Geek in Practice

As a continuation to my Linux Distro hopping habit that I’ve developed ever since I made the switch to Linux (2006), Few months ago, I installed Fedora on my newly bought laptop. Almost three months after using Fedora, I felt it’s as constricting as Ubuntu (still lightyears ahead of Windows and MacOSX) and as buggy as rotten tree log (ok, not THAT bad but too buggy for my taste). So I decided to throw away all pre-compiled operating systems and go for a minimalistic distro. A distro that gives me complete control of the hardware I bought with my hard earned money (well, dad’s hard earned money; he bought it as a graduation gift XD ). After a quick research, I found that I either go with Gentoo, LFS or Arch Linux. Given the time I have, or lack thereof, I can’t afford installing Gentoo nor LFS. I’m left with Arch.

I don’t think I need to say anything technical about Arch Linux as they the best Linux Distro documentation on the internet. Of course, the KISS* approach Arch Linux is following makes the system stable. The KISS approach minimizes the headache for developers which by extension makes the system smoother. Does it mean that I have to do some work? yes! and that’s the best part in the whole deal! I share the load of installing my own OS the way I think would fit me best! Oh, and KISS agrees with the way I look to life.

Speaking of which, Open-source, as I have many a time preached, is actually what developed that look. People should be in control of their lives, their preferences and their decisions. Who doesn’t think so? Who wants to sell all these rights to politicians and big corporations? Why should we complicate things when we can KISS? I thought taking control of the devices I use on a daily basis should be the first step. And, yes, that will include the Google and Android case. But, sadly, most of us sold those rights for the walled gardens Microsoft and Apple provide.

The cherry on top? Arch Linux is adopting a rolling release model! Which means I don’t have to upgrade my system, ever! As I will always be up-to-date with bleeding edge programs!

*) I love the acronym!! Keep It Simple, Stupid!

PS. Ironic is that I’m writing this post on my work machine which runs bloody Windows.

Last week, I posted a blogpost talking about an analogy between social epidemics and mechanical wave. For a week, I have been thinking about the aspects of mechanical waves (or waves in general) that can be applied to social epidemics. First, let me thank @lou_kay, @hamraniii and @iBaUbaid for acting like a resounding board and resonating some ideas in my mind. However, what I’m thinking to include this time around is, you guessed it, resonance frequencies.

Resonance frequencies are specific frequencies that vary from one medium to another such that a small driving force can drive the system to oscillate on much higher amplitudes. For example, we all asked our parents to push us on a swing in a playground. If your parent pushes you at the right moment you will go higher but if they push you at the wrong moment your swing can die on spot (and most probably you’ll be hurt as well).

We now know two things, resonance directly depend on the medium (or system) a wave is operating in. Also, for resonance to happen, the driving force has to happen on specific time windows. And before I project the analogy, let me just emphasize that the resonating driving force in a social system (or any system) doesn’t necessarily need to be the same  impact point (or originating force). I’ll give two examples where resonance effect can be seen in a social trend.

1) I read, in an article, that the confrontations between Iranian Revolutionaries, back in 1979, and the Shah’s Imperial forces followed a certain schedule. In Iran, when a person dies, their family have a three-day funeral then a memorial on the seventh day after that person’s death and, finally, after 40 days the mourning ends. What happened was that Iranian demonstrators were suppressed by Imperial forces and many of them died. When their funerals took place, big demonstrations went out in those three days to mourn; more deaths happened. Seven days later, a memorial demonstration goes out and, obviously, more deaths occur and, finally, the same scenario happens at the end of the 40-day mourning period. So, in Iranian society, a very obvious resonance example is that if person XYZ dies on day one, his mourning resonant frequencies are 3, 7 and 40 days.

