Tag: Johnny Cash

Jeopardy: Humans vs. Machine Continues

Johnny Cash – The Legend Of John Henry’s Hammer The Legend of John Henry’s Hammer – Johnny Cash (At Folsom Prison) (press play button)

After last night, the computer is tied for the lead with one of the humans. For the next two nights Jeopardy will feature the ongoing battle between an IBM computer named Watson and two of its all-time champions: Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. After the first stage of the three-part competition, Watson is tied with Rutter for the lead. Because last night’s show featured stories about Watson and IBM, they did not finish the first match, and tonight is Double Jeopardy. Tune in to see how it comes out.

toy Wall-E

IBM has been working on Watson for three years. The competition was taped in January, but we will not know the results until the shows are broadcast. Someone has already written a book about the battle: Stephen Baker’s book Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything.

It is interesting how complex the machine must be to take on humans in Jeopardy. It is not like a program on your computer that already has the answers to play a pre-written game such as Jeopardy or other trivia game. Watson is really “thinking” about phrases it has never heard, processing the meaning of the words, and answering them in the form of a question without access to the Internet. The machine takes up a large room.

But will humans still claim dominance over the machine? Above is Johnny Cash’s version of the song about John Henry, performed live at Folsom Prison. For the warm-up Jeopardy match broadcast last month, Chimesfreedom wrote more about the epic human versus machine battle covered in songs about John Henry. In case you missed it, check out the post here.

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    A Pop Culture Tribute to the End of the Terror Color Levels

    Terror Threat Colors
    Starting last Thursday, the U.S. Homeland Security Department began phasing out the color-coded terror-threat system that was created after September 11, 2001. The system will end completely by April 26, 2011. The national level has been at yellow (elevated) since 2006, with air flights being at orange (high risk).

    Hopefully, in the future, anyone born after today will not know anything about this system. For posterity, here is a popular culture explanation of the meaning behind all of the colors:

    * Red: severe risk: When we are at this level, it is like the days when we thought the communists were taking over and were going to attack. Panic time. (The movie Reds, starring Warren Beatty.)

    * Orange: high risk: This level is like being locked in prison. You cannot go anywhere.  (“Orange Blossom Special” at San Quentin, by Johnny Cash.)

    * Yellow: Elevated – significant risk: When you are at this level, it is a little bit better than being in prison, as you may leave your room, but you still cannot go out. It is like being in a submarine.  (“Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles.)

    * Blue: Guarded – general risk: It’s better than the options above, but you’re still a little sad.  (“Blue” by the Jayhawks.)

    * Low (green): low risk: This is a happy level, like living with puppets. But it’s not easy to get this green level.  (“It’s Not Easy Being Green,” by Kermit the Frog.)

    In all seriousness, I recommend the movie and the songs above. But if you only watch one, check out “Blue” by the Jayhawks. It is a great song with an introduction by a very young Jon Stewart.

    Here’s to hoping we never hear anything more about terror levels again.

    Will you miss the terror colors? Leave a comment.