Why does the/. story have to mainly concern itself with word-of-mouth advertising about the publication rather than the article?
Sharing of information has proven very beneficial in science and there is no mention of this in the article. You'd think that this would be one of the first things that would come to mind when one thinks about innovation in ideas.
The barrier to implementing research in China is much lower than in the rest of the developed world. Not only in an industrial sense, but in almost every field. Check out the foreign investment and developments in Beijing. People who think that China is just another cheap labour base are not taking in the big picture.
A professor was telling me that one of his collegues in China has graduate students willing to work 14 hour days 7 days a week, and lining up at his door to get a position in his lab. Contrast this with the declining number of graduate students (and the lack of funding for) in many fields in North America.
Now that we have globalization these patents really only help the management crust of the corporations. Everything else will get outsourced if it optimizes the finances, barring the so called "federal" corporations who are heavily subsidized by the government. Welcome to the new global community.
It takes more than one generation, that is for sure. Being born in canada having european and american parents never made me feel like I was from here. When I visited my american relatives as a child neighbor children suspected that I was a communist! Ha!
And as far as I'm concerned, the only natives of north america are the people that were here 10 000 years ago. The rest of us brought our way of life to this habitat and made it our own, regardless of who led the way.
The world is a long way from N. The majority is still 0.
I've had the experience of being on the outside... if anything Dell should be forwarding some of the $$$ that we paid them to RH.
In comparison to Compaq/HP or even white-box vendors Dell comes in at 1 out of 10. I've had service delayed by 3 weeks on multiple occasions due to poor logistics and have frequently had to mentally wrestle the support staff over the phone to deal with problems. Hardly a desirable quality when you're looking for uptime.
I've never heard of Dell in a positive manner. Ever.
Oddly enough I found that article comforting. If you don't know your past you don't know your future kind of feel.
Their suggestion to implement civil nuclear power is quite a shock at the end though. To me it seems a gamble between local / global risks. Carbonization - grow a plant today!
This would imply that the before shot was taken 15 seconds before the strange shot, and the after shot was taken 15 seconds after.
This seems like a reasonable amount of time for any particulate cloud to disperse. Mind you a bottle rocket seems a bit weak to launch on such a straight trajectory...
Still seems most likely that there was some sort of projectile launched from the lightpost.
Thanks for the interesting reply above. Obviously you have a much keener interest in the nuclear field than I. Suffice to say I wouldn't make any further claims about it before returning to school to study graduate level quantum.
As far as your aside however, I agree, except for saying that what we know is wrong. Avoiding philisophical arguements concerning ontology, nothing in science is ever meant to be absolutely correct. Science primarily concerns itself with epistemology. My point of view is that all theories are only an approximation that is valid within a certain context, and in the end they don't really tell us anything about how the universe actually works, but rather they provide a framework to predict what we would expect to be observed given a particular circumstance.
No doubt it does. But until someone shows me the formulism behind the equivalent of a chemical catalyst in a nuclear setting cold fusion will be nothing more than "wierd shit".
I never mentioned anything about hot fusion. The downside is that it is an extremely difficult environment to sustain, and the technology to do so is not up to snuff yet to make it practical.
The nuclear physics text I used in college was first printed back in the 50's, so I guess I'm not of suitable background to make any claim as to whether or not this is popularist sensationalism.
No free lunch is another way of saying that "energy is conserved". In fusion mass is converted to electromagnetic radiation. Where does the energy come from in cold fusion to allow the barrier to be overcome?
Here is a better question: explain to me how you can modify the electromagnetic field produced by nucleons so that they will readily fuse with low kinetic energy. No one has a theoretical framework for this behaviour, and at best there is some dodgy experimental evidence for it, which has been refuted over and over again.
I wish I had a mod point right about now. Repeat after me: "there is no such thing as a free lunch".
To fuse any nuclei one has to provide enough kinetic energy to them (ie heat) to surpass the electromagnetic repulsion barrier that exists due to their positive charge.
Cold fusion rests on the belief that an environment exists in which this energy barrier is reduced in magnitude, allowing for two slow-moving nuclei to fuse.
I'm putting my money on the fact that such an environment would require more energy to construct and sustain than would ever be released by the fusion, making it at best an isolated event.
While I don't dispute your outlook on the programming industry, I think it's worthwhile to give the academic crowd a fair shake.
