CRITIC

This is a useful check list I found on Massimo Pigliucci's Plato's Footnote page.

• C - Claim : What claim is being made?
• R - Role of the claiment: Who is making the claim and why?
• I - Information backing the claim: What is it?
• T - How can the claim be tested?
• I - Independent Testing: Has the claim been tested by others?
• C - Cause: What explanation, if any, is being proposed?

The diagram on the site is attributed to Wayne R. Bartz, adapated from Skeptical Inquirer Sep/Oct 2002 pp 42-44

WCCI Competitions

Computational Intelligence is a field that encompasses many techniques for attempting to solve problems, well... , intelligently. Algorithms from neural networks, fuzzy systems, evolutionary computation, and swarm intelligence, as well as, hybrid approaches and formal AI techniques are used to solve problems ranging from bioinformatics and bioengineering, economics, robotics, data mining, and games. The IEEE-CIS Society plays a major role in bringing researchers together across the numerous disciplines that are involved in the field.

The IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence (WCCI) is an annual event that allows for the dissemination and exchange of new research in the area. This year it will be held in Hong Kong. One the really cool things WCCI do, is host a series of competitions that explore the effectiveness of various techniques. These range from creating a controller for Ms Pac-Man, to solving multi-objective optimization problems. Competitions like this provide a great introduction to what computational intelligence is about.

Binary Form

As a software developer binary means only one thing ;) A base 2 counting system using the digits 0 and 1. However, in music, the term binary general refers to the structure of a piece, and, not surprisingly, pieces that have two distinct but related sections.

For example; I've recently started playing the piano again, and the current piece I'm working on is a simple Gavotte in G major by Handel. George Frideric Handel was born in 1850, the same year as J.S. Bach. Both composers worked during a period now know as the Baroque era, which extended roughly from 1600 to 1760, and is followed by the Classical period.

During this time binary forms where a common musical structure and a number of variations on this theme exist. The Gavotte piece by Handel is typical of this style, and can be classed as having a 'Rounded Binary' form, A B A, where A and B represent the two sections of music, and the A section is repeated. A free pdf of the sheet music can be found here.