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Subject: Re: 9th WCCC99 . '' june 14 - 20 " Notable ausence.

Author: Robert Hyatt

Date: 19:58:26 06/03/99

Go up one level in this thread


On June 03, 1999 at 18:36:31, Prakash Das wrote:

>On June 03, 1999 at 13:46:07, KarinsDad wrote:
>
>>On June 03, 1999 at 00:07:02, Prakash Das wrote:
>>
>>>On June 02, 1999 at 23:52:11, Prakash Das wrote:
>>>
>>>>On June 02, 1999 at 15:30:41, Tania Devora wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>What is the hardware for the 9th  Wccc99 ?
>>>>>
>>>>>There are many strong computer programs that not go to participate in this
>>>>>World championship , like Chessmaster6000,  and many others.
>>>>>
>>>>>I think that this is not a fair play . Cilkchess and others programs will run is
>>>>>a Super machines, is evident that could win easy.
>>>>>
>>>>>For me all the programs, will run in the same computer with the same ram memory.
>>>>>
>>>>>Is the only way to see the real strengh of the program.
>>>>>
>>>>>For example Fritz5.32 in a Pentium III 500 MHZ could beat Fritz5.32 (pentium 200
>>>>>mmx) , for a big score.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Tania, you are wasting your breath. A while back, I started a thread called
>>>>"Uneven hardware for wmcc?" in which I questioned the purpose of this
>>>>self-congratulatory exercise.
>>>> Most of teh replies went like this: it's fun, it's like creating a Mount
>>>>Olympus of chess programs, we are coming with the meanest baddest machine, etc
>>>>etc. No one really cared about addressing the real point: what the hell is going
>>>>to be accomplished.
>>>> So, sit back, and get ready for a few yawns. You will see the same old programs
>>>>which are at "top of charts" decimate the others (not bad programs necessarily)
>>>>running on weak hardware.
>>>> If we tried to solve cancer in this "scientific" manner, there's no hope for
>>>>living beings.
>>>
>>> Well, following up on myself. I thought this was obvious, but as in my previous
>>>post on that other thread, let's say program A on big bad hardware B, beat
>>>program D on weaker hardware E. What did this prove? Wins and losses are all
>>>relative, and so will be the standings later on. What kind of Mount Olympus did
>>>we scale (Karinsdad)?? It is a mirage where we appear to have created a super
>>>"playing system".  But this would have achieved by beating another on weaker
>>>hardware. Next day, the result will be different.
>>>
>>> Let's hold a WMCC everyday with changing hardware. That way, we will create
>>>tons of mount Olympus!
>>
>>How much scientific advancement was created by man stepping on the moon?
>>
>>Well, from the point of view of most people, quite a bit. We now have satellite
>>technology, cellular phones, microwave ovens, personal computers, and a lot of
>>other technology that can be directly linked to that one competition.
>
>
> I doubt that all the things you point out above were accomplished just because
>men landed on moon. As a matter of fact, NASA's big budget space programs (like
>travel to moon, travel to pluto maybe etc), do not have the proportionate amount
>of advance as the budget they spent. For that same amount of money, much better
>advancement would have been possible right here inside the laboratories on
>Earth. Yes, there is some advancement (if you are spending zillions, something
>will happen), but it is a wasteful way of doing research.

I hate to argue, but this is _all_ nonsense... what came out of the US space
program?  Micro-electronics, because weight and physical size was a _huge_
issue.  No NASA, micro-electronics would be behind 20 years or more.  More?
Easy.  Communications (satellites).  Not really any need to enumerate them.
The space program more than paid for itself in spin-offs that made life better
all over the planet...


>Nobel physicist
>Richard Feynman said as much. He said that these kind of things are only for the
>egos of bureaucrats and politicians. It is also for the consumption of the
>common man. Everybody looks good. Wonderful. Not really.
>
> Building the super collider in Texas (instead of shelving it) would have
>produced some great advances in high energy physics, and many applications to
>other areas.
>
> A spacecraft shooting off in a blazing cloud of flames looks wonderful. People
>buy into it.

It was/is wonderful...  You just have to look to see how it has helped...



>
>>
>>Do you think that both the US and the Soviets said, "Hey, we can only use this
>>type of rocket fuel or these types of seats in the spacecraft."?
>>
>>No, they experimented with a lot of different designs and ideas until they came
>>up with ones that worked for them.
>
>
> I tried to understand what you said, but I couldn't. Who is preventing anyone
>of these guys from using whatever rocket fuel (or whatever) to do what they
>want. Don't see what this has to do with the topic at hand.
>

You want to restrict things to _one_ computing platform.  Metaphor = one type
of rocket fuel.  Stifles research...  If this was done early on, computer chess
would be far different, and far worse today...






>>
>>Do you think that Deep Blue would have EVER existed if not for Belle and HiTech
>>being allowed to compete on different hardware platforms? The advancement of man
>>is not always limited to black and white scientific experiments.
>
> There is nothing like black and white experiments I have seen. Many experiments
>can be very very difficult and the results hard to interpret.
>
> No one is preventing from experiments like Belle and others you point out, from
>happening. The topic was, this is a "world championship". Haven't understood
>yet, world champion of what. In this scenario, the WC would be one who beat the
>others overall. But it would have been beaten other non-optimum "systems". So,
>once again, I don't see what was proved.
>


simple.  It shows the _strongest_ electronic chess player there is.  Where
'electronic chess player' == computer + program + databases + opening book +
whatever else can be stuffed into the equation...





>>
>>No, they said that for this event, it is both traditional and it makes sense to
>>find out which program/hardware combination is the best every three years.
>
> Why call it a world championship. This title doesn't make sense to me.. There
>are all kinds of computer/technological/etc "fairs" being held all the time..
>Companies come out with great and new products. The platform is non-uniform,
>everyone comes up with their own creation, but no one calls this environment a
>"world championship."
>


There is a world championship in practically any type of 'game'.  Chess is a
game.  In this case, played by computers.  Who has the strongest player in the
world?  This event shows that.



>>
>>Prakash, most of the people on this forum will congratulate you if you put up
>>the money for and follow through on a scientific experiment like you propose.
>>However, they do not necessarily appreciate you putting down a traditional event
>>because you do not like how it is being run.
>
> I am not putting down the tradition.. I understand all that. I was questioning
>the "value" of such a thing, although, there is a "value" in everything, we can
>argue about semantics.
> Just because the purpose escapes me and I wonder about it, doesn't mean, you
>automatically ask me to put zillions of dollars to host another event :)
> Karinsdad, using your logic, anyone who questioned anything would always have
>to put up a huge fund.
>
>>
>>By doing this, you are attempting to stifle innovation and competition.
>
> Those things cannot be stifled. Human race has proved, despite passing
>inhospitable circumstances. Projects like deep blue etc. will always be pursued.
>I don't see how this will be stifled, just because it didn't get an arbitrary
>title of world champion.
>


If you can't compete, there is no driving force.  "competition" has made
computer chess what it is today.  It started long before there was a
"microcomputer".  What rule would you have used in 1974 for the first one?




>>Grumble about it without doing anything and hero will not be the label
>>that most people place on you.
>>
>
> I don't grumble. you are :) (I am just questioning this designation of "world
>championship.")



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