"We will get to the point where developing new theories, something currently in the human domain, will be done by computers" Bruce Knutson, Fermilab and MIT. Quoted in "Lights, Particles, Action!", New Scientist 27 January 2007, p39. "The burgeoning field of computer science has shifted our view of the physical world from that of a collection of interacting particles to one of a seething network of information. In this way of looking at nature, the laws of physics are a form of software, or algorithm, while the material world --- the hardware --- plays the role of a gigantic computer. Paul Davis, Director of Beyond, Arizona State University, Tempe. "Laying Down the Laws", New Scientist 30 June 2007, p32. "The details of syntax are software that has been preloaded into our brain's hard drive by evolution". Philip Liebermann, Fred M. Seed Professor of Cognitive and Linguistics Sciences at Brown University. "Stand Up for the Wet Noodle" New Scientist, 6 October 2007, p57. "Simulations give us a completely new view of the universe from what is available by observation alone. It is the closest thing to a physics lab that we have." Stelios Kazantzidis, Stanford University. As quoted in "The sun, the stars, the universe - they've cracked it" New Scientist, 3 November 2007, p30. "... human memory studies could be improved by examining tricks that search engines employ, and vice versa" Tom Griffiths, University of California at Berkeley. As quoted in "Do our brains work like Google?" New Scientist, 8 December 2007, p27. "It's astonishing that silicon has taken over the universe. We think the universe is so vast and yet it's just a little backyard compared to the intellectual depths that we're going through in the computer revolution." John Tonry, Institute of Astronomy, University of Hawaii, in an address to the American Astronomical Society, as reported in "No star unturned" by Hazel Muir (an article about the Pan-STARRS Project), New Scientist, 15 December 2007, p28. "New ideas have emerged as computing power has increased." Stuart Clark, science writer, Hertfordshire in "Ready Mercury?" New Scientist, 5 January 2008, p24. "It's something that physicist William Blake at Princeton University takes in his stride by thinking about organisms as computers." Colin Barras in "Well-informed bugs stay ahead of the pack", an article about natural selection favouring information content, New Scientist, 19 January 2008, p10. "Kanav Kohel and Marshall Smith of the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Centre in Phoenix, Arizona, have found that surgical residents performed better during simulated surgery after playing on the Wii console" Michael Reilly in "A Wii warm-up hones budding surgical skills", New Scientist, 19 January 2008, p24. "By itself, it doesn't do anything, but when you install it on a computer, then you have a working computer system. It's the same with the genome: the genome is the operating system for a cell and the cytoplasm is the hardware that's required to run that genome." Hamilton Smith, leader of the team at the J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Maryland that created that first synthetic chromosome, quoted in The Guardian, Friday January 25 2008. "They found that in some scenarios, the pattern of atoms could not be calculated from knowledge of the forces -- even given unlimited computing power. In mathematical terms, the system is considered "formally undecidable". Mark Buchanan in "Why nature is not the sum of its parts", New Scientist 4 October 2008, p12. "Simulations using ever more powerful computers will, in a similar way, help scientists to understand processes that we neither study in our laboratories nor observe directly. In my own subject of astronomy, researchers already create a virtual universe in a computer and carry out experiments in it, such as calculating how stars form and die." Martin Rees in "Take me to your mathematician", New Scientist 14 February 2009, p39. "Computational research transforms the sciences (physical, mathematical, life or social) not just by empowering them analytically, but mainly by providing a novel and powerful perspective which often leads to unforeseen insights. Examples abound: quantum computation provides the right forum for questioning and testing some of the most basic tenets of quantum physics, while statistical mechanics has found in the efficiency of randomized algorithms a powerful metaphor for phase transitions. In mathematics, the P vs. NP problem has joined the list of the most profound and consequential problems, and in economics considerations of computational complexity revise predictions of economic behavior and affect the design of economic mechanisms such as auctions. Finally, in biology some of the most fundamental problems, such as understanding the brain and evolution, can be productively recast in computational terms." Christos Papadimitriou in abstract of seminar "The Algorithmic Lens: How the Computational Perspective is Transforming the Sciences" delivered at Liverpool University on Wednesday, 4 March 2009. 'While he is not abandoning paints or drawing, Hockney is enthusiastic about the advantages of using a computer for both speed and precision. "The loss would be a physical texture. The gain is speed with colour that's quite unusual," he said. "With a brush it would be slower - swapping brushes in the hand takes time."' From "David Hockney swaps oils for pixels" Sunday Times 22 March 2009. "I think CT [Computed Tomography of fossils] will replace the traditional approach. Why spend two years in a room chipping stone, when you could be spending those two years studying the fossil?" Richie Abel, who runs the Natural History Museum's scanner, quoted in "The Real Fossil Revolution" by Jo Marchant, New Scientist, 30 May 2009, p7. "In a nutshell, his answer is that living cells, like the single-celled protozoa pictured, are chemical computers." Graham Lawton, in a review of the book "Wetware: a computer in every living cell" by Dennis