Supporting safety has parallels to supporting IT security. The arguments in favor of both have very graphic and tragic examples to use. Who wants a kid to loose a finger or eye? Who is in favor of risking that critical business information gets into competitors' hands?
The dangers of too much "safety" or "security" are much more subtle.
When I was a teen, being into chemistry had a certain amount of coolness specifically because there was a chance of explosion. It was only a junior chemist's knowlege and skill that kept him in one piece -- at least that was the perception we were happy to reinforce.
Now everyone knows that what you get in a chemistry set these days are variations on colored water. The cool kids who take risks are still out there to look up to. But they're not the kids that are doing "science stuff". They are the ones jumping between building roofs on skate boards.
I had a slight lull in my righteous outrage when I heard some of the Yahoo guy's testimony on NPR. He pointed out that by taking the moral high ground he would really be taking no risk himself -- he would be telling a Yahoo employee who is a Chinese citizen to defy his/her government. A contrast to when Pres Bush v1.0 encouraged the Kurds to fight Hussein during the 1st Gulf War -- then did nothing when Kurds who followed his advice were slaughtered.
My company is trying to succeed in China. I wonder what ethical compromises we may have to consider...
...While that would be better than the Diebold system, it would still be possible for the person holding your family hostage to demand to see your receipt in order to verify that you voted for the "correct" candidate, thus defeating the purpose of a secret ballot.
Doesn't this seem a bit paranoid? Wouldn't you need a gang of hostage takers for each voter? Or maybe just assign gangs to a home if they have your opponents sign in their yard. It seems like an very inefficient way to win an election.
In addition to the Fortune 100 company I work for, it has had significant impact on GE, UPS and SBC. I know it has hit us harder than any other malware to date.
Microsoft is claiming that the impact is very limited. That alone should cause the contrarian Slashdot types to suspect this is a big problem.
I'm in a Fortune 100 company that was crippled by this thing all day on Monday -- we've got security stopping laptop toting people at the door this morning to clean and patch (the laptops, not the people).
If your organization wasn't affected, it may mean that you have top, top IT staff that never miss a thing -- or maybe you just got lucky this time.
At this point it is fairly obvious to me that this is bigger than the Slashdot crowd seems to admit.
Child 4.0 is 15 and I'm putting a desktop in his room in the next week. He helped me out by breaking his bedroom door while trying to slam it on Child 3.0. This allowed me to remove said door without replacement until he demonstrated responsiblity and respect for our home (he will be doorless at least for a couple more years).
I am also using a Linksys Router that has the Parental Control subscription available. I am seriously considering using this to control his web and im access. Anyone have experience with this service?
IANAT but I taught a junior college writing course and am married to an elementary teacher of 20+ years.
On the parent's points:
1)Parental responsibility -- yes, this would be nice, but it is a variable largely outside the control of the education community. We have to work with the raw materials we are provided.
2)You suggest, "Make it easier to be a teach, but weed out the bad teachers." I would say, "Make it hard to be a teacher, but very rewarding ($$$) if you are good at it."
3)Don't end standarized testing. Improve it. Make sure it measures the right things. Standardized testing is needed to evaluate quality of teachers, and success of students. We need it to add a objective measure since we all know that an "A" from one teacher (or district, or state) does not necessarily equate to the same grade in the same subject from a different teacher.
4)We must compare our students to those of other countries. We are competing in a global workforce -- especially in fields like information technology. If there is a reason the comparison is not valid then show me the footnote -- but keep those comparisons coming.
As for your argument for more funding -- absolutely! Increase funding to pay the best teachers on par with the best of other professions. Tie pay to performance and stop basing it on a matrix of seniority and education.
Those writing the Brittanica articles over the years have often been the best experts in their fields (and paid for their work). For example, Albert Einstein wrote the entry for Space-Time in 1926.
The article made some good points about the limits of writing by community. Wikipedia is an excellent resource -- but it is limited by the assumption that the truth will rise to the top.
