I must say being busy is a blessing. Very often I find myself tormented under the stress and pressure of deadlines and workload. Although mentally I am getting battered and battered by work and more work, I feel a sense of accomplishment far more valuable than lazing around in free time. After a long hard week of work, the wonderful weekend arrives and you are able to finally unlock the shackles of strain and bath in your own time...:D. Unfortunately when you have masters work too then you don't really have a weekend of free time...hehe. You get battered and battered in another dimension, especially if your doing your thesis!!!
I guess the most important thing is to balance your life out between work, studying, your own time, your family and friends, SPORTS and the mashaweer (chores) you just have to do. Its hard some times, but if you keep on complaining that there is no time then you wont end up accomplishing any of it.
So quit the complaining!!!!
There is one simple principle: "When you sit down to do something...do it!"
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Who is to blame?
Very often I find myself in a puzzle. I was driving one day with a friend of mine and a public transport bus stopped in the middle of the road. He cut off one of the lanes of the two-lane corniche road. He did not give a signal, no hazard lights...nothing - just stopped to pick up passengers. My friend reached across and punched the horn down to express our anger and frustration. The bus driver simply stuck out his left arm out the window and gestured with an open palm to go ahead and use the free lane he hadn't blocked. Call him cold-blooded, call him ignorant, call him what you will. I signaled left and overtook the bus. He shouted out the window. I couldn't hear what he said and I decided not to bark back.
Afterwards I started thinking...
Who was to blame? The bus stopped in the middle of the road because he couldn't really stop any closer to the pavement because there were hordes of people standing on the road struggling to get a chance to ride. Are the people to blame for standing on the road? The pavement as far as I remember was too narrow and the bus stop was unable to accommodate all those people. It was basically survival of the fittest. The fastest would get to ride first and take the place of the slower less fortunate. Who designed the bus stop? Was he to blame? I dont think anybody actually designed the bus stop. Who designed the road with no off-road area for the bus to pick up passengers? Who designed the road with no hard-shoulder? Was he to blame? What about the inefficient public transport system? Did anybody design anything? Was it designed a long time ago and cannot be enhanced or adapted?
I believe it is the whole system that has failed and fallen apart. Scalability is among key design features for any system. Learning from previous mistakes is also a virtue. Learning from entities with more experience is another way of learning. Still new cities are being built with nothing being learned. 6th October is becoming more and more like down town and Madinat Nasr (places of extreme traffic jams and crowded streets). The streets are still narrow and are usually taken up by a row of parked cars and in many cases a second parallel row. Is there any foresight? When you build something - shouldnt you think of the consequences of building it? Shouldnt you think of trying to accomodate as many people as possible? Are there places to park? ...etc...etc
There are just so many situations where you see people pointing fingers and barking at each other. Its a constant factor in big cities in developing nations. People are always frustrated at others.
Another incident happened to me as I was riding with a friend. The friend was over-speeding on a highway. Again this was on a two-lane road. There was a slower car driving along in the fast lane. I can't really remember if the right lane was occupied or free. My friend slowed down suddenly meters away from the car in front and flashed the lights and beeped the horn several times until the car swerved aside to allow us passage. My friend cursed the other driver and went on going. I find myself in both situations. I find myself the speeder who gets frustrated at the slower car in the fast lane even though the other car is driving within the speed limits and I'm over speeding. I also find myself in the fast lane confident that I'm driving exactly as fast as the speed limit and I find pleasure in keeping to the fast lane as a car behind me barks and barks :D.
Who is wrong here? Is it the speed limit :)? Is is the speeder? Is it the slower car keeping to the speed limit in the fast lane? Is it the highway designer? Is it the lack of awareness and driving ethics?
Again - Who is to blame?
PS: One thing I do know is that speeding kills
Afterwards I started thinking...
Who was to blame? The bus stopped in the middle of the road because he couldn't really stop any closer to the pavement because there were hordes of people standing on the road struggling to get a chance to ride. Are the people to blame for standing on the road? The pavement as far as I remember was too narrow and the bus stop was unable to accommodate all those people. It was basically survival of the fittest. The fastest would get to ride first and take the place of the slower less fortunate. Who designed the bus stop? Was he to blame? I dont think anybody actually designed the bus stop. Who designed the road with no off-road area for the bus to pick up passengers? Who designed the road with no hard-shoulder? Was he to blame? What about the inefficient public transport system? Did anybody design anything? Was it designed a long time ago and cannot be enhanced or adapted?
