If this question had one ounce of significance, then I think we would be a hell of a lot more concerned by the fact that billions of computers are currently enslaved all around the world.
Nope, this is just basic common sense. If you had a full understanding of the mechanism (the brain) that causes behaviors such as speech, you could tell precisely what someone was going to say at any point. There is no such thing as absolute certainty, but this certainly seems like the most reasonable possibility. Do you believe there is some mechanism other than the brain that causes people to say certain things in response to stimuli?
Paypal does not have any glaring bugs. They are trying to find the tricky, hard to reproduce bugs. All non-trivial software has an infinite supply of these.
I totally agree. 3 years ago now I decided that I wanted to watch every episode of Star Trek ever released. I had seen an episode or two as a kid but really had no idea what I was getting into. Well I started with TOS, and was immediately horribly bored to tears. The camp is just lost on someone who grew up with special effects and realistic acting. After a few episodes I went on and checked out TNG. Well, TNG had mostly the same effect. The production and acting are absolutely terrible in the first season. I then moved to Voyager, and was hooked. Voyager had just the right combo of cheese and grit. After that, I watched DS9, Enterprise (not as bad as everyone says), TNG, and TOS. I just have to say, even though everyone has their opinions about each of the series, most people have not seen all of the series in full. Many people will say they have, but most of them are lying through their teeth. There are close to 800 hours of Star Trek, and unless you really put forth the effort, there is no way you have seen them all. Each of the series requires you to watch it in full to really appreciate the nuances and joy of each of them. By the time I came back around to TOS and TNG, I loved them. Whenever I hear anyone complaining about any particular series, I am certain that they have not watched all or most of the episodes. If they had, they would not be complaining. I now typically say that I like DS9 best, but honestly, I like them all equally for all of their unique quirks and characters. Voyager was a good start, since it probably had one of the best first seasons, but they are all awesome in the end if you really sit down and give them a chance.
I completely disagree with the idea that the students who do the homework and show up to class should necessarily get the top grades. It should not matter what method is employed to learn. Someone who knows and understands the material should get an A... period, end of story. The world does not grade on effort, neither should school. Busy work should not be graded at all. Homework is one study method and should not be graded either. If you learn better by listening intently to lectures, do that. If you learn best by reading the book, do that. Homework, do that. All of the above, do it. At the end of the day, the grade should come from whether or not you can demonstrate that you learned the material (usually in the form of a test, but projects could work too). When school becomes about something besides imparting knowledge to students, it fails.
Well I graduated 3 years ago so.... I am pretty sure it has only increased a few percentage points since then. I am no geezer; I am actually 24. Over the course of getting my undergrad, I spent no where near 60k. I started at a tech school to get my gen eds out of the way my first year. The tuition was nominal at something like 1k. My second and third year I transferred to a traditional university instate which was 10k per year after a 5k discount per year for maintaining a 3.0. We are at 21k now for all the tuition I ever had to pay. I graduated early. I worked as an RA and got free housing. I lived off $100 per month for beans and rice. I also worked in food and bev. I also got a paid internship as a software developer my 3rd year and was hired full time my last semester as I completed my last few classes at night. I worked extremely hard to stay afloat, but I still had time for doing regular college kid tomfoolery. It is quite possible, and really not even all that difficult. I just decided early on that I was not going to live like the kids who had parents to pay for everything, nor like the kids who got their new bank overseers to pay for everything. I did not get to go to an Ivy league, but I did get to go to a reputable school (best marine biology department in the country, great CS department, all around respected liberal arts school, etc.). All I have to say is that if my peers who are pissed pull a run around on me so they make me foot the bill in the end, I will be extremely disappointed. Yes the system is totally fucked, but its is completely possible to get through without signing your future away.
The vocational schools might be the bright light actually. Not to be confused with the for-profits, which are generally evil scum, community colleges are typically a couple thousand dollars per year, and try to teach programs that directly partner with local companies. Most low income students in my area at least pay close to nothing and they can take classes at night or online to get around kids or another job. My brother is currently getting a nursing degree for free at the one in my area (he got extra help for being a single parent), and he will be set when he gets out. Compare that to the typical uni route where he would be paying 50k+ for the exact same degree. Like anything, I am sure you could waste time there if you really tried though.
