If nobody needs to be taught philosophy, and everyone has figured out all the "great thoughts" by age 12, then how do you explain the fact that people taking their first philosophy class invariably come up with the same bad arguments, which are painfully obvious to all the students who have already gone through the process?
There's more to philosophy than just applying labels. Learning more about logic, for example. Learning how to break an argument down, verifying the logic by which the conclusion is proved by the assumptions, and evaluating the assumptions.
I do agree that the Matrix, much as I enjoyed it, doesn't seem to have much stuff that an academic would consider "philosophical"...
They can take their philosophy, psychology, etc. courses and earn the degrees that will allow them to flip my burgers for the rest of their lives
Plenty of philosophy majors go on to work in the computer industry. Formal logic is obviously a key part of programming. Being able to view a problem from its various levels is also mighty helpful - how often do programmers get stuck viewing a problem on a code-based level, rather than on the level of the people they're working with (designers, writers, business people, etc.)
In short, neither I or my philosophy major friends will be flipping burgers for you, sir.
There is NO MORAL DIFFERENCE between murderring a bad man and murderring a good one.
Sure there is. A world with one less bad man is a better world; a world with one less good man is a worse world. Making the world a better place is a moral good; making the world a worse place is a moral bad.
That's not to say that the moral goodness involved in removing a bad man from the world is enough to counteract the moral badness involved in murdering someone, of course. But "NO MORAL DIFFERENCE" is a bit of an overstatement.
...at my place of work, and settled on mod_perl. Part of the decision was based on performance: our site will have a lot of other junk slowing things down, so the scripting language has to be as fast as is practical. The main reason, though, was the documentation available. In a few weeks of scouring the net and the bookstores for information about doing the sorts of things that we'll be doing, I was much happier with the quality and quantity available for mod_perl.
Dare we ask for a bit of professional knowledge? . . . Can we ask someone to actually spend some time learning something?
I hope this isn't a direct response to the question of the Linux menuconfig being "bloat" or not. Recompiling a kernel takes a bit of learning no matter how you do it; I'm not sure why using a curses-based interface would mean that the admin in question eschews "professional knowledge".
I understand why you're so shocked that mr. big-time analyst has a liberal arts background, but let's get to the root of the problem: the analyst of which you speak is making recommendations that aren't based on reliable data. Would he be a better analyst just because he had a 20-year track record of programming in assembler? Not if he hasn't done any configuration or administration tasks, or surveyed people who have!
Doesn't matter what the so-called analyst's background is, as long as he/she really does analyze the situation. Listening to the Microsoft PR dept. doesn't count, obviously. Neither does talking to CEOs about what works in their company - how would they know? Real analysis requires real data, whether through personal experience, or through conversation with people who have personal experience. Ideally, both.
If your liberal-arts analyst had actually talked to the people who administer NT and Linux boxes, then he would have a foundation to stand on. His commentary would probably be a little more intelligent, as well.
The very notion that anybody would have bought a Genesis puts an interesting light on the idea that American consumers will buy just about any junky thing so long as it has a good advertising campaign
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that the Genesis came out well before the SNES, so sega's competition was the original 8-bit NES. I certainly have fond memories of playing Altered Beast... does that really make me a typical American consumer who pays attention only to advertising?
Yes, a well thought-out argument, with a thesis, clear structure, and supporting evidence, would be a refreshing change from Katz and his ilk.
But that would involve doing some *gasp* planning and revising, which are much too square and boring for such a hip and clued-in character. Who has time to polish their logic, when worlds of distraction are only a click away?
I think killing the AOLusers is going too far. Why not just take their computers, give them typewriters, and tell them that they just got a free upgrade to the latest in laptop technology? "Doesn't even need to be plugged in! Built-in printer!" etc...
Played that on the ol' A500, and it blew my mind. The flipping pages in the intro... freedom to move around unrestricted... day/night/weather(? it's been a while?).
Depending on who you ask, of course. I just happened upon some discussion of this very topic in Stephen Gould's Wonderful Life. To summarize, yes, "decimate" did originally mean "kill one in ten" (of an army that failed to win, not necessarily a mutinous army), but modern usage has changed to the point that it means "kill lots of".
But I agree that the author's use of "decimate" doesn't read very well.
Sounds similar to my situation. I'm in my early 20s, working at a site with coders who average mid to late 30s. Some of them only know how to keep legacy mainframe applications wheezing away. Some of them use newer tools but still insist on bad olde coding practices, like littering their code with goto statements (like the guy sitting next to me).
But there are plenty who are really amazing - they've really been thinking about software design for 10-20 years, and they've run into most any problem that I can think of, and they know the needs of the businesses that buy our software.
People in the first category would have trouble finding work if they were laid off tomorrow (well, trouble finding good work). People in the second category should be able to write their own tickets.
Slashdot Mirror
Seems like he's just buying another 15 minutes of fame to me.
Or perhaps he was planning on making a significant donation already, and decided to make it more of an event?
People have certainly spend far more than $2500 on far less worthy causes.
Maybe they will use the time to clean up the code so that it will finally be worthy of our eyes?
If nobody needs to be taught philosophy, and everyone has figured out all the "great thoughts" by age 12, then how do you explain the fact that people taking their first philosophy class invariably come up with the same bad arguments, which are painfully obvious to all the students who have already gone through the process?
There's more to philosophy than just applying labels. Learning more about logic, for example.
Learning how to break an argument down, verifying the logic by which the conclusion is proved by the assumptions, and evaluating the assumptions.
I do agree that the Matrix, much as I enjoyed it, doesn't seem to have much stuff that an academic would consider "philosophical"...
