Any alien smarter than us is going to find us before we find them
Isn't that more reason to start searching now? You're right -- aliens may have "found" us long ago. So now it's our turn to find them. Later is better than never, no?
any alien dumber than us (i suppose thats what we are looking for) may not even respond
Respond to what?! SETI is a search. It's not a response. Search first. If you find even a "dumb" alien, wasn't that worth the search? As an analogy, do we search for new species on this planet so they can respond to us? Of course not. They're dumber than us, but still worth knowing about.
Hi Alex. I have seen a similar product on the web. It's also a magnetic ring that you wear to give you special powers. It's not worn on the fingers or toes though, so perhaps you'll see it as a wonderful complement to your existing products. Here is a link to what I like to call The Ring of Immorality.
Here's my question: If my hands are already strongly drawn to my genitals, would wearing this product in concert with yours be unwise? What if I become "stuck"?
Alex Chiu, you're obviously very interested in religion, especially things that are written in the Bible or Torah (from your site: http://alexchiu.com/philosophy/beastsign.htm). In fact, on that page, you claim that people who do not believe in the Bible are "Antichrists".
So let me ask you this: are you comfortable selling me some of your rings and giving me, an Antichrist, immortality? How does your God feel about helping me, an Antichrist, live forever? Or will your rings not work on an Antichrist? (I didn't see that exception in your claims.)
Even in a Palm, 8 meg runs out fast if you try to read an e-book or two.
True. I'd expect a given number of e-books to take approximately the same amount of RAM, whether they're sitting in Palm or WinCE or Linux.
Just take a second to recall the days of the first 128K Palm 1000 (just a few years ago), with essentially the same applications as today. They could all run "simultaneously", though not on the screen at once (you wouldn't want to). E-books were only on the horizon then. So contrast a simple GUI'd Palm from a few years ago _needing_ 128K for basic services (including room for notes and contacts, but no e-books), to one running Linux today _needing_ 10 times that much for basic services, and actually shipping with 80 times that much (8 megs). And then a reviewer says we need to quadruple it again. Heheh. I guess I am just a retro low-RAM grouch.
From the review..."Probably my biggest concern is with the amount of regular RAM memory available -- 8 Megs is awfully minimalist, particularly when you're running a full Linux and X Windows environment. And when the VR3 runs out of memory, applications can slow to a crawl, or the entire environment can fall out from under you... I really think 32 megs should have been the first design target, particularly how constrained some applications might be..."
Now if that was describing a Windows CE handheld, we would all scoff and and say "of course it's a RAM hog -- you'll need 32 megs". But this is Linux. Yikes. I know that includes X and RAM is getting cheaper and all, but somehow that spirit just seems un-Linux-like to me. Just an obversation...
If overclocking was that simple, then there wouldn't be websites dedicated to it.
While I'm not saying that overclocking is trivial, don't use websites as a measure of a task's complexity! Many simple tasks have elaborate instructions on the web...
This is what I did...
1. I composed and recorded spoken poems, with a microphone, on my PC.
2. I titled and clearly labelled these files as original poetry.
3. I placed these files into my Napster shared directory and ran Napster.
4. Now this is the really cool part. I waited and watched and watched and waited, and sure enough, people began to download my poetry. This is FANTASTIC! The world needs more poetry! And there are clearly enough people interested in listening. Knowing that the P2P file sharing will get my poems heard, I'm inspired me to write more poetry! This is great. PC microphones suitable for voice recording can be purchased for less than $10, so I hope more people start sharing their thoughts and voices on the internet. People want to hear it!
If you only want to play with people you know, you play on a LAN.
Huh? Now I know I'm not the only one that does this... I run a private HL/CS server and play friends and coworkers all the time. But never on a LAN, my friend. We frag each other from the comfort of our respective homes, over DSL and cable.
The best competition (measured in terms of screaming and crying and laughing!) is ALWAYS with friends. Cheat video drivers isn't an issue with friends (we'd find out who is running a card that has cheat drivers available, soon enough). So the cheat drivers won't spoil the BEST gaming at least.
Yes, it makes gaming with strangers less satisfying though. Cause you just never know what the other guy is playing with. Unless there was a gaming standard to broadcast (untampered) HW specs to other players.
