This line of reasoning proceeds from the assumption that the problem with terrorist attacks is that it increases the death rate... which is absurd. You could use the same logic to say that we shouldn't prosecute murderers because the chances of any given person being killed by any given murder are minuscule compared to the chances of that person dying in a car accident.
It's not the same.
With terrorism the goverment is engaging in pre-crime. Trying to predict and stop people before they commit the act.
The point is that what is done is the name of terrorism prevention is way out of balance with the risk. For example, there is a risk you may die from being hit by a meteorite, yet you don't wear a titanium helmet anytime you are out. Or do you?
Call me crazy, but I don't see how using systems based on the intelligent operation of individual comes even close to explaining the random chance of evolution.
OK. You are crazy.:)
Natural selection which drives evolution is not random. Mutations of genes are random and they cause some variation among organisms. This variation is the material for natural selection. The organisms better suited to their current environment are more likely so go forth and multiply.
But that's most companies, not all. I'm at a hot, bright startup, and we've tried hiring a top notch IT person. It is tough. So there is demand out there, and probably always will be. But you have to keep your skills up.
The reason that it is hard to find good developers is that good developers never look for jobs (see Joel Spolsky's columns on hiring and interviewing). I'm 51 and in 30 years of working and several jobs, only once I used a recruiter to get a job.
Oh, so you are saying that evolutionary theory is a fundamental part computer science? If not, then what difference does it make if someone is a Creationist?
Well, not exactly. But if evolution is wrong then computers would not be possible (all that chemistry and physics that supports evolution would be wrong).
And two fallen towers in NYC and attempts to secure nuclear material to cause even more harm do not equate to public safety.
And after at least tens of thousands people killed with in Iraq that you paid for (you pay taxes, don't you?), you certainly deserve to be stopped.
We're not talking about detaining citizens, or even migrants. Only those individuals who are either illegal (ie: should be either kicked out of the country or thrown in jail anyways) or enemy combatants engaged in foriegn conflict zones.
We are talking about detaining people. Habeaus Corpus is a human right, not American citizen's right.
From the point of view of other coutries (eg. Iran, China, Canada or whatever) you are an "enemy combatant" and deserve to be "detained". If you voted for Bush then you get a life sentence.
This recent drive to define non-citizens as nothing more than cattle with whom we can do anything we please is distressing. How would we feel if we travelled to, say, France, and the government there decided to detain us for no apparent reason and deny us access to the courts or any other means of pleading our case. Would the US Government stand for that sort of behavior? If not, why is it suddenly okay for us to treat non-citizens the same way?
This is what happended to the Americans in Iran. They were "detained" as spies.
This is bit of 20/20 hindsight. The particulars of the attack were not known (I know there was speculation). But the CIA knew that known suspects were in the US for over 1 year prior 9/11.
They wanted to spy on him, but it was mostly hunch, not enough for a warrant. If they had been able to eavesdrop, they very likely could have gotten enough of a heads-up to stop it.
Actually the FBI and the CIA had a pretty good idea who the suspected terrorists were (this was part of the investigation of the Cole bombing). The CIA had bugged some of their conversations while they were in the Philippines (I think). Unfortunately the CIA did not tell the FBI that some of those suspected terrorists were in the US. If they did FBI would have no problems obtaining proper warrants.
This is all described in the book "The Looming Tower" - I strongly recomend it. Even though the end is heartbreaking.
This statement completely ignores the fact that as technology advances, the ability for one person to kill more and more people as time goes on also greatly increases.
Correct. Which is why it would more useful to spend money on controlling proliferation of nuclear materials instead of making people take their shoes off when getting on airplanes.
I've been working as a programmer for nearly 30 years. In all those years I only used a recruiter once to find a job. Most jobs came to me via connections (including my very first job).
If initial reports were to be believed, much of the "torture" was merely humiliation and psychological techniques to break down a person's will and get them to talk. Interrogating Muslim men nude in front of white women, etc.
Keeping someone in jail without accusing them of a crime and without any prospect of help from outside is torture enough. All this other stuff just makes things much much worse!
If someone killed your family member, and you needed to find them, let me ask you, where would you draw the line on how much stress you could put the person under while questioning them?
Simple. I would treat them the same way I would like to be treated if I were in their position. Nevermnind that a person who is tortured while being questioned will tell you whatever it is you want to hear.
If you RTFP, what's actually being patented is the idea of using multiple pointers so that the same item can be in more than one linked list at a time. This idea is also a long way from being novel, but it's slightly different from patenting the linked list. Arguably a doubly-linked list is prior art...
Back in lat 70s when I was a junior programmer, I did some hacking in SNOBOL to produce a list of thinkgs that had to be sorted two different ways. I had nodes that were in two separate list at the same time. Had I known I would have patented it (unfortunately I lost the card deck with the source).
No, they work much more than that. I'd say no more than 50% of a teachers' work occurs in the classroom. The rest is lesson planning (ever heard of that?), curriculum planning, workshops, PTAs, report cards, and, of course, grading the homework.
Teachers do get prep periods etc for some of this stuff. My wife (whose is a teacher and doesn't quite agree with me on this point) said that the problem with teaching as a job is that it takes up enough time so it would be difficult to have another job, despite the shorter hours.
