Oh please. There might be some wackos out there that may take that issue but there are pleanty of other wackos out there too. I don't think that most "Christians" would have any problem with the idea that God created life elsewhere and didn't bother to give us details.
However it takes only few wackos to spoil otherwise perfectly fine day, be
they fundamentalist Christians, Hindus or Moslems.
How many people are comfortable with rods, links, chains, bushels, and pecks?
Not to mention even more obscure stuff like BTU (British Thermal Units) found on your boiler,
which is by the way is different from the one traditionally used in Britain.
We all are fit, for the same reason that we are fit to criticize barbarous countries in which it is routine to cut off a girl's clitoris when she reaches puberty.
Well, that is fine with me, but are we fit to come in change their barbarous ways? Remember that many slaves in ancient times did not think that slavery is wrong per se. Should they run away back to their countries, they'd gladly became slave owners themselves.
...and I'm far from my toolbox, I pull out my Leatherman
But your Leatherman is no match for this. Though it is useful in what it does and has its own place.
Just that multi-function devices are not the answer to all problems.
>>It's a very insightful and thought-provoking read. Is this going to be the next generation of extensible programming?
>No.
I agree. What people forget is that you can not win against entropy.
By redefining problem in a different way you are not necessarily
solving it. Does anyone even remember now KISS principal?
They get injured, the weather turns bad, they make a wrong turn, or whatever, and then it's up to us to go find them.
And what exactly is wrong with it. That is why it is called Search and Rescue.
People must be allowed to make mistakes. Making it impossible to make mistakes and *face*
consequences by constant monitoring is ultimate blunder. What's next, making it mandatory
to carry gps transmitters, implanting rfids because society has to pay for rescuing.
The word free in Free Society truly takes meaning of been free from responsibility.
The concept I am referring to is that manifold does not have to be
embedded into something else to have measurable properties like curvature,
shape etc, i.e. that you can measure all sorts of stuff without
getting out of this hypothetical n-dimensional world. This is (I am
referring to a part I put in bold) an artificial concept. I bet you
have never seen anything not been actually embedded into larger
space. Your example with peace of cloth does not hold water because it
is clearly embedded into out 3D world.
>>could anyone please present any evidence that there is nothing outside of Universe
I hope you realize yourself, that this is a preposterous demand.
Even if our four known dimensions would be embedded in, say, 11 dimensions
and we just see a brane in this space. The 11-dimensional space would be what we call universe.
Is that suppose to be a proof that there is nothing outside of
Universe. Your argument exactly boils down to "if our Universe is come
to be of 11 dimensions then so be it and there is nothing outside of
it because what else could there be and if there is found to be
something outside we will include it as part of the Universe and there
is still nothing outside of it." You understand that this is very
scholastic argument akin to finding out how many demons fit on a
needles tip. The truly honest position would be to say that we have no
ideas what is outside of the Universe instead of claiming that we
know what it is and it is nothing.
No, there is no "space outside the universe" that
migt get filled. It is a question of space-time
"curvature". A manifold does not need to be embeded
in a higher dimensional space to have a curvature.
This argument, which originates in differential geometry, keeps
getting repeated over and over again whenever someone asks about shape
of the Universe. But you really should keep in mind that this is an
artificial concept brought from mathematics and we are talking about
reality here, which is in realm of physics. I have yet to see an
actual demonstration of something been bended without been embedded
into space of large dimensions. Yet this argument that there is
nothing outside of Universe almost always presented as the real fact
without any evidence to it whatsoever. This claim is quite an
extraordinary and require extraordinary evidence. So could anyone
please present any evidence that there is nothing outside of
Universe. And arguments like "well, what could there be" do not count.
In about ten years, we'll have an internal passport system for air, land, and sea transport that would have made Soviet Russia proud.
To see what happens when you must have your documents with you all the time and present
them to the authorities on demand you should read Russian news. Just few days ago I read
about case in Moskow subway where police officers would ask nice looking girls to present
them documents then they would ask her to go with them to the office to do some checks on
her. Note that police officer at that point already holding in his hands here passport
and you really don't want to go anywhere in Moskow without passport. In the office they
would rape them and threaten to kill them if they tell anyone. Russia is abundant of such
stories. Do we want something like this to be happening here left and right?
In other words, philosophy essentially is religious argument.
