It's too bad they butchered Gold's story. When you see his work in more academic terms it's got some good stuff. His remarks in the article were heavily fluffed for the mass market.
Gold has a sharp mind, and understands scientific method. His biggest problem is that he tends to be a bit extreme. When he comes up with a viable alternative to existing theories he almost invariably presents his as the one and only answer. None of this multiple-processes-at-work hooey for him. It's Gold's way or the highway.
BTW the '12 tons of oil' in Sweden sounds like a bunch, but they used several times that much diesel just drilling the well.
I'm pretty sure it was Ben Franklin who made a big deal about education at the start of this country. His position was that democracy and trial-by-jury only work when the populace is properly educated.
Obviously, a lot of people aren't learning the things they really need to.
Christian religion itself discourages independant thought. Christianity tells one what to think, what to do, even what to love.
Nice job of stereotyping. Kind of like saying that all computer users are geeks out to kill everyone. It's always good to research before you spout off.
True, there are many Christian demoninations that do exactly what you say - I briefly was a member of one. But, there are also several that specifically encourage independent thought in both religious and secular matters. We just don't get in the news a lot (there's a connection here).
It's a shame that the proverbial 'bad apples' have spoiled the image of a large group of people who work very hard to make the world a better and more tolerant place.
BTW if you'll check the reference (Bible), Jesus was crucified for being an independent thinker.
I hand my VISA card and signature to underpaid kids in the mall so that security's already shot. I really hope no one gets hold of my/. profile though. That would be disastrous.
I didn't forget it. 1) If time doesn't exist then the problem doesn't exist either. There is just the discrete set of matter and energy that is right now. 2) If time does exist (it doesn't) then the infinite amount of matter makes conservation really easy - the amount can never change. BTW: Energy is also imaginary. It's only required if you are forced to push matter around in time.
I haven't believed in time as something real in ages (no pun intended). Actually, I first got the idea watching an episode of DS9 where the subject was raised by some alien. At most, I would accept the idea that time is a consumable - once you use it, it's gone. No going back to check on it later or jumping ahead to see how it's progressing. Kind of a bummer from the time-travel perspective, but it really sorts out some tough issues.
Consider this. If both past and future time exist and the objects that existed in that time also exist in those times then every moving particle in the universe is essentially a string of matter extending across time. Meaning that there would be an infinite amount of matter spread across the so-called space-time continuum. Now that's an ugly situation.
Who cares about intense pressure? All you need is a giant scoop thousands of miles long made entirely of diamond. Then you can just reach in and... Never mind.
How about TRYFAHO (The Rights You Fantasize About Having Online). My dad always said that "Your rights only extend to the point where they interfere with someone elses". I thought that sounded pretty reasonable. Lately, though, I've come to the conclusion that my rights only extend as far as I'm able to enforce them. It's not a pretty view of society, but it seems to fit more often.
"Conserving bandwidth by not having a sig" Oops, I guess that didn't work.
Try to get hold of a book called "Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition". It's an excellent compilation that spans everything from giant spaceships to nano-nanites with side trips through cyrogenics and body-free existence. I found a copy at a dollar store once. Outstanding read on the possibilities for our future.
Ok, I've already got negative Karma from one of the 2 or 3 times I posted in the past so I might as well chime in here: >...what to do about trolls... Just like anything >else that's bad in life, it'd be hard to be sure >to be rid of them without hurting ourselves as >well.
What you're implying here is that "trolls" are intrinsically bad, and that moderators really know what a troll is. I think that we are guaranteed to hurt ourselves if we try too hard to eliminate the trolls.
If someone says something that the moderators don't like then they become a troll regardless of whether there is any validity to the posting (I think this might be true in my case, but I could be wrong).
I work with kids in a program where we accept that any comment - however stupid or boorish - can be the catalyst that starts a creative train of thought. I just hope we don't miss something really good because of the troll barriers.
'I used to have a really cool sig that went here, but I can't seem it keep it working.'
It's already proved that thousands of people working together with lots of computers can crack into my encrypted document only a few months after it ceases to be relevant. WOW! Of course, that assumes the original message wasn't coded.
Don't you wish you knew the real message hidden in this posting? 151526267
Of course I'm a hypocrite! I even know how to spell it. What where you thinking?
And, thanks for caring. I have no doubt that some very seriously interested people are using fast machines. It's also clear that some people with a lot of horsepower are in a big race to see who can do the most.