Teacher still get about 10 weeks of vacation every summer...
I'm not patient with kids who don't get it and insist on me walking them through everything.
Good thing you are not a teacher. What you are saying that you could do that job only when it's easy. Anyone can.
Being able to control, teach and inspire kids that are not at all interested in the subject is something that a great teacher can do. That's where the art of teaching comes in.
I taught computer programming adults who were quite motivated to learn. This was a piece of case. My wife teaches engilish to 7th graders in an urban school. After few months all her students love her and many learn to love literature. Teaching in that environment is a completely different skill.
The problem is that a person with a science or math degree can get a job that pays 40-80K right out of college, where a teacher's salary starts around 30 and doesn't really go much higher than that.
You need to keep in mind that teachers do not work 40+ hours/week and they get the summers off. Pay rate would be better expressed in dollars per hour. My wife is an English teacher (a damn good one too!) and I'm a sofware engineer. My yearly salary is more than twice hers, but if you count the hours (counting 50hrs/week for me) she gets better pay per hour.
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It's not the same.
With terrorism the goverment is engaging in pre-crime. Trying to predict and stop people before they commit the act.
The point is that what is done is the name of terrorism prevention is way out of balance with the risk. For example, there is a risk you may die from being hit by a meteorite, yet you don't wear a titanium helmet anytime you are out. Or do you?
Even if God existed, I would not thank him for this.....
OK. You are crazy. :)
Natural selection which drives evolution is not random. Mutations of genes are random and they cause some variation among organisms. This variation is the material for natural selection. The organisms better suited to their current environment are more likely so go forth and multiply.
It's not hard to imagine.
Actually in 2000 the "wisdom of the crowds" picked Al Gore. The electoral college and the Supreme Court put GW in the Whitehouse.
The reason that it is hard to find good developers is that good developers never look for jobs (see Joel Spolsky's columns on hiring and interviewing). I'm 51 and in 30 years of working and several jobs, only once I used a recruiter to get a job.
Well, not exactly. But if evolution is wrong then computers would not be possible (all that chemistry and physics that supports evolution would be wrong).
Thanks!
And after at least tens of thousands people killed with in Iraq that you paid for (you pay taxes, don't you?), you certainly deserve to be stopped.
We're not talking about detaining citizens, or even migrants. Only those individuals who are either illegal (ie: should be either kicked out of the country or thrown in jail anyways) or enemy combatants engaged in foriegn conflict zones.
We are talking about detaining people. Habeaus Corpus is a human right, not American citizen's right.
From the point of view of other coutries (eg. Iran, China, Canada or whatever) you are an "enemy combatant" and deserve to be "detained". If you voted for Bush then you get a life sentence.
This is what happended to the Americans in Iran. They were "detained" as spies.
Are we now just like Iran?
My hat off to you!
Actually the FBI and the CIA had a pretty good idea who the suspected terrorists were (this was part of the investigation of the Cole bombing). The CIA had bugged some of their conversations while they were in the Philippines (I think). Unfortunately the CIA did not tell the FBI that some of those suspected terrorists were in the US. If they did FBI would have no problems obtaining proper warrants.
This is all described in the book "The Looming Tower" - I strongly recomend it. Even though the end is heartbreaking.
Correct. Which is why it would more useful to spend money on controlling proliferation of nuclear materials instead of making people take their shoes off when getting on airplanes.
Link!? :)
I don't know how reliable the SUN is. Is there a link to original post? If not, I'd be little skeptical....
Keeping someone in jail without accusing them of a crime and without any prospect of help from outside is torture enough. All this other stuff just makes things much much worse!
If someone killed your family member, and you needed to find them, let me ask you, where would you draw the line on how much stress you could put the person under while questioning them?
Simple. I would treat them the same way I would like to be treated if I were in their position. Nevermnind that a person who is tortured while being questioned will tell you whatever it is you want to hear.
In FORTRAN "GOD" is REAL, unless declared INTEGER. ;-)
Back in lat 70s when I was a junior programmer, I did some hacking in SNOBOL to produce a list of thinkgs that had to be sorted two different ways. I had nodes that were in two separate list at the same time. Had I known I would have patented it (unfortunately I lost the card deck with the source).
My hat off to you! Thanks!
Teachers do get prep periods etc for some of this stuff. My wife (whose is a teacher and doesn't quite agree with me on this point) said that the problem with teaching as a job is that it takes up enough time so it would be difficult to have another job, despite the shorter hours.
Teacher still get about 10 weeks of vacation every summer...
Good thing you are not a teacher. What you are saying that you could do that job only when it's easy. Anyone can.
Being able to control, teach and inspire kids that are not at all interested in the subject is something that a great teacher can do. That's where the art of teaching comes in.
I taught computer programming adults who were quite motivated to learn. This was a piece of case. My wife teaches engilish to 7th graders in an urban school. After few months all her students love her and many learn to love literature. Teaching in that environment is a completely different skill.
You need to keep in mind that teachers do not work 40+ hours/week and they get the summers off. Pay rate would be better expressed in dollars per hour. My wife is an English teacher (a damn good one too!) and I'm a sofware engineer. My yearly salary is more than twice hers, but if you count the hours (counting 50hrs/week for me) she gets better pay per hour.