It wasn't clear to me at first how POWER comes into play regarding GPS. I've been accustomed to GPS simply showing the way to some place or telling me where I am already located.
But now I get it! This new GPS with POWER doesn't just show us how to get somewhere... it will TRANSPORT us there! Well, probably just military people at first, like the original GPS, but just wait--we'll all be zipping around thanks to the fabulous POWER of this new GPS. Time to sell your Uber and other transportation stocks.
I can post this question because my teacher told me "There are no dumb questions." So, uh, how does depression enhance our survival probability?
Sometimes it's difficult to know how inherited traits were selected for over the millennia of human development. Generally, a persistent trait can be shown to benefit those who exhibit it. I have to question the conjecture that we have evolved sensors that serve only to make us depressed.
So, while these scientists are looking through their microscopes for answers, they might do well to step back a bit for a broader perspective. Does their theory make sense? Could there be alternate reasons for the existence of these sensors?
In any case, it has long been known that there are photoreceptors in nature other than rods & cones.
According to the upcoming 2019 USA edition of Homeless Workers' CoOp Manifesto, 'Eat the Rich' chapter; this is how you find them. Maps of residential solar panels, swimming pools, private tennis courts and inaccessible ocean beaches. Members are encouraged to map their own locale via drones for inclusion in future editions. Don't forget that they are nicely fattened during the holiday season!
Good news doesn't sell, especially on/. Sarcasm is best, or just plain angry diatribes. Vile, vulgar, vapid verbosity might up your Score. But Good News? Someone here will find a dark side to the best news. Is there any popular forum where good news is welcome? Still it was nice of you to try.
Notice that TFS headline includes: "Smart Chip That Can Tell if You Smell" That clearly says to me that it can tell if your nose is working correctly. But I think it was meant to say that this chip can tell if you have an odor; a very different thing. Yes, I know, English is difficult to parse for some editors.
"it is believed that such networks will be safe from hacking or eavesdropping due to their very nature."
Well isn't that special! Truly private communication. But wait, isn't that against government policy? Don't our governments want access to all our communication, without the bother of encryption? Don't they want back doors to our devices?
But maybe, just maybe, there is an exception for our masters in government, in police work, for corporate boardrooms and financial wheeler-dealers such that they can have the privacy denied to common citizens.
I've never tried to visit Bahnhof, but Elsevier has blocked me on many occasions from reports I really wanted to see. The paywall is high there and the riches as well. Around the world many point to Elsevier as the worst example of greed in the sciences.
MY PHONE HAS ONE, a headphone jack. But for years I've preferred my Bluetooth headphones. I have a nice stereo for those times I want high quality sound, but why bother with the lower quality stuff in my phone?
My brother, a hifi snob, has electrostatic headphones for his musical journeys. But he doesn't listen on his phone either (which also has a headphone jack).
So where are the hifi snobs who get their music on a cell phone while they're out and about, and can't tolerate Bluetooth? Are they doing FLAC on their tiny phones? Ridiculous!
People make unhealthy choices, and sometimes promote them online. Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, cutting and body modifications, sex practices, athletic, religious and dietary extremes... In many cases these choices are subtly related to suicide. There is an (usually unspoken) understanding that death is a possibility, and that it isn't such a terrible outcome.
I did a quick search on the word 'suicide' and Google offered 460,000,000 results, mostly of a harmless nature I think. Still there are many people worldwide who don't want the tedious diet or alcohol route to death- they want a quick death right now.
Your SJW friends may well organize to remove every hint of any activity that is dangerous to health and well-being. They might try to remove every mention of these activities and suicide itself. But I think that would be a disservice to many who believe they have a right to die and even a right to suffer from bad behavior.
The interface between mind and machine is the prohibitive thing right now. Keyboard and mouse are primitive. Voice, slightly less primitive. The essential thing that will make computers serve us, as imagined in TFS, is a vastly improved interface.
That will be a neural interface connecting our nerve synapses directly to an implanted intermediary. I'm imagining a parallel interface, perhaps with 81 neurons connected with 81 electrodes, creating a 64 digit path with some redundancy for individual connections that may go bad. That intermediary, in turn, will link to 'ambient' computers nearby (most likely via Bluetooth or similar) to allow us to interact with powerful machines at extremely high rates of speed. Human language will be hopelessly incapable of managing this communication. A method of my creation will easily and quickly train our minds to handle a more direct and unambiguous communication appropriate to digital devices. (Very well suited for programmers too.)
At the moment, we eagerly await the materials that will allow a long term connection between a neuron and a digital device. There has been some progress but no success yet.
