"Besides, I don't generally buy the notion that education for everyone would lead to world peace. I know about lots of extremely smart and knowledgable people that are just as (if not even more so) greedy, corrupt and violent as average Joe."
Faust comes to mind. Its a story about a man during the renaissance who makes contact with a "demon" who will give him all the information he wants...provided he listen no matter what the demon tells him. Well, he gets knowledge about a lot of new technology and knowledge......and captizalizes on it, but isn't prepared for the repercussions of it, or prepared for how to handle all that knowledge. Its a very interesting book I'm sure you can find on Amazon.
You know....this sounds like the solution to a problem I encountered while theorizing about large flexible displays on walls and the distortion that would occur.
Say you have wallpaper eventually made out of flexible screens. You want a nice display filling your wall of an underwater scene. Well, if your wall curves or has corners etc, there will be distortion when the monitor is placed over that spot.
Well, you simply put this crap on the border of the flexible screen, send the data back to a computer where it inputs a virtual model of the positioning of the wallpaper, and BAM, the software can take distortion of curvature/corners of walls into account and make it so that even if its on a right angle corner, it would still appear as if you were just looking through glass into a giant aquarium.
"Here's a thought... when they get that small, small is no longer the issue... spend some time on improving battery life / screen resolution / feature X."
Here's another thought...when they get that small...how about making them the optimum dimensions for human usability, and then just keep cramming more and more computing power inside them. Miniaturizing the computer does not HAVE to mean miniaturizing the input device to the point of not being able to use it.
"you mean kinda the same way that airline tickets drop when fuel prices drop? or the way phone services prices drop when govt. fees are removed? or perhaps you mean the way that cable tv prices dropped when they were deregulated and subject to 'free market' competition?/sarcasm/"
"Or maybe they'll figure that the vast majority of their customers won't know and they'll pocket the savings."
Yeah...seriously, when was the last time in the history of corporate America that when the price of creating something dropped...the profits were passed along to the customer...i'm SERIOUSLY lacking for an answer to that....certainly didn't happen with music CDs...I could be totally off here, but I woke up at 5:30 AM so bare with me.
"You assert that evolution was the process by which we came here, and yet you say we have been picking the most attractive mates since we were created. "
Yes, that works, seeing as how according to Darwin, survival is based on the survival of the fittest...where 'fittest' these days has transformed in one aspect to 'attractive'.
"2. That the less attractive people will be unable to find partners, or if they do they will be infertile or their children will prove unsuccessful. The fact of the matter is that unattractive people can do well, and attractive people often end up in the dud careers without good breeding prospects. Often those people aren't interested in having children, preferring the "freedom" that single life provides."
And what are you basing this on? Yes unattractive people can compete by strengthening other aspects of who they are...but if they are on par with someone in all regards except the other person is more attractive...the more attractive person has the edge.
"Often those people aren't interested in having children, preferring the "freedom" that single life provides."
Again...what are you basing this on? That's essentially saying if you are attractive...you just like to sleep with lots of people because you can. Where did you get THAT from?
" You say to look around and we can see we are getting more attractive. But I say, "where?" I see no evidence that this is happening. I see beauty products being put into people's hands, but what's new? In New York I would *expect* more attractive people precisely because it is one of the richest cities in the world. Not that the people there are more attractive, but rather that they have the money to purchase the products to enhance their appearance. And also that you would often see the beautiful people used on advertisements more commonly there than elsewhere, giving the impression that there are more than there really are."
Yes, I'm not really sure where I stand on this...you are correct that much of it is artificial, however...a study I saw in my AP Psych II class when I was in highschool revealed that girls breasts were developing sooner at younger ages directly because of the image of what society believes to be beautiful, and what they see on TV and magazines etc. I'm too lazy to google it, but it shouldn't be TOO hard to find. Now, I'm not saying this is having a direct affect...but its certainly an interesting thought.
"It sounds pretty strange and unnatural to say on the evolution timeline we are young as humans. When were we humans and when were we not? If I believed in evolution this statement would make no sense - we've always been what we are, and at the same time never been what any of our ancestors were"
Why does it sound strange? In the long term, we've been around from just 130,000 BCE as Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Trust me, we still have plenty of room for evolution before we transform into another species entirely.
" How the hell do you work out that people are more attractive now than they used to be? If you say we are making ourselves attracive, then as someone pointed out those are non-genetic traits that are not carried on. As for breeding, people have *always* tried to find the most attractive person. I don't see how our habits are any different from before."
Well, I never claimed that we are artificially making ourselves more attractive....but I agree, people HAVE always tried to find the most attractive person. And guess what, on the Evolution timeline....we're pretty young as humans......and people have been picking the most attractive mates since we were created....so it only makes sense that eventually we will gradually evolve to become more physically attractive. Evolution isn't something that happens overnight.....but we can observe the stages it takes along the way.
