Technical publications
and papers
This is a small collection of technical publications and papers that I
have written over the years.
Artificial Intelligence
I was fortunate enough to have the lead article, "Why
Artificial
Intelligence Isn't (yet)" in the July 1987 issue of AI Expert.
When I was visiting Chile in 1999 to give a technical paper at a
conference,
one of the attendees said this paper was "required reading" in one of
his
university classes in Chile. I found that rather surprising but I
was pleased. I have been interested in Artificial Intelligence
since
1965 when I first began programming the Philco 2000, Philco 1000, and
IBM
1130 computers. The views in this paper were developed over many
years.
Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't (Yet)
(MS Word Document)
Neural Network Machines
Neural networks became a very active area of research in
the
late 80's. It was thought to be the answer to the question:
"How do we make machines that think?" It currently enjoys reduced
significance. My work in this area did however lead to my 1991
U.S.
Patent # 5,058,049 showing how to do a Fourier Transform using a
purely resistive network. Over the years many "solutions" to the
Artificial Intelligence problem have been advanced but I am still
typing
on a keyboard instead of talking to a machine that understands me and
knows
what I want. (The computer in Star Trek would be
sufficient.
That day will come. It is going to take more time perhaps than
many
of us thought/hoped.) This article appeared in the February 1989
issue of IEEE Potentials.
Neural Network Machines
(MS
Word Document)
Cartography
Years ago I developed some algorithms to display maps of
the
world and additional routines to accurately display circles on the maps
and other odds and ends. The algorithms are based on simple
rotation
matrices. They greatly simplify the problem of mapping to
different
map projections. They also provide a means of reading latitude
and
longitude directly from the screen no matter what map projection is
used.
Very handy if you are doing map projection work. This paper was
the
lead article in the October 1991 issue of Amiga World Tech Journal.
They actually used my title. (Publishers often change the
titles.)
The title is a pun: "Global Parlor Tricks" - Global
Politics
and the subtitle also goes along with this - "Change the world with
these
geographic mapping algorithms."
Global Parlor Tricks (MS
Word
Document)
Lecture Presentation: General Theory of Relativity
My original goal in life was to be a PhD physicist, work on
Relativity and the problem of how gravitational fields relate to
electromagnetic
fields, assuming there is a definable relationship. I wanted to
work
on new methods of propulsion to allow us to explore the solar system
and
the galaxy if possible. (Fortunately or unfortunately, the Viet
Nam
war led to my becoming a mathematician doing software work which
probably
prevented me from living in abject poverty.) While at Creighton
University
doing graduate work in Physics, I prepared a lecture on General
Relativity
and presented it at a symposium. I preserved the transparencies
that
I had done for that lecture. Recently I typed all of the
equations
into MathCad and created the accompanying drawings. This
presentation
is covers Einstein's General Theory of Relativity from the elements of
geometry as expressed in Tensor notation through the Schwarzschild
solution
to the gravitational field equations and resultant predictions of the
theory.
Inside the paper, you might note that the title refers also to
"super-light
expansion phenomina". I have omitted that section because I am
still
working on it as time permits. I thought I had it all figured out
years ago but in looking at it more recently, I decided it needs more
work.
It is essentially related to observations of Quasars that appeared to
be
expanding faster than light. I was attempting a relativistic
explanation
of the phenomina. Other explanations have since been offered and
accepted by the astronomical community but my work may still apply to
objects
in the universe. Its a big universe...
Outline of General Relativity
(Adobe Acrobat Reader pdf file)
Temperature of a Glass Plate Exposed to
the Night Sky (or Why Does Dew Form so Readily on My
Corrector Plate?)
I had often wondered about whether it
was possible to predict when dew would form on a corrector plate. I did
not find anything quantitative out on the internet. I did find some
work related to the temperature of an infinitely thin leaf which
provided a first approximation but I wanted the result for a piece of
glass of finite thickness.
I found that I could not leave the problem alone and studied a book on
"Heat Transfer" while in Wyoming on vacation. Finally I was able to
derive a solution to the problem. I used Mathcad to solve the system of
equations I derived.
I was surprised to find, for example, that if the air temperature is 40
F, the ground temperature is 45 F, and the sky is -70 C, that the top
surface of a piece of 1/4 inch thick glass suspended above the ground
will achieve equilibrium when its top surface reaches 25.2 F!
