No; if someone wants to make a valid comparison, he/she/it should bloody well know what to compare. That involves learning the lingo. Someone who hasn't learnt about applied physics is in no shape to dismiss one of it's theories; you need to know what the fuck you're talking about...and that is why one has to study for example mechanical engineering to be able to make valid points about it and to be hired as one.
It is not strange to require specific knowledge...it is strange to demand that even though one has not made an effort to understand something, someone else, who has made that effort, explain it to you...unless you pay them for the explanation.
Sorry, dude; if mom or dad buy a car with ABS they had better know what that means for when they have to break suddenly...it changes the handeling of the car. It's like the law in that respect; every citizen is supposed to know it: ignorance is not an excuse.
Somehow, you want to punish the knowledgable for the fact that the ignorant don't bother to educate themselves. Now this only works if you pay for someone to help you, as you would a lawyer or a helpdesk; then, and only then, do you have a right to demand explanantion.
As for what you're talking about, you're talking about interdiciplinary communication. which is a whole different beast again. That's about different engineers with different sets of jargon having to communicate, not about one set of people without a jargon who need to know about something that lies within the domain of a group which does have a jargon...and somehow the mechanical engineer is always the one who has to learn the other jargon, never the electrical engineer or the chemical engineer having to learn the mech. eng.'s jargon. As a mechanical engineer, that pisses me off. I do it, but that doesn't mean it's fair.
Then again, there's the phrase 'to bombard', which means 'to pelt' or 'to throw a deluge of stuff at some-one/thing'. Somehow I gather that that's what he's aiming for.
Again it's proving that correcting something incorrectly is more embarrasing than leaving something which is incorrect stand. "Talking is silver, silence is golden.";P
Man, was I the only one to get what that guy said first pass? That's a shame, 'cos he basically explained why Neo could do what he did; ie, that they needed a matrix where everyone got the choice, even if it was subconcious, of staying in or taking the pill.
He could have used shorter words, but then he'd of had to spend at least twice as long explaining; moral of the story is that long words have higher informatoin content; duh:)
Anyway, back to on-topic: most people are just people and don't understand field specific jargon...this is strange how? I mean, how many people can tell me what 'horsepower' is, or a 'distributor', or explain the Carnot-cycle? If you drive a car, or have a fridge, you 'use' those terms every day (or at least their effects), but do you really need to know if you're a plumber?
"Slashdot; you won't find a greater hive of scum and goatse.xc trolls in all the galaxy."
Re:Is Ed Lu running lunix?
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Space Blog
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· Score: 1
I wonder how much those 'obsolete' laptops will bring up on e-bay? I'd go for a laptop which had been in space:)
Re:The Russians are making a MOCKERY of ISS.
on
Space Blog
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· Score: 3, Insightful
The ISS is a symbol of humanities accomplishments. We do it because we can...when has the human race needed any other excuse?
Not only that, but the lessons we learn there (technical as well as psychological) are neccessary for what we need to do; making sure we don't have all our eggs in the same basket (just look at what hit our neighbouring planetoid a while back!).
As for your logic, it sucks; "Sending Millionaires up in space has nothing to do with science !!!! So the ISS is not about science."
WTF?.
Anyway, as others have already said, space tourism is (along with comsats) the only thing that brings commercial money into space development. Therefore, it's hugely important that it is encouraged. Not just for the resulting science which such an influx and cheapening of spaceflight brings, but also because it's fun.
Re:Nixon's unused speech
on
Space Blog
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· Score: 1
Thanks for that.
And I have to congratulate Nixon's speechwritter(s)...this is much better, much 'true-er' stuff than what NASA came up with after the last bit of fireworks.
What's always surprised me is this: their justification for the high price of cd's around the world was always 'distribution costs are so high'. The fact that they then don't immediately take up a new, cheap distribution method (over the net) means that they're a) criminaly negligent towards their shareholders for not implementing something which would give their shareholders more money, or b) scamming us, and have been for years, 'cause that 'distribution' line is total crap and they don't need a new distribution model.
I'd say they can get sued either way:)
Re:No Knee-jerk Privacy responses please...
on
Twist on DNA Privacy
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· Score: 1
DNA privacy is not an issue....or at least, it wouldn't be if we had certain laws in place, like "insurance agencies are allowed to make a profit as usual, based on statistical analysis, but they are not allowed to genotype someone and then base his/her fees on that".
