Unless you want to argue that all individuals are equally valuable to society, you have to face the fact that some groups are not as valuable as other groups. High-IQ groups are a great deal more valuable than low-IQ groups. That does not mean that we need to bar low-IQ groups from attempting anything. It just means that their chance of success is small (which is why I proposed the gambling approach in a previous thread).
I'm not sure what kind of response you want... I don't want to argue that everyone is equally valuable to society, no, and the rest follows. But that's not why I dislike IQ tests, or the conclusions people draw from that number.
You are getting fleeced. Around here you can go to somewhere like IKEA, buy a system for about $8,000 and see a return in about 10 years after costs. You can easily get it cheaper than that, or increase the savings by adjusting other parts of your system to make better use of solar energy (heating, car etc.)
But even taking your shitty deal, the problem is clear. Solar will pay for itself in the absolutely worst case, likely save you a lot of money or even give a nice tax-free ROI, but the up-front cost is the issue. That's why all the effort goes into reducing that up-front cost.
They are using their supercomputers for things like materials science, developing new medicines and therapies, AI systems, climate science, genetic modelling... And the tech trickles down too, both in terms of the hardware that is developed and the techniques developed for managing hugely parallel machines.
Also, in a few years they will have all the bitcoins.
Much the same in the UK. Whenever anyone tries to build anything they start moaning about the green belt and objecting to anything that might devalue their houses. They fucked the economy and need that property to remain valuable to provide for their retirement and the inheritance their kids need to buy their own insanely expensive shed to live in.
I said vote for someone who supports the Paris agreement (and was voted flamebait for it, because Slashdot really values the free and open marketplace of ideas). At the last election you had a choice between a candidate who supported Paris and one who did not. At the coming elections you have a choice between a party that supports Paris and one that does not.
In what sense have you not had an opportunity to vote for a candidate who supports Paris and environmental responsibility?
Are we talking about the same IQ tests? Most take 60-90 minutes, with the Mensa one taking a little over 2 hours. And in the US the eugenics movement advocated forced sterilization of people with low scores, so I'd say those numbers have been used to people's detriment at times.
However, there are a number of silly bugs and missing features that make it practically unusable.
Which is why non-cloud products don't sell. Consumers like cloud based stuff, they like being able to download a phone app that does all the set-up for them, and lets them control their lightbulb from the office. Promising more features via firmware update is also a good marketing strategy, even if you don't delivery them *cough* Tesla *cough*
The Javascript USB API is actually a good idea. It's better than the current situation with binary drivers, especially on Linux where they run in the kernel.
For safe operation of USB you need the low level stack only in the kernel, the part that does the low level I/O and is extremely robust. Then there is a userland USB stack that sits on top of it, handling descriptors and I/O functions for userland drivers/applications.
The Javascript USB API adds some extra protection. Firstly, instead of having a bunch of random drivers with near zero quality control, you have just the browser. A browser that is security hardened and well tested. And all the browser does is provide some simple access mechanisms to various USB features like pipes and descriptors. The code that actually talks to the device, the place where most of the vulnerabilities are, is now sandboxed Javascript.
Even better, the browser prints you for permission to access the device. USB was designed around an insecure plug-and-play model, deliberately not requiring any user interaction for devices to start working. With the Javascript USB API, the user has to give explicit permission.
The main issue I have with the Javascript USB API is the same one as I have with all web applications - loss of freedom. I can't run old versions, I can't do much if they make changes I don't like, I probably can't fork it. But security-wise it's actually a good idea, it adds more layers of security.
No one was arguing that opportunities must be limited, only that IQ is an accurate enough indicator of intelligence to be useful most of the time.
That's the same thing. If you rely on IQ as an indicator of intelligence you must have some purpose in doing so, e.g. filtering job applicants or provision of schooling to children. And if IQ is a flawed measure then some people will be denied opportunities that they should have access to.
Regardless, if your aversion to intelligence is because it is socially undesirable, what do you propose?
I like intelligence, I just don't think you can encapsulate it in a single number determined by a written test.
