Evolution gets the brunt of the contoversy, but modern astronomy, cosmology, physics, and geology are no more consistent with the prevailing theology than is the science of biology (as Galileo Galilei unfortunately discovered back in the 17th century). I doubt any field is safe that finds itself in contradiction with what was known and believed 2000 years ago. Is our Age of Reason once again in twilight?
They don't need any funding, they are driven by pure interest.
Exploration driven by pure interest is the story of my life, Say. Of course I was referring to institutional academia and the realities thereof, one of which is the expectation that deliverables will be delivered. If the idea is that the Hurd will ultimately serve a broader user community, then the project has clients and would seem to fit that model.
I've known some incredibly intelligent people who'd probably flunk these tests
That seems to be by design. Many questions on Mensa tests are designed to penalize educated intelligence. Here's an example that I saw several years ago (and stewed about ever since):
Now, anyone with even minimal mathematics behind them would choose (e), because it's the only prime number in the bunch. But, they would be wrong: The correct answer is (f), 8, because this "the number 8 is the only one which is symmetrical." I.e., as printed on the page!
wondering if homeopathy and the placebo effect are in any way related regarding what makes them work...
If the homeopathy study has any validity, it should have been replicated independently several times by now. Has it? (I don't know, I'm just askin'). I'm surprised that the article didn't comment on the importance of this. One irreproducible result doesn't amount to much, especially when a positive one means you can charge big bux for literally nothing...
It is getting tuffer to declare Chapter-11 (bankruptcy) in the US specifically for cases that you have just described.
I think the idea is to restrain individual bankruptcies; e.g., people who get into deep doo-doo with their credit cards. Will corporate bankruptcies be affected as well?
Well, that's what Bush's "tort reform" is all about, except that it only tries to stop individuals from suing corporations, and certainly not the other way around...
It's particularly irritating that they keep sending out ads for services quoting a price "for the next three months", with absolutely no clue what it will cost after that (not even in the fine print). Since I avoid doing business with companies that engage in deceptive practices (of which this is one), those go right to the trash.
Whether the business model is good or not, it's going to be hard for the NYT or anyone else to charge for content unless everybody does. Otherwise, people will flock to the free content and online papers like the NYT will lose advertising revenue. So, they'd better start putting their cartel together ASAP.
Online news outlets have had problems supporting themselves with ad revenues (as the paper editions have always done), but that's largely their own fault. Nobody ever expects that readers will throw down the print edition of a newspaper and run off to respond to an ad, but that's exactly what advertisers seem to expect with Web ads. So, they've made them increasingly intrusive and obnoxious, insisting that everyone take notice regardless of interest or relevance. So, the public responded with ad-blocking. If ads in the print version slapped me in the face every time I opened the paper, I'd stop reading it (or at least wear a face mask) too...
Maybe, but in that case they should release it as soon as it's been validated. Promising the government 30 days - or any fixed time - implies that they'll have to hold it at least that long whether it's ready or not. It doesn't make much sense from a security POV, unless perhaps they want a window of time in which to exploit vulnerabilities themselves (but that would be the cynical view).
Ooooh... touched a nerve here. Sounds like somebody had to get off his Monster Ass to close the blinds again! Now if you only had the $8,000 PottyMaster robotic tushie-wiper, you could be saving some real energy...
And I'm sorry if you have ego issues with the Air Force having a higher priority than your entertainment center.
You're assuming that anyone is going to enjoy greater security by delaying patches to most other users. I have to question this. And never mind about "entertainment centers"; what about the systems that process your credit cards or medical records?
That was my first thought. Now my network is going to be exposed for a month after Microsoft tells a select class of customers about a vulnerability. Oh, well, not to worry: I'm sure they'll all be trustworthy types, and that's 30 days of bliss before I have to do anything about it...
Of course, the same could be said for every right you possess. If you never piss off anyone with power in the government (or any friend, relative, or associate of same), you'll have nothing to worry about. Same here: If you never own any IP, or if you do and neither you nor anyone you communicate with ever makes the slightest mistake handling it (like not reading & understanding the EULA of every medium you communicate through), then it probably won't be legally stolen from you. Sounds like good odds to me...
It's also possible that they just want to look like the good guys here, in order to broaden support for what they really care about. If they look too completely self-interested they immediately raise the hackles of everyone else, and things get harder right away.
Politics works the same way these days. Always give your bill or initiative a name that is the direct opposite of what it's really about. Weakening environmental protections? Call it the "Clear Skies" initiative. Setting up a Stasi-style Police State? Call it the "Patriot" Act. Et cetera, et cetera. It'll disarm enough of your potential opponents that you just may get what you want.
Ironic, isn't it, that we have to pay in order to file our taxes in a way that saves the government time & money.
People will gladly pay the $50 or so it costs for tax prep software, but never the 50 cents or so per person (I'm guessing) it would cost the IRS to provide this service itself, as it reasonably and naturally should...
Still, $2K per year would still put you a bit out on the tail of the bell curve, I'd guess. Personally, I'd have trouble with just the decision-making required to buy 10 CDs a month.
