I don't know about these predictions...
They claim their machine is taking into account major population control factors, but all they really discuss is AIDS, mostly in South Africa. While this is most obviously and definitely a source of population reduction, in isn't the only one. thye mention nothing of war, other diseases, birth control usage, and other causes of infertility. Obviously, no modern machine could take all these factors into account, leading me to question the credibility of this report. Yes, they did their research, yes their computer is powerful and impressive, but in the end, it's jsut a set of numbers that might, might, come close to accuracy about population growth (or lack thereof) in the next 100 years.
People seem to put to much stock into statistics these days. Just because they use numbers and cite their sources does not make them right. I could point out the statistical correlation between bread and 99% of all deaths in the last 100 years, using correct numbers, citing statistical data to back up my theory, and write it up intelligently with great flow charts, but that dosn't make bread the number one cause of death in the world.
Bottom line, I say don't trust statistics to the degree we are being asked to, numbers are representations of actual quantaties, not the quantaties themselves...
Just my twenty cents on the issue.
No, no, this is more the realm of the Virtual Adepts.
The Syndicate would have all of these "merchant states" be ruled by the same set of laws to make sure that what ever currency is used in cyber space is worshiped universaly. The fact that people are breaking national barriers and cooperating is more like a commercial version of reality 2.0.
Yeah, money will be the motivation behind it, until people realize that in a completely digital marketplace, money (which is a representation of physical wealth) is meaningless and a totally new monetary system will have to be devised.
So I guess it's more like a group of financial minded VA's are pushing their idea of Ascension...
Ok, bear with me as I am trying to remember this stuff from highschool earth science class.
A tornado is caused when a high pressure front and a low pressure front meet each other under certain conditions. Basic physics tells us that high pressure (at least with air mass) usually means higher tempuratures, while low pressure means lower temps (due to the relative motion and friction of all the particles against each other). So a tornado is essentialy formed when warm and cold air move quickly into each other.
The reason "heat shields" around dense, highrise cityscapes and the tornado microwave work is because they are removing the mass of cold air that helps to create the twister.
So, Alik is right, a twister of sufficient power (and especialy one of high velocity) could run straight through a so called "heat shield" if one were in the area. But, since the dense cities we are talking about are giving off so much heat in a stable location, the cold front cannot meet the warm front and share that "special hug" to make the little ball of joy we call a tornado. Thats why you *USUALLY* don't hear about the buggers hitting big cities, and only lower end urban areas (like trailer parks, which are usually out of town and on flat plains, good breeding ground for the storms). Of course there was that tornado that materialized in the middle of Salt Lake City and flew up Temple Street and then dissapeared before it actually hit the bastion of the Mormon church (just barely missed it), but lets not devolve into religious flamewar.
"Although I have no proof, intution suggests that if you remove a major climate phenomenon entirely, you have the potential for seriously screwing up the whole system. Environmental scientists would scream bloody murder if such a system ever went up."
Actualy, now that I think about it, there is proof of sorts that your theory is true. The closest we have come to changes of this nature is the damming of the Nile. Aswan Dam has thrown off the cycle of flooding that the Nile used to go through every year and as a result, the fertile land of the Nile Valley has shrunk every year. Without the riverbed nutrients the annual flood would bring to the areas surrounding the river, the quality of crops has steadily declined.
Not total climate changes like we are discussing here, but possibly the closest we have come to it.
I quite agree. Actually controlling some of the most powerfull phenomena on Earth (if not controlling, at least stopping them from happening) is opening a can of worms I don't think we are prepared to open. Stopping all tornados near populated areas, while sounding like a good saftey measure, is a foolish idea. Not trying to bait flame or anything, but natural disater and intraspecies conflict are the two things even close to providing a population control on humans. If we remove all of the dangers from our world, not only will we allow overpopulation to skyrocket even more, but we will remove all need to continue evolving (from a natural order standpoint).
Brings up an interesting question: What happens to a species that is perfectly adapted to all environmental dangers (including other species)?
Lets not limit ourselves to military and ecological uses here. There was a movie in the 80's (I forget the name) where some university kids used something like this to pop a few tons of popcorn in some guy's house...
Hell, without the limitations of fitting it into a countertop model, I could nuke the BIGGEST plate of nachos ever...
Slashdot Mirror
They claim their machine is taking into account major population control factors, but all they really discuss is AIDS, mostly in South Africa. While this is most obviously and definitely a source of population reduction, in isn't the only one. thye mention nothing of war, other diseases, birth control usage, and other causes of infertility.
Obviously, no modern machine could take all these factors into account, leading me to question the credibility of this report. Yes, they did their research, yes their computer is powerful and impressive, but in the end, it's jsut a set of numbers that might, might, come close to accuracy about population growth (or lack thereof) in the next 100 years.
People seem to put to much stock into statistics these days. Just because they use numbers and cite their sources does not make them right. I could point out the statistical correlation between bread and 99% of all deaths in the last 100 years, using correct numbers, citing statistical data to back up my theory, and write it up intelligently with great flow charts, but that dosn't make bread the number one cause of death in the world.
Bottom line, I say don't trust statistics to the degree we are being asked to, numbers are representations of actual quantaties, not the quantaties themselves...
Just my twenty cents on the issue.
-Speldor
Yeah, money will be the motivation behind it, until people realize that in a completely digital marketplace, money (which is a representation of physical wealth) is meaningless and a totally new monetary system will have to be devised. So I guess it's more like a group of financial minded VA's are pushing their idea of Ascension...
Lord... we are geeks, aren't we?
^_^
-Speldor
The reason "heat shields" around dense, highrise cityscapes and the tornado microwave work is because they are removing the mass of cold air that helps to create the twister.
So, Alik is right, a twister of sufficient power (and especialy one of high velocity) could run straight through a so called "heat shield" if one were in the area. But, since the dense cities we are talking about are giving off so much heat in a stable location, the cold front cannot meet the warm front and share that "special hug" to make the little ball of joy we call a tornado. Thats why you *USUALLY* don't hear about the buggers hitting big cities, and only lower end urban areas (like trailer parks, which are usually out of town and on flat plains, good breeding ground for the storms). Of course there was that tornado that materialized in the middle of Salt Lake City and flew up Temple Street and then dissapeared before it actually hit the bastion of the Mormon church (just barely missed it), but lets not devolve into religious flamewar.
Hope that was at least semi-informative...
Not total climate changes like we are discussing here, but possibly the closest we have come to it.
Hell, without the limitations of fitting it into a countertop model, I could nuke the BIGGEST plate of nachos ever...
God I love science!