why hasn't there been a greater effort to stop or get rid of this?
There has, but the people with the most money won.
The problem with our system (with any system, really) is that it has gradually become a perversion of what it was intended to be. Consider the paradox that is the American political system: In order to serve the people, politicians need votes, and in order to get votes they need publicity, and in order to get publicity they need money, and in order to get money the need the support of monied private interests, and these private interests have no allegiance to the people that the politicians represent. In order to serve the people, politicians must peddle influence to parties that dissserve the people
Any advancement is still advancement, no matter the category, nor what our other problems are.
By this logic, building the worlds largest beer can pyramid qualifies. And you are right, some might agree. However, to an outside observer (the hypothetical alien), this would look like the folly that it is in the context of our planet, its potential, and the degree to which that potential has been realized. The worlds longest prime number is on par with the world largest beer can pyramid to the vast majority of the world. That is, a useless piece of trivia. I don't think that means that this project shouldn't be pursued. But please don't ask me to view it as an important advancement, representative of the progress of science on Earth.
. ..is not necessarily that politicians don't understand the threat of DMCA like legislation to freedom (of speech, etc). Rather, it is that they have been put in the position of protecting our intrests, or protecting theirs. Face it, the status quo will always have a voice in society. Politicians (or most of them), are not going to bite the hand that feeds them (cash rich lobbies) to protect what has successfully been characterized as a hacker/pirate fringe.
But would they realize that this number was prime? Seems more likely that they would try to divine some kind of message, and a)conclude that the transmission was gibberish or (b project some meaning onto it, and who knows what it might be (might not necessarily be friendly). As it stands, we are broadcasting a huge number which is supposed to say something like "Hey, look how smart we are! We have a very large prime number." Not the most intelligent means of introduction, if you ask me.
I have no problem with people entertaining themselves by donating their spare cycles to someone elses project and then pretending like they were an integral part of the result (sad though it may be). I simply question whether this particular endeavor, given the problems that we have failed to solve, proves that science is advancing on this planet. That is not to say that science is not advancing, just that in the grand scheme of things, this is hardly spectacular.
There was a reason I titled my comment "Perspective." Here we have evidence of what can be achieved by combining the small efforts of many volunteers. Yet, what do we do with this power? Apply it to problems of substance or import to the human race? No. We apply it to the search for an even longer prime number. This reminds me of a Simpsons joke about the Space Shuttle missions. To paraphrase "The goal of this mission is to study the effects of weightlessness on tiny screws. This reseach could have literally millions of applications here on Earth, in everything from watchmaking to watch repair."
I simply question whether it is an acheivement worthy of representing human advancement.
stop complaining about how we entertain ourselves, okay?
There is a difference between entertaining yourself and demonstrating the advance of science on our planet. Some endeavors might acheive both. As far as I can tell, this does neither.
That we devote this much co-operation, time and energy to the quest for prime numbers while hatred, poverty, disease and environmental destruction continue to plague our race is hardly an advertisement for our planet's advancement.
. ..the only purpose in life is self-improvement and happiness. A slacker's paradise.
A quick glance at the real world shows that people with nothing to do rarely devote themselves to self-improvement. Though there are a few who can be idle and productive at the same time, it is those that have challenging, meaningful labor that seem to be the most happy.
Personally, I think that to remove a persons need to work to live is to diminish his will to live.
I have always wondered this myself. I would imagine that the extra material that we could bring back would be neglibible compared to the total mass of or Earth. However, in theory, what are the potential effects?
So after paying for 3.1, 3.11, win95, win98, win2k, winme. ..
Yeah, how annoying, a product that wasn't perfect in version 1.0, and had to be improved over several years of development. Boy, those fellows at Microsoft just have to do things different, I guess. Heh, those folks working on MacOS seem to have the same attitude. OS-X!? Shoulda been perfect at OS-1! Sheesh, what is the OS world coming too?
forget winNT for the moment becuase it was never marketed for home consumer use
Then I assume you are forgetting Linux too, for the purposes of this discussion. (Of course you are, since Linux wasn't perfect on its first release either.)
