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Public Library vs. Public School by Paul+Fernhout · 2012-10-14 06:08 · Score: 1 · on The New School Nurse Is Nurse Ratched

"The three assumptions for home schooling are that it is inherently preferable for a parent to stay home to be there for the kids if they are needed, and that school as it is now is a negative influence the children who parents want to bring them up in a morale world. The third, and more controversial, is that 12 years of schooling is overkill. "

There is a lot more complexity to this than that, although you make some good points.

I'd rather see a "basic income" for all than paying people to be responsible parents, neighbors, or friends.
http://www.basicincome.org/bien/aboutbasicincome.html

Home-based and community-based education is often about reclaiming family and community from institutionalization.
http://johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/16a.htm
"Before you can reach a point of effectiveness in defending your own children or your principles against the assault of blind social machinery, you have to stop conspiring against yourself by attempting to negotiate with a set of abstract principles and rules which, by its nature, cannot respond. Under all its disguises, that is what institutional schooling is, an abstraction which has escaped its handlers. Nobody can reform it. First you have to realize that human values are the stuff of madness to a system; in systems-logic the schools we have are already the schools the system needs; the only way they could be much improved is to have kids eat, sleep, live, and die there."

It certainly is true that unhealthy habits may get passed from kid to kid in schools (they are probably the easiest places to buy addictive drugs, for example). There are other addictive and unhealthy things passed on too at schools, even if they may originate elsewhere:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/article16.aspx
http://www.chefann.com/
http://www.paulgraham.com/addiction.html
http://www.amazon.com/War-Play-Dilemma-Childhood-Education/dp/080774638X
http://www.amazon.com/So-Sexy-Soon-Sexualized-Childhood/dp/0345505077

But public school can be seen as inherently immoral in part because it rests on a premise of unneeded violence through coercion.
http://www.educationrevolution.org/blog/educating-children-in-a-violent-world/

Contrast a "public" school with a "public" library, where many peopel throught the ages have learned a lot without someone grading them or monitoring everything they learned or forcing them to read certain books on a certain fixed schedule.
http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/chapters/3a.htm
"One way to see the difference between schoolbooks and real books like Moby Dick is to examine different procedures which separate librarians, the custodians of real books, from schoolteachers, the custodians of schoolbooks. To begin with, libraries are usually comfortable, clean, and quiet. They are orderly places where you can actually read instead of just pretending to read.
For some reason libraries are never age-segregated, nor do they presume to segregate readers by questionable tests of ability any more than farms or forests or oceans do. The librarian doesn't tell me what to read, doesn't tell me what sequence of reading I have to follow, doesn't grade my reading. The librarian trusts me to have a worthwhile purpose of my own. I appreciate that and trust the library in return.
Some other significant differences between libraries and schools: the librarian lets me ask my own questions and helps m

Re:Just Think by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-14 01:35 · Score: 1 · on As Gas Prices Soar So Does City Biking

The price of crude is pretty consistent around the globe, as are the fixed costs of refining said crude to gasoline and other products. Your fuel prices are the same as the US's. What is different is that your government taxes gasoline at about 200%, $6 per gallon. Strip out all the taxes and gasoline costs around $3 a gallon virtually everywhere on earth.

They had the right idea back in '78, The Price of Oil and Natural Gas Should Be Regulated by the Fed. Govt.

One good book by Slugster · 2012-10-14 00:39 · Score: 3, Informative · on The History of Lying With Images

about this subject (historical propaganda retouching) is titled "The Commisar Vanishes". New copies are a bit pricey but lots of example photo pairs are online.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Commissar-Vanishes-Falsification-Photographs/dp/0805052941

Re:What if they are right? by bcrowell · 2012-10-13 14:26 · Score: 5, Informative · on Physicists Devise Test For Whether the Universe Is a Simulation

The relationship between simulation and simulator isn't necessarily arbitrary, but it's probably not understandable by the simulation. That is in effect (among) what Goedel's incompleteness theorems say.

No, actually that has nothing to do with what Godel's theorems say.

You might want to read this: http://www.amazon.com/Godels-Theorem-Incomplete-Guide-Abuse/dp/1568812388

Re:What if they are right? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-13 08:11 · Score: 1 · on Physicists Devise Test For Whether the Universe Is a Simulation

"going to hell" means a real death sentence at the time we get unplugged from this virtual reality.

But that's alright because then you get to go to hell and be unplugged from that virtual reality.

The problem is infinite regression. Simply put, it's turtles all the way down.

Another Translation: by Futurepower(R) · 2012-10-13 04:21 · Score: 4, Interesting · on U.S. Defense Secretary Warns of a Possible 'Cyber-Pearl Harbor'

I'm guessing: The U.S. Secretary of Defense has no knowledge of computer technology whatsoever, except what he learned from his children. But he wants to be cool, seem knowledgeable, get his name in the news, and get government contracts for associates, so he put his name on a scary memo written by his staff, who also have such associates.

That's a guess, but it seems a likely guess given the fact that technically knowledgeable people use different language and recommend examination of code for security problems and sloppiness.

Some of those who want government corruption want continuous war because government "defense" contracts provide easy profits, and it is easy to keep corruption secret.

If they get easy money, the corrupters don't care who is killed, what lives and property are destroyed, or how much money is wasted. For example, the book Funding the Enemy: How U.S. Taxpayers Bankroll the Taliban provides a huge amount of detail about a small part of the corruption.

