1. Federal licensing and "oversight" for businesses = tax$
2. Exemptions for "national security" = hello FBI/TSA/NSA/DEA
3. Strong, enforceable privacy policy = Private use prohibited.
Watch for it.
Considering that the source is one Ms. Diane "Mr. and Mrs. America, turn in your guns, but I'll keep my heavily armed guard detail" Feinstein, I can't imagine that would be all too surprising.
Yea, some people just can't handle the truth when it contradicts their preconceived notions. The irony is that the group here is presumed to be more open minded than your average fundamentalist, however when it comes to challenging something they've "always known to be true," they balk and scream just like the people they criticise, regardless of what the actual facts are.
FWIW, yours is probably one of the most intelligent and well thought out commentaries on religion I've seen in quite some time.
Oh, there are mega churches and really messed up Nigerian "pastors" in Africa. However, they don't normally get to be this loud. I suppose it it is possible that they are a ticking timebomb. I suppose, to answer myself, it's that American culture is insidious and seeps out of your borders. The good the bad and the ugly in one slimy mix...
There are also ultra-orthodox Greek Christians who destroy icons not associated with their faith, crazy-ass Spanish Christians who flog themselves with cat-o-nine-tails as an extreme form of penance, Georgia State Christians who mutilate their own bodies (for Jesus!)
Point being, whackjob theology is by no means an exclusively American phenomena, nor did it originate here. Yea, we have our share of nutjob fundamentalists, but so does everywhere else.
Now granted, not all American Christians have these problems you complain about. But there is a fair contingent who apparently believe that so long as they spend their "hour with Jesus" a week, and drop a few bucks in the Salvation Army bucket once in a while, they can live their lives as total pieces of shit and still be given some sort of eternal reward. That said, I hardly think blind religious fervor is a strictly American disease. Just look at Russia's attitude towards homosexuals.
Sidebar: Do mega-churches and evangelism not exist outside US borders?
I wonder if people who did no work would be viewed distastefully in a future world where 'work' was worth nothing?
Presuming a major cultural shift between now and then, which would have to happen for this 'no work for humans' future to even be feasible, obviously we would have different attitudes about it.
The problem isn't "what would the world be like if we ever get there," it's "what's the world going to be like before we get there." People don't just change their preconceived notions easily, even when they know for a fact they're wrong.
By that, I mean, say anyone in this future world could build 1 robot. And that robot had the ability to extract resources right from the soil, crafting its own parts, repairing itself, and building other robots. And these robots could build anything, even a full working luxury car or mansion. And the robots were smarter or smarter than real people. They could code programs, do scientific research, work on wallstreet. etc..
But assuming they don't just devour every available resource on the planet... what would be the point? If we build robots to do literally everything for us, why should humans even exist? What would be the point in even having a "Wall Street," when there's no money needed or to be had?
That's one of the major issues I take with people who view this fantastic idea as the logical progression of humanity: they haven't really thought things through all the way. I think a big part of that (the 'not thinking things through' part) really boils down to the fact that those people in particular are so excited about the prospect of never having to call any man Mister they fail to see the forest for the trees.
So anyone person can essentially produce unlimited units of work. The only thing that would bottleneck them is naturally scarce things, like land/air/water/space, or artificial scarcities, like IP / copyright.
In other words, even more resource wars than we're seeing today. Except with robots.
Correction - more robots.
I wonder at that point, if the major land owners are essentially going to be Royalty, and anyone without land will be at their mercy. Back to some sort of Feudal society. Except the land owners do not need us... that'll be scary.
Dunno, but I bet you could storyboard that into one helluva dystopian-future short story.
Like not being able to pay employees in credits to be redeemed at the company store. Employees not being able to sell themselves into indentured servitude, that sort of thing. those regressive policies are harming our corporations.
Hey now - we have H1B visa workers, and they're practically indentured servants.
So, to take your hypothetical question even further . . . what happens when 20% or even 50% of the workforce is no longer needed to produce what we all need to survive or even thrive?
Irony, for the record is "the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect."
Example: "Dude, I am soooo enjoying this root canal."
Something which seems to have been ignored for most of this thread.
I'll just continue using my regular infrared remote which works 100% of the time.
Well sure, it works, but when you change channels with that, you don't get to make a complete ass of yourself by repeatedly screaming the same command at your TV while doing an idiotic little dance!
That's a statement of fact. Good catch nonetheless.
The quote, BTW, is "Most generalizations are false, including this one." I'm guessing Mr. Clemens may have come up with that after having a similar conversation to the one we're having now.
Low-level technical skills have a half-life of only about three to five years. Meaning, half of what you know is obsolete in three to five years. This is true in software engineering and also, I've read, in most other kinds of engineering.
I think that's the first time I've heard "low-level technical skills" and "engineering" said in the same breath.
