kickstart

I had a pleasant surprise at school today. There was a knock on my door while I was trying to explain how to find the lowest common denominator as a product of prime numbers. A delivery man walked in with a box containing one cake and a package of cookies. It seems my mom had arranged for these to be sent from the local North Mart. I had told no one it was my birthday but soon found myself handing out pieces of cake to my students and the other staff. All in all, it was a very nice surprise and one that was enjoyed by many people.
I'm copying an interesting article from Norbert Ispin's website. I don't agree with it entirely though I say bring on the cylons:

Tezuka Osamu, the creator of Astor Boy, envisioned a future in which racism extended to the machines that humanity had created. This resulted in a lot of conflict and allowed Astro the chance to fly, fight and laser blast his way into the hearts of millions of people around the world. However, it seems that maybe a real life Astro Boy wouldn't have it so easy. A recent article on the National Geographic website talks about the 'uncanny valley,' or the unsettled feeling that people get when they see a robot or image that looks too human. According to the article, it's possible that even monkeys feel this way. I cannot but help but wonder then where our efforts at creating artificial intelligence will lead us. Will we feel contempt for what we have created if it looks too much like us? Sadly, I fear the answer will be yes.