Printer friendly, (almost) no ads, no pointless images: http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.asp...
Looks like they check the referrer and redirect you to the original article :(
Probability Chip
11–20 of 28 posts
Re: Probability Chip
#12One step closer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_in_The_Hitchhiker%27...
There's a single-quote missing in your link after Hitchhiker and before the letter s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_in_The_Hitchhiker + ' + s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy (looks like HN comment filters it out)
Thanks!
Re: Probability Chip
#13The thesis on which this is based:
http://phm.cba.mit.edu/theses/03.07.vigoda.pdf
edit: p 135 is where he starts talking about implementation in silicon
Re: Probability Chip
#14I'm curious how they deal with probabilities very close to 1 or 0. Usually when people are doing bayesian things with probabilities they work in logistic space so that the precision of values close to 1 or 0 is effectively unbounded. That seems like a hard thing to do with an analog circuit.
Re: Probability Chip
#15The thesis on which this is based: http://phm.cba.mit.edu/theses/03.07.vigoda.pdf edit: p 135 is where he starts talking about implementation in silicon
That is quite the thesis.
Re: Probability Chip
#16Re: Probability Chip
#17similar to the fuzzy-logic chips of the 90's?
Re: Probability Chip
#18But how do you connect it to the cup of no tea?
Re: Probability Chip
#19Isn't this just the revenge of the analog computer?
Not saying it's a bad idea... I'm really for the idea of revisiting assumptions in computer design.
Re: Probability Chip
#20I'm curious how they deal with probabilities very close to 1 or 0. Usually when people are doing bayesian things with probabilities they work in logistic space so that the precision of values close to 1 or 0 is effectively unbounded. That seems like a hard thing to do with an analog circuit.
The founder's thesis mentions that they use a linearizer in their analog circuit, but all that does is give the same precision over the entire logical value range from 0 to 1 (by that I mean the same amount of voltage swing equals the same amount of "logic value change" anywhere in the range).
I suppose they could use a "non-linearizer" to put more of the precision near 0 and 1, but it would come at the expense of precision in the middle. The less voltage swing is involved, the more susceptible you are to noise from various sources.