That's an incredibly narrow-minded view. If it is shown that some types of screening statistically make you worse off, then it is silly to continue advocating their use in the same way. I'm sorry you had to deal with a traumatic event, but that doesn't make math stop working.
You're right, but the parent is right, too, because in some respects what you describe is niche (regardless of its objective importance). I, for instance, despite being highly educated, wouldn't have any clue where to start contributing to Chinese culture articles.
I used to edit wikipedia, but I rarely come across articles that I an improve aside from grammar and proofreading these days. The stuff that's missing requires quite a bit of expertise. The only articles I can still meaningfully contribute to are those related to my own field (astrophysics) or a hobby that I know in great depth (film).
I didn't mean to imply that there was a "year of Linux on the Desktop," just that the gap between desktop usability is growing. I won't reiterate what all the other replies to parent said, but they're spot on. The Linux kernel has succeeded, but the desktop managers and common distros are needlessly cumbersome for everyday computer use. If you did an experiment where you got average people to try Ubuntu, Windows 7, and OS/X for everyday computer use, I bet you'd be very hardpressed to find someone that prefered Ubuntu.
Seriously. Linux is still great for many applications, but I think the present is the farthest behind Microsoft's/Apple's products in terms of general appeal as a consumer desktop OS that it has ever been. And this is coming from someone who uses several Linux distros daily and depends on them deeply.
You fail to consider that that same money could have been spent on *other* research. I work in astrophysics, so my field deals with where NASA spends its budget all the time, and I can tell you that there is almost no one in the field that wants it in the ISS.There are soooo many more interesting things NASA could do with that money. The ISS was mostly a political and PR move; science was almost secondary.
I am an astrophysicist/astronomer, and I can vouch for that as a field in which amateurs still play a major role. Hell, my first paper on which I was the first author was something that anyone with a decent set of programming skills and a mild knowledge of astronomy could do - the trick was knowing that it needed to be done. As far as how to get involved, I have several suggestions.
1. Go back to school, formally or informally. If you have a university with an astronomy or physics department, get involved there, perhaps by taking a class or two part time. This serves a threefold purpose. The most obvious is that it is a great opportunity to learn the basics. Second, it will give you access to university resources, such as library (including journals and databases online!) access, computer access, and sometimes telescope access. Finally, it will give you access to professionals. Many professors and researchers are in need of people to do their side project. These often get done by undergrads, and if you go back to school you can get involved. All you do is ask around the department if anyone needs free help, and then find someone you want to work with. You might get a coauthorship out of it. This is how I did my first paper as an undergrad.
2. Look online for topics that amateurs with a telescope can help with. Try variable stars, asteroids, comets, supernovae, gamma ray bursts, etc. Alternatively, if you are into programming, CS, or data methods and their applications to astronomy, this is a great area to make contributions with little-to-no startup cost. Rapid time series analysis and signal processing are big these days, among many other things.
3. Don't be ignorant. Read introductory textbooks. Refresh yourself on math, physics, and programming. Read wikipedia. Read arxiv astro-ph and use ADS.
There are other non-astro things I can think of too. I'm into paleontology as a hobby - its another field that amateurs routinely make contributions in, but that's decreasing with time. Fossil collecting can be really fun while also getting you outdoors. Unfortunately, this is highly dependent on your location, local laws, and other factors out of your control. Same with amateur archaeology - but this is even harder to do. In some parts of the US, for example, amateurs have found major native american archaeological sites, which they then call in professionals to help with. Another way to get involved in these fields is to volunteer at a natural history museum or a university, similar to how I described for astronomy, but it is usually easier because they need people to help on digs and things. There is less potential for a publication, though. Computer Science, mathematics, and software engineering also seem like fields an amateur could make contributions in.
I second the Milikan Oil Drop experiment. It is a classic and simple experiment that produces a fundamental and important result. It's history can also inspire some discussion of the ethics of data tampering and reporting in science.
The article suggests that Minkowski's formulation is supported by this result, but reading the paper seems to suggest that Abraham's formulation is supported. The abstract states (and the paper's results confirm): "Our results suggest that Abraham's momentum is correct."
Your post makes the unjustified assumption that the hope, food, and clothing would not have been provided without religion. It also assumes that people who are good with religion would not be so without. The far simpler explanation is that the good aspects of religion are simply reflective of preexisting good parts of people, rather than the other way around.