Bray, New Scientist, 27 June 2009, p48. "These predictive [computational] tools share the promise of revealing weird and wonderful new materials." Chris Pickard of University College London, quoted in "Crystal Gazing" by Stephen Battersby, New Scientist, 17 October 20o9, p44. "Children aged between 14 and 16 at Northfleet Technology College are able to opt to use Nintendo Wii Fit Plus. The first console game to win approval from the Department of Health, Fit Plus encourages players to jump about. But Nick Seaton from the Campaign For Real Education claimed the school was being "too soft" on pupils. Fit Plus involves playing "ball games" and doing aerobics, using motion-sensitive controllers and footpads. Councillor Paul Carter, leader of the council, said: "It's giving young people, 14 to 16, choice - but a discipline saying you must take regular physical exercise that gets the heart rate up and gets the blood circulating. What's wrong with that?"" BBC Online News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/kent/8346727.stm. 6 November 2009. "Artificial intelligence researcher Eric Postma at Tilburg University in the Netherlands says many experts refuse to believe that a computer can spot a fake masterpiece more effectively than they can (The New York Times, 29 October)" As quoted in "Many art historians are suspicious of our techniques", New Scientist, 7 November 2009, p27. "The iPhone Brushes app is part of a new breed of technology that allows artists to use software that permits more natural movements to create art artwork." Anil Ananthaswarmy "Artists feel the force of their computer art", New Scientist, 7 November 2009, p28. " 'The distinction between a cellphone and a computer has already gone' says Cohen. 'Now the distinction between a camera and a computer is going away.' " Jim Giles quoting Michael Cohen at Microsoft Research Redmond in "Which way now for digital cameras?", in New Scientist 14 November 2009, p25, on plans to combine multiple out of focus photos to make a totally in focus one, among many other tricks. "To explore these effects [of dams on increased rainfall], Hossain plans to use computer models to stimulate dams in different scenarios. 'Hopefully it will make the picture less blurry', he says." From "Dams hold back river water but let it loose from the skies", New Scientist 19/26 December 2009 & 2 January 2010, p8. "We can begin to ask questions about them that were not necessarily apparent before" Caroline Winterer, an associate professor of history commenting on the "Republic of Letters" project at Stanford University. From "Stanford technology helps scholars get 'big picture' of the Enlightenment: Researchers map thousands of letters exchanged in the 18th century's "Republic of Letters" --- and learn at a glance what it once took a lifetime of study to comprehend." by Cynthia Haven in the Stanford University Newsletter http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/december14/republic-of-letters-121809.html. "In Decoding Reality, Vedral argues that we should regard the entire universe as a gigantic quantum computer. Wacky as that may sound, it is backed up by hard science. The laws of physics show that it is not only possible for electrons to store and flip bits: it is mandatory. For more than a decade, quantum-information scientists have been working to determine just how the universe processes information at the most microscopic scale." From "The universe is a quantum computer" a book review by Seth Lloyd of "The universe as quantum information" by Vlatko Vedral in the New Scientist 20 March 2010 (http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2010/03/the-universe-is-a-quantum-computer.php). "In his new book, The Predictioneer (The Predictioneer's Game in the US), he describes a computer model based on game theory which he - and others - claim can predict the future with remarkable accuracy. .... When Bueno de Mesquita reported the result to an official at the State Department, he was taken aback. The official said no one else was saying Singh and the result was strange, at best. "When I told him I'd used a computer programme I was designing, he just laughed and urged me not to repeat that to anyone," says Bueno de Mesquita. A few weeks later, Singh became prime minister. Six months on his government collapsed. "The model had come up with the right answer and I hadn't," says Bueno de Mesquita. "Clearly there were two possibilities: the model was just lucky, or I was on to something." From "The predictioneer: Using games to see the future" by Sanjida O'Connell about Bruce Bueno de Mesquita's new book in the New Scientist 20 March 2010 (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527520.500-the-predictioneer-using-games-to-see-the-future.html). "In today's cars, electronics and computers have replaced many mechanical components, taking over control of crucial systems. Many of these changes are intended to improve safety, but has their complexity introduced new and unnecessary risks?" From "Electronic car bugs: What drivers need to know" by Nic Fleming New Scientist 27 March 2010 (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527536.900-electronic-car-bugs-what-drivers-need-to-know.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news) "Yes, journalists should learn how to program. No, not every journalist should learn it right now -- just those who want to stay in the industry for another ten years. More seriously, programming skills and knowledge enable us traditional journalists to tell better and more engaging stories." From "Why Journalists Should Learn Computer Programming" by Roland Legrand June 2, 2010 (http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/06/why-journalists-should-learn-computer-programming153.html) "'What biosemioticians really want is an analysis which goes further', says Charbel El-Hani, a biologist at the Federal University of Bahia in Brazil. 