If you have below a certain income level (really low), they will ignore you. As soon as you make over something around the poverty line, they will begin garnering your wages. You are basically screwed forever if you get into this sort of situation, since the interest keeps racking up, and it will be extremely difficult to increase your income enough to get out while living on 15k per year
Well, I guess it's a good thing I shopped around and did not pay anywhere close to 100k+ like you did (I am assuming you must have been in that ball park if you really had the potential to get that much debt). Private schools, out of state schools, and ivy league schools were all out of my price range and I saved many 10s of thousands for admitting that. Also, I graduated only 3 years ago. I still got to go to one of the most respected institutions in my state. I ended up spending ~45k for tuition and everything else. I saved by maintaining a 3.0 which gives you a 2.5k discount in my state per year, graduating in 3 years instead of 4, and living extremely frugally. As far as the arguments that go something like "well, you went to a shitty school, and I wanted to invest in a better school so I could make more money when I got out"; I have not met any of them yet who make as much as I do yet. On average, there is a good chance they will surpass me in income in the coming years, however, with 100k+ in debt right from the get go, they are going to have to make one hell of a lot more than me to come close in net worth a decade or two from now. Add to that the fact that when many of them get out, they get discouraged by the fact that any job they could land with their undergrad in the next few years is barely enough to make the minimum payments on a principle of that size, so most of them go back to grad school where they will rack up another 60k on top (and lose 3 years of wage earning and experience in the process). Compare that to people I know who go become certified machinists or welders at the tech school for 3k in tuition, then land an instant guaranteed job with Boeing (happens to be up the road from me) making 70k with awesome benefits right off the bat and the whole 150k MBA (which gets you a 45k sales job) seems even crazier. I am not saying I have no sympathy for people who get roped into that route - ever single school in the country is spending millions on cranking out marketing from the bullshit factory aimed at impressionable high schoolers. Hell, I would have been in the same boat if it was not for the fact that my mother was a career counselor at a big graduate university and shoved statistics and market trends down my throat from birth. I am glad too, because now I am able to work virtually anywhere I want (and actually do), all without being a slave to the bank.
Because they put the work into writing the fucking song. If Elvis wants to release a song, then he should write it himself or pay someone else to do it. It is not about the money that a song has the potential to make, it is about Elvis (or whoever) using the song without permission and passing it off as his own.
Capital "G" G-d in philosophy at least does not refer to the judeo-christian god of the bible. It refers to the concept of a being that is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. There are no specific details assigned like they are in theology. This is generally to be charitable, since the entire idea of G-d starts to make no fucking sense once you start describing it in any but the most abstract terms. Even the "omni"s are completely nonsensical when assigned to the same being at once.
Here in South Carolina the crime rate is quite high on all counts and the rate of belief in hell is quite high as well. The problem is that nobody here is threatened by the prospect of hell, since they know that THEY would not be sent there. The whole fire and brimstone thing does not really work when you believe you are one of the chosen.
Pretty sure the Greeks had gods. Apollo, Zeus, Hades, etc. Some sects of Buddhism have a belief in beings that would probably fall into the same category, although they probably closer to the idea of catholic saints. This would be the case in Mahayana Buddhism, which is one of the most common sects. There are still many other sects that hold no supernatural beliefs at all, and the core common beliefs of Buddhism in general are perfectly compatible with an atheist belief.
you will generally get an answer "Chinese are buddhist"; but if you probe what they actually believe you tend to get a very atheistic worldview.
Duh. Buddhism is an atheist religion. Atheism is not a religion, and is not mutually exclusive with all other religions (it is with some, obviously). All atheism is is the rejection of the belief that there are gods. Buddhism does not include a belief in gods. Some forms of Buddhism do not even have any supernatural elements at all and closely resemble western materialism.
You will not be paying those taxes at minimum wage. Sorry to nitpick, I still think it would be horrible, and if you put in utilities it would add up the same.
You would have to stay pretty lucky to live on minimum wage for 2 years. For example, I have type 1 diabetes. Without insurance (which I probably could not afford), my medication would be about $800 per month. If there was one day I could not afford it, I could be in a coma. It has nothing to do with lifestyle and comes on without warning. Long story short, shit happens and it is pretty gd scary on minimum wage. That is not even considering the fact that many people on minimum wage have kids as well, each with their own potential for costly emergencies that cannot be ignored. Also, most people on MW that I have encountered are in the process of racking up loads of debt (not saying that was your case), meaning they are not really getting by, they are just delaying the inevitable point when they are totally screwed beyond doubt.
Unfortunately, most students get enough to cover tuition at the most expensive school they can get into, the cost of eating out every meal, rent an apartment in a trendy & safe place, and enough weed to last the full 6 years it will take them to graduate. Fine by me, I worked my way through to come out with 2k in debt and a good paying job, so that after interest I will have something like a 20 year head start on most of them. It sucked majorly feeling weak and hungry all the time for a few years, but I would do it again a hundred times to be in the position I am now.
Slashdot Mirror
If this question had one ounce of significance, then I think we would be a hell of a lot more concerned by the fact that billions of computers are currently enslaved all around the world.
Does anyone support executing the handicapped?
