I know you were being sarcastic, even though there is something to be said about:
[...] of a piece of literature which was authored based on a decades old view of technology.
The thing is: a lot of people consider those laws as something practical, and that should be really implemented. What Asimov truly wanted to show (in my interpretation) is that any law could be bent by its subjective interpretations.
So I agree with AnyoneEB, an I think you should (as it seems you haven't yet) read the entire Foundation series... awesome read.
If perhaps Asimov's three laws of robotics were practical to implement in any device possessing conscious thought; recognizing and preventing infractions themselves require another device of at least equal capability, or a additional dimensions of complexity within the original device.
I don't know if it's this way with every programmer, but I tend to apply our common logic tools to every problem I encounter. Briefly speaking, I try to 'debug life'. It's nice, everything I want I usually get through these mentally sketched 'algorithms'. But trying to argue with a girl about a problem in a logical way really doesn't work. When you think you had all the variables fixed and an obvious overall picture that she can't disagree, that's when she'll bring things that aren't even related to the problem, just to confuse things up.
So, I couldn't agree more with you, and emphasize your 3rd item.
The main thing I miss now is the Conectiva keyboard mapping. There are some subtle but significant differences in the way US-style keyboards handle accented characters, and Conectiva had the smartest setup (easiest to use, less keystrokes needed).
Perhaps it's just a matter of configuring SCIM (smart common input method)? I use Ubuntu 8.04, with the default configurations for Portuguese (my native language), Japanese and Chinese (for hanzi and pinyin) and the only complaint I have is the lack of documentation (for pinyin). It is a very natural and productive input method.
The problem is that the 'meatsacks' he referred are the really stupid majority. If you never drove on a Harley-Davidson, when you put your hands on one you wouldn't say "damn, where's the fucking gas pedal?", you would find the machine interesting and would want to learn more about it. They wouldn't.
It's too bad there is so much stupid people in the world.
I remember a story posted here on/. about a scientist that found a mutation on his bacterias that allowed them to metabolize methane. IIRC, it happened in the range of 20K to 40K generations. The unikonts you mentioned seem to be very hard to happen given our lifespan, but after 10^10 generations it is not that difficult to think happening.
-1 Redundant... sorry for my fellow japanese moderators, and for those that were anally violated by Sony (I really couldn't imagine they were so much:p )
Someone said in another post to not drink and moderate... I liked the idea. In the same lines, I'd say "You should not drink and watch gay-snuff-porn movies and post comments". Btw, if Sony anally violated you, be happy it was a japanese company. Imagine if it was... Ubuntu!!! (I know, I know... OS not company... don't spoil my retarded joke.)
Slashdot Mirror
The universe is software, the brain workings are just a tiny side-effect, but can still be considered software.
From universe.c:
int main()
{
[...]
return 42;
}
Oh, I see another PETA game coming...
It was a dark and stormy night.
No one would be out on a night like this thought Joe the thief.
And he was right, because what stroke him was a lightning bolt, which turned him into ashes. The end.
Oh, no! You've really screwed up this time! Guess you'll have to start over! Hope you saved the game!
Res[t]ore, [R]estart, or [Q]uit?
Actually I was just waiting for a reply like yours, so I can whole-heartedly say: GET OFF MY LAWN!!!
Thanx for being part of my Tao.
Wasn't this already known?
Finally the public will really get the facts! :)
actually, it's gigatransfers per second... thanx for dkf ( http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1016475&cid=25611995 ) for informing that link.
wow! 64 * 10^9 (giga) * 10^12 (tera), or 6.4 * 10^20 bytes per second!!! awesome!!!~
I know you were being sarcastic, even though there is something to be said about:
[...] of a piece of literature which was authored based on a decades old view of technology.
The thing is: a lot of people consider those laws as something practical, and that should be really implemented. What Asimov truly wanted to show (in my interpretation) is that any law could be bent by its subjective interpretations.
So I agree with AnyoneEB, an I think you should (as it seems you haven't yet) read the entire Foundation series... awesome read.
If perhaps Asimov's three laws of robotics were practical to implement in any device possessing conscious thought; recognizing and preventing infractions themselves require another device of at least equal capability, or a additional dimensions of complexity within the original device.
A hail to Kurt Godel! :)
[/., please accept utf-8... GÃdel]
what a big idiot!
Totally irrelevant but, speaking as a pendant
Somehow, I doubt you're that pretty.
Butt ugly, actually. It's just that since childhood he has this mania of hanging on his tail and yelling "hey mum, look! I'm a pendant!"
I don't know if it's this way with every programmer, but I tend to apply our common logic tools to every problem I encounter. Briefly speaking, I try to 'debug life'. It's nice, everything I want I usually get through these mentally sketched 'algorithms'. But trying to argue with a girl about a problem in a logical way really doesn't work. When you think you had all the variables fixed and an obvious overall picture that she can't disagree, that's when she'll bring things that aren't even related to the problem, just to confuse things up.
So, I couldn't agree more with you, and emphasize your 3rd item.
I'd like to moderate you "+2 Insightful+Funny" :)
If you only look for money, instead of quality of life...
The main thing I miss now is the Conectiva keyboard mapping. There are some subtle but significant differences in the way US-style keyboards handle accented characters, and Conectiva had the smartest setup (easiest to use, less keystrokes needed).
Perhaps it's just a matter of configuring SCIM (smart common input method)? I use Ubuntu 8.04, with the default configurations for Portuguese (my native language), Japanese and Chinese (for hanzi and pinyin) and the only complaint I have is the lack of documentation (for pinyin). It is a very natural and productive input method.
The problem is that the 'meatsacks' he referred are the really stupid majority. If you never drove on a Harley-Davidson, when you put your hands on one you wouldn't say "damn, where's the fucking gas pedal?", you would find the machine interesting and would want to learn more about it. They wouldn't.
It's too bad there is so much stupid people in the world.
I remember a story posted here on /. about a scientist that found a mutation on his bacterias that allowed them to metabolize methane. IIRC, it happened in the range of 20K to 40K generations. The unikonts you mentioned seem to be very hard to happen given our lifespan, but after 10^10 generations it is not that difficult to think happening.
-1 Redundant... sorry for my fellow japanese moderators, and for those that were anally violated by Sony (I really couldn't imagine they were so much :p )
Someone said in another post to not drink and moderate... I liked the idea. In the same lines, I'd say "You should not drink and watch gay-snuff-porn movies and post comments". Btw, if Sony anally violated you, be happy it was a japanese company. Imagine if it was... Ubuntu!!! (I know, I know... OS not company... don't spoil my retarded joke.)
How can you forget Ada Lovelace?
The ranking, in my opinion, is:
1 - The Secret of MI
2 - The Curse of MI & Escape from MI
3 - MI2 - LeChuck's Revenge
It would be really nice if they remade MI1 with better (current) graphics/audio quality.
MI2 is the worse of the series...
Yep, my first thought too! Actually I was going to ask "will they find the Island of Melee(c)?" :D
[/. should accept utf-8]
The women that know me think otherwise... they ever say the hardest material known to them is my... head! :\