If you're going to become a career academic, it means you have to put time into your work or else you'll be swept aside early on. You won't ever have the chance to work for someone with tenure or stable research funding. You won't even get your undergraduate degree.
80 hrs/week was commonplace in my physics class. Early on I took 5 lectures and 3 labs in one term, resulting in a sleep at 2 am up at 8 am routine. A generous estimate for essential needs comes in at 3 hours per day, and suprise, surprise, I was working 105 hrs/week. Not every week, but most.
Basically I think negative returns only come into play if you are working out of despair, not if you are trying to learn, understand or create something. If you are focused, ambitious and keep a clear mind you can easily work 80 hrs/week.
Most academics I know work >= 80 hrs/week. There is no overtime. I guess it's because they really enjoy it.
I guess it has more weight coming from him, but no doubt there's at least half a million/. accounts that would voice the same opinion.
The quote I posted concerns the privitization of ideas and the social aspect of sharing knowledge, a practice that is rarely observed to occur in the slovenly pig-pen that is the _industry_. This concept extends much further than the programmer community.
"I guess you could call the belief in sharing of knowledge a 'philosophy,' but I just think it's a fact. It's what differentiates science from alchemy or witchcraft." --Linus Torvalds (2004)
I'd have to agree with you on that one. Perhaps I'm not seeing something , but as far as I can tell associating a murder/suicide with being priceless is probably the furthest thing from resolving this problem. Anyone care to enlighten me?
I usually try to uphold Jons articles as being tasteful and relevant, but including this in the Hellmouth comments seriously damages the message that is being sent out. If someone was trying to explain their angst, I would think they could do so in a way that didn't lend itself so easily to misinterpretation. This time the criticism is well-founded, perhaps more time should be taken to select which of these comments are included in the complete work.
Likewise, I'm sorry I started off with more of a hot tone, but I guess that's to be expected when you discuss opinionated topics.
This last post really made my day (I've been feeling kind of bad about this thread cause I thought it would crumble into a flame war), thanks for being level about things and reinstilling some faith in the fact that some people here on/. still like having a good discussion.
Yes, you are very right in the fact that I am a part of the social drama - how could I not be? I deal with people every day. All I'm saying is that you don't have to play along with it - there is a choice in whether or not you want to respect people based on some convoluted social status or whether you want to respect them as an individual.
Sure, I'm preaching here, but the fact of the matter is that you're trolling me along. I think your 2nd last line put it dead on:
It is a giveaway and will put you in an uncomfortable position when you come to the realization that you are mired in this mess as much as me, the "tormentors" from high school, and everyone else.
Good insight. That was the reason why I responded to you in the first place - just because I'm working against the grain and you're flowing with it doesn't mean that I'm naive about the situation.
I agree with both of the parent posts to some degree. The original parent made some very good points about looking outside conventions, but I feel that your analysis of the situation is more to the point - people get treated like shit and unless we all take the time to deal with social problems like this it isn't going to stop.
I guess I could see pretty close to the parent poster - I was never physically intimidated that often, probably because I enjoyed physical activity (not typical high school sports - things like skateboarding and snowboarding) and because a good number of my friends were known as ass-kickers. If I would have had to endure physical abuse during high-school I don't know what I would have done.
The fact that I had to take shit for being part of fringe sub-cultures as well as being a geek is another thing alltogether, but I don't think I should digress on that now (I would have to say though that if you're being opressed, you'll definately find common experience with the other types of 'freaks')
The mental abuse is probably the more common thread though, and unless you have the ability to deal with it, it will drive you insane. I still have many friends who linger a great deal on how they were treated badly during their education years (and it's totally justified, there were some real assholes at our school). I appreciate that they find some relief in our friendship and how we always looked out for one another though. I think the thing is that we have to stop ignoring this kind of social disease - if you're not one of the people getting abused all the time, then stand up when you see people getting treated poorly. I think I was far enough outside of the 'typical' geek stereotype that most people didn't think to try to use me as their kicking post, and if I ever saw anyone getting treated unfairly I was always one to step in and stop it. Even if it is just something as simple as letting someone know that their comments aren't appreciated by everyone, cause lets face it, the concept of stepping on someone elses head to make yourself that much higher isn't anything new, it's pretty much ingrained in western society and unless people actively try to reverse it then nothing will change.
