Unfortunately NetPliance *does* want their subscribers to dial in and use the service: the amount they can charge for banner ads, special link locations within their service all depend upon people using the service.
Their business model is based upon sheep paying for the *device*, then paying for the *service*, while they see *ads* NP has sold, while they collect *demographic data* NP sells, and when the sheep buy stuff online NP will probably try to take a taste as well.
(As they review their data: "Look Chester, our average customer is 24, 98% of them read slashdot, 60% of them are IT professionals and 99% of them have degrees in computer science or electrical engineering" "What's this other spike in the data?" "Oh, 99% of them have ordered a 2.5" harddrive in the last two weeks" "Should we be worried?")
You mean like NetPliance did with the iOpener? Yep, I betcha the NPLI people are raving about their choice to use open standards and commodity hardware. And I'd just *love* to see people whining about "I spent $150 on this console and I'm upset that it didn't come with BeOS drivers that were open source".
It's my understanding that right now humans are "optimized" (with regard to diseases/abilities)for our reproductive life (up to what... 35? 40?). And most of our bad problems (cancer,heat disease, etc) occur after reproductive years where there hasn't been a selection pressure in nature. (i.e. Subject A has cancer genes, Subject B doesn't... if the cancer doesn't affect Subject A until after he reproduces then there's no selection pressure to eliminate the cancer gene). How does this type of genetic engineering affect this "optimization"? 1. There will be a greater selection pressure for "socially acceptable", whether that be eye color, intelligence, etc. There already exists this pressure in terms of "being attractive enough to find a mate". 2. There will be much less selection pressure for reproductive success. This is already starting today with infertile couples choosing complex medical procedures to get pregnant. The genetic engineering will merely accelerate the process, because the reproductively weak will be among the most emotionally needed for this new procedure. I wouldn't think it farfetched to see these "genetically elite" in a couple of generations being unable to reproduce without technological assistance. (You want your little girl to be thin, and not such a fatty... don't you? Nevermind that low body fat will complicate her reproductive system. You don't want a rebellous teenage son... do you? We can keep his testosterone levels in check.)
A couple of ideas: 1. Compressed air, but carry a small compressor onboard... no big tank to lug. 2. Gimble the internal compressor and use it as a reaction wheel to help with pointing.
The founding fathers were ahead of you on this one. In the Federalist Papers (#10 I believe), there is a long section on preventing the "tyrrany of the majority".
The point is that "majority rule" isn't enough for a democracy. There must also be protection of minorities and dissenting points of view. Its wise as well because ideas change and the people in the majority viewpoint today could end up being the minority in the future.
The Bill of Rights isn't there to protect the majority... the majority will always be 'de facto' protected. You can't lock up or kill 80% of the population.
A revolution without guns? You need to join the real world.
Humans are not that far off the grassy savannah where might makes right. In the end, voting is just a carrot, but when things get bad you need a stick.
They seem to have no idea that radioactivity is all around us all the time... and most of the time we (Humans, Inc) get along just fine with it.
These people have obviously never thought about why a Geiger counter goes off around a piece of granite....
They probably would totally freak out if they realized that depleted Uranium is in virtually every Jumbo jet flying today. (Used as a counterweight on the wing control surfaces to minimize flutter because they needed a very dense counterweight that could fit within the wing contour plus our government was apparently selling tons of the stuff at discount prices)
Not to mention I have a lot of respect for the boys at JPL... when you consider what they could make by going into industry, you have to admire the dedication. --Rob JPL's Number One Fan
Chris, Do yourself a favor and pick up "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins. It is a really well written book that attempts to show how the "modern eye" has evolved and still been useful at every step. A quick recap of the logic is: A random mutation leads to a nerve spot being sensitive to light/dark which could prove useful in finding food (since tracking towards the sun would ensure you don't loop around in water you've already sifted for food). Better sensitivity leads to more use on cloudy days or deeper in the water. Tracking light is also a primative "predator avoidance" since the predator casts a shadow. Developing a recess for the light sensitive area allows directionality... this is the beginning of the eye socket. And the case develops from there that better resolution (later focus) allows detecting food/predators from farther distances, etc.
As a personal note... I'm mostly blind in my left eye... I have no retina except on the edges so that I have peripheral vision, but total blackness straight ahead. Luckily it's enough that I have a full field of vision (albeit no depth perception). I can tell you that even a malformed eye is far more useful than nothing... if you happened to be passing my car on the left I think you'd agree too!:-) --Rob
Already been done: Superdemocracy by (the late) Tim Stryker (of Galacticomm fame). Published in 1992 or 1993 by Cool Hand Publishing, which is in either Ft. Lauderdale or Boca Raton Florida.
available for the code I write... nothing but the basic Intel Pentium registers. I guarantee you my productivity sucks by a LOC measure, but there's damn few people that can do it at all... --Rob BIOS developer
Slashdot Mirror
This is funny. Given how frequently we're served hot grits or forced to stare at Natalie Portman, this is hardly offtopic.
