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User: AhtirTano

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Comments · 196

  1. Re:Only honest discussions are useful. on Hawking Says Humans Have Entered a New Stage of Evolution · · Score: 2, Informative

    So you're saying that the Scientific Method is bunk?

    No, that's not what he said at all.

  2. Re:Contents of message on 200-Year-Old Cipher Finally Cracked · · Score: 1

    Except that many people came to the conclusion that he was the father before the DNA evidence, based on where he was and how he behaved around the time of the birth, the way he treated that slave family relative to others, and so forth. The DNA evidence was just the icing on the cake.

  3. Re:Wake me when the Voynich is cracked on 200-Year-Old Cipher Finally Cracked · · Score: 1

    Actually, natural native languages were not used as unbreakable cyphers. That's a myth. The code-talkers were trained to do this, and devised a code based on their language. (And actually, the program started in WWI and was so successful they revived it for WWII.) The Japanese figured out that Navajo was being used, and searched out Navajo speakers among POWs to translate. But because the code-talkers actually encoded their message during the translation into Navajo, even these POWs were unable to figure out what was going on.

  4. Re:It starts with the textbooks. . . on A Mathematician's Lament — an Indictment of US Math Education · · Score: 1

    And the teacher gets fired for using non-approved curricular materials.

  5. Re:Right, that's the only reason on Man Attacked In Ohio For Providing Iran Proxies · · Score: 4, Insightful
    So Democracy in Iraq, neighbors to Iran, had no influence at all on Iranians *also* wanting real elections?

    No. I had Iranian friends and roommates in grad school starting in the early 2000's. According to them, this is the most blatant the vote rigging has ever been. The guys fresh out of Iran before the last election (not the current one) told me point blank that Ahmadinajan was going to win for domestic economy reasons.

    The problem with U.S. support is NOT that the Iranian regime will crack down harder. The problem is that the US government is so unpopular there, that if we support them openly, many influential people will abandon the movement. It happened back in the early 90s with Bush Sr., and it could happen again.

  6. Re:Math. on How Do You Greet an Extraterrestrial? · · Score: 1

    Greg Bear's book "Anvil of Stars" has an alien species where non-sentient Cords come together to form aggregate, intelligent beings called Braids. Because sentience isn't available until multiple Cords have come together, and there does not appear to be a limit on the number of Cords that can aggregate, the Braids never developed a concept of "integers". One Braid (a collection of multiple Cords) can merge with another Braid to form a single Braid: 1 + 1 = 1. All math, therefore, is based on fractions, not whole numbers.

  7. Re:Read FootFall on How Do You Greet an Extraterrestrial? · · Score: 1

    I loved The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein for this exactly logic.

  8. Re:It really all depends on resources on How Do You Greet an Extraterrestrial? · · Score: 1

    Well, we ARE the only source of humans in the universe, and we have yet to figure out what we are good for. That might count as sufficiently scarce to make the trip worthwhile.

  9. Re:Offer them a subscription? on How Do You Greet an Extraterrestrial? · · Score: 3, Funny

    Half of all marriages end in divorce. On that model, half of all first contacts should result in intergalactic war.

  10. Re:Poor Open Source on Palm Pre "iTunes Hack" Detailed By DVD Jon · · Score: 1

    And we all know Apple's competitors, such as Microsoft, would never inject more capital into a company involved in an intellectual property fight, even one guaranteed to lose.

  11. Re:really on Circuit City Returns Under Systemax · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Depends on what you are buying. Sometimes the design of a product feels more comfortable to you than anther. And preferences like this can vary from person to person. For example, I hate the button layout and display on Nikon DSLRs. I have a good friend who loves them. No review in the world can possibly sort this out-you have to hold the object in your hand to come to a decision.

  12. Re:Oh this is gonna be fun :) on Scientists Discover Common Ancestor of Monkeys, Apes, and Humans · · Score: 1

    No.

    The word "belief" is a very useful word and "belief in evolution" is a true statement. Failing to use it just because disingenuous people will twist what you are saying is a losing strategy in the long run. Such people will always be able to find something you said to twist to their purpose. As soon as you stop using that phrase, they'll attack another one. Eventually everything you say is too technical or guarded, and you sound like a sound-bite robot or a weasely politician. Don't let them set the terms of the discourse. Publicly call them on their bullshit when it comes up. If appropriate at the time, present the surrounding context of the statement. That won't convince everyone, but you never can.

  13. Re:Shutup you commie on Seven Arrested After Protesting Army Video Game Recruiting Center · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That depends on what era the poster served in. My grandfather, a WWII navy pilot, had to marry in secret because he wasn't allowed to.

