke.com/games.php?game=wordsandphysics

It's quite short and a couple of levels require faster reactions, but the idea is great.

[Wulfruna]

That's fun - and some of them are quite challenging. can't get the last one though, however hard I try...

[LAT]

What is this thing called time that you have some spare to pass?

You couldn't pass some on to me could you?

[Scurra]

That's fun - and some of them are quite challenging. can't get the last one though, however hard I try...

Yes, the last level is actually rather disappointing because it requires fast reactions and getting everything right, which is less satisfying even when you work out what you have to do.

LAT - hey, I gave you nearly three months without anything. You should have been doing all your work back then...

[Scurra]

Been a little while. This one is very entertaining - and doesn't take too long.

http://www.dampgnat.com/wonderputt

[eirian]

Thanks. No, really!

(always did like crazy golf )