it's good when you volunteer to donate to slashdot. support the cause (IMHO there are better causes to donate to)
but if an accessible slashdot means i have to pay for it (if changes progress along this line), it's the death of a unique, open, and free online community.
just a minor point: it is possible that the traits you mention could penalize later generations.
finding food with lots of competition might sharpen your skills in finding rare food, since the most accessible food sources are depleted by the huge amount of infertile flies. this might even induce suboptimal feeding behaviour in next generations of [the fertile] flies.
finding fertile partners will surely not enhance chances of survival. how can flies discriminate between infertilized and fertile partners? the infertiles have been treated just prior to release in nature, so they are bound to be hardly different from "normal" flies with respect to morphology. i find it difficult to envision the "partner finding factor" playing a significant role in the process.
actually, the reason i reacted to the prior post was the incorrect assumption about the functioning of natural selection. darwinian selection is the most misunderstood scientific theory [in biology], i just wanted to add some nuance.
probably the effect of this approach is sheer competition: if you add enough infertiles, the chances are less than zero that a fertile fly will reproduce, although it is more fit to survive in reality. this has hardly anything to do with natural selection IMHO
PS. we could discuss the anemia example further, but would it suffice when i say that 30 is old enough to reproduce?:-p
well the problem might be that this is a gliding scale
when/. started, it was unthinkable that there would ever be corporate involvement. i remember a lot of people complaining about slashdot being bought by andover (IIRC). i hear no-one about this anymore.
next they start asking fees to watch/. without ads. okay, it's an option, but the ads shouldn't become an annoyance then. it's been 1 banner max since the first time a banner showed up at/., and i think that's a Good Thing. the way things are now, prolly no-one will pay 5 bucks just to see that one banner add disappear.
let's hope it stays like this. a further step might be that some marketeer decides that the "paysite" is not bringing in enough money because the service hardly differs. in this (worst case) scenario,/. is going to provide extra services for the paying customers, and extra banner ads for the non-paying visitors.
let's hope this never happens and that i'm just too paranoid. still, i think a site that often stands for freedom and openness, shouldn't discriminate users on financial criteria. but that's just IMHO
your reasoning assumes that the selective pressure creates flies that are better fit to survive in the non-restrictive world after the selective pressure has been applied. this is not true.it might even be that the trait the organism developes to survive harsh conditions, could be less-tan-optimal in normal conditions.
example: sickel cell anemia in humans renders them less sensitive to malaria, but also less fit (as in healthy) than the average person.
the devices themselves are passive, and have a short range, yes. but the computers that collect the data sent will be interconected, globally. for the sake of gaining better insight into the consumers' behaviour...yeah right!
We'll, that's not completely correct. The absence of the tag and the absence of underware means exactly the same. So in the case of "no signal", it could well be that you get all exited over nothing in a lot of the cases... which is prolly true (in your case) already, given the choice of your example:-P
Find tag, destroy tag will be made illegal. Maybe you'll still disobey the law and destroy the tag, but others will find that unacceptable or are afraid of the consequences (and rightfully so).
But even if removing the tag won't be illegal, what if the absence of a tag means that they will have to search your bags at the airport terminal, whereas the presence of a tag means that they'll let you pass through without a problem?
If these automated ID solutions make life easier for people, there will be few who refuse to use them. Especially when there's a government that will say on TV "people use the tag, they'll help us beat the terrorists!" That government is probably right, but at what cost?
The idea of improving "SCOTS" is fine, but it should always remain an option. New technology very often is introduced as an option, and after a while all the other options are slowly becoming unavailable.
"If you don't like it our way, go shop somewhere else", is an often heard argument, but what if there are no alternatives? Isn't it a fundamental right of every person to remain anonymous, untracked, etc if he/she wants to?
Security is a great thing, and I can see several recent reasons why people are thinking of ways to track goods and people. However, it should never be at the cost of ones privacy. Ever. Period.
So while the developers of this system probably won't "secretly chortle" over the possible implications this could have for peoples' privacy, there are bound to be orthers who will use that functionality when it's there.
Your idea that these stores refer to people wearing aluminum-lined bags & clothes as shoplifters is not based on fact.
Obviously, the amount of shoplifters that get caught by "anti-shoplifting devices" is much higher than the amount caught because security personell sees them stealing goods. Therefore, it's more likely that they caught some people shoplifting (security personell), and subsequently found that they used aluminum to bypass the passive security (the gates at the exit).
Combine both facts and there you have it: most shoplifters that use aluminum shielding don't get caught, and there's nothing they can do about it.
