No. Being a nerd has nothing to do with technology, it has to do with depth of interest and application to study and learning. It can apply to anything, some of the biggest nerds around know nothing about technology but loads about birds or steam trains or plants. Geeks are a _very_ small subset of nerds. In fact, in my opinion, someone who is only interested in technology is not a nerd at all. Nerds are fascinated with detail, no matter what the subject.
Re:One simple reason why it won't work:
on
The Euro
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· Score: 1
Thats not true. I'm 29, and agains the euro. So much for your teory.
Well, you always get your lunatic fringe don't you.
Re:One simple reason why it won't work:
on
The Euro
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· Score: 1
every conflict in europe for the last 1000 years have been about nationalism
I'm sorry, but this is total bullshit. The idea of national identity only arose comparitively recently. Most wars have been about land struggles between feudal monarchs and princes. It is only the wars of the last century and those towards the end of the 19th century which had anthing whatsoever to do with nationalism.
No, it would be akin to pointing the huge great fan _you already had running_ on your sailboat towards the sail. Take notice of your own advice dipshit.
I'm here with you too dude. My tendency is to think like that too.
However, the bit in our makeup which probably makes us display some of the tendencies which are also associated with people diagnosed as 'Autistic', is also the bit which stops us realising that the 'stupid' people ruling over the smart people are usually not stupid at all. Its just that the kind of brain which makes memorizing facts and following logic easy sometimes cannot comprehend people whose skills are more 'fuzzy' and less analytical but at least as valuable in society, if not more so. This is something that we are not 'clever' enough to understand, clever as we might be in other arenas. Those skills just cannot be quantified and often include.
i) A clear focus on purpose - never underestimate this
ii) A power to inspire loyalty - you will have no business without loyalty
iii) Keeping cool under pressure
iv) Making, and sticking to decisions - vacillating doesn't get things done. It's better to make a bad decision than no decision. These are the people we geeks often label as 'stupid' because they don't see the world our way. The typical PHB. However, nothing is more important to the success of an enterprise than people who can single-mindedly pursue an end.
A feeling of superiority comes with the nerd territory I'm afraid and may well be a 'disorder', using a broad definition of the term. This feeling is part of what makes it hard for us to get on with people so I guess it is, at least in some ways, a disorder.
I find that looking at the people around me and really trying to understand what it is that makes them valuable helps a little. A lot of the time I still draw a blank though:-(
1) Just because something is geneticaly determined that does not mean that it is not a disorder.
2) Just because you consider a trait to be an important part of your make up, that does not mean necessarily that it is genetically determined. All it means is that you consider it to be an inextricable part of your identity. Unless you are privy to some new scientific revelation which overturns everything we know about psychology, sociology and behavioral science there is no simple answer to the nature\nurture question. To my mind it is unlikely to be nature OR nurture but.... roll of drums... A mixture of the two (perhaps?).
Until you can cut and paste universally, from all major applications to all major applications then Linux will remain a leper. In my opinion this is the major factor holding back the usability of Linux. Windows users don't, and don't have to, even know the names of the applications they use. The menu systems are unified and they have useful context menus and tooltips. In this respect windows \ office is light years ahead of the linux counterparts. You should be able to select a table of data from a web browser, press Ctrl+C, Alt-Tab to your word processor, press Ctrl+V and have it paste in a table, complete with identical formatting. You should be able to select an area of a picture from your graphics program (which should be in ONE window ie not The Gimp), press Ctrl+C, Alt-Tab to your word processor, press Ctrl+V and have it paste in the section of picture and wrap the text.
Ah, but no-one in the real world gives a monkeys about the security of a "WEB BROWSER" for gods sake. People are more worried about email etc and sites looking nice. The HTML is rendered nicer and faster in IE. Have you ever been attacked by an exploit using internet explorer? Do you know anyone who has? I know there are exploits out there but I for one know no-one who has ever suffered as a result.
Why worry about people bio-engineering nastier versions when the ones that already exist (of this and other diseases with the potential to be bio-weapons) are already quite nasty enough?
Not quite nasty enough. Mostly, the viruses that are most infectious are very labile (ie they die very soon in the open air). In addition the viruses which are most deadly are not so infectious. What you really want is a combination of a virus that can live in air for a couple of days, is fiercely infectious, takes a couple of weeks to display symptoms, and then kills within hours of symptoms being displayed.
