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  1. Re:And in other news... on Excess Coffee May Be Linked To Early Death · · Score: 1

    The BBC published (july 9 2011) a graph showing the mortality rates for 1961 and 2009:

    BBC News - Heart medicine advances help patients enjoy active life.html

    In 1961 CVD was 51% of all deaths and cancer was 18%

    In 2009 CVD was 32% and cancer was 29%
     

  2. Re:Transhumanism, Moore's Law, etc... on Interviews: Ask Freeman Dyson What You Will · · Score: 1

    In 1954 Norbert Wiener published "The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society.
    In it he said:"...let us remember that automatic machines, whatever we think of any feelings it may have or may not have is the precise economic equivalent of slave labor. Any labor which competes with slave labor must accept the economic conditions of slave labor"(p.220)

    Is there any good answer to this forecast?

  3. Re:Oh the critics... on Degree Hack: Cobbling Together Credit Hours For Cheap · · Score: 1

    BBC world news has an article today on the student debt in th USA. There is a list of about 40 related articles.
    There is not one mention about free university education in some countries...Finland :Germany (grad school) are a couple.I read about Finland in Linus Torvald's book "Just for Fun"

  4. Re:The Beginning of a Larger Future Change on Is Software Driving a Falling Demand For Brains? · · Score: 1

    Back in the 50s a mathematician, Norbert Wiener, published "The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and society".

    He wrote"...the automatic machine...is the precise economic equivalent of slave labor..."(p.220)

    "... there is nothing in the industrial tradition which forbids an industrialist to make a sure and quick profit and to get out before the crash touches him personally."
    "... will lead to an immediate transitional period of disastrous confusion." (p.219)

  5. memory.Isaac Asimov on Secrets of a Memory Champion · · Score: 1

    In "It's been a good life" (p.28) he is quoted as saying:

    "I did not realize that my memory was remarkable until I noticed that my classmates didn't have memories like it.
    After something had been explained to them, they would forget and would have to have it explained again. In my case it was only necessary that I be told once."

  6. Re:Hmmmmm on Why Published Research Findings Are Often False · · Score: 1

    Some philosopher of science pointed out that if the physical properties of some substance varied over time in an apparently random way it would be almost impossible to have any scientific knowledge. e.g. if gold changed its specific gravity, colour, conductivity etc . randomly over a time period exceeding the usual human life time.
    This would seem to apply to the output of creative artists, e.s.p and stock traders who actually have the Midas touch.(for a time!)

  7. poor vision on Google Wants To Take Away Your Capslock Key · · Score: 1

    easiest way to send a short email to a friend with very poor vision

  8. Re:Here's a better idea... on Ubuntu May Move To Rolling Releases · · Score: 1

    Would Gobolinux solve some of these problems?

  9. Re:It was clearly not a pandemic on Gene Mutation Caused 2009 H1N1 Virus Spread · · Score: 3, Interesting

    search "The Times of India" for "swine flu"
    You will find:
    A: that there has been a 40% increase in swine flu cases recently.
    B:that it requires 2 tests to confirm that a particular swab is swine flu rather than ordinary flu.
    C: that the first test to establish that it is flu and not a common cold is cheap; but that the test to identify swine flu costs up to 5000 rupees (~$100)
    D: that the second test is frequently not done and the results from the first test are assumed to be swine flu; which leads to a lot of false positives.
    E: that some of the WHO experts had (have/) ties to pharma companies

  10. Re:Tech is still Tech, yucko! on The 'Net Generation' Isn't · · Score: 1

    Nice reference to Kipling.
    The article in Spiegel Online has 3 parts; the third is:
    Part 3: Learning How to Use the Internet Productively

    If this had come first most of the article would be window dressing.
    How could you expect kids to know anything if the schools don't teach?

    From my perspective the "Singularity" has arrived.

    I have access to over 1 million books on line; this is a greater library than anyone has ever had in the past.
    And a "paper" library this large would require many servants to look up and run to bring the book that I requested.
    When my kid was growing up there was no Gutenberg; I frequently had to say "I don't know" to many of his questions.
    Now I just go to the internet
    A fantastic increase in (my) knowledge

  11. Re:Yes, interesting. on Toyota's Engineering Process and the General Public · · Score: 1

    IIRC back in the fifties a BOAC aircraft crashed in the caribbean. It had 2 radio direction finders, one of which developed a small fault which caused it to indicate a different direction.The pilot had no other source of information, and picked the wrong instrument.
    This problem with only 2 sources of information was not new.
    Ships captains, before radio etc. never had just 2 chronometers as they had no way of knowing which was correct. So they had either one or 3 or more

  12. Re:Good data? on CDC Adopts Near Real-Time Flu Tracking System · · Score: 1

    Follow the money
    The CDC states that only a PCR test can distinguish between seasonal flu and H1N1,
    PCR tests cost between 100 to 300 dollars and takes about 2 days. ( the costs in India were said to be about 200 dollars.
    The PCR machines are expensive; from 50,000 to 100,000 dollars.
    They require trained staff
    They can only do so many tests ia a day
    The WHO talks about "confirmed" cases; but not about the lack of PCR machines in most of the world.

