The extremists founded the US government. Read up on Samuel Adams as the best example, he was a propagandist that, among other things, helped organize the Boston Tea Party and generally rally people around the idea of revolution through his 1-sided newspaper. He was as extreme as you can get.
Like it or not, but moderates stir no one to action exactly because they have no defining ideological principles. It is simply a relative marker of the "middle ground." Extremist serve their purpose by marking the extreme (the edge).
A moderate today is different from a moderate yesterday but sets of principles are more firm. If there were no Richard Stallman setting up his extreme, the current leftist (or what have you) extreme would be moved closer to your middle, and you'd be the extremist, unless of course, if you don't stand for anything, then your stand would be significantly pushed to closer to the status quo and away from what Stallman stands for.
In fact, being a moderate is much of an deceit on people to appear "reasonable" when it really is just a way not to ruffle anybodies feathers by having a stance. Their opinions change with the tide.
If moderates were the flag bearers (which by definition they are the exact opposite of), would there be slavery in our country still? What about woman's suffrage? Or the civil rights movement?
None of these were started by moderates nor advocated by moderates until the "extremists" stood up and then moved the "middle position" away from the status quo.
My point is, people like RMS are exactly what's needed because the whiny people in the middle don't want to obstruct the flow and, in the absense of two extremes but having only one to follow, would tend to sway toward that group.
I used to have Republican tendencies too until I recognized the neocons in office have no financially conservative (read: responsible) goals in mind but are spenders at heart. I'm not democrat either because they are the flip side of the coin and are 98% the same, now I only support Independents who aren't career politicians. Like Jesse Ventura. That guy showed Independents can win.
But I agree with you, it's sad how this administration uses 9/11 and "terrah" as the excuse for everything that has nothing to do with it.
Mr. Woit's point is that String Theory is drawing talented people from other work/theories in science without a significant yield. There are so many questions that they can attempt to answer, running after a rainbow can indeed be a waste of time.
I don't find the rationale. By the time they win, it means the prices will be under $299/199 anyway. They are losing $200 per unit now to make $50 tops per unit later? They'd have to sell 6x as many units then to make it back as profit.
Since I don't follow Blu-ray vs HD-DVD too closely, is Toshiba the only manufacturer of HD-DVD? What is their incentive for marketshare in this area?
From the article:
"It's unusual to find this level of subsidization outside of the video-game console and mobile-phone markets," said Chris Crotty, iSuppli's senior analyst covering the consumer electronics segment.
I heard that video game consoles being loss leaders was an urban legend, perhaps due to faulty analysis. The companies, especially Nintendo, break even pretty much at time of launch. Or may take a slight loss but nothing like $200 per unit.
I think the winner will be determined by what ships by default with the most computers, as that is the number one place people currently have the capability to watch HDTV* and so they can burn/back up their data. DVD isn't enough for this purpose anymore, but I think HVD (if it's not vaporware) will provide a bigger capacity at a lower price than Blu-ray/HD-DVD.
*Nearly every computer monitor had the resolution for ages or at least the last 5-8 years.
I could also see them doing this based on what made the most sense, from an engineering perspective. Sure, it might have been some bad (PR) press in the circles (like/.) where they are disliked anyway. But linux is free, so eating their own dogfood here doesn't save them any money, and asides from the momentary pain of limited bad PR, probably will save them more money than rolling their own.
Not everything has to be a conspiracy, especially if there are some sane people running that company.
What determines whether the Pirate Party will be successful or not will be the support of the constituency, not just "people high up" take them seriously. Most people these days don't get it, they have the power but have to work for it. That's why senior citizens, who actually vote, have clout. But this could be extended to all segments of society, if they voted.
I suspect a name like "Pirate Party" will actually be more sucessful than EFF. EFF is a bunch of geeks and EFF is such bland name. I support them, but that's popular perception (if the mainstream actually know about them).
However, Pirate Party is a name that demands attention, to make people sit up and take notice. It might even motivate college students to do something political since it is cool in something they cherish - the internet.
I hope the people supporting them online realize they have to put their money, time, votes where there mouth is to get something done though.
I don't know about the "life of the author" terms. Once I was for it, and once I was against it.
It seems so arbitrary and dangerous. In the future, life expectancy may well shoot past 100 year and more with genetic treatments and what not. Also, consider some loon that really, really wants something public domain and goes out to shoot the author to do so.
In any case, corporations being the "author" are absolutely ridiculous. I'm for a copyright of between 7-30 years. I'd like to narrow the range more, but I know I didn't consider all the factors yet.