The real evil is the "lazyness or dumbness" you mention in your last sentence not advertising.
Since we don't teaching critical thinking skills in schools, we aren't equipped for democracy and freedom in general. We need to arm our population with the tools to recognize bs when it is shoveled on them.
Maybe the poster wanted this to be flamebait, but to suggest that reading & writing are "infinitely more important" or that it is reading & writing that underpin critical thinking is just plain wrong! I would agree that reading is a fundamental skill and that writing, when properly taught, can enhance critical thinking.
Science, when properly taught, is primarily about critical thinking. Math is the tool that takes critical thinking to the next level - from vague qualitative to useful quantitative.
And although the critical thinkers among you will recognize this as on anecdotal, I've met some people who write both well and often, but who still don't realize that correlation is not causation.
So is this what the Internet gives us? A hugely diverse spectrum of opinion passed as news, so that we can choose the sites that confirm what we already believe.
Sorry, unless it's in print (paper, dead trees) it can't be used. That's what it says in the story.
If the term was this commonly used back in the 80's, you should just find a printed example. Granted, it's harder than using Google -- but think of the satisfaction!
Of course fear sells. Fear sells a lot of books, and movies and video games. Technology runs amok, gene therapy creates monsters, law enforcement database leads to 1984, Frankenstein, The China Syndrome -- EVERYBODY SCREAM!
That was fun -- but it isn't balanced. If we let popular media be our benchmark, 9 out of 10 new ideas lead to disaster.
Could a uber-database be misused? Absolutely! So our alternative is security through ignorance? Paranoia is more fun than rational balancing of risks vs. benefits.
To simulate gravity for people without causing nausea, the diameter of the system has to be large (somewhere around 1 km). The bearing system to accomodate such a device would be a considerable engineering feat. We are also assuming that we wouldn't want capabilities to use gravities less than the ambient gravity of Mars. Building large systems (such as huge telescopes) for use in space is easier if the system can be built in space without being subjected unneccessarily to planetary gravities.
Trip to Mars from Earth -- several months (variable depending on relative positions of planets)
Trip to Lagrange from Earth -- days
Gravity on Mars -- 0.4G Gravity at Lagrange -- 0.0G (Artificial gravity through rotation gives relatively easy access to everything between 0 and 1G and beyond -- difficult to recreate on Mars)
Raw materials on Mars -- plentiful and varied but at the bottom of a gravity well
Raw material in Space near Lagrange -- NEO materials are available
Owning the high ground has always been an advantage in warfare -- both defensive and offensive. Orbital Space is the ultimate high ground.
Using GPS guided anvils dropped from orbit there ain't no bunker deep enough to hide.
As a parent of four, I have replaced an average of 1 calculator per year per child. I have a laptop -- it wouldn't last 2 weeks under a 6th graders care. None of them would -- not Dell, not IBM, not Apple.
They need to be at least up to the military spec in order to survive 6th graders. The tablet format would also make sense. They're only $4000 apiece:
http://www.groupmobile.com/product-ix104.asp
Seriously, the form factor doesn't exist yet that makes sense for 6th graders. My kids can't even keep their calculators for a whole school year.
Not a new way at all. Consultants have been doing it for centuries. Samuel Butler (1612-1680)wrote: "What makes all doctrines plain and clear?-
About two hundred pounds a year.
And that which was prov'd true before
Prove false again? Two hundred more."
I just don't know why the press keeps falling for these "independent" studies.
Slashdot Mirror
Supporting safety has parallels to supporting IT security. The arguments in favor of both have very graphic and tragic examples to use. Who wants a kid to loose a finger or eye? Who is in favor of risking that critical business information gets into competitors' hands?
The dangers of too much "safety" or "security" are much more subtle.
When I was a teen, being into chemistry had a certain amount of coolness specifically because there was a chance of explosion. It was only a junior chemist's knowlege and skill that kept him in one piece -- at least that was the perception we were happy to reinforce.
