Slashdot Mirror

Wasting my mod points, but by the time you proposed it in 2008, fundable.org had been running for two years with the same threshold pledge system. (They were hit bad by credit card scammers, accidentally axed a legit project thinking it was CC fraud, this happened to be Mary Robinette Kowal, SF author and friends with Cory Doctorow, at the time the most popular blogger in the world. End of story).

I had idly shipped the idea to Global Ideas Bank (aka ideas dustbin) many years before that again. And I wasn't the first either, among others Bruce Schneier beat me to it.

And no, Xenna below, it was good there never was a patent registered. It's great evidence that ideas are cheap but realisations are valuable - and good ideas tend to be rediscovered if they are forgotten.

I didn't think that humans could generate this much stable and continuous power.

It reminds me of this idea I submitted to the Global Ideas bank.

I didn't think that humans could generate this much stable and continuous power.

It reminds me of this idea I submitted to the Global Ideas bank.

First, I would like to point out that *all* legal cases are decided on a case-by-case basis. I would add that the precedent in first amendment cases discusses a 'freedom of expression' under the Constitution - you can go to the SCUSA website and read the decisions yourself if you're so inclined. The case-by-case part has been, historically, to decide if a given action was indeed a protected form of first amendment expression.

Whoah... "never" is a long, long time, my friend. But just to show you how far we have progressed towards your 'never', here's a fun link:

http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/idea.php? ideaId=1695

quote from above article:

"This is partly because they have only recently discovered that it is perfectly legal for them to do so. In a decision in People vs Ramona Santorelli and Mary Lou Schloss, two activists in another movement, called the Coalition for Topfree Equality, the New York State court of appeals ruled last summer that women had the right to go barechested wherever men were allowed to. This meant, in effect, that they could do so not only when sunbathing in parks or on beaches, but also on the streets or in the subway."

New York thinks that discrimination between the sexes is unconstitutional. Furthermore, spend a little quality time with google and you can find precedent where indecent exposure charges were dismissed based on First Amendment right to expression. I think it's only a matter of time before public nudity falls under that aegis.

The Global Ideas Bank also aims to help people put ideas into practice.....with the ability to build a community round an idea and turn it into reality.....

The Global Ideas Bank differs from the other ideas websites (HalfbAkery, ShouldExist, LazyWeb, Premises Premises etc) because it focuses on Social Inventions which are new, non-product, (usually) non-gadget/techie ideas to improve society. It's just had a massive overhaul, so do check it out and let me know any thoughts.

• Halfbakery.com - a lively discussion of partly-baked ideas
• Smartfunusa.com - Cartoons by Kiva Sutton
• Idea-x.net - idea exchange software
• ShouldExist
• Global Ideas Bank
• ThinkCycle
• yet2.com
• Idea Exchange
• brainhead.com
• Ideas Happen - contest site for 18-29 year olds
• I Called It! - site for posting predictions
• openideas.net
• BrainFlower - revolutionary idea exchange
• Ideas by Creativity Pool
• Idea a day - "Where ideas are free."
• The Idea Oven
• Prior-Art-O-Matic - truly random product ideas
• Totally Absurd Inventions - America's goofiest patents
• Forbes
• Springwise.com - Springwise is an inspiring free newsletter that tracks emerging why-not ideas from all around the world
• Trendwatching.com - Trendwatching is a second free newsletter that lives up to its name

It's just about trust. Google hasn't violated it yet. It may seem naive, but it's actually the most effective way to interact: give someone the benefit of the doubt until they screw you over, then screw them over in equal measure.

Read up on TIT FOR TAT.

Cheers.

how evil Nazis [were] was not discovered until after the war

Not quite true.

Leaving aside a discussion as to the definition of evil, the broad lines of the "final solution" were well known from around 1941...

It was well known from before 1933 that anti-semitic groups were active in Germany, and were on the way to taking political control.

Read Address Unknown, first published in 1938, set in 1932 - 1934.

Perhaps many people did not grasp just how enormous the "implementation of the solution" was... Industrial-scale extermination of an entire ethnic group!