If only we did have such laws in place, there would be no problem...but seeing as we don't, any use of DNA in any capacity needs to be heftily scrutinised. Me, I'm all for a national DNA database, if only the police could have access to it, and it could only be used for law enforcement. But the thing is such a DNA database will be misused if we don't have the proper laws protecting us from misuse.
Same thing; power (ie energy of the sound waves) directly corresponds to loudness. If something is twice as loud, the soundlevel increases by +3 dB, not 10.
First off, he's using Carnot's figures wrong; in the heat pump sence, shouldn't he use T1 as the sun's output and T2 as the temperature in the shadow of the sail? I mean, that's the temperature delta he should be using, not the difference between incoming and outgoing radiation (which, due to the fact that a perfect mirror isn't used, seeing as we can't make those, loses energy anyway...now who's not ignoring physics?).
Not only that, shouldn't he be using a different set of equations anyway? Why use those meant for a Carnot process when he's dealing with a different set of energy trandsformations? 's Like using the equations for an inelastic transformation when one should be using those for an elastic one...(well, not exactly, but kind off...sort off...well, not at all, but you know what I mean:)
Ok, ok...I'll amend it to "damn near unsolvable with our current understanding of physics and biology. In about two hundred years we might know enough to start contemplating this, but at the moment it is not only unfeasable but our best scientists wouldn't even know where to start."
There's two problems with nano-machines; power and control. In other words, how do you get enough power to move those tiny limbs (and how are you going to move those tiny limbs in the first place? Tiny pistons?) and how do you give the thing an instruction set (where is it's program? A built in Dell?).
Now the power and movement could probably be solved (ambient heat and electric motors), but the control aspect is damn near unsolvable unless you want a nano-sized machnine with a milimeter cpu on it's back...in your bloodstream:)
What, he's gonna tell his investors that there's something which does what his product can do (in most things) but for free, and that it's gonna ruin his business?
The way I see it is like this: we like the output (entertainment), but don't like the business methods (I'm not saying anything new yet, am I:)
What needs to be done is for us to send a clear message to the industry that we don't like being treated like criminals and we want to use our digital devices however we want.
Now the solution, the way to have our cake and eat it too, is simple:
1)wait for a blockbuster to come out...Lord of the Rings 3, for example. 2)organise, flyer, whatever, then when it comes out.../don't see it!/. 3)??? 4)have a couple of million people not see it for a week, then see the movie (Profit!!!)
Hey presto, we send a message and it doesn't cost us anything; all you need is the discipline to not resist temtation:)
Basically 16 control strands (CS)...these strands control the direction of other strands of hair which look for their position to that CS. The individual CS' interact with each other too, transferring those interactions to the strands they control.
Anyway, it's bad enough animating a human body convincingly, now add realistic hair to it and you'r happy that you can use just 16 strands instead of doing each hair individually:).
As pointed out, we all know Linux is a capable OS.
What it isn't though is a comfortable desktop environment idiots can use without too much hassle. Once linux can do that (instead of hunting down stuff, or even having to use a command line), only then will the masses use the power of their wallets.
Sure, some aspects will make it, but experience tells me that most of this stuff just gets in teh way of productivity.
And it's not just for the geeks who don't like stuff happening without our express say so, but the normal people who have to use pc's don't like it either. I have yet to meet some-one who actually liked Clippy, or thought other such things where even usefull...most of the time people where gratefull beyond measure when I shut that kind of crap off.
It boils down to this; people want and need control, otherwise they lose their mental picture of their schedule/inventory/whatever...but this stuff is like the iLoo or iFridge; no one wants them.
a 'space race'? True, the arms race did happen during the cold war (of which the space race was just a part; the part responsible for creating ICBM's). But to now say that China et al (not to mention Japan, which has some big money and even more creative dreaming (ie pretty CG:) ) will now go into a competitive race is kind of silly. They have no reason to, all they want is not to have to depend on the US and the EU for satelite capabilities. Which is a very sane idea, considering the strange things happening in the international community at the moment.
Well, that was informative...well thoought out, too. Clearly debated also...
Too bad I am in training to be a scientist (technical physics to be exact), so my point is at least worthy of debate, because I do have some understanding of the subject matter.