Security is an arms race, and I'm not a big fan of solving this problem with repressive laws. I can see why you're worried though, but I think this time there are no reasons to be suspicious.
And BTW: just imagine walking through a store wearing your tin foil hat (to protect you from alien influences, etc) would be enough reason to get you arrested. Now we can't have that, can we?;-)
I assume you know *everything* about what it's like to live in a 3rd world country?
If so, I stand corrected, and I do hope you are right -> about the lunch part I mean. They can eat it with me, though.
Still, I think it will take more than stopping random bombings on the "axes of evil" (or whatever) to turn around opportunities for 3rd world countries. Stopping bombings would be a good start, though...
Anyway, there is no need to start patronizing (spellcheck?) me, since you seem to automatically assume that I'm one of those "spoiled little whiners who insist eve... etc etc". Or am I this time over-interpreting *your* words?
Relax man, I was trying to make a point and I can swallow my pride when I've been incorrect... One can't be *right* all the time, are you?
anyways: CDROM & DeadTree version together would be nice... It looks more interesting when you're reading a >1kpage book in the train on your way to work...okay that's sick I know.
I know, I know, but (I quote) "Emacs (NoX), Links, Mutt, BitchX, and even Licq with the the text-mode plugin" is not so easy to handle for Joe Average. I can imagine that the majority of the population of a 3rd world country is not so tech-minded/educated as the average/. reader. Then again, it could be a good testcase for the "Windows is easy to use because you are used to using it" hypothesis.;-)
What I did mean is that if you want something similar to Windows on a "low end" machine, you don't have any alternatives for the easy-to-use Windows (MS) applications.
Again: Win98+Office+IE runs much faster than a *similar* Linux desktop on "low end" hardware.
And, eh, ask the average computer user whether they prefer Links over any graphical browser. I seriously doubt that they do...
[sarcasm]
oooh, and then a modern day linux system is a good alternative...
[/sarcasm]
try running kde/gnome/mozilla/staroffice on an old machine with limited memory
to be honest, i suddenly got really enthousiastic about linux desktop solutions when my P200 died and i bought myself an athlon900 with loads of memory
I can see the need for a very restrictive license like the GPL. It's "viral nature" is the only bat that can be used to hit at corporate entities that try to embrace &...
Phew.... a good thing that the thing performs as well as you claim it does...
[quote]
while Rik restricted himself to question whether the standard Linux kernel would ever even finish a stress test
[/quote]
Of course I'm far from serious with this remark, I'm glad to see a Dutchman "die graag zijn kop boven het maaiveld uitsteekt" (let's see how google translates that;-).
PS. Actually, this is a test to verify whether our average/. moderator has the sense of humor not to moderate me into oblivion.:-P
A sequence is *not* the same as an idea about what the application of such a sequence could be.
The difference between the two is hard work and (hopefully) innovative ideas. For example: a gene can have multiple functions in an organism. These functions could be related, but not neccesarily. When one could patent a gene, this would mean that one would patent all possible future applications of such a gene, including those unforseen at the moment one function of the gene was discovered. When one would patent a possible application of a gene, other means of making money from the DNA sequence would be possible, and wouldn't be locked out by some big pharmaceutical companies who "bought" the gene.
Lots of more small fish for everyone all of the sudden, which is something big companies will always try to prevent from happening.
My personal idea about this is that patented genes should never be allowed and all genetic information should be in the public domain. Free flow of information will always be more productive than locking up information for years, waiting for it to become slightly usefull. But it seems that things don't work this way... unfortunately.
Regarding the 2nd part of your comment (protecting ideas vs.objects), I'll repeat myself:
McDonalds, Pepsi, Nike, etc rule the world already. Political effects are generated by big comapnies that know how to lobby and very effectively expand their influence by indeed focussing on "protecting the manifest object rather than the intangiable idea".
Wake up and don't let this happen to genetic research, if you're at al worried about the influence genetics will have on your everyday life.
Slashdot Mirror
i cannot disagree, since time travel does not exist yet ;^)
time will tell whether this was avalid approach. it's better than just letting the fertile flies have their way, i'd say
it's good when you volunteer to donate to slashdot. support the cause (IMHO there are better causes to donate to)
but if an accessible slashdot means i have to pay for it (if changes progress along this line), it's the death of a unique, open, and free online community.
yep, you're right.
