by John Ragan
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__________________________________________________ Scientist :
Amateur Scientist :
Computer Science :
Creating The Scientist :
To support his projects, this researcher re-invented methods, mechanisms, and tools that he could have learned in computer science classes, but inventing them was fun and educational. Imagine his glee when he discovered / invented data indexing instead of learning how others do it. Furthermore, education can sometimes be a hindrance. For example, a computer science degree would have taught him that it is impossible for one man to build a database manager. If
Just do it. Merely doing it may change you and teach you exotic esoterica beyond your quest. Our Creator hid magnificent gems that are easily found by his children for a simple purpose; to entice you to seek, which will force you to grow and to be in awe of his work.
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__________________________________________________ The systems that are described on this web site are real and were constructed entirely by this writer. From the little system translator to the mighty "AxleBase", they are entirely the writer's work. If you are so inclined, please join in the ranks of those who are serious about their play. The questions and postulates that gave rise to "AxleBase" seemed like foolish, unbelievable, and even embarrassing fantasies when first imagined. Although now an operational system, when the project began around the turn of the century, such a system was undreamed-of. But "AxleBase" was, upon completion in 2015, one of the most advanced systems in the world, and was conceived, researched, and built entirely by one man. Old men, do not despair. Fortunately, this writer was denied the chance to be a mainframe programmer, and was forced to wait until a man could buy his own computer and teach himself to program. He was fifty-five when offered his first programming job. Now almost eighty, his mind is more productive than ever, and systems of any kind are God's gifts to his mind. Do not make age an excuse. Young men, do not despair. This writer enjoys telling young friends about the teen-ager who decided to conquer the world. Nobody told him that it was impossible, so he conquered all that he knew and was busily finding and conquering more when he died. He was nineteen and historians call him Alexander the Great. Do not make age an excuse. Girls, stop whining. Your whining irritates those who did not have your advantages and opportunities, and distracts them from their work. Shut up and get busy. God did not give us an inferior gift. Some who are not capable of self-determination will think that they can apply this document to their work in a group. That may be a costly waste of time. Those who want to work in a group may not even understand. Recognition of his own weaknesses is more important to this writer than are my strengths. Maybe because he knows how limited he is, he offers his experience as a reason for others to try as he tried.
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__________________________________________________ If you think of a research, study, or engineering project, then that is probably what you should do. If you do not already have an idea for a project, then maybe these thoughts will prompt an idea. Remember that practicality is not an objective in science. If you make a significant finding, it will certainly be put to work by others. The "AxleBase" project was embarrassingly theoretical with no possible practical application when it began. If you do not know why Twitter, ipads, tablets, television, blogs, Facebook, and cell phones are insanely boring, then trying to move to the front lines of science and technology may waste your time. If you think that Facebook and Twitter are technology companies, then you think that truck drivers are technologists because they use technology, and this web site will waste your time. Although they excited the masses, Twitter and blogs are merely social phenomena that used old technology. The fact that something seems simple or minor to you does not necessarily make it so. One of Man's greatest ideas, the theory of relativity, is easy to understand, but easy to understand only now after Einstein has presented it to us. If you have any original idea or make any discovery, we may need it. Your project need not be earth-shaking. A simple idea that is well studied and well presented can become significant. The American scientist, George Washington Carver (who was not white, by the way), was a simple man who sat down to study the peanut, and along with many other things, he gave us the peanut butter that fed generations of us who could not afford meat. A method of creating small spheres was worthy of an article in a distinguished journal (Nature, vol. 487, pp 463-467), and the 2010 Nobel Prize In Physics was awarded for sticking a piece of tape to a common substance to create a thin material (American Scientist, vol. 100, p. 388). If you can wade through the math and jargon of research reports, you will find that most research in physics and biology addresses very small and(or) simple ideas. For example, this civilization could not exist without the mindlessly simple array logic that we take for granted in computer languages. Highly regarded journals would be happy to publish such a discovery alongside genomic and quantum mechanics research, especially if you obscured it with descriptive equations. Do not be intimidated by education. A friend with multiple degrees in computer science refered to the halting problem several times. Finally swallowing this old man's embarrassment, he confessed ignorance, so he explained. He blurted out, "Oh, you're referring to Godel's "Incompleteness" theorem. The lack of formal education had allowed him a broader view of the problem. A manager in a major corporation kept referring to the insurmountable AxleBase-class CAP theorem, of which he was ignorant. Finally understanding, he told the manager that his AxleBase design had eliminated that problem. Basic taxonomy is frequently slighted because it is simple. But it can seem simple only if capable men have first made the world understandable through taxonomic methodology, study, lists, debates, and analyses. Biological and medical sciences would be almost impossible without their taxonomic foundation. Their Linnaean binomial nomenclature was one of the most powerful tools in history. Will non-linear behavior always be a glob in computer science, or can its taxonomy be grasped by methodical and analytical men so that it can then be rigorously studied in systems? Read this entire web site if you have not already done so, because it covers a lot of ground in computer science. Do not quit if you find it too technical, but read lightly thereafter in the assurance that you will absorb the technology in time. And perhaps ideas may be brought to mind. Maybe read the research page last because it can be technical and because it may be the most fun for people like you. It has more thoughts and concepts that may generate ideas.