Nope, this is just basic common sense. If you had a full understanding of the mechanism (the brain) that causes behaviors such as speech, you could tell precisely what someone was going to say at any point. There is no such thing as absolute certainty, but this certainly seems like the most reasonable possibility. Do you believe there is some mechanism other than the brain that causes people to say certain things in response to stimuli?
Paypal does not have any glaring bugs. They are trying to find the tricky, hard to reproduce bugs. All non-trivial software has an infinite supply of these.
Hate to be a grammar nazi, but don't you mean: "but we guess leave it Slashdot editors to what they does best"
Saw that on netflix. Is it actually good? The cover art reminded me of Andromeda or something.
It is entirely unacceptable to be distracted during TNG. I hope you got rid of her so you could enjoy your Trek in peace.
I totally agree. 3 years ago now I decided that I wanted to watch every episode of Star Trek ever released. I had seen an episode or two as a kid but really had no idea what I was getting into. Well I started with TOS, and was immediately horribly bored to tears. The camp is just lost on someone who grew up with special effects and realistic acting. After a few episodes I went on and checked out TNG. Well, TNG had mostly the same effect. The production and acting are absolutely terrible in the first season. I then moved to Voyager, and was hooked. Voyager had just the right combo of cheese and grit. After that, I watched DS9, Enterprise (not as bad as everyone says), TNG, and TOS. I just have to say, even though everyone has their opinions about each of the series, most people have not seen all of the series in full. Many people will say they have, but most of them are lying through their teeth. There are close to 800 hours of Star Trek, and unless you really put forth the effort, there is no way you have seen them all. Each of the series requires you to watch it in full to really appreciate the nuances and joy of each of them. By the time I came back around to TOS and TNG, I loved them. Whenever I hear anyone complaining about any particular series, I am certain that they have not watched all or most of the episodes. If they had, they would not be complaining. I now typically say that I like DS9 best, but honestly, I like them all equally for all of their unique quirks and characters. Voyager was a good start, since it probably had one of the best first seasons, but they are all awesome in the end if you really sit down and give them a chance.
DS9 was specifically made for the purpose of watching Star Trek with your wife.
I completely disagree with the idea that the students who do the homework and show up to class should necessarily get the top grades. It should not matter what method is employed to learn. Someone who knows and understands the material should get an A... period, end of story. The world does not grade on effort, neither should school. Busy work should not be graded at all. Homework is one study method and should not be graded either. If you learn better by listening intently to lectures, do that. If you learn best by reading the book, do that. Homework, do that. All of the above, do it. At the end of the day, the grade should come from whether or not you can demonstrate that you learned the material (usually in the form of a test, but projects could work too). When school becomes about something besides imparting knowledge to students, it fails.
Well I graduated 3 years ago so.... I am pretty sure it has only increased a few percentage points since then. I am no geezer; I am actually 24. Over the course of getting my undergrad, I spent no where near 60k. I started at a tech school to get my gen eds out of the way my first year. The tuition was nominal at something like 1k. My second and third year I transferred to a traditional university instate which was 10k per year after a 5k discount per year for maintaining a 3.0. We are at 21k now for all the tuition I ever had to pay. I graduated early. I worked as an RA and got free housing. I lived off $100 per month for beans and rice. I also worked in food and bev. I also got a paid internship as a software developer my 3rd year and was hired full time my last semester as I completed my last few classes at night. I worked extremely hard to stay afloat, but I still had time for doing regular college kid tomfoolery. It is quite possible, and really not even all that difficult. I just decided early on that I was not going to live like the kids who had parents to pay for everything, nor like the kids who got their new bank overseers to pay for everything. I did not get to go to an Ivy league, but I did get to go to a reputable school (best marine biology department in the country, great CS department, all around respected liberal arts school, etc.). All I have to say is that if my peers who are pissed pull a run around on me so they make me foot the bill in the end, I will be extremely disappointed. Yes the system is totally fucked, but its is completely possible to get through without signing your future away.
The vocational schools might be the bright light actually. Not to be confused with the for-profits, which are generally evil scum, community colleges are typically a couple thousand dollars per year, and try to teach programs that directly partner with local companies. Most low income students in my area at least pay close to nothing and they can take classes at night or online to get around kids or another job. My brother is currently getting a nursing degree for free at the one in my area (he got extra help for being a single parent), and he will be set when he gets out. Compare that to the typical uni route where he would be paying 50k+ for the exact same degree. Like anything, I am sure you could waste time there if you really tried though.
