Upcoming Technologies,Mother Nature News,Health and Anything Interesting!

Bill Christensen at www.technovelgy.com writes:

Mentats are described in Frank Herbert’s Dune as “a class of Imperial citizens trained for supreme accomplishments in logic - Human Computers.” They can survey astonishing quantities of information and perform analytical feats - all without computers.

(Thufir Hawat, Mentat to the Atreides)

Here is a basic outline of the Mentat “feature list:”

1. Extraordinary capacity for conscious information acquisition
2. Rapid computation skills
3. Near total recall
4. Unshakable concentration
5. Calculates human and social costs without emotion
6. Wide-ranging analytical talents (social, financial, military)

Are there any tools or techniques available that could help? Let’s take a look at these items one-by-one.

1. Extraordinary capacity for conscious information acquisition

There are a variety of different methods that supposedly increase your ability to take in information. Early work by psychologists was done using the tachistoscope, a machine that flashes words before the user at a set rate. Additional work was done in trying to increase the size of the reader’s field of focus. The Evelyn Wood Speed Reading method was well-known in the 1960’s. (She coined the term “speed reading.”

A variety of methods have been evolved to help people acquire different kinds of information. Hermann Ebbinghaus introduced the idea of a “learning curve” in the late 19th century. The would-be Mentat would be able to surmount a steep learning curve effortlessly.

Individuals have shown remarkable results, so there is some real potential here. However, no study I’m aware of has distinguished between people who had a remarkable natural capacity, and those who were average and became extraordinary.

2. Rapid computation skills

There are a variety of different tricks for performing math in your head; some of these methods work well enough to encourage the idea that a person could have Mentat-level calculation skills.

One typical example that I recall reading about in the 1960’s was the Trachtenberg speed system. Trachtenberg was a Holocaust survivor who created the system himself in a Nazi concentration camp. His method consists of a number of different tricks to make particular mathematical operations easier to perform without pencil and paper.

My personal interest in speed calculation waned when I noticed that a) science and math teachers tended to make the answers “come out even”, b) slide rules worked well enough when only 2-3 significant figures were required and (the death knell) c) hand-held calculators were right around the corner.

Heinlein fans will recall the calculation method mastered by the “man who was too lazy to fail” in his Lazarus Long collection Time Enough for Love. By memorizing a table of logarithms, he was able to perform remarkable feats of multiplication and division by simple addition and subtraction.

3. Near total recall

As one of those people with a good memory, I naturally wanted a better one. A variety of books came out starting in the 1960’s on improving memory. Most of these books use some sort of a system to make sure you are really paying attention by using some sort of imagery or other mnemonic device.

I was really impressed when Hannibal Lecter, Thomas Harris’ greatest literary creation, is shown to use a memory palace, also called the Method of Loci. The idea is at least several millennia old.

The traditional progenitor of this system was Simonides of Crete. He was attending a dinner with a large number of guests; when he stepped outside, the roof chanced to collapse. He was able to identify all of the mangled remains by going remembering their positions relative to each other.

The basic idea is that you remember a place, or a journey, well enough to visualize it. Then, you take the first of the facts to be memorized, and “walk” to the first location. Then you create a fantastic image that helps you remember the details of the fact. Off you go to the second location, where you create another image. By mentally “retracing your steps” and examining each image, you can recall the facts.

Mnemonics is another favorite; it takes time and concentration to create a good mnemonic, which reveals it as another trick to get you pay careful attention. It also puts facts into an ordered set, which provides additional information. For example, all physics and astronomy students remember the spectral types of stars in order by temperature - OBAFGKMRNS - using the mnemonic “oh, be a fine girl, kiss me right now, sweetie.”

Putting the facts in the form of a rhyme or song also helps; back in the day, I could reel off all 180 four line stanzas (plus lengthy introductory mantras) of my favorite meditation text from memory with no problem. I can remember all the words to “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mixalot using the same method.

