"But the incident made me take the fundamental problem with Wikipedia seriously enough to sit up and look out for it. Once I started to look out for that problem, I noticed it enough other places for me to now instinctively lower the ranking of wikipedia hits."
Wikipedia's designed intent is to accurately reflect the consensus culture's view of knowledge. Seems like it's doing that just fine. In cases where that culture itself is bitterly divided, and holders of various positions sling names at each other in the media, from governmental pulpits, and in published scientific journals, were you expecting Wikipedia to somehow magically rise above this and achieve perfect truth?
Because if you could bottle an algorithm for doing that, you'd get the Nobel Peace Prize. Or be assassinated, or both.
"and will inevitably lead to its horrific demise, followed by the dark ages of technology"
The goose-stepping hordes, saluting and chanting "NPOV! NPOV! Heil Jimbo!" beneath the burning jigsaw-world emblem.
The border checks: "Citation required, wikizen!"
The secret bunkers: "Your anonymous friends in 4chan are walking into a trap. Now witness the processing power of this FULLY ARMED AND OPERATIONAL datacenter!"
The inevitable non-aggression pact with Scientology, followed by the antimatter bombing of the Vatican and the invasion of Russia.
"everyone can edit it... so long as you reference and summarise something somewhere else. "
Yes, that's exactly the policy Wikipedia was founded on. "An encyclopedia not a journal... No original research". So they're still doing that right, then.
"humans and the multinational corporation central to the story were so over-the-top evil it was almost comical. "
Actually, I thought they made some fairly pragmatic decisions. Nobody in the story was entirely evil, just looking for power and survival and trying to do their job. Even the aliens weren't entirely happy fluffy ponies.
There really are people in this world who have to think in terms we civilians (and even they) consider insane. Read some of the RAND nuclear war theory reports sometime.
"there would be a lot of outrage to see extraterrestrials being treated this way."
Because there's a lot of outrage about how *humans* are treated who live in those actual slums... oh wait, not so much. We've tolerated exactly this kind of misery for decades now. And no, it's not just apartheid which does it: our glorious revolutionary capitalist financial and economic system dumps people into this pit.
It is interesting though to look at how two of the hottest movies this season have been fantasies set in slums. District 9 and Slumdog Millionaire. Maybe global consciousness is starting to wake up?
"There were the adrenaline-spewing fight sequenses to draw in the action movie fans. And finally there were the hints of romance so that fanboys who drag their reluctant girlfriends along can point and say "But look, there's also a love story in it!""
Which was the genius of Titanic: almost equal parts action/disaster movie with lots of stuff smashin' (for the boys) and soppy doomed romance (for the girls).
Wanna bet Avatar will do the same thing, but in space?
It was only three years ago, guys! I suppose that means it's a whole new college intake, but there must be some old-timers still here who remember back to 2006?
"Finally, the curvature is not "into another dimension"; space actually only has an inner curvature (basically, deformation along the space direction)."
This is something I find very difficult to grasp about Riemannian geometry.
If we have a 4D spacetime with 'inner curvature', why can't we just embed that 4D manifold in a 5D Eucledian manifold and make that inner curvature a real curvature?
I share your disgruntlement at how broken the media world is, but the problem is exactly that we DON'T have an "everyday standard audio/video" format. We have MPEG-4, which is illegal to use with Open systems, and then other patent-encumbered proprietary codecs like Quicktime, Windows Media, et al.
You're welcome to break the law if you think it will help.
"The whole reason they're doing this is so they have multiple competing vendors for services, instead of just a single monopolistic contractor."
Yikes - I thought the US military had pervasive dual-sourcing policies already, but maybe NASA not so much. At least as of 1998, it seems like much of the Shuttle was single-sourced. Probably still is?
"The fourth was OK. Definitely a "OK, here's your damn book, get off my back.""
It's weird, that. The fourth HHG is my favourite of all of DNA's work by a long shot. Probably because it's so dissimilar to the rest, and because it has a single cohesive storyline, and it has (what passes for) a happy ending.
I mean, flying sex scene. With jumbo jet. Best. Thing. Ever.
I think I like it so much because he was so 'off his stride' that he forgot to stop and make it cynical, miserable and depressing.
Slashdot Mirror
"Honestly, I think Apple out-lassoes Google"
Nah, Steve Jobs is all hat and no cattle.
"Unless we discover something out there that is fantastically valuable"
I hear there's this planet LV-426 which has a really interesting lifeform with, uh, applications in strategic counter-insurgency...
"The only thing that comes down to Earth would be finished products in nice, simple, recyclable dropshells."
At a high re-entry velocity, so they double as strategic weapons. It's a win-win!
"Because a gun is the most effective tool currently available for defending yourself against aggression?"
Oh, really? And if the other guy has a tank?
Support the right to bear tactical nukes!
"Of course, it's so simple. Why didn't we think of making a backup economy years ago?"
Because the people who learned Chicago school economics were educated stupid.
Nature has backups. Superefficient right-sized outsourced just-in-time manufacturing... not so much.
"...as a race... it will just be downhill from there"
Last one to the foot of Olympus Mons is a rotten egg!
And no fair using rocket jets on your sled!
