IrvineHimself
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I can't seem to find the original thread, but, if you recall, I had a small project to see if I could carpet my bookcase with Devils Ivy. I am going to be really busy over the next few months, and not informing the forum of the final result would prey on my mind.
While some might find the headline result a bit disappointing, considering the experiment as a whole was inspired by the 'Dark Corner Problem', to which it provided some serious hard data, it was a great success! 🙂
Remember, in order to solve the DCP, I had several questions:
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The short answer to the 'big question' is that, while several of the vines had very impressive growth of over 60 centimetres, sadly the bulk of the vines have performed below expectations. In consequence the resulting distribution is nowhere near the one calculated by my hi-tech analogue computer [AKA: 'The Hessian'] 🙂
In truth, for this particular experiment, it was too early in the larger 'Bookcase Project': As I am fairly sure I have mentioned in other threads, it was always my intention to have the blinds and curtains [AKA: 'Sunlight'] under computer/voice control. When you also bear in mind that, out of fear of disturbing or breaking the vines, the controls for both blinds and heating were completely inaccessible, I am sure you begin to see why my results so underperformed.
The extent to which I had to keep chopping each harvest of cuttings to get 55 clones was also a factor.
As a result, I am more convinced than ever that, under more optimum conditions, it is possible to grow a suitable distribution of vine lengths in the allocated time.
~~~
Having said that, the rest of the experiment shows quite clearly that as a long term installation, this was never going to work!
Using Spathiphyllum [another low light plant] as a proxy, I positioned five plants along the proposed path of the vine, with another growing out of the aquarium:
With regard to maintenance: Need I say more?
~~~
I did learn one other thing from this project. It's a bit esoteric, but I think it is a useful way of envisioning one of the most fundamental concepts of modern science.
If you hadn't noticed, in addition to being a mobility aid, my bookcase is a machine which stores information about my adventures; hobbies and interests. The amount of information it stores is called it's information entropy. I can imagine a perfect machine: ie, a machine for which all the information down to the minutest detail is available. At the other end of the scale, I can imagine a black hole....
The thing is, an observer can never see a particle cross the event horizon of a black hole. So, as a corollary, an observer can never see all the information stored in a perfect machine. In other words: "There will always be something an observer does not know."
To many people, this may seem obvious, but it is a proof [of sorts] rather than statement.
---
As I mentioned in another thread, my life has recently become extremely complicated. 🙂 While I may not be around much, I will be thinking of you all over the next few months, and wish everyone a happy festive season.
Irvine
Edited to change "a machine for which I know everything down to the minutest detail." to "a machine for which all the information down to the minutest detail is available."
While some might find the headline result a bit disappointing, considering the experiment as a whole was inspired by the 'Dark Corner Problem', to which it provided some serious hard data, it was a great success! 🙂
Remember, in order to solve the DCP, I had several questions:
- Can I grow enough vines of suitable length to carpet the bookcase?
- Can house plants survive long term growing out of a 'working' aquarium? [cf an exhibition aqua-scape with a life of a few weeks.]
- Is there sufficient light in the chosen location?
- What is the maintenance load and how can I reduce it?
- Using a simulation, can I predict other problems the vine network might face in the long term?
- Given space limitations and other physical constraints, are artificial plants a better solution to the DCP?
----
The short answer to the 'big question' is that, while several of the vines had very impressive growth of over 60 centimetres, sadly the bulk of the vines have performed below expectations. In consequence the resulting distribution is nowhere near the one calculated by my hi-tech analogue computer [AKA: 'The Hessian'] 🙂
In truth, for this particular experiment, it was too early in the larger 'Bookcase Project': As I am fairly sure I have mentioned in other threads, it was always my intention to have the blinds and curtains [AKA: 'Sunlight'] under computer/voice control. When you also bear in mind that, out of fear of disturbing or breaking the vines, the controls for both blinds and heating were completely inaccessible, I am sure you begin to see why my results so underperformed.
The extent to which I had to keep chopping each harvest of cuttings to get 55 clones was also a factor.
As a result, I am more convinced than ever that, under more optimum conditions, it is possible to grow a suitable distribution of vine lengths in the allocated time.
~~~
Having said that, the rest of the experiment shows quite clearly that as a long term installation, this was never going to work!
Using Spathiphyllum [another low light plant] as a proxy, I positioned five plants along the proposed path of the vine, with another growing out of the aquarium:
- Long term, the need for regular aquarium maintenance was not conducive to a healthy plant. As a result, the aquarium plant quickly succumbed.
- During mid summer the plants along the bookcase were barely getting enough sunlight, but when the shorter nights set in, they quickly started to die. (I am currently administering life support, but I expect to lose a few, condolences to @Spathiphyllum)
With regard to maintenance: Need I say more?
~~~
I did learn one other thing from this project. It's a bit esoteric, but I think it is a useful way of envisioning one of the most fundamental concepts of modern science.
If you hadn't noticed, in addition to being a mobility aid, my bookcase is a machine which stores information about my adventures; hobbies and interests. The amount of information it stores is called it's information entropy. I can imagine a perfect machine: ie, a machine for which all the information down to the minutest detail is available. At the other end of the scale, I can imagine a black hole....
The thing is, an observer can never see a particle cross the event horizon of a black hole. So, as a corollary, an observer can never see all the information stored in a perfect machine. In other words: "There will always be something an observer does not know."
To many people, this may seem obvious, but it is a proof [of sorts] rather than statement.
---
As I mentioned in another thread, my life has recently become extremely complicated. 🙂 While I may not be around much, I will be thinking of you all over the next few months, and wish everyone a happy festive season.
Irvine
Edited to change "a machine for which I know everything down to the minutest detail." to "a machine for which all the information down to the minutest detail is available."
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