* The giant corporations are winning. (Agreed but they still can't kill us, or jail us, like government can.)
* The Luddites are winning. (Disagree - today's college-aged persons are more tech-saavy than ever.)
* The problems keep turning out to be harder than most people thought. (yep)
* nuclear waste (We have a solution. It's the same one Asimov proposed 60 years ago. Bury it deep underground.)
* Many economists now believe that the Baby Boomers' kids will be the first generation in the US with a lower standard of living than their parents.
Only because of economic stupidity, not tech limitations. We're going to have ~$200,000/home national debt by 2016, and that's just simple stupidity. The Romans did the same thing, spent themselves into bankruptcy, about 1600 years ago. Human beings haven't changed in that respect.
>>>Back in the old days of Sci Fi, we didn't have everybody and their brother who were "internet experts" on anything and everything.
That's funny because I was just reading an Isaac Asimov book where he published the first letter he ever wrote (from the 1930s). It was criticizing one of the writers in "Amazing" for not telling realistic plots based upon science. Point - Critics have always existed in this genre even in the "dark days" before internet or television. In that case it did result in improved story-telling as the genre moved into the 1940s and 50s
>>>>>How can Sylar pick-up a person and throw him against a wall? Newton's Law dictates that Sylar should be pushed backward with an equal force (recoil)
>>I take it you've never been bowling, for fear of being hurled back out through the front doors when you throw the ball down the alley?
I sincerely hope you don't have a science-based degree, because if you do, you apparently learned nothing. When you throw a bowling ball it DOES impart a force in the opposite. Case in point - My niece who pushed a bowling ball down the lane, and then promptly fell backwards onto her butt.
Same applies to Sylar. If he's throwing a body up against the wall, then there will be an opposite equal force pushing back against Sylar. Now some have said he moves the air, but that doesn't change anything. There'd still be an opposite force pushing back against Sylar.
Heroes is all magic. There's not an ounce of science in it. (As proof I point to the day-long solar eclipse.)
It's not fastidious to object to equating magic with science. It's an insult to science's goals (reality not superstition, understanding not invented fairy tales). Also your defense of Skylar's telekinesis doesn't explain-away the day long solar eclipse. Real total eclipses only last about 5 minutes... and only affect a small strip of land not the whole planet.
No. He talk as if MISlabeling "fantasy" as science fiction is a bad thing. It's an insult to the science profession to equate magic with science. I still enjoy the fantasy shows like Xena, Buffy, and so on, even though I know they couldn't possibly be real.
The new Amiga OS 4.1 build loads in just 5 seconds (10 seconds on an older, slower HDD). Maybe they ought to port that over to Intel and compete directly against Microsoft and Google. Shutdown time ix 0. (just flip the power switch off)
>>>all those Prius owners don't really seem to care about Lithum strip mines
Prius cars don't use lithium. They use nickle and hydride, and when disposed are no more harmful than throwing-away coins and water. (Although recycling the metal would be better.)
The solar eclipse is yet another example of how Heroes is BS, not science fiction. The solar eclipse lasted what? All day? Total eclipses only last approximately 5 minutes.
You just described the Syfy Channel. +1 insightful.
I remember when watching Star Trek or Buck Rogers meant exploring new ideas, new cultures, or new technologies. Not anymore. Now modern scifi is mostly about creating a Futuristic Action flick.
Like the TV show Heroes? It's fun to watch but certainly not realistic. For example: How can Sylar pick-up a person and throw him against a wall? Newton's Law dictates that Sylar should be pushed backward with an equal force (recoil). Also where is the energy coming from? Sylar must eat 50,000 calories a day* to maintain that level of "toss people against walls" energy output.
I'd rather stick with SCIENCE fiction, with emphasis on the science and making it not violate known universal laws/theories.
* * Trivia: Homo neanderthalis ate 10,000 calories a day to maintain his huge bulky body. Then Homo sapiens arrived and effectively starved neanderthal man out of food. That's how you control Sylar. Deprive him of food, and he'll not have enough energy to do his tricks.
>>>The fact that it costs so much is the point. Gift exchange serves a valuable purpose in ensuring cooperation, because it serves to make declarations of intention credible.
(1) A new car or a new house is pretty damn expensive, and shows the guy is in it for the long haul. I think it would be an acceptable gift for the wife rather than the diamond.
(2) On the other hand, 50% of marriages end in divorce. Not exactly a wise investment to buy a $10,000 diamond ring when there's a 1 out of 2 chance you'll lose that investment. (The woman of course gets to keep it. Sucks for the guy.)
Are you seriously using Levi as an example of trendy jeans?
They were when I was growing up. Virtually everyone wore Levis, and if you didn't, you were weird. Those other jeans Seven, Lucky, Diesel didn't yet exist.
You wear Wranglers? LOL
Yeah because all the Levis jeans developed holes and fell apart. The Arizonas/Wranglers are still in one piece.
Slashdot Mirror
One point at a time:
* The giant corporations are winning. (Agreed but they still can't kill us, or jail us, like government can.)
* The Luddites are winning. (Disagree - today's college-aged persons are more tech-saavy than ever.)
* The problems keep turning out to be harder than most people thought. (yep)
* nuclear waste (We have a solution. It's the same one Asimov proposed 60 years ago. Bury it deep underground.)
* Many economists now believe that the Baby Boomers' kids will be the first generation in the US with a lower standard of living than their parents.
Only because of economic stupidity, not tech limitations. We're going to have ~$200,000/home national debt by 2016, and that's just simple stupidity. The Romans did the same thing, spent themselves into bankruptcy, about 1600 years ago. Human beings haven't changed in that respect.
Yeah okay. I admit it. I earned three college degrees by bribing the Dean. You caught me. Happy?
