None of the Comp Sci majors I have ever been given were ready to work on my real world projects right after they graduated (not even as code monkeys). In every case I had to take a passel of time to teach them what they had to know to even start to be useful.
So these will come when they hear, "Cleanup on aisle 7"?
When I worked at a big box store in college it was Ernie that came. Ernie was more than a bit mentally challenged, but he worked hard and got the job done. He was proud as punch to have a job and support himself. Everyone I ever saw was patient and kind with Ernie.
Robots are inevitable. I just hope whatever follows is patient and kind with us.
Low cost, accredited online degrees from top universities are going to drive vast numbers of lesser brick and mortar schools right out of business.
Kinda like if all the Mom and Pop video rental stores had skipped the part where they succumbed to big chains (Blockbuster anyone?) and died due to streaming video.
Personally, I never saw Gattaca as a bad thing (except for the way they treat people that were not selectively conceived, which is what the movie is really about). The "controversial" method used in that movie didn't involve any genetic modification at all, Mildly surprised we aren't mining methods of implementing that first.
Be that as it may. GM people will happen. Outlawing it won't stop it from happening. It won't even stop medical tourism in potentially shadier places that do allow it. Might as well do it here and do it responsibly. It seems like a big step but it's got to be better than letting it happen randomly (i.e. nature's way). If there is such a thing as "nature's way" then life evolving to the point it can more intelligently guide its own design is the natural next step. If we'd seen a few other planets where life had gotten to our stage it might even be rather obvious, but we really can't wait a few billion years while we search nearby galactic clusters.
There's just too much demand for the good this can do, for individuals, for society, and for the entire race, to keep it wholly in the labs once the time is right.
At a Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar they tried to seat us near the open kitchen and it was like a factory, so noisy we had to use gestures to help explain that the table was unacceptable. Finally got the best sheltered booth in the place but even it wasn't too great for trying to carry on a conversation. And no, I've got fantastic hearing, probably because I avoid these kinds of place. The only thing around that might not have been reflecting the noise was the napkins. The food was fine but we won't be back.
For a short time, I once joined one of those high IQ societies. It was kind of like Mensa, although it was much more restrictive. I dropped out when real life got too distracting. One of the most interesting things, at least to me, was that there were periodically offers of payment, by various firms and other organizations, to members, if we would just participate on their blogs (these were not blogs open to the general public).
It's hardly surprising to see them hoping to mine ideas from other sources as well. The benefit to cost payoff is potentially huge, especially as the money involved probably wouldn't even have kept gas in my car.
50 cent Chinese trolls are like American Express, they are everywhere you want to be. Hopefully, the supreme Pooh Bear-for-life will eventually have to cut them down to a quarter.
Cattle car transportation hits an all new low.
And here I thought the lawn furniture chairs that are narrower than a lot of people's shoulders were the height of airline greed.
Or maybe it was turning all the airline attendants into peddlers for a captive audience.
I really wasn't planning to move to Chicago (or even Illinois) but, even if I knew nothing else about the place, this alone would cause me to seek employment elsewhere.
And it would not be just because of the tax itself, but because of what it implies about what is going on there, and what is yet to come.
I read the source article and nowhere did it say whether the new definition was heavier or lighter than the existing one. Inquiring minds want to know, after all, this stuff is not just exciting, it's really exciting!
In theoretical physics, we have to ask ourselves why there have been no major breakthroughs since the introduction of Relativity and Quantum Physics, around a century ago.
I suspect a big part of the problem is that there is now a very rigorous and well-defined path to becoming acknowledged as a physicist and, unless this is followed, an individual seeking to explore and possibly contribute to this area of knowledge is defined and dismissed as a crackpot if they have not followed that path. In many ways, mainstream theoretical physics is now in the hands of something akin to a medieval guild or, at best, a nineteenth century labor union. Were they first produced today, Einstein's early defining works would go straight into the crackpot file (recall that he was working as a patent clerk when he submitted his four groundbreaking papers, which included special relativity and E=MC2).
A canalization of mindset can result from years of specific training along a relatively narrow path. There is also an almost inevitable screening – a possible result of prejudice – that works to the detriment of people without the “approved” mindset of the day. There are certainly physicists who beat the odds and avoid this, but they cannot possibly exist in the numbers they should.
It has been estimated that there may be less than 200 full-time theoretical physicists in the world that are not adherents of string theory, a mathematically attractive but apparently useless line of inquiry. This is because so many of the older physicists, who are string theory adherents, are the ones controlling entry into their field. It also takes a pretty big man (or woman) to admit they've devoted their career to barking up the wrong tree.
While it potentially only takes one person to develop a critical theory, the odds of finding that particular theory are directly related to how many researchers (assuming no differences in distribution of their ability) are able to direct their efforts in that direction.