It is not a surprise to me that religion generally viewed negatively
on slashdot. But I think we should have a bit more respect to those
who practice it. Throughout the history people always felt that
existence of gods and spirits and their relations to them are
important. And the fact that in the west we have New Age movement and
new religions and heresies are still been created is a great thing.
It means that there is a great vitality in human race. So, just give
it a little respect, especially knowing that many of these people are
been exploited left and right.
They're really common in Las Vegas and in the Orlando area.
We went once to one of this in Orlando. It was amazing, people were buying some vacation rentals,
which they never going to visit by the way, like hot cakes. And those were not small sums,
tens of thousands of dollars After about three hours of torture we got our free tickets to a
Disney World, but they were definitely not worth going through that horror. Never again.
I saw a comment on here a few days back along the lines of "Well, let's throw a few nukes at one spot on Mars and see what happens." Today's youth read about Fat Boy and think "Wow, that's a cool bomb." But they should really be thinking "Wow, we did that? Could that happen to us?"
What is happening is desacralization of nuclear weapons. They are not
considered anymore as a weapons of the symbolical end of the
World. And that is why everybody seems to be expecting nuclear
terrorist attack any time soon. Expectations of imminence of such
event only bolsters future perpetrators of it.
I'm frightened to see what happens when my generation doubles in age, and qualifies for positions of power over these kinds of weapons.
That is why humanity goes through the cycles of boom and bust. As a
whole we learn only by means of pain, when pain subsides we forget its
reasons and repeat it all over again.
create the impression that the US can ID the source and presumably nuke the bejesus out of anyone who allows one of their weapons to be delivered.
But what are you going to do if nuclear material was stolen or sold by
corrupt officials from let say Pakistan. Oh the irony, greatest friend
turns into greatest enemy. So, you nuke Pakistan, but what if it came
from Russia. Nuke Russia, I think not.
why is it that the US seems to get more than its fair share of crackpots like this guy?
That is because you don't live in some other country. The point is
that wherever you live you feel that it is a place where there are
more crackpots then anywhere else.
The only thing we could even imagine doing to kill off everybody on the planet with current technology would be to find a very large Earth-crossing asteroid, and spend an enormous amount of time and money pushing it on to a collision course. Future technology may change things, but this is how it stands today.
Ok, I read you link to Cyclothymic
Personality Disorder. This is the most ridicules "disorder" ever
invented. Just read it: has periods of sharpened and creative
thinking alternating with periods of mental confusion and apathy;
has depressive periods: depressed mood or loss of interest or
pleasure in all, or almost all, activities etc. etc. What this
"disorder" do is really stigmatizes normal life with our ups and
downs. This is what modern clinical psychology is all about to turn
all of us into some kind of gray mass. If only they could they would
sedate most if not all of slashdot readers.
...that many famous creative geniuses were at least "troubled"
Case in point: Edgar Alan Poe. He was indeed crazy, but would he write
all those stories if not for his mental illness. And what if he
wouldn't want to be "cured", should we take him by force. There is
already enough abuse in psychiatric hospitals. Or psychic and mental
diversity is our greatest strength.
...will seek to further his horizons. We've run out of horizons on Earth.
There are plenty of horizons available right here on Earth. Ocean exploration is one. Controlled nuclear fusion, etc. etc.
Going to Mars would be cool indeed, but there are no shortage of challenges on Earth.
Experience it first hand.
My real question is why I, as a taxpayer, have to pay for *your* trip to the Mars?
I really want convincing reasons to bank roll *your* trip. Perhaps you already know main
counterarguments like first providing food and health-care for all. The real danger
I see is brining all our Earthly squabbles into space.
It really makes a lot of sense. We already have copyrights on parts of
dna of different species and this bill just seems like natural extension. The concepts of property and ownership will continue expand
until all particles, ideas and what not will carry some kind of
ownership label. That is gonna be fun.
Slashdot Mirror
Oh please. There might be some wackos out there that may take that issue but there are pleanty of other wackos out there too. I don't think that most "Christians" would have any problem with the idea that God created life elsewhere and didn't bother to give us details.
However it takes only few wackos to spoil otherwise perfectly fine day, be they fundamentalist Christians, Hindus or Moslems.
How many people are comfortable with rods, links, chains, bushels, and pecks?