  14. Re:Friggin' Utah. on Utah Senate, House Pass Jack Thompson's Game Sales Bill · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Are you joking? The ridiculous nature of Utah Mormons has been known for decades. My parents, both born and raised Mormon from parents who were also born and raised Mormon, left Utah, precisely because they did not want their children raised around Utah Mormons. That was over 30 years ago, and nothing has changed on that front. While I have met some great people in Utah, nowhere have I met more hypocrites and Holier-Than-Thou @&#%$%@s.

  15. Re:What is wrong with the Linux GUIs? on Living Free With Linux, Round 2 · · Score: 1

    Then things must have changed a whole lot in the past 2.5 years, since I gave up on Linux. I had that problem many times, and I wasn't going after obscure stuff only the Linux literate would want. I had that problem with several games, for example.

    I started using Linux in 1998, I gave up in 2006, because I was sick and tired of dealing with the amount of work it took to install software and hardware. Not that I couldn't do it, I just didn't want to spend all that time doing it once I got a full time job. Especially since a Mac gives me all the Unix command-line stuff I love, without the driver problems or dependency hell.

  16. Re:What is wrong with the Linux GUIs? on Living Free With Linux, Round 2 · · Score: 1

    And when the program you want to install isn't in the repository?

  17. Re:I'm not dead yet on Why TV Lost · · Score: 1

    What you describe as necessary is already 90% here. I'm typing this on a 24" (could have bought a 27") iMac. There is a remote control on the bedstand, with navigation buttons simpler than my cable remote. Every night I lay back in bed, hit the "menu" button, select a show to watch (usually a TV show I've downloaded), and relax for 22 minutes before going to sleep. The only thing I'm lacking is quick access to new content with that same remote. You're association with work claim I find to be just hot air. I know the difference between work time and relaxation time, and the fact that the same machine is in use does not make any difference.

  18. Re:AP failing again on Obama To Reverse Bush Limits On Stem Cell Work · · Score: 1

    Of course, Bush's ban wasn't controversial at all. Nobody thought it was a bad idea from a purely scientific point of view. That's why Obama's motives must be tied to abortion politics, rather than legitimate scientific and medical concerns. And rich billionaires won't have any money left after his tax raise. They'll all be poor!

    Talk about ignoring reality. Pot, meet kettle.

  19. Re:Blurring only targets makes them easy to pick o on Calif. Politican Thinks Blurred Online Maps Would Deter Terrorists · · Score: 1

    Is anyone anyone really afraid of terrorists? Crackheads probably kill more people in America than terrorists do.

    I recently heard someone say that terrorists take advantage of the same faulty logic that makes people play the lottery. That knowledge that it can happen leads people to think that it will happen to them, eventually.

  20. Re:So Amazon wins anyway on Amazon Caves On Kindle 2 Text-To-Speech · · Score: 1

    Ah, big difference. They cannot edit the slashdot comment, so the embarrasment stays with them forever. If it was their blog post, that would be different. If you laugh, wave the sign around and yell for people to notice, that is bad social behavior. Yanking it off discretely, is the socially correct way to behave. Non-deletable public comments are the former, not the latter.

  21. Re:No close substitutes on Amazon Caves On Kindle 2 Text-To-Speech · · Score: 1

    Current copyrighted novels by established authors do not have close substitutes. But there are other portions of the market:

    Public domain novels (like most the classics we read in school) do have substitutes. Text-to-speech could make the difference in this portion of the market.

    New authors who are just breaking into the market are not necessarily targeted reads. When looking for something new to read and the choice comes down between unknowns, text-to-speech could easily be a tipping factor.

    As to your textbook case: Professor's think about supplemental stuff when making textbook choice. (I know, because I've done it.) If there are two introductory texts that would be fine alternatives, choosing one with more features just makes sense.

  22. Re:So Amazon wins anyway on Amazon Caves On Kindle 2 Text-To-Speech · · Score: 1

    You're trying to rationalize poor social behavior. The place to criticize grammar and spelling is in the classroom, or before the piece goes public. Criticizing someone publicly for that kind of thing is essentially an ad hominim, and reflects poorly on the attacker, not the attackee.

  23. Re:DRM wins again! on Amazon Caves On Kindle 2 Text-To-Speech · · Score: 1

    Where do you shop to find CD prices like that? They are always a few bucks more when I see them in the real world.

  24. Re:Three options on How To Keep Rats From Eating My Cables? · · Score: 1

    This actually works. My parents had a problem in the kitchen even a cat couldn't take care of. My mother covered every potential route with steel wool and duct tape. The rats found all kinds of inventive new approaches, but eventually they were all taken care of. The kitchen has been vermin free for a good year now.

  25. Re:Big Surprise on WSJ Says Gov't Money Injection Won't Help Broadband · · Score: 1

    People keep saying this, but my experiences with the DMV have been about the same as my experience with AT&T, Citibank, and most the major airlines (long lines/on hold forever, mistakes that take forever to fix, completely unhelpful costumer service, etc.). And I'd rather deal with the DMV than Acer or Well's Fargo.