... certain lawsuits against gun manufacturers because yes, people occasionally use a gun to kill someone. Let the fsckers make the manufacture and sale of guns illegal (or try:-) but to retroactively sue gun manufacturers for these deaths is idiotic in the extreme!
Similarly, it may or may not be true that violent video games incline certain unstable individuals to violent acts. I don't know. But it's irrelevant. If it is somehow "determined" that yes, video games indeed lead to some violence, then make 'em illegal (or try to:-)
But no way can you retroactively sue people for doing what's perfectly legal at the time.
"Evolution doesn't really take place in individuals. It takes place in populations."
That is true.
"In small, isolated populations, beneficial mutations can spread quickly through the gene pool. In large populations, they tend to get lost in the noise."
It depends on how beneficial they are. Evolution occurs within even large populations - it is the formation of whole new species that is dependent upon an isolated population.
"Being fit to survive is not as important these days as being smart. Our next big steps in advancement will require intelligence, not brawn. "
Fit for what? "Fitness" only means "adapted to the environment". The environment includes everything: our physical environment, our food, our lifestyles, etc. These are the things humans adapt to.
The idea that human evolution has ended because we are so insulated from the physical environment is silly. We are evolving to adapt to a changing environment.
Everybody's carrying on as if this is some sort of important event in the history of KDE. The Liquid theme is pretty, but jaysus, it's a friggin' theme! Let's get some perspective.
'and on the other hand, a horse cannot evolve wheels, because the intermediate steps between a legged horse and a wheeled horse would not be able to move. pity because a wheeled horse could be faster..."
On the other other hand, horses can go places and do things that no wheeled vehicle can. Including replace themselves automatically.
"just look at biological species to see that a process of evolution rarely results in the optimal design, and is unable to take U-turns or back out of dead ends..."
Maybe not "the optimal" design, but damned robust, flexible, and enduring ones! And workable over quite a broad design space. Speed is not the only parameter that needs to be considered...
"I suppose that depends on what you mean by "verge". But now that they have Charlton Heston narrating a promotional video I suppose anything is possible."
I can't believe I used up my mod points yesterday. I'd definitely give this a "funny" point!!!
"His best-known theme concerns animals elevated to sentience via genetic engineering, to serve as slaves to the fully-human. This is only a small step, in conceptual terms) from tomatoes with flounder genes, which already exist."
Yes, it's just a small step from sticking a flounder gene into a tomato to making it sentient. NOT. In conceptual terms or any other, it is a bit of a gap between so-called "genetic engineering" (by no stretch of the imagination is it engineering) as we know it today, and creating sentient non-human slaves by genetic tinkering.
"We also know that there is fungal blooms that happen, so there is at least a basic rudimentary "life" "ecosystem" on the planet, however there is no sign of any sort of animal life."
Say what? There are no fungal blooms on Mars. There is no evidence for any life whatsoever on Mars.
Re:I don't understand
on
GNU Emacs 21
·
· Score: 1
"I won't miss DG. He has become a government kissass in the last few years and that is not what NASA needed."
Be advised that NASA is a government agency, not a private playground for space geeks.
"NASA needs strong leadership with vision and balls to stand firm on the vision."
A NASA leader can stand as firmly as he/she wants on whatever vision they want - but it comes down to exciting the imagination of the public to the point that they're willing to fund this sort of thing.
"It is a complete disgrace that at this point in time and entire generation has become 'Adults' since the last time we landed a human on the moon."
In a way, I agree. But IAC, it's not NASA's fault - blame Congress, and really, blame the American people who just lost interest. Been there, done that.
"A lunar launch base is absolutly essential to making a Mars program work yet we have nothing to show for progress other than the ISS... which isn't exactly progress at this point; under budgeted and now forever crippled by being understaffed."
Folks don't seem to understand that there's more to space exploration than deciding to do it. If there's one lesson that's been learned, it's that it's difficult. A quick jaunt to the moon is one thing - moon and mars bases are quite another.
We still need to learn more about how various materials perform in space, how humans will get along on long missions where you can't look out the window and see Terra 100 miles below you, and how to manage huge technical projects (including international projects) more efficiently. The ISS addresses some of these issues.
To do things any faster would take a much larger investment. Don't blame NASA or Goldin - blame the voters who just don't care about space.
" That's a bunch of bullshit. There's no way watching/experiencing something non-chemical can actually halt the development of your mind."