I suspect the percentage of C++ and Java programs composed by these characters -- which serve roughly the same purposes as parentheses in Lisp -- is on par with the percentage of parentheses in Lisp programs.
Interesting assertion, so I did a little test. I think you're approximately right. Here's some simple C code and Lisp code that do essentially the same thing.
Character counts:
C: total=174, (){};=19, proportion=11%
lisp: total=153, ()=22, proportion=14%
This code is pretty cooked up, but I don't think it shows C or lisp unfairly. And the samples are too small to draw a big conclusion from, but it's not like lisp is worse than C by a factor of 2 or 3 or anything.
char index_array (char *s, int i) {
return s [i];
}
main (void) {
int i = 1;
char array [100];
memset (array, 'A', 100);
printf ("%d\n", index_array (array, i));
}
I severley doubt that you can pack this up into a truck and move it over the border
Why? It's powered by steam and hydrogen peroxide (common for first aid or bleaching hair, and easily aquired at the drug store), and made of steel. I'm simplifying, but the materials sound quite legal, and it doesn't sound to me like it would be classified as drugs, dangerous chemicals, weaponry, or explosives.
Albeit his invention is pretty unconventional, but does someone with experience or from Mexico know if there's actually a Mexican law that this contraption would break? Or once down there, is there a Mexican "FAA" to worry about?
My question for you is that do you believe Microsoft is getting in this industry for the greater social good or for big $$$?
Yes, companies exist (usually, but not always) for big $$$. And I believe, because I've worked with them, that there are game programmers and designers at Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony that care a lot about games. They grew up playing and loving games, and now they really do give a fsck about making games that will be fun, interesting, and new. Oh, and yes, they work for incredibly competitive and profit-minded companies and it's also their responsibility to ensure the games sell well.
I understand that some people believe too many compromises are being made, but face it: big companies (eg. Nintendo, Sony, EA, MS) have historically put more than a few great games into gamers hands by 1) taking the R&D funding and publishing risks for small development studios or by 2) conceiving and developing the games themselves. Games are risky, often don't break even, and usually need investors or advancers.
Many, many games don't see the light of day or fail in the market and somebody has to frequently eat a couple of million dollars that a game concept, proof, R&D, production, publishing, promotion, and support can cost. Now, I'm the last guy to think that more money automatically makes a better game, but I'm pretty okay with a well-heeled corporation letting small game studios have some creative freedom and take some chances. (Even if there's a bit of corporate control and input that goes with it.) My hat is off to all small game studios that find a way to stay independent, but if everyone had to self-fund games, well, one bad game and they'd be sunk. And that might really suck.
I have worked in the games industry for 10 years on and off, on platforms from Game Boy to PC and many consoles in between. For companies like EA, Relic, and some that shall remain nameless. Between projects in games, I've worked in "traditional" software for about half that time.
My summary (it varies from day to day) is this...
The games work is much harder, much more challenging, sometimes well-paid, sometimes not. And I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. The most brilliant programmers I've worked with are game programmers, bar none. (Not the most organized or best planners, though!) I hope this doesn't sound too idealistic, but... Games aren't made because they're necessary or because a client needs a feature set, or because a competitor is neglecting a niche in the market. Games are made for really noble reasons, IMHO -- so people can have fun, and interact, and be challenged. People play (and hopefully, buy) your creation. And they use it because they want to. That's rewarding. To me.
I have a degree in CS, which still puts me in the minority of games programmers. I have programmed, led, hired, and designed. (Though design is becoming less and less accessible to programmers.) I believe that on the planning, organization, and methodology front, some education and non-games experience is good for the games industry. But make no mistake: you're going to suffer a bit working in that industry. So it's all going to come down to single-mindedness and passion to make a game. If you don't have that, then don't waste your time -- you'll make more money and be happier elsewhere. Projects are getting longer and longer. Budgets are getting bigger and bigger. And of course, it's Big Business now, so occasionally corporate boneheadedness gets in the way. So do it because you want to. And have a backup plan for when you burn out. Then take some time off, and throw yourself back into the trenches. It's the Good Fight in software.