Their target market was really Slashdot...and this was just a well placed advertisement/story? HMMM???? O who am I kidding...the day a slashdotter picks up a tennis game will also be the day they get a girlfriend.
"Let me guess... it tells YOU what your looking for?"
You my good sir, should NOT have been modded +5, Funny. You failed to submit your joke in the proper Soviet Russian format. In order for you to gain a proper +5, Funny, you need to use the correct syntax of "In Soviet Russia, x, y, you." Someone please mod parent down immediately or he will disrupt the concentration of the slashbots as they attempt to translate the post into its proper format.
This really goes hand in hand with my theory that we are becoming more attractive as a society. Think about it...today's survival does not depend on hunting anymore really, least not in the US. What does it depend on? Money, or marrying someone with money. How do you marry someone with money? Well, aside from being charming...you can raise your odds by being super attractive. Hence, to increase survivability and your chances of reproducing, we are becoming more attractive as a whole. Don't believe me? Look at the kinds of people walking around in NY and Chicago and LA. Trust me, this is just the tip of the ice berg, and in the next century I think we'll see this concept gain a little more solidity.
Maybe the next generation of encrypted P2P will be coming out of Sweden......what with their programmers having a little more incentive now to make it.
That was trying to look on the bright side....for those of you IN Sweden......I will continue infringing copyrights in your honor!!!
"Of course, every power company would be licensing thier technology."
The power companies would be the LAST people I'd want to license this.....well, "obtain the patent" at least....because we all know what would happen if the lightbulb industry for example suddenly made a lightbulb that never needed to be replaced......well, same theory. But licensing I guess would be fine.
"Super USB 2.0 Alpha Ultra Turbo High Speed Mega Special Tournament Edition Plus Plus?"
And if you think that's bad....well, the Japanese are lightyears ahead of us. You thought all those products that were like "super happy japanese fun ball" were just bad engrish? Nope! They've been dealing with things like this WAAAAY before us.
Right, mod me down because I pointed out that the only reason this story was even posted is because it's a cheap simple way to get a bunch of attention from all the Anti-M$ people on/.
I was not trolling, I was pointing out that the only function this article serves is to attract trolls.
Is there an industry association for games yet? Cuz I know I've seen more than a few computer games (and ISO's) on the P2P services. If there isn't somethign akin tot he RIAA/MPAA for games yet, there sure as hell will be.
Remember kids, playing a game that you didn't pay for at your friends house is STEALING!
Now..IANAL....and I'm not just Microsoft bashing...this could be done by ANYBODY who sues a spammer I think.
Why would I not be the least bit surprised though if someone sued a spammer...subpoenaed (sp?) their address list....and other personally identifiable information they've collected, and just happened to add the information to their database?
1.Sue spammer 2.Subpoena their address list 3.PROFIT!!! from lawsuit 4.Use new addresses for advertising 5.PROFIT!!! 6.Sell your new updated address list 7.PROFIT!!!!
And if you think nobody out there would do this kind of thing...just look at people like Ralsky, or Darl McBride...these guys are desperate, ruthless, and lack any shred of ethics.
The big reason we can be a $10 trillion economy and only have $330 billion in currency is because not all things of value are in the form of currency. Diamonds.....Gold.....Realestate.....Beer (oh wait, thats free).
"I care deeply about IP (intellectual property) rights. I've personally got more IP rights than the average bear, and as the owner of the copyright in the collective of the Linux kernel, I shepherd even more. It's what I do, every day. I personally manage more valuable IP rights than SCO has ever held, and I take it damn seriously," Torvalds said in an e-mail interview. "
Slashdot Mirror
"I-can't-breathe-because-of-all-the-tinfoil-i'm-we aring-dept."?
"Your computer is broadcasting an IP address!"
"Your computer clock may be wrong!"
"Your computer may be infected!"
"You may already be a winner!"
"Your brain may have amazing powers!"
Faust comes to mind. Its a story about a man during the renaissance who makes contact with a "demon" who will give him all the information he wants...provided he listen no matter what the demon tells him. Well, he gets knowledge about a lot of new technology and knowledge......and captizalizes on it, but isn't prepared for the repercussions of it, or prepared for how to handle all that knowledge. Its a very interesting book I'm sure you can find on Amazon.
Say you have wallpaper eventually made out of flexible screens. You want a nice display filling your wall of an underwater scene. Well, if your wall curves or has corners etc, there will be distortion when the monitor is placed over that spot.
Well, you simply put this crap on the border of the flexible screen, send the data back to a computer where it inputs a virtual model of the positioning of the wallpaper, and BAM, the software can take distortion of curvature/corners of walls into account and make it so that even if its on a right angle corner, it would still appear as if you were just looking through glass into a giant aquarium.