Whether or not playing video games "causes violence", your statement above is very very wrong. The development of the mind is dependent on the brain receiving certain kinds of stimuli at certain points in development. This is very well established.
" Planes are constructed very differently from birds, bats or insects. Evolution can often be a very messy designer, engineers are much cleaner. We can look to nature for ideas, but not neccessarily solutions."
Other than going very fast (woo!), any flying apparatus ever designed by human engineers is a clumsy inefficient piece of crap compared to a dragonfly, much less a bird or bat. You picked a really hideously poor example.
"Graphic design costs money and enough people want "flashy" as part of their web experience."
In my experience, it's the owners of the site rather than the visitors that want cheezy flashy stuff. Most visitors simply want easily navigated, easily read content.
An important part of my consultancy is tutoring elderly people. The two most important points have been raised already: 1) Patience! It can take older folks a bit of time to wrap their brains around many computer concepts we take for granted. Sort of like it did for us in the beginning. At least those of us who started in the Radio Shack TRS-80/Commodore PET/Apple ][/ CPM era:-) 2) Fear. Many older folks are indeed afraid that they'll break something. They need to be reassured that experimentation is OK. And be ready to fix things:-)
Other points: As we know, there is usually more than one way of doing things. It might be best to stick with one consistent way... e.g., maybe the main menu route. Then you can convince them that the toolbar buttons and keyboard shortcuts do exactly the same thing, somewhere down the line.
Get them to write stuff down! All of my clients keep a special notebook for computer stuff. Make them write stuff down in some detail... cutting/copying and pasting seems to be a real bitch for some reason. The desktop metaphor is just similar enough to the "real world" to really be confusing to some folks.
Get them comfortable with email right off the bat. This can get them nicely reconnected with their families in many cases, and plus makes it easier to support them.
Make sure they understand the difference between the Internet and the Web and email and so forth. It's not as obvious as it seems! And it's fun to see the light go off when they figure out just what the Web is...
If you're not into it, don't do it. I've worked with folks who have had very bad experiences at the hands of impatient, inarticulate jerks who made them feel stupid, and it takes some time and effort to work through it. This ain't rocket science, it's just a bit different from what they're used to.
Which leads to my final point: Have some heart for these people - like them! Have some time to talk about non-computer stuff, etc. Find some points of contact. You will be so rewarded when they become adept computer jockeys! And even if they don't!
"Why is it so acceptable in this "community" to use such derogatory terms, when if someone were to use "Linsux" everybody would be up in arms and crying foul?"
Slashdot Mirror
"Harvesting"
Yeah, just like a fucking corn field. Not only grotesque, but disgusting.
Similarly, it may or may not be true that violent video games incline certain unstable individuals to violent acts. I don't know. But it's irrelevant. If it is somehow "determined" that yes, video games indeed lead to some violence, then make 'em illegal (or try to
But no way can you retroactively sue people for doing what's perfectly legal at the time.
Whatever.
Neither. Bullets kill people.
"Finally, my native tongue is not English so I consider it my God-given right to abuse it in any way I want."
:-)
Which is exactly what has made English the expressive and excellent language that it is today - thanks for a great new word
- sgage
For once, a government looks out for the interests of its citizens, not those of the corporations. A small victory, but we'll take it.
Tough shit if it makes it harder for them to do business. Time for them to learn that we are not owned by them.
"Evolution doesn't really take place in individuals. It takes place in populations."
That is true.
"In small, isolated populations, beneficial mutations can spread quickly through the gene pool. In large populations, they tend to get lost in the noise."
It depends on how beneficial they are. Evolution occurs within even large populations - it is the formation of whole new species that is dependent upon an isolated population.
Fit for what? "Fitness" only means "adapted to the environment". The environment includes everything: our physical environment, our food, our lifestyles, etc. These are the things humans adapt to.
The idea that human evolution has ended because we are so insulated from the physical environment is silly. We are evolving to adapt to a changing environment.
Damn I wish I had some mod points... Somebody should give this +1 - hilarious!
Yes, we live in the best of all possible worlds. Phhhhttttt!
The world is going to hell in a bucket, and we're supposed to care about this fol-de-rol? Seriously, this is just another diversion.
Cheers!
Everybody's carrying on as if this is some sort of important event in the history of KDE. The Liquid theme is pretty, but jaysus, it's a friggin' theme! Let's get some perspective.