Well, Tantalum is just a big tease anyway.
http://www.conservapedia.com/Main_Page
"But the incident made me take the fundamental problem with Wikipedia seriously enough to sit up and look out for it. Once I started to look out for that problem, I noticed it enough other places for me to now instinctively lower the ranking of wikipedia hits."
Wikipedia's designed intent is to accurately reflect the consensus culture's view of knowledge. Seems like it's doing that just fine. In cases where that culture itself is bitterly divided, and holders of various positions sling names at each other in the media, from governmental pulpits, and in published scientific journals, were you expecting Wikipedia to somehow magically rise above this and achieve perfect truth?
Because if you could bottle an algorithm for doing that, you'd get the Nobel Peace Prize. Or be assassinated, or both.
"and will inevitably lead to its horrific demise, followed by the dark ages of technology"
The goose-stepping hordes, saluting and chanting "NPOV! NPOV! Heil Jimbo!" beneath the burning jigsaw-world emblem.
The border checks: "Citation required, wikizen!"
The secret bunkers: "Your anonymous friends in 4chan are walking into a trap. Now witness the processing power of this FULLY ARMED AND OPERATIONAL datacenter!"
The inevitable non-aggression pact with Scientology, followed by the antimatter bombing of the Vatican and the invasion of Russia.
It's all in Nostradamus, folks!
"everyone can edit it... so long as you reference and summarise something somewhere else. "
Yes, that's exactly the policy Wikipedia was founded on. "An encyclopedia not a journal... No original research". So they're still doing that right, then.
Got an actual criticism there?
"humans and the multinational corporation central to the story were so over-the-top evil it was almost comical. "
Actually, I thought they made some fairly pragmatic decisions. Nobody in the story was entirely evil, just looking for power and survival and trying to do their job. Even the aliens weren't entirely happy fluffy ponies.
There really are people in this world who have to think in terms we civilians (and even they) consider insane. Read some of the RAND nuclear war theory reports sometime.
"there would be a lot of outrage to see extraterrestrials being treated this way."
Because there's a lot of outrage about how *humans* are treated who live in those actual slums... oh wait, not so much. We've tolerated exactly this kind of misery for decades now. And no, it's not just apartheid which does it: our glorious revolutionary capitalist financial and economic system dumps people into this pit.
It is interesting though to look at how two of the hottest movies this season have been fantasies set in slums. District 9 and Slumdog Millionaire. Maybe global consciousness is starting to wake up?
Disclaimer: my brother lives and works in Brazilian favelas so I've seen some of this first-hand.
"There were the adrenaline-spewing fight sequenses to draw in the action movie fans. And finally there were the hints of romance so that fanboys who drag their reluctant girlfriends along can point and say "But look, there's also a love story in it!""
Which was the genius of Titanic: almost equal parts action/disaster movie with lots of stuff smashin' (for the boys) and soppy doomed romance (for the girls).
Wanna bet Avatar will do the same thing, but in space?
"it's like asking Babe Ruth to compete against today's up and coming ball players, only in reverse."
And in high heels?
And then one day there's a licencing dispute and whoops.
It was only three years ago, guys! I suppose that means it's a whole new college intake, but there must be some old-timers still here who remember back to 2006?
"Finally, the curvature is not "into another dimension"; space actually only has an inner curvature (basically, deformation along the space direction)."
This is something I find very difficult to grasp about Riemannian geometry.
If we have a 4D spacetime with 'inner curvature', why can't we just embed that 4D manifold in a 5D Eucledian manifold and make that inner curvature a real curvature?
"It's not mass that is replaced by (or rather identified with) spacetime curvature in GR, but the gravitational field."
And that clarifies what, precisely? Does GR give any suggestion that we can create a gravitational field without mass?
"everyday standard audio video"
I share your disgruntlement at how broken the media world is, but the problem is exactly that we DON'T have an "everyday standard audio/video" format. We have MPEG-4, which is illegal to use with Open systems, and then other patent-encumbered proprietary codecs like Quicktime, Windows Media, et al.
You're welcome to break the law if you think it will help.
Not just field mice. DARK field mice.
KA-SQUEAK-DOOM!
"The whole reason they're doing this is so they have multiple competing vendors for services, instead of just a single monopolistic contractor."
Yikes - I thought the US military had pervasive dual-sourcing policies already, but maybe NASA not so much. At least as of 1998, it seems like much of the Shuttle was single-sourced. Probably still is?
http://oig.nasa.gov/audits/reports/FY98/executive_summaries/ig-98-030es.htm
"The fourth was OK. Definitely a "OK, here's your damn book, get off my back.""
It's weird, that. The fourth HHG is my favourite of all of DNA's work by a long shot. Probably because it's so dissimilar to the rest, and because it has a single cohesive storyline, and it has (what passes for) a happy ending.
I mean, flying sex scene. With jumbo jet. Best. Thing. Ever.
I think I like it so much because he was so 'off his stride' that he forgot to stop and make it cynical, miserable and depressing.
"Not only that, they should replace the Emperor with ...."
Instead of a Dark Lord you would have a QUEEN! Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! All shall love me and despair!
"ruthlessly slaughtered by stone aged teddy bears?"
If you touch down on the sanctuary moon
You're sure of a big surprise...
'Cause today's the day
The cannibal bears
Have a picnic!
"the almost beautiful Kate Winslet"
Almost?!