This article doesn't really cover any new ground, and is lacking any real details...it's more of a generic endorsement from a celebrity scientist than anything.
I think the idea of going to Mars is wrong headed. I don't think an exploration of Mars will lead to great new developments for humanity. I don't think the idea of colonizing Mars is practical, and if it was, it certainly won't help humans on the Earth. I realize Apollo R&D helped lead the push towards creation of ICs, but I think any R&D budget would be better spent elsewhere...
Specifically, I hear about the idea of terraforming, which even with the most advanced technologies would take a ridiculous amount of time, even if it's possible to replicate the complex necessities of Earth conditions on a planet wide scale. Or the idea of releaving overpopulation through colonization, which is so silly it can be freely ignored.
Mr. Hickam seems to assume everybody shares the dream of having people live in a big plastic bubble far away...and the enormous cost, as well as the very real threat of putting nuclear reactors in ships that tend to blow up in the atmosphere, are insignificant. It's an odd viewpoint that he doesn't bother to justify. Will it make people's lives better? Should it just be done because it can? Manifest Destiny in space is so sci-fi.
While Lucas may have used Cambell as a consultant, he wasn't making a myth, he was making a sci-fi action movie. There were many original elements...nowhere in Cambell's writing (or classic mythology) will you hear about the holographic chess they played on the Millenium Falcon, for instance.
Besides, there's obvious differences between myths, with some containing elements not contained in others, despite a similarity in theme. Oedipus Rex (for instance) shares many themes with Star Wars, but Luke hardly killed Darth Vader and had sex with Natalie Portman. The stories of Hercules and Jesus are very very similar, but their perception, and their effect, are entirely different. Cambell didn't claim that all myths were the same, he made a checklist of thematic similarities.
I think a more accurate depiction of myth is that there's certain basics beliefs and themes programmed into our minds, and any story has to take these primal beliefs and apply them to our constantly-changing environment, with more sucessful, elementary stories getting elevated to "myth." Another poster claimed the reliance on primal themes means there's no possibility of telling new stories - instead, I think in a more rapidly changing world, there's more possibility (and necessity) of telling new stories.
What holds Star Wars back from being a myth is that it's kind of silly and will probably be ignored as time goes on...
The argument that the XBox will flop in Japan and won't have any games, which I'm seeing repeated over and over, doesn't make any sense. Are slashdot posters unfamiliar with the practice of exporting? Japanese game companies are in the business of making money. America is a far larger game-buying market than Japan, and this is growing more and more true every year (perhaps it has something to do with Japan's 10 year depression, with Hoovervilles you'll see in every park). Japanese companies aren't about to give up on a large game market, just because they do or don't see XBox on the shelves of their local department stores.
Dating sims and endless horse racing games don't sell in the US, and they keep getting cranked out - you don't need to have the entire market. I've heard the Sega Genesis, and Metal Gear Solid, were also poor performers.
Through looking through the FAQ and what people have posted, this distro will NOT allow people to develop games that work on the TV for PS2...not to mention, the ability to make games that will play on your friend's PS2. I'm sure it'll get hacked so you can copy games, but you'd still need the linux distro...
I'm very surprised Sony brings this out, for two reasons:
1) There is no good legitamite reason to own this. As a computer, Linux on a PS2 is something like Linux on the old computer you keep in the attic, except it has weird limitations. The only reason to own this is in anticipation of some hacker figuring a way to play copied games off the HD.
2) Reasons of punditry. Even without paying too much attention to the video game machines, I know Sony marketing is criticizing the XBox as a modified computer, rather than a video game system (which makes no sense to me, but I hear people repeat the charge so much on/., maybe it's true). Having Linux running on a PS2 just exposes how shallow that criticism is.
Maybe I'm just missing something - as it is, I don't understand why Sony would do this, or why anybody would be hyped about it.
Slashdot Mirror
I think the idea of going to Mars is wrong headed. I don't think an exploration of Mars will lead to great new developments for humanity. I don't think the idea of colonizing Mars is practical, and if it was, it certainly won't help humans on the Earth. I realize Apollo R&D helped lead the push towards creation of ICs, but I think any R&D budget would be better spent elsewhere...
Specifically, I hear about the idea of terraforming, which even with the most advanced technologies would take a ridiculous amount of time, even if it's possible to replicate the complex necessities of Earth conditions on a planet wide scale. Or the idea of releaving overpopulation through colonization, which is so silly it can be freely ignored.
Mr. Hickam seems to assume everybody shares the dream of having people live in a big plastic bubble far away...and the enormous cost, as well as the very real threat of putting nuclear reactors in ships that tend to blow up in the atmosphere, are insignificant. It's an odd viewpoint that he doesn't bother to justify. Will it make people's lives better? Should it just be done because it can? Manifest Destiny in space is so sci-fi.
Besides, there's obvious differences between myths, with some containing elements not contained in others, despite a similarity in theme. Oedipus Rex (for instance) shares many themes with Star Wars, but Luke hardly killed Darth Vader and had sex with Natalie Portman. The stories of Hercules and Jesus are very very similar, but their perception, and their effect, are entirely different. Cambell didn't claim that all myths were the same, he made a checklist of thematic similarities.
I think a more accurate depiction of myth is that there's certain basics beliefs and themes programmed into our minds, and any story has to take these primal beliefs and apply them to our constantly-changing environment, with more sucessful, elementary stories getting elevated to "myth." Another poster claimed the reliance on primal themes means there's no possibility of telling new stories - instead, I think in a more rapidly changing world, there's more possibility (and necessity) of telling new stories.
What holds Star Wars back from being a myth is that it's kind of silly and will probably be ignored as time goes on...
The argument that the XBox will flop in Japan and won't have any games, which I'm seeing repeated over and over, doesn't make any sense. Are slashdot posters unfamiliar with the practice of exporting? Japanese game companies are in the business of making money. America is a far larger game-buying market than Japan, and this is growing more and more true every year (perhaps it has something to do with Japan's 10 year depression, with Hoovervilles you'll see in every park). Japanese companies aren't about to give up on a large game market, just because they do or don't see XBox on the shelves of their local department stores. Dating sims and endless horse racing games don't sell in the US, and they keep getting cranked out - you don't need to have the entire market. I've heard the Sega Genesis, and Metal Gear Solid, were also poor performers.
Through looking through the FAQ and what people have posted, this distro will NOT allow people to develop games that work on the TV for PS2...not to mention, the ability to make games that will play on your friend's PS2. I'm sure it'll get hacked so you can copy games, but you'd still need the linux distro...
/., maybe it's true). Having Linux running on a PS2 just exposes how shallow that criticism is.
I'm very surprised Sony brings this out, for two reasons:
1) There is no good legitamite reason to own this. As a computer, Linux on a PS2 is something like Linux on the old computer you keep in the attic, except it has weird limitations. The only reason to own this is in anticipation of some hacker figuring a way to play copied games off the HD.
2) Reasons of punditry. Even without paying too much attention to the video game machines, I know Sony marketing is criticizing the XBox as a modified computer, rather than a video game system (which makes no sense to me, but I hear people repeat the charge so much on
Maybe I'm just missing something - as it is, I don't understand why Sony would do this, or why anybody would be hyped about it.
Kamapuaa