I'd have to disagree. Cryptonomicon balances character and plot much better than Diamond Age. I've read most of Stephenson's stuff, except for Big U. Zodiac, Snow Crash (x3), Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon (x2.5--I'm in the middle of my third go-round right now).
I loved Cryptonomicon. It was the first of his books that I read. I think the characters are fully realized, fully realistic, and, best of all, dynamic.
The Cap'n Crunch chapter is good, but my favorite is Ronald Reagan's interview with Bobby Shaftoe. Bobby Shaftoe is awesome. Haiku-spouting, Philipina-loving stupendous bad-ass. Actually, I changed my mind. My favorite passage (out of almost any book) is the first paragraph. That and the "until he's 25" section of Snow Crash. Stephenson has the pulse of man-geeks.
Uninteresting characters? Maybe. Maybe...no. Both main Waterhouses are interesting, and I think the depiction of Lawrence's naivete is just amazing. His ability to switch viewpoints from character to character and to modulate his writing style just enough to let you get a feel for each character. He doesn't write the same for Lawrence, Randy, or Bobby.
The worst thing about the book is, unfortunately, the editing. There are quite a few typos, and some major slip-ups that should have been caught.
By the way, if you get a chance, listen to the audiobook of Snow Crash. Audiobooks are the saving grace of commuting.
Peter David's Hulk was one of the last superhero comics that I read. Very, very well done. I will always remember "Honey, I'm home!", issue 380 or so, when Doc Sampson "cures" the Hulk with the help of the Ringmaster.
I agree with some other posts that the Hulk is a much, much more deep character than is presented in the original TV show.
I wonder if they'll do the "gamma-bomb" origin of the comic book, or the "looking to release human potential" origin of the TV show.
As un-PC as it is, the gamma bomb origin is actually a little more deep. Bruce constantly repressed his own anger and never related to other people on an emotional level. He didn't trust his emotions. Why would a logical, dispassionate, but gentle person work to construct a bomb? He doesn't have a good answer because he doesn't know his own emotional needs well enough.
Spoiler from the comic: He saw his father murder his mother. You don't get much more traumatic than that.
EXACTLY!!! Give me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Too many people are obsessed with knowledge rather than wisdom. So what if you know things? Do you know how to live a good life? Do you know when to put forth your views and when to let them go? Do you know...how to be wise?
The anti-terrorism measures seem to be more about increasing the power of the anti-terrorists than decreasing the power of the terrorists. The former is easy and fast, but has horrible consequences in the long run; the latter is difficult, fraught with peril, and has wonderful consequences in the long run. Which did the U.S. gov't. choose?
And guess what? Walmart is now branching out into selling cars in some locations. See this article.
So really it's "everything thing you can think of, including cars."
Incorrect. John Vane discovered how aspirin works in the 1970's. He was a British pharmacalogist who discovered that aspirin inhibits the body's production of prostaglandins. These substances are what your body uses to promote swelling. Aspirin stops the prostaglandins, which reduces the swelling, which reduces the pain, in some instances. Nice try, though. By the way, I'm sure more people will be able to be more specific about how it works.
You're right about one thing though: it did take a long time.
In Xanadu did Nelson-Khan
A hypertext docu-verse decree,
Where E, the sacred electricity, ran
through circuits measureless to man
too small for eye to see...
Oh forget it! Anybody else want to finish the pastiche?
The question isn't about what he did with existing software, but whether he was a software innovator. I think you can definitely question his software innovator-ness if you want to, but talking about how he "ruined" Netscape doesn't acknowledge that he created a web browser that included in-line graphics. I think that counts as innovation. If you don't think it counts as innovation, that's fine. But don't say he doesn't belong in an innovators list because of some bad decisions he later made.
As to the case for innovation, I would say that his little adjustment to browsing drastically and fundamentally altered our society. Remember, before Mosaic, browsers didn't have in-line graphics. I don't think we can forget how big an innovation that is. Sure, someone else would have come up with it eventually, but that's not the point. So how about Marc Andreesen for Mosaic? That was the innovation. What he did or did not do with Netscape is irrelevant.
