The saddest example I see of pseudoscience is in the birth communities, medical technology has taken us out of the tragic "good old days" when 1 in 10 babies and 1 in 100 mothers didn't survive a birth. But suddenly everyone thinks it's a great idea to run away from hospitals and doctors and use untrained homebirth attendants, even for high risk pregnancy. In Australia death rates are four times higher for homebirth babies.
Having recently been pregnant and seen the "trust NATURE" mantras thrown at me again and again in online communities, I'm so afraid of who else is being mislead. But the consequences are unimaginable.
Mythbusters needs to use metric. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, because I'm a diehard pro-metric person, but this point has just redirected my campaign. Politicians don't care and haven't for years, but you're right, science media should. I'm going to complain to Mythbusters now when I see them using imperial. And Wired magazine. And Science channel. I feel good about this, and refocused.
Well, if you want a technological solution that really works for every case, we could at least make milk donation cheap & easy. Right now there are less than 20 HMBANA milk banks in North America, a lot of major cities are hours away from one. Private donation websites like eatsonfeets and milkshare often have more donors than people searching for milk, since private donation is under-publicized and depends on recipients screening milk themselves by reviewing medical records... I don't blame it for being unpopular.
Cow's milk is great but I bet we're wasting a lot of precious human milk we have, because we don't appreciate it enough to screen & pasteurize it.
This is all well and good, but it would take some seriously exhaustive studies to prove that this should be given to babies. Formula manufacturers have been trying to replicate human milk for YEARS without success. Milk is more than chemicals. It's hormones, it's enzymes, it changes based on what illnesses the mother is currently making antibodies for, it even changes from morning to night. I didn't think I'd ever become a breastfeeding militant, but it's happened... breastfeeding worked out so much better for my daughter & I than anyone ever lead me to believe, yet people still look for ways out of the "inconvenience" of, say, having to see women nurse in public (gasp!).
I love science, but if we're really smart we'd put less energy into trying to duplicate human milk, and look for more ways to support, assist, & enable nursing mothers.
That was my thought too. The flapping wings are cool but anyone who's ever taken a flying lesson knows that there's not much art to moving around in air. Landing takes incredible precision and control. I don't care what the website claims, I'll believe it when I see it.
After that I had no idea what to do with it... run open office? Learn Perl? I ended up getting WAY more into GIMP than I thought I would, that's what took up most of my time, I had to make myself cool new penguin-y backgrounds.
I feel like privacy issues are incredibly important... and that I'm the only one who feels this way. Well, me and my friends who read slashdot. And the four libertarians I know.
The government only does this stuff because they feel like they can get away with it, that's what kills me.
Something similar happened to me when I started advicenators... a hackjob concept that floated along for few months and then suddenly grew to 10,000 members. I was overwhelmed. I scrambled to write code for a moderator system and abuse reporting, and any security issues we had took time away from that. Finally, about a year ago, I just gave the site away to a loyal member and his wife who knew their stuff and promised to keep the site pointed at the goals I'd started for it (I'm usually pretty satisfied with their methods in doing that).
The site had gotten so it wasn't fun for me. I was home every night after work writing PHP, and coming back from a weekend vacation was a nightmare. I also felt like all those members deserved more than I could give them.
Business professionals will tell you that it takes a certain type of person to get a business going, another type to get it stable, another type to get it to the top, etc. The web is the same way, and if you're a "starter" who can come up with innovative concepts that take off, then go do that. Don't get tied down with old projects.
"psychology is so important. It made a huge difference to call it [the newest Linux kernel] 2.60 Test 1. Because we started getting a lot of bug reports from people who would never touch 2.5.79 with a ten-foot pole. Even though it was the same code. Especially on the desktop that's the only way to test it. Because desktops are just so varied that you literally have to get it tested by the user base."
I suddenly understand why 2.6 has been in the works all this time, it's brilliant. I'd think analysis like this would lend developers into more and more X.X changes instead of X.X.X.XX.X... going that deep into releases just isn't practical, especially when you're needing people to help out.