By the way, if Vancouver is in your range of acceptable places to live (and it should be!), then those two companies I named above are fantastic places to work.
I'm going to buy one of these servers and use a root shell to fsck with the "self-healing" machine's mind! I'll go 10 rounds with it. My first "teaser" will be something like...
Currently, Iraq cannot buy consumer U.S. computing equipment.
Oh, bull. They "cannot" or they're "not allowed"? Do you really think a law applying to consumer electronics is going to be respected by a country as unbalanced as Iraq? No big conspiracy; I'm just talking about simple smuggling. There are enough countries in the world with enough PS2s and enough people interested in turning a quick profit off Iraqi military interests.
If there truly is a miltary demand for a particular item, it will be filled... money moves commodities... if foreign weapons can be smuggled into Iraq, then I suspect foreign toys can be smuggled in also.
It's lemmings like YOU that expect EVERYTHING to be free that gives the GPL a bad name. Oh, we can't have ANY other way of thinking that's contrary to the GPL, can we.
Now that's a nice, broad brush you're painting with. I don't expect a damn thing to be free. But more importantly, what are you bringing up GPL for? I was thinking of something more along the lines of BSD. And don't go saying "same thing"!
"Hubble was launched by the shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Two days later, the telescope was on its own, drifting into space, recording cosmic images."
"On its own, drifting into space, the Hubble space telescope is a reckless, lone rebel without a cause."
I don't know about you, but if some artist is going to use MY material, possibly even profit from MY material, I want more compensation than just a few scribbles on the backside/bottom of some small print. I gotta eat, too ya know.
Well, I guess we know where this guy stands on certain [F]ree or [f]ree software licenses now, too!
Chess is fine and dandy, but for a game that is much farther from being "solved" by computers, and for competition that is actually accessible by amateur AI programmers, check out the Computer Go pages at the American Go Association...
Are AI routines still computed during the vertical refresh with today's multi-threaded OSes?
You'll have to ask the task scheduler of the OS when it's executing the AI threads, now.;-) Of course, "vertical refresh" is a CRT concept, so fortunately, developers can simply draw or blit into abstract frame buffers. OS drivers then get that bitmap representation onto a physical screen (LCD/CRT/VR goggles).
Joking aside, I recall not too long ago having to count cycles to keep my AI code from "leaking" outside of the vertical refresh period on a Game Boy.
My dad is an electrical engineer (>5V). My girlfriend's dad is a civil engineer. I've got a cousin in aerospace engineering, an uncle with a PhD in electrical engineering(<=5V), and a good friend in mechanical engineering
Oh yeah, well screw you. My daddy is a choo-choo train engineer and could beat the crap out of your whole damn family.
Joking aside, re/ software engineers at ArsDigita... you're right -- some engineers pay a lot of professional fees and insurance and put up with a lot of beurocracy to put "engineer" on their business card. And other "engineers" don't. Software engineers are not, nor do they claim to be Professional Engineers. That's a special designation (requiring examination and fees) that they could be sued for using. Much like a Medical Doctor. I can call myself a Rug Doctor or Transmission Doctor or Cheese Doctor. The public is smart enought to know the difference!
Software engineer... you're a fucking programmer, so get over it or accept (financial) responsibility when my word processor crashes.
I don't think you want to see how much I'm going to charge you for your new Professionally Engineered Word Processor! Just like a new bridge or airplane, that kind of software engineering is available for a big price and time premium (ask industries that need it like aerospace, medical systems, or the military, not desktop typists).
Slashdot Mirror
Any alien smarter than us is going to find us before we find them
Isn't that more reason to start searching now? You're right -- aliens may have "found" us long ago. So now it's our turn to find them. Later is better than never, no?
any alien dumber than us (i suppose thats what we are looking for) may not even respond
Respond to what?! SETI is a search. It's not a response. Search first. If you find even a "dumb" alien, wasn't that worth the search? As an analogy, do we search for new species on this planet so they can respond to us? Of course not. They're dumber than us, but still worth knowing about.
Hi Alex. I have seen a similar product on the web. It's also a magnetic ring that you wear to give you special powers. It's not worn on the fingers or toes though, so perhaps you'll see it as a wonderful complement to your existing products. Here is a link to what I like to call The Ring of Immorality.
