"but in terms of weight control and body composition, diet is much more important than exercise."
That's a ridiculous statement, since it implies that diet and exercise are measurable in the same units. What you meant to say is that, given the amount of exercise an average American can be coaxed into, and the amount of diet change an average American can be coaxed into, the diet change has a larger effect on weight control.
"There was also no evidence to conclude that this correlation is causative."
Oh goody, another one.
The study revealed a correlation between high blood vitamin levels and higher mental abilities. That gives three possible causative relationships: 1) high vitamin levels cause high mental abilities; 2) high mental abilities cause high vitamin levels; or 3) a third factor causes both.
You say yourself the study didn't say anything about food. So the real complaint has nothing to do with correlation vs. causation (it rarely does) and more about a journalist drawing unwarranted conclusions.
Well... it depends on the burger, and how often you eat one. I occasionally stop for a big mac after a run because it has enough calories to replenish what I burn in 10 km, enough sodium and potassium to make up for losses over 20 km, and lots of fat that's needed for tissue repair. On the other hand, if you're routinely eating one or more a day and live a sedentary lifestyle....
When was the last time you saw someone eat fast food in quantities appropriate for obtaining "adequate" levels of macro nutrients though? You're right, if you ate fast food that way you'd probably get scurvy, but the OP is also correct that if you eat fast food the way most people do, taking vitamins isn't going to solve your problem.
Hey, another Slashdot summary ended with a forecast of impending doom disguised as a handwringing question, written by someone who doesn't know what he's talking about.
QR codes are a method for encoding text. If your decoder does stupid stuff (like visit links automatically) with that decoded text then get a different decoder.
Forget QR codes, most links on the web are quadruple encoded! They're sent to you in binary (of all things). When you turn that back into decimal you end up with ASCII code (!) and when you sort that out you're left with HTML! Finally, once you get rid of the HTML you're left with a URL! What are we to do?! How are ordinary users supposed to understand this binary-ASCII-HTML-URL witch's brew?
Maybe it's the world's largest plant, but other battery sellers must have lots of plants. And yes, big device manufacturers often buy from multiple suppliers.
Maybe this is a big plant, but it doesn't see like it's going to do much to "dominate the lithium ion battery industry."
Recorded lectures are the worst kind. Lectures are usually criticized for their asymmetric interaction, but recorded lectures are entirely one way. A good lecturer will modify his delivery based on live feedback from the audience, and a good lecturer will usually begin with "feel free to put up your hands and ask questions as we go." Video doesn't offer either of these.
Khan videos are lectures of the worst kind - no interaction whatsoever. He himself recommends the videos be used as a supplement to a real live teacher.
Yeah, but sometimes if your mom found it, it would be there when you woke up, just long enough to confront you with the evidence, then it would be gone. That was usually more a problem with magazines than books though....
Most classes are already taught with a lecture component and a seminar or lab part. In elementary and high school they're using in the same time block, with the teacher lecturing for a bit, then students getting a start on their homework.
The problem with video is that it's not interactive. It makes a great study aid, and taping lectures for later review is a good thing, but it's no substitute for a live lecture where you can ask questions as it goes on.
He said "tutors" but he meant "classrooms." Classrooms have been with us since at least the ancient Greeks, and the invention of the printing press made them MORE prevalent, not less.
As for lectures going away, lectures are a very efficient use of teacher time. In reasonable education systems nobody lectures to elementary kids and it becomes more common in high school. By the time you get to university you need to be able to absorb information that way (with the supplement of books) because that's the way you're going to get information for the rest of your life - the guy with the information is the valuable commodity, so his time is at a premium, whether it's your boss running a meeting, a professional development seminar or a scientific conference.
Plus you manage to shoot down your own point: you say you think lectures are a thing of the past, then you hold up the Khan Academy as an example - the Khan Academy does nothing BUT lecture.
What a stupid story. Python is installed with every copy of OS X and Linux, just like BASIC was with the Apple II (well, not quite, it's not in ROM). A cut down version of Python is also available for iOS, or you can have the full thing if you jailbreak or run a remote interpreter on any number of web pages. Speaking as someone who learned to program with BASIC almost three decades ago, Python is a far better language, for learning or anything else.