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__________________________________________________ Phenotypic Plasticity:
Analog Computers:
Analogue Computation:
Genomic Apparatus:
Genomic Apparatus:
Molecular functioning:
Interdisciplinary Research:
( Quantum Mechanics:
Non-Linear Behavior:
Non-Linear Behavior:
Hysterisis:
Modeling:
Plasma Jets, Lasers, Chaos:
Theoretical Chemistry:
Source Generators:
Artificial Intelligence:
Life Definition:
Etc., etc. . . Are you really intimidated by such people? Despite their degrees and recognition, you might suggest that, since they literally do not know what they are doing, they obviously need your help. They are surely working, but who is thinking? (But reading history or listening to National Public Radio news for a month suggests the same evaluation for the entire human species.) Artificial Intelligence States:
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__________________________________________________ Suggestions on this document are not only from my experience. They seem to be supported by common sense and by the lives of many who became famous for their amateur work. As you ease into the work, you will develop techniques and methods that work for you. These few are suggested to get you started and maybe make you feel at ease. Have no concern about working alone. You will avoid distraction and manipulation by the more articulate and socially skilled who cannot work alone. Serious men working in any science avoid committees, meetings, and women who are beautiful or assertive. If you are blessed with results, you will get more attention than you want. Beware: Everybody in this age thinks that they can work alone because they do not know themselves. A writer wrote that eighty percent of scientific research is done by teams. That sounds correct because few people are capable of original thought, walking alone in the dark, enduring the stress of focused abstract thought, and enduring the deprivations required by such a life. That eighty percent, and maybe more, must be led and directed to do the mundane follow-up work behind great discoveries. If you can explore, then you may be among less than one percent of the masses. Your ability and strength are special and valuable. The Encode genome project is an example of a beautifully planned and executed large project with hundreds of people involved in a complex research task. Its leaders received deserved respect. But one of them, Ewan Birney, writes in support of this position, "...I feel strongly that the vast majority of funding should go to smaller, more creative, hypothesis-led science.". (Nature, Vol. 489, p. 51) If you are able to answer this call, then you have been recognized already by Dr. Birney and others, although you probably will not get that funding because you are the extreme lone wolf. If you have little or no training in computers and computer science, try a practical hands-on approach to research. Having no math or computer science training, this researcher uses the engineer's perspective. Ideas, presented as hypotheses on the Research Findings page, were addressed as logic engineering problems; in other words, build it to prove it. If one was solved; i.e., actualized in a working system, then the hypothesis was valid. If you have ever doodled, then try a mental version of it. When I conceived of a distributed relational database manager, I could not even grasp the idea. It was a nebulous thought that was antithetical to the relational database manager construct; i.e., impossible. I sat for hours, days, and weeks trying to understand what I was trying to think about before I could even see the nature of the problem. I was not even sure initially of what I was trying to think about. That is not an exaggeration. That is also a forewarning. To others, the AxleBase solution now seems obvious because it exists for them. But it required long hours of stressful mental wrestling and searching in quiet rooms. You will be made happy if you persevere when you encounter that stress. The Creator sent us out to work. (Einstein expressed the same thought-induced stress in a letter. "The Elegant Universe", by Brian greene, 1999, p. 62, ISBN 0-393-04688-5) Ignore confusing jargon. Buy the books that you need to get started and ignore the rest. You will read on the Research Findings page about esoteric manifold abstractions and abstract reasoning, but be