Yeah, BUYING. BUYING RedHat. BUYING Mandrake, etc. I would imagine that people switching from Windows are more likely to buy a boxed, supported distro.
I heard that people aren't flocking like sheep to buy Windows XP, which is good news if it is true.
It might be good news, but not for alternative OSs. It simply means that M$ has saturated the market with their previous versions of Windows, and there aren't any compelling reasons to change. Anybody who was going switch from Win98, just switched to Win2K or ME, and isn't about to run out and buy XP. That said, they ain't buying Linux either.
OK, the Soviet Union had spies inside the project before it started, but that doesn't count!
How does that not count? In fact, how does that not discredit the notion that the lack of information clued the Soviets to the existence of a cover-up?
More to the point, who is going to assume that their software is insecure based on the lack of security updates? I'm not sure that Cold-War paranoia translates to the consumer software market so readily.
Nice attitude. Gee, I wonder why people are so reluctant to switch to Linux! Is this the kind of "support" that so many Linux based companies are going out of business trying to sell?
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why hasn't there been a greater effort to stop or get rid of this?
There has, but the people with the most money won.
The problem with our system (with any system, really) is that it has gradually become a perversion of what it was intended to be. Consider the paradox that is the American political system: In order to serve the people, politicians need votes, and in order to get votes they need publicity, and in order to get publicity they need money, and in order to get money the need the support of monied private interests, and these private interests have no allegiance to the people that the politicians represent. In order to serve the people, politicians must peddle influence to parties that dissserve the people
Any advancement is still advancement, no matter the category, nor what our other problems are.
By this logic, building the worlds largest beer can pyramid qualifies. And you are right, some might agree. However, to an outside observer (the hypothetical alien), this would look like the folly that it is in the context of our planet, its potential, and the degree to which that potential has been realized. The worlds longest prime number is on par with the world largest beer can pyramid to the vast majority of the world. That is, a useless piece of trivia. I don't think that means that this project shouldn't be pursued. But please don't ask me to view it as an important advancement, representative of the progress of science on Earth.
. . .is not necessarily that politicians don't understand the threat of DMCA like legislation to freedom (of speech, etc). Rather, it is that they have been put in the position of protecting our intrests, or protecting theirs. Face it, the status quo will always have a voice in society. Politicians (or most of them), are not going to bite the hand that feeds them (cash rich lobbies) to protect what has successfully been characterized as a hacker/pirate fringe.
But would they realize that this number was prime? Seems more likely that they would try to divine some kind of message, and a)conclude that the transmission was gibberish or (b project some meaning onto it, and who knows what it might be (might not necessarily be friendly). As it stands, we are broadcasting a huge number which is supposed to say something like "Hey, look how smart we are! We have a very large prime number." Not the most intelligent means of introduction, if you ask me.
I believe distributed computing has a lot of potential. Even though we are still in the early stages of it look at what has come out of it.
Indeed. Too bad they don't give out a Nobel Prize for Trivia.
I have no problem with people entertaining themselves by donating their spare cycles to someone elses project and then pretending like they were an integral part of the result (sad though it may be). I simply question whether this particular endeavor, given the problems that we have failed to solve, proves that science is advancing on this planet. That is not to say that science is not advancing, just that in the grand scheme of things, this is hardly spectacular.
There was a reason I titled my comment "Perspective." Here we have evidence of what can be achieved by combining the small efforts of many volunteers. Yet, what do we do with this power? Apply it to problems of substance or import to the human race? No. We apply it to the search for an even longer prime number. This reminds me of a Simpsons joke about the Space Shuttle missions. To paraphrase "The goal of this mission is to study the effects of weightlessness on tiny screws. This reseach could have literally millions of applications here on Earth, in everything from watchmaking to watch repair."