I believe it is the whole system that has failed and fallen apart. Scalability is among key design features for any system. Learning from previous mistakes is also a virtue. Learning from entities with more experience is another way of learning. Still new cities are being built with nothing being learned. 6th October is becoming more and more like down town and Madinat Nasr (places of extreme traffic jams and crowded streets). The streets are still narrow and are usually taken up by a row of parked cars and in many cases a second parallel row. Is there any foresight? When you build something - shouldnt you think of the consequences of building it? Shouldnt you think of trying to accomodate as many people as possible? Are there places to park? ...etc...etc
There are just so many situations where you see people pointing fingers and barking at each other. Its a constant factor in big cities in developing nations. People are always frustrated at others.
Another incident happened to me as I was riding with a friend. The friend was over-speeding on a highway. Again this was on a two-lane road. There was a slower car driving along in the fast lane. I can't really remember if the right lane was occupied or free. My friend slowed down suddenly meters away from the car in front and flashed the lights and beeped the horn several times until the car swerved aside to allow us passage. My friend cursed the other driver and went on going. I find myself in both situations. I find myself the speeder who gets frustrated at the slower car in the fast lane even though the other car is driving within the speed limits and I'm over speeding. I also find myself in the fast lane confident that I'm driving exactly as fast as the speed limit and I find pleasure in keeping to the fast lane as a car behind me barks and barks :D.
Who is wrong here? Is it the speed limit :)? Is is the speeder? Is it the slower car keeping to the speed limit in the fast lane? Is it the highway designer? Is it the lack of awareness and driving ethics?
Again - Who is to blame?
PS: One thing I do know is that speeding kills
War Everywhere!
What is it about Arabs and inner conflicts? As I write this entry there is fighting between the Sudanese government and rebels, Lebanese army and HezbAllah, Fatah and Hamas in Palestine, Iraqi government against militia and religious sect militias against each other.
Why is this happening in this region of the world? What is the link between this region and the enraging and devastating wars? Is it due to ignorance and lack of education? Is it due to one of the seven sins of humans -> Greed? Is it hatred? Maybe the insidious evil nature of mankind? Maybe corruption?
Well nothings black and white, it could be due to all the reasons above. Could be due to none. I don't know anymore. I just hope things get better...:(
Why is this happening in this region of the world? What is the link between this region and the enraging and devastating wars? Is it due to ignorance and lack of education? Is it due to one of the seven sins of humans -> Greed? Is it hatred? Maybe the insidious evil nature of mankind? Maybe corruption?
Well nothings black and white, it could be due to all the reasons above. Could be due to none. I don't know anymore. I just hope things get better...:(
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Obama!
If I was an american, I would support Obama all the way. Naturally I would hate to see another Republican president after the disastrous Bush junior.
All the same, this US presidential election is very different. It has the oldest contender, the first female runner and the first African American candidate. For the first time I've found myself obsessed with the US campaign trail. I remember I was also into the Bush I vs. Clinton I and then Al Gore vs. Bush II. I remember the happiness when there were false claims that Al Gore had won over the controversy that took place in Florida state. I remember the sadness as Bush II won again and went on to another period of being the worst president in the history of the US.
Just this morning North Carolina was declared an Obama state by a large margin of 56 to 42 percent. In the Indy primary unfortunately Obama lost by a narrow 2 percent.
Obama's origin, character and of course his policies are what makes him different. He is the son of a Kenyan man and a white American. He is exceedingly charismatic - "Yes we can!" :). His speeches were turned into clips on youtube and music videos. I've never seen a presidential candidate speak like I saw Obama speak after the first incident with his former reverend. He speaks down to earth and charismatically feels like the basketball coach down the road...hehe.
He opposes war. He wants to open dialogs with foreign countries. He is active in the international arena. His health care policies is beneficial for the US people - "I believe that the millions of Americans who can't take their children to a doctor when they get sick have that right...". He has foresight in the energy crisis with his energy & environment plans. His policies should increase investments in infrastructure, energy independence, education and R&D. He also wants to modernize and simplify taxation and implement trade policies that benefit the US and also increase the export of American goods.