You on the other hand are posting as an AC without any refutaion visible in your post. But then again, you're probably consistent:)
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No; if someone wants to make a valid comparison, he/she/it should bloody well know what to compare. That involves learning the lingo. Someone who hasn't learnt about applied physics is in no shape to dismiss one of it's theories; you need to know what the fuck you're talking about...and that is why one has to study for example mechanical engineering to be able to make valid points about it and to be hired as one.
It is not strange to require specific knowledge...it is strange to demand that even though one has not made an effort to understand something, someone else, who has made that effort, explain it to you...unless you pay them for the explanation.
Sorry, dude; if mom or dad buy a car with ABS they had better know what that means for when they have to break suddenly...it changes the handeling of the car.
It's like the law in that respect; every citizen is supposed to know it: ignorance is not an excuse.
Somehow, you want to punish the knowledgable for the fact that the ignorant don't bother to educate themselves. Now this only works if you pay for someone to help you, as you would a lawyer or a helpdesk; then, and only then, do you have a right to demand explanantion.
As for what you're talking about, you're talking about interdiciplinary communication. which is a whole different beast again.
That's about different engineers with different sets of jargon having to communicate, not about one set of people without a jargon who need to know about something that lies within the domain of a group which does have a jargon...and somehow the mechanical engineer is always the one who has to learn the other jargon, never the electrical engineer or the chemical engineer having to learn the mech. eng.'s jargon. As a mechanical engineer, that pisses me off. I do it, but that doesn't mean it's fair.
Then again, there's the phrase 'to bombard', which means 'to pelt' or 'to throw a deluge of stuff at some-one/thing'. Somehow I gather that that's what he's aiming for.
;P
Again it's proving that correcting something incorrectly is more embarrasing than leaving something which is incorrect stand. "Talking is silver, silence is golden."
Man, was I the only one to get what that guy said first pass? That's a shame, 'cos he basically explained why Neo could do what he did; ie, that they needed a matrix where everyone got the choice, even if it was subconcious, of staying in or taking the pill.
:)
He could have used shorter words, but then he'd of had to spend at least twice as long explaining; moral of the story is that long words have higher informatoin content; duh
Anyway, back to on-topic: most people are just people and don't understand field specific jargon...this is strange how?
I mean, how many people can tell me what 'horsepower' is, or a 'distributor', or explain the Carnot-cycle? If you drive a car, or have a fridge, you 'use' those terms every day (or at least their effects), but do you really need to know if you're a plumber?
Aw, man! I wish I hadn't seen that....skinny and ugly (well, not entirely ugly, but beautifulll is something else).
And you are so right in your stereotyping...but then again, I think that it applies to (m)any other 'modern' actress/singer of any nation.
You know, you might have a point IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO DEMO!
And without a demo, the only way to find out aboutr the game is thru these kinds of reviews or by buying the game, game unseen.
"Slashdot; you won't find a greater hive of scum and goatse.xc trolls in all the galaxy."
I wonder how much those 'obsolete' laptops will bring up on e-bay? :)
I'd go for a laptop which had been in space
The ISS is a symbol of humanities accomplishments. We do it because we can...when has the human race needed any other excuse?
Not only that, but the lessons we learn there (technical as well as psychological) are neccessary for what we need to do; making sure we don't have all our eggs in the same basket (just look at what hit our neighbouring planetoid a while back!).
As for your logic, it sucks; "Sending Millionaires up in space has nothing to do with science !!!! So the ISS is not about science."
WTF?.
Anyway, as others have already said, space tourism is (along with comsats) the only thing that brings commercial money into space development. Therefore, it's hugely important that it is encouraged. Not just for the resulting science which such an influx and cheapening of spaceflight brings, but also because it's fun.
Thanks for that.
And I have to congratulate Nixon's speechwritter(s)...this is much better, much 'true-er' stuff than what NASA came up with after the last bit of fireworks.
What's always surprised me is this: their justification for the high price of cd's around the world was always 'distribution costs are so high'.
:)
The fact that they then don't immediately take up a new, cheap distribution method (over the net) means that they're
a) criminaly negligent towards their shareholders for not implementing something which would give their shareholders more money, or
b) scamming us, and have been for years, 'cause that 'distribution' line is total crap and they don't need a new distribution model.
I'd say they can get sued either way
DNA privacy is not an issue....or at least, it wouldn't be if we had certain laws in place, like "insurance agencies are allowed to make a profit as usual, based on statistical analysis, but they are not allowed to genotype someone and then base his/her fees on that".
If only we did have such laws in place, there would be no problem...but seeing as we don't, any use of DNA in any capacity needs to be heftily scrutinised.
