While I agree with the concept that morality can be logical, I disagree that morality is simply a "set of rules" allowing the "maximum level of happiness" among people. I'm afraid that the logical portion would break as soon as the fancies of the majority changed. It sounds to me like you are describing a form of relative moralism, which has less to do with logic and more to do with style. At least with true logic, you have the assurance of repeatability. Try showing me a form of morality that doesn't change, and you'll likely have shown me one based on true logic.
By the way, you gave an nice seed example of relative moralism in your assertion that murder should be wrong. However, you didn't really logically show why murder was wrong, only that you think it is wrong because you, and perhaps others (the majority), don't like it. You suggest that murder should be illegal, because making it so serves the "well-being of the population." But, perhaps the killing of a certain sect of unpopular or troublesome people would favorably serve the majority of the rest of the population in their quest for happiness. How would you then satisfy the need of the majority without giving them the very thing that would make them happy, i.e. killing that sect? But that argument will surface that killing is different than murder. In what way? and who determines the extent of a morally just reason for taking life?
As always, questions about morality lie much deeper in religion and philosophy than I believe many would care to think.
I had the same intermittant A.C. problem (cold solder joints in the A.C. dashboard control unit) with a '93 Prelude. Fortunately, I was able to figure out the problem on my own using the old shot-in-the-dark method and probably saved myself a fortune in repair costs. In fact, the mechanic that I mentioned the problem to said that he wouldn't even bother with it unless it occurred more frequently. Electrical problems have always been, and will probably continue to be, a thorn in the side of all mechanics because of the lack of information regarding them. One thing that I have found useful has been the authorized Honda Service Manuals which contain complete instructions, nice illustrations, plenty of electrical schematics, and quite a bit more info than the Chilton or Haynes manuals.
If you've been given "deep" pockets to hire foreign programmers, then why doesn't your company hire any of the many fine programmers in the U.S. who are currently out of work and will probably work for less? Granted, you may get more foreign programmers for the same money, but I sometimes think that many of the companies in the U.S. just compound problems by ignoring talent around them.
Note: I'm sensitive about this situation because I have been unemployed for several months now, and just getting a chance to interview can be tough.
I'm not too sure that you would need thousands of LEDs to get the job done. I did a little checking around, and found a white LED at Jameco that emits 3700 mcd @ 20 mA, which is approximately 47 lumens (well, this depends a bit on the radial spread, but you might try assuming about 30-45 degrees, which is typical of LEDs). Given that LCD projectors might generate between 1000 and 3000 lumens, you'd have to use an array of between 22 and 65 of these LEDs. Total current: 440 - 1300 mA. Total cost: $99 - $292. Operating life: 100,000 hours. (I'm probably wrong about this, but it still was fun to calculate that stuff)
Re:I hope this thing stands up to the elements.
on
Periodic Table Table
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· Score: 3, Informative
That seriously depends on the construction techniques. An understanding of the way wood moves according to humidity and temperature changes can greatly aid a woodworker in engineering a piece of furniture that will last, regardless of the materials used. In this case, it appears that most of the various different type wood pieces used in his table are free to move around much like little cabinet doors that contain a gap to allow for wood movement. The one thing that concerns me about the design is the checkerboard pattern of drilled-out blocks that he uses for the tabletop. Because the pieces are so large, I'm not sure if the opposing shear forces wouldn't eventually force the blocks to separate.
This guy seems to have a set of tools that most professional woodworkers would love to have, including that nice little Wood-Mizer sawmill and an enormous shop. But the thing that makes me wonder about how accomplished a woodworker he is comes when you take notice of the time-stamps on the pictures. On 11-18-2000, there is a picture of him milling a log, presumably the one that he is going to use for the table. Then *two* days later, he is cutting and laying out pieces for the project! As most woodworkers know, this is a serious no-no, as freshly milled wood often needs many months of curing time. Even kiln-dried wood (which some regard as inferior), needs at least a week or so to adjust to the humidity conditions of a shop before you start working with it.
Unfortunately, limiting a movie's audience by giving it an R rating never makes it more popular than it would have been with a PG or PG-13 rating. In a listing of the Top-100 highest grossing films of all time (a somewhat decent portrayal of recent movie popularity), your example of the Matrix shows up as number 67, or the 10th highest grossing film with an R rating. You might also notice that the highest grossing R-rated movie is Beverly Hills Cop at number 24.
