Criticizing people for not knowing obscure facts is integral to slashdot culture. Why else would we see stories on the front page which contain 65% acronyms?
Also, yes, I am familiar with the national health care systems in some EU countries. You do realize that health care for a well-insured American is better than health care for a European, don't you? The only problem is that health care is tied to employment, here. Personally, I would be willing to put up with the "waitlists" of national healthcare if it freed me from the worry of bankruptcy in the case of a badly-timed medical problem. But it is simply wrong to say that national healthcare is better in every way.
when politicians beat up on [anything remotely related to children], what changes do they want to see made[?]
The change they want to see made is: get more votes by manipulating the irrational paternal instincts of their constituents.
Both parties do it. The Republicans have made it a cornerstone of their faux "family values" campaign. The Democrats (both Clinton campaigns) want to expand censorship of television and video games. Neither party has any evidence that gay rights or games causes deviant or violent behavior. But the facts don't matter, only fear matters.
The number one priority of a politician should be to protect our rights. The number two priority should be to enhance our prosperity (economic development).
I have never heard of a politician with these priorities--it's much easier to manipulate our emotions.
It doesn't matter what is taught in Norwegian history and what isn't. The assertion that it is impossible for involuntary servitude to be contractual is false.
Even today, contractually controlled indentured servitude exists in the USA. For example: If you have a potentially deadly medical condition, you MUST continue working for your current employer. If you quit your job under the terms of your contract, you will not be able to get medical care, and you will become bankrupt and die. No insurance company will pick you up due to "preexisting conditions;" only the insurance you get through your employer (slave master) will cover you. Work or die--it's the terms of the contract.
Of course comparing it with involuntary servitude is ridiculous. It's a contract. As long as there is mutual consideration, calling it involuntary makes no more sense than calling any other contract term involuntary.
Indentured servants (aka white slaves in the early American colonies) were contractually obligated to work, too. Study history moar.
SETI differers from Pascal's wager in that there is evidence ETI could exist, while there is no evidence Hell could exists.
Also, we don't necessarily need to establish 2-way communication to benefit from SETI. It is conceivable that some civilizations broadcast useful information out of altruism.
If you can claim to be the author of the US government standard cryptographic hash, you get to charge pretty much whatever you want in consulting fees.
I'm not religious, but am not bothered by people who are.
It doesn't bother you at all that the majority of the people you interact with believe they are taking orders from an invisible man who has ordered his followers to commit genocide (as described in the first books of the major monotheistic religions)?
The plural of "anecdote" is not evidence. The fact that some of your friends are having hard financial times does NOT imply that "the economy is tanking."
The actual facts indicate the economy is growing, but at a slower rate compared to the past few years. Unemployment is VERY low, wages are growing, productivity is growing, and inflation is tame. It isn't perfect, but it never is. Real estate prices are down and energy costs are up, but everything else is in pretty good shape.
The odds are low. Hell, the odds are almost negligible.
Something is considered a good investment either when the odds are high and the potential benefits are low, OR when the odds are low and the potential benefits are high.
You know about the first kind of investment, but not the second kind, it seems. The benefits of making contact are astronomical (literally), so even with very low chances of success, it is a good investment.
Gas engine: Chemical Energy (gas) -> heat -> mechanical energy
Electric engine: Chemical energy (coal) -> heat -> mechanical energy -> electrical energy -> (step up transformer) -> (power line) -> (step down transformer) -> (charger) -> chemical energy (in the battery) -> electrical energy -> mechanical energy
That first bit is more like: Gas engine: (locate) -> (extract) -> (transport to refinery) -> (refine) -> (transport to gas station) -> Chemical Energy (gas) -> heat -> mechanical energy
GNUPG would not be a major concern on such a project, because the target audience would be primarily windows. Hardware-based smart cards would be the way to go.
It is true that the "old school" of psychology completely ignores things like statistics and double-blind studies, and is therefore not really "science." However, the new school of psychology finally learned a thing or two from biology and medicine, and has advanced past that Freud-era, dream-interpreting bullshit. This study seems to be from the new school.
That said, we can all agree that sociology is not science and probably never will be until we can build useful computer models of human brains. No offense, sociologists. Actually, never mind, that is meant to be offensive. Get real jobs, you bums.
I haven't considered these sorts of ideas since Discrete Math in college. I love the clarity of your reasoning; do you have any suggestions for books that address this topic?
You're wrong. Science requires empirical data, and BMI is a TERRIBLE empirical measurement. This is a scientific study which looked at BMI alone, because asking the researchers "would you hit it?" would be subjective, not empirical.
Personally, my BMI got worse after I started lifting weights. How much eye you catch at a nightclub is a much better measurement of fitness.
Recent studies show that a persons weight or BMI are terrible indicators of their overall health. The best method available (without special equipment) is the ratio of waist size to height.
If your waist circumference is less than 50% of your height, you are at a low risk for fat-related diseases. If it is more than 50%, get to the gym, stat!
Well, if I were given a $500M budget and were asked to implement it nationally, I would issue smart cards and legislate smart card readers come standard on typical desktop PCs (adding $3 per machine, I suppose).
And your wrong on another count. On windows, private keys can only be accessed directly by a user with System level access.
It could be issued with drivers' licenses. It doesn't have to have an expiration any shorter than a human lifespan, as long as a good revocation system is in place.
but if the credentials were phished then i reckon it's not that hard to get the pri key.