I went into science a long time ago thinking it'd be so great because it wouldn't involve people's silly perceptions and personal idiosynchrocies but I've come to find the opposite, and I've come to find that it's not always bad to have technical people be "human" after all. If that makes any sense.
In other news, I still don't know how to correctly pronounce Linux.
there are nice things to look at outside, too. sometimes the smaller side of nature is just as memorizing as the big picture. I fear for myself when I spend days looking at the world on a monitor.
eh, that's what geekhood is all about.
We're safer, we breath cleaner air. We don't suffer from hearing loss. We're not on our feet all day and we make good money.
Yeah, life sure is tough.
If you think a factory is better, go work in a factory! I'll stay in my cubicle and deal with being "lonely and insecure". I'm very thankful for my job and anyone who thinks a career in an office is difficult needs a big reality check. We have it very good, people.
I'm really tired of people getting the plural form of every abbreviation wrong. It's PLCs. Not PLC's. The PLC doesn't own anything. You wouldn't say "programmable logic controller's". Uhg.
I totally agree. It's a machine-bonding kinda thing, hard to explain to people who've never done it and before I built my own computer I questioned it myself. Everyone around me (friends, family, the whole bit) kept asking how much money I actually saved by not buying something off the shelf, but it's really not about money, it's about getting in there and doing something yourself. And now they all ask me for computer help.
I think the general population lacks the ability to analyze risks vs. rewards situations. Risk? About $800. Reward? You're smart now. If that's not enough for the average human to tackle new exciting things, I'm a bit concerned about where society is going.
And on another issue, the parallel port is going to totally die soon unless we geeks keep dinking with it! Fire up those LEDs, minions! Okay, glad I got that out.
"screwball" is such a tough to define word, really, we should be careful not to accuse any organization of being a cult. I, for one, have told my followers that the comet will only take those of us pure of heart and mind, so most outsiders are safe from our plans for global domination. rest easy, brothers, I'm making applesauce only for us chosen few.
Last time I started a cubicle war with a good stock of rubber bands I ended up with a bruise on the top of my back that was an exact outline of the continent of Australia. It lasted three days.
I agree. I think the world need to change it's attitude about paying for online content/software, you don't pay because you can't steal it or they force you to or you get a whole lot more by putting money into it, you pay because you support people who do cool smart things, like Slashdot. Sort of a "put your money where your mouth is" deal.
IMHO Slashdot deserves a little cash, all. Face it. Open Source doesn't have a whole lot of alliances these days, we need to make the ones we have strong.
I've used paypal for years and have never had a problem. They're quick and convenient what, what's more important, almost free. Everyone else charges. You get what you pay for, I guess, it's always worked great for me and the 3% or whatever they take from me when I get a credit card payment is well worth it.
I never would have bought an HP anyway, sometimes I think anyone who isn't building their own computer isn't smart enough to know to re-install their OS every so often just to keep their system clean.
That's just what we need... discourage underprivileged children from reading by putting interesting books in a format they can't get to because their parents can't afford a computer.
One spammer interviewed in the article says he sends out about 15,000 spam messages a day and gets 10-15 new customers out of that. So I guess the message about spam we send to these people is that's it's worth it.
It feels like we're kinda stuck - it's annoying and stupid, but spam is here to stay. That 1/1000 is a good enough target for these businesses, and e-mail addresses are so cheap to get they might as well go for it. The only thing I can think of is being extra careful to NEVER look into an e-mail that even looks like spam - don't go to the website, don't buy the product, even if it could be interesting.
I once asked a telemarketer if he hated his life, he said he did. I thought it was kinda funny that he admitted it straight out - it was proof that the underbelly world of cheap advertising is evil.
Agreed - you also forgot to mention that all the thinkgeek "ladies" t-shirts are size appropriately for a five year old, and that's the XL size. They miss the boat big time with their stuff, no self respecting geek girl wears glitter on her chest.
Slashdot Mirror
and volunteer to help test. We have a steady stream of trolls available for review, a truly endless supply.
I thought "one letter programming language" would refer to the syntax, not the marketing name of the language.
what can keep me from ever having to type out the entire word "while" again?