I like Woz as a hardware innovator, but not so much as a software innovator.
Not mentioned so far:
Dan Bricklin (creator of Visi-Calc, the first computer spreadsheet)
Marc Andreesen for Mosaic/Netscape
Donald Knuth (for the exact opposite of innovation: explication. He wrote The Art of Computer Programming)
Bob Taylor (for being the head of Xerox PARC while so much innovation was going on)
Alan Turing gave us the logic behind computer programming
I could put Tim Patterson, who wrote Q-DOS and then had it bought by Bill Gates to become Windows XP:-), but why not say Gary Kildall who wrote CP/M which Q-DOS is a rip-off of.
Google has a directory of Computer Pioneers. You can check that out.
...students who trust the internet as if "I read it on the web, it must be true."
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the number of posts that are "anti-professor" here, nor should I be surprised that some believe that "googling" can give one "bulletproof" references.
And if the student is not paying enough attention to the professor to actually give an honest, fair evaluation, what then? Also, don't think that your school is so unique. Many universities and colleges have students evaluate the faculty, and the administrators take it very seriously.
I made an earlier comment that made me think of short stories. Bruce Sterling has an excellent collection of short stories called
Crystal Express that is excellent. The first story, "Swarm" has a species that reminds me so much of the Zerg from StarCraft that it's uncanny.
Other good short sci-fi: Larry Niven has a hilarious parody of superman as a teenager. It may be available on the net (no, I'm not going to search for it before I post).
I'm surprised, as no one has seemed to mention Ray Bradbury. Maybe some people are angry that they were forced to read Farhenheit 451 in high school, but it's a really good book, and so are many of his other famous sci-fi works.
Harlan Ellison is a prolific short-story writer, as well, and worthy of a mention here.
As for everyone still caught up in the classics, there's nothing wrong with them. But try to increase your breadth. Using amazon.com's "related items" section is helpful in finding new things to read.
I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed with most of the replies in here. That's slashdot, I guess.
One author who is mostly considered fantasy is Stephen Donaldson, but he's branched into Sci-Fi not just with novels (The Gap Series), but with short fiction as well, in both of his short story collections (Daughter of Regals and Other Tales, and Reave the Just and Other Tales). "Mythical Beast" is a good story from the first, and "What Makes Us Human" a good sci-fi selection from the second.
As for the Gap Series itself, the first book is troublesome to say the least. If you get through it, though, he has a wonderful control of plot and characters, and I love Norse mythology, so the (deliberate) echoes of the Ring cycle are fun. It's got some strongly mature themes, but I would highly recommend it to anyone here. The structure of each of the books is a little different, but I liked the "Ancillary Documentation" of Chaos and Order the best.
As has been pointed out, this is NOT a cyber-squatting issue. Just check out the former Rolling Stone's website. The domain is already owned by the former Rolling Stone. The article (which is difficult to access--click on "is reporting" and not "Atlanta Journal Constitution") is about the reporter's byline (the name that goes with his stories).
It is also NOT a lawsuit. Yet. It's a legal letter that can lead to a lawsuit. I think the idea is that since the journalist writes about pop music, there could be confusion.
The really stupid thing is that the laws which allow for suits in cases like this are designed to protect people's livelihood. But neither of them is really preventing the other's livelihood.
This article works in the same idiom as the Weekly World News...same tone, same approach to information. Referring to most of the people as simply "scientists," even calling them "famous scientists" at the end of the article. Real journalists don't quote people like this. Real journalists get information from multiple sources. And real journalists don't suddenly start talking about cyborgs and aliens in the middle of an ostensibly serious article. Is this a translation of a Russian article? Is the language used as bad in the original Russian, or is this written in English by someone for whom English is a second language?