I think he should be the next US president. He'll cleanup the rubbish of his predecessor. If you think otherwise, let me know...
All the same, this US presidential election is very different. It has the oldest contender, the first female runner and the first African American candidate. For the first time I've found myself obsessed with the US campaign trail. I remember I was also into the Bush I vs. Clinton I and then Al Gore vs. Bush II. I remember the happiness when there were false claims that Al Gore had won over the controversy that took place in Florida state. I remember the sadness as Bush II won again and went on to another period of being the worst president in the history of the US.
Just this morning North Carolina was declared an Obama state by a large margin of 56 to 42 percent. In the Indy primary unfortunately Obama lost by a narrow 2 percent.
Obama's origin, character and of course his policies are what makes him different. He is the son of a Kenyan man and a white American. He is exceedingly charismatic - "Yes we can!" :). His speeches were turned into clips on youtube and music videos. I've never seen a presidential candidate speak like I saw Obama speak after the first incident with his former reverend. He speaks down to earth and charismatically feels like the basketball coach down the road...hehe.
He opposes war. He wants to open dialogs with foreign countries. He is active in the international arena. His health care policies is beneficial for the US people - "I believe that the millions of Americans who can't take their children to a doctor when they get sick have that right...". He has foresight in the energy crisis with his energy & environment plans. His policies should increase investments in infrastructure, energy independence, education and R&D. He also wants to modernize and simplify taxation and implement trade policies that benefit the US and also increase the export of American goods.
I think he should be the next US president. He'll cleanup the rubbish of his predecessor. If you think otherwise, let me know...
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Whats wrong with the Toktok?
Many people have been talking about the toktok and how its not a civilized approach to transportation. I hate it when people use the corresponding Arabic words for "not civilized". To be honest this country lacks many aspects of civilization. All we care about is looking civilized when in actual fact we are years behind.
I believe recently the authorities have decided to banish the toktok from Egyptian sands. I see this as a foolish decision. When you decide on something, you must think of the consequences to yourself and the others who will be affected by this decision. The toktok is an excellent means of transportation over short distances in remote areas of Cairo. If you take this away many people will suffer. Find another cheap solution before you take this away. Think about the people. That is being civilized.
Another problem we face in West Cairo is the "highway" called the Mehwar. There was no maintenance done to the highway throughout its lifetime. Now they are in the process of redoing it and still they yet to learn that there is something called a hard shoulder which is an empty lane reserved for broken down cars...etc. They also want to stop the micro-buses from stopping on the highway. This again is the black and white decision making of the authorities. What will people who live around the highway do? They will have no easy means of transportation. They will surely suffer. Wouldn't it be better if we offered them another solution, if we thought about them for a second, if we thought about their rights as citizens in Greater Cairo.
Te2ool lee meen? ("Who do you tell?" - an Arabic expression of hopelessness)
Masr Om El Donia!!! ("Egypt - the mother of the world")
:D
I believe recently the authorities have decided to banish the toktok from Egyptian sands. I see this as a foolish decision. When you decide on something, you must think of the consequences to yourself and the others who will be affected by this decision. The toktok is an excellent means of transportation over short distances in remote areas of Cairo. If you take this away many people will suffer. Find another cheap solution before you take this away. Think about the people. That is being civilized.
Another problem we face in West Cairo is the "highway" called the Mehwar. There was no maintenance done to the highway throughout its lifetime. Now they are in the process of redoing it and still they yet to learn that there is something called a hard shoulder which is an empty lane reserved for broken down cars...etc. They also want to stop the micro-buses from stopping on the highway. This again is the black and white decision making of the authorities. What will people who live around the highway do? They will have no easy means of transportation. They will surely suffer. Wouldn't it be better if we offered them another solution, if we thought about them for a second, if we thought about their rights as citizens in Greater Cairo.
Te2ool lee meen? ("Who do you tell?" - an Arabic expression of hopelessness)
Masr Om El Donia!!! ("Egypt - the mother of the world")
:D
Telescope? Did I order a telescope? Oh yes...
Ah yes...now I remember! I ordered a telescope in December of last year.
Have I received it?
Nope. The customs put me through hell. So I was forced to forfeit it.
Why?
Because they believe a telescope is associated with explosives, weapons and ammunition.
What the hell?
Yes, its true. They offered me a choice though. Which was very good of them :).