'The importance of going beyond metaphor and really building a theory of information is underlined by the reiterated claim that biology is a science of information'" From "Biosemiotics: Searching for meanings in a meadow" by Liz Else, New Scientist, 23 August 2010 (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727741.200-biosemiotics-searching-for-meanings-in-a-meadow.html?full=true). "The net is becoming to social science what the telescope was to astronomy: a device for making a previously invisible universe visible." From "The internet telescope" by Duncan Watts, Director of the Human Social Dynamics Group at Yahoo! Research, New York, New Scientist, 19 October 2010 (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827821.100-50-ideas-to-change-science-forever-computing.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news). "Regarding the interview with dream researcher J. Allan Hobson (23 April, p48), I like to think of brain activity while asleep as akin to a computer defragmenting its hard drive. Dreams are just some of this information transfer rising to the conscious level as memories are relocated to more appropriate locations." Letter to New Scientist from Julien Glazer on 4th June 2011, p35. "Kevin Slavin argues that we're living in a world designed for -- and increasingly controlled by -- algorithms. In this riveting talk from TEDGlobal, he shows how these complex computer programs determine: espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts, and architecture. And he warns that we are writing code we can't understand, with implications we can't control." Abstract of talk by Kevin Slavin "How algorithms shape our world" at TEDGloball July 2001, Edinburgh. http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_slavin_how_algorithms_shape_our_world.html "It is an idea any overworked teacher would welcome - computers that automatically mark piles of exams and homework. Tens of thousands of students around the US are already being evaluated by such systems. But can we trust the artificial intelligence that powers them to make appropriate judgements? Two new real-world tests suggest that it can work surprisingly well." From "AI makes the grade" by Jim Giles, New Scientist, 4th September 2011, (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128285.200-ai-makes-the-grade.html) "Its [The Virtual Planetary Unit] goal is to use computing muscle to quantify the astrophysical atmospheric and geological factors that influence whether a planet can harbour life and and model how these factors change a habitable planet's appearance over time. We can then zoom out from these modelled virtual worlds and see how they would appear viewed from light years away, at all angles and at all stages in their history." From "Light of life" by Lee Billings, New Scientist, 24th September 2011, an article exploring the search for life other planets and how we might recognise it when we saw it. "The traditional image of fossil-hunting palaeontologists - traipsing across parched badlands armed with nothing but hand tools and a sharp eye - may be in for an overhaul. Artificially intelligent software that scans satellite images of potential dig sites could greatly increase the number of fossils unearthed." From "AI marks the spot for fossils" by Jeff Hecht, New Scientist, 8th November 2011. (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228376.000-artificial-intelligence-joins-the-fossil-hunt.html) "As a computer scientist and psychology professor, Edelman could not rest until he had made the case for happiness to be given a scientific, perhaps even algorithmic, explanation. "He begins this search with the observation that "the mind is inherently and essentially a bundle of ongoing computations". Over two millennia, he argues, we have come to realise that our notion of self is partly a construct of those computations, and partly a distributed entity that he believes is "best thought of as a network of cause and effect that transcends the boundary between the individual and the environment, which includes society and the material world"." From "Searching for the algorithm of happiness" by Liz Else reviewing the book "The Happiness of Pursuit: What neuroscience can teach us about the good life" by Shimon Edelman, New Scientist, 1st February 2012. (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328502.900-searching-for-the-algorithm-of-happiness.html) "If fractures are a source of stock market instability, computerised trading algorithms may be to blame. Use of these algorithms, which make automated trades in milliseconds, has mushroomed in recent years because they allow traders to profit by almost instantly exploiting price differences. But the fear is that one or more out-of-control algorithms could trigger a crash - indeed they might have prompted the so-called Flash Crash of May 2010" From "Stock trading 'fractures' may warn of next crash" by Jim Giles, New Scientist, 15 February 2012. (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21328525.700-stock-trading-fractures-may-warn-of-next-crash.html) "On the other hand, many of the research questions [folklore] scholars want to address - generally inconceivable prior to wide-scale availability of large digital corpora - demand more targeted approaches that those developed for the biological and physical sciences, scientific co-citation networks and e-commerce" From "Computational Folkloristics" by James Abello, Peter Broadwell and Timothy R. Tangherlini, Communications of the ACM, July 2012, vol. 55, no. 7 (doi: 1145/2209249.2209267). "One key technological development that is enabling engineers to design supertall buildings is the use of 3D computer models. ... 'When you can only do hand calculations you make conservative assumptions to calculate the amount of load [that] beams and columns can take, and as a result, their size' says Agrawai." From "View from the top" by Jessica Hanzelou (quoting Roma Agrawal a structural engineer at WSP Group, who helped design The Shard in London: the tallest building in Europe), New Scientist, 16 November 2013, pp52-53.