Experienced professionals know this and compensate by making a career-long commitment to staying current and developing new skills.
By all means, I encourage anyone who cannot stand the heat to get out of the kitchen. You'll be happier in a position where learning is not required, and I'll be happier not to get stuck working with another has-been.
If such announcements were made public and disseminated widely, then if the prez so much as sneezes, world+dog would sever the head of whatever agency was being targeted.
Ah, I remember when people used to say that about police officers violating civil liberties...
OK, "surrender keys to a shed filled with incriminating documents," Mr. Pedantic.
Except a locked shed requires a physical object, i.e. key, to be opened. The cops don't need you to incriminate yourself if they can find the key (or get a proper warrant to circumvent it).
Conversely, locked data (information) does not require a physical key, but rather information kept within the owner's brain.
Information that would be self-incriminating to give out.
FWIW, I personally don't know of any legal precedent (in the US) that requires one to surrender a key if doing so would be self-incriminating.
Oh, wow, so Adobe is going to start supporting 3D printers.
Hey, wait - aren't Adobe those guys who were so adamant about DRM on their new software release they thought making it a subscription based service was a good idea?
Considering the source, I don't trust that this isn't just a power move on Adobe's part to get in on the ground floor of locking down your property (in this case, your 3D printer).
FYI - the fact that America has a "court" that is not open to public scrutiny is blatantly unconstitutional, no matter what rationale you try to use to justify it.
The document does not specifically give the federal government power to create secret courts. Per the 10th Amendment, any power the Constitution does not directly assign to the feds is not a power they have.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know where "here" is, but somehow I doubt it's fundamentally different than any other human-inhabited region.
1. Federal licensing and "oversight" for businesses = tax$
2. Exemptions for "national security" = hello FBI/TSA/NSA/DEA
3. Strong, enforceable privacy policy = Private use prohibited.
Watch for it.
Considering that the source is one Ms. Diane "Mr. and Mrs. America, turn in your guns, but I'll keep my heavily armed guard detail" Feinstein, I can't imagine that would be all too surprising.
(yep - prolly gonna get modded down, but meh.)
Yea, some people just can't handle the truth when it contradicts their preconceived notions. The irony is that the group here is presumed to be more open minded than your average fundamentalist, however when it comes to challenging something they've "always known to be true," they balk and scream just like the people they criticise, regardless of what the actual facts are.
FWIW, yours is probably one of the most intelligent and well thought out commentaries on religion I've seen in quite some time.
Oh, there are mega churches and really messed up Nigerian "pastors" in Africa. However, they don't normally get to be this loud. I suppose it it is possible that they are a ticking timebomb. I suppose, to answer myself, it's that American culture is insidious and seeps out of your borders. The good the bad and the ugly in one slimy mix...
There are also ultra-orthodox Greek Christians who destroy icons not associated with their faith, crazy-ass Spanish Christians who flog themselves with cat-o-nine-tails as an extreme form of penance, Georgia State Christians who mutilate their own bodies (for Jesus!)
Point being, whackjob theology is by no means an exclusively American phenomena, nor did it originate here. Yea, we have our share of nutjob fundamentalists, but so does everywhere else.
You'd be surprised how many stereotypes turn out to be right on when it comes to Texas...
Yup, that's exactly the sort of mentality that perpetuates ignorant hatred.
On topic: What's wrong with American Christians?
In a word? Capitalism.
Now granted, not all American Christians have these problems you complain about. But there is a fair contingent who apparently believe that so long as they spend their "hour with Jesus" a week, and drop a few bucks in the Salvation Army bucket once in a while, they can live their lives as total pieces of shit and still be given some sort of eternal reward. That said, I hardly think blind religious fervor is a strictly American disease. Just look at Russia's attitude towards homosexuals.
Sidebar: Do mega-churches and evangelism not exist outside US borders?
It's always important to let stereotypes dominate any discussion of the right thing to do.
You'd be surprised how many people actually think stereotypes are accurate representations of populations as a whole.
I wonder if people who did no work would be viewed distastefully in a future world where 'work' was worth nothing?
Presuming a major cultural shift between now and then, which would have to happen for this 'no work for humans' future to even be feasible, obviously we would have different attitudes about it.
The problem isn't "what would the world be like if we ever get there," it's "what's the world going to be like before we get there." People don't just change their preconceived notions easily, even when they know for a fact they're wrong.
By that, I mean, say anyone in this future world could build 1 robot. And that robot had the ability to extract resources right from the soil, crafting its own parts, repairing itself, and building other robots. And these robots could build anything, even a full working luxury car or mansion. And the robots were smarter or smarter than real people. They could code programs, do scientific research, work on wallstreet. etc..
Sounds like the perfect conditions for the gray goo apocalypse.
