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That means that biology uses the same idea of having "background jobs" and worker queues that get more relevant while the main function has a bit less to do: ma

That means that biology uses the same idea of having "background jobs" and worker queues that get more relevant while the main function has a bit less to do: many IT systems will schedule some tasks during the night when there is not much going on, so they can prioritize them because otherwise they wouldn't get a chance during the day. I wonder if there are universal laws that transcend biology and technology, all following the same rules that we haven't figured out yet.

pm90 8y ago
Everything derives from the laws of physics (well as we understand it now at least; our understanding has and will change in the future) so its not that surprising that in aggregate they would result in similar systems. I'm not saying its not fascinating though. It is incredibly fascinating, and this kind of research is exactly why we should be investing MORE not less in pure science.
- nonbel 8y ago
  >"this kind of research is exactly why we should be investing MORE not less in pure science." I disagree. Look at the paper: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30624-9 https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)... Can you point out where they even report the temperature of the brain/brainstem? This looks like it is just wild speculation.
  - godshatter 8y ago
    Agreed. Hopefully someone will so we can get some good data on this.
leonroy 8y ago
> many IT systems will schedule some tasks during the night when there is not much going on Indeed, it’s natural that we do this but kind of funny when you consider that our machines now have their own circadian rhythms in tune with ours. What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder!
- maushu 8y ago
  > What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder! We probably would have started with multi-core systems much sooner.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  > What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder! Sounds like your typical developer or sysadmin to me, so probably not much different at all. ;)

pm90 8y ago

Everything derives from the laws of physics (well as we understand it now at least; our understanding has and will change in the future) so its not that surprising that in aggregate they would result in similar systems. I'm not saying its not fascinating though. It is incredibly fascinating, and this kind of research is exactly why we should be investing MORE not less in pure science.

nonbel 8y ago
>"this kind of research is exactly why we should be investing MORE not less in pure science." I disagree. Look at the paper: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30624-9 https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)... Can you point out where they even report the temperature of the brain/brainstem? This looks like it is just wild speculation.
- godshatter 8y ago
  Agreed. Hopefully someone will so we can get some good data on this.

leonroy 8y ago

> many IT systems will schedule some tasks during the night when there is not much going on Indeed, it’s natural that we do this but kind of funny when you consider that our machines now have their own circadian rhythms in tune with ours. What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder!

maushu 8y ago
> What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder! We probably would have started with multi-core systems much sooner.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
> What might our IT infrastructure look like if humans evolved to sleep far less or not at all I wonder! Sounds like your typical developer or sysadmin to me, so probably not much different at all. ;)