I don't believe in this search

Discuss your experiences with and ideas about Stardust@home here.

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rick5050
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Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2006 8:02 am
Location: outside philly, Pa.

reply to decomite post

Post by rick5050 »

I agree that this is a perfect situation for a psycological study. you are given some info (expected appearance of a track) but they may or maynot look like that. told to expect the unexpected and given a network for communication between searchers. The people interactions are as interesting as the search itself. BUT to find a track made by a piece from another star, and maybe the first to find it and to partake in this adventure;
what else can i say. This place is a goldmine whether it be psychological or astronomical.
acurban
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Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 10:09 pm
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It will be an absoluteing fascinating psych study

Post by acurban »

I hope some grad student does try and study this experiment. The "mob" mentality being used for good? It would be an interesting study for sure. I for one am not interested in the scores. I and my little daughter are enjoying the search for pure fun of it.

I remember watching the first moon landing when i was 8 YO. WOW!!! I like every other child of the sixties, wanted to be an astronaut. This may be my only opportunity to get close to space so here I am!

How many people a generation ago would have ever had the chance to participate in a project like this?
So... Relax...Enjoy the ride.
Its not the destination, its the journey getting there that is interesting. :lol:
The key to life is Truth and Honesty.
Once you've learned how to fake those,
the world is your oyster.
Mucky Pup
DustSabre
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:51 pm

Post by DustSabre »

Still, I do think that this project can certainly be a computer science playground, as cerealkiller and the more recent version of that same program have shown. Whether they will actually accomplish anything is debatable, but there's nothing wrong with trying to get a computer to do the job. The worst you can do is fail, and if you do succeed partially or totally, all the better. Still, it would take one very smart program to equal a human. I know a thing or two about programming, and I can definitely say that making algorithms run properly while looking for an ambiguous target is very difficult indeed.
PoizonMyst
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:27 am

Post by PoizonMyst »

If anything stardust@home is a good excuse to keep my monitor clean from specks of dust ... wonder wot that says about me psychologically? :wink:

Or the fact that I joined the forum just so I could make this post :lol:
star2steerby
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Location: Puyallup, WA, USA
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Post by star2steerby »

The awesome fact is Stardust@Home is an experiment; a unique opportunity to simaltaneously examine both inner and outer space. I hope the results will be of value to both astronomers and psychologists. This is the first time in history that we as a species can reach out to the stars to sample and return specimens in order to better understand what we see when we look up at and wish upon the stars. It's also the first time in history where an international, spontaneously organized community of self-proclaimed 'cosmopolitans' (citizens of the cosmos) can proactively participate and contribute without being specialists. Only once in history do individuals of a certain era get to be first. We are that privilaged few when it comes to true space exploration. I only wish Carl could have lived to see and praise our efforts and put them into the perspective they so richly deserve. I know he would have been proud of each and every one of us.
Everything reminds me of everything else
jsmaje
Posts: 616
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:39 am
Location: Manchester UK

Post by jsmaje »

Beautifully put, star2steerby and acurban.

How about this as a psychology undergraduate project for example: why is it that twice as many folk in the top 100 list temporarily sign off at a multiple of ten (i.e. ending in '0') rather than any other digit? Of course it has that nice intuitively 'rounded' feeling and would seem to have an obvious explanation.

But what about the rest? Could people who sign off with other digits be psychological non-conformists, potential troublemakers or geniuses etc? And what correlation might there be with whether their preferred final digit is even or odd?

On second thoughts, maybe not such a good idea after all...

John
Star Gezzer
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Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:24 pm
Location: Newport Oregon

Score

Post by Star Gezzer »

Their is also 66666
star2steerby
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Location: Puyallup, WA, USA
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preferred log off numbers

Post by star2steerby »

Thanks John. I'm one who likes to work in blocks of 100 but I don't make a fetish of it, especially when my favorite Star Trek episode comes on...or somebody drops by...or I start falling asleep...or want to go out or read, etc.,etc. And what about those of us who are kinesthetic; who see numbers as colors and colors as numbers? Do we need to stop at the prettiest arrangement? What would Monk do with this project? All the nit picking and numbers, aiyiyi! The poor guy would collapse at the keyboard!
Everything reminds me of everything else
jsmaje
Posts: 616
Joined: Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:39 am
Location: Manchester UK

Re: preferred log off numbers

Post by jsmaje »

star2steerby wrote:What would Monk do with this project?
Well, 'It's a jungle out there' (I just love that program as well as the song).
Being equally obsessive, may I point out that your term 'kinesthetic' refers to the sensation of bodily position/muscle tension/movement. It comes from the Greek 'kinein', to move (as in kinetic energy) + 'aisthesis' (sensation).

I think you actually meant 'synesthetic', a rare and fascinating medical phenomenon, the prefix being from Greek 'syn', fusion (as in in synchrony etc.) Do you actually have it? If so, what synesthetic colors or tastes do the VM movies or your Events list conjour up? Whatever, I'm sure anything other than an unrelieved grey-scale must be more interesting.

In fact, are the jpegs we see in fact only in grey-scale? - they certainly look like it. If actually in full color, space and earthly dust would appear to be disappointingly drab.

But I'll admit that if I correctly click on a calibration movie, I do in fact get a faint taste of purple peppermint behind my left ear.

John
elainekeefe
Posts: 190
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 4:38 am
Location: Massachusetts, USA

Post by elainekeefe »

LOL, John and star2steerby! :lol: Count me in as a Monk lover too. I guess most of us here have a bit of OCD! I am one of those people who like to stop at zeros also; however I will stop elsewhere if I am interrupted or if the site is just too slow. I notice, however, that once you hit a zero number, the next movie is almost always a CM...as though the people who programmed this wanted to make sure we didn't stop there. So, of course, you then have to do another 10. Has anyone else noticed this, or just me?
Nikita
DustMod
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Post by Nikita »

I just stop for important things, like going to the bathroom...doesn't matter what number I'm on then!
From dust we come
star2steerby
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 4:19 pm
Location: Puyallup, WA, USA
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Post by star2steerby »

Thanks for the etymological breakdown, John. Of course you're right. What was I thinking? Well actually my synesthesia includes a distinct kinesthetic component: a strong, non-localized, tactile sensation along with the color/object synthesis. Sometimes it's a gift but very often a distraction, depending on the situation, but useful in my art. (I'm also ambidextrous and can write, draw, and paint with both hands simaltaneously - I assume they're related phenomena). In addition to different colors for different numbers/words/letters the VM movies range from light blue/blue-green/green' to a rich brown/ red/purple/violet. I've learned how to ignore this "extra-sensory" input at will (most of the time) in order to get along 'normally'.
To answer your question, elainekeefe, I too have noticed that an even numbered zero stopping point seems, more often than not, followed by at least one CM that MUST BE ASSIMALATED. (RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.)
As for this project, I think I'm a little ODD,i.e., I have Obsessive Dusting Disorder.
Tired. Must sleep....
Everything reminds me of everything else
acurban
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Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 10:09 pm
Location: Birmingham,AL
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Try to stop at even number but cant resist one more movie...

Post by acurban »

I watch my numbers and always "plan" to stop when i hit the next even number but once i get there, i just have to go on to the next movie always in the hope that this will be another good hit.
I find that instead of stopping at 2000 or 3000, i wind up at 2075 or 3067. never happens like i plan it. This is just too darned exciting!
The key to life is Truth and Honesty.
Once you've learned how to fake those,
the world is your oyster.
Mucky Pup
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