Traveling Salesman Problem solved – by a non-human lifeform

The Traveling Salesman Problem goes like this … if a chap has a set of cities he needs to make calls in, then how does he calculate the optional route such that he only calls into each city once? The solution is known of course because it has been one of the most intensively studied … Read more

Crowdsourcing – some further examples

Yesterday I blogged about Galaxy Zoo. Thats the project that needs your help to process and categorize images of Galaxies captured by robot telescopes. As I explained, the motivation is that the very best pattern recognition engine known to humanity sits between your ears. However, what is also quite fascinating is that this is just … Read more

Galaxy Quest

Have you ever wished you could make a valuable scientific contribution? Well, did you know that you can do so by sitting at home? Let me tell you a bit about Galaxy Zoo. Look up and you find billions upon billions of galaxy’s. Astronomers have utilized robot telescopes to capture images of many of these … Read more

Giant Crystal Caves – Stunning Image

OK, lets first put this in context. A quick casual glance might simply solicit a “Nice, but I’ve seen rock crystals like that before” response. Well think again, because you have seen nothing like this … ever. Look carefully, those tiny little orange blobs are people … Ah yes, now you get it … the … Read more