These studies usually require a control group that represents those who do not have the distinguishing features of those being studied. In this case, young people who aren't exposed to screen time. Where will these people be found? In the Amazon jungles? And how can they objectively used as a control group? If there is a significant difference in the economic / geographical / ethnic / etc status of the control group, the study can't be valid.
Not sure why they left out the more ominous method by which these proteins can spread: eye surgery. Eye surgery is fairly common and not normally associated with such grave dangers. Those affected by these proteins (they are called 'prions'), invariably have them living in optical neural tissues. Surgeons, who may schedule multiple operations per day, need to find a better way to sterilize their instruments as the proteins are resistant to normal techniques. These discoveries seem to be new for some reason.
This has been my first opportunity to use the word 'pernicious', an exquisite word that has somehow escaped my notice until today. Thank you, dear Slashdot readers, for allowing me this occasion.
If news means keeping up with your schoolmates- go with social media. If news means deep celebrity or fashion insights - yeah, social media. If news means more verbal vomit from the White House - social media. If news means trends in money markets - go thou to conventional media. If news means morning weather and traffic - look in conventional media. If news means Brexit or the Middle East - trust the conventional media.
I've always assumed that the smart business model for data aggregators like Facebook, Amazon and Google is to NEVER give their data to anyone. If an advertiser wants to reach a certain demographic they just describe the demographic to the data aggregator and their message will be delivered. The advertiser never sees the list of advertisees.
The advantage is that the aggregator has something better than patent or copyright; it has exclusive data available nowhere else. No way they're ever going to leak that data. If that happens, they have nothing left to sell.
If this is true, your personal data is probably quite safe in their hands. But I'm only guessing.
I've been to many cities and, offhand, I can't think of any that surprised me. I was slightly surprised at the lingering racism in Houston, and the cold summer in San Francisco. I fully expected rain in Seattle, depressed people in Detroit, laid back citizens at the Ensenada fish market, and dark undercurrents during Mardi Gras. So what did I gain by actually going there?
If you want adventure, look elsewhere. Take a city bus to a part of your city that you have avoided and explore every corner on foot. Try doing something: learn a language or musical instrument; volunteer at a homeless shelter; become a regular at the most notorious gay bar in town. Get physical in a new way: rock climbing; tai chi; scuba diving... Do something that will open your eyes, sharpen your mind, bring you to life before you die.
There are spectator activities and there are real activities. If your travel somehow involves something more than spectating, maybe it's good for you. That could be true if you are commissioned to design a public building or supervise a sociology study or map the sewers of the city. It could be true if you plan to spend six months in a small foreign town or commute daily on an Indian railway. Americans mostly spectate at home and abroad.
TFS refers to both the Nike shoe company and the book- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Well, right there Nike can save a small fortune by simply reading that book. It predicts the future of the shoe industry as revealed by our favorite SciFi writer:
"The Shoe Event Horizon is an economic theory that draws a correlation between the level of economic (and emotional) depression of a society and the number of shoe shops the society has.
The theory is summarized as such: as a society sinks into depression, the people of the society need to cheer themselves up by buying themselves gifts, often shoes. It is also linked to the fact that when you are depressed you look down at your shoes and decide they aren't good enough quality so buy more expensive replacements. As more money is spent on shoes, more shoe shops are built, and the quality of the shoes begins to diminish as the demand for different types of shoes increases. This makes people buy more shoes.
The above turns into a vicious cycle, causing other industries to decline.
Eventually the titular Shoe Event Horizon is reached, where the only type of store economically viable to build is a shoe shop. At this point, society ceases to function, and the economy collapses, sending a world spiraling into ruin." https://hitchhikers.fandom.com...
The Firesign Theater had their own thoughts on the economics of shoes: "Shoes for Industry! Shoes for the Dead! Shoes for Industry!
HI! I'm Joe Beats.
Say, what chance does a deceased returning war veteran have for that good payin' job, more sugar, and that free Mule we've all been dreaming of?
Now take off your shoes.
Now you can see how increased spending opportunities, mean harder work for everyone, and more of it, too! So, do yourself a favor, Joe. Join with millions of your friends and neighbors, and, TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES!
Italy is cheering the Brexit move. Southern Italy in particular is suffering from economic demands from the EU. Greece has its own problems with the EU. Within each EU state there are entities that do not benefit from the Union. Keeping Europe together is a delicate balancing act.
One factor that may tend to keep them together is increasing Russian aggression.
There are exceptions: for kids, Disneyland will be a thrill; for adults going to a restaurant is nice. But going to another city, another country is not rewarding.