Getting back to the topic, why do you think governments legislate to limit which countries can buy certain technologies?

• Can China buy an ASCI Q?
• Can China buy combination cattle-prod cum truncheons?

is before wwi wars were just starting to be mechanized, with still a lot of rifles and calvary - now we (and 'them') have the bomb! About the worst thing that could happen then (very bad no doubt) was trenchfoot and mustard gas, and produced some hero's like Baron Von Richthofen and Eddie Rickenbacker. Now we put up for risk vast civilian areas of Bhagdad and Chicago, live in fear of genetically engineered killer virusus, and, gasp, script kiddiez!

Actually, in the western world, 20% of people have 80% of the wealth, more or less.

Furthermore, an article here talks about this idea physically modeled. The 20/80 idea may very well be a physical constant that we can't do very much about, except by reducing regulation and making sure that money can flow freely, that maximises the relationship, distributing wealth as much as possible.

There is also a bit of disingenousness in discussing this idea and comparing to other times in history. the communists came about at a time when the pot of wealth was so much smaller, and people were just getting by paying for food and shelter. Today, the wealth pot is huge, sure 20% owns 80%, yet the other 20% of wealth owned by the rest is amazingly large, and more than sufficient for the non wealthy 80% to live very comfortably.

http://www.globalideasbank.org/BOV/BV-381.HTML

Hippocratic oath for Scientists, Engineers, and Executives

I vow to practise my profession with conscience and dignity;

I will strive to apply my skills only with the utmost respect for the well-being of all humanity, the earth, and all its species.

I will not permit considerations of nationality, politics, prejudice, or material advancement to intervene between my work and the duty to future generations;

I make this Oath solemnly, freely, and upon my honour

This posting quotes from the book to make this point.

Most households were first introduced to computers by video games. It does not surprise me that the first introduction to AI for many people is computer games. I realize that spell checking and grammer checking, a form of AI, may be in many houses too.

Even the military is using game-developed technology for combat simulators.

well, as an american, I heard it from a brit. So I am supposed to use his language only in decribing it? Besides, there is this 1998 UK gov document addressing the problem of "neighborhood renewal". Note especially item number ten in the list. And yes, They actually use the term neighborhood.

heck I can go to the Roxbury Projects nerar Boston to see the same thing. any other number of big cities where high rises were built that destroyed a community.

I am sure that there are not any lack of witnesses in any city around the counry, US, or UK, all available to provide the anectdotal evidence that pains you so much. this of course dates back to the 1960's before they came up with interesting theories of Social Impact via Architecture, which actually validates the points I made in an off the cuff fashion.

The design of 1930's flats were achieved via Natural selection over many many years, and had the lowest levels of crime. Other designs did not have the benefit of this, and failed miserably, even though based on the most modernb of social theories, had the best architects, etc.

http://www.globalideasbank.org/BOV/BV-393.HTML

The biggest problem about getting science fiction applied in what is laughingly called 'the real world' is the old Catch-22. It is best exemplified by Arthur C. Clarke's explanation of why he is not rather better off than he actually is. When he first had the idea of the communications satellite, he tried to get it patented. 'Come, come, Mr Clarke,' said the people at the Patent Office. 'We're a serious outfit, we haven't got time to waste on fantastic ideas like this.' Years later, when the first satellite (with which Arthur was actively involved) actually went up, and the nations were queuing to get their own satellites up, Arthur went back to the Patent Office. 'But, Mr Clarke,' they said, 'the satellite already exists. You should have come to us earlier.'

Typical Bureaucratic bungling.

and there is more:

The very first paper describing the very first constellation, consisting of three satellites in geostationary orbit. Allegedly the only accurate science-fiction prediction ever. Authored by the famous Arthur C. Clarke, before the space race, before Sputnik 1, and before Arthur C. Clarke became a famous author. (There's a mirror of the paper. And now we call it the Clarke orbit, and you can simulate the original proposal.

This Page also discusses the legal issues because at the time Clarke wrote his paper, there was no way to get a satellite into orbit to begin with.

I made no such claim of perfection - you read that into my post.