A cellphone will never be suitable for watching movies, or updating your resume and printing it out.
>>>Back in the old days of Sci Fi, we didn't have everybody and their brother who were "internet experts" on anything and everything.
That's funny because I was just reading an Isaac Asimov book where he published the first letter he ever wrote (from the 1930s). It was criticizing one of the writers in "Amazing" for not telling realistic plots based upon science. Point - Critics have always existed in this genre even in the "dark days" before internet or television. In that case it did result in improved story-telling as the genre moved into the 1940s and 50s
>>>>>How can Sylar pick-up a person and throw him against a wall? Newton's Law dictates that Sylar should be pushed backward with an equal force (recoil)
>>I take it you've never been bowling, for fear of being hurled back out through the front doors when you throw the ball down the alley?
I sincerely hope you don't have a science-based degree, because if you do, you apparently learned nothing. When you throw a bowling ball it DOES impart a force in the opposite. Case in point - My niece who pushed a bowling ball down the lane, and then promptly fell backwards onto her butt.
Same applies to Sylar. If he's throwing a body up against the wall, then there will be an opposite equal force pushing back against Sylar. Now some have said he moves the air, but that doesn't change anything. There'd still be an opposite force pushing back against Sylar.
Heroes is all magic. There's not an ounce of science in it. (As proof I point to the day-long solar eclipse.)
>>>IMHO these complaints are overly fastidious
It's not fastidious to object to equating magic with science. It's an insult to science's goals (reality not superstition, understanding not invented fairy tales). Also your defense of Skylar's telekinesis doesn't explain-away the day long solar eclipse. Real total eclipses only last about 5 minutes... and only affect a small strip of land not the whole planet.
>>>You talk as if fantasy were a bad thing.
No. He talk as if MISlabeling "fantasy" as science fiction is a bad thing. It's an insult to the science profession to equate magic with science. I still enjoy the fantasy shows like Xena, Buffy, and so on, even though I know they couldn't possibly be real.
Season 3 was almost as good as season 1. Season 4 is too early to tell, but so far it's crap
>>>As opposed to transporters or tractor beams?
I don't recall saying Star Trek was science fiction.
Yeah but just calling them "electronic brains" would not have sounded as sexy.
"Yeah thanks we know." (click)
The new Amiga OS 4.1 build loads in just 5 seconds (10 seconds on an older, slower HDD). Maybe they ought to port that over to Intel and compete directly against Microsoft and Google. Shutdown time ix 0. (just flip the power switch off)
In crash tests, hydrogen cars are actually safer than gasoline when they are impacted.
>>>all those Prius owners don't really seem to care about Lithum strip mines
Prius cars don't use lithium. They use nickle and hydride, and when disposed are no more harmful than throwing-away coins and water. (Although recycling the metal would be better.)
Hmmm. Could you beam..... I mean upload your copy of Bones over to me? 'k thanks.
Problem solved. Now you not only get energy from the potential energy of the compression, but also from the fuel itself.
No I enjoy Heroes. But I would never, ever call it science fiction. It's pure fantasy
Oh yeah.
The solar eclipse is yet another example of how Heroes is BS, not science fiction. The solar eclipse lasted what? All day? Total eclipses only last approximately 5 minutes.
>>>your a fucking idiot
Wow. Such amazing reasoning skills. Such pure logic. Such persuasive eloquence. Bravo. +1 informative. (BTW it's spelled "you're" not your.)
>>>The purpose of SF isn't fortune-telling.
Ph.D. Isaac Asimov would disagree with you. He viewed science fiction as a source of ideas that could be developed for the real world.
Yes. Robert Goddard, the father of rocketry, said he was inspired by Jules Verne and other early scientifiction stories.
>>>what was once considered SciFi (Tech related) has moved more mainstream and become, in some cases, traditional fiction.
Ahhh... like the CBS network:
- CSI
- NCIS
- CIA
You just described the Syfy Channel. +1 insightful.
I remember when watching Star Trek or Buck Rogers meant exploring new ideas, new cultures, or new technologies. Not anymore. Now modern scifi is mostly about creating a Futuristic Action flick.
Like the TV show Heroes? It's fun to watch but certainly not realistic. For example: How can Sylar pick-up a person and throw him against a wall? Newton's Law dictates that Sylar should be pushed backward with an equal force (recoil). Also where is the energy coming from? Sylar must eat 50,000 calories a day* to maintain that level of "toss people against walls" energy output.
I'd rather stick with SCIENCE fiction, with emphasis on the science and making it not violate known universal laws/theories.
*
* Trivia: Homo neanderthalis ate 10,000 calories a day to maintain his huge bulky body. Then Homo sapiens arrived and effectively starved neanderthal man out of food. That's how you control Sylar. Deprive him of food, and he'll not have enough energy to do his tricks.
>>>The fact that it costs so much is the point. Gift exchange serves a valuable purpose in ensuring cooperation, because it serves to make declarations of intention credible.
(1) A new car or a new house is pretty damn expensive, and shows the guy is in it for the long haul. I think it would be an acceptable gift for the wife rather than the diamond.
(2) On the other hand, 50% of marriages end in divorce. Not exactly a wise investment to buy a $10,000 diamond ring when there's a 1 out of 2 chance you'll lose that investment. (The woman of course gets to keep it. Sucks for the guy.)
Cubic zirconia looks just as beautiful as diamond, IMHO.
Are you seriously using Levi as an example of trendy jeans?
They were when I was growing up. Virtually everyone wore Levis, and if you didn't, you were weird. Those other jeans Seven, Lucky, Diesel didn't yet exist.
You wear Wranglers? LOL
Yeah because all the Levis jeans developed holes and fell apart. The Arizonas/Wranglers are still in one piece.