2) If you have been in touch with the internet pop-culture in the last few years, you must remember Tom Cruise’s Scientology video. Turns out that Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, was actually targeting celebrities so he can convert them to Scientologists. He thought that having celebrities on board would serve as a huge driving force to keep Scientology alive. I think, he understood the concept of driving force but his successors didn’t know anything about resonance. The way I see it, is that the Tom Cruise video came out in the exactly the wrong time; the time when everyone was looking for a new internet meme to make fun of. For all intents and purposes, the “leaked” video killed Scientology for a huge portion of the Internet generation.

From those two simple examples, we can see that social epidemics actually can be enforced by resonance and vice-versa. Now, I don’t claim that I know how social epidemics work but I would really appreciate it if any of you, my dear readers, refer these two blogposts to a sociologists (NOT a Scientologist). As a next step, I think I might include damping and constructive/destructive interference or I will try to compare mathematical models of the two concepts (If I actually find a suitable one for Social Epidemics). Finally, I’m really sorry for the longer-than-usual blogpost. Thanks a lot for reading!

Three months ago, I forgot my laptop bag in my car and 15 minutes later it was too late. Someone already broke the window and took what they needed. Good news is that I’m already over it so no need to the “Awh! I’m sorry!” and the “Ah! What a shame”. Fast forward, I just got a new (Operating System-less) laptop as a graduation gift from my parents (Thank you, ma and pa). I’m glad that I found it. As it’s the ONLY OS-less laptop that I found around here (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). So I immediately thought of what Linux Distro should I use? I settled to have a Gentoo with an Ubuntu fallback system (I have been using Ubuntu for 4-5 years now). Once I have installed Ubuntu, I noticed all the changes in Oneiric Ocelot with Unity interface and other commercializations Canonical have done. I HATED IT! Nothing appealing. Too easy. Too glossy. Too … un-geeky!!! I’m NOT gonna settle on this (not even as a fallback system)!!

Thought for a minute, burned a Fedora 15 CD and got a system up and running… It’s not as geeky as LFS or Gentoo but at least I’m learning a new system! I like it so far. Yum is easy to use! I still love how I need to tweak here and there. That little thing that annoys me about that little thing is there for me to fix. well, you know, the whole geek 1337 thing! Question is, how fast can I learn before upgrading to F16? (due in less than two weeks XD .. lol)

So, yeah! I guess maybe Fedoras don’t look good on me but they surely look good on computers!

PS. Thanks to Nour for lending me her Fedora <3!

For a couple of months, I have been thinking of social epidemics as a social form of mechanical waves (Well, a natural consequence when a physicist is reading Connected by Nicolas Christiakis and James Fowler). Now, I’m not sure if it’s an original thought or something I understood while I was reading the book. However, to understand the analogy you have to understand mechanical waves or at least what factors contribute to them.

A mechanical wave is a wave that needs a medium to go through (like ocean waves and sound). The particles in said medium do not move much from their original equilibrium point but energy does flow through the material. We know that the denser the medium the faster the wave can go through, also, the faster the amplitude decreases. The amplitude, in turn, depends on the initial energy that started the wave. For now, I’ll only consider these three characteristics.

Now back to social epidemics, the medium will be social structure of said community, the wave will be a new trend (or any idea) and the initial energy will be the social connections and influence of the trend setter (let’s call it impact point). If the community was denser, meaning the social connections between its members was varied and everyone knew everyone, a social wave will move faster but also will lose traction fast on many wavefronts. To elaborate, an idea will move from the impact point to the adjacent points quickly because the connections are varied and tightly knit. On the other hand, due to large influx of impact points and new ideas people will forget about the older ideas and trends faster. The initial energy put into a new trend will highly determine how far the idea will go. If a well known person (be it a politician, a celebrity or just a vocal local grocer) drops a huge statement, you know what happens next.

Now that’s just over simplifying any society. I haven’t factor in resonances, rigidity (or elasticity), frequency … etc. So, for now, I will leave you to think (and comment) about this idea while I try to complicate the idea in my head .. Thank you for reading.

PS. I thank Lou for reminding me that I need to blog again..

