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"I share the view of Pythagoras that the world is number. The ultimate substrate of the universe is math. There's no way to test that - it's pure metaphysical speculation."
- Bart Kosko
 |
| Skrode | ||
| A small mobile platform designed for a legless race. |
| Ravna looked across the surf. When the waves backed down the sand, she could see the Skroderiders' fronds peeping out of the spray... They sat in the surf, thinking thoughts that left no imprint on their minds...
Then some unknown race had chanced upon the dreamers and decided to "help them out." Someone had put them on mobile platforms, the skrodes. With wheels they could move along the seashores, could reach and manipulate with their fronds and tendrils. With the skrode's mechanical short-term memory, they could learn fast enough that their new mobility would not kill them... |
| Technovelgy from A Fire Upon The Deep,
by Vernor Vinge. Published by Tor Books in 1992 Additional resources -
|
Skroderiders sometimes performed an action repeatedly; their only short-term memory lay in their skrodes:
Compare to the Martian perambulators from Between Planets (1951) by Robert Heinlein.
When the Riders tried to think on more than one thing at a time, their Skrodes were sometimes unable to maintain short-term memory. Blueshell especially got trapped into cycles of behavior, repeating an action and then immediately forgetting the accomplishment.
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Additional
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More Ideas
and Technology from A Fire Upon The Deep
More Ideas
and Technology by Vernor Vinge
Tech news articles related to A Fire Upon The Deep
Tech news articles related to works by Vernor Vinge
Skrode-related
news articles:
- Cockroach-Controlled Mobile Robot
- Terranaut - Fish Explore Land With Robotic Vehicle
- Mothbot: Moth Controls Robotic Vehicle
- PlantBot: Humans Provide Gift Of Greater Mobility With 'Skrodes'
- Solar Nomad Plant A Robotic Urban Parasite
- Hamster Powers, Controls Strandbeest Walking Robot
- Project Shellter 3D Prints Homes For Crabs
- Pepper The Parrot's Bird Buggy
- Male Moths Cruise For Girls In Robotic Vehicle
- Mattel Bug Racer Driven By Live Cricket
- HEXA Robotic Help For Plants
- Giving Snakes Their Legs Back
| GoSun EV Solar Charger Drapes Onto Your Car |
| 'Autonomous' Waymo Improves Driving With Remote Human Operators |
| Heinlein’s Controlway - Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) Corridor In Michigan |
| CyberCab - Tesla Renames The Robotaxi |
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'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