The saddest example I see of pseudoscience is in the birth communities, medical technology has taken us out of the tragic "good old days" when 1 in 10 babies and 1 in 100 mothers didn't survive a birth. But suddenly everyone thinks it's a great idea to run away from hospitals and doctors and use untrained homebirth attendants, even for high risk pregnancy. In Australia death rates are four times higher for homebirth babies.
Having recently been pregnant and seen the "trust NATURE" mantras thrown at me again and again in online communities, I'm so afraid of who else is being mislead. But the consequences are unimaginable.
but everyone agrees it takes forever to find the place.
Mythbusters needs to use metric. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, because I'm a diehard pro-metric person, but this point has just redirected my campaign. Politicians don't care and haven't for years, but you're right, science media should. I'm going to complain to Mythbusters now when I see them using imperial. And Wired magazine. And Science channel. I feel good about this, and refocused.
Well, if you want a technological solution that really works for every case, we could at least make milk donation cheap & easy. Right now there are less than 20 HMBANA milk banks in North America, a lot of major cities are hours away from one. Private donation websites like eatsonfeets and milkshare often have more donors than people searching for milk, since private donation is under-publicized and depends on recipients screening milk themselves by reviewing medical records... I don't blame it for being unpopular.
Cow's milk is great but I bet we're wasting a lot of precious human milk we have, because we don't appreciate it enough to screen & pasteurize it.
This is all well and good, but it would take some seriously exhaustive studies to prove that this should be given to babies. Formula manufacturers have been trying to replicate human milk for YEARS without success. Milk is more than chemicals. It's hormones, it's enzymes, it changes based on what illnesses the mother is currently making antibodies for, it even changes from morning to night. I didn't think I'd ever become a breastfeeding militant, but it's happened... breastfeeding worked out so much better for my daughter & I than anyone ever lead me to believe, yet people still look for ways out of the "inconvenience" of, say, having to see women nurse in public (gasp!).
I love science, but if we're really smart we'd put less energy into trying to duplicate human milk, and look for more ways to support, assist, & enable nursing mothers.
That was my thought too. The flapping wings are cool but anyone who's ever taken a flying lesson knows that there's not much art to moving around in air. Landing takes incredible precision and control. I don't care what the website claims, I'll believe it when I see it.
I kinda installed linux because it was cool.
After that I had no idea what to do with it... run open office? Learn Perl? I ended up getting WAY more into GIMP than I thought I would, that's what took up most of my time, I had to make myself cool new penguin-y backgrounds.
I feel like privacy issues are incredibly important... and that I'm the only one who feels this way. Well, me and my friends who read slashdot. And the four libertarians I know.
The government only does this stuff because they feel like they can get away with it, that's what kills me.
Something similar happened to me when I started advicenators... a hackjob concept that floated along for few months and then suddenly grew to 10,000 members. I was overwhelmed. I scrambled to write code for a moderator system and abuse reporting, and any security issues we had took time away from that. Finally, about a year ago, I just gave the site away to a loyal member and his wife who knew their stuff and promised to keep the site pointed at the goals I'd started for it (I'm usually pretty satisfied with their methods in doing that).
The site had gotten so it wasn't fun for me. I was home every night after work writing PHP, and coming back from a weekend vacation was a nightmare. I also felt like all those members deserved more than I could give them.
Business professionals will tell you that it takes a certain type of person to get a business going, another type to get it stable, another type to get it to the top, etc. The web is the same way, and if you're a "starter" who can come up with innovative concepts that take off, then go do that. Don't get tied down with old projects.
"psychology is so important. It made a huge difference to call it [the newest Linux kernel] 2.60 Test 1. Because we started getting a lot of bug reports from people who would never touch 2.5.79 with a ten-foot pole. Even though it was the same code. Especially on the desktop that's the only way to test it. Because desktops are just so varied that you literally have to get it tested by the user base."
I suddenly understand why 2.6 has been in the works all this time, it's brilliant. I'd think analysis like this would lend developers into more and more X.X changes instead of X.X.X.XX.X... going that deep into releases just isn't practical, especially when you're needing people to help out.