So, with the abundance of metallicity and no central uninhabitable core or giant black hole, sentient life developed early there and now they've covered most of the good real estate over with Dyson spheres?
Making a modern jet engine requires a body of knowledge that takes decades to build up. The organizations that make them have pretty much all been working on them since the middle of the last century.
Being able to make rocket engines has little or nothing to do with it, by the way.
The age of computer hacking has made it possible for China is attempt to jump the line and steal what they don't want to spend the time and money on to develop for themselves. Then, of course, they will do their level best to undercut and put out of business the very companies they stole it from.
And the actor wannabes think it is hard to get their big break now? Recycling the old, popular ones, along with using completely made-up ones, is really going to raise the bar.
Take some of that money for a border wall and put one up around Pando. No excuse for building a fence that mule deer can force their way through, or leap over. Then go ahead and declare extended hunting seasons on mule deer while we are at it.
Yes, absolutely. Don't sell stuff to law enforcement. They might use it to enforce the law, or keep the peace, or something. We need to get car companies to stop selling them police cars, and gun manufacturer's to stop selling them guns, and clothing companies to stop selling them uniforms.
And don't even get me started on all those immoral manufacturers selling ladders and hoses (and GPS navigation tools) to fire departments!
Hold on -- a private company can be given the right to search somebody's home in Australia? They have literally been given the legal right bust into multiple private citizens' homes? WTF? Is this life imitating art or some kind of crazy distopian future?
Per accralaw.com:
Intellectual property rights cases present a unique situation. In such cases, a search warrant may also be obtained and implemented even if the evidence sought is to be used in a civil or administrative case.
This is a special rule applicable to intellectual property rights cases and is similarly applied in other countries where it is also called an Anton Piller Order, being based on the remedy provided to the complainant in the English case entitled Anton Piller KG vs. Manufacturing Processes Limited and Others.
In the case, the complainant showed that the defendant would likely hide or remove evidence against him. This justified the court allowing the complainant to inspect the defendant’s premises for evidence.
Unlike in a criminal search and seizure warrant (criminal search warrant) where law enforcement officers apply for its issuance with the court and, once issued, enforce the warrant, a search and seizure warrant in a civil case (civil search warrant) is applied for by the complainant and is implemented by the court’s sheriff with the assistance of a neutral third party called a commissioner. The complainant is permitted to be present during the enforcement of the civil search warrant.
Similar to criminal search warrants, civil search warrants are also issued without notice to the defendant. The element of surprise is, therefore, preserved. What is unique about civil search warrants is that it may require the defendant to disclose to the sheriff serving the writ the location of the evidence sought to be seized. In other words, the defendant is somehow “forced” to reveal evidence that may be used against him.
However, one should expect that the defendant will not be willing to comply with a civil search warrant and simply allow the sheriff, commissioner, and the complainant to enter his premises and seize evidence. Thus, it is usual practice to request for the assistance of law enforcement officers in order to ensure the defendant’s compliance with the civil search warrant and keep its implementation orderly and peaceful.
To avoid abusing a civil search warrant, a complainant must comply with a number of requirements before one can be issued. Among the requirements that the complainant seeking the issuance of a civil search warrant must comply with is showing sufficient proof that he will suffer irreparable damage; and that there is a possibility that the defendant will likely hide, remove or destroy evidence in his possession. The complainant is further required to post a bond. These requirements are not needed when seeking the issuance of a criminal search warrant.
And why doesn't the police do the raiding? Australia, the former land of convicts of the Crown, the current land of convicts of the Corporations.
Do you seriously think company employees just turned up at someone's front door, flashed their Rockstar Games employee badges, and said they were there to search the place? No way they didn't have cops with them and said cops would have had the warrant. It's a badly worded headline.
I expect that if a private research lab discovered someone had taken samples of something they were working on then they might need to be involved in identifying who they thought had taken it, and law enforcement would likely need their assistance in identifying it when a search for it was conducted. Cops aren't experts on plasma physics, advanced chemistry, gene engineering, or even software, for that matter. The government still had to be convinced to furnish a court order, so the decision was still where it should have been. And no, if you bought some produce at a grocery store and discovered some weirdo in the parking lot was spraying it with weedkiller while you were putting it in your car, you would probably welcome the grocery store's help in resolving the matter--and the grocery store would want it resolved even more than the customer because such illegal behavior directly damages their livelihood. It's not even stealing in this case, just vandalism. Cause, effect, and response. No one should be surprised.
Slashdot Mirror
The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.
None of the Comp Sci majors I have ever been given were ready to work on my real world projects right after they graduated (not even as code monkeys). In every case I had to take a passel of time to teach them what they had to know to even start to be useful.
