In the situation I posited the volunteers will secretly be on a mission to Mars but in reality would actually be going to Mars.
**Spoiler Alert**
In Ender's Game, Ender believed that he was only simulating battles toward the end of the book but in reality he was actually commanding the battles.
The tie-in here is that the volunteers are tricked into thinking everything is just a simulation when it isn't.
Or maybe they ARE going to Mars. It could be just like Ender's Game but without the whole killing aliens aspect. This could be a really sneaky way to avoid the psychological effects caused by such a voyage.
Of course I don't actually think this is the case but it sure would be interesting.
But what if we found a way to create extra universes and extract information from them? There are ideas about creat big bangs, etc... so we can't really say this is impossible at this point. Personally, I think it probably is but we can't prove that right now.
I've read quite a few of your posts and I don't think being "overly honest" is really the problem. As numerous people have mentioned being honest tends to be highly valued by people. I'm not an expert by any means but it sounds to me like you have a different social dysfunction (I'm not sure what though) and equated this with being honest.
Also, from what it sounds like you've had the misfortune of being in some bad jobs where dishonesty is genuinely considered bad. Call centers have a reputation for this in particular.
I've personally been successful (however I do tend to be slightly less honest than you I think). However, at work I can't recall a single time I've lied to anyone. If something comes up where I know telling the truth would hurt someone I just choose to remain quiet. I've brought up many problems that I've noticed and they're generally well received. I suspect that for whatever reason you lack the tact and business speak needed to succeed rather than being overly honest. The real goal is to put things into terms that they care about.
For example, you say "I told the senior employee who trained me on the equipment and who was working with me that we had to follow the company rules and not create safety hazards". Did you mention that this came directly from quality control? The right thing to do here would be to go to your supervisor and mention that QC had an issue and you're wondering what to do about it? Ideally you document this in some way in case they then try to fire you for it (I wouldn't want to work there anyway). This way you're bringing up the issue without being abrasive and telling them that they are breaking the rules and need to change. You don't have that authority but QC might and this way you're just passing along a message.
I practically never look at the ports when I plug things in. I've learned where they are and can easily get the connector in approximately the correct place on my first try. After that you can easily jiggle it and it slides right in. This is beginning to sound like something else entirely though so I'll just leave it at that.
Unfortunately it's strictly against the TOS for the store to offer discounts for cash only. If the store owner got caught doing this they could lose their ability to accept credit cards altogether. Interestingly, they're also not allowed to force people to spend a minimum amount to use credit cards but many do this anyway.
Aside from this, in most cases your 5% discount would be a terrible idea as the credit card charges aren't usually that high (depending on the total sale price). The store may only end up with a 10% margin or something before credit card fees (depending on what they sell). One you take the credit card fees or your proposed 5% discount you end up with margins that are very difficult to live with.
Sure that's the ideal case. However, a few years back I read about a study that showed that this was not the case at all. Often when a patient asks about a specific drug the doctor will prescribe that drug over another used for treating similar symptoms.
The original work on using multiple flashes for edge detection was done at MIT although I don't recall who it was actually done by. Not long after the paper came out I worked on an implementation of it for an undergrad research project with one of my professors (Chris Brown). We definitely used a canon powershot and built a rig to support the external flashes and microcontroller needed to control the process.
Our particular aim was automating detection and classification of small bombs in natural scenes. These bomblets are huge problems wherever wars are fought as they stick around ready to maim and kill for many years.
I wasn't trying to say that a 6 character password was a good choice. I just chose an arbitrary length password to show that enforcing some restrictions will increase the difficulty of attack for a given length password (for a typical user). The math works out for 7, 8, 9, etc... character passwords. I haven't calculated the lower bound.
I fully agree that longer, easier to remember, passwords are a far better choice.
Very true, it seems my brain isn't working well today. However, the point still stands (although not as strongly). We have a keyspace of 10^10.75 vs 10^9.3. So we're still over an order of magnitude larger.
My initial example was slightly different and I forgot to change my original numbers. I hadinitially included special charcters but then the overlaps between keyspace would have been much more significant and the calculation would have taken more time than I wanted to put into the post. The actual post should read:
It is true that this reduces the keyspace more than just allowing non-numeric characters would but the keyspace is still a lot larger. The key here is that we aren't specifying which position these characters are in. Let's make some terrible assumptions and assume that a password has to meet the following criteria.