I could either go ahead with the transaction and pay taxes equal in amount to the price of the telescope and then pay a further pricey fee for a metaphysical test on the telescope which would then dictate whether or not this type of telescope was banned.
The other option was to disown it and donate it to the government. The last option which I initially decided to go with, was to reship it out. I though of shipping it to my family in the UK...but NOOO!!! It has to be shipped to the same country from which it came from or otherwise they will think I was trading telescopes. Then I discovered that to reship it out to the US alone would cost a considerable sum, let alone shipping it later to the UK.
It seems there is a lack of understanding. Everybody told us something different. A guy in customs told us to ship it to the US and on the way instruct the courier service to change destination at Heathrow airport and then ship it to a location in UK. This was complete bullocks. The courier service said to just leave the telescope at customs and forget about it. It would go to the government in the end. The official responsible for weapons and ammunition told us that the government will not leave it alone. They will charge us money for the space the telescope is taking up in the warehouse.
Its a complex world it seems. I'm still trying to ask to give up the telescope and disown it altogether. I'm glad the ordeal is coming to an end...isA
It was an unwise decision to order that telescope. Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to order something from abroad to Egypt.
Have I received it?
Nope. The customs put me through hell. So I was forced to forfeit it.
Why?
Because they believe a telescope is associated with explosives, weapons and ammunition.
What the hell?
Yes, its true. They offered me a choice though. Which was very good of them :).
I could either go ahead with the transaction and pay taxes equal in amount to the price of the telescope and then pay a further pricey fee for a metaphysical test on the telescope which would then dictate whether or not this type of telescope was banned.
The other option was to disown it and donate it to the government. The last option which I initially decided to go with, was to reship it out. I though of shipping it to my family in the UK...but NOOO!!! It has to be shipped to the same country from which it came from or otherwise they will think I was trading telescopes. Then I discovered that to reship it out to the US alone would cost a considerable sum, let alone shipping it later to the UK.
It seems there is a lack of understanding. Everybody told us something different. A guy in customs told us to ship it to the US and on the way instruct the courier service to change destination at Heathrow airport and then ship it to a location in UK. This was complete bullocks. The courier service said to just leave the telescope at customs and forget about it. It would go to the government in the end. The official responsible for weapons and ammunition told us that the government will not leave it alone. They will charge us money for the space the telescope is taking up in the warehouse.
Its a complex world it seems. I'm still trying to ask to give up the telescope and disown it altogether. I'm glad the ordeal is coming to an end...isA
It was an unwise decision to order that telescope. Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to order something from abroad to Egypt.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Reflection()
I've been doing some programming using reflection recently and when I thought about the term I was unable to put together a formal definition, so here it is...
Reflection in computer science is: "Reflection allows code to discover information about the fields, methods and constructors of loaded classes and to dynamically invoke them. It basically entails reaching into the JVM (if in JAVA) and grabbing out information about loaded classes at runtime"
Reflection in computer science is: "Reflection allows code to discover information about the fields, methods and constructors of loaded classes and to dynamically invoke them. It basically entails reaching into the JVM (if in JAVA) and grabbing out information about loaded classes at runtime"
The Revolution of the Google App Engine
As they have done before, Google are revolutionizing the way we deal with the Web. For developers like myself, they have created a whole new scheme of things to come. Google has announced Google App Engine which provides developers with a means of instantaneous web publishing. You can create a website through Python (the first supported language) and using the SDKs provided test it and debug it and then publish it within minutes.
This will revolutionize web dev. I think this is damn innovative stuff...
"Google App Engine lets you run your web applications on Google's infrastructure. App Engine applications are easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to scale as your traffic and data storage needs grow. With App Engine, there are no servers to maintain: You just upload your application, and it's ready to serve your users.
You can serve your app using a free domain name on the appspot.com domain, or use Google Apps to serve it from your own domain. You can share your application with the world, or limit access to members of your organization."
App Engine is free!!! You get 500MB of storage and enough CPU power and bandwidth for about 5,000,000 page views a month
Simply beautiful...
I tried to get the preview release but it was only being given to the first 10,000 developers to register. I was obviously too late.
The SDK is available for download...so anyone interested go ahead! There is also documentation. But there is still no space to register for publishing on the production environment...
Soon...my friends...soon :D
This will revolutionize web dev. I think this is damn innovative stuff...