Divide the cost to the U.S. taxpayer of just the war in Afghanistan ($574,624,781,538) by the population of Afghanistan (35,320,445). The U.S. taxpayer has already paid 16,268 hard-earned dollars for every man, woman, and child in Afghanistan. The results: Mostly, things are worse.

If those who want corruption can't get the taxpayers to pay for killing other people, they want "cyber war". See, for example, Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran.

The U.S. government has invaded or bombed 27 countries since the end of the 2nd world war.

Constant war makes us poor.

Re:Well, that explains it by bill_mcgonigle · 2012-10-13 03:58 · Score: 4, Informative · on U.S. Defense Secretary Warns of a Possible 'Cyber-Pearl Harbor'

lol you think the US 'lured' Japan into attacking Hawaii? Seriously?

Hrm, the gp said 'lured'. The oil embargo created the conditions where Japan wanted to seize the oil fields of the Dutch East Indies. Roosevelt said this himself. Then he moved the only fleet that could stop them from San Diego to Honolulu. They had radio intel on Japanese movements and kept some of that info from the Navy by Presidential order. (see some good comments here or buy the books)

Roosevelt wanted war and had big trouble selling it (both matters of fact) and these conditions got him an attack which got him what he wanted.

But that doesn't mean the Japanese had to maintain their empire or that the People had to accept a Japanese attack on Hawaii as a reason to go to war in Europe. Plenty of blame to spread around, but one can't cast Roosevelt as completely surprised or ignorant of the conditions in the region.

That comparison was almost as offensive as by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-13 03:12 · Score: 0 · on U.S. Defense Secretary Warns of a Possible 'Cyber-Pearl Harbor'

the movie with Ben Affleck

Pearl harbor was a national tragedy where a lot of good men and women died, some very nice ships sank, and we officially entered WWII. Let's not forget how many died in our response bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

I get that a "Cyber-Pearl-Harbor" is meant to imply we'll get caught with our pants down, but then why not just say that instead of a comparison that effectively equates the deaths of the good citizens and soldiers of Pearl Harbor to a hard drive crash.

Find a better analogy. Preferably something without the word "cyber".

Anyone interested in an eleven year old's perspective of the real bombing of Pearl Harbor might care to read "I Survived #4: I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941". When you're done reading it go ahead and imagine him saying "Dad the hard drive crashed because I opened an email attachment from an unknown sender".

That comparison was almost as offensive as by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-13 03:12 · Score: 0 · on U.S. Defense Secretary Warns of a Possible 'Cyber-Pearl Harbor'

the movie with Ben Affleck

Pearl harbor was a national tragedy where a lot of good men and women died, some very nice ships sank, and we officially entered WWII. Let's not forget how many died in our response bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

I get that a "Cyber-Pearl-Harbor" is meant to imply we'll get caught with our pants down, but then why not just say that instead of a comparison that effectively equates the deaths of the good citizens and soldiers of Pearl Harbor to a hard drive crash.

Find a better analogy. Preferably something without the word "cyber".

Anyone interested in an eleven year old's perspective of the real bombing of Pearl Harbor might care to read "I Survived #4: I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941". When you're done reading it go ahead and imagine him saying "Dad the hard drive crashed because I opened an email attachment from an unknown sender".

Here's one by kelemvor4 · 2012-10-13 02:51 · Score: 1 · on Ask Slashdot: What Books Have Had a Significant Impact On Your Life?

Moonwalking with Einstein

Re:Servers by hairyfeet · 2012-10-13 01:00 · Score: 1 · on AMD Reportedly Preparing Massive Layoff

That's why you should always check Amazon and Tiger as well as the egg, if one don't have it the other two probably will. If you still need some Amazon has the 6272 for $520 which for a 16 core ain't bad. But I don't understand why they had to lower projections when they have had trouble keeping enough chips in the channel. Did they think they could make 3 times more than they could? Did GloFlo screw them again? Who knows.

For 40+ year olds by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-12 21:35 · Score: 0 · on Ask Slashdot: What Books Have Had a Significant Impact On Your Life?

Well, that was fun. Further confirmation to store my post in an editor before trusting SlashDot to correctly process my submission.

My post is directed for those at 40 and older. At this point you should have had offspring, which I think (both biologically and ethically) is significant.

1. John Gardner has written a number of books on how to evaluate fiction. In order to judge a piece of art, you have to have a framework in which to evaluate the piece.

2. As others have mentioned, Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance is a good read on determining values. I think it is better to read this book than relying on the Tao of Pooh, as someone else recommends. Also, it is worthwhile to remember that Pirsig's son killed himself.

3. Also, as others have mentioned, GEB is a must-read for programmers.

At 40, we're at the halfway point; we're thinking about mortality, and our legacy. If we're not parents, we've spent considerable time thinking about why we're not parents.

Though not a book, I've been extremely impressed by film> .

A couple of books I think are relevant for 40+ year old readers:

1. http://www.amazon.com/Soldier-Great-War-Mark-Helprin/dp/0156031132/
2. http://www.amazon.com/Sunlight-Dialogues-John-Gardner/dp/0811216705

I think both Atlas Shrugged & the Bible are worth reading, at the least to have the background to discuss them intelligently.

I was about to recomment the Harvard reading list, when I went out to confirm what it actually was. The irony is that the Google searching
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~sica/reading.htm

does not in any way match what it used to be:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Whole-Five-Feet-ebook/dp/B00280MWSS/

One thought is to read the Pulitzer/Hugo/Nebula/etc. books. IMO, though, the recent winners do not have the same quality as those written, say, 30 years ago.