Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

W. Daniel Hillis

2007-02-24T21:20:30Z

Zarkoff:

William Danny Hillis is Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of [[Applied Minds, Inc]] located in Glendale, CA. [http://www.appliedminds.com/]

He is one of the founders of the Long Now Foundation, whose purpose is to promote long-term thinking. The Long Now Foundation numbers years in five digits—it refers to the present year as 02007. Hillis is the designer of one of its projects, the Clock of the Long Now. This is a serious attempt to build a purely mechanical clock, on a monumental scale, that will last and keep time for ten thousand years. The Foundation has purchased land in Nevada for that purpose. Plans for the clock involve not only mechanical engineering, but societal considerations, since the clock must resist vandalism, cannot require continuous funding or maintenance, and, if need be, must outlast the civilization that built it.<ref>[http://www.longnow.org/projects/clock/ The Millennium Clock], Long Now Foundation website</ref>

==References==
<references/>

Early Years (notes for later expansion)
Born in 1956, graduated with an undergraduate math degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1978, then an MIT SM degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) then specializing in robotics. Hillis completed his PhD in EECS from MIT in 1988, under Gerald Jay Sussman.

At MIT he was a legendary wunderkind computer science student. He built a computer that played tic-tac-toe made of tinkertoys and went on to design computer-oriented toys and games for the Milton Bradley Company. He also co-founded Terrapin Inc., a producer of computer software for elementary schools. Then later, in -?-, he became vice-president of Walt Disney Imagineering, the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company.

For his doctoral work, Hillis designed the Connection Machine, a massively parallel computer built as a platform for artificial intelligence and simulation of complex physical systems. This is written up in Kevin Kelly's book "Out of Control."
The specific chapter is linked here:
http://www.kk.org/outofcontrol/ch15-d.html

Genetic algorithm

2007-02-24T20:57:07Z

Zarkoff:

This subject isn't covered yet so here are some quick notes and links. If someone doesn't get around to it I'll pick it up when I have time.

Introductions to Genetic Algorithms
http://www.generation5.org/content/2000/ga.asp
http://www.rennard.org/alife/english/gavintrgb.html
http://www.mcs.drexel.edu/~shartley/geneticAlgorithms.html

Genetic algorithms are an Evolutionary Programming Method
http://members.aol.com/btluke/evprog.htm
http://www.genetic-programming.com/published/usnwr072798.html

Genetic and evolutionary programs are increasingly applied to difficult real-world problems—often yielding results that are competitive with the work of creative and inventive humans
http://www.genetic-programming.org/hc2005/cfe2005.html

W. Daniel Hillis

2007-02-22T00:46:51Z

Zarkoff:

There is a chapter on Danny Hillis in Kevin Kelly's "Out of Control" here:
http://www.kk.org/outofcontrol/ch15-d.html

More to come later, this is just a marker.

User talk:Zarkoff

2007-02-22T00:41:32Z

Zarkoff:

Things I'd be interested in adding:

Something on computer scientist Danny Hillis, invented a parallel computer, worked for Disney.

Also, something on Marvin Minsky, Turing and artificial intelligence.

User talk:Zarkoff

2007-02-22T00:37:53Z

Zarkoff: What I might contribute

Things I'd be interested in adding:

Something on computer scientist Danny Hillis, invented a parallel computer, worked for Disney.