Related papers: Free Will and Falling Cats
How do we move a robot efficiently from one position to another? To answer this question, we need to understand its configuration space, a 'map' where we can find every possible position of the robot. Unfortunately, these maps are very…
A small and light polystyrene ball is released without initial speed from a certain height above the floor. Then, it falls on air. The main responsible for the friction force against the movement is the wake of successive air vortices which…
The trajectory of a spherical object which falls freely in a gravitational field is fixed by its initial position and velocity. However, an object which can control its shape can also control its motion: Except where forbidden by symmetries…
Consider the problem of planning collision-free motion of $n$ objects in the plane movable through contact with a robot that can autonomously translate in the plane and that can move a maximum of $m \leq n$ objects simultaneously. This…
We study a quantum version of the sequential game illustrating problems connected with making rational decisions. We compare the results that the two models (quantum and classical) yield. In the quantum model intransitivity gains importance…
The oRules of state reduction are applied to the case of the Schrodinger cat experiment. It is shown that these rules can unambiguously describe the conscious state of the cat, as well as an outside observer at any time during the…
For locomotion, is an arm on a legged robot a liability or an asset for locomotion? Biological systems evolved additional limbs beyond legs that facilitates postural control. This work shows how a manipulator can be an asset for legged…
Flying animals possess highly complex physical characteristics and are capable of performing agile maneuvers using their wings. The flapping wings generate complex wake structures that influence the aerodynamic forces, which can be…
Fish swim by undulating their bodies. These propulsive motions require coordinated shape changes of a body that interacts with its fluid environment, but the specific shape coordination that leads to robust turning and swimming motions…
We discuss some methodological aspects of the relation between physics and metaphysics by dealing specifically with the case of non-relativistic quantum mechanics. Our main claim is that current attempts to productively integrate quantum…
Since quantum mechanics (QM) was formulated, many voices have claimed this to be the basis of free will in the human beings. Basically, they argue that free will is possible because there is an ontological indeterminism in the natural laws,…
New status in quantum mechanics is connected with recent achievements in the inverse problem. With its help instead of about ten exactly solvable models which serve as a basis of the contemporary education there are infinite (!) number,…
Stability is a fundamental concept that refers to a system's ability to return close to its original state after disturbances. The minimal conditions for stability when system parameters vary in time, though common in physics, have been…
Any scientific attempt to explain consciousness is tasked with reconciling the third person objective perspective of science with our first person subjective experience of the world. A good point of departure is to consider situations in…
The symbol grounding problem asks how tokens like cat can be about cats, as opposed to mere shapes manipulated in a calculus. We recast grounding from a binary judgment into an audit across desiderata, each indexed by an evaluation tuple…
In animal behavioral biology, there are several cases in which an autonomous observing/training system would be useful. 1) Observation of certain species continuously, or for documenting specific events, which happen irregularly; 2)…
Insects and birds are often faced by opposing requirements for agile and stable flight. Here, we explore the interplay between aerodynamic effort, maneuverability, and stability in a model system that consists of a $\Lambda$-shaped flyer…
In order to know if the Schrodinger's cat is alive or dead without opening the box, observers have to play a game with nature. The observers have to "guess" (with degrees of belief) the state of the cat due to incomplete information; in…
Schr\"odinger's cat appears to have been harassed in a chamber during the past eighty years or so by interpreting the role of the observer as a person, who sets an experiment and then observes results, may be after some time. The realist…
Group behavior has received much attention as a test case of self-organization. There has been much written in recent years to investigate interactions within groups of agents. These agents can be animals moving in an interactive way, such…