4. Unshakable concentration

This brings us to concentration; there is no substitute. My daughter claims that she is at her learning peak when she is “multi-tasking,” which is what she calls it when she is a) watching “America’s Top Model,” b) instant messaging friends on a laptop, c) listening to music and d) studying - all at the same time. As soon as her grades start to slip, I’ll get my chance to defend the virtues of concentrating on one thing at a time.

Methods of forcing human beings to concentrate are as old as humanity. Most religions have some sort of tradition of improving concentration. Modern meditation teachers detach the methods from the religion for you.

As a sidebar on concentration, I would add that Mentats are known to use a substance, sapho juice, to “amplify mental powers.” The idea that there is a materialist method (that is, some sort of pill) for improving one’s concentration and mental powers is undergoing a real renaissance now.

5. Calculates human and social costs without emotion

It is very difficult to calculate and evaluate without emotion. Warren Buffett can do it, and most financial gurus believe that it is one of the keys to his success.

Mentats were famed for using Zen-like states of concentration - the Mentat semitrance - to enter new heights of one-pointed meditation on their data.

There are software products available that teach stock trading without emotion; the StockReflex simulator claims to help people learn to trade without being unduly influenced by fear and greed.

6. Wide-ranging analytical talents (social, financial, military)

This is probably the most difficult area for those who would like to become a Mentat. Although business schools teach that once you have learned the necessary principles, you can analyze any business situation, I’ve found it to be more difficult. Unless you know the details, you can’t really master any situation well enough to perform a successful analysis.

Source: Technovelgy

“Only if you can count better than this”

I believe that Math is linked to everything we can see, feel and imagine. Math can help a human build something he has only dreamed of.  It has the power to create, modify and destroy things. From the process involved in building computer applications to the preparation of food we eat, all have ‘at least’ a point where Math has to be used. So, here is the bottom line “Can you use Math to improve your social image”? You know the answer to such a cliche question is pretty obvious i.e Yes you can!

The following is the guide to a simple mental calculation (referred from Wikipedia) that will help you easily calculate the day of the week of any date of any year!

Points to be considered:

• The algorithm is valid for the Gregorian calendar. This began in Britain and her colonies on September 14, 1752. The area now forming the United States changed at different times depending on the colonial power; Spain, France, Italy, and others had changed in 1582 and Russia had not changed by 1867 when Alaska was purchased by the U.S. from Russia.

• To know whether a year is a leap year or not, divide the last two digits of the year by 4. If the quotient you get is a whole number like ‘2′, then it’s a leap year. If the quotient is a decimal figure like ‘1.25′ it’s a regular year. Lets take the year 2008. 08/4 = 2 which means the year 2008 is a leap year.

These are the values for the given centuries,months and days. Just mug up the figures and the rest is a piece of cake, trust me!

Centuries table

* 1700-1799 = 4 (Still Julian Calendar in Great Britain and it lands until 1752)
* 1800-1899 = 2
* 1900-1999 = 0
* 2000-2099 = 6
* 2100-2199 = 4
* 2200-2299 = 2
* 2300-2399 = 0
* 2400-2499 = 6
* 2500-2599 = 4

Months table

* January = 0 (in leap year 6)
* February = 3 (in leap year 2)
* March = 3
* April = 6
* May = 1
* June = 4
* July = 6
* August = 2
* September = 5
* October = 0
* November = 3
* December = 5

Days table

* Sunday = 0
* Monday = 1
* Tuesday = 2
* Wednesday = 3
* Thursday = 4
* Friday = 5
* Saturday = 6

Here comes the main part, the calculation:

Let’s use April 24, 1982.

1. Look up the 1900s in the centuries table: 0
2. Note the last two digits of the year: 82
3. Divide the 82 by 4: 82/4 = 20.5 and drop the fractional part: 20
4. Look up April in the months table: 6
5. Add all numbers from steps 1-4 to the day of the month (in this case, 24):
0+82+20+6+24=132.
6. Divide the sum from step 5 by 7 and find the remainder: 132/7=18 remainder 6
7. Find the remainder in the days table: 6=Saturday.