The article only deals with university level science programs, if you had bothered to read it. He, as do most researching physicists, teaches as a professor and has done so for quite some time. Furthering, knowing what training and thought processes are required for high level science research is something that requires knowledge and experience in that field. Someone with a Masters of Education alone is not qualified to administer the training of physics PhD candidates and the like. If the article discussed primary level education, then I might be inclined to agree with you. But, as it stands, your comment is silly and irrelevant.
It's ceiling is actually 110 km, not 100 miles. And 110 km is way lower than where you need to put satellites if you want them to be at all stable in orbit for any long term use (ie more than a couple months).
1. Ron's belief in creationism has nothing to do with how Paul would run education in the United States. Education is best left to the towns, and the school boards, not the States and for sure not the Federal government. Paul's idea to abolish the inefficient and pandering Department of Education is the first step to returning the education power, and responsibility, to the parents. Paul's not against "public" education, he's against inefficient Federal regulation of it.
What you say is true, but his disbelief of evolution is relevant in another way. It suggests one of several things: an inability to effectively reason, a willingness to publicly take a stance on something about which he is ignorant, or a complete disregard for reason. Not good qualities to have for a president. So while his stance has no direct implications for his presidency, it certainly has indirect ones.
2. Paul hasn't taken a Presidential position on abortion, other than it shouldn't be a Federal issue. I am also against Roe v. Wade, even though I am not anti-abortion (I am not pro-abortion, either). I am against Roe v. Wade because it usurps State powers. In terms of abortion, I have one opinion: if you are against the idea of abortion, the best way to change the tide is to adopt unwanted children, and support the ability to adopt by financially supporting adopting couples. I would never condemn abortion as murder or as a crime, because the crime for a Christian is to not offer an opportunity to a pregnant woman in need.
I think his views vs. actions with regards to abortion on contradictory. He claims that he wants it to be a state issue, but he then tries to get around that by redefining the concept of life at the federal level. So either his stated position on abortion is just pandering , or he somehow doesn't see a contradiction here.
The corporate agenda is the deal breaker for me. Blockbuster's service is actually a better deal strictly in a movies-per-dollar sense, but they refuse to carry certain types of unrated films and most things rated NC-17. Their foreign and independent selections suck compared to those of Netflix, as a result.
But they are "rent-a-thugs" working as campus cops, not true police officers. I don't know what the requirements are to be a campus cop, but I don't imagine they have the same training as a police academy.
I am a UF student, and I just wanted to point out that this is entirely incorrect. The UFPD is a fully accredited police department; they aren't rent-a-cops. Every cops is a certified law enforcement officer; they have the same training as any typical city police department.
And the issue isn't so much the guy's removal from the forum, but, rather, it is that the taser use was probably excessive. Though tasers are 'non-lethal,' they can cause health problem, injuries, or death. Further, they cause extreme pain. They shouldn't be a go-to answer whenever something doesn't go perfectly; they should be a last resort before traditional firearms and similar dangerous control methods. There were six cops on the one guy, and the guy posed no serious threat, despite his resistance. Even worse, he was already essentially completely subdued when they tased him. In my opinion, this is inappropriate taser use.
Ugh, forgot to add line breaks. Here's the post formatted....
I'm always somewhat amazed by Slashdot's opinions on music, because they are so much more, well, terrible and simplistic than the other things discussed here. I guess techie people as a population just don't put forth as much intellectual work toward music and other arts-related pursuits.
That's not to say that I don't like any other modern music, but what albums produced in this new century are worth listening to every song on it?
There are thousands, maybe more. Here are a few.
Carissa's Weird - Songs About Leaving The Flaming Lips - Yoshimii Battles the Pink Robots The Extraordinaires - Ribbons of War Asobi Seksu - Citrus Maritime - We, the Vehicles Destroyer - Rubies Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender Rock Plaza Central - Are We Not Horses? Art Brut - Bang, Bang, Rock and Roll The Besties - Singer The One AM Radio - The Hum of Electric Air The Microphones - Mt. Eerie I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends Proem - Socially Inept John Zorn - Six Litanies For Heliogabalus Nomo - New Tones Reds - Is:Means Sufjan Stevens - Illinois Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
Those are just the ones that pop into mind because I've listened to them very recently. I also artificially limited myself by only including things easily available for purchase nationally (local scenes are swell too, though!), only including relatively standard Western styles of music (other cultures make great music too, though!), and not including modern classical music (classical's not boring, no matter what you think, though!).
I'm always somewhat amazed by Slashdot's opinions on music, because they are so much more, well, terrible and simplistic than the other things discussed here. I guess techie people as a population just don't put forth as much intellectual work toward music and other arts-related pursuits.
That's not to say that I don't like any other modern music, but what albums produced in this new century are worth listening to every song on it?
There are thousands, maybe more. Here are a few.
Carissa's Weird - Songs About Leaving
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimii Battles the Pink Robots
The Extraordinaires - Ribbons of War
Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Maritime - We, the Vehicles
Destroyer - Rubies
Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
Rock Plaza Central - Are We Not Horses?
Art Brut - Bang, Bang, Rock and Roll
The Besties - Singer
The One AM Radio - The Hum of Electric Air
The Microphones - Mt. Eerie
I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends
Proem - Socially Inept
John Zorn - Six Litanies For Heliogabalus
Nomo - New Tones
Reds - Is:Means
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
Those are just the ones that pop into mind because I've listened to them very recently. I also artificially limited myself by only including things easily available for purchase nationally (local scenes are swell too, though!), only including relatively standard Western styles of music (other cultures make great music too, though!), and not including modern classical music (classical's not boring, no matter what you think, though!).
You're right. I don't know what I was thinking when I said that. I suppose I should have said that the cover artist is at most doing a new arrangement, but that the song copyright still applies.
A cover is not a derivative work, it is a performance of the song, which is the melody and lyrics. A cover is usually using the melody and lyrics in their entirety, even if the arrangement is change (and arrangements do not have copyrights). Weird Al is protected because it is a derivative parody and satirization, which is specifically protected under copyright law. Further, I would bet that he/his label licenses the music anyway just to be safe.
The British Board of Film Classification, the ESRB, and the MPAA -- none are government agencies. So no, it doesn't have to do with free speech. This is especially true in the US, where retailers have the right to determine what they wish to sell. And they've exercised they exercised their right when they decided to sell ESRB rated games.
While it is true that the BBFC is not a government agency, it effectively has some legal power that can prevent films and games from being legally distributed or sold, so it does have to do with free speech. If they do not certify Manhunt, it will not be legal to sell it in the UK (though it will be legal to own). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Board_of_Film _Classification
It's arguably more lenient than the system for movies (parents must be in the theatre for an R-rated movie but don't have to play an M-rated game with their kid).
Yes, but the movie rating system has no force of law behind it and is technically voluntary. I have been in independent and art-house theaters that do not recognize the rules of the MPAA as far as restricting who sees what. With games, it is legislative. They are actually passing laws to regulate it. Personally, I think any sort of government regulation of things like this is inherently wrong, no matter what the content is or how "lenient" the legislation is.
Not really. "Shop" is used in the sense of 'workshop.' The average person wouldn't be shopping for photos on their computer, so the first logical thing to assue would be that it is a program for working on or editing photos.
I agree with the rest of you post though. Windows does suffer from this problem as much as Linux. All too often you have to know the manufacturer's name. It would benefit Windows greatly if it broke things into categories. I do this myself on my Windows machines, but the average user just lets programs go to wherever they default.
When you transcode from one lossy format to another, there is significant degradation in quality. I've experimented with the iTunes files, and after transcoding to a compressed format that is useful to me (mp3 or ogg), the quality isn't acceptable anymore (granted, I'm a music nut and pickier than most).
These services just aren't good enough for me until I can download a lossless file with no DRM. Until then, I will download music illegally in order to hear it before I buy CDs/vinyl (which I buy a ton of; I own hundreds of albums on vinyl or cd).
Slashdot Mirror
Grr, accidentally posted that while logged out.
That's an incredibly narrow-minded view. If it is shown that some types of screening statistically make you worse off, then it is silly to continue advocating their use in the same way. I'm sorry you had to deal with a traumatic event, but that doesn't make math stop working.
You're right, but the parent is right, too, because in some respects what you describe is niche (regardless of its objective importance). I, for instance, despite being highly educated, wouldn't have any clue where to start contributing to Chinese culture articles.
I used to edit wikipedia, but I rarely come across articles that I an improve aside from grammar and proofreading these days. The stuff that's missing requires quite a bit of expertise. The only articles I can still meaningfully contribute to are those related to my own field (astrophysics) or a hobby that I know in great depth (film).
I didn't mean to imply that there was a "year of Linux on the Desktop," just that the gap between desktop usability is growing. I won't reiterate what all the other replies to parent said, but they're spot on. The Linux kernel has succeeded, but the desktop managers and common distros are needlessly cumbersome for everyday computer use. If you did an experiment where you got average people to try Ubuntu, Windows 7, and OS/X for everyday computer use, I bet you'd be very hardpressed to find someone that prefered Ubuntu.
Seriously. Linux is still great for many applications, but I think the present is the farthest behind Microsoft's/Apple's products in terms of general appeal as a consumer desktop OS that it has ever been. And this is coming from someone who uses several Linux distros daily and depends on them deeply.
You fail to consider that that same money could have been spent on *other* research. I work in astrophysics, so my field deals with where NASA spends its budget all the time, and I can tell you that there is almost no one in the field that wants it in the ISS.There are soooo many more interesting things NASA could do with that money. The ISS was mostly a political and PR move; science was almost secondary.
I am an astrophysicist/astronomer, and I can vouch for that as a field in which amateurs still play a major role. Hell, my first paper on which I was the first author was something that anyone with a decent set of programming skills and a mild knowledge of astronomy could do - the trick was knowing that it needed to be done. As far as how to get involved, I have several suggestions.
1. Go back to school, formally or informally. If you have a university with an astronomy or physics department, get involved there, perhaps by taking a class or two part time. This serves a threefold purpose. The most obvious is that it is a great opportunity to learn the basics. Second, it will give you access to university resources, such as library (including journals and databases online!) access, computer access, and sometimes telescope access. Finally, it will give you access to professionals. Many professors and researchers are in need of people to do their side project. These often get done by undergrads, and if you go back to school you can get involved. All you do is ask around the department if anyone needs free help, and then find someone you want to work with. You might get a coauthorship out of it. This is how I did my first paper as an undergrad.
2. Look online for topics that amateurs with a telescope can help with. Try variable stars, asteroids, comets, supernovae, gamma ray bursts, etc. Alternatively, if you are into programming, CS, or data methods and their applications to astronomy, this is a great area to make contributions with little-to-no startup cost. Rapid time series analysis and signal processing are big these days, among many other things.
3. Don't be ignorant. Read introductory textbooks. Refresh yourself on math, physics, and programming. Read wikipedia. Read arxiv astro-ph and use ADS.
There are other non-astro things I can think of too. I'm into paleontology as a hobby - its another field that amateurs routinely make contributions in, but that's decreasing with time. Fossil collecting can be really fun while also getting you outdoors. Unfortunately, this is highly dependent on your location, local laws, and other factors out of your control. Same with amateur archaeology - but this is even harder to do. In some parts of the US, for example, amateurs have found major native american archaeological sites, which they then call in professionals to help with. Another way to get involved in these fields is to volunteer at a natural history museum or a university, similar to how I described for astronomy, but it is usually easier because they need people to help on digs and things. There is less potential for a publication, though. Computer Science, mathematics, and software engineering also seem like fields an amateur could make contributions in.
I second the Milikan Oil Drop experiment. It is a classic and simple experiment that produces a fundamental and important result. It's history can also inspire some discussion of the ethics of data tampering and reporting in science.
The article suggests that Minkowski's formulation is supported by this result, but reading the paper seems to suggest that Abraham's formulation is supported. The abstract states (and the paper's results confirm): "Our results suggest that Abraham's momentum is correct."
I doubt they are looking for recruits with this. This cipher is ridiculously easy to break - try it yourself. Anyone can do it.
Your post makes the unjustified assumption that the hope, food, and clothing would not have been provided without religion. It also assumes that people who are good with religion would not be so without. The far simpler explanation is that the good aspects of religion are simply reflective of preexisting good parts of people, rather than the other way around.
The article only deals with university level science programs, if you had bothered to read it. He, as do most researching physicists, teaches as a professor and has done so for quite some time. Furthering, knowing what training and thought processes are required for high level science research is something that requires knowledge and experience in that field. Someone with a Masters of Education alone is not qualified to administer the training of physics PhD candidates and the like. If the article discussed primary level education, then I might be inclined to agree with you. But, as it stands, your comment is silly and irrelevant.
It's ceiling is actually 110 km, not 100 miles. And 110 km is way lower than where you need to put satellites if you want them to be at all stable in orbit for any long term use (ie more than a couple months).
I think his views vs. actions with regards to abortion on contradictory. He claims that he wants it to be a state issue, but he then tries to get around that by redefining the concept of life at the federal level. So either his stated position on abortion is just pandering , or he somehow doesn't see a contradiction here.
When it asks for your location, say "biddy biddy boop" or any other nonsense syllable and it will search long enough for you to hear it.
The corporate agenda is the deal breaker for me. Blockbuster's service is actually a better deal strictly in a movies-per-dollar sense, but they refuse to carry certain types of unrated films and most things rated NC-17. Their foreign and independent selections suck compared to those of Netflix, as a result.
I am a UF student, and I just wanted to point out that this is entirely incorrect. The UFPD is a fully accredited police department; they aren't rent-a-cops. Every cops is a certified law enforcement officer; they have the same training as any typical city police department.
And the issue isn't so much the guy's removal from the forum, but, rather, it is that the taser use was probably excessive. Though tasers are 'non-lethal,' they can cause health problem, injuries, or death. Further, they cause extreme pain. They shouldn't be a go-to answer whenever something doesn't go perfectly; they should be a last resort before traditional firearms and similar dangerous control methods. There were six cops on the one guy, and the guy posed no serious threat, despite his resistance. Even worse, he was already essentially completely subdued when they tased him. In my opinion, this is inappropriate taser use.
I'm always somewhat amazed by Slashdot's opinions on music, because they are so much more, well, terrible and simplistic than the other things discussed here. I guess techie people as a population just don't put forth as much intellectual work toward music and other arts-related pursuits. There are thousands, maybe more. Here are a few.
Carissa's Weird - Songs About Leaving
The Flaming Lips - Yoshimii Battles the Pink Robots
The Extraordinaires - Ribbons of War
Asobi Seksu - Citrus
Maritime - We, the Vehicles
Destroyer - Rubies
Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
Rock Plaza Central - Are We Not Horses?
Art Brut - Bang, Bang, Rock and Roll
The Besties - Singer
The One AM Radio - The Hum of Electric Air
The Microphones - Mt. Eerie
I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends
Proem - Socially Inept
John Zorn - Six Litanies For Heliogabalus
Nomo - New Tones
Reds - Is:Means
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
Those are just the ones that pop into mind because I've listened to them very recently. I also artificially limited myself by only including things easily available for purchase nationally (local scenes are swell too, though!), only including relatively standard Western styles of music (other cultures make great music too, though!), and not including modern classical music (classical's not boring, no matter what you think, though!).
You're right. I don't know what I was thinking when I said that. I suppose I should have said that the cover artist is at most doing a new arrangement, but that the song copyright still applies.
A cover is not a derivative work, it is a performance of the song, which is the melody and lyrics. A cover is usually using the melody and lyrics in their entirety, even if the arrangement is change (and arrangements do not have copyrights). Weird Al is protected because it is a derivative parody and satirization, which is specifically protected under copyright law. Further, I would bet that he/his label licenses the music anyway just to be safe.
Not really. "Shop" is used in the sense of 'workshop.' The average person wouldn't be shopping for photos on their computer, so the first logical thing to assue would be that it is a program for working on or editing photos. I agree with the rest of you post though. Windows does suffer from this problem as much as Linux. All too often you have to know the manufacturer's name. It would benefit Windows greatly if it broke things into categories. I do this myself on my Windows machines, but the average user just lets programs go to wherever they default.
When you transcode from one lossy format to another, there is significant degradation in quality. I've experimented with the iTunes files, and after transcoding to a compressed format that is useful to me (mp3 or ogg), the quality isn't acceptable anymore (granted, I'm a music nut and pickier than most). These services just aren't good enough for me until I can download a lossless file with no DRM. Until then, I will download music illegally in order to hear it before I buy CDs/vinyl (which I buy a ton of; I own hundreds of albums on vinyl or cd).