:-p
just a minor point: it is possible that the traits you mention could penalize later generations.
finding food with lots of competition might sharpen your skills in finding rare food, since the most accessible food sources are depleted by the huge amount of infertile flies. this might even induce suboptimal feeding behaviour in next generations of [the fertile] flies.
finding fertile partners will surely not enhance chances of survival. how can flies discriminate between infertilized and fertile partners? the infertiles have been treated just prior to release in nature, so they are bound to be hardly different from "normal" flies with respect to morphology. i find it difficult to envision the "partner finding factor" playing a significant role in the process.
actually, the reason i reacted to the prior post was the incorrect assumption about the functioning of natural selection. darwinian selection is the most misunderstood scientific theory [in biology], i just wanted to add some nuance.
probably the effect of this approach is sheer competition: if you add enough infertiles, the chances are less than zero that a fertile fly will reproduce, although it is more fit to survive in reality. this has hardly anything to do with natural selection IMHO
PS. we could discuss the anemia example further, but would it suffice when i say that 30 is old enough to reproduce?
well the problem might be that this is a gliding scale
/. started, it was unthinkable that there would ever be corporate involvement. i remember a lot of people complaining about slashdot being bought by andover (IIRC). i hear no-one about this anymore.
/. without ads. okay, it's an option, but the ads shouldn't become an annoyance then. it's been 1 banner max since the first time a banner showed up at /., and i think that's a Good Thing. the way things are now, prolly no-one will pay 5 bucks just to see that one banner add disappear.
/. is going to provide extra services for the paying customers, and extra banner ads for the non-paying visitors.
when
next they start asking fees to watch
let's hope it stays like this. a further step might be that some marketeer decides that the "paysite" is not bringing in enough money because the service hardly differs. in this (worst case) scenario,
let's hope this never happens and that i'm just too paranoid. still, i think a site that often stands for freedom and openness, shouldn't discriminate users on financial criteria. but that's just IMHO
not completely true.
your reasoning assumes that the selective pressure creates flies that are better fit to survive in the non-restrictive world after the selective pressure has been applied. this is not true.it might even be that the trait the organism developes to survive harsh conditions, could be less-tan-optimal in normal conditions.
example: sickel cell anemia in humans renders them less sensitive to malaria, but also less fit (as in healthy) than the average person.
seldom have i seen so much sarcasm dripping off a porting... or am i just imagining that ;-)
But you should fight to regain some privacy! It's a fundamental right of every human being.
Think twice before you surrender.
the devices themselves are passive, and have a short range, yes. but the computers that collect the data sent will be interconected, globally. for the sake of gaining better insight into the consumers' behaviour...yeah right!
now who's paranoid.
"Perhaps even whether she has on any at all."
:-P
We'll, that's not completely correct. The absence of the tag and the absence of underware means exactly the same. So in the case of "no signal", it could well be that you get all exited over nothing in a lot of the cases... which is prolly true (in your case) already, given the choice of your example
Find tag, destroy tag will be made illegal. Maybe you'll still disobey the law and destroy the tag, but others will find that unacceptable or are afraid of the consequences (and rightfully so).
But even if removing the tag won't be illegal, what if the absence of a tag means that they will have to search your bags at the airport terminal, whereas the presence of a tag means that they'll let you pass through without a problem?
If these automated ID solutions make life easier for people, there will be few who refuse to use them. Especially when there's a government that will say on TV "people use the tag, they'll help us beat the terrorists!" That government is probably right, but at what cost?
The idea of improving "SCOTS" is fine, but it should always remain an option. New technology very often is introduced as an option, and after a while all the other options are slowly becoming unavailable.
"If you don't like it our way, go shop somewhere else", is an often heard argument, but what if there are no alternatives? Isn't it a fundamental right of every person to remain anonymous, untracked, etc if he/she wants to?
Security is a great thing, and I can see several recent reasons why people are thinking of ways to track goods and people. However, it should never be at the cost of ones privacy. Ever. Period.
So while the developers of this system probably won't "secretly chortle" over the possible implications this could have for peoples' privacy, there are bound to be orthers who will use that functionality when it's there.
Your idea that these stores refer to people wearing aluminum-lined bags & clothes as shoplifters is not based on fact.
;-)
Obviously, the amount of shoplifters that get caught by "anti-shoplifting devices" is much higher than the amount caught because security personell sees them stealing goods. Therefore, it's more likely that they caught some people shoplifting (security personell), and subsequently found that they used aluminum to bypass the passive security (the gates at the exit).
Combine both facts and there you have it: most shoplifters that use aluminum shielding don't get caught, and there's nothing they can do about it.
Security is an arms race, and I'm not a big fan of solving this problem with repressive laws. I can see why you're worried though, but I think this time there are no reasons to be suspicious.
And BTW: just imagine walking through a store wearing your tin foil hat (to protect you from alien influences, etc) would be enough reason to get you arrested. Now we can't have that, can we?