Here's my question: If my hands are already strongly drawn to my genitals, would wearing this product in concert with yours be unwise? What if I become "stuck"?
Thank you.
Alex Chiu, you're obviously very interested in religion, especially things that are written in the Bible or Torah (from your site: http://alexchiu.com/philosophy/beastsign.htm). In fact, on that page, you claim that people who do not believe in the Bible are "Antichrists".
So let me ask you this: are you comfortable selling me some of your rings and giving me, an Antichrist, immortality? How does your God feel about helping me, an Antichrist, live forever? Or will your rings not work on an Antichrist? (I didn't see that exception in your claims.)
Nothing beats a good Catholic school. Nothing. You can bet your last dollar there will *never* be any violence at that school.
;-)
Ummmm... except when the boys go to church on Sunday and, well... priests will be priests.
Even in a Palm, 8 meg runs out fast if you try to read an e-book or two.
True. I'd expect a given number of e-books to take approximately the same amount of RAM, whether they're sitting in Palm or WinCE or Linux.
Just take a second to recall the days of the first 128K Palm 1000 (just a few years ago), with essentially the same applications as today. They could all run "simultaneously", though not on the screen at once (you wouldn't want to). E-books were only on the horizon then. So contrast a simple GUI'd Palm from a few years ago _needing_ 128K for basic services (including room for notes and contacts, but no e-books), to one running Linux today _needing_ 10 times that much for basic services, and actually shipping with 80 times that much (8 megs). And then a reviewer says we need to quadruple it again. Heheh. I guess I am just a retro low-RAM grouch.
From the review..."Probably my biggest concern is with the amount of regular RAM memory available -- 8 Megs is awfully minimalist, particularly when you're running a full Linux and X Windows environment. And when the VR3 runs out of memory, applications can slow to a crawl, or the entire environment can fall out from under you... I really think 32 megs should have been the first design target, particularly how constrained some applications might be..."
Now if that was describing a Windows CE handheld, we would all scoff and and say "of course it's a RAM hog -- you'll need 32 megs". But this is Linux. Yikes. I know that includes X and RAM is getting cheaper and all, but somehow that spirit just seems un-Linux-like to me. Just an obversation...
If overclocking was that simple, then there wouldn't be websites dedicated to it.
While I'm not saying that overclocking is trivial, don't use websites as a measure of a task's complexity! Many simple tasks have elaborate instructions on the web...
60 seconds on Google turned up these few...
How to use an extension cord safely
How to comb and wash your hair (many of these)
How to sort, store, and use Lego
This is what I did...
1. I composed and recorded spoken poems, with a microphone, on my PC.
2. I titled and clearly labelled these files as original poetry.
3. I placed these files into my Napster shared directory and ran Napster.
4. Now this is the really cool part. I waited and watched and watched and waited, and sure enough, people began to download my poetry. This is FANTASTIC! The world needs more poetry! And there are clearly enough people interested in listening. Knowing that the P2P file sharing will get my poems heard, I'm inspired me to write more poetry! This is great. PC microphones suitable for voice recording can be purchased for less than $10, so I hope more people start sharing their thoughts and voices on the internet. People want to hear it!
If you only want to play with people you know, you play on a LAN.
Huh? Now I know I'm not the only one that does this... I run a private HL/CS server and play friends and coworkers all the time. But never on a LAN, my friend. We frag each other from the comfort of our respective homes, over DSL and cable.
The best competition (measured in terms of screaming and crying and laughing!) is ALWAYS with friends. Cheat video drivers isn't an issue with friends (we'd find out who is running a card that has cheat drivers available, soon enough). So the cheat drivers won't spoil the BEST gaming at least.
Yes, it makes gaming with strangers less satisfying though. Cause you just never know what the other guy is playing with. Unless there was a gaming standard to broadcast (untampered) HW specs to other players.
I suspect the percentage of C++ and Java programs composed by these characters -- which serve roughly the same purposes as parentheses in Lisp -- is on par with the percentage of parentheses in Lisp programs.
Interesting assertion, so I did a little test. I think you're approximately right. Here's some simple C code and Lisp code that do essentially the same thing.