In one way, I do agree with you. In another, I have to point out that it is MS that is helping push software patents in Europe, and thus, this is poetic justice. Perhaps they'll reconsider their position if this happens enough (though I doubt it).
Maybe, in the end, I wish they were getting their poetic justice without a patent troll getting paid off, though.
includes the magic line "I'll probably be modded down for this" makes it to +5?
I noticed this as well. The sad thing is that they do get modded up when I would like to oblige them so much and mod them down for being inane or for trolling/pandering for shamelessly karma with that line.
Lamar Smith had a question: 'Could not Amazon.com be accused of being a troll for patenting the one-click?' Smith asked, a wry smile on his face."
So Lamer Smith, the guy who pushed for DMCA2 in April this year, obviously knows there is a problem with this wry comment, but it takes a patent troll like Amazon to push the issue before Congress? The guy shouldn't have such a smug smile on his face.
In other words, we don't have the opportunity. Very few people strike out on their own...
So let me get this straight: because certain people aren't willing to take initiative, they don't have an opportunity?
I think you need to read the definition of opportunity. Otherwise you doom the problem to being completely circular in this way:
Step 1: Not enough women in the sciences. Step 2: Solution: Do something to attract more women to the sciences. Step 3: Women don't want to go into the sciences because there are not enough women in the sciences. Back to step 1 again.
Never mind, I take it back. It's not closer to either, but a hybrid of slashdot/digg, taking features of either. It has more voting, ala digg, but as far as I can tell, it has comment system more like/.
I'm hoping the reply system is more like/., on Digg you can only reply directly to the 1st gen comments and it makes getting a decent conversation started difficult.
LISP may have been elegant (if by elegant you mean "improbably difficult to read to the point of being obfuscated"), and perhaps the language is simple, but the programs themselves were not. From what I've been able to see over the years, LISP has been favored only by people that found using HP RP-notation calculators to be a fun and rewarding experience.
French may be elegant, if by elegant you mean improbably difficult to read to the point of being obfuscated (sorry, I don't know French.)
Lisp is easy to read, if you know the language. Like any other computer language. I actually find the paranthesis/syntax make it easier to read because I know where to expect the function and data and how it's supposed to be laid out. My first language is C and I still find it harder to parse now.
And lisp code can be made as fas/almost as fast as C code. I don't know if you were trolling with that old myth, but advances in compiling lisp have let it catch up with C. The only problem is that it's much easier to write slower code in lisp than in C if you don't know what you are doing (in either language).
It's about lisp, but it may apply to zope as well. And lisp is experiencing a revival since 2000, when Paul Graham started advocating it. Coming from the C family of languages, hanging myself on c++/java back in the 90's - I've come to love lisp and recognize how much the languages like python/java were attempting to move from c to lisp/otherlanguages in terms of features.
Anyway, I just wanted to say you shouldn't always look at what those around you are using if you already have a tool (language) that works well. You should use what makes sense, and if zope works, there's no reason you can't stay with it, if you're deciding to move just for popularity reasons.
The key to putting some hurt onto Excel sales, and MS Office in general is for Google to offer things like this that are "good enough" for the mass of home users that use 2% of Excel's product offerings.
I imagine if they wanted to put the hurt on MS's Excel sales, they'd target the business user, not the home user.
I really don't think Google is out on a crusade to hurt MS. It probably doesn't care about MS one way or the other. It cares about driving more people to its search engine/advertising and creating a buzz, and if some web app does that for them, great. And if it hurts MS too, that might be a good thing (in their POV). Or maybe not.
The only way I can see MS hurting google is if they make IE point to MSN like Firefox does with Google on the top right search box. (Perhaps they've already done this, haven't used IE in a long time.) Other than that, they are in seperate markets, no matter how much MS wants to try to have a finger in every pie.
I usually like reading Paul Graham's essays but I agree with you on the "4. American Universities Are Better" part. Europe has a long and prestigious history with universities.
Does he have extensive and long experience with foreign universities to ascertain this? Or is it simple chest-thumping of an American, just like the screaming about America having the "justice system in the world" during the OJ trial - I forget who started that, but it was repeated by some talking head on the news/talkshows almost everyday during that period. That is one scary thought! When I think of american (civil) justice, I know the winner, the man with deeper pockets.
Personally, I would say the system really depends where you go to. Overall, I would just rate them lower because of the cost as compared to other universities I could go to in Europe without bankrupting myself for years to come.
