ENIGMA cont. from p.49

lics, and we know 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 16, 17, 18, 19 to be the values of nine other republics, which we do not know the names of. Adding up the squares of the nine known and nine unknown, we have a total of 9885 square miles. Subtracting their total from the USR’s 12544 square miles, we are left with 2659 square miles, to be divided among the remaining three squares. 2659 is the sum of three squares in two ways; the sum of the squares of 7, 33, and 39, and the sum of the squares of 27, 29, and 33. Since Dorra is known to be 7 miles wide and no squares are equal in size, it must be the second combination of 27, 29, and 33. Used in conjunction with clue D., we know Phydra=27, Curro=18, Merm=9, and Zevo=2.

Now that all the square sizes are known, they can be assembled, much like a jigsaw puzzle, into the larger square of the USR (albeit a rather counterintuitive one). There is a unique solution, and it is the unique, smallest simplest perfect squared square discovered by mathematician A. J. W. Duijvestijn in 1978 (Thanks, A. J. W.).

We can identify thirteen of the squares already, and clues G., H., I., and J. allow us to identify the remaining squares, as well as rule out reflections and rotations of the solution. Jarp is in the remaining corner, and is 33 miles wide, it shares a border with Elga, which by clue G., must be the smaller of the two unnamed neighbors, with Wintz the larger one. By clue I., Rudra shares borders with Phydra and Nurin, and so must be the square 8 miles wide; it also borders Lenif, so Lenif must be the square which is 19 miles wide. Clues I. and J. combined place the remaining squares of Koid, Hort, and Okell. Since Quadra, the capital city, is in the center of the USR, it lies in the republic of Merm, and the map is complete.

MELATONIN cont. from p.45

to insomnia, to take the lowest effective doses and to take them as early in the day as possible so as not to upset precious sleep patterns.

I know better than to consume stimulants in the evening, but knowledge of facts does not guarantee us from occasionally making unwise decisions.

MINDSURFING from p.41

encryption software [7]), may already be so widespread and entrenched as to be unkillable, even if as a political matter such a thing became possible. Further, the intense commercialization of the Internet almost assures the Internet’s continued existence simply by reason of corporate self-interest and consumer demand.

The Internet is obviously the largest and most important single thing on the planet. Information and ideas compete in a Darwinian environment in which only the accurate and relevant survive. With this mechanism in place, humanity can collectively heave itself out of the darkness of fear and superstition with astonishing speed. In the year 2525, after your brain is removed from cryonic suspension and processed by nanorobots, exactly what kind of Internet do you expect to be uploaded onto? Think about that—and your baby’s head—the next time you’re in a voting booth.

An HTML version of this article (with plenty of embedded links) can be found at http://www.paranoia.com/~ebola/ms/2.html.

SMART from p.63

References:

• [1] The New Palgrave: Allocation, Information, and Markets
• [2] Bruce Schneier, Applied Cryptography
• [3] Crypto and Eurocrypt conference proceedings, 1982-1994.
• [4] “Crypto Rebels”, Wired #2, also cypherpunks mailing list (mail to majordomo@toad.com with body “subscribe cypherpunks”)
• [5] Perry H. Beaumont, Fixed Income Synthetic Assets

It’s 3 am and I just got my first yawn of the night.

Landolt H, Caffeine reduces low-frequency delta activity in the human sleep EEG. Neuropsychopharmacology 12:229-238, 1995.

References

• [1] CDT Counter-Terrorism Page http://www.cdt.org/policy/terrorism/internet_bomb.test.html
• [2] VTW BillWatch Newsletter http://www.vtw.org/billwatch/
• [3] EFF Exon Archives http://www.eff.org/pub/Censorship/Comm_Decency_Act/
• [4] Hotwired: The Shoddy Article http://www.hotwired.com/special/pornscare/godwin.html
• [5] AOL-Sucks Homepage http://www.en.com/users/tfinley/
• [6] Exon Vote Tally gopher://gopher.panix.com:70/00/vtw/exon/senate-response
• [7] PGP Distribution Site (MIT) http://web.mit.edu/afs/net/mit/jis/ www/pgp.html

Several readers quite correctly pointed out that SLIP and PPP accounts are now generally much cheaper than reported in MindSurf #1 (The tia Transformation). The latest tia version emulates PPP as well as SLIP, and is still a way cool hack for those who only have command-line access.

MindSurfing is a series of articles about the cutting edge of the Internet for the dial-up user. Reader flames and questions may be sent to: yow@primenet.com.

• [6] Tim May, Cyphernomicon
• [7] Vernor Vinge, “True Names” (fiction), from True Names and Other Dangers
• [8] ??, Fixed Income Synthetic Assets
• [9] “The Age of Digital Capitalism”, Forbes
• [10] Frederick Hayek, Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism
• [11] Ming Li & Paul Vitanyi, An Introduction to Kolmogorov Complexity and Its Applications
• [12] Agorics white paper.
• [13] Mixmaster (ptr to web site)[14] PGP (ptr to web site)
• [15] DigiCash web site

Now reduced print in The (Libertarian) Connection, open-forum magazine since 1968. Subscribers may insert two pages/issue free, unedited. Lots of stimulating conversation. Eight issues (year) $20. 101 South Whiting #700X, Alexandria, VA 22304.