Character counts:
C: total=174, (){};=19, proportion=11%
lisp: total=153, ()=22, proportion=14%
This code is pretty cooked up, but I don't think it shows C or lisp unfairly. And the samples are too small to draw a big conclusion from, but it's not like lisp is worse than C by a factor of 2 or 3 or anything.
char index_array (char *s, int i) {
return s [i];
}
main (void) {
int i = 1;
char array [100];
memset (array, 'A', 100);
printf ("%d\n", index_array (array, i));
}
(defun index-array (string index)
(write (aref string index)))
(let ((i 1)
(array (make-array 100)))
(fill array 65)
(index-array array i))
I severley doubt that you can pack this up into a truck and move it over the border
Why? It's powered by steam and hydrogen peroxide (common for first aid or bleaching hair, and easily aquired at the drug store), and made of steel. I'm simplifying, but the materials sound quite legal, and it doesn't sound to me like it would be classified as drugs, dangerous chemicals, weaponry, or explosives.
Albeit his invention is pretty unconventional, but does someone with experience or from Mexico know if there's actually a Mexican law that this contraption would break? Or once down there, is there a Mexican "FAA" to worry about?
My question for you is that do you believe Microsoft is getting in this industry for the greater social good or for big $$$?
Yes, companies exist (usually, but not always) for big $$$. And I believe, because I've worked with them, that there are game programmers and designers at Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony that care a lot about games. They grew up playing and loving games, and now they really do give a fsck about making games that will be fun, interesting, and new. Oh, and yes, they work for incredibly competitive and profit-minded companies and it's also their responsibility to ensure the games sell well.
I understand that some people believe too many compromises are being made, but face it: big companies (eg. Nintendo, Sony, EA, MS) have historically put more than a few great games into gamers hands by 1) taking the R&D funding and publishing risks for small development studios or by 2) conceiving and developing the games themselves. Games are risky, often don't break even, and usually need investors or advancers.
Many, many games don't see the light of day or fail in the market and somebody has to frequently eat a couple of million dollars that a game concept, proof, R&D, production, publishing, promotion, and support can cost. Now, I'm the last guy to think that more money automatically makes a better game, but I'm pretty okay with a well-heeled corporation letting small game studios have some creative freedom and take some chances. (Even if there's a bit of corporate control and input that goes with it.) My hat is off to all small game studios that find a way to stay independent, but if everyone had to self-fund games, well, one bad game and they'd be sunk. And that might really suck.
I have worked in the games industry for 10 years on and off, on platforms from Game Boy to PC and many consoles in between. For companies like EA, Relic, and some that shall remain nameless. Between projects in games, I've worked in "traditional" software for about half that time.
My summary (it varies from day to day) is this...
The games work is much harder, much more challenging, sometimes well-paid, sometimes not. And I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. The most brilliant programmers I've worked with are game programmers, bar none. (Not the most organized or best planners, though!) I hope this doesn't sound too idealistic, but... Games aren't made because they're necessary or because a client needs a feature set, or because a competitor is neglecting a niche in the market. Games are made for really noble reasons, IMHO -- so people can have fun, and interact, and be challenged. People play (and hopefully, buy) your creation. And they use it because they want to. That's rewarding. To me.
I have a degree in CS, which still puts me in the minority of games programmers. I have programmed, led, hired, and designed. (Though design is becoming less and less accessible to programmers.) I believe that on the planning, organization, and methodology front, some education and non-games experience is good for the games industry. But make no mistake: you're going to suffer a bit working in that industry. So it's all going to come down to single-mindedness and passion to make a game. If you don't have that, then don't waste your time -- you'll make more money and be happier elsewhere. Projects are getting longer and longer. Budgets are getting bigger and bigger. And of course, it's Big Business now, so occasionally corporate boneheadedness gets in the way. So do it because you want to. And have a backup plan for when you burn out. Then take some time off, and throw yourself back into the trenches. It's the Good Fight in software.
By the way, if Vancouver is in your range of acceptable places to live (and it should be!), then those two companies I named above are fantastic places to work.
See for yourself...
Pic here.