But assuming they don't just devour every available resource on the planet... what would be the point? If we build robots to do literally everything for us, why should humans even exist? What would be the point in even having a "Wall Street," when there's no money needed or to be had?
That's one of the major issues I take with people who view this fantastic idea as the logical progression of humanity: they haven't really thought things through all the way. I think a big part of that (the 'not thinking things through' part) really boils down to the fact that those people in particular are so excited about the prospect of never having to call any man Mister they fail to see the forest for the trees.
So anyone person can essentially produce unlimited units of work. The only thing that would bottleneck them is naturally scarce things, like land/air/water/space, or artificial scarcities, like IP / copyright.
In other words, even more resource wars than we're seeing today. Except with robots.
Correction - more robots.
I wonder at that point, if the major land owners are essentially going to be Royalty, and anyone without land will be at their mercy. Back to some sort of Feudal society. Except the land owners do not need us... that'll be scary.
Dunno, but I bet you could storyboard that into one helluva dystopian-future short story.
you must be a racist.
Like not being able to pay employees in credits to be redeemed at the company store. Employees not being able to sell themselves into indentured servitude, that sort of thing. those regressive policies are harming our corporations.
Hey now - we have H1B visa workers, and they're practically indentured servants.
Your Sarcasm Detector needs recalibrated, yo.
So, to take your hypothetical question even further . . . what happens when 20% or even 50% of the workforce is no longer needed to produce what we all need to survive or even thrive?
Compulsory military conscription.
Of course, it's ironic, isn't it?
No; it's coincidental.
Irony, for the record is "the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect."
Example: "Dude, I am soooo enjoying this root canal."
Something which seems to have been ignored for most of this thread.
OK, yea, that one I've got to give to ya.
You know what my wife says?
"If you treated me like that, you wouldn't be married."
Sometimes it's important to remember that the plural of anecdote is not evidence.
I'll just continue using my regular infrared remote which works 100% of the time.
Well sure, it works, but when you change channels with that, you don't get to make a complete ass of yourself by repeatedly screaming the same command at your TV while doing an idiotic little dance!
That's sooooo 20th Century...
I checked the "do not show ads" box, so why the hell do they keep showing up in my feed?
Did it tell you, "I can't let you do that, Dave." ?
Probably, in one of those auto-playing formats that audibly blasts you out of your seat the second you load the site.
Thankfully my "Speakers-Off" countermeasures save me from such tortures.
Uhh... including that one?
That's a statement of fact. Good catch nonetheless.
The quote, BTW, is "Most generalizations are false, including this one." I'm guessing Mr. Clemens may have come up with that after having a similar conversation to the one we're having now.
Low-level technical skills have a half-life of only about three to five years. Meaning, half of what you know is obsolete in three to five years. This is true in software engineering and also, I've read, in most other kinds of engineering.
I think that's the first time I've heard "low-level technical skills" and "engineering" said in the same breath.
Experienced professionals know this and compensate by making a career-long commitment to staying current and developing new skills.
By all means, I encourage anyone who cannot stand the heat to get out of the kitchen. You'll be happier in a position where learning is not required, and I'll be happier not to get stuck working with another has-been.
What modest humility.</sarc>
I checked the "do not show ads" box, so why the hell do they keep showing up in my feed?
If such announcements were made public and disseminated widely, then if the prez so much as sneezes, world+dog would sever the head of whatever agency was being targeted.
Ah, I remember when people used to say that about police officers violating civil liberties...
Methinks thou hast missed the point.
This is in the U.K.
Yea, about that: I always understood the US Constitution to be based, essentially, on English Common Law.
That said... don't you guys have some sort of 5th Amendment equivalent?
OK, "surrender keys to a shed filled with incriminating documents," Mr. Pedantic.
Except a locked shed requires a physical object, i.e. key, to be opened. The cops don't need you to incriminate yourself if they can find the key (or get a proper warrant to circumvent it).
Conversely, locked data (information) does not require a physical key, but rather information kept within the owner's brain.
Information that would be self-incriminating to give out.
FWIW, I personally don't know of any legal precedent (in the US) that requires one to surrender a key if doing so would be self-incriminating.
Oh, wow, so Adobe is going to start supporting 3D printers.
Hey, wait - aren't Adobe those guys who were so adamant about DRM on their new software release they thought making it a subscription based service was a good idea?
Considering the source, I don't trust that this isn't just a power move on Adobe's part to get in on the ground floor of locking down your property (in this case, your 3D printer).
FYI - the fact that America has a "court" that is not open to public scrutiny is blatantly unconstitutional, no matter what rationale you try to use to justify it.
Citation required
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
The document does not specifically give the federal government power to create secret courts. Per the 10th Amendment, any power the Constitution does not directly assign to the feds is not a power they have.