>The Aztecs had an advanced number system, and
No they didn't. You're thinking of the Maya. The Maya were pretty much more advanced than the Aztecs in all ways, but people think more of the Aztecs because they're in Civ2 and the Maya aren't;)
Actually, the original line is "life, liberty, and property."
This was changed because back then there were a lot of people who didn't own squat.
Re:A moment of silence. . .
on
The Challenger
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· Score: 1
It's not the fact that people died; it's that the people who died were the first/CIVILIANS/ to die in a rocket launch, and it was a tremendous blow to the space program.
This is the most ridiculous idea I've heard today.
Obviously, the universe contains more information than a single protein, as that single protein itself is but a tiny part of the universe.
In fact, the amount of information in every single particle is INFINITE, as the universe does not work with a set number of bits, but rather with infinitesimal increments.
Well, the only real natural laws are the physical laws. Evolution is not a law but a pattern that tends to be produced by the laws of physics.
We are breaking that pattern, but so what? Evolution is a very slow process. Genetic engineering can work much more quickly, even at its earliest stages as it is now. Were some global disaster to occur, we could repopulate the world within centuries, rather than the eons that it would take for "Nature" to do it.
Also, as far as philosophical or moral issues are concerned, I think it's important to keep in mind that the universe is a natural thing, and man is a part of the universe. We are not some invading alien force from another dimension, so we are natural, just like the rest of the world we live in.
IMO, intelligence is not an ability. Any ability gained from intelligence is but a symptom, and just because you may display symptons does not mean you are intelligent. I do not believe that intelligent programs are possible. They may seem intelligent, but they would not me. If you took a pen and paper, and computed the intelligence program by hand (just pretend), would it be intelligent? I don't think it would. So what is intelligence? It's awareness, and if you don't understand what awareness is, you must not be aware.
Slashdot Mirror
...but ignorance is no excuse.
Arrrrr mateys! Shiver me timbers! We'll make 'em walk the plank!
Talk to Gandhi.
Can't. He's dead.
>The Aztecs had an advanced number system, and No they didn't. You're thinking of the Maya. The Maya were pretty much more advanced than the Aztecs in all ways, but people think more of the Aztecs because they're in Civ2 and the Maya aren't ;)
You put half the people in America in a car with a clutch and it'll be pretty damned crowded.
That's rocket age. Not space age. The space age began in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik.
Actually, the original line is "life, liberty, and property." This was changed because back then there were a lot of people who didn't own squat.
It's not the fact that people died; it's that the people who died were the first /CIVILIANS/ to die in a rocket launch, and it was a tremendous blow to the space program.
This is the most ridiculous idea I've heard today. Obviously, the universe contains more information than a single protein, as that single protein itself is but a tiny part of the universe.
In fact, the amount of information in every single particle is INFINITE, as the universe does not work with a set number of bits, but rather with infinitesimal increments.
Well, the only real natural laws are the physical laws. Evolution is not a law but a pattern that tends to be produced by the laws of physics.
We are breaking that pattern, but so what? Evolution is a very slow process. Genetic engineering can work much more quickly, even at its earliest stages as it is now. Were some global disaster to occur, we could repopulate the world within centuries, rather than the eons that it would take for "Nature" to do it.
Also, as far as philosophical or moral issues are concerned, I think it's important to keep in mind that the universe is a natural thing, and man is a part of the universe. We are not some invading alien force from another dimension, so we are natural, just like the rest of the world we live in.
IMO, intelligence is not an ability. Any ability gained from intelligence is but a symptom, and just because you may display symptons does not mean you are intelligent. I do not believe that intelligent programs are possible. They may seem intelligent, but they would not me. If you took a pen and paper, and computed the intelligence program by hand (just pretend), would it be intelligent? I don't think it would. So what is intelligence? It's awareness, and if you don't understand what awareness is, you must not be aware.