Porn sites suddenly get a UI upgrade.
Here's another thought...when they get that small...how about making them the optimum dimensions for human usability, and then just keep cramming more and more computing power inside them. Miniaturizing the computer does not HAVE to mean miniaturizing the input device to the point of not being able to use it.
Don't forget music CD prices either.
Yeah...seriously, when was the last time in the history of corporate America that when the price of creating something dropped...the profits were passed along to the customer...i'm SERIOUSLY lacking for an answer to that....certainly didn't happen with music CDs...I could be totally off here, but I woke up at 5:30 AM so bare with me.
Yes, that works, seeing as how according to Darwin, survival is based on the survival of the fittest...where 'fittest' these days has transformed in one aspect to 'attractive'.
"2. That the less attractive people will be unable to find partners, or if they do they will be infertile or their children will prove unsuccessful. The fact of the matter is that unattractive people can do well, and attractive people often end up in the dud careers without good breeding prospects. Often those people aren't interested in having children, preferring the "freedom" that single life provides."
And what are you basing this on? Yes unattractive people can compete by strengthening other aspects of who they are...but if they are on par with someone in all regards except the other person is more attractive...the more attractive person has the edge.
"Often those people aren't interested in having children, preferring the "freedom" that single life provides."
Again...what are you basing this on? That's essentially saying if you are attractive...you just like to sleep with lots of people because you can. Where did you get THAT from?
" You say to look around and we can see we are getting more attractive. But I say, "where?" I see no evidence that this is happening. I see beauty products being put into people's hands, but what's new? In New York I would *expect* more attractive people precisely because it is one of the richest cities in the world. Not that the people there are more attractive, but rather that they have the money to purchase the products to enhance their appearance. And also that you would often see the beautiful people used on advertisements more commonly there than elsewhere, giving the impression that there are more than there really are."
Yes, I'm not really sure where I stand on this...you are correct that much of it is artificial, however...a study I saw in my AP Psych II class when I was in highschool revealed that girls breasts were developing sooner at younger ages directly because of the image of what society believes to be beautiful, and what they see on TV and magazines etc. I'm too lazy to google it, but it shouldn't be TOO hard to find. Now, I'm not saying this is having a direct affect...but its certainly an interesting thought.
"It sounds pretty strange and unnatural to say on the evolution timeline we are young as humans. When were we humans and when were we not? If I believed in evolution this statement would make no sense - we've always been what we are, and at the same time never been what any of our ancestors were"
Why does it sound strange? In the long term, we've been around from just 130,000 BCE as Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Trust me, we still have plenty of room for evolution before we transform into another species entirely.
Well, I never claimed that we are artificially making ourselves more attractive....but I agree, people HAVE always tried to find the most attractive person. And guess what, on the Evolution timeline....we're pretty young as humans......and people have been picking the most attractive mates since we were created....so it only makes sense that eventually we will gradually evolve to become more physically attractive. Evolution isn't something that happens overnight.....but we can observe the stages it takes along the way.
But they need to be Liberated.....
Well, when she's not looking...try installing this(the google IE toolbar) on her IE, wait a week or two, and THEN ask her which she prefers.
You my good sir, should NOT have been modded +5, Funny. You failed to submit your joke in the proper Soviet Russian format. In order for you to gain a proper +5, Funny, you need to use the correct syntax of "In Soviet Russia, x, y, you." Someone please mod parent down immediately or he will disrupt the concentration of the slashbots as they attempt to translate the post into its proper format.
That was trying to look on the bright side....for those of you IN Sweden......I will continue infringing copyrights in your honor!!!
The power companies would be the LAST people I'd want to license this.....well, "obtain the patent" at least....because we all know what would happen if the lightbulb industry for example suddenly made a lightbulb that never needed to be replaced......well, same theory. But licensing I guess would be fine.
And if you think that's bad....well, the Japanese are lightyears ahead of us. You thought all those products that were like "super happy japanese fun ball" were just bad engrish? Nope! They've been dealing with things like this WAAAAY before us.
I was not trolling, I was pointing out that the only function this article serves is to attract trolls.
Remember kids, playing a game that you didn't pay for at your friends house is STEALING!
News for Nerds. Stuff that feeds the M$ Trolls.
Why would I not be the least bit surprised though if someone sued a spammer...subpoenaed (sp?) their address list....and other personally identifiable information they've collected, and just happened to add the information to their database?
1.Sue spammer
2.Subpoena their address list
3.PROFIT!!! from lawsuit
4.Use new addresses for advertising
5.PROFIT!!!
6.Sell your new updated address list
7.PROFIT!!!!
And if you think nobody out there would do this kind of thing...just look at people like Ralsky, or Darl McBride...these guys are desperate, ruthless, and lack any shred of ethics.
Linus then added "Best represent BIATCH!"