"Google App Engine lets you run your web applications on Google's infrastructure. App Engine applications are easy to build, easy to maintain, and easy to scale as your traffic and data storage needs grow. With App Engine, there are no servers to maintain: You just upload your application, and it's ready to serve your users.
You can serve your app using a free domain name on the appspot.com domain, or use Google Apps to serve it from your own domain. You can share your application with the world, or limit access to members of your organization."
App Engine is free!!! You get 500MB of storage and enough CPU power and bandwidth for about 5,000,000 page views a month
Simply beautiful...
I tried to get the preview release but it was only being given to the first 10,000 developers to register. I was obviously too late.
The SDK is available for download...so anyone interested go ahead! There is also documentation. But there is still no space to register for publishing on the production environment...
Soon...my friends...soon :D
Backronyms
Never knew there was a word to describe this. An acronym is a abbreviation. A backronym on the other hand is a phrase constructed from a previously existing word or abbreviation.
An example: A Spool in computers is a buffer area used for data transmission between a computer and a peripheral of lower speed. People constructed the phrase Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On-Line based on the believed-to-be acronym Spool. Its the inverse (the reverse direction) of developing an acronym.
I thought this was quite interesting...
An example: A Spool in computers is a buffer area used for data transmission between a computer and a peripheral of lower speed. People constructed the phrase Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On-Line based on the believed-to-be acronym Spool. Its the inverse (the reverse direction) of developing an acronym.
I thought this was quite interesting...
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Google Alerts
Just came across Google Alerts. This is darn kool. It'll allow me to keep up to date with issues. Check it out...
Radio on The Run
As usual I started driving to work this morning and tuned into our local English radio station. As many time in the past, I SMSed the station telling them I would love to play one of their games where they ask a guy 5 Qs and then ask a girl 5 Qs. Call it sexist, call it competition....whatever :D. I was the first one to be asked the questions. I got 4/5. I got the easiest of all questions wrong. I always get confused about the capital of Canada. I said Ontario. Ontario is the county which contains the capital city, Ottawa. Well I got 4/5 and the girl got 2/5 so I won myself a mobile line and some goodies from the mobile service provider. Hope the number is good. I don't know if I'll be able to go pick them up...we'll see.
In actual fact, they made my drive to work fun. I enjoyed the ride and partially was unaware of the time it took in the crowded streets of Cairo. I then took a wrong turn as I smiled at the girl who got most of the questions wrong....evil me! That wrong turn cost me a lot. I had to take a long detour to get back to work.
Yalla...I had a nice morning so far. Hopefully the day will meet the high expectations ..isA
In actual fact, they made my drive to work fun. I enjoyed the ride and partially was unaware of the time it took in the crowded streets of Cairo. I then took a wrong turn as I smiled at the girl who got most of the questions wrong....evil me! That wrong turn cost me a lot. I had to take a long detour to get back to work.
Yalla...I had a nice morning so far. Hopefully the day will meet the high expectations ..isA
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Vector Graphics Vs. Raster Graphics
Curiosity killed the Cat! Not in my case - I'm looking into something called Vector Graphics.
Vector graphics...AKA geometric modeling or object-oriented graphics. OOG...hehe.
Vector graphics is the use of geometric primitives like points, lines, curves and polygons which are modeled by mathematical equations to represent images.
Vector graphics is the opposite of Raster Graphics. Raster Graphics is representing an image by an array of pixels (also the technique used for rendering photographic images). This mechanism makes images pixelate as you zoom in, as you can see in the picture below.
This pixelation does not happen with vector graphics. Vector graphics files store the lines, shapes and colors that make up an image as mathematical formulas. A vector graphics program uses the mathematical formulas to construct the screen image by building the best quality image possible, given the screen resolution, from the mathematical data. This is why you see the difference between both techniques in the picture above. Vector graphics render themselves using math equations according to the resolution of the image.
So this is an exceedingly brief look at the two techniques. For a complete and detailed description of the PROs and CONs of each see Wikipedia - Vector Graphics
Stay tuned for more posts...
Vector graphics...AKA geometric modeling or object-oriented graphics. OOG...hehe.
Vector graphics is the use of geometric primitives like points, lines, curves and polygons which are modeled by mathematical equations to represent images.
