Anna Koop

I’m used to thinking of computing science theses being primarily: pose an algorithm, test the algorithm, analyze results. With some leeway, of course, but I’ve been trying to twist my research question into this framework: posing a way of using predictions for conceptual knowledge, testing the use . . .

And there we run into the first difficulty. I have a learning algorithm, that’s fine. But testing how well something does for conceptual knowledge? Turns out that’s an ill-defined question. How the tests are run is heavily influenced by assumptions about the nature of knowledge, and there is very little cross-communication between different approaches.

Thus a shift in my thesis topic.

I’m still interested in the use of predictions for conceptual knowledge, what I’ve been calling my empirical knowledge representation. But for my thesis, I need to do some thorough groundwork first.

Rob (from ASC, super helpful) used the phrase “comparing, analyzing, and synthesizing different approaches”. That’s what I need to do. I need to lay out some of the old stand-bys and new upstarts in front of me and say “look, you agree on this! And you disagree on this, because of this different emphasis or that assumption. But we can still be friends, because we both care about this similar result!”

In other words, my computing science thesis has turned into a particularly tricky kind of humanities thesis. But would it ever be helpful to succeed at this task, to bring some clarity to the murky waters of knowledge representation ACROSS ideologies.

And I will still have math formulas and experimental implementation. I’m not that far gone. But I’m tired of brushing over this lack of clarity. Let’s do some science, right at the root of the problem.

There are two tangible things I collect (knowledge and hobbies are more difficult to quantify): rocks and spindles. Very high tech for a computer scientist.

I’ve been wanting to keep better track of my rock collection for ages. I don’t particularly like keeping them in sealed boxes with the paper labels, but having the information is great, plus when my mom picks up a rock from the pavement by the pyramids I would like to remember which one. So. The life-long goal of cataloguing the rocks online begins. I also get to learn more about rocks and minerals in the process, which is always a win.

Putting the spindle collection online has a more selfish motivation. Besides wanting to share pictures and reviews with whoever cares enough to search for the relevant terms (I love the internet), it’s part of an effort to point out that really truly, family members, if you get me a spindle I will love it. If you really want to make sure it fills a gap, you can check (because like all obsessions, there are more details in spindle buying than you can imagine!). But, if you like it, I will too. This is at least partly about the shiny, and it’s not like there are that many inferior spindle makers looking to get rich quick off a shoddy product.

Eventually these links will point to dedicated posts and I’ll have more detailed reviews of each, but I thought I would throw this up now. This is the current state of my spindle collection.

Suspended spindles, Top Whorl:
Tabachek Deluxe in Purpleheart and Hickory, 40.0g/1.41oz.
Tabachek Delux in Pear and Imbuya, 47.0g/1.66oz
Houndesign Laceweight in Pau Amarillo
Ask the Bellwether starter spindles The Bellwether Spinde page
Zebisis Designs in Labrodorite and Black Rosewood, 24.8g/.87oz. 1 5/8”/40mm whorl, 10 1/2”/26.5cm shaft. Etsy listing
Spanish Peacock Top Whorl in Australian Cypress and hard Maple, 2 1/8” whorl, 8” shaft. Etsy listing
Spanish Peacock Top Whorl Snowflake in Holly and Cocobolo, 3” rim 10” shaft. Etsy listing
Grizzly Mountain Arts Mini Rim-Weighted in Thuya Burl and Cocobolo, 31g/1.1oz. 2” diameter whorl and 7 3/4” shaft. Etsy listing
Bosworth Maxi in Quarter-sawn Red Oak and birch, 49g/1.75oz. 9 1/4” shaft. Maxi Spindle Page

Suspended spindles, Turkish:
Jenkins Turkish Standard in Beeswing Nara (and maple?), 2oz. Turkish Standard page
Threads Through Time Medium Turkish in Tulipwood and Bloodwood, 1.6oz. 6 4” whorl, 3/4” length. Etsy listing
Jenkins Kuchulu in Marblewood and Kingwood (#167), 10 g.. Turkish Kuchulu page

Suspended spindles, other:
Forrester Akha

Supported Spindles:
Tabachek Tibetan in Ash
Takhli from Celeigh wool

Spindlemaker wishlist:

Spindles by Sourkraut – New Zealand silversmith and word turner. She started making spindles fairly recently and has the most beautiful organic shapes.
I love the whorl shape on this one. And I want to get a Silver Inlay spindle. Or one of the gem-flower ones, or . . .

Bosworth Spindles – Incredible workhorses with smooth and lasting spin. I have a maxi but want more sizes. It is probably not possible to have too many of these ones.

Jenkins – Still want a Meadowlark/Jay and possible a Aegean.

IST Crafts – Ian from the Isle of Wight makes beautiful spindles. Sharon at Golden Willow in Regina stocks them too. I’m particularly curious about his teeny Turkish spindles, although I hear great things about his other ones as well.

Gripping Yarn – Lisa is the queen of supported spindles. She has developed her own hybrid spindle, the Rose, which is a blend of Russian and French styles. I would love to get one of hers some day.

