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Rob Howard NASA sent out two probes, each with a gold-plated audio disc (the ‘Golden Record’) attached to them. The audio disc has, among more usual things like music and greetings, a bunch of images that have been turned into sound. The disc has a cover with a bunch of pictorial instructions explaining how to read it. This talk is about pretending to be aliens finding this disc, and following those instructions to recreate the images from that audio, because… well, because it’s cool goshdarnit. Rob Howard is a web developer and figurative magpie. Having spent his career so far learning and mixing the nice parts from different programming languages, he'd like nothing better than to help technical communities learn more from each other, build better stuff, and have fun in the process. Produced by NDV: https://youtube.com/channel/UCQ7dFBzZGlBvtU2hCecsBBg?sub_confirmation=1 #ruby #rubyconf #rubyconfau #rubyconf_au #rails #programming Thu Feb 20 11:10:00 2020 at Plenary Room
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In the presentation "A Message to the Stars," Rob Howard explores the fascinating topic of the Voyager probes and the Golden Record, a phonograph disc that NASA sent into space attached to both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 in 1977. This talk combines technical insights with a creative approach, imagining what it would be like for extraterrestrial beings to discover and interpret this unique message from humanity. Key points discussed throughout the video include: - **Overview of Voyager Missions**: The Voyager probes were launched to explore the outer planets, taking advantage of a rare planetary alignment that allowed them to travel from Jupiter to further destinations with great efficiency. - **Golden Record Content**: The Golden Record contains greetings in multiple languages, soundscapes of Earth, and images, all designed to communicate Earth's diversity and culture to hypothetical extraterrestrial intelligences. - **Phonograph Technology**: Howard details how sound is recorded on the Golden Record via the grooves of a phonograph, which can encode vast information. The process was carefully designed, ensuring that it could be understood by beings with potentially no prior knowledge of such technology. - **Sound Waves and Representation**: The discussion includes a scientific explanation of sound as waves and how audio signals can be converted into digital formats, highlighting the concept of sound waves in relation to physical properties such as frequency and amplitude. - **Reconstructing Images from Sound**: Howard introduces the concept of translating audio waveforms back into images, demonstrating a method of representing sound data visually. He describes the technical process of parsing audio data into numerical values to create imagery, illustrating the interconnected nature of sound and visual art. - **Exploration of Various Challenges**: The presentation acknowledges the complexities and potential inaccuracies involved in this data manipulation, emphasizing that the journey of discovery remains ongoing. Key examples and anecdotes include Howard's humorous reflections on traveling to the event and the nostalgic reference to the nature of old technology such as the phonograph. Additionally, he underscores the importance of collaboration with his family in his technical explorations. In conclusion, Howard encapsulates the significance of the Voyager probes as a heartfelt and optimistic message of Earth, encouraging viewers to reflect on Carl Sagan's words about our place in the universe. He effectively highlights the profound human endeavor of sending messages to the stars, while also reinforcing the interconnectedness of sound, images, and our collective experiences as inhabitants of planet Earth.
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