Theres this movie floating around the internet lately that has most likely managed to piss off every single person who took the time to watch it. I felt it was well worth the time taken because it made me think, hard. Such a film offering alternate perspectives and identifying obvious problems is definitely a touchy subject and frightens lots of people away. I just saw this the other night, and it blew my mind to pieces. I showed it to a few people. Some kept an open mind, others did nothing short of shoving their fingers in their ears walking away saying “La lala lalalala.” For better or worse, Zeitgeist, The Movie will totally punch you in the balls.

For your consideration, a cause for concern.

Proving that competition exists at every level of broadcasting, PBS is trying to stick it to the Discover Channel by premiering Shark Mountain the same day as Discovery Channel’s Shark Week kickoff. Drama. But if you’re a marine biology nerd with TiVo, consider this your heads up. Shark Mountain airs July 29th at 8PM.

Here at the Synthesis we get a little bored. I’ve now instated the game ‘Hide and Go Poop’. See documentary below for details.

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When I was a kid, I used to go to the aquarium at Coney Island, and I’d love to go to the shark exhibit. It was basically a big dark room with a walkway that led you past this giant tank filled with all kinds of sharks and rays. At least that’s how I remember it. It’s been a while. And I don’t know why I liked going to the shark tank so much, because I was so afraid of the fucking things I could barely look at them.

I’ve always been fascinated with sharks, though, which is why I always tune into Shark Week just about every year. Except for this year, because I don’t have cable any more. That shouldn’t stop you from watching it, though, especially if you’d like to see clips like this.

Shark Week celebrates its 20th anniversary starting July 29th through August 4th and will pretty much run from 9AM to 3AM everyday with top rated programs from the past and eight all-new specials.

Back in 1989, a team of scientists from the University of Alberta–lead by Dr Jonathan Schaeffer–enlisted the help of the world’s top checkers players to create an artificial intelligence that would really, really own at checkers. They named it Chinook.

Three years after its conception, Chinook advanced to the finals of a human world checkers championship and lost. Two years later, in 1994, it became the first computer program to win any kind of human world championship. Now, in 2007, Chinook stands invinicible–at checkers–having figured out how to respond to the game’s 500 billion-BILLION (500,000,000,000,000,000,000) possible moves.

Chinook now contains all the information needed to predict the best move to play in every situation of a game. Even making no mistakes, the best an opponent taking on the programme could achieve would be a draw. [source]

I would like to be the first to acknowledge our new machine masters and let them know I’d have no problem betraying my inferior species should the need arise. I’ve seen Battlestar Galactica. I know what’s up. If you’re into futile exercises, feel free to challenge Chinook.