Of course that was just one example to illustrate how great nature-designed olfactory receptors were. As far as usefulness, the summary mentioned diagnosing cancer from a smell. Hard to believe you actually missed that, so I'm assuming you were trying to make a joke, a sarcastic statement, a parody, or be ironic. Practice makes perfect!
Nature designed the olfactory receptors over millions of years, and like most biological mollecules designed in such a way, they are incredibly efficient and specific. There is one male bug that can smell a female from miles away and track it (I can't remember the name right now though.)
I don't know anythign about the everything sensors you're talking about, I have to say that. However, you can't tell me we can make a machine small enough to fit on a bug that can detect chemicals from another bug-sized object over a mile away with any accuracy. Copying nature is the best way to go.
Actually, my reasoning was I know nothing about it and therefore am unlikely to effectively help bring about positive change, but moreover that there are bigger, more tangible demons for me that require more time, attention, and money than I have. I'm not going to care about data transfer caps when there are 2 wars going on, the economy is failing in 2 seperate ways, rights ensured under the constitution are under fire. Oh yeah, and I'm trying to get my 60 hours a week in at my job, pay the rent, and not go crazy. That's quite a few things that I care about that aren't yet tangible harms.
That, I would argue, is why we have so many of these problems in the first place: that most people have a limited amount of time and energy, and have to triage their efforts. Come up with a healthy form of cocaine that lets me not sleep, triples my energy, and doesn't kill me within a week or make me crazy (or broke) and I'll get educated on telecos and start a petition, right after I solve world hunger, terrorism, the economy, cancer, and clean out the litterbox.
Miss Cleo says ebola. I'm stocking up on gas masks, spam, and guns, but after hearing that I'm also going to be stocking up on orange juice. Figure that'll be good for if I catch it.
In conclusion, go fucking drink some bleach - asshole.
Even for an internet discussion on videogames, that was uncalled for anger. Also, even more points off for posting that flame anonymously when it is clearly you, poetmatt.
Is this a proper application of Occam's Razor? I'm really not sure I'd care. I'm not sure that even Occam would care...
Especially not given some of the more flagrant misapplications of his razor. Like creationists saying "God did it" is simpler than evolutionary theory and therefore right by occam's razor. I think he would die if he were alive and heard that.
I thought it was for deciding between two or more competing theories. I didn't think it could be used to reject all theories. If you have two theories, one makes two assumptions, one makes just one, it's more likely to be the one that just makes one. While both may be wrong, you can't use Occam's razor to throw BOTH of them out.
Furthermore, you don't use it at all, or if you did, you forgot to tell us the outcome. You actually just say both sound like deus ex machina, are both silly, and we're not right yet. Didn't even mention any underlying assumptions. That's not Occam's razor, or even rational argumentation. You just have a gut instinct that they're both wrong.
You say you'll apply Occam's razor, but then appear to reject both possibilities. I wasn't aware that Occam's razor said you could throw out any theories that sound a little too convenient.
Its not like Japanese people are physiologically incapable of making the sound.
I would hope that the japanese biochemistry would allow them to make that sound, it would be pretty weird if it didn't! Sorry, I jest, and that's probably not even an incorrect use of "physiological." But in any event, I can't roll my R's like they do in spanish, I can't make the umlaut sound for german, and those are just the sounds I've run into while speaking only english my whole life. I've heard babies can and do make most sounds used in all languages, or something like that, and clearly it doesn't matter where you were born or your genetics, you'll be able to speak without an accent if you have a correctly formed mouth and start at a young age.
But if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Try to get a japanese person to say "Lie" and "rye." If they didn't speak english from a very early age, they pronounce them the same.
I like it that here, on slashdot, every newest chip from X chip maker that is incrementally better gets a big fanfare, and open versions of Y application are important, but someone thinking up a solution to a huge problem and trying to sell it? Freaking evil and stupid man.
Trees take years to get to a point where they have a net negative effect on carbon, and even then they don't suck it down like they're designed to clean up our messes because they're not designed to clean up our messes. Plus planting enough trees to offset our carbon emissions is unrealistic.
This proposal is undoubtedly not going to solve the problem and has problems of it's own, but it's at least a step in the right direction. I'm not an expert in anything related to this, so I'm not going to guess as to whether it's more realistic than planting enough trees or injecting the oceans with iron or whatever.
Re:Faster, hotter, more expensive, of course
on
HD Wii By 2011?
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· Score: 3, Funny
Nintendo threw everyone for a loop this time. No high def? No hard drive? A strange controller? No way will that thing sell!
I think there's one way to top that. The next wii is $100 and you control it with your butt.
To clarify the AC's post, I asked that in a different post. Also Aoi means blue, the japanese pronunciation of which is more like "buruu" because of a lack of an L sound.