Exactly 6 characters long
Contain at least one uppercase letter
Contain at least one lowercase letter
Contain at least one number
Now the theoretical keyspace from allowing all of these characters is 62^6 or approximately 10^10.75
Now let's look at how much easier it is to guess the password based on knowing these rules (we will keep the 6 character long rule).
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one uppercase letter: 36^6 or approximately 10^9.3
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one lowercase letter: 36^6 or approximately 10^9.3
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one number: 52^6 or approximately 10^10.3
Now our keyspace is approximately 62^6 - 36^6 - 36^6 - 52^6 which is around 10^10.5
Typical users only use lower case letters and numbers so that keyspace would be 24^6 or approximately 10^8.2
So although these requirements make the keyspace smaller than theoretically possible it is still over 2 orders of magnitude larger than the keyspace actually in typical use. My calculations are very rough and actually underestimates the total keyspace (passwords containing only numbers for example are counted in the keyspace without uppercase letters and the keyspace without lowercase letters so they are removed twice).
It is true that this reduces the keyspace more than just allowing non-numeric characters would but the keyspace is still a lot larger. The key here is that we aren't specifying which position these characters are in. Let's make some terrible assumptions and assume that a password has to meet the following criteria.
Exactly 6 characters long
Contain at least one uppercase letter
Contain at least one lowercase letter
Contain at least one number
Now the theoretical keyspace from allowing all of these characters is 66^6 or approximately 10^10.9
Now let's look at how much easier it is to guess the password based on knowing these rules (we will keep the 6 character long rule).
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one uppercase letter: 40^6 or approximately 10^9.6
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one lowercase letter: 40^6 or approximately 10^9.6
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one number: 56^6 or approximately 10^10.5
Now our keyspace is approximately 66^6 - 40^6 - 40^6 - 56^6 which is around 10^10.6
Typical users only use lower case letters and numbers so that keyspace would be 24^6 or approximately 10^8.2
So although these requirements make the keyspace smaller than theoretically possible it is still over 2 orders of magnitude larger than the keyspace actually in typical use. My calculations are very rough and actually underestimates the total keyspace (passwords containing only numbers for example are counted in the keyspace without uppercase letters and the keyspace without lowercase letters so they are removed twice).
Actually weight training may help lose weight significantly. Adding muscle will increase your metabolism at all times of day, even while resting, so you will be burning more calories even while not exercising. That's actually one of the biggest myths and problems that a lot of people have while trying to lose weight.
As others have mentioned though I would see a dietician and see if they can devise a good diet for you.
All very true for CURRENT Panasonic cameras. The problem is that they are likely to include this firmware in future cameras with no ability to rollback to firmware without it.
Not at all the point that was being made. The equivalent example is a Sony DVD player only playing official Sony DVDs. This would indeed stifle your ability to choose which movies you watch. Your argument would have been valid if SecurityGuy complained that Panasonic wasn't allowing him to use film.
On the other hand, society is harmed when Tommy decides that formal education is useless and doesn't finish high school and go to college to become an engineer and ends up working alongside Johnny instead.
I agree with this sentiment whole-heartedly. I was very much in this position while nearing the end of high school. I was ready to drop out and say "Fuck college". I'm honestly frightened to think of the direction my life may have taken had I not met my wife back then. My entire life turned around and I'm now a successful engineer working on computer vision.
Presumably the people eating the fries because they are "vegetarian" are not eating the quarter pounders. Many Hindus accept that other people eat beef but they've made the choice not to do the same. In this case McDonald's had essentially tricked them into eating beef.
If you plan to get into physics as a career you should be aware that a PhD is practically mandatory. I've known many people that got their Bachelor's degree in physics and found it absolutely impossible to find a job. Even with a PhD there's no guarantee you'll land a job. Physics is highly competitive and ultimately low paying.
That being said, the above was just to make sure you're aware that it will be hard work and that you should really investigate the opportunities before jumping into this.
My recommendation would be to get your bachelor's degree in physics first with a focus on quantum physics. Once you're ready to begin your PhD find professors working in theoretical quantum physics and apply to the schools they teach at. You should also make sure that the professor has adequate funding or you may have a very difficult time getting your research approved (probably not as big a deal for theoretical physics).