So these will come when they hear, "Cleanup on aisle 7"?
When I worked at a big box store in college it was Ernie that came. Ernie was more than a bit mentally challenged, but he worked hard and got the job done. He was proud as punch to have a job and support himself. Everyone I ever saw was patient and kind with Ernie.
Robots are inevitable. I just hope whatever follows is patient and kind with us.
Low cost, accredited online degrees from top universities are going to drive vast numbers of lesser brick and mortar schools right out of business.
Kinda like if all the Mom and Pop video rental stores had skipped the part where they succumbed to big chains (Blockbuster anyone?) and died due to streaming video.
If God didn't want us doing this he wouldn't have made our code open source.
Personally, I never saw Gattaca as a bad thing (except for the way they treat people that were not selectively conceived, which is what the movie is really about). The "controversial" method used in that movie didn't involve any genetic modification at all, Mildly surprised we aren't mining methods of implementing that first.
Be that as it may. GM people will happen. Outlawing it won't stop it from happening. It won't even stop medical tourism in potentially shadier places that do allow it. Might as well do it here and do it responsibly. It seems like a big step but it's got to be better than letting it happen randomly (i.e. nature's way). If there is such a thing as "nature's way" then life evolving to the point it can more intelligently guide its own design is the natural next step. If we'd seen a few other planets where life had gotten to our stage it might even be rather obvious, but we really can't wait a few billion years while we search nearby galactic clusters.
There's just too much demand for the good this can do, for individuals, for society, and for the entire race, to keep it wholly in the labs once the time is right.
IBM just called and offered me a job I didn't even apply for. Should I be concerned?
But I don't think I want my brain to be internet accessible, or even on a LAN, for that matter.
At a Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar they tried to seat us near the open kitchen and it was like a factory, so noisy we had to use gestures to help explain that the table was unacceptable. Finally got the best sheltered booth in the place but even it wasn't too great for trying to carry on a conversation. And no, I've got fantastic hearing, probably because I avoid these kinds of place. The only thing around that might not have been reflecting the noise was the napkins. The food was fine but we won't be back.
For a short time, I once joined one of those high IQ societies. It was kind of like Mensa, although it was much more restrictive. I dropped out when real life got too distracting. One of the most interesting things, at least to me, was that there were periodically offers of payment, by various firms and other organizations, to members, if we would just participate on their blogs (these were not blogs open to the general public).
It's hardly surprising to see them hoping to mine ideas from other sources as well. The benefit to cost payoff is potentially huge, especially as the money involved probably wouldn't even have kept gas in my car.
50 cent Chinese trolls are like American Express, they are everywhere you want to be. Hopefully, the supreme Pooh Bear-for-life will eventually have to cut them down to a quarter.
Cattle car transportation hits an all new low. And here I thought the lawn furniture chairs that are narrower than a lot of people's shoulders were the height of airline greed. Or maybe it was turning all the airline attendants into peddlers for a captive audience.
I really wasn't planning to move to Chicago (or even Illinois) but, even if I knew nothing else about the place, this alone would cause me to seek employment elsewhere.
And it would not be just because of the tax itself, but because of what it implies about what is going on there, and what is yet to come.
I read the source article and nowhere did it say whether the new definition was heavier or lighter than the existing one. Inquiring minds want to know, after all, this stuff is not just exciting, it's really exciting!
In theoretical physics, we have to ask ourselves why there have been no major breakthroughs since the introduction of Relativity and Quantum Physics, around a century ago.
I suspect a big part of the problem is that there is now a very rigorous and well-defined path to becoming acknowledged as a physicist and, unless this is followed, an individual seeking to explore and possibly contribute to this area of knowledge is defined and dismissed as a crackpot if they have not followed that path. In many ways, mainstream theoretical physics is now in the hands of something akin to a medieval guild or, at best, a nineteenth century labor union. Were they first produced today, Einstein's early defining works would go straight into the crackpot file (recall that he was working as a patent clerk when he submitted his four groundbreaking papers, which included special relativity and E=MC2).
A canalization of mindset can result from years of specific training along a relatively narrow path. There is also an almost inevitable screening – a possible result of prejudice – that works to the detriment of people without the “approved” mindset of the day. There are certainly physicists who beat the odds and avoid this, but they cannot possibly exist in the numbers they should.
It has been estimated that there may be less than 200 full-time theoretical physicists in the world that are not adherents of string theory, a mathematically attractive but apparently useless line of inquiry. This is because so many of the older physicists, who are string theory adherents, are the ones controlling entry into their field. It also takes a pretty big man (or woman) to admit they've devoted their career to barking up the wrong tree.
While it potentially only takes one person to develop a critical theory, the odds of finding that particular theory are directly related to how many researchers (assuming no differences in distribution of their ability) are able to direct their efforts in that direction.