Mostly though, I wanted to point out that I was right on the money about the "uii"!!! WOOO!
Wii revolution though doesn't "sound like" a different product. That's the one thing I could see about the revolution making a comeback. If I were to see "Wii revolution" I would think its a redesign of the wii, but still basically the same thing, like the DS lite. I'd probably think "Oh, a wii that has a hard drive or something. Don't need that!"
Re:Let me guess...
on
HD Wii By 2011?
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· Score: 3, Informative
I like that one too, but "wii" isn't a japanese word. In fact, that's not even sound that's native to the language. At least, that's what I heard when it was announced. The last time I was in japan was when the DS was launching, does anyone know if they pronounce it the same over there? I don't know if that would be a difficult sound for them. I would guess they actually say "uii" or something that uses the U sound instead of the W.
If you're wondering, to express happiness, the japanese do not say "wee!" they say "Yatta!"
As of today, it is now standard operating procedure that the first post gets modded as troll.
Back on topic, as much as I liked the name "revolution" (the name before "wii"), it's probably a good thing they didn't go with that. It still would have sold the same, they still would have wanted to capitalize on that by keeping the name on their next one, and you can't serialize that. The next revolution? Nintendo super revolution? Second generation revolution?
My money is on "Evewiione." "Wii" was supposed to be some crap about "we" like a community, so this would top that.
I was half-jokingly suggesting a way to get them to admit their hypocrisy, but I guess you're probably right, they'd rather die. At any rate I'm not endangering anyone's health, as there isn't any treatments based on IPS cells yet, and those types don't read/. Even if there were and they did, it's their choice to turn down treatment rather than admit using those embryos rather than just throwing them away was a good thing.
That sounds great, but when will there be a computer which can solve my real-life math problems which mostly revolve around when will I pass Bob if Bob is driving at a speed in miles per hour from a place to a place at a time and I start driving toward the first place from the second place at a speed in kilometers per hour at a time? My current method of polling 4th graders isn't working very well.
Slashdot Mirror
Of course that was just one example to illustrate how great nature-designed olfactory receptors were. As far as usefulness, the summary mentioned diagnosing cancer from a smell. Hard to believe you actually missed that, so I'm assuming you were trying to make a joke, a sarcastic statement, a parody, or be ironic. Practice makes perfect!
Nature designed the olfactory receptors over millions of years, and like most biological mollecules designed in such a way, they are incredibly efficient and specific. There is one male bug that can smell a female from miles away and track it (I can't remember the name right now though.)
I don't know anythign about the everything sensors you're talking about, I have to say that. However, you can't tell me we can make a machine small enough to fit on a bug that can detect chemicals from another bug-sized object over a mile away with any accuracy. Copying nature is the best way to go.
If some fucking jackass is going to run his mouth, I'm going to point out why he's a fucking jackass.
And then what? You win at the internets? His head explodes?
Actually, my reasoning was I know nothing about it and therefore am unlikely to effectively help bring about positive change, but moreover that there are bigger, more tangible demons for me that require more time, attention, and money than I have. I'm not going to care about data transfer caps when there are 2 wars going on, the economy is failing in 2 seperate ways, rights ensured under the constitution are under fire. Oh yeah, and I'm trying to get my 60 hours a week in at my job, pay the rent, and not go crazy. That's quite a few things that I care about that aren't yet tangible harms.
That, I would argue, is why we have so many of these problems in the first place: that most people have a limited amount of time and energy, and have to triage their efforts. Come up with a healthy form of cocaine that lets me not sleep, triples my energy, and doesn't kill me within a week or make me crazy (or broke) and I'll get educated on telecos and start a petition, right after I solve world hunger, terrorism, the economy, cancer, and clean out the litterbox.
Miss Cleo says ebola. I'm stocking up on gas masks, spam, and guns, but after hearing that I'm also going to be stocking up on orange juice. Figure that'll be good for if I catch it.
In conclusion, go fucking drink some bleach - asshole.
Even for an internet discussion on videogames, that was uncalled for anger. Also, even more points off for posting that flame anonymously when it is clearly you, poetmatt.
Is this a proper application of Occam's Razor? I'm really not sure I'd care. I'm not sure that even Occam would care...
Especially not given some of the more flagrant misapplications of his razor. Like creationists saying "God did it" is simpler than evolutionary theory and therefore right by occam's razor. I think he would die if he were alive and heard that.
I thought it was for deciding between two or more competing theories. I didn't think it could be used to reject all theories. If you have two theories, one makes two assumptions, one makes just one, it's more likely to be the one that just makes one. While both may be wrong, you can't use Occam's razor to throw BOTH of them out.