I went into science a long time ago thinking it'd be so great because it wouldn't involve people's silly perceptions and personal idiosynchrocies but I've come to find the opposite, and I've come to find that it's not always bad to have technical people be "human" after all. If that makes any sense.
In other news, I still don't know how to correctly pronounce Linux.
there are nice things to look at outside, too. sometimes the smaller side of nature is just as memorizing as the big picture. I fear for myself when I spend days looking at the world on a monitor. eh, that's what geekhood is all about.
We're safer, we breath cleaner air. We don't suffer from hearing loss. We're not on our feet all day and we make good money.
Yeah, life sure is tough.
If you think a factory is better, go work in a factory! I'll stay in my cubicle and deal with being "lonely and insecure". I'm very thankful for my job and anyone who thinks a career in an office is difficult needs a big reality check. We have it very good, people.
I'm really tired of people getting the plural form of every abbreviation wrong. It's PLCs. Not PLC's. The PLC doesn't own anything. You wouldn't say "programmable logic controller's". Uhg.
I totally agree. It's a machine-bonding kinda thing, hard to explain to people who've never done it and before I built my own computer I questioned it myself. Everyone around me (friends, family, the whole bit) kept asking how much money I actually saved by not buying something off the shelf, but it's really not about money, it's about getting in there and doing something yourself. And now they all ask me for computer help.
I think the general population lacks the ability to analyze risks vs. rewards situations. Risk? About $800. Reward? You're smart now. If that's not enough for the average human to tackle new exciting things, I'm a bit concerned about where society is going.
And on another issue, the parallel port is going to totally die soon unless we geeks keep dinking with it! Fire up those LEDs, minions! Okay, glad I got that out.
"screwball" is such a tough to define word, really, we should be careful not to accuse any organization of being a cult. I, for one, have told my followers that the comet will only take those of us pure of heart and mind, so most outsiders are safe from our plans for global domination. rest easy, brothers, I'm making applesauce only for us chosen few.
Last time I started a cubicle war with a good stock of rubber bands I ended up with a bruise on the top of my back that was an exact outline of the continent of Australia. It lasted three days.
So see, they're not only fun, they're artistic.
I agree. I think the world need to change it's attitude about paying for online content/software, you don't pay because you can't steal it or they force you to or you get a whole lot more by putting money into it, you pay because you support people who do cool smart things, like Slashdot. Sort of a "put your money where your mouth is" deal.
IMHO Slashdot deserves a little cash, all. Face it. Open Source doesn't have a whole lot of alliances these days, we need to make the ones we have strong.
I've used paypal for years and have never had a problem. They're quick and convenient what, what's more important, almost free. Everyone else charges. You get what you pay for, I guess, it's always worked great for me and the 3% or whatever they take from me when I get a credit card payment is well worth it.
I never would have bought an HP anyway, sometimes I think anyone who isn't building their own computer isn't smart enough to know to re-install their OS every so often just to keep their system clean.
IMHO, it's on its way out anyway.
That's just what we need... discourage underprivileged children from reading by putting interesting books in a format they can't get to because their parents can't afford a computer.
Let's not be selfish, okay please?
One spammer interviewed in the article says he sends out about 15,000 spam messages a day and gets 10-15 new customers out of that. So I guess the message about spam we send to these people is that's it's worth it.
It feels like we're kinda stuck - it's annoying and stupid, but spam is here to stay. That 1/1000 is a good enough target for these businesses, and e-mail addresses are so cheap to get they might as well go for it. The only thing I can think of is being extra careful to NEVER look into an e-mail that even looks like spam - don't go to the website, don't buy the product, even if it could be interesting.
I once asked a telemarketer if he hated his life, he said he did. I thought it was kinda funny that he admitted it straight out - it was proof that the underbelly world of cheap advertising is evil.
Agreed - you also forgot to mention that all the thinkgeek "ladies" t-shirts are size appropriately for a five year old, and that's the XL size. They miss the boat big time with their stuff, no self respecting geek girl wears glitter on her chest.