I guess the point to make here is that you would have to implement a two-stage filtration system that firstly utilised the bacteria to filter out their portion of nasties and then to follow it up with a chlorination process to get rid of the usual bio-contaminants. You probably wouldn't want to do it in the other direction!
Another thing I was wondering is the relative stability of the bacteria in a mutational sense. Probably an unfounded concern, but it never pays to look into these things before hand. Then again if you implemented a chemical treatment after the bacteria treatment I guess it wouldn't matter.
Pretty neat solution, now we just need to find a bacteria that can eat all our trash, clean our air, decrease greenhouse emissions and restore the ozone layer.
it's ok to feel extra special and qualified to pass judgement on someone else's behavior
If there is any irony in this thread it is that you're the one who thinks that people should treat him special because of his position in life and at the same time have resentment for people who displayed the same social behaviour towards him in the past. Sounds like you're no better off then they were in the first place - sure, you're personal glory is at its pinnacle but in the end what will that matter?
If you're so concerned with the relevance that your given activity has on others and not the importance that stems from its own virtues then that is all it is to you - a popularity contest - it's not a judgement, it's an observation. Just because those people used to be the judges and are out of the loop now you get to parade around like a peacock trying to justify why it was ok to have been treated like shit for 4 years.
I don't pride myself in slumming with the huddled masses , I pride myself in looking at everyone as equal human beings. Don't try to give yourself some false sense of nobility in proposing that I'm doing something extraordinary by feeling that I'm qualified to pass judgement on someone else's behavior, I'm not even playing your game so there is no one to impress. The point of the matter is that you're the one that continues to perpetuate the "I'm so important, everyone look at how special I am attitude" and when someone points it out you automatically assume that the only reason they're doing so is because they want to seem higher up on the scale then you - I'm advocating treating people as equals, remember? I'm not gaining from critiquing the shallowness of your outlook, but anyone who reads my comment might take the opportunity to think about how they would like people to interact, and in that sense, everyone will gain. We live in a society, believe it or not, and the only way that people will make social progress is by criticizing the behaviour of others. If people didn't stand up once in a while we would be living in a society with a lot more oppression than we do now. If you don't agree with my critisicm, fine - I'm not forcing you to respect others, but simply branding me as another player in your pathetic social drama isn't going to change the light in which people view your parent post. Lets face it, you wouldn't post a comment like that unless you were fuelling your ego, expecting cheers from the rest of the/. 'l337 crowd... the fact that you didn't provoke any positive responses must really suck, to put it in the verbosity of the huddled masses.
Well, it's estimated that up to 1% of clouds formed in the upper atmosphere are the result of jet trails, and there was some commotion about that, so I don't doubt there will be some kind of evironmental stirring about this application if it is considered to be implemented on any large scale.
The direct consequence of altering the density of water vapour in the atmosphere is that you will have appreciable temperature changes. Since water absorbs IR (the portion of the EM spectrum that accounts for most radiative heat) you could be reducing the ability of the atmosphere to maintain it's temperature. Whether or not this would be a serious temperature change is left to the reader to calculate.
I guess another aspect that you have mentioned is that fog banks provide the needed moisture for heavy rainfall areas (coast of BC) and that by reducing this you might be reducing the amount of precipitation in the area. The counterpoint to this is that you probably wouldn't be using these nets in wet rainfall areas anyways since the rain provides a water basin.
I'll give you the fact that on the surface computer games have little human interaction, however I think making a parallel with fantasy novels also puts it into it's proper context.
In reading a fantasy novel, one doesn't deal with any other people, only the ideas of the auther. The exact same thing is true of computer RPG's... I just see it as a really fancy 'choose your own adventure'. I'm not implying that computer games can replace social interaction, that's something else alltogether. I'm only stating that by playing computer games you get to deal with the extraordinary - which I guess would exclude dealing with anyone that you would meet in real life anyways.
One thing that I've allways found is that I never made friends through RPG's. I'd play once in a while at the local club, but I rarely got along with the other players who weren't friends of mine in the first place and at most I'd deem them as acquaintences. I never found RPG's to be good for social interaction unless I could play with people that I knew well anyways. And lets face it, most people don't play RPG's with the intention of socializing, they do it cause it's fun.