Slashdot Mirror
**Spoiler Alert** In Ender's Game, Ender believed that he was only simulating battles toward the end of the book but in reality he was actually commanding the battles.
The tie-in here is that the volunteers are tricked into thinking everything is just a simulation when it isn't.
Or maybe they ARE going to Mars. It could be just like Ender's Game but without the whole killing aliens aspect. This could be a really sneaky way to avoid the psychological effects caused by such a voyage. Of course I don't actually think this is the case but it sure would be interesting.
To say that everyone should have equal rights because of the inherent order of the universe begs the question.
You mean RAISES the... oh wait, you used it properly. Never mind, carry on.
But what if we found a way to create extra universes and extract information from them? There are ideas about creat big bangs, etc... so we can't really say this is impossible at this point. Personally, I think it probably is but we can't prove that right now.
Also, from what it sounds like you've had the misfortune of being in some bad jobs where dishonesty is genuinely considered bad. Call centers have a reputation for this in particular.
I've personally been successful (however I do tend to be slightly less honest than you I think). However, at work I can't recall a single time I've lied to anyone. If something comes up where I know telling the truth would hurt someone I just choose to remain quiet. I've brought up many problems that I've noticed and they're generally well received. I suspect that for whatever reason you lack the tact and business speak needed to succeed rather than being overly honest. The real goal is to put things into terms that they care about.
For example, you say "I told the senior employee who trained me on the equipment and who was working with me that we had to follow the company rules and not create safety hazards". Did you mention that this came directly from quality control? The right thing to do here would be to go to your supervisor and mention that QC had an issue and you're wondering what to do about it? Ideally you document this in some way in case they then try to fire you for it (I wouldn't want to work there anyway). This way you're bringing up the issue without being abrasive and telling them that they are breaking the rules and need to change. You don't have that authority but QC might and this way you're just passing along a message.
I practically never look at the ports when I plug things in. I've learned where they are and can easily get the connector in approximately the correct place on my first try. After that you can easily jiggle it and it slides right in. This is beginning to sound like something else entirely though so I'll just leave it at that.
Just wait 10 years until they all have neurosyphilis.
But if the Earth is a "cell" then Smith was right.. we ARE a virus.
Aside from this, in most cases your 5% discount would be a terrible idea as the credit card charges aren't usually that high (depending on the total sale price). The store may only end up with a 10% margin or something before credit card fees (depending on what they sell). One you take the credit card fees or your proposed 5% discount you end up with margins that are very difficult to live with.
Sounds like it's time for a surprise viewing of arachnophobia.
Sure it can. If you leave enough food around you're bound to build up resistances to all sorts of exciting life forms.
Sure that's the ideal case. However, a few years back I read about a study that showed that this was not the case at all. Often when a patient asks about a specific drug the doctor will prescribe that drug over another used for treating similar symptoms.
Our particular aim was automating detection and classification of small bombs in natural scenes. These bomblets are huge problems wherever wars are fought as they stick around ready to maim and kill for many years.
I wasn't trying to say that a 6 character password was a good choice. I just chose an arbitrary length password to show that enforcing some restrictions will increase the difficulty of attack for a given length password (for a typical user). The math works out for 7, 8, 9, etc... character passwords. I haven't calculated the lower bound. I fully agree that longer, easier to remember, passwords are a far better choice.
Very true, it seems my brain isn't working well today. However, the point still stands (although not as strongly). We have a keyspace of 10^10.75 vs 10^9.3. So we're still over an order of magnitude larger.
My initial example was slightly different and I forgot to change my original numbers. I hadinitially included special charcters but then the overlaps between keyspace would have been much more significant and the calculation would have taken more time than I wanted to put into the post. The actual post should read:
It is true that this reduces the keyspace more than just allowing non-numeric characters would but the keyspace is still a lot larger. The key here is that we aren't specifying which position these characters are in. Let's make some terrible assumptions and assume that a password has to meet the following criteria.