You're right about us Americans, though. We'd choose entertainment over food and shelter if we had to. Gotta have something to soak up all of that idle time before we die...
Slashdot Mirror
Heh heh... I'm impressed as hell that this guy actually knows what Satan looks like!
Evolution gets the brunt of the contoversy, but modern astronomy, cosmology, physics, and geology are no more consistent with the prevailing theology than is the science of biology (as Galileo Galilei unfortunately discovered back in the 17th century). I doubt any field is safe that finds itself in contradiction with what was known and believed 2000 years ago. Is our Age of Reason once again in twilight?
I can buy a song on iTunes for $1 and keep it for the rest of my life, lets just say thats 80 years.
Of course, in 15 years you'll think it's crap and you won't want it anymore anyway...
The question isn't "bad"; in fact it does exactly what it is designed to do, and pretty effectively at that!
Exploration driven by pure interest is the story of my life, Say. Of course I was referring to institutional academia and the realities thereof, one of which is the expectation that deliverables will be delivered. If the idea is that the Hurd will ultimately serve a broader user community, then the project has clients and would seem to fit that model.
No, not really. Unless they have very, very patient funding sources, academic projects can't survive indefinitely this way, either...
That seems to be by design. Many questions on Mensa tests are designed to penalize educated intelligence. Here's an example that I saw several years ago (and stewed about ever since):
Now, anyone with even minimal mathematics behind them would choose (e), because it's the only prime number in the bunch. But, they would be wrong: The correct answer is (f), 8, because this "the number 8 is the only one which is symmetrical." I.e., as printed on the page!Q: Which is the odd one out?
If the homeopathy study has any validity, it should have been replicated independently several times by now. Has it? (I don't know, I'm just askin'). I'm surprised that the article didn't comment on the importance of this. One irreproducible result doesn't amount to much, especially when a positive one means you can charge big bux for literally nothing...
This is amazing. Just yesterday the odometer on my truck hit 66666. Should I be worried?
I think the idea is to restrain individual bankruptcies; e.g., people who get into deep doo-doo with their credit cards. Will corporate bankruptcies be affected as well?
Well, that's what Bush's "tort reform" is all about, except that it only tries to stop individuals from suing corporations, and certainly not the other way around...
It's particularly irritating that they keep sending out ads for services quoting a price "for the next three months", with absolutely no clue what it will cost after that (not even in the fine print). Since I avoid doing business with companies that engage in deceptive practices (of which this is one), those go right to the trash.
How is this "off-topic"?
Online news outlets have had problems supporting themselves with ad revenues (as the paper editions have always done), but that's largely their own fault. Nobody ever expects that readers will throw down the print edition of a newspaper and run off to respond to an ad, but that's exactly what advertisers seem to expect with Web ads. So, they've made them increasingly intrusive and obnoxious, insisting that everyone take notice regardless of interest or relevance. So, the public responded with ad-blocking. If ads in the print version slapped me in the face every time I opened the paper, I'd stop reading it (or at least wear a face mask) too...
That's why I try not to use my cellphone while I'm drivin' my Hummer...
So there's two of us, then. Not so much a "refusal" as a skepticism of the alleged advantage, I guess...
Maybe, but in that case they should release it as soon as it's been validated. Promising the government 30 days - or any fixed time - implies that they'll have to hold it at least that long whether it's ready or not. It doesn't make much sense from a security POV, unless perhaps they want a window of time in which to exploit vulnerabilities themselves (but that would be the cynical view).
Ooooh... touched a nerve here. Sounds like somebody had to get off his Monster Ass to close the blinds again! Now if you only had the $8,000 PottyMaster robotic tushie-wiper, you could be saving some real energy...
You're assuming that anyone is going to enjoy greater security by delaying patches to most other users. I have to question this. And never mind about "entertainment centers"; what about the systems that process your credit cards or medical records?
I don't see how delaying security patches to the bulk of their customers will make anyone more secure.
That was my first thought. Now my network is going to be exposed for a month after Microsoft tells a select class of customers about a vulnerability. Oh, well, not to worry: I'm sure they'll all be trustworthy types, and that's 30 days of bliss before I have to do anything about it...
Of course, the same could be said for every right you possess. If you never piss off anyone with power in the government (or any friend, relative, or associate of same), you'll have nothing to worry about. Same here: If you never own any IP, or if you do and neither you nor anyone you communicate with ever makes the slightest mistake handling it (like not reading & understanding the EULA of every medium you communicate through), then it probably won't be legally stolen from you. Sounds like good odds to me...
Politics works the same way these days. Always give your bill or initiative a name that is the direct opposite of what it's really about. Weakening environmental protections? Call it the "Clear Skies" initiative. Setting up a Stasi-style Police State? Call it the "Patriot" Act. Et cetera, et cetera. It'll disarm enough of your potential opponents that you just may get what you want.
People will gladly pay the $50 or so it costs for tax prep software, but never the 50 cents or so per person (I'm guessing) it would cost the IRS to provide this service itself, as it reasonably and naturally should...
You're right about us Americans, though. We'd choose entertainment over food and shelter if we had to. Gotta have something to soak up all of that idle time before we die...