assured that I was overwhelmed by simple programming concepts when I started. You will slowly develop the playthings that you need as you work. Focus! This idea is heretical, but it was certainly the best thing for me. Continue reading only outside (Yes, outside.) your field of research. It is the job of people paid by the big names and the open source hordes to discourage and disrupt your focus. Trying to stay in touch with the field that you are creating is a waste of time after choosing a project. Focus! While reading Mr. Darwin's "On the Origin Of Species...", one is first struck by the enormous amount of study of life that he invested before he published. He spent decades in just looking at plants and animals, thinking, and making notes. The result was a rigorously constructed theory of reality that changed our culture so thoroughly that we now consider it obvious. His theoretical work was as powerful as that of the linguists of his era. He was focused. ( Complex and amazing relations, expansion, and migration routes of prehistoric man out of Africa and around the world were first discovered, neither by anthropologists, nor archeologists, nor biologists, but by amateur linguists. Before anybody knew what they were doing, amateurs created and built linguistics into a beautiful complex empirical science with a strong theoretical structure that could see thousands of years into the past.) Reading in other sciences is relaxing and stimulating. Reading genomic research reports invariably reminds me of AxleBase theory, and reading research in physics is fine stimulation. Avoid the internet as avidly as you avoid television. Unless you want to play, you do not need a high speed internet connection. Even this web site is maintained over an old-fashioned dial-up connection. Consider your small personal habits. When unemployed, I shaved, dressed, and came to my desk at home every morning to begin a day of work. That kind of behavior alone will set your productivity above the masses. The man who becomes passionate about his work endangers his life. If you are blessed with passion for a project, then remember your friends, family, physical exercise, and Creator. You will be surprised by how much they will inspire you. When you are most engrossed in work, be willing to take a break for a long walk alone so you can meditate and chat with your Creator. Any walk seemed to increase my productivity, but a walk with our loving Friend, the Creator, frequently surprised me. Frequently. He looks forward to your company. Finally, if a man belittles your work or dampens your fire, be grateful for him warning you to avoid him. You will meet that envious little man many times.
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__________________________________________________ The amateur mathematicians among us also can participate. Not only can you have the fun of research, but maybe you will make a discovery in the practical realm of the real world, which the rest of us will appreciate. For example, the relational database that supports civilization today might provide many mathematical explorations. Look at the Mathematical Analysis segment on the theory page. It presents neither a solution nor a problem, but a question or proposal concerning the mathematical domain in which the relational database construct belongs. Maybe you can demonstrate that the proposal is merely nonsense. Of course, that implicitly asks whether or not the relational database construct can even be addressed mathematically. Although the construct was devised by a mathematician, E.F. Codd at IBM, can it be rigorously stated mathematically in a succinct set of equations in a way that reflects the real-world systems of today? I had an exciting idea years ago for a way to express the relational database construct mathematically that is unlike the popular concept. If valid, it seems to present some unexplored ideas. I do not have tools to pursue it, but it certainly suggests opportunities for the amateur mathematician in computer science. If you can rigorously describe the real-world relational construct mathematically, then a most intriguing question would arise: What might a descriptive set of equations tell us of additional real-world extensions to what we are doing today that are not just more bells and whistles? Now, that could be earth-shaking since today's civilization rests on relational databases!