'and on the other hand, a horse cannot evolve wheels, because the intermediate steps between a legged horse and a wheeled horse would not be able to move. pity because a wheeled horse could be faster..."
On the other other hand, horses can go places and do things that no wheeled vehicle can. Including replace themselves automatically.
"just look at biological species to see that a process of evolution rarely results in the optimal design, and is unable to take U-turns or back out of dead ends..."
Maybe not "the optimal" design, but damned robust, flexible, and enduring ones! And workable over quite a broad design space. Speed is not the only parameter that needs to be considered...
"I suppose that depends on what you mean by "verge". But now that they have Charlton Heston narrating a promotional video I suppose anything is possible."
I can't believe I used up my mod points yesterday. I'd definitely give this a "funny" point!!!
Yes, it's just a small step from sticking a flounder gene into a tomato to making it sentient. NOT. In conceptual terms or any other, it is a bit of a gap between so-called "genetic engineering" (by no stretch of the imagination is it engineering) as we know it today, and creating sentient non-human slaves by genetic tinkering.
Say what? There are no fungal blooms on Mars. There is no evidence for any life whatsoever on Mars.
Try Nedit - my favorite.
Be advised that NASA is a government agency, not a private playground for space geeks.
"NASA needs strong leadership with vision and balls to stand firm on the vision."
A NASA leader can stand as firmly as he/she wants on whatever vision they want - but it comes down to exciting the imagination of the public to the point that they're willing to fund this sort of thing.
"It is a complete disgrace that at this point in time and entire generation has become 'Adults' since the last time we landed a human on the moon."
In a way, I agree. But IAC, it's not NASA's fault - blame Congress, and really, blame the American people who just lost interest. Been there, done that.
"A lunar launch base is absolutly essential to making a Mars program work yet we have nothing to show for progress other than the ISS... which isn't exactly progress at this point; under budgeted and now forever crippled by being understaffed."
Folks don't seem to understand that there's more to space exploration than deciding to do it. If there's one lesson that's been learned, it's that it's difficult. A quick jaunt to the moon is one thing - moon and mars bases are quite another.
We still need to learn more about how various materials perform in space, how humans will get along on long missions where you can't look out the window and see Terra 100 miles below you, and how to manage huge technical projects (including international projects) more efficiently. The ISS addresses some of these issues.
To do things any faster would take a much larger investment. Don't blame NASA or Goldin - blame the voters who just don't care about space.
Whether or not playing video games "causes violence", your statement above is very very wrong. The development of the mind is dependent on the brain receiving certain kinds of stimuli at certain points in development. This is very well established.
Other than going very fast (woo!), any flying apparatus ever designed by human engineers is a clumsy inefficient piece of crap compared to a dragonfly, much less a bird or bat. You picked a really hideously poor example.
In my experience, it's the owners of the site rather than the visitors that want cheezy flashy stuff. Most visitors simply want easily navigated, easily read content.
Other points: As we know, there is usually more than one way of doing things. It might be best to stick with one consistent way... e.g., maybe the main menu route. Then you can convince them that the toolbar buttons and keyboard shortcuts do exactly the same thing, somewhere down the line.
Get them to write stuff down! All of my clients keep a special notebook for computer stuff. Make them write stuff down in some detail... cutting/copying and pasting seems to be a real bitch for some reason. The desktop metaphor is just similar enough to the "real world" to really be confusing to some folks.
Get them comfortable with email right off the bat. This can get them nicely reconnected with their families in many cases, and plus makes it easier to support them.
Make sure they understand the difference between the Internet and the Web and email and so forth. It's not as obvious as it seems! And it's fun to see the light go off when they figure out just what the Web is...
If you're not into it, don't do it. I've worked with folks who have had very bad experiences at the hands of impatient, inarticulate jerks who made them feel stupid, and it takes some time and effort to work through it. This ain't rocket science, it's just a bit different from what they're used to.
Which leads to my final point: Have some heart for these people - like them! Have some time to talk about non-computer stuff, etc. Find some points of contact. You will be so rewarded when they become adept computer jockeys! And even if they don't!
- sgage
Not me, but I'm gonna die with a smile if it kills me! (badaboom!)
Actually, the centerpiece of my retirement strategy is to die young. If I live too long, I'm simply screwed, financially.
Actually, I've always thought he looked just like Uncle Fester.
Because Windows sucks!
Doh!
Absolutely. But the assholes who created them should be roasted over a slow fire.