You already know what that city is like. You've seen pictures and videos, you know something about the geography, the history, the current reputation of that city. When you get there you will probably confirm what you already know. You will go to tourist traps, places where nobody who lives there will go. You will spend money, lots of money. You will deal with the chaos of taxis, hotels, airlines and security intrusions.
Better to visit the city via books, movies, YouTube, etc. If it's for business, use the internet.
There's a good reason for that. Many people in China only recently gained enough money to buy stuff. They need microwave ovens, refrigerators, better televisions and of course, better smartphones.
In the US, we have more than we can use by far. We have filled our garages, attics and basements with stuff. There is nothing left to buy.
Are we talking about the cravings of the mindless masses? The latest marketing manipulation? The fashionable fad fantastic?
Those who are so easily swayed are fodder for the market. They are the devolved. Let them quickly go into debt and fade from this earth. Let them leave the gene pool. Bah humbug, xmas shoppers!
Oddly enough, I am *already* capable of saying that. I'm pretty sure that I've been able to say that since I was 4 years old. And saying 'Hey Siri, OK Google' then would have been just as useful as saying it now.
TFS ends with: "But what do Slashdot's readers think?" With 60 answers the trend is clear: The question is a troll.
Nobody seems to want a chip, is that a surprise? Of course not. But look at all the emotion the question generated. I guess that's money in the bank for Slashdot... or Facebook, Twitter, etc. Get people riled up and somehow you profit.
I think it's a cheap shot. It brings out the worst in readers. Frankly it disgusts me. I'm here for news and insightful comments and this gives me neither.
"We often seek patents for technology we never implement, and patents should not be taken as an indication of future plans."
This is absolutely correct for many tech corporations. If you can preempt an innovation that would benefit someone else, you are a step ahead; even if you never use the patent. The most important feature of patents is not that you can make new and better products; it is that you can prevent others from doing that [unless they are willing to pay you for the right].
Of course Fb could use this idea to generate profit. That doesn't change the correctness of the above statement.
More specifically: "Offline personal assistant."...
is 90% identical to "Online personal assistant", and obvious to anyone familiar with the industry. There is nothing novel in this technology.
And yes, I agree, most modern patents are obvious to anyone in the industry. And that fact is obvious to the patent examiners, yet they are approved. Very frustrating!
Slashdot Mirror
It wasn't clear to me at first how POWER comes into play regarding GPS. I've been accustomed to GPS simply showing the way to some place or telling me where I am already located.
But now I get it! This new GPS with POWER doesn't just show us how to get somewhere ... it will TRANSPORT us there! Well, probably just military people at first, like the original GPS, but just wait--we'll all be zipping around thanks to the fabulous POWER of this new GPS. Time to sell your Uber and other transportation stocks.
I can post this question because my teacher told me "There are no dumb questions."
So, uh, how does depression enhance our survival probability?
Sometimes it's difficult to know how inherited traits were selected for over the millennia of human development. Generally, a persistent trait can be shown to benefit those who exhibit it. I have to question the conjecture that we have evolved sensors that serve only to make us depressed.
So, while these scientists are looking through their microscopes for answers, they might do well to step back a bit for a broader perspective. Does their theory make sense? Could there be alternate reasons for the existence of these sensors?
In any case, it has long been known that there are photoreceptors in nature other than rods & cones.
According to the upcoming 2019 USA edition of Homeless Workers' CoOp Manifesto, 'Eat the Rich' chapter; this is how you find them. Maps of residential solar panels, swimming pools, private tennis courts and inaccessible ocean beaches. Members are encouraged to map their own locale via drones for inclusion in future editions. Don't forget that they are nicely fattened during the holiday season!
(Score:3) ?
Good news doesn't sell, especially on /. Sarcasm is best, or just plain angry diatribes. Vile, vulgar, vapid verbosity might up your Score. But Good News? Someone here will find a dark side to the best news. Is there any popular forum where good news is welcome? Still it was nice of you to try.
[drum roll] TERRIBLE !
Notice that TFS headline includes:
"Smart Chip That Can Tell if You Smell"
That clearly says to me that it can tell if your nose is working correctly. But I think it was meant to say that this chip can tell if you have an odor; a very different thing. Yes, I know, English is difficult to parse for some editors.
"it is believed that such networks will be safe from hacking or eavesdropping due to their very nature."
Well isn't that special! Truly private communication. But wait, isn't that against government policy? Don't our governments want access to all our communication, without the bother of encryption? Don't they want back doors to our devices?
But maybe, just maybe, there is an exception for our masters in government, in police work, for corporate boardrooms and financial wheeler-dealers such that they can have the privacy denied to common citizens.