How is a libraries association that does collective bargaining with authors any different from a publisher, except that it doesn't also handle distribution to bookstores?
"I just dont see the value of publishers in the electronic world. Since the cost of keeping an ebook 'on file' is so low, libraries can just collect books from authors directly."
Yeah right. Every little library is going to cut deals directly with every author, including negotiating and sending them all cheques.
"If a library wants to avoid the dross, simply hire a service to review books and grade them. If the publishers were smart they would change their business model to reflect this.The library can then keep them in their colleciton based on those grades."
Good idea. They could call those services something like, oh, "publishers!"
Publishers manage production, advertising, negotiation and distribution. Without publishers to do all the collecting and packaging you end up with only a few big booksellers (like Amazon) and only a few bit libraries.
Go ahead, remove the middle man. Now you have libraries that have to deal with a zillion authors (which is probably not doable for them), and the authors STILL can't get paid because borrowing ebooks is extremely easy and basically free.
"to make it not worth a trip to the library to borrow a free eBook"
Uh, yeah, that's what they're saying. You DON'T have to go to the library to borrow an eBook, and they're saying that they can't make ebooks cheap enough to compete with "click a button on your couch and get it for free." They kind of have a point. Having people have to physically go to the library to borrow an ebook would probably make publishers very happy.
What they're saying is, they're not going to sell ebooks books to libraries with no restrictions because there's no way they can make money off it. That leaves only a couple options:
1) The publishers get their restrictions, the public gets their lent popular ebooks 2) They don't, and libraries can only carry ebooks of indy authors. A golden age ensues (yeah right, look how well that one worked out for music)
Slashdot Mirror
Yes. Apparently they're paying people who were scheduled to work on Dec. 30. I assume they'll charge interest too.
"UNIX time is seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00 UTC minus the accumulated count of leap seconds."
In other words, it's seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00 UT.
"but in terms of weight control and body composition, diet is much more important than exercise."
That's a ridiculous statement, since it implies that diet and exercise are measurable in the same units. What you meant to say is that, given the amount of exercise an average American can be coaxed into, and the amount of diet change an average American can be coaxed into, the diet change has a larger effect on weight control.
"Do gorillas spend all day on a couch?"
Yes, gorillas spend most of their day sitting around, particularly the adults.
"Do chimps eat hamburger?"
Chimps are enthusiastic predators and eat meat whenever they can catch and kill something.
"Do orangoutangs worry about their weight?"
I don't know. The life expectancy of an orang in the wild is 30-45 years though.
"There was also no evidence to conclude that this correlation is causative."
Oh goody, another one.
The study revealed a correlation between high blood vitamin levels and higher mental abilities. That gives three possible causative relationships: 1) high vitamin levels cause high mental abilities; 2) high mental abilities cause high vitamin levels; or 3) a third factor causes both.
You say yourself the study didn't say anything about food. So the real complaint has nothing to do with correlation vs. causation (it rarely does) and more about a journalist drawing unwarranted conclusions.
"McDOnald hamburgesr are 100% beef."
TM.
Well... it depends on the burger, and how often you eat one. I occasionally stop for a big mac after a run because it has enough calories to replenish what I burn in 10 km, enough sodium and potassium to make up for losses over 20 km, and lots of fat that's needed for tissue repair. On the other hand, if you're routinely eating one or more a day and live a sedentary lifestyle....
When was the last time you saw someone eat fast food in quantities appropriate for obtaining "adequate" levels of macro nutrients though? You're right, if you ate fast food that way you'd probably get scurvy, but the OP is also correct that if you eat fast food the way most people do, taking vitamins isn't going to solve your problem.
Hey, another Slashdot summary ended with a forecast of impending doom disguised as a handwringing question, written by someone who doesn't know what he's talking about.
QR codes are a method for encoding text. If your decoder does stupid stuff (like visit links automatically) with that decoded text then get a different decoder.
Forget QR codes, most links on the web are quadruple encoded! They're sent to you in binary (of all things). When you turn that back into decimal you end up with ASCII code (!) and when you sort that out you're left with HTML! Finally, once you get rid of the HTML you're left with a URL! What are we to do?! How are ordinary users supposed to understand this binary-ASCII-HTML-URL witch's brew?
