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User: mugnyte

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  1. Re:dev adv ftw on South Carolina Education Committee Removes Evolution From Standards · · Score: 1

    So you disagree that genetic changes over a long time can result in an incompatible species from another divergent ancestral line, yet remain internally viable? Seems like a quite arbitrary limitation, given that mutations can result in non-viable populations in as short as one generation.

  2. Re:Your point of view means nothing. on South Carolina Education Committee Removes Evolution From Standards · · Score: 1

    Some meat for under the bridge: How would you expect science to investigate this?

    If all the mechanisms for this evolutionary process exist on Earth, and have been observed in the short-term and have evidence over the long-term - why inject any other mechanism that arrives without any evidence? Also, why stop at any one fantasy? If you use the same evidence to construct one fantastical story, why not invent a story of any fancy that simply retrofits to the evidence we're finding? In summary, all claims that cannot differentiate themselves from boundless fantasy must all be grouped together: Creative perhaps, but not a model we can claim to be true. This is why certain models in science are possible, but not yet accepted universally - Scientists disagree if such a hypothesis is able to make a prediction - String Theory comes to mind. String Theory's mathematics can be shown to explain many of our forces and concepts in physics, but it hasn't been yet able to make a unique prediction that's be provably true to be due only from String Theory. The best thing going for it is that there isn't yet a viable competitor at that level of model.

  3. Comments Are The Content on Slashdot Tries Something New; Audience Responds! · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Subject is rule #1.
    Don't put anything in the way of that.

    "Shareable by a wider audience" is too vague. What is difficult with the current design?

  4. BETA discussion on HTML5 App For Panasonic TVs Rejected - JQuery Is a "Hack" · · Score: 4, Informative
  5. BETA Discussion on NASA Pondering Two Public Contests To Build Small Space Exploration Satellites · · Score: 1
  6. Beta discussion on Build an Open-Source Electric Car In About One Hour · · Score: 1
  7. Re:Beta is terrible! on HTML5 App For Panasonic TVs Rejected - JQuery Is a "Hack" · · Score: 0

    Certainly not without a true suggestion for alternatives, or writing like "userpage interfact".

    Take some pics, circle the offenses, suggest an alternative pictorially. Ya know, like what real designers do when they want to improve a product.

    If you say "I like it just the way it is" - realize that not everyone may agree, and you aren't in charge. Do you write these letters to all the sites you visit?

  8. Re:Beta sucks! on Designer Seeds Thought To Be Latest Target By Chinese · · Score: 2

    There is FUtility in spamming the news until you get your way.

    The usual Beta-feedback page will be posted a few times, and mods will happen. If you don't like it after that, who are you blaming? We've been here so many times...

  9. Re:Boycott on HTML5 App For Panasonic TVs Rejected - JQuery Is a "Hack" · · Score: 0

    Well you didn't actually discuss the Beta, now did you?
    I just clicked over. Yes, it's different. Not sure I like it, but I'd like to have that discussion on what specifically is bad, in your opinion.

    We've been through this before, see... this isn't the first restyling of the ./ site. And we've watched as folks stomped their feet in protest but had little to suggest. Get constructive.

  10. Re:Not worthless on Watch Bill Nye and Ken Ham Clash Over Creationism Live · · Score: 1

    Learning is a journey - and if a Christian child is exposed to this debate, they may be guided to thinking one way, but over time the topic of "there's debate" will continue. Let them research over their lives to find the truth. Curiosity can only help. If the truth doesn't win, that itself is a good way to see that it needs a clearer presentation, or may not be so true.

  11. Re:Not worthless on Watch Bill Nye and Ken Ham Clash Over Creationism Live · · Score: 1

    Posted AC, of course.
    The same thing happens to a creationist here as in any intellectual discussion - they are asked to provide a non-scriptural model that fits the evidence. I am curious why Christians even care how species differentiate over time. By all means, if your thesis can stand any critique, it should be proposed.