Insane speed doesn't really buy much in this case. The SETI project can only collect data during a limited time each year. At the current rate it will be used up a long time before the next session. In the meantime, the handful of people on the other end have to deal with all the stuff that comes back. The client is just doing the front-end work. Any interesting signals have to be handled individually. If all the homework gets done this week then most of the good stuff will just sit around waiting for someone to look at it.
On the other hand, if they were able to do some more programming to expand the search using the available data we might have a different story.
No problem. The SETI@Home FAQ says that a chunk gets redistributed if it doesn't show up after a while. I expect someone else finished mine a long time ago.
How did "as fast as possible" ever get to be such a good thing. I figure my machine might crank out 3 or 4 chunks during the life of the project. It would just be nice to think that maybe they weren't just duplicates of someone else's work. Use the fast 3d machines for Quake or raytracing like they were intended.
Hey! Get all your freakin monster machines out of the project. It's not a competetion. I have a crappy little Cyrix P200 running in screen saver mode a few hours a day. I'm still working on my first block - which all of you power hogs have undoubtedly reworked 3 or 4 times by now. Give us little guys who are actually interested in the SETI project a chance to really participate.
Of course, there are Minstorms and Duplo which are two of the various Legos in much the same way that volcanic and coral are two of the various sands of the world.
On the other hand, I can have many Lego bricks or many sand grains.
This plan would do wonders for geeks. Everyone already knows we're losers and potential murderers. Let's now show them that we're perverts who sneak children into obscene films. Hey, that bit with the copyright infringement will reallly help the cause, too.
I always wondered who this Katz guy was. Now I realize that he's just some 12 year old who wants someone to let him in to see naked ladies on the big screen.
As fast as news travels these days it'll be interesting to see if this backlashes on Compaq. They don't really need to alienate consumers with a bully image right now.
Am I supposed to be doing something with my home PC besides playing games? Can you actually do usefull work with one of these (not counting the naked lady downloads)?
Slashdot Mirror
It's too bad they butchered Gold's story. When you see his work in more academic terms it's got some good stuff. His remarks in the article were heavily fluffed for the mass market.
Gold has a sharp mind, and understands scientific method. His biggest problem is that he tends to be a bit extreme. When he comes up with a viable alternative to existing theories he almost invariably presents his as the one and only answer. None of this multiple-processes-at-work hooey for him. It's Gold's way or the highway.
BTW the '12 tons of oil' in Sweden sounds like a bunch, but they used several times that much diesel just drilling the well.
I'm pretty sure it was Ben Franklin who made a big deal about education at the start of this country. His position was that democracy and trial-by-jury only work when the populace is properly educated.
Obviously, a lot of people aren't learning the things they really need to.
Christian religion itself discourages independant thought. Christianity tells one what to think, what to do, even what to love.
Nice job of stereotyping. Kind of like saying that all computer users are geeks out to kill everyone. It's always good to research before you spout off.
True, there are many Christian demoninations that do exactly what you say - I briefly was a member of one. But, there are also several that specifically encourage independent thought in both religious and secular matters. We just don't get in the news a lot (there's a connection here).
It's a shame that the proverbial 'bad apples' have spoiled the image of a large group of people who work very hard to make the world a better and more tolerant place.
BTW if you'll check the reference (Bible), Jesus was crucified for being an independent thinker.
I hand my VISA card and signature to underpaid kids in the mall so that security's already shot. I really hope no one gets hold of my /. profile though. That would be disastrous.
"How's this for a compelling sig?"
>>Meaning that there would be an infinite amount of matter spread across the so-called space-time continuum. Now that's an ugly situation.
>Only if the universe is infinite.
Or if time is infinite.
I didn't forget it.
1) If time doesn't exist then the problem doesn't exist either. There is just the discrete set of matter and energy that is right now.
2) If time does exist (it doesn't) then the infinite amount of matter makes conservation really easy - the amount can never change.
BTW: Energy is also imaginary. It's only required if you are forced to push matter around in time.
I haven't believed in time as something real in ages (no pun intended). Actually, I first got the idea watching an episode of DS9 where the subject was raised by some alien. At most, I would accept the idea that time is a consumable - once you use it, it's gone. No going back to check on it later or jumping ahead to see how it's progressing. Kind of a bummer from the time-travel perspective, but it really sorts out some tough issues.
Consider this. If both past and future time exist and the objects that existed in that time also exist in those times then every moving particle in the universe is essentially a string of matter extending across time. Meaning that there would be an infinite amount of matter spread across the so-called space-time continuum. Now that's an ugly situation.
