20Q Reflection

Today we played around with the 20Q website to see how artificial intelligence works. The first category we chose was "Think Like an American" and our object was a panda. Before beginning, it always asked for information about yourself including gender, age, and the country you live in. In our first game it guessed correctly in only 17 questions. In our second game we did the Disney category and it guessed correctly at 17 questions again. In the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh game it guessed incorrectly every time. I was really surprised with the results because I thought that the game would be pretty up to date with its knowledge since it is an online based game, but whenever we tried to get it  to guess current topics such as Harry Styles, the movie "The Fault in Our Stars," and even Donald Trump including clues about his run for presidency, the computer just could not guess correctly.

Creative Design

Navajo Rug Weaver

This was more difficult than the others just because it was so tedious and took quite a long time to complete. I figured out how to make triangles with this one though and that did speed up the process. I've improved by getting quicker at typing in the coordinates and just knowing where certain lines start and end by using basic math

Pacific Northwest Basket Weaving

This one was more challenging than the beadloom because the stitches in the basket weaving face in different directions sometimes (some are horizontal and some vertical) so it got a little confusing, especially when making the diagonal line for the dog's tail. I did learn, however, that you can switch between the two colors by simply clicking on the stitches you already placed to get that color again. This simplified and sped up the process because I wasn't constantly trying to match my colors.

Native American Beadloom Design

Self-Destructible Computer Chip

Information for this post was retrieved from an article titled "This Chip Will Self-Destruct in 5 Seconds," published to livescience.com and written by Tia Ghose. URL: http://www.livescience.com/52397-self-destructing-chip-secures-data.html

A new, fascinating technology has been created which allows computer chips, when remotely controlled, to self-destruct. Purposes for the destructive new technology include securing data on stolen electronics and allowing for easier recycling of electronics. The new technology uses silicon computer wafers attached to a piece of tempered glass that shatters into millions of fragments when heated in one spot. Gregory Whiting, a materials scientist and manager of the Novel Electronics Group and producer of the chip says that the heat can be turned on via remote, which could be triggered by anything from Wi-Fi to a radiofrequency signal. The article goes into further detail on the specifics of the remote controlled destruction and the tempered glass method. It is certainly a fascinating, exciting, and new technology.