I simply question whether it is an acheivement worthy of representing human advancement.
Glad we agree:
Do something useful...
My point exactly.
Now, why don't you follow your own advice instead of advertising your own selfishness?
Duh indeed. They would have to measure the speed relative to its predecessor or competitor while it is actually processing.
Hmm. . .Benchmarks, maybe?
This would actually be a good thing. Speeds will have to be advertised relative to their competitors, rather than a meaningless measurement.
I think PART of humanity has advanced, but those who:
a) cause misery
b) profit off misery
c) whine about misery
haven't really gotten anywhere.
You forgot:
d) crow about how smart they are and squander their energy on trivialities.
stop complaining about how we entertain ourselves, okay?
There is a difference between entertaining yourself and demonstrating the advance of science on our planet. Some endeavors might acheive both. As far as I can tell, this does neither.
That we devote this much co-operation, time and energy to the quest for prime numbers while hatred, poverty, disease and environmental destruction continue to plague our race is hardly an advertisement for our planet's advancement.
. . .the only purpose in life is self-improvement and happiness. A slacker's paradise.
A quick glance at the real world shows that people with nothing to do rarely devote themselves to self-improvement. Though there are a few who can be idle and productive at the same time, it is those that have challenging, meaningful labor that seem to be the most happy.
Personally, I think that to remove a persons need to work to live is to diminish his will to live.
Rumor has it that there is a down side to setting of nuclear bombs, especially in the atmosphere.
I have always wondered this myself. I would imagine that the extra material that we could bring back would be neglibible compared to the total mass of or Earth. However, in theory, what are the potential effects?
It will also allow for the environmental hassles of mining on Earth to be less of a factor.
It will also introduce the environmental hassles of bringing extra-terrestrial materials to Earth.
So after paying for 3.1, 3.11, win95, win98, win2k, winme. . .
Yeah, how annoying, a product that wasn't perfect in version 1.0, and had to be improved over several years of development. Boy, those fellows at Microsoft just have to do things different, I guess. Heh, those folks working on MacOS seem to have the same attitude. OS-X!? Shoulda been perfect at OS-1! Sheesh, what is the OS world coming too?
forget winNT for the moment becuase it was never marketed for home consumer use
Then I assume you are forgetting Linux too, for the purposes of this discussion. (Of course you are, since Linux wasn't perfect on its first release either.)
Yeah, BUYING. BUYING RedHat. BUYING Mandrake, etc. I would imagine that people switching from Windows are more likely to buy a boxed, supported distro.
I heard that people aren't flocking like sheep to buy Windows XP, which is good news if it is true.
It might be good news, but not for alternative OSs. It simply means that M$ has saturated the market with their previous versions of Windows, and there aren't any compelling reasons to change. Anybody who was going switch from Win98, just switched to Win2K or ME, and isn't about to run out and buy XP. That said, they ain't buying Linux either.
I guess the important difference being that this one is backed up by an actual survey by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association
Certainly sounds impartial.
Gone are the days of using a halogen head lamp like miners do just to play Game Boy.
Or maybe those geniuses at Nintendo could release a GB with a backlit LCD stateside.
The solution is 1,000 times thinner than a human hair and requires 20 times less electricity than a fluorescent light does, Jabbour said.
Really? Can I light my room with it? If not, what is the significance of this statement?
OK, the Soviet Union had spies inside the project before it started, but that doesn't count!
How does that not count? In fact, how does that not discredit the notion that the lack of information clued the Soviets to the existence of a cover-up?
More to the point, who is going to assume that their software is insecure based on the lack of security updates? I'm not sure that Cold-War paranoia translates to the consumer software market so readily.
Its insteresting how the author chose to avoid the obvious fact that linux competes with windows.
Not according to Linus.
Nice attitude. Gee, I wonder why people are so reluctant to switch to Linux! Is this the kind of "support" that so many Linux based companies are going out of business trying to sell?