Maybe it's the world's largest plant, but other battery sellers must have lots of plants. And yes, big device manufacturers often buy from multiple suppliers.
Maybe this is a big plant, but it doesn't see like it's going to do much to "dominate the lithium ion battery industry."
Then you failed to state your point.
Recorded lectures are the worst kind. Lectures are usually criticized for their asymmetric interaction, but recorded lectures are entirely one way. A good lecturer will modify his delivery based on live feedback from the audience, and a good lecturer will usually begin with "feel free to put up your hands and ask questions as we go." Video doesn't offer either of these.
Live lectures aren't going anywhere.
The average parent's IQ is probably considerably less than 100. Higher IQ people have fewer children.
Khan videos are lectures of the worst kind - no interaction whatsoever. He himself recommends the videos be used as a supplement to a real live teacher.
The other guy got it when he said "feedback." But he missed another word: "questions."
Yeah, but sometimes if your mom found it, it would be there when you woke up, just long enough to confront you with the evidence, then it would be gone. That was usually more a problem with magazines than books though....
Worse, he thinks that most parents are capable of teaching their kids, and all they're missing is access to information.
Most classes are already taught with a lecture component and a seminar or lab part. In elementary and high school they're using in the same time block, with the teacher lecturing for a bit, then students getting a start on their homework.
The problem with video is that it's not interactive. It makes a great study aid, and taping lectures for later review is a good thing, but it's no substitute for a live lecture where you can ask questions as it goes on.
He said "tutors" but he meant "classrooms." Classrooms have been with us since at least the ancient Greeks, and the invention of the printing press made them MORE prevalent, not less.
As for lectures going away, lectures are a very efficient use of teacher time. In reasonable education systems nobody lectures to elementary kids and it becomes more common in high school. By the time you get to university you need to be able to absorb information that way (with the supplement of books) because that's the way you're going to get information for the rest of your life - the guy with the information is the valuable commodity, so his time is at a premium, whether it's your boss running a meeting, a professional development seminar or a scientific conference.
Plus you manage to shoot down your own point: you say you think lectures are a thing of the past, then you hold up the Khan Academy as an example - the Khan Academy does nothing BUT lecture.
What a stupid story. Python is installed with every copy of OS X and Linux, just like BASIC was with the Apple II (well, not quite, it's not in ROM). A cut down version of Python is also available for iOS, or you can have the full thing if you jailbreak or run a remote interpreter on any number of web pages. Speaking as someone who learned to program with BASIC almost three decades ago, Python is a far better language, for learning or anything else.
How is a libraries association that does collective bargaining with authors any different from a publisher, except that it doesn't also handle distribution to bookstores?
"I just dont see the value of publishers in the electronic world. Since the cost of keeping an ebook 'on file' is so low, libraries can just collect books from authors directly."
Yeah right. Every little library is going to cut deals directly with every author, including negotiating and sending them all cheques.
"If a library wants to avoid the dross, simply hire a service to review books and grade them. If the publishers were smart they would change their business model to reflect this.The library can then keep them in their colleciton based on those grades."
Good idea. They could call those services something like, oh, "publishers!"
Publishers manage production, advertising, negotiation and distribution. Without publishers to do all the collecting and packaging you end up with only a few big booksellers (like Amazon) and only a few bit libraries.
Go ahead, remove the middle man. Now you have libraries that have to deal with a zillion authors (which is probably not doable for them), and the authors STILL can't get paid because borrowing ebooks is extremely easy and basically free.
"to make it not worth a trip to the library to borrow a free eBook"
Uh, yeah, that's what they're saying. You DON'T have to go to the library to borrow an eBook, and they're saying that they can't make ebooks cheap enough to compete with "click a button on your couch and get it for free." They kind of have a point. Having people have to physically go to the library to borrow an ebook would probably make publishers very happy.
What they're saying is, they're not going to sell ebooks books to libraries with no restrictions because there's no way they can make money off it. That leaves only a couple options:
1) The publishers get their restrictions, the public gets their lent popular ebooks
2) They don't, and libraries can only carry ebooks of indy authors. A golden age ensues (yeah right, look how well that one worked out for music)
Stallman makes a LOT of predictions. Some of them are right.
Monkeys do pretty well predicting the stock market too.