I'd agree immensely. Games have always been a way to 'get away from the humdrum of daily life' for me. Ever since I started playing D&D and simple console machines I've found it to be very agreeable to my need to break free from the constraints of daily life on my imagination.
Even now I spend 8 hours a day coding just so I can go home half the time to play another 8 hours of Baldurs Gate 2. I don't simply focus on gaming, but I do find that it is one of the best ways to 'waste time' and still enjoy oneself a great deal.
When you were a kid you always dreamed of doing the impossible or something out of reach, games just fueled that desire. I guess I'm still a kid at heart (besides the fact that I've pretty much devoted my life to studying physics simply for the sake of understanding reality).
I think the emphasis should be placed on the human desire to think outside of the envelope, not on the 'technology that makes it efficient at the current point in time'. Sure, games are a very good outlet for letting go, but people can still find the same experience from more traditional activities like reading and creative artwork (programming???). I think the fact is that younger people can grasp the immediate gratification of a game much easier than some convoluted appreciation for more traditional human activities, and that is why it is such a popular vehicle for kids to explore the limits of their imagination with.
Maybe the fact you don't realize is that they still have no respect for you. Do you think that by flaunting your current rank in society you are any better than those same people that did it to you in high-school?
Sure, if you view life as being a game, then I guess you got what you wanted - you're so far removed from the rest of society that you've attained your uber-geek status and now no matter how much disrespect you are shown it won't matter because you're the pinnacle of society.
Give me a break.
When I become a doctor I sure as hell won't be wearing my degree as a badge to assert myself in public, social oppression works on every level. In my opinion, there is nothing that makes me feel more human then going back home and spending time with my uneducated, unsatisfied friends and still enjoying the fact that we can still relate and maintain good friendships. Satisfaction != Success.
While I believe that in a nice utopian sense The key to sucess in society is to be PATIENT and to try your best to be nice to everyone (see their good side), I would find it a hard way to live in our day.
Regardless of how you treat others, they will still hold stereotypes of you and their reactions to you will fit accordingly. Rather than being nice all the time and letting yourself get stomped on, I'd rather make it a point of ignoring them / carrying on with what you want to do. If someone is going to learn to respect you as a person, you can't win that respect by being nice - you can only do so by making them appreciate why you are the way you are.
Most people that dump on other people for any reason do it because they want to feel important, nothing new there. If you simply go along with a dumb-looking smile you've already been put in your place.
What I found to be the best method for dealing with people is to always try to work with common terms, and if you can't, then avoid them.
I think being flexible is much more important than being nice/patient. If you can show people why you should be valued as a person, then you've already done that much more to make your immediate community a better place.
And it doesn't work simply in one direction - like you said, everyone is ignorant in some way. If you can show others the merits of what makes you an individual, that might just change the way they look at people in general.
I'm very familiar with your type, always quick with a handshake and a smile. In the end though you're doing it just to be liked out of principle, and there is quite a difference between being liked and being respected.
Slashdot Mirror
Why does the /. story have to mainly concern itself with word-of-mouth advertising about the publication rather than the article?
Sharing of information has proven very beneficial in science and there is no mention of this in the article. You'd think that this would be one of the first things that would come to mind when one thinks about innovation in ideas.
I really don't think they innovate
This is wrong on many levels.
The barrier to implementing research in China is much lower than in the rest of the developed world. Not only in an industrial sense, but in almost every field. Check out the foreign investment and developments in Beijing. People who think that China is just another cheap labour base are not taking in the big picture.
A professor was telling me that one of his collegues in China has graduate students willing to work 14 hour days 7 days a week, and lining up at his door to get a position in his lab. Contrast this with the declining number of graduate students (and the lack of funding for) in many fields in North America.
Now that we have globalization these patents really only help the management crust of the corporations. Everything else will get outsourced if it optimizes the finances, barring the so called "federal" corporations who are heavily subsidized by the government. Welcome to the new global community.
It takes more than one generation, that is for sure. Being born in canada having european and american parents never made me feel like I was from here. When I visited my american relatives as a child neighbor children suspected that I was a communist! Ha!
And as far as I'm concerned, the only natives of north america are the people that were here 10 000 years ago. The rest of us brought our way of life to this habitat and made it our own, regardless of who led the way.