Golding – Ah, the Golding Ringspindles. These are sweet. Now, I’m not saying I need a Swan Lake or anything, but a Tsunami or Solid would be perfectly reasonable. Someday I’ll see a Golding Spinning Wheel in person and that will be a sight to behold.

Jeri Brock Woodworks – the scroll work on these is fantastic. Someday, for sure.

Trindleman – these are just nifty and have a very different feel. He’s now making them with interchangeable beads, too, so you can fit different weights on the same shaft. I spun one at Olds and it was really nice.

Autumn Hollow Farms – this is purely for the beautiful combination of wood and stone. I like the inlay and I hear they spin well.

Wood and stone are my first loves, but there are some really interesting spindles made out of other materials. Top of my wishlist are:

Petlyn Alpaca – an Australian maker that has metal spindles. They run a little heavier than what I see most commonly but I think I like it that way. I love the Paisley designs, and dyed fibre can look beautiful through the spokes.

Wildcraft Resin Spindles – again, the clear resin lets you watch the fibre cop build up. Beautiful. I especially love the ones with flowers and leaves embedded in them.

Tilt-a-whorl – These are really skillfully up-cycled spindles. I like the rainbow ones, and he’s also started making some teensy ones that I really want to try.

Know that the Spindle Candy group on Ravelry is almost entirely responsible for this addiction (check out the flickr spinoff). And Spindle Lore is to blame for the next section.

Spindle type wishlist:

Phang – rhymes more with song than fang, but still looks entirely like a vampire stake. Gripping Yarn version, Phang in action.

Navajo Spindles – crazy different from other supported spindles. Maybe should wait until I have a bigger apartment, but these spindles are for making bulkier yarn. The shaft is 3 feet. Bristlecone Artisan Heirlooms has some lovely ones. Video of a Navajo Spindle in action. Longer video about Clara Sherman, a Navajo weaver

Bulgarian, French — more to come soon.

I just finished listening to the Authentic Happiness audiobook (tonnes of good stuff in it) and one of the points Seligman makes is about working on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. In general I think this is obvious—we’re in a fairly advanced stage of specialization and are able to work closely with people who have strengths and skills we don’t. Why not have everyone do what they’re best at? Alone on a desert island I might need to be entirely self-sufficient, but that’s neither likely nor relevant to now.

This struck me today because discipline, self-control, and determination do not come naturally to me. But enthusiasm, curiosity, and love of learning are as natural as breathing. I’ve sometimes thought I need to work mainly on the discipline, just force myself to sit my butt in the chair and start writing. But there’s another approach that has the same outcome. When, instead of saying “just make yourself do it,” I say “hmm, I wonder how the prolog guys see this issue” or “what is the best way of explaining that point?” I find myself drawn to the task at hand anyway. No discipline required. I *want* to sit down and write. All it takes is changing the mental script.

It’s like knitting: picking or throwing, ssk or slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over—same result in the end. So do what’s easiest for you. There is occasionally a reason to push outside your comfort zone, but if you want to get it done, why not do it the way that comes most naturally?

( xkcd.com .

You just can’t do that to me. )

), I say!

An article from the New Scientist about sheep being used to study Huntingtons disease. Sheep doing subtle(r than expected) discriminative learning. Relational concepts (colour of food bucket indicated by colour of cone).

Zoologger: The sharpest mind in the farmyard –environment – 09 February 2011 – New Scientist.

Disagree with the whole ranking of intelligence thing. Intelligence is not one dimension with a dot for every species. It’s a complicated spiky vague shape. No strict ordering of better and worse.

But I love identifying tasks that can and can’t be done by different species. Why these differences? All these species are surviving just fine. What makes one approach more useful than another? It jostles our assumptions about what takes smarts and what is easy.

So overall win for the article.

Fabulous talk on how we can turn the human resources of virtuoso gamers onto building a better world.

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world | Video on TED.com.

I have to say I love ideas that let people work their skills to good purpose. It takes energy and creativity to come up with ways this can happen, but it can be done. This was a cool talk from the “go IT” perspective as well as for living the good life.

Cleaning up my inbox I ran into this link which continues the theme of being-a-writer-comes-down-to-writing. This is specifically for getting a book traditionally published, but I think it counts for academia as well.

Making Light: How To Get Published.

He starts with “To be a writer, you must write.” which is the message that is finally getting through to me after years of abusing this one. He goes on with: “Write straight through to THE END.” Heh. I think that’s particularly good advice for me, given how I’ve let perfectionism drag out the first draft of my proposal.

Next comes the multi-stage break, revise, beta-read with the intriguing “Start writing your next book. The same day. Or the very next day at the latest.” I’m thinking that is very applicable. Once I get my proposal done, I want to keep in the habit of writing every day. And I certainly have other projects I want to take on.

More nifty advice. Making Light is a most excellent blog.

Copy of 100_2544

Originally uploaded by joanisrael

I ran into this via Polymer Clay Daily. Incredibly vibrant and detailed work. I love the swirls in the trunk of this one. Looking through I’m most blown away by how she uses techniques that I’ve seen on chunky jewelry or folksy figurines to create depth and texture.