  12. Not worthless on Watch Bill Nye and Ken Ham Clash Over Creationism Live · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nye isn't stupid, he's thought about the implications of this debate. He's already talked about the promotion of the debate as a leveling effect of the two approaches, when really they are nowhere similar. (Creation Mythology and Scientific Inquiry).

    However, I think if Nye plays his cards right, he'll not fall into the trap of a tit-for-tat banter of each little Creationist pseudo-doubt. Instead, he'll address the general sociology of the subject: The Christian religion is just one of dozens of creation myths, popular in certain places of the world at this time in history. It simply cannot admit it is wrong, although it has been proven wrong many times and simply abandoned those historical issues (Copernicus onward, for just a few examples). Additionally, there are still the hangups in Christianity with gender (both women and gays) as lesser actors on the stage. Combined with the peculiar Politically-rightward stance in the US, defining their positions on the environment, poverty and interventionism - Christianity cannot explain many parts of the modern world well, let alone creation.

    Nye could also simply state that there are too many religions to include them all in an Origins class, and all of them arrive with only scriptural evidence that it's best left to a comparative-studies class on mythologies. Which is exactly where they are today.

    Also, if everyone started empirical scientific exploration over again (really, we do this all the time in teaching) - the same models would be arrived at - simply because the models fit the observations. They aren't dictated from any secret cabal, exactly opposite the Christian method. Nye can do this, as well as any of us. The evolutionary discrepancies Ham will blubber on about are not worth the time, but this entire use of one religion to define all things in the universe can easily be made to look silly.

  13. GPLv3 is less free on FSF's Richard Stallman Calls LLVM a 'Terrible Setback' · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    Fr

  14. zero-sum? on FSF's Richard Stallman Calls LLVM a 'Terrible Setback' · · Score: 3, Insightful

    RMS's philosophy assumes a zero-sum combative environment for software: "free and uncapitalizable" vs "open-source and capitlistic". He's consistent and clear, but this zero-sum assumption is false. Closed-source innovations have cross-bred with open many times, either via concept or actual code contributions. The ecosystem mingles every time any coder merges their closed-source ideas with open or vice-versa. Freedom in this case lives at the meta level that allows individuals AND a market to thrive. We're not going back to an age where all the drawers of tapes are unlocked for everyone at all times, but where the concepts embedded in the tapes' content crossbreed and multiply. Freedom has thus encompassed RMS's idea (after all, GPLv3 is not prohibited) and that of a market-based economy. His stance that assumes zero-sum reveals a clear dislike for the existance of the market, which perhaps arose from a time when digital commerce could not be envisioned. However, digital-goods are indeed a very large market and that work to create such goods will come from anywhere, free, paid, donated and even (regrettably) stolen. It mirrors the real world, as it should.

  15. Why these programs were built on Former CIA/NSA Head: NSA Is "Infinitely" Weaker As a Result of Snowden's Leaks · · Score: 1

    Ostensibly, the NSA's recording and then subsequent unpacking of all communications is to help prevent terrorist attacks. If they never reveal how these helped, truthfully not helping any investigation, or just to avoid showing their hand to suspected terrorists in a courtroom - the same paradox arises: The "terrorists" are part of the population that demands freedom from tracking. In other word, they are hiding among the populace.

    The question we may all want to face is if a terrorist bomb takes out a bus with our family on it, would any amount of NSA tracking be acceptable? If the attack was instead thwarted via a program that was never, ever revealed (officers just magically knew about a plot), we'd be exactly in the current situation. So I find it difficult to accept that I know the truth about this situation still.

    I don't trust the NSA - not so much about the snooping on general citizens, but that their program won't be used to find critical journalists, political opponents, budgetary critics, and perform a scientology-style smearing of their character. If they detect a bunch of would-be terrorists via web usage, TOR hacks, phone snooping, I would have to just go along with it: so far, no representative or candidate of my district is ready to stop any of these programs, although I've writen them about how we can put checks and balances into the programs.