If you have below a certain income level (really low), they will ignore you. As soon as you make over something around the poverty line, they will begin garnering your wages. You are basically screwed forever if you get into this sort of situation, since the interest keeps racking up, and it will be extremely difficult to increase your income enough to get out while living on 15k per year
Well, I guess it's a good thing I shopped around and did not pay anywhere close to 100k+ like you did (I am assuming you must have been in that ball park if you really had the potential to get that much debt). Private schools, out of state schools, and ivy league schools were all out of my price range and I saved many 10s of thousands for admitting that. Also, I graduated only 3 years ago. I still got to go to one of the most respected institutions in my state. I ended up spending ~45k for tuition and everything else. I saved by maintaining a 3.0 which gives you a 2.5k discount in my state per year, graduating in 3 years instead of 4, and living extremely frugally. As far as the arguments that go something like "well, you went to a shitty school, and I wanted to invest in a better school so I could make more money when I got out"; I have not met any of them yet who make as much as I do yet. On average, there is a good chance they will surpass me in income in the coming years, however, with 100k+ in debt right from the get go, they are going to have to make one hell of a lot more than me to come close in net worth a decade or two from now. Add to that the fact that when many of them get out, they get discouraged by the fact that any job they could land with their undergrad in the next few years is barely enough to make the minimum payments on a principle of that size, so most of them go back to grad school where they will rack up another 60k on top (and lose 3 years of wage earning and experience in the process). Compare that to people I know who go become certified machinists or welders at the tech school for 3k in tuition, then land an instant guaranteed job with Boeing (happens to be up the road from me) making 70k with awesome benefits right off the bat and the whole 150k MBA (which gets you a 45k sales job) seems even crazier. I am not saying I have no sympathy for people who get roped into that route - ever single school in the country is spending millions on cranking out marketing from the bullshit factory aimed at impressionable high schoolers. Hell, I would have been in the same boat if it was not for the fact that my mother was a career counselor at a big graduate university and shoved statistics and market trends down my throat from birth. I am glad too, because now I am able to work virtually anywhere I want (and actually do), all without being a slave to the bank.
Because they put the work into writing the fucking song. If Elvis wants to release a song, then he should write it himself or pay someone else to do it. It is not about the money that a song has the potential to make, it is about Elvis (or whoever) using the song without permission and passing it off as his own.
I heard that a certain Nigerian prince holds a patent on this particular scam
Not necessary. One educated child is worth 10 dummies.
Capital "G" G-d in philosophy at least does not refer to the judeo-christian god of the bible. It refers to the concept of a being that is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. There are no specific details assigned like they are in theology. This is generally to be charitable, since the entire idea of G-d starts to make no fucking sense once you start describing it in any but the most abstract terms. Even the "omni"s are completely nonsensical when assigned to the same being at once.
Jebus H kriste, I'll spell it how I g-wd damn please!
Here in South Carolina the crime rate is quite high on all counts and the rate of belief in hell is quite high as well. The problem is that nobody here is threatened by the prospect of hell, since they know that THEY would not be sent there. The whole fire and brimstone thing does not really work when you believe you are one of the chosen.
Pretty sure the Greeks had gods. Apollo, Zeus, Hades, etc. Some sects of Buddhism have a belief in beings that would probably fall into the same category, although they probably closer to the idea of catholic saints. This would be the case in Mahayana Buddhism, which is one of the most common sects. There are still many other sects that hold no supernatural beliefs at all, and the core common beliefs of Buddhism in general are perfectly compatible with an atheist belief.
you will generally get an answer "Chinese are buddhist"; but if you probe what they actually believe you tend to get a very atheistic worldview.
Duh. Buddhism is an atheist religion. Atheism is not a religion, and is not mutually exclusive with all other religions (it is with some, obviously). All atheism is is the rejection of the belief that there are gods. Buddhism does not include a belief in gods. Some forms of Buddhism do not even have any supernatural elements at all and closely resemble western materialism.
You will not be paying those taxes at minimum wage. Sorry to nitpick, I still think it would be horrible, and if you put in utilities it would add up the same.
You would have to stay pretty lucky to live on minimum wage for 2 years. For example, I have type 1 diabetes. Without insurance (which I probably could not afford), my medication would be about $800 per month. If there was one day I could not afford it, I could be in a coma. It has nothing to do with lifestyle and comes on without warning. Long story short, shit happens and it is pretty gd scary on minimum wage. That is not even considering the fact that many people on minimum wage have kids as well, each with their own potential for costly emergencies that cannot be ignored. Also, most people on MW that I have encountered are in the process of racking up loads of debt (not saying that was your case), meaning they are not really getting by, they are just delaying the inevitable point when they are totally screwed beyond doubt.
Unfortunately, most students get enough to cover tuition at the most expensive school they can get into, the cost of eating out every meal, rent an apartment in a trendy & safe place, and enough weed to last the full 6 years it will take them to graduate. Fine by me, I worked my way through to come out with 2k in debt and a good paying job, so that after interest I will have something like a 20 year head start on most of them. It sucked majorly feeling weak and hungry all the time for a few years, but I would do it again a hundred times to be in the position I am now.