It should be noted that, in this algorithm, the days on which the century, year, and month start are the “zeroth” day. This allows us to add the day of the month directly (without subtracting 1). For example, 1900 starts on day 0 which corresponds to a Sunday; however, we still need to add 1 for the January 1 which brings the day on which January 1, 1900 fell to day 1, which is Monday, the correct day.

So, next time you talk about birthdays with your colleagues, don’t forget to impress them with your new Math Trick

The most common way to grab your favourite video from Youtube, Metacafe, and any video streaming network is to go to a link grabbing website or to use a link grabbing software. I agree with that, as it’s pretty easy and just a click away. But what can you do if you have already streamed a video online and you want to download it with ‘not’ wasting your time?

Ok. I have a simple trick that anyone can use to grab any kind of streaming media. When you play a online media, it actually gets downloaded in your ‘temporary internet files folder’. Finding it in the ‘temporary internet files’ folder could be a little work for you, depending on the browser you used as the file may be downloaded with a blank extention i.e ‘video’ and ’music’ and not ‘video.flv’ or ‘music.mp3′. Anyway, you ‘can’ distinguish the cached files by selecting the ‘Detailed view’ and arranging the icons by ‘Modified’ in the internet cache folder and with this you can find the most recent cache with the largest size. Now, try playing the file with the largest size on your FLV format supported player. If it plays, then you are done and copy the file to a safe destination! If not, then try playing the next largest file and you will surely get what you are looking for. The trick might sound complicated, but it’s not at all!

Following are the steps for Firefox and Internet Explorer:

Firefox users (Windows XP):After streaming the online video, go to

My Computer>

Your Windows Destination Drive>

Documents and settings>

Unhide the hidden folders>

Open the user folder (if you are logged in to windows with name “Blahblah” then open the “blahblah” folder)>

Local Settings>

Application Data>

Mozilla>

Firefox>

Profiles>

Select the recently created folder, mostly located on the extreme right >

(click to enlarge)

cache >

Arrange icons with ‘Modified’>

Try playing the most recent cach file in your FLV supported player>

Copy the video to the safe destination!
Internet Explorer users (Windows XP):

Go to

My Computer>

Your Windows Destination Drive>

Documents and settings>

Unhide the hidden folders>

Default User>

Local Settings>

Temporary Internet Files>

Content.ie5>

Open the recently created folder>

(click to enlarge)

Try playing the most recent cache file in your FLV supported player>

Copy the video to the safe destination!

Sorry, I haven’t tried it on any other browser, but if you’ve understood the concept, then it’s gonna be a peice of cake for you, no matter what browser you are using.

(Updated as on June 09,2008)…

You know that there are tons of Freewares available on the web and most of them are useless and infected with at least an adware. They suck bad. Many people fail to get the right freewares to cover up all the computer browsing needs (well…almost) and they are forced to purchase expensive softwares that possess the ’same’ or ‘almost same’ features which are easily available for free. Why waste money when you can get it for paying nothing? Now, here’s the list of Free softwares that are safe and useful:

<Security>

Comodo Firewall Pro:

My comment: “I have to admit that this free firewall is a real stealthy one. Currently, it’s better than any other freeware firewall available. If  you are really paraoid or you have no issues purchasing softies, then do purchase the Comodo Firewall Plus version which will protect you even from Zero day attacks!

Ive replaced my previous recommendation over Zone Alarm with Comodo Firewall Pro. Check out the comparison of the well known security products and you’ll know why “

Pro Features:

• Proactive malware defense
• Includes AV Scanner
• Host Intrusion Prevention System stops malware from being installed

Download Page: Click Here

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition:

Features:

• On demand scanning
• Scheduled scanning
• Immediate scanning
• Skinable interface
• Reports

Download Page: Click here

Spybot Search & Destroy:

Features:

• Removal of adware and spyware
• Removal of dialers Removal of keyloggers
• Removal of trojans and other baddies
• Removal of usage tracks
• And much more!

