A military or military force (n., from Latin militarius, miles "soldier") has seen many different incarnations throughout time. Early armies were most likely men with sharpened sticks and rocks; through time they have included advancements such as men mounting horses, men wielding swords and other metallic weapons, the bow and arrow, siege weapons, the stirrup, to the advance of the musket which form the roots of the armed forces of most nations we know today. In modern times people use motorized vehicles and firearms.

While military can refer to any armed force, it generally refers to a permanent, professional force of soldiers or guerrillas—trained exclusively for the purpose of warfare and should be distinguished from a sanctioned militia or a levy, which are temporary forces— citizen soldiers with less training, who may be "called up" as a reserve force, when a nation mobilizes for total war, or to defend against invasion. The term military is often used to mean an army.

The doctrine that asserts the primacy of a military within a society is called militarism.

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MIT News: Robotics / artificial intelligence

MIT's new underwater robot can hover in place
Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500
MIT researchers have designed the Odyssey IV, a new robotic underwater vehicle that can hover in place like a helicopter and serve as an invaluable tool for deepwater oil explorers, marine archaeologists, oceanographers and others.
Robot wheelchair finds its own way
Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500
MIT researchers are developing a new kind of autonomous wheelchair that can learn all about the locations in a given building, and then take its occupant to a given place in response to a verbal command.
Memory capacity bigger than previously thought
Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500
A new study from MIT cognitive neuroscientists may overturn the widespread belief that human memory does not store the details of our experiences. They have shown, given the right setting, the human brain can record an amazing amount of information.
Model helps computers sort data more like humans
Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
In an advance that may impact the field of artificial intelligence, a new model developed at MIT can help computers recognize patterns the same way that humans do. The model can analyze a set of data and figure out which type of organizational structure best fits it.
MIT class asks: Fly me to the moon?
Wed, 21 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
An MIT graduate class, aimed at figuring out whether MIT could, or should, mount an entry into the $20-million Google Lunar X-Prize competition announced last fall, has arrived at the bottom line: Yes, we can (technically)!
Beaver-like robots face off in annual MIT contest
Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Robots designed to toss pool-noodle trees into a river of ping-pong balls ruled over competitors focused on rescuing fuzzy toy beavers in this year's 2.007 contest, "Da (yes) MIT, or Save the Baby Beavers," held on Thursday, May 8, at MIT.

Latest Issue of Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence

Introduction to the special issue on: pluralism and the future of cognitive science
Dale, Rick
The possibility of a pluralist cognitive science
Dale, Rick
On the nature of minds, or: truth and consequences
Edelman, Shimon

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