Unfortunately NetPliance *does* want their subscribers to dial in and use the service: the amount they can charge for banner ads, special link locations within their service all depend upon people using the service.
Their business model is based upon sheep paying for the *device*, then paying for the *service*, while they see *ads* NP has sold, while they collect *demographic data* NP sells, and when the sheep buy stuff online NP will probably try to take a taste as well.
(As they review their data:
"Look Chester, our average customer is 24, 98% of them read slashdot, 60% of them are IT professionals and 99% of them have degrees in computer science or electrical engineering"
"What's this other spike in the data?"
"Oh, 99% of them have ordered a 2.5" harddrive in the last two weeks"
"Should we be worried?")
You mean like NetPliance did with the iOpener? Yep, I betcha the NPLI people are raving about their choice to use open standards and commodity hardware.
And I'd just *love* to see people whining about "I spent $150 on this console and I'm upset that it didn't come with BeOS drivers that were open source".
Very informative!
It's my understanding that right now humans are "optimized" (with regard to diseases/abilities)for our reproductive life (up to what... 35? 40?). And most of our bad problems (cancer,heat disease, etc) occur after reproductive years where there hasn't been a selection pressure in nature. (i.e. Subject A has cancer genes, Subject B doesn't... if the cancer doesn't affect Subject A until after he reproduces then there's no selection pressure to eliminate the cancer gene).
How does this type of genetic engineering affect this "optimization"?
1. There will be a greater selection pressure for "socially acceptable", whether that be eye color, intelligence, etc. There already exists this pressure in terms of "being attractive enough to find a mate".
2. There will be much less selection pressure for reproductive success. This is already starting today with infertile couples choosing complex medical procedures to get pregnant. The genetic engineering will merely accelerate the process, because the reproductively weak will be among the most emotionally needed for this new procedure.
I wouldn't think it farfetched to see these "genetically elite" in a couple of generations being unable to reproduce without technological assistance. (You want your little girl to be thin, and not such a fatty... don't you? Nevermind that low body fat will complicate her reproductive system. You don't want a rebellous teenage son... do you? We can keep his testosterone levels in check.)
A couple of ideas:
1. Compressed air, but carry a small compressor onboard... no big tank to lug.
2. Gimble the internal compressor and use it as a reaction wheel to help with pointing.
The founding fathers were ahead of you on this one. In the Federalist Papers (#10 I believe), there is a long section on preventing the "tyrrany of the majority".
The point is that "majority rule" isn't enough for a democracy. There must also be protection of minorities and dissenting points of view. Its wise as well because ideas change and the people in the majority viewpoint today could end up being the minority in the future.
The Bill of Rights isn't there to protect the majority... the majority will always be 'de facto' protected. You can't lock up or kill 80% of the population.
A revolution without guns? You need to join the real world.
Humans are not that far off the grassy savannah where might makes right. In the end, voting is just a carrot, but when things get bad you need a stick.
They seem to have no idea that radioactivity is all around us all the time... and most of the time we (Humans, Inc) get along just fine with it.
These people have obviously never thought about why a Geiger counter goes off around a piece of granite....
They probably would totally freak out if they realized that depleted Uranium is in virtually every Jumbo jet flying today. (Used as a counterweight on the wing control surfaces to minimize flutter because they needed a very dense counterweight that could fit within the wing contour plus our government was apparently selling tons of the stuff at discount prices)
Not to mention I have a lot of respect for the boys at JPL... when you consider what they could make by going into industry, you have to admire the dedication.
--Rob
JPL's Number One Fan
Chris,
:-)
Do yourself a favor and pick up "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins. It is a really well written book that attempts to show how the "modern eye" has evolved and still been useful at every step.
A quick recap of the logic is: A random mutation leads to a nerve spot being sensitive to light/dark which could prove useful in finding food (since tracking towards the sun would ensure you don't loop around in water you've already sifted for food). Better sensitivity leads to more use on cloudy days or deeper in the water. Tracking light is also a primative "predator avoidance" since the predator casts a shadow. Developing a recess for the light sensitive area allows directionality... this is the beginning of the eye socket.
And the case develops from there that better resolution (later focus) allows detecting food/predators from farther distances, etc.
As a personal note... I'm mostly blind in my left eye... I have no retina except on the edges so that I have peripheral vision, but total blackness straight ahead. Luckily it's enough that I have a full field of vision (albeit no depth perception). I can tell you that even a malformed eye is far more useful than nothing... if you happened to be passing my car on the left I think you'd agree too!
--Rob
Already been done: Superdemocracy by (the late) Tim Stryker (of Galacticomm fame). Published in 1992 or 1993 by Cool Hand Publishing, which is in either Ft. Lauderdale or Boca Raton Florida.
available for the code I write... nothing but the basic Intel Pentium registers. I guarantee you my productivity sucks by a LOC measure, but there's damn few people that can do it at all...
--Rob
BIOS developer