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EXTROPY #16 Q1 ‘96

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CONTRIBUTORS

David J. Brown: Author of Brainchild (New Falcon Publications, 1988), and co-author of Mavericks of the Mind (Crossing Press, 1993). His new book Voices from the Edge—which contains extensive interviews with revolutionary thinkers such as Jerry Garcia, Jaron Lanier, Annie Sprinkle, John Allen, and Ram Dass—can be ordered by calling the Crossing Press at: 1-800-777-1048. dajabr@well.sf.ca.us

Alexander [Sasha] Chislenko: Alexander “Sasha” Chislenko got an M.S. in Mathematics, Computer Science and Education from the University of Leningrad, USSR in 1982. Currently lives in Boston, reading and writing on various futuristic and philosophical subjects, raising a gifted child, dancing, hunting mushrooms, and looking for an occupation in his sphere of interests. sasha1@netcom.com — http://linux1.uwc.edu/~sasha/home.html

Nancie Clark: Futurist and media architect, earned graduate honors from Academia Belli Arte (Italy); videos: “Two Women In B&W” (Women In Video) and “T – And Counting” (U.S. Film Festival). Nancie has been an activist in transhumanism for over a decade, the optimism of which is clearly exhibited throughout her work. eonflex@ix.netcom.com

Greg Erwin: Greg Erwin is a former American, now a Canadian citizen. Also a former Methodist, Yogi, Mormon and Unitarian, who has been an atheistic secular humanist and nullifidian since 1988. His electronic magazine, “The Nullifidian” is issued once a month, containing reprints of humanist articles and original items. During the day he works for the Canadian government at the National Parole Board, concealing his secret identity. ai815@Freenet.Carleton.ca

Mark Grant has a Master’s Degree in Physics from Oxford, and is currently working as a software engineer, but is intending to become a technomad within five years. He is the author of Privtool, a free PGP-aware mail program for Sun workstations, and is working on a near-future SF RPG with extropian leanings. He owns far too many Italian cars, and maintains the (unofficial) Lancia WWW page. mark@unicorn.com WWW: http://www.c2.org/~mark/

Duane Hewitt: Currently completing a MSc. degree in Molecular Biology in the regulation of neuronal specific gene expression at the University of Calgary. Duane is a member of the Deamon Maxwell group, a think-tank focusing on the investigation and implementation of speculative scientific concepts. ddhewitt@acs.ucalgary.ca

Rob Michels: Rob is finishing his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. rhmichel@email.unc.edu

Max More: President of Extropy Institute and co-founder of Extropy. While studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford University, Max founded the first British cryonics organization, MIZAR (now Alcor-UK). He recently received his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Southern California. maxmore@primenet.com

Ray Sahelian, M.D. is a physician certified by the American Board of Family Practice. He obtained a Batchelor of Science degree in nutrition at Drexel University in Pennsylvania and completed his doctoral training at Thomas Jefferson Medical School. In addition to a medical practice, Dr. Sahelian is a frequent contributor to health magazines and has made numerous appearances on radio and television to discuss his personal experiences with melatonin and the current research now being conducted on this interesting health supplement. He is the author of Be Happier Starting Now and Melatonin: Nature’s Sleeping Pill. dr.ray@ix.netcom.com

Julian L. Simon: Professor of Business Administration at University of Maryland at College Park.. Simon is the author many books about the economics of population and resources including The Ultimate Resource, and the forthcoming The State of the World, as well as other books including Good Mood: The New Psychology of Overcoming Depression.

Nick Szabo: Nick Szabo graduated from the University of Washington in 1989 with a Batchelor’s in Computer Science. He has worked at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, IBM, Sequent, DigiCash, and currently is contracting for Agorics, Inc. on Internet commerce. szabo@netcom.com

Mark Wolf, Ph.D.: Mark J. P. Wolf recently finished a dissertation on digital technology’s effect on art, communication, and cognition. He is now teaching in the Communication Department at Concordia University in Wisconsin. He enjoys recreational mathematics, game design, and writing. mwolf@luther.cuw.edu

Yow: Yow is a pseudonym for Steve Arbuss, an attorney who spends a good part of each day in cyberspace. A partner in the Los Angeles law firm of Pircher, Nichols & Meeks, Arbuss also lectures and writes about the Internet. He can be reached at yow@primenet.com

Production information

Extropy #16 was produced on a Gateway P5-100 with 16Mb of RAM, 1.5Gb hard disk, 17” NEC 5FG monitor powered by a graphics card with 2Mb of video memory, and a quad-speed CD-ROM, using Pagemaker 5.0 for Windows, MS Word 6, Pixar Typestry 1.1, Photoshop 3.0, Ray Dream Designer 3.0, and Aldus Freehand 4.0. Scanned images were input by a Microtek Scanmaker IISP, and processed with Photoshop 3.0. The proofs were printed at 600dpi on an HP Laserjet 4 with 6Mb of RAM, and final output at 2,400dpi on on Agfa typesetter. PageMaker files were sent to the printer on an 88Mb SyQuest cartridge. Complete chaos avoided with the help of Lotus Organizer 1.0. Layout by Max More with Nancie Clark.

This issue was printed by Ripon Community Printers, Ripon, WI. Print run: approx. 5,000

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EXTROPY #16 Q1 ‘96