That's about 7 degrees below freezing!
That explains a lot... Ice on the roof, ice on a windshield, dew on a
corrector plate when the air temperature is nowhere near freezing or
near the dew point.
The radiative effect is much stronger than intuition had led me to
believe...
Temperature of a Glass Plate Exposed
to
the Night Sky
Apple II Copy Protection Scheme
In the 1980's I developed an unbeatable
copy protection scheme for the Apple II:
Effects
of Ultrasound - Possible
Cause of Autism?
I have become somewhat alarmed at the
rate of increase of autistic
children. No one seems to know why the number of autistic
children seems to be rising dramatically.
It could be a disease. It could be hereditary. It could be
something in the environment. A lot of attention was recently
focused on vaccines and the possible implication of thimerosal in the
vaccines. There is apparently no correlation between thimerosal
and autism according to recent studies. Thimerosal is a
preservative that, according to internet sources, has been used in
vaccines since the 1930s. Unless autism is a communicable
disease, I should think that we should be looking for something
introduced more recently...
The use of prenatal ultrasound imaging is something that was not in use
until relatively recently. Ultrasound has MANY biological effects:
a Selective heating or burning of nerves and loss of
their ability to conduct nerve impulses. (Laboratory animals)
b. Heating of bone-tissue interfaces. (Humans, laboratory animals)
c. Tinnitus (ringing of the ears.) (Humans)
d. Death of mice and rats. (Laboratory animals)
e. Clotting of blood. (Laboratory animals)
f. Burning of tissue. (Laboratory animals)
g. Hemorrhage in the gastro-intestinal tract. (Laboratory animals)
h. Permanent paralysis. (Laboratory animals)
i. Cataracts on lens and cornea of eyes. (Laboratory animals)
j. Bone growth inhibition. (Laboratory animals)
Some of these effects are much more noticeable at
high power levels but some of them occur even at minute power
levels. I wonder if anyone has an answer to the following
questions:
- What is the percentage of autistic children whose mothers allowed
ultrasound imaging to be done on them?
- What is the percentage of autistic children whose mothers DID NOT
allow ultrasound imaging to be done on them?
An FDA Symposium in 1977 contained a
paper on blood coagulation caused by ultrasound at power levels of 65
milliWatts. A question was asked regarding the lowest power level that
could lead to coagulation and the answer was "No specific threshold has
been set that I know of."
The allowable power levels of ultrasound for imaging seems to be going
up to support fancier imaging. The maximum allowed power level
used to be 94 milliWatts per square centimeter and now it is 720
milliWatts per square centimeter according to information on
http://www.centrus.com.br/DiplomaFMF/SeriesFMF/doppler/capitulos-html/chapter_02.htm:
"In revising its
regulations in 1993, the FDA 15 altered its
approach to ultrasound safety. The new regulations combine an overall
limit of I-SPTA of 720 mW/cm 2 for all equipment with a system of
output displays to allow users to employ effective and judicious levels
of ultrasound appropriate to the examination undertaken. The new
regulations allow an eight-fold increase in ultrasound intensity to be
used in fetal examinations."
I copied part of
a book on ultrasound that was in the Pentagon Library in 1979.
Unfortunately I neglected to copy the book's title or author. I
still have the copies I made at that time. This was on p 297:
"If the femur of
a dog is exposed to an average intensity of 2 Watts per square
centimeter the temperature is raised 40 Degrees Centigrade in two
minutes."
Same book, p 289:
Eggs
of Drosophila melanogaster were treated in water at a uniform intensity
of about 0.3 to 0.5 Watts per square centimeter and at a frequency of 1
Mc/s [Mhz]. This intensity is insufficient to cause the
disruptive effect of cavitation and its associated chemical effects,
but a streaming action is produced within the egg so that nuclei,
cytoplasm and yolk are left in abnormal positions. The treatment
time was 30 seconds on the newly laid eggs, and after irradiation, the
eggs were incubated. On hatching, it was found that abnormal
spatial relationships between organs or a complete absence of
certain organs, had been produced. The involution of the head and
hypodermis was most marked. Differentiation of cells aso
occurred; for example, the nervous system was differentiated into
ganglia and fibres and elongation of muscle cells sometimes took place
without fusion.