After all, no one is proposing to use IQ scores as a restriction to opportunities
That's exactly what happens. Job applicants are filtered by IQ test scores, funding for education is diverted to children who score highly on IQ tests. And some people go even further, arguing that some skin colours are also mentally superior and should be supreme. It's that kind of thing that I object to.
I want everyone to be as intelligent as possible, which means having access to good education and opportunities to fix social problems like poverty. I don't accept the argument that "these people have a low IQ, therefore will always be poor and dumb and doing anything to change that is anti-intellectual and anti-science."
It's interesting that the US and Europe and Japan are now being left behind in electric vehicle technology. The US is still in love with fossil fuels, Europe wasted a lot of effort on diesel and cheating, and Japan bet heavily on hybrids. China is building a lot of EVs, building massive battery factories, patenting EV tech like crazy and building up supply lines.
European manufacturers are starting to import Chinese EV technology for their own cars. Japanese companies are scrambling to pivot towards EVs, realizing that they won't be selling many gearboxes in 10-15 years. And the US market just seems to be waiting to see how Tesla and GM do and hoping that fossil cars remain the thing for now.
At the moment trade barriers keep Chinese vehicles from flooding Western markets, but eventually they will just do what everyone else does and open factories in Europe and the US.
Something changed in the UK and probably elsewhere. Back in the 1930s we built a nationwide electricity grid. Big ugly pylons all over the place. Before that we built a nationwide rail network, and after that we built motorways all over the place.
There were protests but the will to get those things built for the benefit of the nation was there. Now we have an opportunity to build infrastructure that is clean and benefits everyone and that few people would object to, but the will is lacking.
Clearly some people are more suited to a particular task than others, due to a variety of factors. On the other hand, everyone is worthy of having their human rights respected.
I also think trying to measure a person with a single number like IQ is both deeply flawed and undesirable from a social point of view because we all benefit from everyone having opportunities to reach their potential.
I find it quite ironic that a lot of the people demanding a pure meritocracy also claim to want a diverse set of opinions and voices, a free marketplace of ideas. It seems like what they mean is they want people with their preferred and somewhat arbitrary measure of worthiness to have a voice and everyone else should just listen because their simple minds can't possibly contribute anything worthwhile. Carl Benjamin is a great example of this, the guy claims to be a rational thinker but will dismiss you if he thinks your skull measurements are inadequate.
We fixed this already. Education by charities and governments works. The only reason that population is still increasing is that people are living longer.
Now we just need to concentrate on things like clean energy and sustainable farming.
The war games and aggressive stance have been tried for just as long. When do we say that has failed?
We need to do one at a time. They are working against each other. The diplomacy is the only thing that de-escalated and prevented war so far. And it's had other successes, like progress on the kidnappings. The joint economic area is another example.
NK can't do anything about their border. They know that. Their motivation at the moment is MAD with the US and making the most of the opportunity Trump presents.
Be presidential about it. Avoid pretty insults and idle threats. Stop the antagonistic war games with South Korea. Stick with the sanctions and food aid. Work with China.
Yes, it's frustrating that more cannot be done. But at least that route does not lead to a catastrophic war. North Korea can be talked to, is open to diplomacy. When it's tried it works, it just doesn't get tired enough.
I go through London regularly. You had to dodge the degrading nudie scanners but the security is nothing like the US. Didn't even have to take my shoes off last time.
Some of the domestic terrorists in the UK have been highly educated, up to medical doctor level.
It's not about intelligence, it's about radicalization. It's easier to understand if you think about non-religiously motivated terrorists and criminals, the ones who mow down "leftist" protesters in their car, the ones who shoot up a school because girls won't date them. Over a long period of time their world-view has been distorted to the point where they think their actions are rational and correct, or alternatively that even if they are wrong at least they are part of something bigger than their dull, prospectless life.
Slashdot Mirror
Unless you want to argue that all individuals are equally valuable to society, you have to face the fact that some groups are not as valuable as other groups. High-IQ groups are a great deal more valuable than low-IQ groups. That does not mean that we need to bar low-IQ groups from attempting anything. It just means that their chance of success is small (which is why I proposed the gambling approach in a previous thread).
I'm not sure what kind of response you want... I don't want to argue that everyone is equally valuable to society, no, and the rest follows. But that's not why I dislike IQ tests, or the conclusions people draw from that number.