Full list of features

Download Page: Click here

Peer Guardian:

Features:

• PeerGuardian is Phoenix Labs’ premier IP blocker for OS X.
• PeerGuardian integrates support for multiple lists, list editing, automatic updates, and blocking all of IPv4 (TCP, UDP, ICMP, etc), making it the safest and easiest way to protect your privacy on the Internet.

Download Page: Click here

CCleaner:

Features:

• CCleaner is a PC optimization tool
• It combines a system cleaner that removes unused and temporary files from your system and also a fully featured registry cleaner
• CCleaner allows Windows to run faster, more efficiently and gives you more hard disk space

Download Page: Click here

<Multimedia>

K-lite Mega Codec pack:

Features:

• With the K-Lite Codec Pack you should be able to play all the popular movie formats and even some rare formats

Download Page: Click here

Gom Player:

Features:

• GOM Player supports most of the condecs (AVI, DAT, MPEG, DivX, and many more)
• Watch video files while downloading them
• Play broken AVI video files

Download page: Click here

AIMP 2 (Music Player):

Features:

• Supports playback of almost every Audio format
• Skinable Interface
• And many attractive features Click for the full list

Download Page: Click here

VLC Player: (For backup. If any of the media files fail to play in GOM Player)

Features: Features list

Download Page: Click here

<Photo Editing, Fixing & Managing>

Picasa:

Features:

• Picasa instantly locates and organises all the pictures on your computer
• You can add passwords to any of your Picasa collections
• Makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects
• Picasa 2 will maintain any albums and any edits that you made to your photos
• And much more!

Download Page: Click here

Paint.NET:

My comment: ‘ A total replacement for the windows paint program. It has a lot of features that are required for basic editing of pictures’.

Features: Feature list

Download Page: Click here

<Internet Browsers>

Maxthon 2:

My comment: ‘Its an innovative internet browser with lots and lots of features to keep you playing with them. It still has to go a long way with respect to the stability. Use it if you are willing to try something new.’

Features:

• Great new design
• Tab manager
• Favorites manager
• RSS manager
• MaxFav for online favorites
• Search as you type
• And many more

Download page: Click here

Mozilla Firefox:

My comment: ‘Currently the best and the safest browser available’

Features:

• Comprehensive
• Popup controls to keep unwanted advertising off your desktop
• Tab browsing mode that lets you open several pages in a single window, allowing you to load links in the background without leaving the page you’re on
• Integrated search (powered by Google)
• Industry leading accessibility with Find As You Type - find links and page text by simply typing
• Simplified privacy controls that let you cover your tracks more effectively
• A streamlined browser window that lets you see more of the page than any other browser while at the same time being more configurable
• A large variety of free downloadable extensions and themes that add specific functionality and visual changes to the browser.

Download page: Click here

<Download manager>

Free Download Manager:

Features:

• Free Download Manager (FDM) offers you a vast variety of options to control and schedule your downloads. This is a light-weight but powerful download manager
• FDM can resume your broken download so that you needn’t start it from the beginning after casual interruption. You can resume unfinished download from the moment when it was interrupted. Also this program warns you if resuming isn’t supported by the servers. It allows you to make a decision about the downloading. So with FDM you save your time and money
• FDM allows you to limit the downloading speed. There are 3 modes of network usage: Light, Medium and Heavy
• Capability to split download into several sections allows you to increase download speed up to 600%
• FDM can connect to the Internet at a set time, download the files you want, launch any program, disconnect or shut down your computer when it’s done
• This download manager allows you to specify the settings of network usage, such as login and password, maximum number of connections, default group, etc. So you can avoid adjusting these settings every time you need to create new download from the server
• Also you can download the whole web sites from the remote server. You can adjust FDM to download files with the extensions you have specified
  

Download Page: Click here

<Miscellaneous>

Regcleaner:

Features:

• Remove unwanted startup entries
• Remove file types
• Remove entries of old software
• Uninstall and remove Software from the Add/Remove list
• Remove unused DLL files
• Remove unused Shared DLLs (Automatically detected)
• Automatic backup feature

Download Page: Click Here