Slashdot Mirror
I couldn't find them either, but you can go here to see some.
While I agree with the concept that morality can be logical, I disagree that morality is simply a "set of rules" allowing the "maximum level of happiness" among people. I'm afraid that the logical portion would break as soon as the fancies of the majority changed. It sounds to me like you are describing a form of relative moralism, which has less to do with logic and more to do with style. At least with true logic, you have the assurance of repeatability. Try showing me a form of morality that doesn't change, and you'll likely have shown me one based on true logic.
By the way, you gave an nice seed example of relative moralism in your assertion that murder should be wrong. However, you didn't really logically show why murder was wrong, only that you think it is wrong because you, and perhaps others (the majority), don't like it. You suggest that murder should be illegal, because making it so serves the "well-being of the population." But, perhaps the killing of a certain sect of unpopular or troublesome people would favorably serve the majority of the rest of the population in their quest for happiness. How would you then satisfy the need of the majority without giving them the very thing that would make them happy, i.e. killing that sect? But that argument will surface that killing is different than murder. In what way? and who determines the extent of a morally just reason for taking life?
As always, questions about morality lie much deeper in religion and philosophy than I believe many would care to think.
I had the same intermittant A.C. problem (cold solder joints in the A.C. dashboard control unit) with a '93 Prelude. Fortunately, I was able to figure out the problem on my own using the old shot-in-the-dark method and probably saved myself a fortune in repair costs. In fact, the mechanic that I mentioned the problem to said that he wouldn't even bother with it unless it occurred more frequently. Electrical problems have always been, and will probably continue to be, a thorn in the side of all mechanics because of the lack of information regarding them. One thing that I have found useful has been the authorized Honda Service Manuals which contain complete instructions, nice illustrations, plenty of electrical schematics, and quite a bit more info than the Chilton or Haynes manuals.
If you've been given "deep" pockets to hire foreign programmers, then why doesn't your company hire any of the many fine programmers in the U.S. who are currently out of work and will probably work for less? Granted, you may get more foreign programmers for the same money, but I sometimes think that many of the companies in the U.S. just compound problems by ignoring talent around them. Note: I'm sensitive about this situation because I have been unemployed for several months now, and just getting a chance to interview can be tough.
I'm not too sure that you would need thousands of LEDs to get the job done. I did a little checking around, and found a white LED at Jameco that emits 3700 mcd @ 20 mA, which is approximately 47 lumens (well, this depends a bit on the radial spread, but you might try assuming about 30-45 degrees, which is typical of LEDs). Given that LCD projectors might generate between 1000 and 3000 lumens, you'd have to use an array of between 22 and 65 of these LEDs. Total current: 440 - 1300 mA. Total cost: $99 - $292. Operating life: 100,000 hours. (I'm probably wrong about this, but it still was fun to calculate that stuff)
That seriously depends on the construction techniques. An understanding of the way wood moves according to humidity and temperature changes can greatly aid a woodworker in engineering a piece of furniture that will last, regardless of the materials used. In this case, it appears that most of the various different type wood pieces used in his table are free to move around much like little cabinet doors that contain a gap to allow for wood movement. The one thing that concerns me about the design is the checkerboard pattern of drilled-out blocks that he uses for the tabletop. Because the pieces are so large, I'm not sure if the opposing shear forces wouldn't eventually force the blocks to separate.
This guy seems to have a set of tools that most professional woodworkers would love to have, including that nice little Wood-Mizer sawmill and an enormous shop. But the thing that makes me wonder about how accomplished a woodworker he is comes when you take notice of the time-stamps on the pictures. On 11-18-2000, there is a picture of him milling a log, presumably the one that he is going to use for the table. Then *two* days later, he is cutting and laying out pieces for the project! As most woodworkers know, this is a serious no-no, as freshly milled wood often needs many months of curing time. Even kiln-dried wood (which some regard as inferior), needs at least a week or so to adjust to the humidity conditions of a shop before you start working with it.
Unfortunately, limiting a movie's audience by giving it an R rating never makes it more popular than it would have been with a PG or PG-13 rating. In a listing of the Top-100 highest grossing films of all time (a somewhat decent portrayal of recent movie popularity), your example of the Matrix shows up as number 67, or the 10th highest grossing film with an R rating. You might also notice that the highest grossing R-rated movie is Beverly Hills Cop at number 24.