I assume you know *everything* about what it's like to live in a 3rd world country?
If so, I stand corrected, and I do hope you are right -> about the lunch part I mean. They can eat it with me, though.
Still, I think it will take more than stopping random bombings on the "axes of evil" (or whatever) to turn around opportunities for 3rd world countries. Stopping bombings would be a good start, though...
Anyway, there is no need to start patronizing (spellcheck?) me, since you seem to automatically assume that I'm one of those "spoiled little whiners who insist eve... etc etc". Or am I this time over-interpreting *your* words?
Relax man, I was trying to make a point and I can swallow my pride when I've been incorrect... One can't be *right* all the time, are you?
stupid typos: 1st @ should be &
anyways: CDROM & DeadTree version together would be nice... It looks more interesting when you're reading a >1kpage book in the train on your way to work...okay that's sick I know.
something like the perl cookbook? (don't remember the publisher @ the book's @ work)
Incorrect analogy.
;-)
If Miguel were Icarus, he would be flying away from the Sun while approaching M$
it looks just like a telefunken U-47
:-)
This *must* be heaven for Applianthologists, they don't have to go back into the closet after all ;-)
/. ?)
Plus: they are German! A lot of the really cute ones are from there...
Aber beflecke nicht das sofa, sofa...
(This is a test: any Zappa fans on
I know, I know, but (I quote) "Emacs (NoX), Links, Mutt, BitchX, and even Licq with the the text-mode plugin" is not so easy to handle for Joe Average. I can imagine that the majority of the population of a 3rd world country is not so tech-minded/educated as the average /. reader. Then again, it could be a good testcase for the "Windows is easy to use because you are used to using it" hypothesis. ;-)
What I did mean is that if you want something similar to Windows on a "low end" machine, you don't have any alternatives for the easy-to-use Windows (MS) applications.
Again: Win98+Office+IE runs much faster than a *similar* Linux desktop on "low end" hardware.
And, eh, ask the average computer user whether they prefer Links over any graphical browser. I seriously doubt that they do...
[sarcasm] ...
:-P
oooh, and then a modern day linux system is a good alternative
[/sarcasm]
try running kde/gnome/mozilla/staroffice on an old machine with limited memory
to be honest, i suddenly got really enthousiastic about linux desktop solutions when my P200 died and i bought myself an athlon900 with loads of memory
negative speak of linux: there goes my karma
that would be an appropriate translation
:-P
(-1: Offtopic)
I can see the need for a very restrictive license like the GPL. It's "viral nature" is the only bat that can be used to hit at corporate entities that try to embrace & ...
Go RMS, extend your license!
(will it be troll, insightful, or clueless...)
Phew.... a good thing that the thing performs as well as you claim it does...
;-).
/. moderator has the sense of humor not to moderate me into oblivion. :-P
[quote]
while Rik restricted himself to question whether the standard Linux kernel would ever even finish a stress test
[/quote]
Of course I'm far from serious with this remark, I'm glad to see a Dutchman "die graag zijn kop boven het maaiveld uitsteekt" (let's see how google translates that
PS. Actually, this is a test to verify whether our average
If only there were options like (-1:Clueless), or perhaps (+1:Pretending). That would be an interesting intelligence test for your average /. reader ;-)
- 1:Overrated)(-1:Overrated)
This posts' moderations:
(+1, Funny)(-1:Overrated)(-1:Overrated)(-1:Overrated)(
Please note:
A sequence is *not* the same as an idea about what the application of such a sequence could be.
The difference between the two is hard work and (hopefully) innovative ideas. For example: a gene can have multiple functions in an organism. These functions could be related, but not neccesarily. When one could patent a gene, this would mean that one would patent all possible future applications of such a gene, including those unforseen at the moment one function of the gene was discovered. When one would patent a possible application of a gene, other means of making money from the DNA sequence would be possible, and wouldn't be locked out by some big pharmaceutical companies who "bought" the gene.
Lots of more small fish for everyone all of the sudden, which is something big companies will always try to prevent from happening.
My personal idea about this is that patented genes should never be allowed and all genetic information should be in the public domain. Free flow of information will always be more productive than locking up information for years, waiting for it to become slightly usefull. But it seems that things don't work this way... unfortunately.
Regarding the 2nd part of your comment (protecting ideas vs.objects), I'll repeat myself:
McDonalds, Pepsi, Nike, etc rule the world already. Political effects are generated by big comapnies that know how to lobby and very effectively expand their influence by indeed focussing on "protecting the manifest object rather than the intangiable idea".
Wake up and don't let this happen to genetic research, if you're at al worried about the influence genetics will have on your everyday life.