Theme 1 - Priori

Publication

Journal:

The ACM Transactions on Graphics.
Impact factor: 3.489
Published by the Association for Computing Machinery. It is a journal logically focused around computer graphics, though the subjects in any given issue appear to be pretty broadly distributed. The journal is extra interesting because the ACM also hosts a very large annual conference on graphics, called Siggraph, which is pretty well known.

Research paper:

“Stress Relief: Improving Structural Strength of 3D Printable Objects”
From the above mentioned journal, vol 31 issue 4 2012.
At least tangentially tied to visualization, which is related to media technology. It is based around the subject of 3D printing - which is becoming more common. But which also has its limitations. The paper is about a system to automatically improve structural integrity and center-of-mass distribution in 3D-printed objects. It is based in analyzing a future object prior to the printing process, performing structural analysis of it and identifying weak potential weak spots in the integrity - which can be fixed dynamically by strutting or widening of weaker connections. The paper also goes into the subject of hollowing objects to reduce weight, followed by strutting so as to maintain structural integrity.

The Problems of Philosoph

I.

Sense data is the information about properties of objects we receive by perceiving them. Russel gives a great deal of examples, I will mention a few. 

Perception of the color of his table is a sense data, differing from various angles and lighting. Perception of the surface of the table, which differs depending on how hard he presses it with his finger. It is information that you get that describe an object in your mind. In short it is the mind-dependent properties of objects.

II.

A proposition is a statement which can be either true or false, probable or improbable. We may look at the statement “The sun will rise tomorrow”. It is probable to the greatest extent of certainty, but not a statement of fact since it has not yet occurred. Sudden oblivion may impede this from occurring. or a proposition may describe a truth that we can only know by description.

From what I understood statements of facts are different in that we know them to be true from experience, or knowledge by acquaintance.

III.

Russel makes a difference between things that we may know from acquaintance - that is first hand knowledge of a thing. And by description. For instance "I have never seen Mount Everest but I know it is the highest mountain on Earth" is knowledge through description. A definite description that is unambiguous and singular. It is specific and pointing to one target alone, by virtue of its properties. The difference between “a man” and “the man with [specific properties]”.

IV.

He mentions that a lot of philosophers have previously claimed to be able to explain any given great truth (the universe, religion etc) by using a priori reasoning inside of a logically consistent frame of truths. Russel goes on to mention how some of these theories are not accurate because their framework has itself built upon a priori deduced conclusions of truths. He finishes by positing that there is little difference between scientific knowledge and philosophical knowledge, and that one can be used to critique the other.