The world is a long way from N. The majority is still 0.
I've had the experience of being on the outside... if anything Dell should be forwarding some of the $$$ that we paid them to RH.
In comparison to Compaq/HP or even white-box vendors Dell comes in at 1 out of 10. I've had service delayed by 3 weeks on multiple occasions due to poor logistics and have frequently had to mentally wrestle the support staff over the phone to deal with problems. Hardly a desirable quality when you're looking for uptime.
I've never heard of Dell in a positive manner. Ever.
Oddly enough I found that article comforting. If you don't know your past you don't know your future kind of feel.
Their suggestion to implement civil nuclear power is quite a shock at the end though. To me it seems a gamble between local / global risks. Carbonization - grow a plant today!
Does the EXIF time info count backwards?
before: DateTimeOriginal - 2004:11:22 18:53:07
strange: DateTimeOriginal - 2004:11:22 18:52:52
after: DateTimeOriginal - 2004:11:22 18:52:37
This would imply that the before shot was taken 15 seconds before the strange shot, and the after shot was taken 15 seconds after.
This seems like a reasonable amount of time for any particulate cloud to disperse. Mind you a bottle rocket seems a bit weak to launch on such a straight trajectory...
Still seems most likely that there was some sort of projectile launched from the lightpost.
Fireworks? What are the time intervals between the 3 photos?
Thanks for the interesting reply above. Obviously you have a much keener interest in the nuclear field than I. Suffice to say I wouldn't make any further claims about it before returning to school to study graduate level quantum.
As far as your aside however, I agree, except for saying that what we know is wrong. Avoiding philisophical arguements concerning ontology, nothing in science is ever meant to be absolutely correct. Science primarily concerns itself with epistemology. My point of view is that all theories are only an approximation that is valid within a certain context, and in the end they don't really tell us anything about how the universe actually works, but rather they provide a framework to predict what we would expect to be observed given a particular circumstance.
No doubt it does. But until someone shows me the formulism behind the equivalent of a chemical catalyst in a nuclear setting cold fusion will be nothing more than "wierd shit".
I never mentioned anything about hot fusion. The downside is that it is an extremely difficult environment to sustain, and the technology to do so is not up to snuff yet to make it practical.
The nuclear physics text I used in college was first printed back in the 50's, so I guess I'm not of suitable background to make any claim as to whether or not this is popularist sensationalism.
No free lunch is another way of saying that "energy is conserved". In fusion mass is converted to electromagnetic radiation. Where does the energy come from in cold fusion to allow the barrier to be overcome?
Here is a better question: explain to me how you can modify the electromagnetic field produced by nucleons so that they will readily fuse with low kinetic energy. No one has a theoretical framework for this behaviour, and at best there is some dodgy experimental evidence for it, which has been refuted over and over again.
Laugh away.
Here, here!
I wish I had a mod point right about now. Repeat after me: "there is no such thing as a free lunch".
To fuse any nuclei one has to provide enough kinetic energy to them (ie heat) to surpass the electromagnetic repulsion barrier that exists due to their positive charge.
Cold fusion rests on the belief that an environment exists in which this energy barrier is reduced in magnitude, allowing for two slow-moving nuclei to fuse.
I'm putting my money on the fact that such an environment would require more energy to construct and sustain than would ever be released by the fusion, making it at best an isolated event.
Cold fusion makes my heart sad.
While I don't dispute your outlook on the programming industry, I think it's worthwhile to give the academic crowd a fair shake.
If you're going to become a career academic, it means you have to put time into your work or else you'll be swept aside early on. You won't ever have the chance to work for someone with tenure or stable research funding. You won't even get your undergraduate degree.
80 hrs/week was commonplace in my physics class. Early on I took 5 lectures and 3 labs in one term, resulting in a sleep at 2 am up at 8 am routine. A generous estimate for essential needs comes in at 3 hours per day, and suprise, surprise, I was working 105 hrs/week. Not every week, but most.
Basically I think negative returns only come into play if you are working out of despair, not if you are trying to learn, understand or create something. If you are focused, ambitious and keep a clear mind you can easily work 80 hrs/week.
Most academics I know work >= 80 hrs/week. There is no overtime. I guess it's because they really enjoy it.
