Problem being, they have to do these experiments to get us off of the planet in the first place...
The other side of that coin is that the one thing that would really, really motivate space colonization efforts would be a planet-killing disaster. And, no, global warming is not a planet-killing disaster. Just ask the mosasaurs that used to live in Kansas.
And that means control over as many compromised third party computers to create the biggest of mega zombie botnets. To accomplish this, the gangs behind the Bagle, Warezov and Zhelatin worms are turning their attention to ridding those compromised computers of rival gang malware infections in order to install their own and gain that control.
The same thing happens inside you intestines or in any given pond of water. Microorganisms compete with one another for control of nutrient resources. In a healthy ecosystem, no one organism gains complete dominance or becomes overly destructive to its environment.
I'm not saying this spam or spyware is beneficial, but it sounds like rival programs are more likely to keep one another in check before ISPs or the government ever come up with a solution. It would be interesting to see viruses, worms, etc. that are too busy attacking each other to steal your financial info.
I'd rather have viruses actively circumventing one another in the background on my computer than a clunky, expensive antiviral program constantly reminding me to download or purchase an update. Of course [lovingly pats iMac], this is all hypothetical.
While I certainly agree that math and science education in the US is substandard, comparing US students and European or Asian students is often like comparing apples and oranges. It is my understanding that many school systems overseas place students in specialized curriculum tracks early on in their education. I've had Russian or Indian students in my intro geology course who don't know what an electron is because they were on the business/math track back home. I've also had students who know more about chemistry in general than I do because of their specialization.
Statistics that compare average "liberal arts" US students to students elsewhere who have specialized in science from that age of 12 can be viewed as biased. And, of course, it doesn't really matter whether the class involved in this gun attack drill was advanced particle physics or supplemental arithmetic. Irresponsibility knows no bounds - academic, cultural, or otherwise.
Seconded.
People are scared to death of nuclear power due to lack of education and crumbling infrastructure. Out here in NY/NJ we're always hearing about malfunctions and break-downs at Indian Point. The plant, like many others in the US, is more than 30 years old. Surely a new nuclear plant built with modern materials, technology, and monitoring systems would be safer and more reliable.
Yes, nuclear waste is a serious issue. But, maybe if the Pentagon allowed us to recycle nuclear fuel rods like they do in France and elsewhere, the problem would be less severe.
Actually, according to this legislation, they'd arrest you for "wasting government resources" by calling in excessive reports.
Uh oh. What happens if I report an instance of improper conduct by a goverment official, like police brutality or secual harrassment? Will I go to jail for wasting the government's precious time?
"I suppose the longer Mercury can hold out as an active planet, the longer will should last as one... assuming we make it that far..."
This may change some of the basic assumptions we have regarding planet formation and tectonic activity. Terrestrial/rocky planets start out molten due to heat of accretion and differentiate as they cool. In a way, the Earth and now apparently Mercury are actually still forming because they are partially molten.
An example of a completely cooled-off, solidified planet would be Mars. It was generally thought that Mars is no longer tectonically active - no long molten in the middle - because it is smaller than the Earth and thus cooled off faster. But Mercury is smaller than both planets and still tectonically active. Perhaps size doesn't matter after all.
So long as you are convinced that the player who just hit the "Let's go!" macro five times in a row, questioned your sexuality, and then pulled off a head shot on a moving target from 500 meters is a real person there is essentially no difference between KillBot 3.2 and Billy.
Considering that our species first appeared in central African grasslands and has since spread to every continent and latitude on the planet (yes, scientists living in Antarctica count)we are a surprisingly resilient species. Low-oxygen mountain regions, arctic tundra, jungles, deserts - these are all environments that our species has learned to live in through physiological and technological adaptations. Humans aren't all that fragile.
I've been an adjunct at a community college for a couple years now and the first time I found out I was even listed on the website I was actually excited. It meant I was a memorable enough professor that some student actually bothered to log in and fill out the web form.