Slashdot Mirror
The extremists founded the US government. Read up on Samuel Adams as the best example, he was a propagandist that, among other things, helped organize the Boston Tea Party and generally rally people around the idea of revolution through his 1-sided newspaper. He was as extreme as you can get.
Like it or not, but moderates stir no one to action exactly because they have no defining ideological principles. It is simply a relative marker of the "middle ground." Extremist serve their purpose by marking the extreme (the edge).
A moderate today is different from a moderate yesterday but sets of principles are more firm. If there were no Richard Stallman setting up his extreme, the current leftist (or what have you) extreme would be moved closer to your middle, and you'd be the extremist, unless of course, if you don't stand for anything, then your stand would be significantly pushed to closer to the status quo and away from what Stallman stands for.
In fact, being a moderate is much of an deceit on people to appear "reasonable" when it really is just a way not to ruffle anybodies feathers by having a stance. Their opinions change with the tide.
If moderates were the flag bearers (which by definition they are the exact opposite of), would there be slavery in our country still? What about woman's suffrage? Or the civil rights movement?
None of these were started by moderates nor advocated by moderates until the "extremists" stood up and then moved the "middle position" away from the status quo.
My point is, people like RMS are exactly what's needed because the whiny people in the middle don't want to obstruct the flow and, in the absense of two extremes but having only one to follow, would tend to sway toward that group.
I used to have Republican tendencies too until I recognized the neocons in office have no financially conservative (read: responsible) goals in mind but are spenders at heart. I'm not democrat either because they are the flip side of the coin and are 98% the same, now I only support Independents who aren't career politicians. Like Jesse Ventura. That guy showed Independents can win.
But I agree with you, it's sad how this administration uses 9/11 and "terrah" as the excuse for everything that has nothing to do with it.
Mr. Woit's point is that String Theory is drawing talented people from other work/theories in science without a significant yield. There are so many questions that they can attempt to answer, running after a rainbow can indeed be a waste of time.
String Theory attempts an actual prediction and then gets it correct.
Till then, it's a bunch of fancy gobbedly gook as far as I'm concerned.
Since I don't follow Blu-ray vs HD-DVD too closely, is Toshiba the only manufacturer of HD-DVD? What is their incentive for marketshare in this area?
From the article:
I heard that video game consoles being loss leaders was an urban legend, perhaps due to faulty analysis. The companies, especially Nintendo, break even pretty much at time of launch. Or may take a slight loss but nothing like $200 per unit.
I predict the same as you.
I think the winner will be determined by what ships by default with the most computers, as that is the number one place people currently have the capability to watch HDTV* and so they can burn/back up their data. DVD isn't enough for this purpose anymore, but I think HVD (if it's not vaporware) will provide a bigger capacity at a lower price than Blu-ray/HD-DVD.
*Nearly every computer monitor had the resolution for ages or at least the last 5-8 years.
And it almost makes the requirements for Vista!
I could also see them doing this based on what made the most sense, from an engineering perspective. Sure, it might have been some bad (PR) press in the circles (like /.) where they are disliked anyway. But linux is free, so eating their own dogfood here doesn't save them any money, and asides from the momentary pain of limited bad PR, probably will save them more money than rolling their own.
Not everything has to be a conspiracy, especially if there are some sane people running that company.
What determines whether the Pirate Party will be successful or not will be the support of the constituency, not just "people high up" take them seriously. Most people these days don't get it, they have the power but have to work for it. That's why senior citizens, who actually vote, have clout. But this could be extended to all segments of society, if they voted.
I suspect a name like "Pirate Party" will actually be more sucessful than EFF. EFF is a bunch of geeks and EFF is such bland name. I support them, but that's popular perception (if the mainstream actually know about them).
However, Pirate Party is a name that demands attention, to make people sit up and take notice. It might even motivate college students to do something political since it is cool in something they cherish - the internet.
I hope the people supporting them online realize they have to put their money, time, votes where there mouth is to get something done though.
I don't know about the "life of the author" terms. Once I was for it, and once I was against it.
It seems so arbitrary and dangerous. In the future, life expectancy may well shoot past 100 year and more with genetic treatments and what not. Also, consider some loon that really, really wants something public domain and goes out to shoot the author to do so.
In any case, corporations being the "author" are absolutely ridiculous. I'm for a copyright of between 7-30 years. I'd like to narrow the range more, but I know I didn't consider all the factors yet.