In 1979, I was an Air Force Major working in the Pentagon.
Everything was fine until new ultrasonic motion detection systems were
installed in our office/vault. I, and others, then began
experiencing some unusual effects which I believe were the result of
continuous exposure to the ultrasound emissions. There is of
course no "proof" but my research into this area greatly raised my
concern and I was eventually successful in my battle to have a switch
installed that would turn off the emitter during the time we were
working in the office. (The motion detectors were only used when
everyone had gone home so the emitters did not have to be running
during working hours.)
I found the memo I wrote at that time. I transcribed it and have
included it here:
"
Ultrasonic Radiation from ADT Motion Detectors"
Also a follow-up memo describing my conversation with FDA officials at
that time:
"Conversation with FDA Officials Concerning
Ultrasonic Effects"
I also have excerpts from the "SYMPOSIUM on BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS and
CHARACTERIZATIONS of ULTRASOUND SOURCES", Proceeding of a Conference
held in Rockville, Maryland, June 1-3, 1977.
Also excerpts from FDA Workshop Proceedings, Interaction of Ultrasound
and Biological Tissues, Sept 1972.
The summary included "CHANGES FOR WHICH MECHANISMS ARE NOT KNOWN" which
included the following:
- Decrease in the number of glycogen granules.
- Alteration of mitochondria.
- Destruction of lysomes.
- Change in transport across membranes.
- Changes in electrophoretic mobility.
- Ultrastructural changes in muscle.
- Changes in cell division processes and other inherited effects.
- Structural changes within the inner ear.
There is also the following statement:
"Probably the lowest reported intensity
threshold for cellular damage is the value of 1 milliWatt per square
centimeter reported by Hawley and Dunn for effects on rotifers in the
high frequency range 200-600 MHz; the possibility of a resonant effect
is noted."
From:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers_pr.html:
"Studies have shown that if one
identical twin is autistic, there's a 90 percent chance that the other
twin will also have the disorder."
If ultrasound were the cause and both were exposed to ultrasound at the
same time, isn't that what
one would expect?
Could there be a critical time-window during gestation when ultrasound
causes a problem?
Anyway, enough to make me wonder. Personally, if I had a pregnant
wife, I would STRONGLY advise her to avoid exposing the fetus to
ultrasound. (My mother was a nurse. She said she
wouldn't even take an aspirin while she was carrying me... Just
not worth the risk...)
Anybody remember the Buster Brown Shoe Store Fluoroscopes in the
1950's? You could watch your toe bones wiggle inside your
shoes in real-time via the magic of X-rays! Was great fun!
Wonder how much radiation I received from those machines? Anybody
wonder why those machines are no longer available? (The good
thing was that Buster Brown could remove them without fear that they
would be providing support for some lawsuit against them - otherwise
they might still be in place?)
Some related links:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/49000.php
http://bestyoucanbe.blogspot.com/2006/08/ultrasound-neuronal-migration-and.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/54596/prenatal_ultrasound_exams_linked_to.html:
"We were having a
working lunch one afternoon when, purely by accident, someone placed an
overhead projection transparency that charted the yearly increase in
the number of ultrasound exams on top of another transparency that
graphed the increasing number of children diagnosed with the
psychological criteria for either Asperger's Syndrome or Autism. As you
can imagine, we were shocked to learn that these graphs were identical"
Dr. Wassah-Boolphrogg said.
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundrodgers.asp
"Statistics on the
increase of autism worldwide among industrialized nations show that it
has emerged in just the last few decades across vastly different
environments and cultures. What do countries and regions with climates,
diets and exposure to known toxins as disparate as the US, Japan,
Scandinavia, Australia, India and the UK have in common? No common
factor in the water, air, local pesticides, diet or even building
materials and clothing can explain the emergence and relentless
increase in this serious, life-long neurodevelopmental disorder.
What all industrial
countries do have in common is the quiet yet pervasive change in
obstetrical care: All of them use routine prenatal ultrasound on
pregnant women.
In countries with
nationalized healthcare, where virtually all pregnant women are exposed
to ultrasound, the autism rates are even higher than in the US, where
due to disparities in income and health insurance, some 30 percent of
pregnant women do not yet undergo ultrasound scanning."
Copyright 1997 - 2008
Howard C. Anderson
RETURN TO
HOME PAGE