PPS. To read the follow up post, please click here

The past weeks I have posted some thoughts about math (here and here). At first, I didn’t know how to conclude the series. So I had chats with people around me to farm for ideas until I talked to my friend Abdulrahman Musazay (Physics major buddy all along) he reminded me of a theory we discussed with Dr. Fatah Khiari. That theory will be the focus of this post.

Undoubtedly, all sciences are interconnected, all of them. No wonder, after all, science is nothing but the deduction of human brain over the years. Let’s imagine all sciences as a tree. At almost the top of the tree, there is General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory from which we get Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Those last two, we know, are the ascendants of Electromagnetism, Classical Mechanics, Atomic Physics…etc. In short, all Physics are one level lower than Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Social sciences, engineering, medicine and all the other sciences all come down the line. So what’s on the very top?

First, let me explain how the tree is formed. As we go higher, we have more mathematical equations and less words to explain how these equations are related (concepts) and vice versa. By this, we can say that at the bottom come sciences that are only conceptual with the minimum amount of mathematical equations like Psychology per se. Let’s take Quantum Mechanics, for example, is always represented by few equations and three postulates that are written in plain English. As we go down the tree more concepts are introduced (Quarks, Neutrons, atoms, molecules, cells, organisms, organs, cultures … etc) which are just a matter of convenience to explain the equations above (so we don’t have to recourse the theories above).

On top of the tree, there is one thing. Something purely mathematical with zero concepts or postulates, something that every physicist dream of deriving but know that it’s underivable. Something from which everything else can be derived.

To put it in a way more familiar to the world, on top of the tree there is the theory of everything. This theory, has to be pure mathematical equations from which we can derive General relativity and Quantum Field Theory. As far as physicists are concerned, it is well known that there is something missing due the lack of consistency of the established theories we have so far. So what if this theory still have concepts within? Obviously, we will try to find a mathematical explanation to those concepts which, in turn, will lead us to a more fundamental theory. By deriving the properties of this universe, the properties of its inhabitants and their perception of the universe, one can derive the whole theoretical tree from these equations. One with infinite mathematical intelligence can only do that alone.

I used a very valuable source here.

Earlier this week, I posted a question that has been running through my mind for a while. I really appreciated the feedback, it was interesting and thoughtful. Thanks! In this post, I will try to quote the world’s most recognizable Physicist, Einstein, as he had many a say about the subject.

Einstein once said “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality”. Let’s take a moment and analyze. From the face of it, Einstein didn’t believe that math is what actually governs the world. But I think he meant something else. That is, math is too perfect to be applied into this imperfect world. Imperfections are always there to be added, that’s why we have perturbation theories, chaos theories, specified models, statistics … etc. In reality, most theories used in applied/basic sciences have things to neglect (reasonably and unreasonably). Heat in Electric Engineering is a good example. Also, we are trained to think in linear terms whereas the world has many highly nonlinear elements (in a strictly mathematical sense) and as any Engineering student can testify nonlinearity complicates problems exponentially. I think Einstein means that the world would be too easy to figure out if it was as straight forward as the Math involved.

“How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought which is independent of experience, is so admirably appropriate to the objects of reality?”. I’m not surprised that even the world’s greatest minds are baffled by the mystery! He follows up with another question “Is human reason, then, without experience, merely by taking thought, able to fathom the properties of real things?” (here). Now that’s thought provoking! So what does all that mean? Would that mean that a child can comprehend the realities of this world? After all, children are the least experienced albeit being the fastest learners and most creative thinkers. Math is purely logical and is just a toolset, use the right tool in the right place and you’re set! (Thanks @TRBG for the analogy). Math has the ability to prove the most simple ideas to the most complex ones. From the fact that a straight line is the shortest way between two points to the fact that Euler-Lagrange formula is an optimizing equation. However, Einstein answered his own questions with the quote in the previous paragraph.