Vector graphics is the opposite of Raster Graphics. Raster Graphics is representing an image by an array of pixels (also the technique used for rendering photographic images). This mechanism makes images pixelate as you zoom in, as you can see in the picture below.
This pixelation does not happen with vector graphics. Vector graphics files store the lines, shapes and colors that make up an image as mathematical formulas. A vector graphics program uses the mathematical formulas to construct the screen image by building the best quality image possible, given the screen resolution, from the mathematical data. This is why you see the difference between both techniques in the picture above. Vector graphics render themselves using math equations according to the resolution of the image.
So this is an exceedingly brief look at the two techniques. For a complete and detailed description of the PROs and CONs of each see Wikipedia - Vector Graphics
Stay tuned for more posts...
Friday, April 18, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Monty Hallin'
Two days ago I saw the movie 21. Its based on a true story. Its a story about five MIT students and how they are recruited by a university professor to count cards in Black Jack. The plot is absolutely predictable but I definitely enjoyed it.
They referred to the Monty Hall Problem in the beginning of the movie. This sent nostalgia spinning up my spine. I never did pay attention in that class on probability, maybe cause the room was always so jam-packed and the professor was sooo irritatingly annoying. Thus, I never did get the hang of it and I think that was my lowest grade in all my years at uni. So I obviously couldn't remember much about the problem except its name.
The Monty Hall Problem is a problem of probability based on a tv show. The host asks you to pick one door out of three knowing that behind two of them is a goat and behind just one of them there is a bran new car. The objective obviously is to pick the door with the car behind it.
Once you pick one of the doors which has a probability of 1/3 to have the car behind it, the host then goes and opens one of the other two doors. It reveals a goat. The host then asks you whether or not you want to change your choice. So you offered to keep to your first choice or to switch to the other closed door.
The simple scenario is that you pick one door and stay with it. The probability in this case is 1/3 that the car is behind it. But actually it would be wiser or mathematically wiser to switch. Why?
The probability of your chosen door is 1/3 which makes the probability that the car is behind one of the other two doors 2/3 (shared across both doors). When the host reveals one of the two other doors, he has made the 2/3 probability rest solely on the closed door of the pair. Therefore your chosen door has a probability of 1/3 (same as before) and the other remaining door has a probability of 2/3. This is why it is wiser to switch.
You can look at it from various angles. You can analyze it using Bayesian analysis or map out all scenarios and see what happens. Another way to look at it is that the probability of choosing a goat in the first place is 2/3. In all cases if you choose a goat in the first place, and switch, you will win the car. This is because the host will reveal the other goat and thus the remaining door has the car behind it. But if you stick to the choice you only have a 1/3 chance of winning the car.
An easier way to look at this is to increase the number of doors to say; a 100. You choose one and the host reveals 98 of the other doors. Will you switch? The probability of choosing a goat first is 99/100 which is 99%. It is almost certain that you choose a goat door. Then the passes along the other 99 doors and opens them all except for one somewhere along the line. A rational decision would be to switch to that door knowing that there is a 99% chance you choose a goat to start with and a 1% chance you choose the car from your first choice. Pretty cool huh?
Its a really cool problem that sparked confusion and debate in the world. The problem and solution were published in the Parade magazine. About 10,000 readers (including several hundred mathematics professors) wrote to the magazine claiming the solution was wrong. People saw the problem of switching as a bran new problem independent of the first choice. In actual fact it is because depending on which door you choose at the beginning the host will reveal one of the other doors which has a goat. So the host's choice is based on your choice. So therefore there is a relationship between which door the host reveals and the door you choose.
They referred to the Monty Hall Problem in the beginning of the movie. This sent nostalgia spinning up my spine. I never did pay attention in that class on probability, maybe cause the room was always so jam-packed and the professor was sooo irritatingly annoying. Thus, I never did get the hang of it and I think that was my lowest grade in all my years at uni. So I obviously couldn't remember much about the problem except its name.
The Monty Hall Problem is a problem of probability based on a tv show. The host asks you to pick one door out of three knowing that behind two of them is a goat and behind just one of them there is a bran new car. The objective obviously is to pick the door with the car behind it.
Once you pick one of the doors which has a probability of 1/3 to have the car behind it, the host then goes and opens one of the other two doors. It reveals a goat. The host then asks you whether or not you want to change your choice. So you offered to keep to your first choice or to switch to the other closed door.
