Before the Silk Road, there was the Grain Road
Nomadic shepherds in the high plains of Central Asia used grain imported from China and southwestern Asia more than 5,000 years ago, perhaps to sprinkle over bodies in funeral rituals, according to a new study.
The discovery came from a recent investigation of burial sites in Kazakhstan.
Because what is now Kazakhstan was at a crossroads in the nomads’ path, the findings, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provide clues about the later emergence of the trade route known as the Silk Road.
Early on, the nomads moved only by foot, spending winters in warmer valleys and summers in the mountains. Their seasonal moves broadened their interactions and helped disperse the grains, said Michael Frachetti, an archaeologist at Washington University in St. Louis.
The scientists also found evidence that by about 1500 B.C., the nomads were cultivating their own barley, wheat, millet and peas.
Robots teach robots to beat them at Pac-Man
Computer scientists at Washington State University have created robots that can teach other robots — in this case, to play the 1980s video-game sensation Pac-Man — that ultimately outperform their teachers.
The teacher robots advise the student robots on what moves to make, and the students must accept the advice. Soon, the students surpass their teacher, racking up points faster.
“At the very beginning, the student knows nothing, and anything you can use to jump-start that process is extremely helpful,” said Matthew E. Taylor, who along with colleagues described the work in the journal Connection Science. “Even a mediocre teacher can increase the speed at which the student learns.”
Advice helps the student robots learn faster, but the teacher needs to know when to stop.
“If it gives too little advice, the student doesn’t learn,” Taylor said. “If it gives too much advice, the student can’t try new things and improve on its own.”
— New York Times