"Neanderthal man...was considered to be in the intermediate position between the pithecanthropus and the modern human." Not by most anthropologists. Neanderthal man (Homo Sapiens Neanderthalis--HSN) was considered to have died out about 30,000 years ago. "Died out" as in "leaving no descendents," or "not able to be called the ancestor of jack squat in modern times." They thrived for about 200,000 years. Homo Sapiens Sapiens--HSS--appeared 120,000 years ago. So, for about 90,000 years HSS and HSN shared space.
For those who read the Clan of the Cave Bear series, the first book is about a HSS girl raised by a tribe of HSN.
The Neanderthals were the first group to display abstract thought. They buried their dead, they had rituals, they drew abstract symbols in their artwork. They were not nearly as dumb as previously thought.
There are 2 theories about HSN: that HSS came "out of Africa" and killed/displaced HSN, or that modern HSS are descended from HSN and other hominids in Europe and Asia.
Actually, it occurs to me that all that I wrote about journalists above really relates to editors. This wasn't posted on slashdot as a joke. This was posted under the category of "science," not humor. It doesn't belong in this category at all. It's a joke that the slashdot editors decided to let this one through.
More useful information can be found from lots of other places:
Slashdot is never going to be a "breaking news" site. It's a news consolidation site. Don't try to beat everyone out the door with the news when it isn't really news. Check those sources, guys.
You can take the courses you need as a non-degree seeking student. The graduate schools will look at your transcripts, see the requisite courses, and let you in (provided you've jumped through all the other hoops first, of course). Education is all about jumping through hoops for people. Jump through the right hoops for the right people, and you can get where you need to go.
Also, since you have an educational background in econ, you might be able to get into a graduate program in Math. From there it's an easier jump to graduate degrees in physics. They may let you play their PhD games, even!
Finally, you can always try to get a favor from a former professor. Did you take any physics in college at all? How about math? Go talk to your professors, and talk to professors and admissions officers at schools you are interested in.
The slashdot crowd has many intelligent people with great ideas, but that's no substitute for talking to the very people who really do control your destiny. Talk to the colleges, not us.
They aren't short of CO or CO2 in the general atmosphere, just in those patches. Venus has a greenhouse effect that is hundreds of times worse than anything here. Those gases make up most of their atmosphere. Atmosphere is 96% CO2.
I hate it when people pronounce Xavier's name with an "X" sound. I've known a few people with that name, and no one has ever *not* pronounced it "Zavier." I just hope the movie doesn't screw it up.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd have to disagree. Cryptonomicon balances character and plot much better than Diamond Age. I've read most of Stephenson's stuff, except for Big U. Zodiac, Snow Crash (x3), Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon (x2.5--I'm in the middle of my third go-round right now).
I loved Cryptonomicon. It was the first of his books that I read. I think the characters are fully realized, fully realistic, and, best of all, dynamic.
The Cap'n Crunch chapter is good, but my favorite is Ronald Reagan's interview with Bobby Shaftoe. Bobby Shaftoe is awesome. Haiku-spouting, Philipina-loving stupendous bad-ass. Actually, I changed my mind. My favorite passage (out of almost any book) is the first paragraph. That and the "until he's 25" section of Snow Crash. Stephenson has the pulse of man-geeks.
Uninteresting characters? Maybe. Maybe...no. Both main Waterhouses are interesting, and I think the depiction of Lawrence's naivete is just amazing. His ability to switch viewpoints from character to character and to modulate his writing style just enough to let you get a feel for each character. He doesn't write the same for Lawrence, Randy, or Bobby.
The worst thing about the book is, unfortunately, the editing. There are quite a few typos, and some major slip-ups that should have been caught.
By the way, if you get a chance, listen to the audiobook of Snow Crash. Audiobooks are the saving grace of commuting.
Peter David's Hulk was one of the last superhero comics that I read. Very, very well done. I will always remember "Honey, I'm home!", issue 380 or so, when Doc Sampson "cures" the Hulk with the help of the Ringmaster.
I agree with some other posts that the Hulk is a much, much more deep character than is presented in the original TV show.