The quote I posted concerns the privitization of ideas and the social aspect of sharing knowledge, a practice that is rarely observed to occur in the slovenly pig-pen that is the _industry_. This concept extends much further than the programmer community.
"I guess you could call the belief in sharing of knowledge a 'philosophy,' but I just think it's a fact. It's what differentiates science from alchemy or witchcraft." --Linus Torvalds (2004)
I usually try to uphold Jons articles as being tasteful and relevant, but including this in the Hellmouth comments seriously damages the message that is being sent out. If someone was trying to explain their angst, I would think they could do so in a way that didn't lend itself so easily to misinterpretation. This time the criticism is well-founded, perhaps more time should be taken to select which of these comments are included in the complete work.
This last post really made my day (I've been feeling kind of bad about this thread cause I thought it would crumble into a flame war), thanks for being level about things and reinstilling some faith in the fact that some people here on /. still like having a good discussion.
Sure, I'm preaching here, but the fact of the matter is that you're trolling me along. I think your 2nd last line put it dead on:
It is a giveaway and will put you in an uncomfortable position when you come to the realization that you are mired in this mess as much as me, the "tormentors" from high school, and everyone else.
Good insight. That was the reason why I responded to you in the first place - just because I'm working against the grain and you're flowing with it doesn't mean that I'm naive about the situation.
I guess I could see pretty close to the parent poster - I was never physically intimidated that often, probably because I enjoyed physical activity (not typical high school sports - things like skateboarding and snowboarding) and because a good number of my friends were known as ass-kickers. If I would have had to endure physical abuse during high-school I don't know what I would have done.
The fact that I had to take shit for being part of fringe sub-cultures as well as being a geek is another thing alltogether, but I don't think I should digress on that now (I would have to say though that if you're being opressed, you'll definately find common experience with the other types of 'freaks')
The mental abuse is probably the more common thread though, and unless you have the ability to deal with it, it will drive you insane. I still have many friends who linger a great deal on how they were treated badly during their education years (and it's totally justified, there were some real assholes at our school). I appreciate that they find some relief in our friendship and how we always looked out for one another though. I think the thing is that we have to stop ignoring this kind of social disease - if you're not one of the people getting abused all the time, then stand up when you see people getting treated poorly. I think I was far enough outside of the 'typical' geek stereotype that most people didn't think to try to use me as their kicking post, and if I ever saw anyone getting treated unfairly I was always one to step in and stop it. Even if it is just something as simple as letting someone know that their comments aren't appreciated by everyone, cause lets face it, the concept of stepping on someone elses head to make yourself that much higher isn't anything new, it's pretty much ingrained in western society and unless people actively try to reverse it then nothing will change.
Another thing I was wondering is the relative stability of the bacteria in a mutational sense. Probably an unfounded concern, but it never pays to look into these things before hand. Then again if you implemented a chemical treatment after the bacteria treatment I guess it wouldn't matter.
Pretty neat solution, now we just need to find a bacteria that can eat all our trash, clean our air, decrease greenhouse emissions and restore the ozone layer.
If there is any irony in this thread it is that you're the one who thinks that people should treat him special because of his position in life and at the same time have resentment for people who displayed the same social behaviour towards him in the past. Sounds like you're no better off then they were in the first place - sure, you're personal glory is at its pinnacle but in the end what will that matter?
If you're so concerned with the relevance that your given activity has on others and not the importance that stems from its own virtues then that is all it is to you - a popularity contest - it's not a judgement, it's an observation. Just because those people used to be the judges and are out of the loop now you get to parade around like a peacock trying to justify why it was ok to have been treated like shit for 4 years.
I don't pride myself in slumming with the huddled masses , I pride myself in looking at everyone as equal human beings. Don't try to give yourself some false sense of nobility in proposing that I'm doing something extraordinary by feeling that I'm qualified to pass judgement on someone else's behavior, I'm not even playing your game so there is no one to impress. The point of the matter is that you're the one that continues to perpetuate the "I'm so important, everyone look at how special I am attitude" and when someone points it out you automatically assume that the only reason they're doing so is because they want to seem higher up on the scale then you - I'm advocating treating people as equals, remember? I'm not gaining from critiquing the shallowness of your outlook, but anyone who reads my comment might take the opportunity to think about how they would like people to interact, and in that sense, everyone will gain. We live in a society, believe it or not, and the only way that people will make social progress is by criticizing the behaviour of others. If people didn't stand up once in a while we would be living in a society with a lot more oppression than we do now. If you don't agree with my critisicm, fine - I'm not forcing you to respect others, but simply branding me as another player in your pathetic social drama isn't going to change the light in which people view your parent post. Lets face it, you wouldn't post a comment like that unless you were fuelling your ego, expecting cheers from the rest of the /. 'l337 crowd... the fact that you didn't provoke any positive responses must really suck, to put it in the verbosity of the huddled masses.