Me, I'm all for a national DNA database, if only the police could have access to it, and it could only be used for law enforcement. But the thing is such a DNA database will be misused if we don't have the proper laws protecting us from misuse.
Same thing; power (ie energy of the sound waves) directly corresponds to loudness. If something is twice as loud, the soundlevel increases by +3 dB, not 10.
Uh...that's +3 dB for every doubling of sound energy.
First off, he's using Carnot's figures wrong; in the heat pump sence, shouldn't he use T1 as the sun's output and T2 as the temperature in the shadow of the sail?
:)
I mean, that's the temperature delta he should be using, not the difference between incoming and outgoing radiation (which, due to the fact that a perfect mirror isn't used, seeing as we can't make those, loses energy anyway...now who's not ignoring physics?).
Not only that, shouldn't he be using a different set of equations anyway? Why use those meant for a Carnot process when he's dealing with a different set of energy trandsformations?
's Like using the equations for an inelastic transformation when one should be using those for an elastic one...(well, not exactly, but kind off...sort off...well, not at all, but you know what I mean
Ok, ok...I'll amend it to "damn near unsolvable with our current understanding of physics and biology. In about two hundred years we might know enough to start contemplating this, but at the moment it is not only unfeasable but our best scientists wouldn't even know where to start."
Happy now?
There's two problems with nano-machines; power and control.
:)
In other words, how do you get enough power to move those tiny limbs (and how are you going to move those tiny limbs in the first place? Tiny pistons?) and how do you give the thing an instruction set (where is it's program? A built in Dell?).
Now the power and movement could probably be solved (ambient heat and electric motors), but the control aspect is damn near unsolvable unless you want a nano-sized machnine with a milimeter cpu on it's back...in your bloodstream
What, he's gonna tell his investors that there's something which does what his product can do (in most things) but for free, and that it's gonna ruin his business?
Uh-huh.
The way I see it is like this: we like the output (entertainment), but don't like the business methods (I'm not saying anything new yet, am I :)
:)
What needs to be done is for us to send a clear message to the industry that we don't like being treated like criminals and we want to use our digital devices however we want.
Now the solution, the way to have our cake and eat it too, is simple:
1)wait for a blockbuster to come out...Lord of the Rings 3, for example.
2)organise, flyer, whatever, then when it comes out.../don't see it!/.
3)???
4)have a couple of million people not see it for a week, then see the movie (Profit!!!)
Hey presto, we send a message and it doesn't cost us anything; all you need is the discipline to not resist temtation
Basically 16 control strands (CS)...these strands control the direction of other strands of hair which look for their position to that CS. The individual CS' interact with each other too, transferring those interactions to the strands they control.
:).
Anyway, it's bad enough animating a human body convincingly, now add realistic hair to it and you'r happy that you can use just 16 strands instead of doing each hair individually
As pointed out, we all know Linux is a capable OS.
What it isn't though is a comfortable desktop environment idiots can use without too much hassle. Once linux can do that (instead of hunting down stuff, or even having to use a command line), only then will the masses use the power of their wallets.
I think his point is that VU might well have forced Blizzard to do that.
Sure, some aspects will make it, but experience tells me that most of this stuff just gets in teh way of productivity.
And it's not just for the geeks who don't like stuff happening without our express say so, but the normal people who have to use pc's don't like it either. I have yet to meet some-one who actually liked Clippy, or thought other such things where even usefull...most of the time people where gratefull beyond measure when I shut that kind of crap off.
It boils down to this; people want and need control, otherwise they lose their mental picture of their schedule/inventory/whatever...but this stuff is like the iLoo or iFridge; no one wants them.
a 'space race'? True, the arms race did happen during the cold war (of which the space race was just a part; the part responsible for creating ICBM's). :) ) will now go into a competitive race is kind of silly. They have no reason to, all they want is not to have to depend on the US and the EU for satelite capabilities. Which is a very sane idea, considering the strange things happening in the international community at the moment.
But to now say that China et al (not to mention Japan, which has some big money and even more creative dreaming (ie pretty CG
Well, that was informative...well thoought out, too. Clearly debated also...
:)
Too bad I am in training to be a scientist (technical physics to be exact), so my point is at least worthy of debate, because I do have some understanding of the subject matter.
You on the other hand are posting as an AC without any refutaion visible in your post. But then again, you're probably consistent