I can hardly imagine that sequencing the genome of a virus is more difficult than sequencing the genome of a bacterium
For info, it depends on the type of virus. Some viruses use RNA instead of DNA as Genetic material, some have single stranded DNA as opposed double stranded.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty is in growing enough of the stuff in the first place as most viruses are VERY difficult to grow in-vitro because by nature they are tuned to live in their host organism. This is particularly important for something like Yersinia as you are going to find it difficult to find volunteers for in-vivo cultivation!! In addition, the genome of a virus is often very tightly bound to the viral proteins, making it difficult to purify.
I don't think it's necessary to do anything as extreme as getting out more. Just give Slashdot a break and change to a different site like www.adequacy.org.
I have to point out to you that people didn't attack Hitler because he was a terrorist. The British attacked him because he invaded Poland, who we had a treaty with and the Americans attacked him because the Japanese bombed Perl Harbour. Hence all comparisons to inter-war appeasement are bogus.
A little off topic but i want to share it with all you midless patriots..today i saw a poster somebody made hanging from an overpass. It said "united we stand as one". It was written in red and blue with stars all around it. Maybe its me being silly, but that saying just feels a little communistic to me. Think before you talk.
I think that this proves that these things are a little more complicated than simple labels like "Communist" or "Pacifist" can express.
Re:Would any terrorist be convicted in a law court
on
A New Kind of War
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· Score: 1
What about Manson? AFAIK he was prosecuted and is still in prison for being an inspiration to others.
Not trolling. I feel that just because G W Bush has decided that we are at "war" doesn't make it so. As far as I am concerned, when you are at "War" you are at war with a country. What we are doing at the moment is "policing".
What!!!!! So free speech is ok except when it has a chance to actually change things? I thought we were supposed to be fighting for "freedom" but you think it's ok to ban stuff when you decide it is. Here in the civilised world people are allowed to question society's values and that includes the decision whether or not to go to war.
Eh? What makes you say that the terrorists hate American liberties? I would have thought that it was American _power_ or the use of it that they were jealous of \ hated. What has this got to do with hating American liberties?
The US hasn't been negotiating much recently. Instead it has been withdrawing from negotiations left, right and centre. How do you know that these people did this because they thought the USE wouldn't listen to negotiations.
Slashdot Mirror
No. Being a nerd has nothing to do with technology, it has to do with depth of interest and application to study and learning. It can apply to anything, some of the biggest nerds around know nothing about technology but loads about birds or steam trains or plants. Geeks are a _very_ small subset of nerds. In fact, in my opinion, someone who is only interested in technology is not a nerd at all. Nerds are fascinated with detail, no matter what the subject.
Thats not true. I'm 29, and agains the euro. So much for your teory.
Well, you always get your lunatic fringe don't you.
every conflict in europe for the last 1000 years have been about nationalism
I'm sorry, but this is total bullshit. The idea of national identity only arose comparitively recently. Most wars have been about land struggles between feudal monarchs and princes. It is only the wars of the last century and those towards the end of the 19th century which had anthing whatsoever to do with nationalism.
Here in the UK we would all be using Acorn Electrons or Archimedes'. God those were the days.
Think back 8 years - is your knowledge of the word processor you used in 1993 relevant to Office XP?
Yes, it was pretty much the same. The interface to Word hasn't changed much at all.
No, it would be akin to pointing the huge great fan _you already had running_ on your sailboat towards the sail. Take notice of your own advice dipshit.
I'm here with you too dude. My tendency is to think like that too.
However, the bit in our makeup which probably makes us display some of the tendencies which are also associated with people diagnosed as 'Autistic', is also the bit which stops us realising that the 'stupid' people ruling over the smart people are usually not stupid at all. Its just that the kind of brain which makes memorizing facts and following logic easy sometimes cannot comprehend people whose skills are more 'fuzzy' and less analytical but at least as valuable in society, if not more so. This is something that we are not 'clever' enough to understand, clever as we might be in other arenas. Those skills just cannot be quantified and often include.
i) A clear focus on purpose - never underestimate this
ii) A power to inspire loyalty - you will have no business without loyalty
iii) Keeping cool under pressure
iv) Making, and sticking to decisions - vacillating doesn't get things done. It's better to make a bad decision than no decision. These are the people we geeks often label as 'stupid' because they don't see the world our way. The typical PHB. However, nothing is more important to the success of an enterprise than people who can single-mindedly pursue an end.
A feeling of superiority comes with the nerd territory I'm afraid and may well be a 'disorder', using a broad definition of the term. This feeling is part of what makes it hard for us to get on with people so I guess it is, at least in some ways, a disorder.
I find that looking at the people around me and really trying to understand what it is that makes them valuable helps a little. A lot of the time I still draw a blank though:-(
1) Just because something is geneticaly determined that does not mean that it is not a disorder.