Not to mention even more obscure stuff like BTU (British Thermal Units) found on your boiler, which is by the way is different from the one traditionally used in Britain.
We all are fit, for the same reason that we are fit to criticize barbarous countries in which it is routine to cut off a girl's clitoris when she reaches puberty.
Well, that is fine with me, but are we fit to come in change their barbarous ways? Remember that many slaves in ancient times did not think that slavery is wrong per se. Should they run away back to their countries, they'd gladly became slave owners themselves.
>>And what makes you think I have the arrogance and temerity to impose my supposedly enlightened view on other people?
>Why not? Isn't the entire purpose of life to share enlightenment with others?
Share, not impose. Hope you can see the difference.
but I don't see people arguing for existance of unicorns
Well, I believe in unicorns. What's your point anyway.
but the problem isn't the products, it's the grandparents
That's right. %@#$ users.
...and I'm far from my toolbox, I pull out my Leatherman
But your Leatherman is no match for this. Though it is useful in what it does and has its own place. Just that multi-function devices are not the answer to all problems.
> >Programmers will be able to extend the syntax of programming languages,
>Again, nothing new.
And also here.
>>It's a very insightful and thought-provoking read. Is this going to be the next generation of extensible programming?
>No.
I agree. What people forget is that you can not win against entropy. By redefining problem in a different way you are not necessarily solving it. Does anyone even remember now KISS principal?
They may use the *concept* of a database *internally*, but then again so do iTunes and Emacs and probably a bunch of other programs.
I concur about emacs. Not only it is a database but it can also do this and that. Now if only I could make my emacs to brew coffee.
n modern times, we have decided that using chemical weapons is "against the rules." Some don't follow those rules, some do.
The good thing about rules is that there are some many to choose from. Grand parent is right, there are no rules of war.
They get injured, the weather turns bad, they make a wrong turn, or whatever, and then it's up to us to go find them.
And what exactly is wrong with it. That is why it is called Search and Rescue. People must be allowed to make mistakes. Making it impossible to make mistakes and *face* consequences by constant monitoring is ultimate blunder. What's next, making it mandatory to carry gps transmitters, implanting rfids because society has to pay for rescuing. The word free in Free Society truly takes meaning of been free from responsibility.
from math, yes. artificial, no
The concept I am referring to is that manifold does not have to be embedded into something else to have measurable properties like curvature, shape etc, i.e. that you can measure all sorts of stuff without getting out of this hypothetical n-dimensional world. This is (I am referring to a part I put in bold) an artificial concept. I bet you have never seen anything not been actually embedded into larger space. Your example with peace of cloth does not hold water because it is clearly embedded into out 3D world.
>>could anyone please present any evidence that there is nothing outside of Universe
I hope you realize yourself, that this is a preposterous demand.
Even if our four known dimensions would be embedded in, say, 11 dimensions and we just see a brane in this space. The 11-dimensional space would be what we call universe.
Is that suppose to be a proof that there is nothing outside of Universe. Your argument exactly boils down to "if our Universe is come to be of 11 dimensions then so be it and there is nothing outside of it because what else could there be and if there is found to be something outside we will include it as part of the Universe and there is still nothing outside of it." You understand that this is very scholastic argument akin to finding out how many demons fit on a needles tip. The truly honest position would be to say that we have no ideas what is outside of the Universe instead of claiming that we know what it is and it is nothing.
No, there is no "space outside the universe" that migt get filled. It is a question of space-time "curvature". A manifold does not need to be embeded in a higher dimensional space to have a curvature.
This argument, which originates in differential geometry, keeps getting repeated over and over again whenever someone asks about shape of the Universe. But you really should keep in mind that this is an artificial concept brought from mathematics and we are talking about reality here, which is in realm of physics. I have yet to see an actual demonstration of something been bended without been embedded into space of large dimensions. Yet this argument that there is nothing outside of Universe almost always presented as the real fact without any evidence to it whatsoever. This claim is quite an extraordinary and require extraordinary evidence. So could anyone please present any evidence that there is nothing outside of Universe. And arguments like "well, what could there be" do not count.
In about ten years, we'll have an internal passport system for air, land, and sea transport that would have made Soviet Russia proud.