You are getting fleeced. Around here you can go to somewhere like IKEA, buy a system for about $8,000 and see a return in about 10 years after costs. You can easily get it cheaper than that, or increase the savings by adjusting other parts of your system to make better use of solar energy (heating, car etc.)
But even taking your shitty deal, the problem is clear. Solar will pay for itself in the absolutely worst case, likely save you a lot of money or even give a nice tax-free ROI, but the up-front cost is the issue. That's why all the effort goes into reducing that up-front cost.
They are using their supercomputers for things like materials science, developing new medicines and therapies, AI systems, climate science, genetic modelling... And the tech trickles down too, both in terms of the hardware that is developed and the techniques developed for managing hugely parallel machines.
Also, in a few years they will have all the bitcoins.
Much the same in the UK. Whenever anyone tries to build anything they start moaning about the green belt and objecting to anything that might devalue their houses. They fucked the economy and need that property to remain valuable to provide for their retirement and the inheritance their kids need to buy their own insanely expensive shed to live in.
I said vote for someone who supports the Paris agreement (and was voted flamebait for it, because Slashdot really values the free and open marketplace of ideas). At the last election you had a choice between a candidate who supported Paris and one who did not. At the coming elections you have a choice between a party that supports Paris and one that does not.
In what sense have you not had an opportunity to vote for a candidate who supports Paris and environmental responsibility?
Are we talking about the same IQ tests? Most take 60-90 minutes, with the Mensa one taking a little over 2 hours. And in the US the eugenics movement advocated forced sterilization of people with low scores, so I'd say those numbers have been used to people's detriment at times.
However, there are a number of silly bugs and missing features that make it practically unusable.
Which is why non-cloud products don't sell. Consumers like cloud based stuff, they like being able to download a phone app that does all the set-up for them, and lets them control their lightbulb from the office. Promising more features via firmware update is also a good marketing strategy, even if you don't delivery them *cough* Tesla *cough*
Sadly, security does not sell.
I don't mind the occasional licence check, what I mind is changing from a one-off payment to a subscription model.
The Javascript USB API is actually a good idea. It's better than the current situation with binary drivers, especially on Linux where they run in the kernel.
For safe operation of USB you need the low level stack only in the kernel, the part that does the low level I/O and is extremely robust. Then there is a userland USB stack that sits on top of it, handling descriptors and I/O functions for userland drivers/applications.
The Javascript USB API adds some extra protection. Firstly, instead of having a bunch of random drivers with near zero quality control, you have just the browser. A browser that is security hardened and well tested. And all the browser does is provide some simple access mechanisms to various USB features like pipes and descriptors. The code that actually talks to the device, the place where most of the vulnerabilities are, is now sandboxed Javascript.
Even better, the browser prints you for permission to access the device. USB was designed around an insecure plug-and-play model, deliberately not requiring any user interaction for devices to start working. With the Javascript USB API, the user has to give explicit permission.
The main issue I have with the Javascript USB API is the same one as I have with all web applications - loss of freedom. I can't run old versions, I can't do much if they make changes I don't like, I probably can't fork it. But security-wise it's actually a good idea, it adds more layers of security.
No one was arguing that opportunities must be limited, only that IQ is an accurate enough indicator of intelligence to be useful most of the time.
That's the same thing. If you rely on IQ as an indicator of intelligence you must have some purpose in doing so, e.g. filtering job applicants or provision of schooling to children. And if IQ is a flawed measure then some people will be denied opportunities that they should have access to.
Regardless, if your aversion to intelligence is because it is socially undesirable, what do you propose?
I like intelligence, I just don't think you can encapsulate it in a single number determined by a written test.
After all, no one is proposing to use IQ scores as a restriction to opportunities
That's exactly what happens. Job applicants are filtered by IQ test scores, funding for education is diverted to children who score highly on IQ tests. And some people go even further, arguing that some skin colours are also mentally superior and should be supreme. It's that kind of thing that I object to.
I want everyone to be as intelligent as possible, which means having access to good education and opportunities to fix social problems like poverty. I don't accept the argument that "these people have a low IQ, therefore will always be poor and dumb and doing anything to change that is anti-intellectual and anti-science."