    If theoretically the NSA could know about *everything, everywhere* - would this be beyond some personal limit? What is the limit of what a police program should track about the citizenry?

  16. Re:The Group of 4? on The Software Inferno · · Score: 4, Insightful

    While I don't completely disagree with you, "good code" seems to imply a judgement based on some values. In enterprise systems, the transferability, maintainability and self-documenting concepts in code can play as much a role as footprint, security and speed. Not all systems are dancing on the edge of "too big" or "too slow" - they are closer to failure because of "poorly defined", "too fragile" and/or "too esoteric".
    A company may want to keep modules in plainspeak, well-documented and slower .NET componentized form because they burn through developers every 2 years, like the industry avg. If your job stops as "stable and secure" you may not really be contributing to a software system portfolio like a large company needs.

  17. A bit obtuse on The Software Inferno · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's entertaining, typically weird article from Bell. They're a bit snarky but somewhat long-winded - his penchant to build classifications of things overrides any real deep-dive into what he's talking about. And his daughter appears in every article, I'm surprised there isn't a "17 types of annoying child" article yet.

    His other complaints: UML, XML, Agile misuse/overuse - each with an article, blog post that has invented classifications.
    Where's the one on "taxonomy joke" overuse?

  18. Re:"Discovered" would be more appropriate on Polynesians May Have Invented Binary Math · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's called thumb's-complement - still in IEEE committee, but quite handy.

  19. Re:About time on Judge: NSA Phone Program Likely Unconstitutional · · Score: 3

    While I don't (yet) believe the NSA is blackmailing the rest of the government to obey its wishes, I don't think they are "going to be stopped" in any meaningful way. Instead, I think we're going to pick ever-more-hair-splitting rules for technology's use in policing. The reason effect is that they'll just go underground for a bit.

  20. Re:I say on Judge: NSA Phone Program Likely Unconstitutional · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because not knowing that everything you do is traced is safer than knowing? He broke the law because the US government is lying to its citizens. Is the government completely immune to breaking the law? Should Watergate have only been about two rogue reporters?

  21. What is the Limit on Judge: NSA Phone Program Likely Unconstitutional · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If not this phase of technology used for National Security, there will be some other. In any case, what level of technology use by the government is safe or allowed? I suspect this issue/case is just one of a myriad of ongoing decisions to balance the use of technology for crime/safety while letting everyone (at least) feel like their privacy is respected.

    [it doesn't take much to envision a stability to just-appearing technology so that they become applicable in many potentially intrusive ways...drones hovering above public places using instant facial recognition to identify any person-of-interest, without need to publish why interest arose...infra-red cameras on streetlights to track who is in each home and when...ubiquitous vehicle-tracking, engine-disabling technology to capture any suspect in a vehicle...100% person-presence tracking]

    The technology is going to be everywhere, and it's understanding by the general populace is shrinking. The technocrats will provide the tools for the aristocrats and both will try to balance between appeasement and revolution by the rest of society. Choosing to avoid technology now will only handicap you. Some as-yet-unknown sci-fi authors will be heralded as prophets.

  22. Re:silver bullet on Why Reactive Programming For Databases Is Awesome · · Score: 1

    Everyone knows the last vampire was killed off by a teenage film series.

  23. Re:It's a doomed race against time on Get Ready For a Streaming Music Die-Off · · Score: 1

    I'm just teasing you. Play with Reaper. You'll be rewarded for the time spent.

  24. Re:It's a doomed race against time on Get Ready For a Streaming Music Die-Off · · Score: 5, Funny

    The FOSS auto-tune alternative has been around a long time. It's called "practice"

  25. Quaint on Add USB LED Notifications To Your PC With Just a Bit of Soldering (Video) · · Score: 3, Funny

    Next up, a circuit to ring a bell when someone calls your phone.