I would like to analyze a little bit more in Einstein’s thoughts but, alas, one post is not enough. Obviously, Einstein, being deeply into the world of Physics and Math, knew many things we cannot yet comprehend. He realized the deep connection between the language and poetry of science yet still bewildered by its most simplistic notions. Nevertheless, he conveyed the message ever so eloquently.

Yet still, again, he has one last thing to say “The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible”. Albert Einstein, you’re not making it any easier!!

Follow up post here

Any Twitter follower may have noticed that I have been tweeting about the strangeness by which our world works. How does the Mathematics that we logically deduct forces other fields to comply as an application. I understand that fact for fields that rely on statistics and/or simple math. But I’m really mystified how does old mathematical abstracts forces the most complicated Physics concepts to follow. For example, the concepts of curl, Boolean Algebra … etc.

Or is it the other way around? Do we model our Math to fit what we see? Four-vectors is a good example for that case.

As I’m writing this post, I’m having diverging thoughts on where to go next. Should I indulge myself investigating the nature of the fact? or should just go on with examples? In anyway, the subject is highly philosophical and is as old as the invention (or discovery) of math.

For all I know, as I have immersed myself into the world of physics, I was always taught a way where Math works perfectly. From the simplest ideas to the most complex ones, math has been always there. Can math go wrong? No, only us using it in a way that doesn’t replicate the subject at hand. There have been many examples where the math went wrong because of that (Blackbody radiation problem, for one). After all, when we used the right maths, it, not only solved the problem but also, propelled our advancement into a certain field (in case of Blackbody radiation problem, it lead us to Quantum Mechanics).

So what does that mean? Is Math a universal truth? or do we only portrait it this way?

I’ll try to investigate the subject more. I have already ordered Mario Livio’s book “Is God a Mathematician?” and I’m waiting for it to come. For all those who are interested I suggest they’d read the book (Courtesy: @MaanMH)

What do you think? Please contribute, I would love to hear(read) your thoughts! you can read part two here and part three here

PS. I’m hoping this is not just another false start to blogging!

If I do, then I have failed. Wait what? To understand I’d have to track back to the beginning of October. But, first, let me just run down what I have been doing since my last post (February 2010). More after the break …

Well, last semester (Spring 2010) was ultimately geeky. I took a couple courses that from a scale of 1 to 10 geekiness they’d take 12. Digital Image Processing and Particle Physics courses were highly mind enticing and opening. I only wish that they have given me some more time to blog about them.

Anyway,  they do not concern me right now. What does is, why do I hear noise? I wanna damn cancel it! Back in October, And that is yours truly’s senior project. Active Noise Control (ANC). All the hype flying around about these headphones and these isn’t fake. They’re the state of the art! Well, I’m not trying to recreating them.. My goal, or my team’s, goal is to use the same concept on engine mufflers. It’s so annoying when you hear your neighbor’s lawn mower destroying the serenity of your weekend morning (if you’re  a morning person, anyway) or when the you can’t work because that Caterpillar truck building something next to you. We intend to integrate a noise cancellation mechanism within engines. Don’t get your hopes high though, this is a one semester project and all we’re gonna do is simulate the objective on Matlab and a modest implementation using a C based DSP board. By the end of the semester, we hope that we try our model on any of our cars.

Wish us luck… Also, wish me luck getting consistent with blogging.. I really do miss it!

PS. Man in the photo is my neighbor, seems I need to lay low for a while …..

23 years later, give or take few hours, and I haven’t achieved my first prime goal. That is to graduate .. After the hardest, yet most informative, semester one can endure, I can comfortably say that the worst is over. Let’s break it down to this, next semester I almost finish all my Physics courses and the following semester I finish all my core EE courses. And this leaves me to a freshman-like semester with only general studies (spring 2011, that is)..  Yay Me ..