I've never tried to visit Bahnhof, but Elsevier has blocked me on many occasions from reports I really wanted to see. The paywall is high there and the riches as well. Around the world many point to Elsevier as the worst example of greed in the sciences.
MY PHONE HAS ONE, a headphone jack. But for years I've preferred my Bluetooth headphones. I have a nice stereo for those times I want high quality sound, but why bother with the lower quality stuff in my phone?
My brother, a hifi snob, has electrostatic headphones for his musical journeys. But he doesn't listen on his phone either (which also has a headphone jack).
So where are the hifi snobs who get their music on a cell phone while they're out and about, and can't tolerate Bluetooth? Are they doing FLAC on their tiny phones? Ridiculous!
People make unhealthy choices, and sometimes promote them online. Cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, cutting and body modifications, sex practices, athletic, religious and dietary extremes... In many cases these choices are subtly related to suicide. There is an (usually unspoken) understanding that death is a possibility, and that it isn't such a terrible outcome.
I did a quick search on the word 'suicide' and Google offered 460,000,000 results, mostly of a harmless nature I think. Still there are many people worldwide who don't want the tedious diet or alcohol route to death- they want a quick death right now.
Your SJW friends may well organize to remove every hint of any activity that is dangerous to health and well-being. They might try to remove every mention of these activities and suicide itself. But I think that would be a disservice to many who believe they have a right to die and even a right to suffer from bad behavior.
The interface between mind and machine is the prohibitive thing right now. Keyboard and mouse are primitive. Voice, slightly less primitive. The essential thing that will make computers serve us, as imagined in TFS, is a vastly improved interface.
That will be a neural interface connecting our nerve synapses directly to an implanted intermediary. I'm imagining a parallel interface, perhaps with 81 neurons connected with 81 electrodes, creating a 64 digit path with some redundancy for individual connections that may go bad. That intermediary, in turn, will link to 'ambient' computers nearby (most likely via Bluetooth or similar) to allow us to interact with powerful machines at extremely high rates of speed. Human language will be hopelessly incapable of managing this communication. A method of my creation will easily and quickly train our minds to handle a more direct and unambiguous communication appropriate to digital devices. (Very well suited for programmers too.)
At the moment, we eagerly await the materials that will allow a long term connection between a neuron and a digital device. There has been some progress but no success yet.
These studies usually require a control group that represents those who do not have the distinguishing features of those being studied. In this case, young people who aren't exposed to screen time. Where will these people be found? In the Amazon jungles? And how can they objectively used as a control group? If there is a significant difference in the economic / geographical / ethnic / etc status of the control group, the study can't be valid.
Not sure why they left out the more ominous method by which these proteins can spread: eye surgery. Eye surgery is fairly common and not normally associated with such grave dangers. Those affected by these proteins (they are called 'prions'), invariably have them living in optical neural tissues. Surgeons, who may schedule multiple operations per day, need to find a better way to sterilize their instruments as the proteins are resistant to normal techniques. These discoveries seem to be new for some reason.
This has been my first opportunity to use the word 'pernicious', an exquisite word that has somehow escaped my notice until today. Thank you, dear Slashdot readers, for allowing me this occasion.
If news means keeping up with your schoolmates- go with social media.
If news means deep celebrity or fashion insights - yeah, social media.
If news means more verbal vomit from the White House - social media.
If news means trends in money markets - go thou to conventional media.
If news means morning weather and traffic - look in conventional media.
If news means Brexit or the Middle East - trust the conventional media.
If it passes the test of redundancy,
it bears repeating.
I've always assumed that the smart business model for data aggregators like Facebook, Amazon and Google is to NEVER give their data to anyone. If an advertiser wants to reach a certain demographic they just describe the demographic to the data aggregator and their message will be delivered. The advertiser never sees the list of advertisees.
The advantage is that the aggregator has something better than patent or copyright; it has exclusive data available nowhere else. No way they're ever going to leak that data. If that happens, they have nothing left to sell.
If this is true, your personal data is probably quite safe in their hands. But I'm only guessing.
I've been to many cities and, offhand, I can't think of any that surprised me. I was slightly surprised at the lingering racism in Houston, and the cold summer in San Francisco. I fully expected rain in Seattle, depressed people in Detroit, laid back citizens at the Ensenada fish market, and dark undercurrents during Mardi Gras. So what did I gain by actually going there?
If you want adventure, look elsewhere. Take a city bus to a part of your city that you have avoided and explore every corner on foot. Try doing something: learn a language or musical instrument; volunteer at a homeless shelter; become a regular at the most notorious gay bar in town. Get physical in a new way: rock climbing; tai chi; scuba diving... Do something that will open your eyes, sharpen your mind, bring you to life before you die.