The direct consequence of altering the density of water vapour in the atmosphere is that you will have appreciable temperature changes. Since water absorbs IR (the portion of the EM spectrum that accounts for most radiative heat) you could be reducing the ability of the atmosphere to maintain it's temperature. Whether or not this would be a serious temperature change is left to the reader to calculate.
I guess another aspect that you have mentioned is that fog banks provide the needed moisture for heavy rainfall areas (coast of BC) and that by reducing this you might be reducing the amount of precipitation in the area. The counterpoint to this is that you probably wouldn't be using these nets in wet rainfall areas anyways since the rain provides a water basin.
In reading a fantasy novel, one doesn't deal with any other people, only the ideas of the auther. The exact same thing is true of computer RPG's... I just see it as a really fancy 'choose your own adventure'. I'm not implying that computer games can replace social interaction, that's something else alltogether. I'm only stating that by playing computer games you get to deal with the extraordinary - which I guess would exclude dealing with anyone that you would meet in real life anyways.
One thing that I've allways found is that I never made friends through RPG's. I'd play once in a while at the local club, but I rarely got along with the other players who weren't friends of mine in the first place and at most I'd deem them as acquaintences. I never found RPG's to be good for social interaction unless I could play with people that I knew well anyways. And lets face it, most people don't play RPG's with the intention of socializing, they do it cause it's fun.
Even now I spend 8 hours a day coding just so I can go home half the time to play another 8 hours of Baldurs Gate 2. I don't simply focus on gaming, but I do find that it is one of the best ways to 'waste time' and still enjoy oneself a great deal.
When you were a kid you always dreamed of doing the impossible or something out of reach, games just fueled that desire. I guess I'm still a kid at heart (besides the fact that I've pretty much devoted my life to studying physics simply for the sake of understanding reality).
I think the emphasis should be placed on the human desire to think outside of the envelope, not on the 'technology that makes it efficient at the current point in time'. Sure, games are a very good outlet for letting go, but people can still find the same experience from more traditional activities like reading and creative artwork (programming???). I think the fact is that younger people can grasp the immediate gratification of a game much easier than some convoluted appreciation for more traditional human activities, and that is why it is such a popular vehicle for kids to explore the limits of their imagination with.
Sure, if you view life as being a game, then I guess you got what you wanted - you're so far removed from the rest of society that you've attained your uber-geek status and now no matter how much disrespect you are shown it won't matter because you're the pinnacle of society.
Give me a break.
When I become a doctor I sure as hell won't be wearing my degree as a badge to assert myself in public, social oppression works on every level. In my opinion, there is nothing that makes me feel more human then going back home and spending time with my uneducated, unsatisfied friends and still enjoying the fact that we can still relate and maintain good friendships. Satisfaction != Success.
Regardless of how you treat others, they will still hold stereotypes of you and their reactions to you will fit accordingly. Rather than being nice all the time and letting yourself get stomped on, I'd rather make it a point of ignoring them / carrying on with what you want to do. If someone is going to learn to respect you as a person, you can't win that respect by being nice - you can only do so by making them appreciate why you are the way you are.
Most people that dump on other people for any reason do it because they want to feel important, nothing new there. If you simply go along with a dumb-looking smile you've already been put in your place.
What I found to be the best method for dealing with people is to always try to work with common terms, and if you can't, then avoid them.
I think being flexible is much more important than being nice/patient. If you can show people why you should be valued as a person, then you've already done that much more to make your immediate community a better place.
And it doesn't work simply in one direction - like you said, everyone is ignorant in some way. If you can show others the merits of what makes you an individual, that might just change the way they look at people in general.
I'm very familiar with your type, always quick with a handshake and a smile. In the end though you're doing it just to be liked out of principle, and there is quite a difference between being liked and being respected.