Fireflies (2017)

What happens if you fix a couple of fireflies on one end of the volume to have a slow clock speed, and a couple on the other side to have higher clock speed? (Also freezing their random motion)

What do the fireflies in between do? Would the faster clockspeed win out and entrain them? Do you get chaotic behaviour?

Very cool page.

Re: Fireflies (2017)

#5

Post by tlb » Thu, Jan 09, 2020, 8:51 PM UTC

severine wrote: post #3

Needs a (2017). Previously on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14452832

Added (2017), thanks.

Re: Fireflies (2017)

#6

Post by tunesmith » Thu, Jan 09, 2020, 8:55 PM UTC

dsalzman wrote: post #2

Nicky Case is amazing. His interactive game to explain segregation in cities is very eye opening as well. https://ncase.me/polygons/

I'd like to see a model like that adapted for vaccinations. So you can easily see the risk (for infants/elderly) dramatically increase as vaccination rates decrease a tiny bit.

Re: Fireflies (2017)

#7

Post by TrueDuality » Thu, Jan 09, 2020, 9:05 PM UTC

Love this kind of complex behavior emerging from simple rules kind of thing.

Re: Fireflies (2017)

#8

Post by lukifer » Thu, Jan 09, 2020, 9:05 PM UTC

dsalzman wrote: post #2

Nicky Case is amazing. His interactive game to explain segregation in cities is very eye opening as well. https://ncase.me/polygons/

Case has brilliant insights into systems: "Peace is not the mere absence of war; health is not the mere absence of disease; success is not the mere absence of disaster."

http://longnow.org/seminars/02017/aug/07/seeing-whole-system...

Re: Fireflies (2017)

#9

Post by modernerd » Thu, Jan 09, 2020, 9:08 PM UTC

I revisit Fireflies from time to time, but everything on https://ncase.me/ is wonderful. I particularly like https://ncase.me/door/.

Nicky's site elevates the web beyond “magazines/newspapers/leaflets on a network-connected screen”. It reminds you that the web can be a rich and interactive medium with stories told and ideas taught with love and with care.

It feels like there's a gap in the market for tools that help people to build richer experiences and “playable articles” like these.

So many content management systems and platforms seem stuck in the “your website is a brochure but online” mindset. In the same way that PowerPoint seems to encourage crappy presentations, traditional tools for website creation often do the same for websites. Coupled with the sheer difficulty of creating and maintaining a website, it's no wonder that blogs and personal sites feel like they're in decline.

I'd love to see more tools that let users build sites that aren't just linked pages whose most interactive feature is a contact form or search field. The only one I can think of that's close is https://glitch.com/. Are there others I've missed?

Re: Fireflies (2017)

#10

Post by hamaluik » Thu, Jan 09, 2020, 9:12 PM UTC

modernerd wrote: post #9

I revisit Fireflies from time to time, but everything on https://ncase.me/ is wonderful. I particularly like https://ncase.me/door/ . Nicky's site elevates the web beyond “magazines/newspapers/leaflets on a network-connected screen”. It reminds you that the web can be a rich and interactive medium with stories told and ideas taught with love and with care. It feels like there's a gap in the market for tools that help…

Agreed.

See also https://www.redblobgames.com/ that is in a similar realm (though not quite as artsy as Nicky’s)