Location : Cleveland, OH
I imagine that all of you have access to a local college. In the Cleveland area, we have quite a few from which to choose, some of which have taken leadership roles within the local community and in the world; Oberlin College, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, and John Carroll University. A consistently top ranked and leading research university in the world is also located in Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University.
The Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case, arguably one of the best programs in the world and an international leader in the field, has the Ford Visiting Professor Program, which attracts scientists and business leaders on the leading edge of Biomedical Engineering to the campus. During their visit, they have the opportunity to present their perspectives to the students, faculty, staff, and community.This year's Ford Visiting Professor was Jeff Hawkins, co-founder of Palm, Handspring, and Numenta, as well as the author of On Intelligence, who presented on "Hierarchical Temporal Memory." As you might guess, I had no idea what that is, but I did know his legacy in handheld computing and that is why I attended his lecture.
To help, here is the abstract of the speech:
In extremely simple terms, he and his team has developed a computer program/algorithm that actually learns then can predict actions or make an assumption. Just like a human brain. Taking an idea from his presentation, think about web analytics. You can see, right now, who is accessing your web site and how long they stay. What if you were able to predict click through patterns on the web? Something that "simple" would allow you to create an extremely low bounce rate. It could assist with content, better web advertising, and more.
While his topic was, initially, over my head, he was able to make it accessible to everyone in the audience. By the end of the lecture, while I certainly didn't understand the science, I could envision applications of his technology (amazingly accurate anti-spam appliances, for one) and I have a better understanding of the human brain. Further, he made the topic interesting by his relaxed and passionate delivery, his minimal use of slides, and the use stories, which solidified his points. While he is best known to us as the co-founder of Palm (he did take time to explain his path from Palm to this area), Hierarchical Temporal Memory has the opportunity to solve some very tough problems.
I am sure that your local colleges and universities bring similar speakers to their campuses. Take advantage of these opportunities - they are usually free (as this one was) and will definitely broaden your horizons.
Technorati tag: CWRU Jeff Hawkins
The Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case, arguably one of the best programs in the world and an international leader in the field, has the Ford Visiting Professor Program, which attracts scientists and business leaders on the leading edge of Biomedical Engineering to the campus. During their visit, they have the opportunity to present their perspectives to the students, faculty, staff, and community.This year's Ford Visiting Professor was Jeff Hawkins, co-founder of Palm, Handspring, and Numenta, as well as the author of On Intelligence, who presented on "Hierarchical Temporal Memory." As you might guess, I had no idea what that is, but I did know his legacy in handheld computing and that is why I attended his lecture.
To help, here is the abstract of the speech:
Coaxing computers to perform basic acts of perception and robotics, let alone high-level thought, has been difficult. No existing computer can recognize pictures, understand language or navigate through a cluttered room with anywhere near the facility of a child. Following nature’s example, Hawkins has developed a theory of how the neocortex performs these and other tasks. The theory, called Hierarchical Temporal Memory, explains how the hierarchical structure of the neocortex builds a model of its world and uses this model for inference and prediction.
To turn this theory into a useful technology, Hawkins and his colleagues have created a company called Numenta. In this talk, Hawkins will describe the theory, and its biological basis, and show the progress being made in turning this theory into a useful technology.
In extremely simple terms, he and his team has developed a computer program/algorithm that actually learns then can predict actions or make an assumption. Just like a human brain. Taking an idea from his presentation, think about web analytics. You can see, right now, who is accessing your web site and how long they stay. What if you were able to predict click through patterns on the web? Something that "simple" would allow you to create an extremely low bounce rate. It could assist with content, better web advertising, and more.
While his topic was, initially, over my head, he was able to make it accessible to everyone in the audience. By the end of the lecture, while I certainly didn't understand the science, I could envision applications of his technology (amazingly accurate anti-spam appliances, for one) and I have a better understanding of the human brain. Further, he made the topic interesting by his relaxed and passionate delivery, his minimal use of slides, and the use stories, which solidified his points. While he is best known to us as the co-founder of Palm (he did take time to explain his path from Palm to this area), Hierarchical Temporal Memory has the opportunity to solve some very tough problems.
I am sure that your local colleges and universities bring similar speakers to their campuses. Take advantage of these opportunities - they are usually free (as this one was) and will definitely broaden your horizons.
Technorati tag: CWRU Jeff Hawkins
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