So, with the abundance of metallicity and no central uninhabitable core or giant black hole, sentient life developed early there and now they've covered most of the good real estate over with Dyson spheres?
Cable companies are worse than lawyers and politicians, and that's a pretty low bar as is.
I wasn't even aware there was a bar so far as these are concerned.
Making a modern jet engine requires a body of knowledge that takes decades to build up. The organizations that make them have pretty much all been working on them since the middle of the last century.
Being able to make rocket engines has little or nothing to do with it, by the way.
The age of computer hacking has made it possible for China is attempt to jump the line and steal what they don't want to spend the time and money on to develop for themselves. Then, of course, they will do their level best to undercut and put out of business the very companies they stole it from.
Important photos can and will be restored. The rest won't be, and that's as it should be.
And the actor wannabes think it is hard to get their big break now? Recycling the old, popular ones, along with using completely made-up ones, is really going to raise the bar.
Take some of that money for a border wall and put one up around Pando. No excuse for building a fence that mule deer can force their way through, or leap over. Then go ahead and declare extended hunting seasons on mule deer while we are at it.
Yes, absolutely. Don't sell stuff to law enforcement. They might use it to enforce the law, or keep the peace, or something. We need to get car companies to stop selling them police cars, and gun manufacturer's to stop selling them guns, and clothing companies to stop selling them uniforms. And don't even get me started on all those immoral manufacturers selling ladders and hoses (and GPS navigation tools) to fire departments!
Hold on -- a private company can be given the right to search somebody's home in Australia? They have literally been given the legal right bust into multiple private citizens' homes? WTF? Is this life imitating art or some kind of crazy distopian future?
Per accralaw.com: Intellectual property rights cases present a unique situation. In such cases, a search warrant may also be obtained and implemented even if the evidence sought is to be used in a civil or administrative case. This is a special rule applicable to intellectual property rights cases and is similarly applied in other countries where it is also called an Anton Piller Order, being based on the remedy provided to the complainant in the English case entitled Anton Piller KG vs. Manufacturing Processes Limited and Others. In the case, the complainant showed that the defendant would likely hide or remove evidence against him. This justified the court allowing the complainant to inspect the defendant’s premises for evidence. Unlike in a criminal search and seizure warrant (criminal search warrant) where law enforcement officers apply for its issuance with the court and, once issued, enforce the warrant, a search and seizure warrant in a civil case (civil search warrant) is applied for by the complainant and is implemented by the court’s sheriff with the assistance of a neutral third party called a commissioner. The complainant is permitted to be present during the enforcement of the civil search warrant. Similar to criminal search warrants, civil search warrants are also issued without notice to the defendant. The element of surprise is, therefore, preserved. What is unique about civil search warrants is that it may require the defendant to disclose to the sheriff serving the writ the location of the evidence sought to be seized. In other words, the defendant is somehow “forced” to reveal evidence that may be used against him. However, one should expect that the defendant will not be willing to comply with a civil search warrant and simply allow the sheriff, commissioner, and the complainant to enter his premises and seize evidence. Thus, it is usual practice to request for the assistance of law enforcement officers in order to ensure the defendant’s compliance with the civil search warrant and keep its implementation orderly and peaceful. To avoid abusing a civil search warrant, a complainant must comply with a number of requirements before one can be issued. Among the requirements that the complainant seeking the issuance of a civil search warrant must comply with is showing sufficient proof that he will suffer irreparable damage; and that there is a possibility that the defendant will likely hide, remove or destroy evidence in his possession. The complainant is further required to post a bond. These requirements are not needed when seeking the issuance of a criminal search warrant.
And why doesn't the police do the raiding? Australia, the former land of convicts of the Crown, the current land of convicts of the Corporations.
Do you seriously think company employees just turned up at someone's front door, flashed their Rockstar Games employee badges, and said they were there to search the place? No way they didn't have cops with them and said cops would have had the warrant. It's a badly worded headline.
I expect that if a private research lab discovered someone had taken samples of something they were working on then they might need to be involved in identifying who they thought had taken it, and law enforcement would likely need their assistance in identifying it when a search for it was conducted. Cops aren't experts on plasma physics, advanced chemistry, gene engineering, or even software, for that matter. The government still had to be convinced to furnish a court order, so the decision was still where it should have been. And no, if you bought some produce at a grocery store and discovered some weirdo in the parking lot was spraying it with weedkiller while you were putting it in your car, you would probably welcome the grocery store's help in resolving the matter--and the grocery store would want it resolved even more than the customer because such illegal behavior directly damages their livelihood. It's not even stealing in this case, just vandalism. Cause, effect, and response. No one should be surprised.