The simple scenario is that you pick one door and stay with it. The probability in this case is 1/3 that the car is behind it. But actually it would be wiser or mathematically wiser to switch. Why?
The probability of your chosen door is 1/3 which makes the probability that the car is behind one of the other two doors 2/3 (shared across both doors). When the host reveals one of the two other doors, he has made the 2/3 probability rest solely on the closed door of the pair. Therefore your chosen door has a probability of 1/3 (same as before) and the other remaining door has a probability of 2/3. This is why it is wiser to switch.
You can look at it from various angles. You can analyze it using Bayesian analysis or map out all scenarios and see what happens. Another way to look at it is that the probability of choosing a goat in the first place is 2/3. In all cases if you choose a goat in the first place, and switch, you will win the car. This is because the host will reveal the other goat and thus the remaining door has the car behind it. But if you stick to the choice you only have a 1/3 chance of winning the car.
An easier way to look at this is to increase the number of doors to say; a 100. You choose one and the host reveals 98 of the other doors. Will you switch? The probability of choosing a goat first is 99/100 which is 99%. It is almost certain that you choose a goat door. Then the passes along the other 99 doors and opens them all except for one somewhere along the line. A rational decision would be to switch to that door knowing that there is a 99% chance you choose a goat to start with and a 1% chance you choose the car from your first choice. Pretty cool huh?
Its a really cool problem that sparked confusion and debate in the world. The problem and solution were published in the Parade magazine. About 10,000 readers (including several hundred mathematics professors) wrote to the magazine claiming the solution was wrong. People saw the problem of switching as a bran new problem independent of the first choice. In actual fact it is because depending on which door you choose at the beginning the host will reveal one of the other doors which has a goat. So the host's choice is based on your choice. So therefore there is a relationship between which door the host reveals and the door you choose.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
My Lumix
Got my new camera two days ago and took it for a Macro Morning Spin!!! Took some pix in my back garden this morning using macro. Here they are...
An Egyptian fly unaware of my presence...
Eaten by a rose...
Mushroom Kings
Love...
Honey suckle....or close
The Brain...
Crown
A fallen rose
An Egyptian fly unaware of my presence...
Eaten by a rose...
Mushroom Kings
Love...
Honey suckle....or close
The Brain...
Crown
A fallen rose
Asciimation!!!
This is sooo kool!
You've got to check it out!!!!
Open up the windows command prompt (you'll find it under All Programs > accessories.
Once the black window opens up type in the following line:
telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
and enjoy :D!!!
You've got to check it out!!!!
Open up the windows command prompt (you'll find it under All Programs > accessories.
Once the black window opens up type in the following line:
telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl
and enjoy :D!!!
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Stylish Firefox
This is definitely the best UI enhancement add-on for Firefox I've seen. It's called Stylish. It actually applies styles to the websites of your choice. It replaces the existing styles of websites and puts your own.
The effects of this add-on are amazing! and as usual in the open source world there has been a swarm of commotion and hence you can find ready made styles to install onto the add-on. Here are some snapshots of what can be done.
Gmail in black!
Wikipedia painted dark!
Rainforest Yahoo!!!
There is a site called http://www.blackle.com/
which claims that because of it's black theme it saves energy and is easier on the eyes. Easier on the eyes maybe but Google denies the greenness of black. It says displaying black on flat-panel monitors actually uses more energy.
:D
The effects of this add-on are amazing! and as usual in the open source world there has been a swarm of commotion and hence you can find ready made styles to install onto the add-on. Here are some snapshots of what can be done.
Gmail in black!
Wikipedia painted dark!
Rainforest Yahoo!!!
There is a site called http://www.blackle.com/
which claims that because of it's black theme it saves energy and is easier on the eyes. Easier on the eyes maybe but Google denies the greenness of black. It says displaying black on flat-panel monitors actually uses more energy.
:D
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Aliens in Egypt!!!
View Larger Map
This funny looking sign was found on Google maps. It shows a weird pattern in the middle of nowhere. Could it be aliens?
hehe...don't think so...Could be some very innovative dumpster truck drivers with a lot of free time :). Its quite interesting. Some of them are holes in the sand and some are tiny hills. There are no traces of vehicles to show how it was made. It could actually be a Google April fools prank. It could have been deliberately inserted into Google maps by Google!!!
Can you think of any other explanations?
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