In one way, I do agree with you. In another, I have to point out that it is MS that is helping push software patents in Europe, and thus, this is poetic justice. Perhaps they'll reconsider their position if this happens enough (though I doubt it).
Maybe, in the end, I wish they were getting their poetic justice without a patent troll getting paid off, though.
I noticed this as well. The sad thing is that they do get modded up when I would like to oblige them so much and mod them down for being inane or for trolling/pandering for shamelessly karma with that line.
But then, I'll probably get modded down for this.
So Lamer Smith, the guy who pushed for DMCA2 in April this year, obviously knows there is a problem with this wry comment, but it takes a patent troll like Amazon to push the issue before Congress? The guy shouldn't have such a smug smile on his face.
So let me get this straight: because certain people aren't willing to take initiative, they don't have an opportunity?
I think you need to read the definition of opportunity. Otherwise you doom the problem to being completely circular in this way:
Step 1: Not enough women in the sciences.
Step 2: Solution: Do something to attract more women to the sciences.
Step 3: Women don't want to go into the sciences because there are not enough women in the sciences. Back to step 1 again.
Never mind, I take it back. It's not closer to either, but a hybrid of slashdot/digg, taking features of either. It has more voting, ala digg, but as far as I can tell, it has comment system more like /.
/., on Digg you can only reply directly to the 1st gen comments and it makes getting a decent conversation started difficult.
I'm hoping the reply system is more like
Is called
I'm sure you are experienced at identifying it^_^
I got the great-grandparent's joke just fine, I just thought it was poorly executed and reworded it for him, thank you very much.
And if you read the summary, the employee apparently didn't have both hands available....
French may be elegant, if by elegant you mean improbably difficult to read to the point of being obfuscated (sorry, I don't know French.)
Lisp is easy to read, if you know the language. Like any other computer language. I actually find the paranthesis/syntax make it easier to read because I know where to expect the function and data and how it's supposed to be laid out. My first language is C and I still find it harder to parse now.
Since C/Fortran, languages such as Java/Python have been moving steadily toward the lisp model:
http://www.paulgraham.com/diff.html
And lisp code can be made as fas/almost as fast as C code. I don't know if you were trolling with that old myth, but advances in compiling lisp have let it catch up with C. The only problem is that it's much easier to write slower code in lisp than in C if you don't know what you are doing (in either language).
But I'm sure you knew that.
Most advanced math today comes from people thinking hard in ivory towers years ago (academia).
Hi Killjoe,
Here is an essay you should read to answer: "I mean if zope is so great...." why don't more people use it?
http://www.paulgraham.com/iflisp.html
It's about lisp, but it may apply to zope as well. And lisp is experiencing a revival since 2000, when Paul Graham started advocating it. Coming from the C family of languages, hanging myself on c++/java back in the 90's - I've come to love lisp and recognize how much the languages like python/java were attempting to move from c to lisp/otherlanguages in terms of features.
Anyway, I just wanted to say you shouldn't always look at what those around you are using if you already have a tool (language) that works well. You should use what makes sense, and if zope works, there's no reason you can't stay with it, if you're deciding to move just for popularity reasons.
Actually, RMS wasn't pushed back because of politics. What the PM said during the encounter may shed some light on the problem:
RMS comes close.
PM: "Ooh la la, it's Pepé Le Pew! Allez-vous!"
I imagine if they wanted to put the hurt on MS's Excel sales, they'd target the business user, not the home user.
I really don't think Google is out on a crusade to hurt MS. It probably doesn't care about MS one way or the other. It cares about driving more people to its search engine/advertising and creating a buzz, and if some web app does that for them, great. And if it hurts MS too, that might be a good thing (in their POV). Or maybe not.
The only way I can see MS hurting google is if they make IE point to MSN like Firefox does with Google on the top right search box. (Perhaps they've already done this, haven't used IE in a long time.) Other than that, they are in seperate markets, no matter how much MS wants to try to have a finger in every pie.
I usually like reading Paul Graham's essays but I agree with you on the "4. American Universities Are Better" part. Europe has a long and prestigious history with universities.
Does he have extensive and long experience with foreign universities to ascertain this? Or is it simple chest-thumping of an American, just like the screaming about America having the "justice system in the world" during the OJ trial - I forget who started that, but it was repeated by some talking head on the news/talkshows almost everyday during that period. That is one scary thought! When I think of american (civil) justice, I know the winner, the man with deeper pockets.
Personally, I would say the system really depends where you go to. Overall, I would just rate them lower because of the cost as compared to other universities I could go to in Europe without bankrupting myself for years to come.