When I looked myself up, the students mostly complained that there were too many notes and the class was hard. Well what a surprise: non-science majors complaining about a required science course that consisted almost entirely of material they had never heard of (geology)! I was utterly shocked and offended. (rolls eyes)
But, even better, other students have since replied to those original comments saying that the course isn't too hard if you do the work, etc. And, I found that there was nothing to stop me from logging in as a student and rating myself:) I suggested that the course was difficult but the professor made up for it with extra credit and curved grades.
This comes up every few years in the paleo literature. In the 80's it was called the 26-million-year Death Star, aka the Nemesis Theory (http://swanson.bol.ucla.edu/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(star)). Supposedly old Sol has a companion star somewhere out in the Oort cloud that disrupts the orbits of comets and meteors on a regular basis, increrasing the likelihood of an Earth collission.
Of course, major extinctions controlled by a regular astronomical phenomenon then they would be very regular. But, they're not periodic because they're caused by many different factors often occurring simultaneously. They call it the "Murder on the Orient Express" hypothesis - one of my favorites!
Always tell someone to "name three".
My point is that there is an undeniable decline in the quality of musical theatre as of late. I realize that one generation's pop-culture is another's Shakespeare and I am certainly no expert in theatre history. But, does anyone here think that art/literature students 200 years from now are going to be studying Spiderman: The Musical as closely as we study Othello?
Don't get me wrong, I've been enjoying most of the Marvel movies as much as the average SF/comic geek. Spiderman 2 was probably one of the few sequels I've ever seen that was better than the original.
But can no one in the entertainment industry come up with an original frickin' idea?!?! Name three hit musicals from the past 10 years that weren't revivals or movie adaptations. The musical is one of the few unique American cultural contributions. We can honestly say that the musical (like Jazz and the internet) is an American invention.
Now we have a theatre industry controlled by the over-commericialized mass media, whose investors are looking for a "sure thing". A multi-million-dollar box office hit that'll sell sountrack albums and t-shirts and keep the groundlings enthralled for years. I don't mean to sound elitist. For example, I think Disney musicals are an excellent way to promote appreciation for theatre amongst children.
But, come on! What happened to original stories? What happened to character-driven drama? Did all those starving playwrights and composers actually die off? How do we go from West Side Story, The King and I, and Cabaret to Big, Legally Blonde, and Spiderman?
Slashdot Mirror
The other side of that coin is that the one thing that would really, really motivate space colonization efforts would be a planet-killing disaster. And, no, global warming is not a planet-killing disaster. Just ask the mosasaurs that used to live in Kansas.
Got Milk?
The same thing happens inside you intestines or in any given pond of water. Microorganisms compete with one another for control of nutrient resources. In a healthy ecosystem, no one organism gains complete dominance or becomes overly destructive to its environment.
I'm not saying this spam or spyware is beneficial, but it sounds like rival programs are more likely to keep one another in check before ISPs or the government ever come up with a solution. It would be interesting to see viruses, worms, etc. that are too busy attacking each other to steal your financial info.
I'd rather have viruses actively circumventing one another in the background on my computer than a clunky, expensive antiviral program constantly reminding me to download or purchase an update. Of course [lovingly pats iMac], this is all hypothetical.
While I certainly agree that math and science education in the US is substandard, comparing US students and European or Asian students is often like comparing apples and oranges. It is my understanding that many school systems overseas place students in specialized curriculum tracks early on in their education. I've had Russian or Indian students in my intro geology course who don't know what an electron is because they were on the business/math track back home. I've also had students who know more about chemistry in general than I do because of their specialization.
Statistics that compare average "liberal arts" US students to students elsewhere who have specialized in science from that age of 12 can be viewed as biased. And, of course, it doesn't really matter whether the class involved in this gun attack drill was advanced particle physics or supplemental arithmetic. Irresponsibility knows no bounds - academic, cultural, or otherwise.
Seconded. People are scared to death of nuclear power due to lack of education and crumbling infrastructure. Out here in NY/NJ we're always hearing about malfunctions and break-downs at Indian Point. The plant, like many others in the US, is more than 30 years old. Surely a new nuclear plant built with modern materials, technology, and monitoring systems would be safer and more reliable. Yes, nuclear waste is a serious issue. But, maybe if the Pentagon allowed us to recycle nuclear fuel rods like they do in France and elsewhere, the problem would be less severe.