Who cares about intense pressure? All you need is a giant scoop thousands of miles long made entirely of diamond. Then you can just reach in and...
Never mind.
How about TRYFAHO (The Rights You Fantasize About Having Online).
My dad always said that "Your rights only extend to the point where they interfere with someone elses". I thought that sounded pretty reasonable. Lately, though, I've come to the conclusion that my rights only extend as far as I'm able to enforce them. It's not a pretty view of society, but it seems to fit more often.
"Conserving bandwidth by not having a sig"
Oops, I guess that didn't work.
Try to get hold of a book called "Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition". It's an excellent compilation that spans everything from giant spaceships to nano-nanites with side trips through cyrogenics and body-free existence. I found a copy at a dollar store once. Outstanding read on the possibilities for our future.
Ok, I've already got negative Karma from one of the 2 or 3 times I posted in the past so I might as well chime in here:
>...what to do about trolls... Just like anything >else that's bad in life, it'd be hard to be sure >to be rid of them without hurting ourselves as >well.
What you're implying here is that "trolls" are intrinsically bad, and that moderators really know what a troll is. I think that we are guaranteed to hurt ourselves if we try too hard to eliminate the trolls.
If someone says something that the moderators don't like then they become a troll regardless of whether there is any validity to the posting (I think this might be true in my case, but I could be wrong).
I work with kids in a program where we accept that any comment - however stupid or boorish - can be the catalyst that starts a creative train of thought. I just hope we don't miss something really good because of the troll barriers.
'I used to have a really cool sig that went here, but I can't seem it keep it working.'
Hey, RC5 is really useful!
It's already proved that thousands of people working together with lots of computers can crack into my encrypted document only a few months after it ceases to be relevant. WOW! Of course, that assumes the original message wasn't coded.
Don't you wish you knew the real message hidden in this posting?
151526267
Of course I'm a hypocrite! I even know how to spell it. What where you thinking?
And, thanks for caring. I have no doubt that some very seriously interested people are using fast machines. It's also clear that some people with a lot of horsepower are in a big race to see who can do the most.
Insane speed doesn't really buy much in this case. The SETI project can only collect data during a limited time each year. At the current rate it will be used up a long time before the next session. In the meantime, the handful of people on the other end have to deal with all the stuff that comes back. The client is just doing the front-end work. Any interesting signals have to be handled individually. If all the homework gets done this week then most of the good stuff will just sit around waiting for someone to look at it.
On the other hand, if they were able to do some more programming to expand the search using the available data we might have a different story.
No problem. The SETI@Home FAQ says that a chunk gets redistributed if it doesn't show up after a while. I expect someone else finished mine a long time ago.
How did "as fast as possible" ever get to be such a good thing.
I figure my machine might crank out 3 or 4 chunks during the life of the project. It would just be nice to think that maybe they weren't just duplicates of someone else's work.
Use the fast 3d machines for Quake or raytracing like they were intended.
Hey! Get all your freakin monster machines out of the project. It's not a competetion.
I have a crappy little Cyrix P200 running in screen saver mode a few hours a day. I'm still working on my first block - which all of you power hogs have undoubtedly reworked 3 or 4 times by now.
Give us little guys who are actually interested in the SETI project a chance to really participate.
Of course, there are Minstorms and Duplo which are two of the various Legos in much the same way that volcanic and coral are two of the various sands of the world.
On the other hand, I can have many Lego bricks or many sand grains.
I'm not sure how the sands of time fit in here.
Anybody got 200 bucks to spare?
This plan would do wonders for geeks. Everyone already knows we're losers and potential murderers. Let's now show them that we're perverts who sneak children into obscene films. Hey, that bit with the copyright infringement will reallly help the cause, too.
I always wondered who this Katz guy was. Now I realize that he's just some 12 year old who wants someone to let him in to see naked ladies on the big screen.
As fast as news travels these days it'll be interesting to see if this backlashes on Compaq. They don't really need to alienate consumers with a bully image right now.
Am I supposed to be doing something with my home PC besides playing games? Can you actually do usefull work with one of these (not counting the naked lady downloads)?
Lets see - 7/18 an article about JSetiTracker shows up on Slashdot - 7/19 a fake Linus spam shows up. Possible connection?
So is SlashDot and the rest of the Internet, but here we are. Then there's Quake, C++, Linux, the signals shooting through our neurons as we sleep...
If they will only stay running for a few minutes then it sounds like the perfect platform for Windows.
Hey! I still have my Ventura 1.0 floppies! And the 12lb book that explained how to use it.
The future is looking bright.