Let this not take me off my focus. Quantum world, that is. This world is quite anti-intuitive it defies how we see the world. For example, there is nothing such as a certain momentum at a certain position. There MUST be some uncertainty between the two, if one is exactly and precisely measured the other would be as big as infinite. This world explains a LOT of what we see in this world. Why don’t stars collapse under its gravity pressure? why don’t, although mostly vacuum, tables and chairs don’t collapse into a dense cube of protons, neutrons and electrons? why can’t our bodies pass through solid material? The amount of material in a 100kg person,including heart, brain and bones, if all vacuum inside is removed, only build up into a cube of few millimeters long. Aren’t we all empty inside?

Quantum Mechanics is a field of physics that is concerned on miniature particles (electrons, protons and the likes).  We can thank the likes of Einstein, Pauli, Schrödinger among others for the brilliant discoveries of quantum mechanics.

Trivial up to now, huh? Let me get to application, according to an article in Scientific American, written back in 2001, 30% of the US gross national product is based on inventions that are only made possible by our guest tonight. Electronics? quantum mechanics. Laser? quantum mechanics. Periodic Table? quantum mechanics. Nanotechnology? quantum mechanics. Not only that, in the near future, there will be new technology that will change how the world is looked upon drastically. Quantum computing, cryptography and whole lot more. I’ll try to briefly talk about each of these subjects in a series.

As I have said in my last post exactly two months ago (wow it has been a long time!!), I will try out Gentoo Linux! And so I did. I loved the experience and I would definitely recommend it to all geeks out there! And trust me, it’s worth it! the speed of my machine was incredible!

What proved to be my experience’s demise is a hard disk failure. My 4 year old HDD decided to go AWOL on me! Shame, for sure it is! I bought a new one and I’m back to my old faithful operating system. (no not Windows, Ubuntu of course! are you out of your mind?)

But as I promised many of you to tell you about my Gentoo experience. It all becomes easy as long as you follow, in Rami’s words, Legendary Handbook. The hardest part would be setting the flags up and setting your video card proprietary drivers (Only needed if you’re going to look fancy or you’re a gamer, neither of which is lately me). The most fun part was playing around with portage. The most useful thing that I came out with from the Gentoo Experience is that I can understand Linux a bit more than I ever did before! Am I gonna explain a thing or two? No, I won’t it’s all in the Handbook but I will surely try to answer any question you have. Oh, and please don’t ask about masked packages, HDD didn’t give me time to figure them out!

On a totally different note, I have been having a super-crazy semester so far but, all in all, one of the most exciting. I’m currently taking the two most interesting courses I’ve taken so far; Quantum Mechanics and Digital Signal Processing. Highly geeky stuff.

Quantum Mechanics applications in the near (5-10 years, hopefully) future are just gonna destroy everything we know about computer efficiency and communication. I’m talking about Quantum Computing and Entanglement. Two application, though simple in concept, relatively anyway, that can change the world. In theory, a quantum computer needs only a week solve an equation that takes a super-computer two years to solve. We’re talking about nanosecond boot up and ready to use systems here. On the other hands, Entanglement gives the ability to communicate long LONG distances instantly, without even speed-of-light delight. Main problem in both cases, is how to keep these systems alive without dying so fast. All engineers need to do is to increase the life time of a quantum system to few minutes. It’s a long way to go, for sure, but physicists leaped a great deal researching these two items. (I might blog a post about them once I really understand what’s going on)

As for Digital Signal Processing (DSP), it is a course that forms the basics of any modern communication system. How to deal with input signals, how to receive an output signal and try to revert it back to the input signal to understand a message, so long and so forth. What’s exciting about this course isn’t the concepts we’re taking, but the applications we’re using them for. For instance, sound engineering cannot be possible without DSP and the effort those guys do to make a concert a success will forever be underrated. Digital cameras and camcorders are only a fraction of the almighty DSP can do! (again, I will blog about it once I’m in too deep).

Sorry, for the briefing out everything and the non-comprehensiveness but it’s been two months since my last blog and I can’t really chew them all at once!

Thanks for reading, and wish me luck!