I agree that we should demarcate life by measuring brain activity. "I think therefore I am." Even though that is ambiguous, it is a far better method of determining when it is ok to destroy embryos/fetuses than our current method (i.e. when it is born).
How can you kill something that isn't human? We determine life by measuring brain activity, and an embryo at that early of a stage has no brain at all!
I really do not understand why people can't see a common sense middle ground to this whole abortion debate.
Sure an exact demarcation of when an embryo is a baby will never be agreed upon by everyone, but why isn't it an acceptable demarcation to check if the embryo has brain activity?
We use that as a measure to determine if already born people are dead or alive... so why not use it to determine if something is no longer an embryo? "I think therefore I am", so if an embryo thinks, it has to be a living human.
Is such a measurement not a good comprimise? It isn't based on religion or politics, but instead on science. Seems objective if you ask me.
Linux comes with utilities to make USB flash drives bootable. Here is an example for making a Debian bootable USB flash drive. The instructions are easy to modify to make it boot other operating systems such as DOS and DamnSmallLinux.
In fact, I have my USB flash keychain configured to allow booting into a Fedora installer, Damn Small Linux, or MS DOS. I use it to maintain a drive-less computer I have. It is great for flashing motherboard BIOSes too!
Are you joking? Linux has had sophisticated package management systems for years now. apt lets you install, remove, and update software with great ease. Dependencies aren't an issue and haven't been for a long time.
But then the same argument could be used to claim that most other TCO measurements should not be included, such as lack of expert admins familiar with Linux, lack of user experience with Linux, etc... These things would change once people convert to Linux.
One thing that is far better on Linux is installing, removing, and updating software. With apt-get, a nice GUI frontend, and a good package repository... it is hands down better than on Windows. While apt-get will keep my entire system up to date, Windows, at best, will be able to keep a few core aspects of the OS up to date. Almost everything that you installed after you got your computer with Windows preinstalled will have to be manually maintained.
For Windows users with little software installed, this isn't a problem, but for those with many apps installed, it quickly becomes difficult to stay up to date on updates and security fixes.
With Linux, the amount of installed software installed does not effect the ease of maintaining the system. Of course, I assume you have a comprehensive package repository, but this is easily obtained on Debian, for example... or even Fedora.
However, as it stands today, for whatever reason (social or technical), Windows is far more susceptible to virus, worm, and trojan attacks... making this a cost against Windows.
When I was still using Windows, I tried BS Player, but had many problems with it. I always dreamed of a simple media player like that old Windows Media Player 6.x. It turns out that many others agree with taste in media players, and someone went as far as to develop a Windows Media Player 6.x clone that had modern improvements and support for every video format.
This little gem is called Media Player Classic, and it ranks up there with other great Windows apps such as Putty and WinSCP. It is fast, small, easy to use, feature filled (ok, it just plays every video/audio format but thats all the features I want, even Quicktime and Real formats)... oh and it is free, open source, easy to install, and can co-exist with your other media players!!!
Intuitionistic mathematics and classical mathematics are wildly different in their foundational philosophy. Intuitionism rests upon the Self, while classical maths relies on the belief in a Platonic Ideal. In fact, an Intuitionist might not consider large parts of classical mathematics to be "mathematics".
Re:Why wouldn't math be known across the universe?
on
The Golden Ratio
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· Score: 1
What is and is not mathematics? Do you base all of math on ZFC-Set Theory, or do you choose just ZF-Set Theory? Intuitionism? Logicism? Formalism? Truth be told, math is NOT universal even on this planet!
Re:Why wouldn't math be known across the universe?
on
The Golden Ratio
·
· Score: 1
Archimedes invented differential/integral calculus before Newton. Thousands of years before in fact!
I wish I had mod points right now. I would mark the parent as "Insightful". Math is the study and creation of abstract ideas. These ideas tend to be useful frameworks for describing natural phenomenon. Somewhere along the way, people mistake "the finger for the moon".
Logic isn't the same across the universe. Take Intuitionistic Logic for example. Its not the same as Classical Logic as handed down from Aristotle. There is also Minimal Logic, and many others that aren't just varients of Classical Logic... but instead different logics!
I was interested in his unique view that complexity arises from simplicity and that he had combined a large field into a view of complexity all his own.
This is not a unique view. Take many fractal researches for example. There are many and have been many in computer science who hold the same view. Wolfie isn't the first here.
The insights are fascinating, especially the ability to build computational systems with simple repeating rules....(i.e. multiplication tables...etc.) from graphical representations.
There are so many previous examples of this from computer science that it isn't even funny. Just take a look at the field of computational rewrite systems, from lambda-calculus to various graph rewrite systems.
Super Mario Kart's battle mode is better than Mario Kart 64's due to many aspects... the red shells have more interesting gameplay in Super because they can be dodged using many techniques most of which do NOT involve using an item. The Kart 64 red shells cannot be dodged. They just go straight at their opponent. Also getting combo hits in Super takes far more skill than in Kart 64, where you can get items that give you 3 shells at a time making combos a skill-less tactic.