Furthermore, you don't use it at all, or if you did, you forgot to tell us the outcome. You actually just say both sound like deus ex machina, are both silly, and we're not right yet. Didn't even mention any underlying assumptions. That's not Occam's razor, or even rational argumentation. You just have a gut instinct that they're both wrong.
You say you'll apply Occam's razor, but then appear to reject both possibilities. I wasn't aware that Occam's razor said you could throw out any theories that sound a little too convenient.
No way man, we need to pop it so it doesn't get worse! Also, that's the perfect time to buy buy buy!
Its not like Japanese people are physiologically incapable of making the sound.
I would hope that the japanese biochemistry would allow them to make that sound, it would be pretty weird if it didn't! Sorry, I jest, and that's probably not even an incorrect use of "physiological." But in any event, I can't roll my R's like they do in spanish, I can't make the umlaut sound for german, and those are just the sounds I've run into while speaking only english my whole life. I've heard babies can and do make most sounds used in all languages, or something like that, and clearly it doesn't matter where you were born or your genetics, you'll be able to speak without an accent if you have a correctly formed mouth and start at a young age.
But if you don't use it, you'll lose it. Try to get a japanese person to say "Lie" and "rye." If they didn't speak english from a very early age, they pronounce them the same.
Go study the Hepburn romanization system if you don't believe me.
I do believe you, which is unfortunate, because the "Hepburn romanization system" sounds like it would be TONS of fun to study!
I like it that here, on slashdot, every newest chip from X chip maker that is incrementally better gets a big fanfare, and open versions of Y application are important, but someone thinking up a solution to a huge problem and trying to sell it? Freaking evil and stupid man.
Trees take years to get to a point where they have a net negative effect on carbon, and even then they don't suck it down like they're designed to clean up our messes because they're not designed to clean up our messes. Plus planting enough trees to offset our carbon emissions is unrealistic.
This proposal is undoubtedly not going to solve the problem and has problems of it's own, but it's at least a step in the right direction. I'm not an expert in anything related to this, so I'm not going to guess as to whether it's more realistic than planting enough trees or injecting the oceans with iron or whatever.
Nintendo threw everyone for a loop this time. No high def? No hard drive? A strange controller? No way will that thing sell!
I think there's one way to top that. The next wii is $100 and you control it with your butt.
I can believe that PS3s will function for 10 years. I have a PSone that still works!
To clarify the AC's post, I asked that in a different post. Also Aoi means blue, the japanese pronunciation of which is more like "buruu" because of a lack of an L sound.
Mostly though, I wanted to point out that I was right on the money about the "uii"!!! WOOO!
Wii revolution though doesn't "sound like" a different product. That's the one thing I could see about the revolution making a comeback. If I were to see "Wii revolution" I would think its a redesign of the wii, but still basically the same thing, like the DS lite. I'd probably think "Oh, a wii that has a hard drive or something. Don't need that!"
And myspace is the new comments section of youtube.
Slashdot: news for elitist nerds.
I like that one too, but "wii" isn't a japanese word. In fact, that's not even sound that's native to the language. At least, that's what I heard when it was announced. The last time I was in japan was when the DS was launching, does anyone know if they pronounce it the same over there? I don't know if that would be a difficult sound for them. I would guess they actually say "uii" or something that uses the U sound instead of the W.
If you're wondering, to express happiness, the japanese do not say "wee!" they say "Yatta!"
As of today, it is now standard operating procedure that the first post gets modded as troll.
Back on topic, as much as I liked the name "revolution" (the name before "wii"), it's probably a good thing they didn't go with that. It still would have sold the same, they still would have wanted to capitalize on that by keeping the name on their next one, and you can't serialize that. The next revolution? Nintendo super revolution? Second generation revolution?
My money is on "Evewiione." "Wii" was supposed to be some crap about "we" like a community, so this would top that.
Hey, the article was tagged "YOUR rights online," talking to ME. I'm not canadian, it's not affecting MY rights. WHAT'S THE DEAL!?!?
That didn't make any sense. Who is "we?" What do you mean "Your convenience doesn't seem to be something you want to pay for."
I was half-jokingly suggesting a way to get them to admit their hypocrisy, but I guess you're probably right, they'd rather die. At any rate I'm not endangering anyone's health, as there isn't any treatments based on IPS cells yet, and those types don't read /. Even if there were and they did, it's their choice to turn down treatment rather than admit using those embryos rather than just throwing them away was a good thing.
Excuse me, preacher? Could you repeat that? Some of us in the choir didn't hear it.
Anyway, I don't think masses of e-mails constituted any type of accountability.
That sounds great, but when will there be a computer which can solve my real-life math problems which mostly revolve around when will I pass Bob if Bob is driving at a speed in miles per hour from a place to a place at a time and I start driving toward the first place from the second place at a speed in kilometers per hour at a time? My current method of polling 4th graders isn't working very well.