I wonder if they'll do the "gamma-bomb" origin of the comic book, or the "looking to release human potential" origin of the TV show.
As un-PC as it is, the gamma bomb origin is actually a little more deep. Bruce constantly repressed his own anger and never related to other people on an emotional level. He didn't trust his emotions. Why would a logical, dispassionate, but gentle person work to construct a bomb? He doesn't have a good answer because he doesn't know his own emotional needs well enough.
Spoiler from the comic: He saw his father murder his mother. You don't get much more traumatic than that.
EXACTLY!!!
Give me the serenity to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Too many people are obsessed with knowledge rather than wisdom. So what if you know things? Do you know how to live a good life? Do you know when to put forth your views and when to let them go? Do you know...how to be wise?
The anti-terrorism measures seem to be more about increasing the power of the anti-terrorists than decreasing the power of the terrorists. The former is easy and fast, but has horrible consequences in the long run; the latter is difficult, fraught with peril, and has wonderful consequences in the long run. Which did the U.S. gov't. choose?
And guess what? Walmart is now branching out into selling cars in some locations. See this article. So really it's "everything thing you can think of, including cars."
Yes, on March 7, 2003. New NASA releases new topopgraphic map.
mod up, please. This is an extremely undervalued part of education.
You're right about one thing though: it did take a long time.
A hypertext docu-verse decree,
Where E, the sacred electricity, ran
through circuits measureless to man
too small for eye to see...
Oh forget it! Anybody else want to finish the pastiche?
As to the case for innovation, I would say that his little adjustment to browsing drastically and fundamentally altered our society. Remember, before Mosaic, browsers didn't have in-line graphics. I don't think we can forget how big an innovation that is. Sure, someone else would have come up with it eventually, but that's not the point. So how about Marc Andreesen for Mosaic? That was the innovation. What he did or did not do with Netscape is irrelevant.
I like Woz as a hardware innovator, but not so much as a software innovator. Not mentioned so far: :-), but why not say Gary Kildall who wrote CP/M which Q-DOS is a rip-off of.
Dan Bricklin (creator of Visi-Calc, the first computer spreadsheet)
Marc Andreesen for Mosaic/Netscape
Donald Knuth (for the exact opposite of innovation: explication. He wrote The Art of Computer Programming)
Bob Taylor (for being the head of Xerox PARC while so much innovation was going on)
Alan Turing gave us the logic behind computer programming
I could put Tim Patterson, who wrote Q-DOS and then had it bought by Bill Gates to become Windows XP
Google has a directory of Computer Pioneers. You can check that out.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at the number of posts that are "anti-professor" here, nor should I be surprised that some believe that "googling" can give one "bulletproof" references.
And if the student is not paying enough attention to the professor to actually give an honest, fair evaluation, what then? Also, don't think that your school is so unique. Many universities and colleges have students evaluate the faculty, and the administrators take it very seriously.
Other good short sci-fi: Larry Niven has a hilarious parody of superman as a teenager. It may be available on the net (no, I'm not going to search for it before I post).
I'm surprised, as no one has seemed to mention Ray Bradbury. Maybe some people are angry that they were forced to read Farhenheit 451 in high school, but it's a really good book, and so are many of his other famous sci-fi works.
Harlan Ellison is a prolific short-story writer, as well, and worthy of a mention here.
As for everyone still caught up in the classics, there's nothing wrong with them. But try to increase your breadth. Using amazon.com's "related items" section is helpful in finding new things to read.
I have to admit, I was pretty disappointed with most of the replies in here. That's slashdot, I guess.
One author who is mostly considered fantasy is Stephen Donaldson, but he's branched into Sci-Fi not just with novels (The Gap Series), but with short fiction as well, in both of his short story collections (Daughter of Regals and Other Tales, and Reave the Just and Other Tales). "Mythical Beast" is a good story from the first, and "What Makes Us Human" a good sci-fi selection from the second.