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__________________________________________________ Christian believers have suffered greatly from internal conflict between their faith and their science. This segment is addressed only to their comfort. Fear not. When our brother, Thomas, said that he would believe when he saw with his own eyes, he was being prudent and honest, so he was given what he wanted by our "Holy Leader" and was not rejected. You will not offend our Father by asking and seeking. But you will offend him with lies and deceit, especially if you support him in that manner. One of the lessons that he prepared for us: It might be nice if we all perfectly understood the Bible, but we do not. Therefore, insure that religion does not guide your research. Evolution theory is an example of that trap. Will you, a mere man, tell the Creator how to do his work as some have done? Whether he created the universe two days ago with all of your memories, or he evolved it through billions of years, that is his business and not yours. If you deny the evidence, then you endanger your relation with the one who created that evidence. If you try to alter reality to support a personal belief, then your deceit will anger God, deny God's reality, and harm God's children, and your deceit certainly will eventually be discovered. ("Discover", 2 Jan 2012, pp. 66-67, "The Mismeasure Of Stephen Jay Gould") When the ontologists perverted logic to prove God's existence, they became ludicrous examples of that kind of deceit. Reading their work is almost painful. Do not risk God's rejection and the laughter of being grouped with Saint Anselm and Saint Aquinas, regardless of your beliefs. God likes his works and he is proud of his children. How do you suppose the Father feels when you marvel at one of his works with him in your heart? Although not a discovery, but knowing what it was, when I pointed a large telescope at M13, my knees melted and I could only sit praising his magnificence through tears. Do you think that my Comforter felt threatened by my curiosity and awe? What does the curious researcher do but glorify his own Creator? Pity those who use their knowledge to replace God with their ego. For us, God's greatness and Godel's "Incompleteness" theorem are a comfort that others cannot know. You understand that those who think that they know him or can somehow prove or disprove him do not understand that not even the "Magnitude" of the problem domain can be comprehended by the minds of mere men. They do not even know where you live. Consider God's message to us; the Bible. Read it attentively and alone, ignoring the trash that you were taught, and bringing your intellect to bear. You will find that one of its many great wonders is that it was written to make sense to people in 6,000 BC and to today's theoretical physicist. Your research will neither disprove nor prove it, but will fit into it. That raises another issue: What if you find something that conflicts with the book? Relax. Your understanding of what you found is incorrect and will change, or others will refute your finding. That is how science works. But never suppress research findings because you think they conflict with the book; worse than ignorance, that would be unholy deceit. ( See also "Christian Comfort" on this web site.) Charles Darwin's directness is refreshing where he wrote, "On the ordinary view of the independent creation of each being, we can only say that so it is; -- that it pleased the Creator to construct all the animals and plants in each great class on a uniform plan; but this is not a scientific explanation.". (On The Origin Of Species..., 1872, p. 397, line 16, or ch. 14, section 9) His directness makes one smile. Years of contemplation of the Bible have led me to believe that God is Reality; there is nothing else. There is danger in that idea, so we must handle it fearfully, but for the Christian in this context, it means that the study of reality can be a godly man's holy pursuit. Contrary to what many have told us, the conflict may be many things, but it is certainly not between science and he who is Truth. If we are honest in research, then our faith in God will increase our pleasure in science. Charles Darwin wrote in the last sentence of his book, "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one...". (ibid.) Mister Darwin was having fun. Interestingly, as Man's knowledge has greatly increased, Man's comprehension of his knowledge has decreased due to his limits, so the masses become more dependent upon superstitious belief in institutions, authorities, and scientists to explain reality. We may be returning to the dark ages via the internet. But unlike those who roil in superstition and fear, you rest in the comfort of your holy Anchor as you study his reality. You are comfortable with Man's great gaps of perpetual ignorance because God is the ""I AM"". We are little children filled with respect, wonder, and awe for our glorious Father's work. We laugh and play in our freedom. ( You might also enjoy the "Christian Comfort" appendix on the theory document. ( This segment added February 2016. ) Confession As a follower of the Christ, this writer is taught that the will of God is above all things, and he knows, also, that he may claim the freedom that God gives us to search out, analyze, and assess all things that can be understood by a man, and even this will be to our Almighty God's glory. (Thank you, Father)
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__________________________________________________ Forget it. You are on your own. Funding goes to people with letters after their names and to people who work for universities or business. Variables such as yourself are considered dangerous unknowns. (Nature, vol. 492, p. 34, 6 Dec 2012) ( Interestingly, although it does not prove it, that same study does strongly indicate that science's most influential research publishers do not receive government funding.) But you will always be your own boss. Poor, yes, but productive and free. Besides, your ideas will be too dumb to get funding. For example, who would pay to see if colors have different temperatures? That particularly dumb idea became a foundational element of much of Man's civilization. You are on your own with your dumb ideas. The technique that worked for me was to alternate between having a paying job for a few years and then working for a few years. But poverty is not pleasant, and maybe you will think of a better way. "If it was easy, everybody would do it." But do not take these comments as law. Many physicists have been financially supported for decades in pursuits so nonsensical that they seemed to be publicly laughing at their benefactors. The last half of the twentieth century gave rise to well funded modern alchemists whose hypotheses were downright embarrassing to read. So perhaps I am wrong.
