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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did cosmologist George Gamow immediately recognize about DNA as a code and proposed that it could be deciphered mathematically?

2. According to Psychologist George Miller, what type of process takes place in the mind relative to the information it receives?

3. How does Wikipedia differ from the Encyclopedia Britannica?

4. "Entropy" was first used by what individual to describe the unavailability of energy?

5. Why do scientists consider the belief in God a meme?

Short Essay Questions

1. What fundamental problem is inherent in the observation of quantum particles?

2. What comparison does the author make to the famous library at Alexandria?

3. What is the relationship between man and his memes?

4. What are examples of memes?

5. What did IBM research Charle Bennet write about "information" in the 1980s?

6. What are "memes" as first proposed by Richard Dawkins in "The Selfish Gene"?

7. What is the normal state of molecules in a system? Describe that arrangement.

8. What did Dawkins attribute the belief in God to?

9. What was John von Neumann's theory on energy cost and how did Rolf Landauer disprove that concept?

10. What was zoologist's Richard Dawkins' theory on DNA?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What advanced machine did Charles Babbage envision that would be superior to his difference engine? What was Babbage's relationship with Ada Lovelace? Why was she reluctant to be public about her skills in mathematics? How did Babbage encourage her?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the various theories on entropy. How was entropy important to information theory?

Essay Topic 3

Describe Norbert Weiner's views on the work and theories of Claude Shannon. Explain the circumstances under which Weiner coined the phrase "cybernetics". What was George Miller's observation on the capacity for the human mind to retain information?

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This section contains 693 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample