Actually, one of the people mentioned (when Stephenson was going on about this technology) killed himself BECAUSE the ads were present even when he closed his eyes.
Errr.... where I am going to college today, and where I will be in a few weeks is a different story.:) If you really want to know, for some odd reason - email me, and I'll be glad to tell you all about my college and SAT background.
I'd say this is more Sociology than Psychology, although I always find the two blending together (despite what my teacher tells me) when the Micro world of Sociology is in question. However, yes, I agree with what you said, Autopr0n Man, this stuff would be of great help to Verant for product marketing.
As for: This game is popular because it, apparently, touches is something deep inside a lot of people. And it doesn't let go. If you know what, or why, or if you can reproduce that. You can make yourself a lot of money.
I know what that something is - escapism. Pure and simple. I've played Ultima Online, EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, and many more... and I will continue to try out almost all the new MMORPGs as they come out (Horizon's looks fantastic), but, I know why I play: to escape into a world where things are just a little different - sometimes even better. I admit that I was fully and completely addicted to Ultima Online for two years of my life. I scheduled my time around parts of the day with the least lag (this was back in 1998-2000 when I didn't have a cable modem), and I would choose my sleep schedule accordingly. It affected my grades in 9th and 10th grade, and then, I quit. I knew it was too much for me. I played EverQuest fairly heavily during 10th grade, also, as I was one of the first round beta testers (woo!), but I did something different: I wrote a strategy guide and sold it on eBay. "The EverQuest Platinum Plan." I made something like 20k in a matter of two months. It was astonishing. But, as summer drew to a close, I knew I had to quit all my online gaming, and get serious about 11th grade.
HA! I bought Asheron's Call, and played that during most of 11th grade. I wrote another strategy guide for it, and made a few hundred dollars. I didn't play AC as much as UO or EQ, though, so my grades did not suffer because of it. In fact, I got As all through 11th grade. It was all about moderation.
And now, soon to be a college sophomore, triple (maybe quadruple) major student in some pretty heavy sciences, I'm still waiting on the edge of my seat for the next MMORPG to come sweep me away to Never Never Land. I love the sweet taste of escape on my lips every now and again.
The thing I'd be most afraid of is a parent (using the term very, very lightly) who has the child "grown" in the artificial womb for any length of time, and then decides she wants it to be aborted, all because it's "too hard for her." I really can see it happening, too. It's a sad thing to considering, but, knowing many of the women's groups out there, it's entirely possible. I think people need to start looking at themselves and start acting responsibly. Be accountable, people.
Is it me, or does a point to this gathering of 3000 children escape anyone else? I read over the blurb twice, and noticed the reference to Stephenson, PDAs, and something about a million dollars, but, I didn't read anything about what it is leading up to, or what it is all for.
Why should the researchers choose from the two situations? They DO get money, as far as I know. Doesn't the institution for whom they worked pay them WHILE they are working? I don't belive that patents like these should exist... they make trouble for people in the long run (well, 25 years, or whatever the time frame is). The point is, the researchers should be compensated, but only during the work. After that, if their work is saving lives, why not just bask in the glow of adding to the advancement of the species?
And, the institution will be looked on favorably, too. "Hey Mom! I want to go to that school that hired the research team that discovered the cure for cancer!".
It could very well be a win win sitution, and not part of a zero-sum game.
Hmmm, well, you are right, I did miss the point, spectacularly at that. I didn't see it like that. Of course, I agree with you - the laws are a joke. I don't think that these products of nature, regardless of the humans it took to elucidate them, should be property - they should be free.
Now, for more about what I think about the researchers, check out my reply to the other post (below yours).
I hate to tell you this, but no one has patents on formulae. Do you think Newton patented his laws of motion?
I can just see it now:
Soldiers are laying seige to a castle, using a trebuchet and a dead cow.
Newton: Hey! What are you guys doing over there!
Soldiers: We are launching this cow over the castle wall to poision their well!
Newton: I forbid this! I have patent number 2098724-01282 on the law of motion you are invoking! You must stop your illegal activities now, or pay royalties.
Or, even better:
The sun starts to shine on a darkened Germany.
Einstein, shouting to the heavans: Hey! What do you think you are doing!
Sun: I'm giving light to the citizens of the world!
Einstein: You can't do that! I patented the formula the describes the motion under which light moves! Pay me my royalties!
I don't think so... Come on people... you are smarter than this.
Solution: They should put it up for sale on eBay! With all the junk I've sold on there in the past few years, they should have no problems unloading a sophisticated production studio!
If you want to understand the science that these databases would make possible, imagine if your business had a searchable database of the entire population of the world, with parameters like age, height, weight, income, address, phone number, spending habits, and more, for every single person.
That sounds like something I certainly do not want for the future.
I hate to say this, but Post Office advertising is nothing new. Can you say "Stamps"? Look on a stamp. Chances are, if it doesn't say LOVE on it, there is an ad for SOMETHING. Wheter it be political (space exploration, women's causes, etc...), celebrational (Madonna stamps come to mind), or any number of other messages.... Stamps have always been an advertisement medium, whether you recognize it or not. Maybe that's the best part - you don't!
At any rate, the Postal Service has always been a BUSINESS. They need MONEY. They are not entirely a government entity. There is NOTHING wrong with selling space in their domain.
That was the point of my other post... but apparantly some zealous Slashdot 1337 dEwD thought it was flaming. Go figure.
The USPS has advertisements up in (gasp!) the Post Office! Ads will promote the various stamps offered by the federal business, as well as provide people with ideas for valuable services that they may have not known about prior to seeing the ads.
Really... what is the big deal here, and WHY is this news? Moreover, what if it was Linux, the God of Slashdot, that made an appearance in the Post Office? I bet the article would read something like "LINUX STORMS THE POSTAL SERVICE - OPEN SOURCE ON THE RISE! PRAISE LINUS AND GNU!"
Please.... give me a break. The FUD is out of control.
That is a low return for giving up civil liberties.
And what might those civil liberties be? The right to safely and securely traffic drugs? No thank you, I'd rather have the wire taps. After all, they aren't tapping YOU. - or are they?
Nope, I still lease the modem from my cable company (Charter Communications) for the sum of $5 a month. The service costs $25 for me. It's been a great deal for a very long time, and, actually, they have gone DOWN in prices this year. I get excellent service, too - simply amazing speeds.
It certianly isn't @Rip-Off...^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HHome.:)
Cable Internet (AT&T) - $50
Local telephone (with all the services but voicemail - Verizon) - $60
Long distance (AT&T) - $50
Cable television (AT&T - local channels only) $14)
Alarm monitoring (ADT) $26
I pay $30 a month for my cable modem.
Local telephone service? I certianly don't pay $60 every month for it. Try $30, if that.
Long distance - are we talking about your calls, or the provider? I don't know of a provider on the planet that charges $50 just for their service - that's because they would be out of business so fast they would never be IN business.
Cable TV... wait... you said local? If You want local channels only (which defeats the primary purpose of cable television), I'd suggest you use an antenna. And that comes down to a cost of $0 per month.
As for the alarm monitoring, I have no idea, so I'l stick with your pricing on that. $26 per month.
If we add all that up, I only come up with a fine little sum of $86. Now, that's more like it. If you actually _NEED_ all that crap on your phone bill (460 way calling, or whatever it is now) then you can't possibly expect that everyone affected by this pricing scheme feels the same way. It's absurd to even assume a faction of that. Regardless, if people don't like the fees, they should learn to live with less - OR, get an organized complaint together and tell this monopolistic corporation to take a look at their business practices. I would NEVER commit to paying $230 per month for all that trash. I don't need half of it, and I sure would not want it from them.
I do see validity in your argument - I suppose I am just old fashioned (and I'm only 18). I _know_ the calculators can be amazing teaching tools, but I'm reluctant to rely on them for some reason, even though I have had good experiences with them.
What you said makes sense. A calculator would be a useful tool when teaching kids without the formal knowledge of the equations and algebra behind the graph, etc. So, I concede to you.
I'm just bitter because I'm so terrible with the numbers after being introducted to a calculator in my grade school years. It's a shame - so many kids are robbed of their potential, or so it seems.
At any rate, I still love calculators.:) I want to get the new HP calc! Now, if only I could use it on my college exams. *grin*
It's funny you say that... I firmly believe that you can. After enough practice with the equations, and using calculus to graph them, it becomes simple to judge the shape of a graph, and it is very easy to "see" the intercepts, etc.
By using the calc, one stops relying on his or her intutition when it comes to "Seeing" the graphs, and more harm than good is done.
This new calculator seems to be marketed for educational use, so what wonderful things are younger kids doing with these things in school
Unfortunately, this is one of the things that hurt a student's math career. I really don't see the place for calculators in high school math classes. Physics? Chemistry? Sure, but not math. High school math classes should be aimed at teaching the material, and making sure the students have a very intimate knowledge of how and why things work out as they do. If the students use calculators, vital intermediary steps are removed from the process, and most of the students will miss quite a bit from those steps.
That being said, yes, I used my 89 in high school. Not for repetative calculations, not for cheating, but I used it to teach myself. If I couldn't possibly understand why a certian derivative came out to be what my answer was on homework some night, I would punch it in, set the variable to an arbitrary number, and check the output value. It helped me verify that what I was doing was correct. After one or two verifications, I would not use the calculator again during that lesson.
However, I regret that I used it at all. I don't have a particularly good sense about numbers. I am fairly well apt at most mathematics, but admit that I can't do basic division in my head. I had my Chemistry teacher teach me how to do long division last year - MY SENIOR YEAR. He was amazed that I couldn't do it, as I was 4th in my class, and never complained about a math exam. It's all because I used my calculator earlier in life, and I lost my number sense.
So, the moral of the story is: do not use the calculator when you are still learning the very basics. It will rob you of something that you can never get back: the prima facia experience of the methods and solutions. After the material is learned, sure, use the calculator to simplify your life in your job, etc... I sure plan on it!
Personally, I had always hoped that TI would make another calculator that would be better than my TI89, yet be in the standard shape of the TI89, without the QWERTY keyboard. Having the QWERTY, and thus the horizontal layout, prevents the calculator from being used on many college placement exams, and college exams themselves.
When I saw this story I was quite hopeful, until I clicked on the link. Oh well, maybe they will make a new one, better than this one, with the non-QWERTY layout, soon. I'm waiting, TI!
Slashdot Mirror
No! Karma Kazi! HEHEHE
Actually, one of the people mentioned (when Stephenson was going on about this technology) killed himself BECAUSE the ads were present even when he closed his eyes.
Errr.... where I am going to college today, and where I will be in a few weeks is a different story. :) If you really want to know, for some odd reason - email me, and I'll be glad to tell you all about my college and SAT background.
Just out of curiosity - why?
Hope to hear back from you.
I'd say this is more Sociology than Psychology, although I always find the two blending together (despite what my teacher tells me) when the Micro world of Sociology is in question. However, yes, I agree with what you said, Autopr0n Man, this stuff would be of great help to Verant for product marketing.
As for: This game is popular because it, apparently, touches is something deep inside a lot of people. And it doesn't let go. If you know what, or why, or if you can reproduce that. You can make yourself a lot of money.
I know what that something is - escapism. Pure and simple. I've played Ultima Online, EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, and many more... and I will continue to try out almost all the new MMORPGs as they come out (Horizon's looks fantastic), but, I know why I play: to escape into a world where things are just a little different - sometimes even better. I admit that I was fully and completely addicted to Ultima Online for two years of my life. I scheduled my time around parts of the day with the least lag (this was back in 1998-2000 when I didn't have a cable modem), and I would choose my sleep schedule accordingly. It affected my grades in 9th and 10th grade, and then, I quit. I knew it was too much for me. I played EverQuest fairly heavily during 10th grade, also, as I was one of the first round beta testers (woo!), but I did something different: I wrote a strategy guide and sold it on eBay. "The EverQuest Platinum Plan." I made something like 20k in a matter of two months. It was astonishing. But, as summer drew to a close, I knew I had to quit all my online gaming, and get serious about 11th grade.
HA! I bought Asheron's Call, and played that during most of 11th grade. I wrote another strategy guide for it, and made a few hundred dollars. I didn't play AC as much as UO or EQ, though, so my grades did not suffer because of it. In fact, I got As all through 11th grade. It was all about moderation.
And now, soon to be a college sophomore, triple (maybe quadruple) major student in some pretty heavy sciences, I'm still waiting on the edge of my seat for the next MMORPG to come sweep me away to Never Never Land. I love the sweet taste of escape on my lips every now and again.
The thing I'd be most afraid of is a parent (using the term very, very lightly) who has the child "grown" in the artificial womb for any length of time, and then decides she wants it to be aborted, all because it's "too hard for her." I really can see it happening, too. It's a sad thing to considering, but, knowing many of the women's groups out there, it's entirely possible. I think people need to start looking at themselves and start acting responsibly. Be accountable, people.
Is it me, or does a point to this gathering of 3000 children escape anyone else? I read over the blurb twice, and noticed the reference to Stephenson, PDAs, and something about a million dollars, but, I didn't read anything about what it is leading up to, or what it is all for.
Anyone have any hints for me?
Are the prices fair enough as to not prevent these services from getting to the people who really need them, and don't have endless pockets?
Why should the researchers choose from the two situations? They DO get money, as far as I know. Doesn't the institution for whom they worked pay them WHILE they are working? I don't belive that patents like these should exist... they make trouble for people in the long run (well, 25 years, or whatever the time frame is). The point is, the researchers should be compensated, but only during the work. After that, if their work is saving lives, why not just bask in the glow of adding to the advancement of the species?
And, the institution will be looked on favorably, too. "Hey Mom! I want to go to that school that hired the research team that discovered the cure for cancer!".
It could very well be a win win sitution, and not part of a zero-sum game.
Hmmm, well, you are right, I did miss the point, spectacularly at that. I didn't see it like that. Of course, I agree with you - the laws are a joke. I don't think that these products of nature, regardless of the humans it took to elucidate them, should be property - they should be free.
Now, for more about what I think about the researchers, check out my reply to the other post (below yours).
You go ahead and do that. You link didn't lead to anything relevant.
I hate to tell you this, but no one has patents on formulae. Do you think Newton patented his laws of motion?
I can just see it now:
Soldiers are laying seige to a castle, using a trebuchet and a dead cow.
Newton: Hey! What are you guys doing over there!
Soldiers: We are launching this cow over the castle wall to poision their well!
Newton: I forbid this! I have patent number 2098724-01282 on the law of motion you are invoking! You must stop your illegal activities now, or pay royalties.
Or, even better:
The sun starts to shine on a darkened Germany.
Einstein, shouting to the heavans: Hey! What do you think you are doing!
Sun: I'm giving light to the citizens of the world!
Einstein: You can't do that! I patented the formula the describes the motion under which light moves! Pay me my royalties!
I don't think so... Come on people... you are smarter than this.
Solution: They should put it up for sale on eBay! With all the junk I've sold on there in the past few years, they should have no problems unloading a sophisticated production studio!
:)
If you want to understand the science that these databases would make possible, imagine if your business had a searchable database of the entire population of the world, with parameters like age, height, weight, income, address, phone number, spending habits, and more, for every single person.
That sounds like something I certainly do not want for the future.
I hate to say this, but Post Office advertising is nothing new. Can you say "Stamps"? Look on a stamp. Chances are, if it doesn't say LOVE on it, there is an ad for SOMETHING. Wheter it be political (space exploration, women's causes, etc...), celebrational (Madonna stamps come to mind), or any number of other messages.... Stamps have always been an advertisement medium, whether you recognize it or not. Maybe that's the best part - you don't!
At any rate, the Postal Service has always been a BUSINESS. They need MONEY. They are not entirely a government entity. There is NOTHING wrong with selling space in their domain.
That was the point of my other post... but apparantly some zealous Slashdot 1337 dEwD thought it was flaming. Go figure.
Adios.
This just in from the Associated Press:
The USPS has advertisements up in (gasp!) the Post Office! Ads will promote the various stamps offered by the federal business, as well as provide people with ideas for valuable services that they may have not known about prior to seeing the ads.
Really... what is the big deal here, and WHY is this news? Moreover, what if it was Linux, the God of Slashdot, that made an appearance in the Post Office? I bet the article would read something like "LINUX STORMS THE POSTAL SERVICE - OPEN SOURCE ON THE RISE! PRAISE LINUS AND GNU!"
Please.... give me a break. The FUD is out of control.
That is a low return for giving up civil liberties.
And what might those civil liberties be? The right to safely and securely traffic drugs? No thank you, I'd rather have the wire taps. After all, they aren't tapping YOU. - or are they?
He did say a single copy, so we can presume he meant a single liscense. :)
Nope, I don't have any premium services or channels on my cable bill. Charter has always had decent pricing schemes with their cable modem services.
Nope, I still lease the modem from my cable company (Charter Communications) for the sum of $5 a month. The service costs $25 for me. It's been a great deal for a very long time, and, actually, they have gone DOWN in prices this year. I get excellent service, too - simply amazing speeds.