They can take their philosophy, psychology, etc. courses and earn the degrees that will allow them to flip my burgers for the rest of their lives
Plenty of philosophy majors go on to work in the computer industry. Formal logic is obviously a key part of programming. Being able to view a problem from its various levels is also mighty helpful - how often do programmers get stuck viewing a problem on a code-based level, rather than on the level of the people they're working with (designers, writers, business people, etc.)
In short, neither I or my philosophy major friends will be flipping burgers for you, sir.
There is NO MORAL DIFFERENCE between murderring a bad man and murderring a good one.
Sure there is. A world with one less bad man is a better world; a world with one less good man is a worse world. Making the world a better place is a moral good; making the world a worse place is a moral bad.
That's not to say that the moral goodness involved in removing a bad man from the world is enough to counteract the moral badness involved in murdering someone, of course. But "NO MORAL DIFFERENCE" is a bit of an overstatement.
...at my place of work, and settled on mod_perl. Part of the decision was based on performance: our site will have a lot of other junk slowing things down, so the scripting language has to be as fast as is practical. The main reason, though, was the documentation available. In a few weeks of scouring the net and the bookstores for information about doing the sorts of things that we'll be doing, I was much happier with the quality and quantity available for mod_perl.
Dare we ask for a bit of professional knowledge? . . . Can we ask someone to actually spend some time learning something?
I hope this isn't a direct response to the question of the Linux menuconfig being "bloat" or not. Recompiling a kernel takes a bit of learning no matter how you do it; I'm not sure why using a curses-based interface would mean that the admin in question eschews "professional knowledge".
yes
Too bad it won't be this way for much longer... EDS is taking the shop over, and I'm out the door before the poopies start flying.
Right on, and the other thing to look for will be EDS junking as many unix boxes as possible, and replacing them with NT...
I understand why you're so shocked that mr. big-time analyst has a liberal arts background, but let's get to the root of the problem: the analyst of which you speak is making recommendations that aren't based on reliable data. Would he be a better analyst just because he had a 20-year track record of programming in assembler? Not if he hasn't done any configuration or administration tasks, or surveyed people who have!
Doesn't matter what the so-called analyst's background is, as long as he/she really does analyze the situation. Listening to the Microsoft PR dept. doesn't count, obviously. Neither does talking to CEOs about what works in their company - how would they know? Real analysis requires real data, whether through personal experience, or through conversation with people who have personal experience. Ideally, both.
If your liberal-arts analyst had actually talked to the people who administer NT and Linux boxes, then he would have a foundation to stand on. His commentary would probably be a little more intelligent, as well.
The very notion that anybody would have bought a Genesis puts an interesting light on the idea that American consumers will buy just about any junky thing so long as it has a good advertising campaign
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that the Genesis came out well before the SNES, so sega's competition was the original 8-bit NES. I certainly have fond memories of playing Altered Beast... does that really make me a typical American consumer who pays attention only to advertising?
Hey! that reminds me, I've been wondering if anyone knows whether or not young Annakin ever got Linux running on C3PO...
anyhow, my original intent was to agree that AG's policy of throwing fan letters in the trash is lame.
Why not recycle them?
Yes, a well thought-out argument, with a thesis, clear structure, and supporting evidence, would be a refreshing change from Katz and his ilk.
But that would involve doing some *gasp* planning and revising, which are much too square and boring for such a hip and clued-in character. Who has time to polish their logic, when worlds of distraction are only a click away?
Well, did you vomit?
(I realize a subject line isn't a web banner or tag, but it is disturbingly close to your post)
I think killing the AOLusers is going too far. Why not just take their computers, give them typewriters, and tell them that they just got a free upgrade to the latest in laptop technology? "Doesn't even need to be plugged in! Built-in printer!" etc...
After a company grows beyond a certain size, it gets increasingly tough to just "wing it"...
Maybe you mean something more sinister by "policies and procedures"?
What a great game!
Played that on the ol' A500, and it blew my mind. The flipping pages in the intro... freedom to move around unrestricted... day/night/weather(? it's been a while?).
in a serious international forum like Slashdot it's unprofessional
Who knew?
mmmm, coffee. I think I'll go get some right now.
(bad coffee unfortunately, I'm at work)
Surely CT wouldn't put together an effective AI program and then mess up the quoting module.
Unless they were purposefully included to make the effect more believable...
Depending on who you ask, of course. I just happened upon some discussion of this very topic in Stephen Gould's Wonderful Life. To summarize, yes, "decimate" did originally mean "kill one in ten" (of an army that failed to win, not necessarily a mutinous army), but modern usage has changed to the point that it means "kill lots of".
But I agree that the author's use of "decimate" doesn't read very well.
I played the PC version, and man, talk about the best "soundtrack" ever to come out of the stock speaker...
What a great piece of warez. Where else can you sell your own organs so as to buy better equipment?
I'd rather spend $10 to see a movie that cost $100 (or $10) to make but was actually thought-provoking.
But that's why people get glazed eyes and run away when I start discussing film.
Sounds similar to my situation. I'm in my early 20s, working at a site with coders who average mid to late 30s. Some of them only know how to keep legacy mainframe applications wheezing away. Some of them use newer tools but still insist on bad olde coding practices, like littering their code with goto statements (like the guy sitting next to me).
But there are plenty who are really amazing - they've really been thinking about software design for 10-20 years, and they've run into most any problem that I can think of, and they know the needs of the businesses that buy our software.
People in the first category would have trouble finding work if they were laid off tomorrow (well, trouble finding good work). People in the second category should be able to write their own tickets.