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__________________________________________________ Big and noisy are impressive. Small and quiet are not. That is basic human psychology that we must accept. The Hoover vacuum cleaner company noticed in the early part of the twentieth century that its sales depended upon the noise of its product because women seem to equate noise with power. Big and noisy are needed by those professional scientists who treat science as a corporate ladder, but are they necessary for your creativity ? The crowning glory of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland was the discovery of the Higgs boson particle, so we applaud them. Many governments invested billions of dollars in building and running it. Thousands have worked to build and run it. Hundreds of scientists around the world worked together on it for years to find the Higgs boson. It was certainly a great accomplishment that was announced with much publicity around the world. Of more significance to some of us was the almost unnoticed detection, decades before, of the Higgs particle in cheap table-top experiments. (Nature, 28 March 2013, pp. 422-423) Neutrino detectors weigh thousands of tons. Until 2017 when a small table-top detector was unveiled. (Discover, Jan 2018, p.28.) In computer science, Google's organization and research money created a notable high speed database manager. At the same time, research conducted by one man on scrapped desktop computers created AxleBase that was thousands of times faster. (See Performance Comparisons.) We are told that modern science can be done only by massive and expensive organizations. That is nonsense. The AxleBase research by one man while others required millions of dollars for computers and organizations provided many chuckles through the years. (I hope you enjoyed the humor when you started reading about it.) Just do it. ( This segment added September 2013. )
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__________________________________________________ Amateur scientist is one of Man's highest accolades. If you do science alone and without pay, then you are in the company of Einstein, Galileo, Newton, Gregor Mendel, etc.; a distinguished line of quiet and dedicated men upon whom stands this civilization. Any science that is characterized by demonstrable results, a need for intelligence, low monetary investment, and inability to exclude people, is open to the amateur. Amateurs still advance astronomy. To the horror of the authorities and to the cheers and laughter of amateurs, the nuclear reactor of a man in Sweden melted down in his kitchen around the turn of the century. (American Scientist, Jan 2012, p. 81) (Astronomy, Jan 2012, p. 52) (Sky & Telescope, Mar 2012, p. 18 ) Einstein's most significant work was done while he was still an amateur. But the value to society of the serious amateur scientist is very high even for small achievements. Discovery by amateurs gives society a greater return on investment than can be obtained from massive and expensive professional projects. You can take pride in your work, regardless of results. The truly independent have little interest in publishing. But if you maintain well-documented rigor in experiment and observation, a failure to verify your thesis may be valuable. Publication of failure without apology is respected and valued by the general scientific community because a valid negative is an addition to the body of knowledge. By definition, you will be working out on an undefined frontier where you are alone and your activities can be defined only by God and yourself, so perhaps you should ignore ridicule. Using only Newtonian mechanics because he was so far ahead of his time, John Michell hypothesized black holes in 1783 and even calculated the size of the event horizon. The ease of accomplishment of the objectives in the AxleBase project suggests vast unexplored computer science fields. Also, most of the manhours in the project went into building the vast structure that was required; it took years to build one test. Most questions will not require such a massive software project, making them more accessible to the unfunded researcher working alone. If you are drawn to computer science, then do not let the money, power, and open source hordes in the field intimidate you. If you accomplish nothing, then your least reward will be countless hours of fun. If you succeed in exploring new areas, you will also have the fun of watching the others follow while they pretend to ignore you, and somebody might accidentally give you recognition. Great advances in science are usually done by an individual. Month after month, the research that is published in the science journals consists of large committees reporting a plodding progress of tiny steps. That kind of plodding progress is valuable in all fields of science, and if you do that in computer science, you will have our respect and gratitude, but major advances await the man of vision and courage who works alone. If you are strong enough to work alone, then do so. Will you accomplish anything of note? You can be sure of this and only this: Your time will not be wasted. Our God intentionally gave us a vast and wonder-filled playground in this universe for you to enjoy.
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__________________________________________________ To The Amateur : By the time that you read this document, you will find many, and maybe all, of these ideas that were intended for you have been addressed by monied and degreed professionals. Do not be disheartened. That merely indicates the validity of this invitation to you. I will not attempt the pointless task of keeping this document new and updated. Instead, let us just put our heads down and work. Dwell not on specific research ideas, but consider my techniques, philosophy, and the way that this amateur thinks. Remember the great amateurs whom you and I emulate, and God willing, you may likewise be remembered. John
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__________________________________________________ -- . -- This document (web page) may be quoted and/or referenced in the usual, legal, and honorable manner of western civilization. When referencing it, please use the copyright date shown above. Like all of the internet, the author expands, updates, and corrects now and then. The original publication date was 3 June 2012. Its internet address is You can click here to obtain contact information.
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