It's interesting that the US and Europe and Japan are now being left behind in electric vehicle technology. The US is still in love with fossil fuels, Europe wasted a lot of effort on diesel and cheating, and Japan bet heavily on hybrids. China is building a lot of EVs, building massive battery factories, patenting EV tech like crazy and building up supply lines.
European manufacturers are starting to import Chinese EV technology for their own cars. Japanese companies are scrambling to pivot towards EVs, realizing that they won't be selling many gearboxes in 10-15 years. And the US market just seems to be waiting to see how Tesla and GM do and hoping that fossil cars remain the thing for now.
At the moment trade barriers keep Chinese vehicles from flooding Western markets, but eventually they will just do what everyone else does and open factories in Europe and the US.
Something changed in the UK and probably elsewhere. Back in the 1930s we built a nationwide electricity grid. Big ugly pylons all over the place. Before that we built a nationwide rail network, and after that we built motorways all over the place.
There were protests but the will to get those things built for the benefit of the nation was there. Now we have an opportunity to build infrastructure that is clean and benefits everyone and that few people would object to, but the will is lacking.
I guess it depends how you define "worth".
Clearly some people are more suited to a particular task than others, due to a variety of factors. On the other hand, everyone is worthy of having their human rights respected.
I also think trying to measure a person with a single number like IQ is both deeply flawed and undesirable from a social point of view because we all benefit from everyone having opportunities to reach their potential.
I find it quite ironic that a lot of the people demanding a pure meritocracy also claim to want a diverse set of opinions and voices, a free marketplace of ideas. It seems like what they mean is they want people with their preferred and somewhat arbitrary measure of worthiness to have a voice and everyone else should just listen because their simple minds can't possibly contribute anything worthwhile. Carl Benjamin is a great example of this, the guy claims to be a rational thinker but will dismiss you if he thinks your skull measurements are inadequate.
Vote. Vote for people who will join the Paris agreement, who will enact legislation that reduces emissions on a national level.
In fact the whole world is nearing the ideal stable or even slightly decreasing fertility rate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
We fixed this already. Education by charities and governments works. The only reason that population is still increasing is that people are living longer.
Now we just need to concentrate on things like clean energy and sustainable farming.
Are you really saying that starting a war with a tweet is now the best option?
The war games and aggressive stance have been tried for just as long. When do we say that has failed?
We need to do one at a time. They are working against each other. The diplomacy is the only thing that de-escalated and prevented war so far. And it's had other successes, like progress on the kidnappings. The joint economic area is another example.
NK can't do anything about their border. They know that. Their motivation at the moment is MAD with the US and making the most of the opportunity Trump presents.
Be presidential about it. Avoid pretty insults and idle threats. Stop the antagonistic war games with South Korea. Stick with the sanctions and food aid. Work with China.
Yes, it's frustrating that more cannot be done. But at least that route does not lead to a catastrophic war. North Korea can be talked to, is open to diplomacy. When it's tried it works, it just doesn't get tired enough.
The other really nice thing about this laptop is that there are mouse buttons above the touchpad.
The main down side is the insane price tag, but at least you can expect it to last a good few years and be upgradable.
The IBM L40 SX laptop had a rather good keyboard too. Lots of travel, really nice feel, but also compact. Would have been a similar era.
They are nice, but these days I prefer Cherry MX mechanical keys. They have a choice of how much resistance and how much noise they make.
The older ones we had used CF cards instead of mechanical HDDs. The newer ones are SSDs.
I go through London regularly. You had to dodge the degrading nudie scanners but the security is nothing like the US. Didn't even have to take my shoes off last time.
Okay, but how do I write < if it gets converted to a < ???
Some of the domestic terrorists in the UK have been highly educated, up to medical doctor level.
It's not about intelligence, it's about radicalization. It's easier to understand if you think about non-religiously motivated terrorists and criminals, the ones who mow down "leftist" protesters in their car, the ones who shoot up a school because girls won't date them. Over a long period of time their world-view has been distorted to the point where they think their actions are rational and correct, or alternatively that even if they are wrong at least they are part of something bigger than their dull, prospectless life.