:)
It certianly isn't @Rip-Off...^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HHome.
Cable Internet (AT&T) - $50
Local telephone (with all the services but voicemail - Verizon) - $60
Long distance (AT&T) - $50
Cable television (AT&T - local channels only) $14)
Alarm monitoring (ADT) $26
I pay $30 a month for my cable modem.
Local telephone service? I certianly don't pay $60 every month for it. Try $30, if that.
Long distance - are we talking about your calls, or the provider? I don't know of a provider on the planet that charges $50 just for their service - that's because they would be out of business so fast they would never be IN business.
Cable TV... wait... you said local? If You want local channels only (which defeats the primary purpose of cable television), I'd suggest you use an antenna. And that comes down to a cost of $0 per month.
As for the alarm monitoring, I have no idea, so I'l stick with your pricing on that. $26 per month.
If we add all that up, I only come up with a fine little sum of $86. Now, that's more like it. If you actually _NEED_ all that crap on your phone bill (460 way calling, or whatever it is now) then you can't possibly expect that everyone affected by this pricing scheme feels the same way. It's absurd to even assume a faction of that. Regardless, if people don't like the fees, they should learn to live with less - OR, get an organized complaint together and tell this monopolistic corporation to take a look at their business practices. I would NEVER commit to paying $230 per month for all that trash. I don't need half of it, and I sure would not want it from them.
Heck, I thought it was what their software development department does all day. :)
I do see validity in your argument - I suppose I am just old fashioned (and I'm only 18). I _know_ the calculators can be amazing teaching tools, but I'm reluctant to rely on them for some reason, even though I have had good experiences with them.
:) I want to get the new HP calc! Now, if only I could use it on my college exams. *grin*
What you said makes sense. A calculator would be a useful tool when teaching kids without the formal knowledge of the equations and algebra behind the graph, etc. So, I concede to you.
I'm just bitter because I'm so terrible with the numbers after being introducted to a calculator in my grade school years. It's a shame - so many kids are robbed of their potential, or so it seems.
At any rate, I still love calculators.
Best to you!
Without them, you simply can't do this.
It's funny you say that... I firmly believe that you can. After enough practice with the equations, and using calculus to graph them, it becomes simple to judge the shape of a graph, and it is very easy to "see" the intercepts, etc.
By using the calc, one stops relying on his or her intutition when it comes to "Seeing" the graphs, and more harm than good is done.
This new calculator seems to be marketed for educational use, so what wonderful things are younger kids doing with these things in school
Unfortunately, this is one of the things that hurt a student's math career. I really don't see the place for calculators in high school math classes. Physics? Chemistry? Sure, but not math. High school math classes should be aimed at teaching the material, and making sure the students have a very intimate knowledge of how and why things work out as they do. If the students use calculators, vital intermediary steps are removed from the process, and most of the students will miss quite a bit from those steps.
That being said, yes, I used my 89 in high school. Not for repetative calculations, not for cheating, but I used it to teach myself. If I couldn't possibly understand why a certian derivative came out to be what my answer was on homework some night, I would punch it in, set the variable to an arbitrary number, and check the output value. It helped me verify that what I was doing was correct. After one or two verifications, I would not use the calculator again during that lesson.
However, I regret that I used it at all. I don't have a particularly good sense about numbers. I am fairly well apt at most mathematics, but admit that I can't do basic division in my head. I had my Chemistry teacher teach me how to do long division last year - MY SENIOR YEAR. He was amazed that I couldn't do it, as I was 4th in my class, and never complained about a math exam. It's all because I used my calculator earlier in life, and I lost my number sense.
So, the moral of the story is: do not use the calculator when you are still learning the very basics. It will rob you of something that you can never get back: the prima facia experience of the methods and solutions. After the material is learned, sure, use the calculator to simplify your life in your job, etc... I sure plan on it!
Personally, I had always hoped that TI would make another calculator that would be better than my TI89, yet be in the standard shape of the TI89, without the QWERTY keyboard. Having the QWERTY, and thus the horizontal layout, prevents the calculator from being used on many college placement exams, and college exams themselves.
When I saw this story I was quite hopeful, until I clicked on the link. Oh well, maybe they will make a new one, better than this one, with the non-QWERTY layout, soon. I'm waiting, TI!