.... roll of drums ... A mixture of the two (perhaps?).
2) Just because you consider a trait to be an important part of your make up, that does not mean necessarily that it is genetically determined. All it means is that you consider it to be an inextricable part of your identity. Unless you are privy to some new scientific revelation which overturns everything we know about psychology, sociology and behavioral science there is no simple answer to the nature\nurture question. To my mind it is unlikely to be nature OR nurture but
Until you can cut and paste universally, from all major applications to all major applications then Linux will remain a leper. In my opinion this is the major factor holding back the usability of Linux. Windows users don't, and don't have to, even know the names of the applications they use. The menu systems are unified and they have useful context menus and tooltips. In this respect windows \ office is light years ahead of the linux counterparts. You should be able to select a table of data from a web browser, press Ctrl+C, Alt-Tab to your word processor, press Ctrl+V and have it paste in a table, complete with identical formatting. You should be able to select an area of a picture from your graphics program (which should be in ONE window ie not The Gimp), press Ctrl+C, Alt-Tab to your word processor, press Ctrl+V and have it paste in the section of picture and wrap the text.
Ah, but no-one in the real world gives a monkeys about the security of a "WEB BROWSER" for gods sake. People are more worried about email etc and sites looking nice. The HTML is rendered nicer and faster in IE. Have you ever been attacked by an exploit using internet explorer? Do you know anyone who has? I know there are exploits out there but I for one know no-one who has ever suffered as a result.
Why worry about people bio-engineering nastier versions when the ones that already exist (of this and other diseases with the potential to be bio-weapons) are already quite nasty enough?
Not quite nasty enough. Mostly, the viruses that are most infectious are very labile (ie they die very soon in the open air). In addition the viruses which are most deadly are not so infectious. What you really want is a combination of a virus that can live in air for a couple of days, is fiercely infectious, takes a couple of weeks to display symptoms, and then kills within hours of symptoms being displayed.
I can hardly imagine that sequencing the genome of a virus is more difficult than sequencing the genome of a bacterium
For info, it depends on the type of virus. Some viruses use RNA instead of DNA as Genetic material, some have single stranded DNA as opposed double stranded.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty is in growing enough of the stuff in the first place as most viruses are VERY difficult to grow in-vitro because by nature they are tuned to live in their host organism. This is particularly important for something like Yersinia as you are going to find it difficult to find volunteers for in-vivo cultivation!! In addition, the genome of a virus is often very tightly bound to the viral proteins, making it difficult to purify.
jihad == struggle
I don't think it's necessary to do anything as extreme as getting out more. Just give Slashdot a break and change to a different site like www.adequacy.org.
It's closest equivalent is Holy Struggle. A carpenter is said to do Jihad when he performs carpentry.
I have to point out to you that people didn't attack Hitler because he was a terrorist. The British attacked him because he invaded Poland, who we had a treaty with and the Americans attacked him because the Japanese bombed Perl Harbour. Hence all comparisons to inter-war appeasement are bogus.
A little off topic but i want to share it with all you midless patriots..today i saw a poster somebody made hanging from an overpass. It said "united we stand as one". It was written in red and blue with stars all around it. Maybe its me being silly, but that saying just feels a little communistic to me. Think before you talk.
I think that this proves that these things are a little more complicated than simple labels like "Communist" or "Pacifist" can express.
What about Manson? AFAIK he was prosecuted and is still in prison for being an inspiration to others.
Not trolling. I feel that just because G W Bush has decided that we are at "war" doesn't make it so. As far as I am concerned, when you are at "War" you are at war with a country. What we are doing at the moment is "policing".
...and decidedly not appropriate for time of war.
What!!!!! So free speech is ok except when it has a chance to actually change things? I thought we were supposed to be fighting for "freedom" but you think it's ok to ban stuff when you decide it is. Here in the civilised world people are allowed to question society's values and that includes the decision whether or not to go to war.
Yes, and the Kim in Rudyard Kipling's book 'Kim'. You can't get more English than Rudyard Kipling.
...liberties that the terrorist hate so much...
Eh? What makes you say that the terrorists hate American liberties? I would have thought that it was American _power_ or the use of it that they were jealous of \ hated. What has this got to do with hating American liberties?
The US hasn't been negotiating much recently. Instead it has been withdrawing from negotiations left, right and centre. How do you know that these people did this because they thought the USE wouldn't listen to negotiations.
I do think it's possible to be an ethical person and run a successful business.
Examples please.
Agreed. RH detected my sound, video and network cards automatically. I wish I could say the same for Windows.