But yeah, I played allot of Super before switching to 64. I was disgusted with 64, and the only thing I liked was the ability to have 4-for-alls battlemodes. However, this turned out to be more gimmic than anything because serious competitions are never determined by free for alls. Its always about duels. That is where skill is determined. Strange thing is that you see the same thing in first person shooters. Free for all is fun to screw around with, but duels are were it is at for determining who is better than who:)
I agree. Old games can be better than new games... especially with regards to gameplay. However, what is even more important, IMO, is that the players of an older game tend to really know the ins and out of the older game. So for multiplayer games, this results in much more interesting matches.
I still regularly play Super Mario Kart on the SNES (just battle mode though), and I also regularly play the original Quake (Quakeworld deathmatch to be specific). Those two games haven't improved, but my ability to play them has improved as well as my opponents. Our games are now very interesting, while our early games consisted of lame running around until someone accidentally won.
The SNES is a killer console as far as RPGs go. FF3, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, etc...
I still actively play my SNES, but I mainly only play Super Mario Kart with my friends. Its been over 10 years now and we are still playing that same game.
In my opinion, really great games become better with time because the people that play the game know more about it and therefore play it better. Chess is another perfect example. I bet early Chess games sucked, but modern day games are highly sophisticated.
The game didn't change as much as the players did.
Since Go is even older than Chess, that must mean that Chess is a better game... but yeah, both are so old they must be crappy games. Same thing goes for Baseball, Soccer, Football, Tennis, racing, boxing, poker, etc... they are all old crappy games that nobody cares to play.
The Gameboy Advance is backwards compatible with the Gameboy Color, Super Gameboy, and Gameboy. In fact, many people think that Nintendo's Gameboy line has remained #1 partly because of their backwards compatibility.
Ah, that is just Valve propaganda. Sure there have been plenty of modifications, but HL2's code is still obviously a derivative of Id Software's code... even to the naked eye!
How can Valve claim that it was written from scratch? How can they claim it is not based on Id's code, when it obviously is? Look at the code for yourself!
Truth is that people are just starting to become aware of the fact that Valve is a one-hit-wonder. Gamers are better off being a fan of games, not the people that produce them.
HL1 and mods are always going to be great... nothing can stop that... but Valve seems to have already fallen from grace. They might as well cut to the chase and license the Doom 3 engine and repeat their previously successful formula.
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I agree that we should demarcate life by measuring brain activity. "I think therefore I am." Even though that is ambiguous, it is a far better method of determining when it is ok to destroy embryos/fetuses than our current method (i.e. when it is born).
How can you kill something that isn't human? We determine life by measuring brain activity, and an embryo at that early of a stage has no brain at all!
I really do not understand why people can't see a common sense middle ground to this whole abortion debate.
Sure an exact demarcation of when an embryo is a baby will never be agreed upon by everyone, but why isn't it an acceptable demarcation to check if the embryo has brain activity?
We use that as a measure to determine if already born people are dead or alive... so why not use it to determine if something is no longer an embryo? "I think therefore I am", so if an embryo thinks, it has to be a living human.
Is such a measurement not a good comprimise? It isn't based on religion or politics, but instead on science. Seems objective if you ask me.
Linux comes with utilities to make USB flash drives bootable. Here is an example for making a Debian bootable USB flash drive. The instructions are easy to modify to make it boot other operating systems such as DOS and DamnSmallLinux.
In fact, I have my USB flash keychain configured to allow booting into a Fedora installer, Damn Small Linux, or MS DOS. I use it to maintain a drive-less computer I have. It is great for flashing motherboard BIOSes too!
Are you joking? Linux has had sophisticated package management systems for years now. apt lets you install, remove, and update software with great ease. Dependencies aren't an issue and haven't been for a long time.
But then the same argument could be used to claim that most other TCO measurements should not be included, such as lack of expert admins familiar with Linux, lack of user experience with Linux, etc... These things would change once people convert to Linux.
One thing that is far better on Linux is installing, removing, and updating software. With apt-get, a nice GUI frontend, and a good package repository... it is hands down better than on Windows. While apt-get will keep my entire system up to date, Windows, at best, will be able to keep a few core aspects of the OS up to date. Almost everything that you installed after you got your computer with Windows preinstalled will have to be manually maintained.
For Windows users with little software installed, this isn't a problem, but for those with many apps installed, it quickly becomes difficult to stay up to date on updates and security fixes.
With Linux, the amount of installed software installed does not effect the ease of maintaining the system. Of course, I assume you have a comprehensive package repository, but this is easily obtained on Debian, for example... or even Fedora.
However, as it stands today, for whatever reason (social or technical), Windows is far more susceptible to virus, worm, and trojan attacks... making this a cost against Windows.