No. There is a big difference between knowing someone's email address and having system/root-level access on their PC (or better yet: physically stealing their smartcard).
So much money would be saved from fraud by issuing everyone smartcards (say, with their tax returns?) that such a system would pay for itself quickly. It is impossible to steal keys off of a smart card via a remote hack.
Slashdot Mirror
Criticizing people for not knowing obscure facts is integral to slashdot culture. Why else would we see stories on the front page which contain 65% acronyms?
Also, yes, I am familiar with the national health care systems in some EU countries. You do realize that health care for a well-insured American is better than health care for a European, don't you? The only problem is that health care is tied to employment, here. Personally, I would be willing to put up with the "waitlists" of national healthcare if it freed me from the worry of bankruptcy in the case of a badly-timed medical problem. But it is simply wrong to say that national healthcare is better in every way.
Both parties do it. The Republicans have made it a cornerstone of their faux "family values" campaign. The Democrats (both Clinton campaigns) want to expand censorship of television and video games. Neither party has any evidence that gay rights or games causes deviant or violent behavior. But the facts don't matter, only fear matters.
The number one priority of a politician should be to protect our rights. The number two priority should be to enhance our prosperity (economic development).
I have never heard of a politician with these priorities--it's much easier to manipulate our emotions.
It doesn't matter what is taught in Norwegian history and what isn't. The assertion that it is impossible for involuntary servitude to be contractual is false.
Even today, contractually controlled indentured servitude exists in the USA. For example: If you have a potentially deadly medical condition, you MUST continue working for your current employer. If you quit your job under the terms of your contract, you will not be able to get medical care, and you will become bankrupt and die. No insurance company will pick you up due to "preexisting conditions;" only the insurance you get through your employer (slave master) will cover you. Work or die--it's the terms of the contract.
A computing lab in a university would likely be staffed by teenagers (18-19). Most teenagers are not horribly offended at being called "girl."
SETI differers from Pascal's wager in that there is evidence ETI could exist, while there is no evidence Hell could exists.
Also, we don't necessarily need to establish 2-way communication to benefit from SETI. It is conceivable that some civilizations broadcast useful information out of altruism.
Wow. You're starting to go insane. Clearly, you are on the path toward religious enlightenment.
If you can claim to be the author of the US government standard cryptographic hash, you get to charge pretty much whatever you want in consulting fees.
Are you saying that the universe was created in 6000 days?
If that were the case, no references to time would have been mentioned in Genesis in the first place!
I refuse to believe than an omnipotent deity would have such piss-poor communication skills as you attribute to him.
(sorry--reposted due to my own poor communication skills)
That kind of bothers me.
The plural of "anecdote" is not evidence. The fact that some of your friends are having hard financial times does NOT imply that "the economy is tanking."
The actual facts indicate the economy is growing, but at a slower rate compared to the past few years. Unemployment is VERY low, wages are growing, productivity is growing, and inflation is tame. It isn't perfect, but it never is. Real estate prices are down and energy costs are up, but everything else is in pretty good shape.
You know about the first kind of investment, but not the second kind, it seems. The benefits of making contact are astronomical (literally), so even with very low chances of success, it is a good investment.
That first bit is more like:
Gas engine: (locate) -> (extract) -> (transport to refinery) -> (refine) -> (transport to gas station) -> Chemical Energy (gas) -> heat -> mechanical energy
Each of those steps costs energy.
GNUPG would not be a major concern on such a project, because the target audience would be primarily windows. Hardware-based smart cards would be the way to go.
It is true that the "old school" of psychology completely ignores things like statistics and double-blind studies, and is therefore not really "science." However, the new school of psychology finally learned a thing or two from biology and medicine, and has advanced past that Freud-era, dream-interpreting bullshit. This study seems to be from the new school.
That said, we can all agree that sociology is not science and probably never will be until we can build useful computer models of human brains. No offense, sociologists. Actually, never mind, that is meant to be offensive. Get real jobs, you bums.
I haven't considered these sorts of ideas since Discrete Math in college. I love the clarity of your reasoning; do you have any suggestions for books that address this topic?
You're wrong. Science requires empirical data, and BMI is a TERRIBLE empirical measurement. This is a scientific study which looked at BMI alone, because asking the researchers "would you hit it?" would be subjective, not empirical.
Personally, my BMI got worse after I started lifting weights. How much eye you catch at a nightclub is a much better measurement of fitness.
Recent studies show that a persons weight or BMI are terrible indicators of their overall health. The best method available (without special equipment) is the ratio of waist size to height.
If your waist circumference is less than 50% of your height, you are at a low risk for fat-related diseases. If it is more than 50%, get to the gym, stat!
Well, if I were given a $500M budget and were asked to implement it nationally, I would issue smart cards and legislate smart card readers come standard on typical desktop PCs (adding $3 per machine, I suppose).
And your wrong on another count. On windows, private keys can only be accessed directly by a user with System level access.
Randomly inserting "[sic]" while you type makes you homo ignoramus.
It could be issued with drivers' licenses. It doesn't have to have an expiration any shorter than a human lifespan, as long as a good revocation system is in place.
So much money would be saved from fraud by issuing everyone smartcards (say, with their tax returns?) that such a system would pay for itself quickly. It is impossible to steal keys off of a smart card via a remote hack.