As for the Gap Series itself, the first book is troublesome to say the least. If you get through it, though, he has a wonderful control of plot and characters, and I love Norse mythology, so the (deliberate) echoes of the Ring cycle are fun. It's got some strongly mature themes, but I would highly recommend it to anyone here. The structure of each of the books is a little different, but I liked the "Ancillary Documentation" of Chaos and Order the best.
As has been pointed out, this is NOT a cyber-squatting issue. Just check out the former Rolling Stone's website. The domain is already owned by the former Rolling Stone. The article (which is difficult to access--click on "is reporting" and not "Atlanta Journal Constitution") is about the reporter's byline (the name that goes with his stories).
It is also NOT a lawsuit. Yet. It's a legal letter that can lead to a lawsuit. I think the idea is that since the journalist writes about pop music, there could be confusion.
The really stupid thing is that the laws which allow for suits in cases like this are designed to protect people's livelihood. But neither of them is really preventing the other's livelihood.
This article works in the same idiom as the Weekly World News...same tone, same approach to information. Referring to most of the people as simply "scientists," even calling them "famous scientists" at the end of the article. Real journalists don't quote people like this. Real journalists get information from multiple sources. And real journalists don't suddenly start talking about cyborgs and aliens in the middle of an ostensibly serious article. Is this a translation of a Russian article? Is the language used as bad in the original Russian, or is this written in English by someone for whom English is a second language?
"Neanderthal man...was considered to be in the intermediate position between the pithecanthropus and the modern human." Not by most anthropologists. Neanderthal man (Homo Sapiens Neanderthalis--HSN) was considered to have died out about 30,000 years ago. "Died out" as in "leaving no descendents," or "not able to be called the ancestor of jack squat in modern times." They thrived for about 200,000 years. Homo Sapiens Sapiens--HSS--appeared 120,000 years ago. So, for about 90,000 years HSS and HSN shared space.
For those who read the Clan of the Cave Bear series, the first book is about a HSS girl raised by a tribe of HSN.
The Neanderthals were the first group to display abstract thought. They buried their dead, they had rituals, they drew abstract symbols in their artwork. They were not nearly as dumb as previously thought.
There are 2 theories about HSN: that HSS came "out of Africa" and killed/displaced HSN, or that modern HSS are descended from HSN and other hominids in Europe and Asia.
Actually, it occurs to me that all that I wrote about journalists above really relates to editors. This wasn't posted on slashdot as a joke. This was posted under the category of "science," not humor. It doesn't belong in this category at all. It's a joke that the slashdot editors decided to let this one through.
More useful information can be found from lots of other places:
- Neanderthal-modern.com
- Discovery.com
- The Real Eve
- the cyber perspective
- BBC News from 2000
Slashdot is never going to be a "breaking news" site. It's a news consolidation site. Don't try to beat everyone out the door with the news when it isn't really news. Check those sources, guys.You can take the courses you need as a non-degree seeking student. The graduate schools will look at your transcripts, see the requisite courses, and let you in (provided you've jumped through all the other hoops first, of course). Education is all about jumping through hoops for people. Jump through the right hoops for the right people, and you can get where you need to go.
Also, since you have an educational background in econ, you might be able to get into a graduate program in Math. From there it's an easier jump to graduate degrees in physics. They may let you play their PhD games, even!
Finally, you can always try to get a favor from a former professor. Did you take any physics in college at all? How about math? Go talk to your professors, and talk to professors and admissions officers at schools you are interested in.
The slashdot crowd has many intelligent people with great ideas, but that's no substitute for talking to the very people who really do control your destiny. Talk to the colleges, not us.
They aren't short of CO or CO2 in the general atmosphere, just in those patches. Venus has a greenhouse effect that is hundreds of times worse than anything here. Those gases make up most of their atmosphere. Atmosphere is 96% CO2.
I hate it when people pronounce Xavier's name with an "X" sound. I've known a few people with that name, and no one has ever *not* pronounced it "Zavier." I just hope the movie doesn't screw it up.