Now everyone knows that what you get in a chemistry set these days are variations on colored water. The cool kids who take risks are still out there to look up to. But they're not the kids that are doing "science stuff". They are the ones jumping between building roofs on skate boards.
I had a slight lull in my righteous outrage when I heard some of the Yahoo guy's testimony on NPR. He pointed out that by taking the moral high ground he would really be taking no risk himself -- he would be telling a Yahoo employee who is a Chinese citizen to defy his/her government. A contrast to when Pres Bush v1.0 encouraged the Kurds to fight Hussein during the 1st Gulf War -- then did nothing when Kurds who followed his advice were slaughtered.
My company is trying to succeed in China. I wonder what ethical compromises we may have to consider...
...While that would be better than the Diebold system, it would still be possible for the person holding your family hostage to demand to see your receipt in order to verify that you voted for the "correct" candidate, thus defeating the purpose of a secret ballot.
Doesn't this seem a bit paranoid? Wouldn't you need a gang of hostage takers for each voter? Or maybe just assign gangs to a home if they have your opponents sign in their yard. It seems like an very inefficient way to win an election.
In addition to the Fortune 100 company I work for, it has had significant impact on GE, UPS and SBC. I know it has hit us harder than any other malware to date.
Microsoft is claiming that the impact is very limited. That alone should cause the contrarian Slashdot types to suspect this is a big problem.
I'm in a Fortune 100 company that was crippled by this thing all day on Monday -- we've got security stopping laptop toting people at the door this morning to clean and patch (the laptops, not the people).
If your organization wasn't affected, it may mean that you have top, top IT staff that never miss a thing -- or maybe you just got lucky this time.
At this point it is fairly obvious to me that this is bigger than the Slashdot crowd seems to admit.
clever and amusing sig
Child 4.0 is 15 and I'm putting a desktop in his room in the next week. He helped me out by breaking his bedroom door while trying to slam it on Child 3.0. This allowed me to remove said door without replacement until he demonstrated responsiblity and respect for our home (he will be doorless at least for a couple more years).
.. handtyped sig, nothing to see here ..
I am also using a Linksys Router that has the Parental Control subscription available. I am seriously considering using this to control his web and im access. Anyone have experience with this service?
IANAT but I taught a junior college writing course and am married to an elementary teacher of 20+ years.
On the parent's points:
1)Parental responsibility -- yes, this would be nice, but it is a variable largely outside the control of the education community. We have to work with the raw materials we are provided.
2)You suggest, "Make it easier to be a teach, but weed out the bad teachers." I would say, "Make it hard to be a teacher, but very rewarding ($$$) if you are good at it."
3)Don't end standarized testing. Improve it. Make sure it measures the right things. Standardized testing is needed to evaluate quality of teachers, and success of students. We need it to add a objective measure since we all know that an "A" from one teacher (or district, or state) does not necessarily equate to the same grade in the same subject from a different teacher.
4)We must compare our students to those of other countries. We are competing in a global workforce -- especially in fields like information technology. If there is a reason the comparison is not valid then show me the footnote -- but keep those comparisons coming.
As for your argument for more funding -- absolutely! Increase funding to pay the best teachers on par with the best of other professions. Tie pay to performance and stop basing it on a matrix of seniority and education.
You want bizarre? Wait 'til the fundamentalists who pressured Microsoft decide to publicly endorse OSS as retaliation.
As Jascha Heifetz said, "No matter what side of an argument you're on, you always find some people on your side that wish you were on the other side."
Those writing the Brittanica articles over the years have often been the best experts in their fields (and paid for their work). For example, Albert Einstein wrote the entry for Space-Time in 1926.
The article made some good points about the limits of writing by community. Wikipedia is an excellent resource -- but it is limited by the assumption that the truth will rise to the top.
Note that the launch was in 1997 (and the design was a few years older than that). Was SDR a mature technology in that time period?
The Bruce Willis character _is_ a dead person!
The real evil is the "lazyness or dumbness" you mention in your last sentence not advertising.