"Hey Alan, stop bogarting. Pass it!"
I'm going to buy one of these servers and use a root shell to fsck with the "self-healing" machine's mind! I'll go 10 rounds with it. My first "teaser" will be something like...
/etc /usr/local
# rm -fr
# rm -fr
<then, cycle power>
That oughta leave some nice scar tissue after the wound has healed. I wonder how long it takes for a scab to form...
Currently, Iraq cannot buy consumer U.S. computing equipment.
Oh, bull. They "cannot" or they're "not allowed"? Do you really think a law applying to consumer electronics is going to be respected by a country as unbalanced as Iraq? No big conspiracy; I'm just talking about simple smuggling. There are enough countries in the world with enough PS2s and enough people interested in turning a quick profit off Iraqi military interests.
If there truly is a miltary demand for a particular item, it will be filled... money moves commodities... if foreign weapons can be smuggled into Iraq, then I suspect foreign toys can be smuggled in also.
does anyone remember the stories about Saddam Houssein buying up a bunch of PS2 units? This could be dangerous
Oh, come on. Tell us now...
Do you think he's gonna build a Beowolf cluster of them?
And then all your PS2s are belong to Iraq?
Sheesh! Someone set you up the bomb.
It's lemmings like YOU that expect EVERYTHING to be free that gives the GPL a bad name. Oh, we can't have ANY other way of thinking that's contrary to the GPL, can we.
Now that's a nice, broad brush you're painting with. I don't expect a damn thing to be free. But more importantly, what are you bringing up GPL for? I was thinking of something more along the lines of BSD. And don't go saying "same thing"!
"Hubble was launched by the shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Two days later, the telescope was on its own, drifting into space, recording cosmic images."
"On its own, drifting into space, the Hubble space telescope is a reckless, lone rebel without a cause."
I don't know about you, but if some artist is going to use MY material, possibly even profit from MY material, I want more compensation than just a few scribbles on the backside/bottom of some small print. I gotta eat, too ya know.
Well, I guess we know where this guy stands on certain [F]ree or [f]ree software licenses now, too!
Chess is fine and dandy, but for a game that is much farther from being "solved" by computers, and for competition that is actually accessible by amateur AI programmers, check out the Computer Go pages at the American Go Association...
http://www.usgo.org/computer/
What's next?! Are people going to sue Namco because ravers are running around in dark rooms, listening to electronic music, popping pills?
Are AI routines still computed during the vertical refresh with today's multi-threaded OSes?
;-) Of course, "vertical refresh" is a CRT concept, so fortunately, developers can simply draw or blit into abstract frame buffers. OS drivers then get that bitmap representation onto a physical screen (LCD/CRT/VR goggles).
You'll have to ask the task scheduler of the OS when it's executing the AI threads, now.
Joking aside, I recall not too long ago having to count cycles to keep my AI code from "leaking" outside of the vertical refresh period on a Game Boy.
I have always had a problem with the redundancy in the internet. Shouldn't every node on the whole damn 'net be mod'ded down: (Score:-1, Redundant)?!
My dad is an electrical engineer (>5V). My girlfriend's dad is a civil engineer. I've got a cousin in aerospace engineering, an uncle with a PhD in electrical engineering(<=5V), and a good friend in mechanical engineering
Oh yeah, well screw you. My daddy is a choo-choo train engineer and could beat the crap out of your whole damn family.
Joking aside, re/ software engineers at ArsDigita... you're right -- some engineers pay a lot of professional fees and insurance and put up with a lot of beurocracy to put "engineer" on their business card. And other "engineers" don't. Software engineers are not, nor do they claim to be Professional Engineers. That's a special designation (requiring examination and fees) that they could be sued for using. Much like a Medical Doctor. I can call myself a Rug Doctor or Transmission Doctor or Cheese Doctor. The public is smart enought to know the difference!
Software engineer... you're a fucking programmer, so get over it or accept (financial) responsibility when my word processor crashes.
I don't think you want to see how much I'm going to charge you for your new Professionally Engineered Word Processor! Just like a new bridge or airplane, that kind of software engineering is available for a big price and time premium (ask industries that need it like aerospace, medical systems, or the military, not desktop typists).