That would truly be a PKD moment, when average Joe is being bombarded by advertising messages that also contain large portions of Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet attached at the bottom. Surreal.
The problem with your statement lies in the word "is". Someone at the age of 11 SHOULD BE capable of realizing that it's not a realistic situation. Unfortunately, all 11-year-olds were not raised properly and thus able to realize thus, or we wouldn't be having this discussion at all in the first place. I agree that our society's attitudes towards pr0n are ridiculous and simple-minded, but I also feel it important to recognize that upbringing has a great deal to do with how people react and incorporate pornography for good or bad in their lives.
It's like making renaissance paintings more accissible by rendering them in ascii art.
I think you've just touched on a fundamental way of looking at this issue. ASCII art is based upon having to transmit images with less actual content. And that's precisely what they're trying to do here-remove content.
Because "fellow techies" don't control the most powerful military in the history of mankind, or much of any military at all. If something threatens, what does this "fellowhood of techies" to do about it? If history is any lesson at all, it's that the victors are always those with the most strength. Period.
I assure you, give me a detachment of Mobile Infantry from Starship Troopers (the book not the movie), and they WILL win 1000 engagements out of 1000 against any size Indian force you wish. If communication were everything, then why did the Finnish lose the Winter War? Or why was Greece lost to Germany? Or any one of those nice days at the range, for the Colonial British against whichever natives you wish to pick. If weapons technology were subservient to communication, then your idea might be true. But while information and awareness is vital to a battle, in a massive mis-match of force it doesn't matter if the weak side is effectively omniscient.
In response the Clothing Freedom Federation (CFF) has begun setting up programs so that people trapped in DRM-enabled pants may use copyright-protection breaking methods (commonly known as "scissors") to invalidate the protection. 3rd party groups are also exploring various options of using protection breaking methods to create "holes" in the pants, to allow the user to urinate freely.
Right, because venturing two doors down and inviting my neighbor to an ice cream social is somehow going to stop fundamentalists in DC, Tehran, and Beijing. How the hell the parent moron got modded up is beyond me. Either the post is a troll or the act of a complete and total idiot.
Thank god! I'm not the only one who instantly thought "Dune! Slashdot! Tons of commentary on Dune!" and was immediately disappointed that apparantly all of four people read the REST of the book. Sad, very sad.
As the reply above this one mentions, PKD's orignial story has nothing to do with advertising, future life, or anything remotely prescient-ish, except for the central premise of precognition. Like many short stories of the time, it focused on a single plot idea, with everything else being merely a setting to place and explore that idea. If you're seriously claiming that PKD was a master of exploring mundane details of the future, then you're either a poser or an idiot. Virtually every other story of his talks about someone taking rocket ships somewhere, or slime aliens from Jupiter, or laser pistols. PKD's greatness was his plot ideas, and general weirdness, not his ability to predict future technological trends. That would be Isaac Asimov who holds that award (may you rest in peace, Isaac).
The writers of Minority Report deserve the real credit, and Spielburg for spending a crapton of money to get a bunch of people to sit around dreaming up ideas for what the future might look like.
The girl did not die from teargas. Dying from CS gas is virtually impossible; saying that the stuff killed someone is about as credible of a statement as saying that someone died as a result of another person's perfume. In reality, the girl was shot with a PepperBall, which is a.68 caliber frangible bismuth sphere with a payload sabot. In plain English: she was hit with a small rock launched relatively fast, and it hit her in a vulnerable spot (somewhere around the head, probably it was the throat or temple). A beanbag round could have done the same thing. The fault lies with the officer who shot her in a part of the body they are specifically told not to hit.
The entire House of Representatives, and 1/3 of the Senate are up for grabs in only 18 months. Unless you're willing to throw constitutional representative democracy itself on the line, why don't you just use the revolutionary institutions we've got, to throw out the tyrants?
Ok, sure, fine.
Can I have that check for five million USD now? Because not much short of that is going to give me an even remote chance at winning a seat in the House. Consider: a rifle costs $500. A campaign costs $5,000,000. Is it that difficult to understand why most people would, if truly driven to make a change, ultimately be forced to choose the former over the latter?
There were some pretty good reasons for State's rights. And as we might recall, the single most devastating event in this nation's history (no, not 9/11) was the Civil War, and was caused as a direct result of federal meddling in state laws. Was abolishing slavery wrong? No, of course not. But regardless, the idea of forcing it upon states that desperately didn't want it, was the casus belli the South used.
Sadly, the number of people in this country who give a flying fuck about aforementioned history could be counted on the fingers of Tim Taylor. And that, ultimately, is why we're screwed.
Slashdot Mirror
The real problem is that having eliminated all privately owned firearms, and even paintball guns, there's noone who can fix the problem African style.
That would truly be a PKD moment, when average Joe is being bombarded by advertising messages that also contain large portions of Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet attached at the bottom. Surreal.
The only one who thinks it would be an appropriate response to drop by there with an NYPD plainclothes along, and then demand to talk to the owner?
Or just leave out the NYPD, and bust some kneecaps?