Since we don't teaching critical thinking skills in schools, we aren't equipped for democracy and freedom in general. We need to arm our population with the tools to recognize bs when it is shoveled on them.
Maybe the poster wanted this to be flamebait, but to suggest that reading & writing are "infinitely more important" or that it is reading & writing that underpin critical thinking is just plain wrong! I would agree that reading is a fundamental skill and that writing, when properly taught, can enhance critical thinking.
Science, when properly taught, is primarily about critical thinking. Math is the tool that takes critical thinking to the next level - from vague qualitative to useful quantitative.
And although the critical thinkers among you will recognize this as on anecdotal, I've met some people who write both well and often, but who still don't realize that correlation is not causation.
So is this what the Internet gives us? A hugely diverse spectrum of opinion passed as news, so that we can choose the sites that confirm what we already believe.
A Balkanized Internet, now that's discouraging...
Is my math off here? 7 amp-hr 18 volt laptop battery recharges in 30 seconds. hmmmm...
To recharge we would (with perfect efficiency) need to charge at a rate of 840 amps for those 30 seconds.
18 volts x 840 amps = 15120 watts.
Just use the 480 volt outlet...
Sorry, unless it's in print (paper, dead trees) it can't be used. That's what it says in the story.
If the term was this commonly used back in the 80's, you should just find a printed example. Granted, it's harder than using Google -- but think of the satisfaction!
Of course fear sells. Fear sells a lot of books, and movies and video games. Technology runs amok, gene therapy creates monsters, law enforcement database leads to 1984, Frankenstein, The China Syndrome -- EVERYBODY SCREAM!
/.'ers should not fall for FUD from anyone.
That was fun -- but it isn't balanced. If we let popular media be our benchmark, 9 out of 10 new ideas lead to disaster. Could a uber-database be misused? Absolutely! So our alternative is security through ignorance? Paranoia is more fun than rational balancing of risks vs. benefits.
To simulate gravity for people without causing nausea, the diameter of the system has to be large (somewhere around 1 km). The bearing system to accomodate such a device would be a considerable engineering feat. We are also assuming that we wouldn't want capabilities to use gravities less than the ambient gravity of Mars. Building large systems (such as huge telescopes) for use in space is easier if the system can be built in space without being subjected unneccessarily to planetary gravities.
Trip to Mars from Earth -- several months (variable depending on relative positions of planets)
Trip to Lagrange from Earth -- days
Gravity on Mars -- 0.4G
Gravity at Lagrange -- 0.0G (Artificial gravity through rotation gives relatively easy access to everything between 0 and 1G and beyond -- difficult to recreate on Mars)
Raw materials on Mars -- plentiful and varied but at the bottom of a gravity well
Raw material in Space near Lagrange -- NEO materials are available
I think the astronaut has it right!
Had a Hayes rep in a tech class prove that 2400 baud was absolute top speed for data over voice grade phone lines...
Owning the high ground has always been an advantage in warfare -- both defensive and offensive. Orbital Space is the ultimate high ground. Using GPS guided anvils dropped from orbit there ain't no bunker deep enough to hide.
As a parent of four, I have replaced an average of 1 calculator per year per child. I have a laptop -- it wouldn't last 2 weeks under a 6th graders care. None of them would -- not Dell, not IBM, not Apple.
How about a nice tablet style military hardened pc -- they're only about $4000US
They need to be at least up to the military spec in order to survive 6th graders. The tablet format would also make sense. They're only $4000 apiece: http://www.groupmobile.com/product-ix104.asp Seriously, the form factor doesn't exist yet that makes sense for 6th graders. My kids can't even keep their calculators for a whole school year.
Not a new way at all. Consultants have been doing it for centuries. Samuel Butler (1612-1680)wrote:
"What makes all doctrines plain and clear?-
About two hundred pounds a year.
And that which was prov'd true before
Prove false again? Two hundred more."
I just don't know why the press keeps falling for these "independent" studies.