There are spectator activities and there are real activities. If your travel somehow involves something more than spectating, maybe it's good for you. That could be true if you are commissioned to design a public building or supervise a sociology study or map the sewers of the city. It could be true if you plan to spend six months in a small foreign town or commute daily on an Indian railway. Americans mostly spectate at home and abroad.
TFS refers to both the Nike shoe company and the book- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Well, right there Nike can save a small fortune by simply reading that book. It predicts the future of the shoe industry as revealed by our favorite SciFi writer:
"The Shoe Event Horizon is an economic theory that draws a correlation between the level of economic (and emotional) depression of a society and the number of shoe shops the society has.
The theory is summarized as such: as a society sinks into depression, the people of the society need to cheer themselves up by buying themselves gifts, often shoes. It is also linked to the fact that when you are depressed you look down at your shoes and decide they aren't good enough quality so buy more expensive replacements. As more money is spent on shoes, more shoe shops are built, and the quality of the shoes begins to diminish as the demand for different types of shoes increases. This makes people buy more shoes.
The above turns into a vicious cycle, causing other industries to decline.
Eventually the titular Shoe Event Horizon is reached, where the only type of store economically viable to build is a shoe shop. At this point, society ceases to function, and the economy collapses, sending a world spiraling into ruin." https://hitchhikers.fandom.com...
The Firesign Theater had their own thoughts on the economics of shoes:
"Shoes for Industry! Shoes for the Dead! Shoes for Industry!
HI! I'm Joe Beats.
Say, what chance does a deceased returning war veteran have for that good payin' job, more sugar, and that free Mule we've all been dreaming of?
Now take off your shoes.
Now you can see how increased spending opportunities, mean harder work for everyone, and more of it, too! So, do yourself a favor, Joe. Join with millions of your friends and neighbors, and, TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES!
"For INDUSTRY!"
"killed off the other "leave" movements" ?
Italy is cheering the Brexit move. Southern Italy in particular is suffering from economic demands from the EU. Greece has its own problems with the EU. Within each EU state there are entities that do not benefit from the Union. Keeping Europe together is a delicate balancing act.
One factor that may tend to keep them together is increasing Russian aggression.
There are exceptions: for kids, Disneyland will be a thrill; for adults going to a restaurant is nice. But going to another city, another country is not rewarding.
You already know what that city is like. You've seen pictures and videos, you know something about the geography, the history, the current reputation of that city. When you get there you will probably confirm what you already know. You will go to tourist traps, places where nobody who lives there will go. You will spend money, lots of money. You will deal with the chaos of taxis, hotels, airlines and security intrusions.
Better to visit the city via books, movies, YouTube, etc. If it's for business, use the internet.
There's a good reason for that. Many people in China only recently gained enough money to buy stuff. They need microwave ovens, refrigerators, better televisions and of course, better smartphones.
In the US, we have more than we can use by far. We have filled our garages, attics and basements with stuff. There is nothing left to buy.
Are we talking about the cravings of the mindless masses? The latest marketing manipulation? The fashionable fad fantastic?
Those who are so easily swayed are fodder for the market. They are the devolved. Let them quickly go into debt and fade from this earth. Let them leave the gene pool. Bah humbug, xmas shoppers!
Oddly enough, I am *already* capable of saying that.
I'm pretty sure that I've been able to say that since I was 4 years old.
And saying 'Hey Siri, OK Google' then would have been just as useful as saying it now.
TFS ends with: "But what do Slashdot's readers think?"
With 60 answers the trend is clear: The question is a troll.
Nobody seems to want a chip, is that a surprise? Of course not. But look at all the emotion the question generated. I guess that's money in the bank for Slashdot ... or Facebook, Twitter, etc. Get people riled up and somehow you profit.
I think it's a cheap shot. It brings out the worst in readers. Frankly it disgusts me. I'm here for news and insightful comments and this gives me neither.
"We often seek patents for technology we never implement, and patents should not be taken as an indication of future plans."
This is absolutely correct for many tech corporations. If you can preempt an innovation that would benefit someone else, you are a step ahead; even if you never use the patent. The most important feature of patents is not that you can make new and better products; it is that you can prevent others from doing that [unless they are willing to pay you for the right].
Of course Fb could use this idea to generate profit. That doesn't change the correctness of the above statement.
More specifically: "Offline personal assistant." ...
is 90% identical to "Online personal assistant", and obvious to anyone familiar with the industry.
There is nothing novel in this technology.
And yes, I agree, most modern patents are obvious to anyone in the industry.
And that fact is obvious to the patent examiners, yet they are approved.
Very frustrating!