Actually, according to this legislation, they'd arrest you for "wasting government resources" by calling in excessive reports. Uh oh. What happens if I report an instance of improper conduct by a goverment official, like police brutality or secual harrassment? Will I go to jail for wasting the government's precious time?
This may change some of the basic assumptions we have regarding planet formation and tectonic activity. Terrestrial/rocky planets start out molten due to heat of accretion and differentiate as they cool. In a way, the Earth and now apparently Mercury are actually still forming because they are partially molten.
An example of a completely cooled-off, solidified planet would be Mars. It was generally thought that Mars is no longer tectonically active - no long molten in the middle - because it is smaller than the Earth and thus cooled off faster. But Mercury is smaller than both planets and still tectonically active. Perhaps size doesn't matter after all.
Meh, people spent plenty of time living in caves and tunnels during the last ice age. Why not on Mars?
So long as you are convinced that the player who just hit the "Let's go!" macro five times in a row, questioned your sexuality, and then pulled off a head shot on a moving target from 500 meters is a real person there is essentially no difference between KillBot 3.2 and Billy.
Considering that our species first appeared in central African grasslands and has since spread to every continent and latitude on the planet (yes, scientists living in Antarctica count)we are a surprisingly resilient species. Low-oxygen mountain regions, arctic tundra, jungles, deserts - these are all environments that our species has learned to live in through physiological and technological adaptations. Humans aren't all that fragile.
I've been an adjunct at a community college for a couple years now and the first time I found out I was even listed on the website I was actually excited. It meant I was a memorable enough professor that some student actually bothered to log in and fill out the web form.
When I looked myself up, the students mostly complained that there were too many notes and the class was hard. Well what a surprise: non-science majors complaining about a required science course that consisted almost entirely of material they had never heard of (geology)! I was utterly shocked and offended. (rolls eyes)
But, even better, other students have since replied to those original comments saying that the course isn't too hard if you do the work, etc. And, I found that there was nothing to stop me from logging in as a student and rating myself :) I suggested that the course was difficult but the professor made up for it with extra credit and curved grades.
This comes up every few years in the paleo literature. In the 80's it was called the 26-million-year Death Star, aka the Nemesis Theory (http://swanson.bol.ucla.edu/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis_(star)). Supposedly old Sol has a companion star somewhere out in the Oort cloud that disrupts the orbits of comets and meteors on a regular basis, increrasing the likelihood of an Earth collission. Of course, major extinctions controlled by a regular astronomical phenomenon then they would be very regular. But, they're not periodic because they're caused by many different factors often occurring simultaneously. They call it the "Murder on the Orient Express" hypothesis - one of my favorites!
Always tell someone to "name three". My point is that there is an undeniable decline in the quality of musical theatre as of late. I realize that one generation's pop-culture is another's Shakespeare and I am certainly no expert in theatre history. But, does anyone here think that art/literature students 200 years from now are going to be studying Spiderman: The Musical as closely as we study Othello?
Don't get me wrong, I've been enjoying most of the Marvel movies as much as the average SF/comic geek. Spiderman 2 was probably one of the few sequels I've ever seen that was better than the original. But can no one in the entertainment industry come up with an original frickin' idea?!?! Name three hit musicals from the past 10 years that weren't revivals or movie adaptations. The musical is one of the few unique American cultural contributions. We can honestly say that the musical (like Jazz and the internet) is an American invention. Now we have a theatre industry controlled by the over-commericialized mass media, whose investors are looking for a "sure thing". A multi-million-dollar box office hit that'll sell sountrack albums and t-shirts and keep the groundlings enthralled for years. I don't mean to sound elitist. For example, I think Disney musicals are an excellent way to promote appreciation for theatre amongst children. But, come on! What happened to original stories? What happened to character-driven drama? Did all those starving playwrights and composers actually die off? How do we go from West Side Story, The King and I, and Cabaret to Big, Legally Blonde, and Spiderman?