    (Hearsay) a distant relative, a nurse in the USA, says that when the results of a "quick" test (that can only indicate flu or not flu,) comes back she is told to always mark it as H1N1.
    The CDC stats that treatment should begin within the first 48 hours; i.e the time it takes to get the PCR result.
    So the physician assumes the worst and initiates treatment appropriate to H1N1

  13. Re:Already possibly debunked on Seasonal Flu Shots Double Risk of Getting Swine Flu, Says New Study · · Score: 1

    (and esp. PaddyM's link showing other researchers see selection bias in the Canada study

    I checked both links and could find no reference to SEEING selection.
    Some commentators have SUGGESTED that there may have been selection.
    No-one has noted that a number of provinces have found the evidence sufficient to halt the promotion of the c\vaccine.ie a number of medical people other than the researchers have seen something.

  14. Re:What's with all the hate? on KDE Project Invites Ideas With Online Brainstorm · · Score: 1

    There are quite a few books about ubuntu. Try findind one on Kubuntu

  15. Re:Chinese puns on Chinese Subvert Censorship With a Popular Pun · · Score: 1

    I was told, when a kid, that I was tone deaf (I am english).
    Had I been born in China would I be (or become) considered retarded because of my tone deafness?
    A reference to a site that discuses this would be nice
    Thanks

  16. ixquick on Yahoo Promises To Anonymize and Limit User Data · · Score: 1

    ixquick recives privacy award from eu

    http://us2.ixquick.com/uk/protect_privacy.html

    Ixquick's position:
              You have a right to privacy.
              Your search data should never fall into the wrong hands.
              The only real solution is deleting your data.
              We delete our users' privacy data within 48 hrs.
              We are the first and only search engine to do so.
              Our initiative is receiving an overwhelmingly positive response!

  17. Re:Uh huh, yeah, whatever. on Questioning Google's Privacy Reform · · Score: 1

    How does Chrome compare in this regard to "ask.com" "AskEraser"?

  18. Re:Let's put this into numbers... on The Uncertain Future of Global Population Numbers · · Score: 1

    land area of Texas 268820 square miles x 640
    =172044800 acres.
    World population 6.6 billion (10^9)
    population/acres =38.36 people per acre
    =24551 per square mile

    1 acre = 43560 square feet/38.36
    =1135 square feet per person
    =a square 33.7 feet per side

    No roads!

  19. Re:Got a labor shortage? on IT Labor Shortage Is Just a Myth · · Score: 2, Informative

    Not only IT jobs.
    See:
    http://machinedesign.com/ContentItem/71819/LelandTeschlersEditorialFinallythetruthaboutengineeringjobs.aspx

    An editorial.Finally, the truth about engineering jobs
    Members of the U.S. House got a surprising message during a recent meeting on Americas science and engineering workforce: Everything they thought they knew about science and engineering employment was wrong.
      Specifically, there is no shortage of scientists or engineers. In fact, there are substantially more scientists and engineers graduating in the U.S. than there are jobs

  20. Re:He's right on Dvorak Slams OLPC As 'Naive Fiasco' · · Score: 1

    A blogger from India also criticizes the olpc:

    http://www.deeshaa.org/2006/08/07/olpc-rest-in-peace-part-3/

    He points out that for India's 100 million children it would cost
    about 5 billion per year.
    This money, if spent on teachers and "blackboards" would circulate in the economy.

    "..If we consider about 100 million children in the age group 4 through 15 need to be in school in rural India, then the total cost is of the order of US$5 billion per year. Given the student/teacher ratio of 30, we will employ about 3.33 million teachers at an annual wage cost of around $3.33 billion. The two important words in there are employ and wages. We are employing educated people as teachers and they are earning wages which they spend in the rural areas. The forward and backward linkages of this wage spending affect the entire economy more positively than the spending on buying high-cost high-technology gadgets. I posit that the multiplier effect of employing teachers in schools is greater than that of buying OLPC for India. .........

  21. Re:More information... on OLPC Launches Buy One, Give One Free Program · · Score: 1

    only a 30 day warranty

  22. Re:One other question on Slashdot 10-Year Anniversary Charity Auction for the EFF · · Score: 1

    You left out
    "please wait", "please wait", "please wait"
    Is it so difficult to have additional comments loaded while reading those that are shown?

  23. Re:It's than the Summary makes out on Encouraging Students to Drop Mathematics · · Score: 1

    I am arguing with an editor (NOT SLASHDOT) that
    "very fun" is not an acceptable usage. That " a lot of fun" is the approved usage
    As an english teacher perhaps you can supply the correct usage?

  24. Re:Face it on How Do You Advocate Linux in 5 Minutes? · · Score: 1

    I use Kubuntu 6.06. My son is a gamer. He sends me emails, some of which are copies of articles, almost invariably in some Windows specific format. Kubuntu shows no "attachment".
    However if I fire up my XP machine there it is -the attachment- which XP procedes to download and open.
    So "face it"
    He bitches that I bitch about having to fire my Windows comp.!
    No harmony!

  25. Software that mitigates failures on Upgrading to Ubuntu Edgy Eft a "Nightmare" · · Score: 1

    2006 has not been a vintage year for Linux
    At least 2 major dist. have had significant problems with their new releases.
    Perhaps Linux should adopt the program that these guys are working on:

    http://www.physorg.com/news81096007.html

    "... through software that allows the computer to survive radiation-caused flaws or errors ...when you know components are going to fail, you can design the system to automatically adapt and thereby mitigate the effects of that failure."

    I imagine my next comp. having 4 cores, 2 of which will be constantly running checks on the other 2, updating, replacing etc. as necessary
    Heaven! ( and think how small the forums will become!)