My apologies then.

I agree with you to some extent that the US constitution has probably influenced other constitutions. But the US constitution in turn was clearly inspired by other constitutions as well. Many good constitutions are significantly older. While not all of them (and associated laws) included what we today consider basic rights from the start, they laid the groundwork. And modern democracy is really quite young, in any nation. For example, many modern nations did not have universal suffrage until well into the 20th century. (1921 in Sweden and 1947 in the US.)

The Swedish constitutions or "grundlagar" (they are actually four) date back to the 14th century, and many basic principles of democracy have been part of those constitutions for hundreds of years. Two examples are the freedom of press (prohibition of censorship, etc) and offentlighetsprincipen that were both made part of the constitutions of Sweden in 1766, ie 22 years before the US constitution was drafted. The offentlighetsprincip deserves special attention, since it probably has nothing quite comparable in other constitutions except the Finnish. It guarantees access to most documents and communication at courts, govermental agencies and institutions.

That principle was reason for a dispute with the US Congress a few years ago (acting on behalf of lobby groups with no real national interest in the issue) when Swedish authorities published the Bible of Scientology and made copies available to anyone in the world. It all began after a citizen began sending the Bible to parliament, courts and other institutions. Letters of protest sent by a US congressman and a US commerce agency spokesman also became public, much to their surprise and dismay. All these texts automatically became public according to the constitution, there was no way around it. The principle has been the cause of many politicians' fall, since the media routinely browse new documents and find out things they otherwise would not have.

For more info about the Swedish constitution:
ICL - Swedish Constitution
The Finnish-Swedish Offentlighetsprincipen (s.c.nordic FAQ-related texts)

For more (but partly outdated) information about the very fascinating Scientology case in Sweden, these sites are recommended:

Failed US pressure on Sweden
Zenon vs CoS - the A.R.S. Posts
Operation Clamblake: Zenon Panoussis vs. Cult of Scientology

Moving on to the federal constitution of Switzerland, it is admittedly significantly younger (from 1848, although its democratic traditions are quite old and direct democracy has been an integral part of the country's history for some time. In my opinion, the Swiss constitution is the best overall, despite that the democracy comes with a price: slow decision making.

If anyone wants more info about the Swiss constitution, I whole-heartedly recommend the book "The Referendum - Direct Democracy in Switzerland" by US political scientist, professor Kris Kobach. The following URL can also be useful:

Global Ideas Bank - Exporting the Swiss constitution
ICL - Swiss Constitution

Of course, people actually downloading the whole human genome probable wouldn't worry about this, but couldn't they use a better compression format than .zip? I bet using bzip2 or rar would shave a couple of hundred MBs off of that 753MB file. Also, the differences in compression techniques would be interesting to see on a large group of files mainly consisting of G, A, C, and T. -- demiurge You find a file that appears important and obliterate it from memory!!! Score one for the downtrodden hacker!

• G -- 00
• A -- 01
• T -- 10
• C -- 11

This would only work for the .fa files, but .fa files can contain "N"s also. If you just want to browse the Genome, look through the pieces directory. .

Well, if you've got nanites in your bloodstream then you won't have a hat. You'll have nanites wiring your brain directly, but then the next step is to just make a copy of your brain map...and then you have decide if you'll upload yourself.

Of course MS will never do this, since it is the main reason that:

1. MS Office reached a tipping point, gaining mindshare dominance
2. MS Office users fork over $400+ every 2-3 years for the latest version.
3. Despite remarkable efforts at reverse-engineering, non-MS programs cannot fully read/write MS Office files with complete functionality, therefore forcing many of use to keep buying MS crap just to be compatible.

Things will only get worse if UCITA passes, because then it may be illegal for any company to reverse-engineer the MS Office file formats. Then we'll see the true power of mindshare.

An example:

A co-worker of mine who writes a newsletter in MS Publisher asked for my help in distributing the newsletter online. I suggested exporting to html, but discovered that was not possible. Finally I suggested just stripping out the text and sending it as just a simple email. Too difficult. She's now trying to get volunteers to hand out paper copies!