When I was still using Windows, I tried BS Player, but had many problems with it. I always dreamed of a simple media player like that old Windows Media Player 6.x. It turns out that many others agree with taste in media players, and someone went as far as to develop a Windows Media Player 6.x clone that had modern improvements and support for every video format.
This little gem is called Media Player Classic, and it ranks up there with other great Windows apps such as Putty and WinSCP. It is fast, small, easy to use, feature filled (ok, it just plays every video/audio format but thats all the features I want, even Quicktime and Real formats)... oh and it is free, open source, easy to install, and can co-exist with your other media players!!!
Intuitionistic mathematics and classical mathematics are wildly different in their foundational philosophy. Intuitionism rests upon the Self, while classical maths relies on the belief in a Platonic Ideal. In fact, an Intuitionist might not consider large parts of classical mathematics to be "mathematics".
What is and is not mathematics? Do you base all of math on ZFC-Set Theory, or do you choose just ZF-Set Theory? Intuitionism? Logicism? Formalism? Truth be told, math is NOT universal even on this planet!
Archimedes invented differential/integral calculus before Newton. Thousands of years before in fact!
A finger pointing at the moon is not the moon itself. Don't confuse math with physics.
I wish I had mod points right now. I would mark the parent as "Insightful". Math is the study and creation of abstract ideas. These ideas tend to be useful frameworks for describing natural phenomenon. Somewhere along the way, people mistake "the finger for the moon".
Logic isn't the same across the universe. Take Intuitionistic Logic for example. Its not the same as Classical Logic as handed down from Aristotle. There is also Minimal Logic, and many others that aren't just varients of Classical Logic... but instead different logics!
This is not a unique view. Take many fractal researches for example. There are many and have been many in computer science who hold the same view. Wolfie isn't the first here.
There are so many previous examples of this from computer science that it isn't even funny. Just take a look at the field of computational rewrite systems, from lambda-calculus to various graph rewrite systems.
Super Mario Kart's battle mode is better than Mario Kart 64's due to many aspects... the red shells have more interesting gameplay in Super because they can be dodged using many techniques most of which do NOT involve using an item. The Kart 64 red shells cannot be dodged. They just go straight at their opponent. Also getting combo hits in Super takes far more skill than in Kart 64, where you can get items that give you 3 shells at a time making combos a skill-less tactic.
:)
But yeah, I played allot of Super before switching to 64. I was disgusted with 64, and the only thing I liked was the ability to have 4-for-alls battlemodes. However, this turned out to be more gimmic than anything because serious competitions are never determined by free for alls. Its always about duels. That is where skill is determined. Strange thing is that you see the same thing in first person shooters. Free for all is fun to screw around with, but duels are were it is at for determining who is better than who
Yeah, old music is crappy too! Same with old paintings! Oh, and don't forget old people... they are the crappiest of them all!
I agree. Old games can be better than new games... especially with regards to gameplay. However, what is even more important, IMO, is that the players of an older game tend to really know the ins and out of the older game. So for multiplayer games, this results in much more interesting matches.
I still regularly play Super Mario Kart on the SNES (just battle mode though), and I also regularly play the original Quake (Quakeworld deathmatch to be specific). Those two games haven't improved, but my ability to play them has improved as well as my opponents. Our games are now very interesting, while our early games consisted of lame running around until someone accidentally won.
The SNES is a killer console as far as RPGs go. FF3, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, etc...
I still actively play my SNES, but I mainly only play Super Mario Kart with my friends. Its been over 10 years now and we are still playing that same game.
In my opinion, really great games become better with time because the people that play the game know more about it and therefore play it better. Chess is another perfect example. I bet early Chess games sucked, but modern day games are highly sophisticated.
The game didn't change as much as the players did.
Since Go is even older than Chess, that must mean that Chess is a better game... but yeah, both are so old they must be crappy games. Same thing goes for Baseball, Soccer, Football, Tennis, racing, boxing, poker, etc... they are all old crappy games that nobody cares to play.
YEAH RIGHT!!!!!
The Gameboy Advance is backwards compatible with the Gameboy Color, Super Gameboy, and Gameboy. In fact, many people think that Nintendo's Gameboy line has remained #1 partly because of their backwards compatibility.
It is called "getting caught with your pants down". So it is not has much as proof as it is a glaring fact!
Ah, that is just Valve propaganda. Sure there have been plenty of modifications, but HL2's code is still obviously a derivative of Id Software's code... even to the naked eye!
How can Valve claim that it was written from scratch? How can they claim it is not based on Id's code, when it obviously is? Look at the code for yourself!
Truth is that people are just starting to become aware of the fact that Valve is a one-hit-wonder. Gamers are better off being a fan of games, not the people that produce them.
HL1 and mods are always going to be great... nothing can stop that... but Valve seems to have already fallen from grace. They might as well cut to the chase and license the Doom 3 engine and repeat their previously successful formula.
Why does the game have to be commercial to be a contribution to the game development community?