Exactly 6 characters long
Contain at least one uppercase letter
Contain at least one lowercase letter
Contain at least one number
Now the theoretical keyspace from allowing all of these characters is 62^6 or approximately 10^10.75
Now let's look at how much easier it is to guess the password based on knowing these rules (we will keep the 6 character long rule).
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one uppercase letter: 36^6 or approximately 10^9.3
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one lowercase letter: 36^6 or approximately 10^9.3
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one number: 52^6 or approximately 10^10.3
Now our keyspace is approximately 62^6 - 36^6 - 36^6 - 52^6 which is around 10^10.5
Typical users only use lower case letters and numbers so that keyspace would be 24^6 or approximately 10^8.2
So although these requirements make the keyspace smaller than theoretically possible it is still over 2 orders of magnitude larger than the keyspace actually in typical use. My calculations are very rough and actually underestimates the total keyspace (passwords containing only numbers for example are counted in the keyspace without uppercase letters and the keyspace without lowercase letters so they are removed twice).
It is true that this reduces the keyspace more than just allowing non-numeric characters would but the keyspace is still a lot larger. The key here is that we aren't specifying which position these characters are in. Let's make some terrible assumptions and assume that a password has to meet the following criteria.
Exactly 6 characters long
Contain at least one uppercase letter
Contain at least one lowercase letter
Contain at least one number
Now the theoretical keyspace from allowing all of these characters is 66^6 or approximately 10^10.9
Now let's look at how much easier it is to guess the password based on knowing these rules (we will keep the 6 character long rule).
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one uppercase letter: 40^6 or approximately 10^9.6
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one lowercase letter: 40^6 or approximately 10^9.6
Keyspace size of those NOT containing at least one number: 56^6 or approximately 10^10.5
Now our keyspace is approximately 66^6 - 40^6 - 40^6 - 56^6 which is around 10^10.6
Typical users only use lower case letters and numbers so that keyspace would be 24^6 or approximately 10^8.2
So although these requirements make the keyspace smaller than theoretically possible it is still over 2 orders of magnitude larger than the keyspace actually in typical use. My calculations are very rough and actually underestimates the total keyspace (passwords containing only numbers for example are counted in the keyspace without uppercase letters and the keyspace without lowercase letters so they are removed twice).
Actually weight training may help lose weight significantly. Adding muscle will increase your metabolism at all times of day, even while resting, so you will be burning more calories even while not exercising. That's actually one of the biggest myths and problems that a lot of people have while trying to lose weight. As others have mentioned though I would see a dietician and see if they can devise a good diet for you.
All very true for CURRENT Panasonic cameras. The problem is that they are likely to include this firmware in future cameras with no ability to rollback to firmware without it.
Not at all the point that was being made. The equivalent example is a Sony DVD player only playing official Sony DVDs. This would indeed stifle your ability to choose which movies you watch. Your argument would have been valid if SecurityGuy complained that Panasonic wasn't allowing him to use film.
I never saw The Island but it was definitely in THX1138
Your argument would be stronger. However, we all know the cake is a lie.
On the other hand, society is harmed when Tommy decides that formal education is useless and doesn't finish high school and go to college to become an engineer and ends up working alongside Johnny instead.
I agree with this sentiment whole-heartedly. I was very much in this position while nearing the end of high school. I was ready to drop out and say "Fuck college". I'm honestly frightened to think of the direction my life may have taken had I not met my wife back then. My entire life turned around and I'm now a successful engineer working on computer vision.
Presumably the people eating the fries because they are "vegetarian" are not eating the quarter pounders. Many Hindus accept that other people eat beef but they've made the choice not to do the same. In this case McDonald's had essentially tricked them into eating beef.
If you plan to get into physics as a career you should be aware that a PhD is practically mandatory. I've known many people that got their Bachelor's degree in physics and found it absolutely impossible to find a job. Even with a PhD there's no guarantee you'll land a job. Physics is highly competitive and ultimately low paying.
That being said, the above was just to make sure you're aware that it will be hard work and that you should really investigate the opportunities before jumping into this.
My recommendation would be to get your bachelor's degree in physics first with a focus on quantum physics. Once you're ready to begin your PhD find professors working in theoretical quantum physics and apply to the schools they teach at. You should also make sure that the professor has adequate funding or you may have a very difficult time getting your research approved (probably not as big a deal for theoretical physics).