The problem with your statement lies in the word "is". Someone at the age of 11 SHOULD BE capable of realizing that it's not a realistic situation. Unfortunately, all 11-year-olds were not raised properly and thus able to realize thus, or we wouldn't be having this discussion at all in the first place. I agree that our society's attitudes towards pr0n are ridiculous and simple-minded, but I also feel it important to recognize that upbringing has a great deal to do with how people react and incorporate pornography for good or bad in their lives.
That's what Soylent Green is for.
Remember what Stalin said: no man, no problem.
It's like making renaissance paintings more accissible by rendering them in ascii art.
I think you've just touched on a fundamental way of looking at this issue. ASCII art is based upon having to transmit images with less actual content. And that's precisely what they're trying to do here-remove content.
The conspiracy theorists were right all along, as we're about to learn for ourselves very shortly.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
In Stalin's own words: "Death solves all problems; No man, no problem."
It's hard to find a flaw in his logic.
Because "fellow techies" don't control the most powerful military in the history of mankind, or much of any military at all. If something threatens, what does this "fellowhood of techies" to do about it? If history is any lesson at all, it's that the victors are always those with the most strength. Period.
I concur wholeheartedly.
There were no B-52s in existence at the time of the Second World War. In fact, the first one wasn't delivered until 1961.
I assure you, give me a detachment of Mobile Infantry from Starship Troopers (the book not the movie), and they WILL win 1000 engagements out of 1000 against any size Indian force you wish. If communication were everything, then why did the Finnish lose the Winter War? Or why was Greece lost to Germany? Or any one of those nice days at the range, for the Colonial British against whichever natives you wish to pick. If weapons technology were subservient to communication, then your idea might be true. But while information and awareness is vital to a battle, in a massive mis-match of force it doesn't matter if the weak side is effectively omniscient.
In response the Clothing Freedom Federation (CFF) has begun setting up programs so that people trapped in DRM-enabled pants may use copyright-protection breaking methods (commonly known as "scissors") to invalidate the protection. 3rd party groups are also exploring various options of using protection breaking methods to create "holes" in the pants, to allow the user to urinate freely.
Right, because venturing two doors down and inviting my neighbor to an ice cream social is somehow going to stop fundamentalists in DC, Tehran, and Beijing. How the hell the parent moron got modded up is beyond me. Either the post is a troll or the act of a complete and total idiot.
Thank god! I'm not the only one who instantly thought "Dune! Slashdot! Tons of commentary on Dune!" and was immediately disappointed that apparantly all of four people read the REST of the book. Sad, very sad.
In all seriousness, that's frightningly possible with current technology. I'm going to definitely remember that joke, and pass it on as a warning.
As the reply above this one mentions, PKD's orignial story has nothing to do with advertising, future life, or anything remotely prescient-ish, except for the central premise of precognition. Like many short stories of the time, it focused on a single plot idea, with everything else being merely a setting to place and explore that idea. If you're seriously claiming that PKD was a master of exploring mundane details of the future, then you're either a poser or an idiot. Virtually every other story of his talks about someone taking rocket ships somewhere, or slime aliens from Jupiter, or laser pistols. PKD's greatness was his plot ideas, and general weirdness, not his ability to predict future technological trends. That would be Isaac Asimov who holds that award (may you rest in peace, Isaac).
The writers of Minority Report deserve the real credit, and Spielburg for spending a crapton of money to get a bunch of people to sit around dreaming up ideas for what the future might look like.
The girl did not die from teargas. Dying from CS gas is virtually impossible; saying that the stuff killed someone is about as credible of a statement as saying that someone died as a result of another person's perfume. In reality, the girl was shot with a PepperBall, which is a .68 caliber frangible bismuth sphere with a payload sabot. In plain English: she was hit with a small rock launched relatively fast, and it hit her in a vulnerable spot (somewhere around the head, probably it was the throat or temple). A beanbag round could have done the same thing. The fault lies with the officer who shot her in a part of the body they are specifically told not to hit.
The entire House of Representatives, and 1/3 of the Senate are up for grabs in only 18 months. Unless you're willing to throw constitutional representative democracy itself on the line, why don't you just use the revolutionary institutions we've got, to throw out the tyrants?
Ok, sure, fine.
Can I have that check for five million USD now? Because not much short of that is going to give me an even remote chance at winning a seat in the House. Consider: a rifle costs $500. A campaign costs $5,000,000. Is it that difficult to understand why most people would, if truly driven to make a change, ultimately be forced to choose the former over the latter?
Cuba? Or Guantanamo/Camp X-Ray? If the former, then it might not be all bad, senor.
Wait.
You're trying to convince us that Mexico is a safe place to visit, and crime is nearly nonexistant outside of Mexico City?
Excuse me while I hack up a lung or two laughing.
Hey, to be fair, in the reporter's case it was probably accurate.
Can we say, "Boston Tea Party"?
And the sad thing is thus:
There were some pretty good reasons for State's rights. And as we might recall, the single most devastating event in this nation's history (no, not 9/11) was the Civil War, and was caused as a direct result of federal meddling in state laws. Was abolishing slavery wrong? No, of course not. But regardless, the idea of forcing it upon states that desperately didn't want it, was the casus belli the South used.
Sadly, the number of people in this country who give a flying fuck about aforementioned history could be counted on the fingers of Tim Taylor. And that, ultimately, is why we're screwed.
^Parent=Cliffnotes for the 2004 presidential election.