To see what happens when you must have your documents with you all the time and present them to the authorities on demand you should read Russian news. Just few days ago I read about case in Moskow subway where police officers would ask nice looking girls to present them documents then they would ask her to go with them to the office to do some checks on her. Note that police officer at that point already holding in his hands here passport and you really don't want to go anywhere in Moskow without passport. In the office they would rape them and threaten to kill them if they tell anyone. Russia is abundant of such stories. Do we want something like this to be happening here left and right?
In other words, philosophy essentially is religious argument.
It is not a surprise to me that religion generally viewed negatively on slashdot. But I think we should have a bit more respect to those who practice it. Throughout the history people always felt that existence of gods and spirits and their relations to them are important. And the fact that in the west we have New Age movement and new religions and heresies are still been created is a great thing. It means that there is a great vitality in human race. So, just give it a little respect, especially knowing that many of these people are been exploited left and right.
They're really common in Las Vegas and in the Orlando area.
We went once to one of this in Orlando. It was amazing, people were buying some vacation rentals, which they never going to visit by the way, like hot cakes. And those were not small sums, tens of thousands of dollars After about three hours of torture we got our free tickets to a Disney World, but they were definitely not worth going through that horror. Never again.
I saw a comment on here a few days back along the lines of "Well, let's throw a few nukes at one spot on Mars and see what happens." Today's youth read about Fat Boy and think "Wow, that's a cool bomb." But they should really be thinking "Wow, we did that? Could that happen to us?"
What is happening is desacralization of nuclear weapons. They are not considered anymore as a weapons of the symbolical end of the World. And that is why everybody seems to be expecting nuclear terrorist attack any time soon. Expectations of imminence of such event only bolsters future perpetrators of it.
I'm frightened to see what happens when my generation doubles in age, and qualifies for positions of power over these kinds of weapons.
That is why humanity goes through the cycles of boom and bust. As a whole we learn only by means of pain, when pain subsides we forget its reasons and repeat it all over again.
Yeah, you figured it out, this one is aimed squarely at Pakistan.
I see, so no matter who perpetuates next terrorist act we nuke Pakistan. That makes sense.
create the impression that the US can ID the source and presumably nuke the bejesus out of anyone who allows one of their weapons to be delivered.
But what are you going to do if nuclear material was stolen or sold by corrupt officials from let say Pakistan. Oh the irony, greatest friend turns into greatest enemy. So, you nuke Pakistan, but what if it came from Russia. Nuke Russia, I think not.
why is it that the US seems to get more than its fair share of crackpots like this guy?
That is because you don't live in some other country. The point is that wherever you live you feel that it is a place where there are more crackpots then anywhere else.
The only thing we could even imagine doing to kill off everybody on the planet with current technology would be to find a very large Earth-crossing asteroid, and spend an enormous amount of time and money pushing it on to a collision course. Future technology may change things, but this is how it stands today.
So I can come out from my bunker then?
Ok, I read you link to Cyclothymic Personality Disorder. This is the most ridicules "disorder" ever invented. Just read it: has periods of sharpened and creative thinking alternating with periods of mental confusion and apathy; has depressive periods: depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities etc. etc. What this "disorder" do is really stigmatizes normal life with our ups and downs. This is what modern clinical psychology is all about to turn all of us into some kind of gray mass. If only they could they would sedate most if not all of slashdot readers.
...that many famous creative geniuses were at least "troubled"
Case in point: Edgar Alan Poe. He was indeed crazy, but would he write all those stories if not for his mental illness. And what if he wouldn't want to be "cured", should we take him by force. There is already enough abuse in psychiatric hospitals. Or psychic and mental diversity is our greatest strength.
...will seek to further his horizons. We've run out of horizons on Earth.
There are plenty of horizons available right here on Earth. Ocean exploration is one. Controlled nuclear fusion, etc. etc. Going to Mars would be cool indeed, but there are no shortage of challenges on Earth.
Experience it first hand.
My real question is why I, as a taxpayer, have to pay for *your* trip to the Mars? I really want convincing reasons to bank roll *your* trip. Perhaps you already know main counterarguments like first providing food and health-care for all. The real danger I see is brining all our Earthly squabbles into space.
It really makes a lot of sense. We already have copyrights on parts of dna of different species and this bill just seems like natural extension. The concepts of property and ownership will continue expand until all particles, ideas and what not will carry some kind of ownership label. That is gonna be fun.