According to Kant moral propositions are synthetic a priori statements. In other words statements known without experience yet confirmed with experience. This is paradoxical. Nietzsche directly states this himself, "Synthetic judgments a priori should not 'be possible' at all; we have no right to them; in our mouths they are nothing but false statements"
Kant's problem is that he assumed necessity was epistemological yet it is metaphysical (See Kripke). Scientific laws and propositions are a posteriori and necessary. As moral/ethical propositions are simply a posteriori but not necessary.
Well for some yes and especially Jefferson. However there is nothing in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights that states this claim. Also the Declaration of Independence is not a legal document.
A constitutional government is not incompatible with there being no universal ethical and moral truth. But simply the constitutional is a legal document that is based upon beliefs shared by the majority of its people. It will be interesting to compare the new Iraqi constitution (after or if it is revised) and the United States constitution. Both will reflect the beliefs and will of their people.
At one time the majority of people believed that slavery was acceptable. Ethics shouldn't be dictated by the whims of the majority, but instead on rational thought. So, if you believe there is nothing wrong with violating copyright in downloading music, justify your opinion with a reasonable explanation. Don't just say it's ok because everyone is doing it.
A logical argument always starts with some assumptions. If you want to argue ethics you always start with your beliefs. However what you believe is no way tied to some universal truth. There is no "ethical truth" or what Kant called the categorical imperative.
The reason slavery is unacceptable today is because the vast majority of the world believes that it is wrong. The ideas of personal freedom and free-will have spread around the world. That is why is it unlawful. It is not because we discovered some truth about slavery similar to the way people recognized the Earth rotates around the Sun.
Slavery might return one day when people's attitudes change. You may claim that it is unethical and they would say it is not. Both views stand on similar ground. However people may one day think the Sun rotates around the Earth but it will not change the actual truth.
In order to turn off the ugly minimizing animation that comes with metacity you actually have edit the code and cut out the relevant part*. People have submitted patches to make this an option but all have been refused. Linus is right. Gnome developers don't care about their users. I still use Gnome cause I like the look and feel but if you want to change certain parts you basically have to either edit the code or use their system registry editor. In a twisted sense, Gnome is for power users.
*There might be an option to turn this off in the system registry but it also turns off other features. For example a window now turns into a wireframe when you drag it.
One day blogging is the new media that encapsulates the freedom of the internet. The next day blogging is nothing but a bunch of loud mouth jerks who have a personal agenda. So which is it?
Exactly. I guess you can't change human "nature". I learned my lesson, humans are DOOMED!!
Re:The World in a Computer
on
Hooked On The Web
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
It's that the Internet is becoming reality.
I'm sorry friend but the Internet has not superseded reality as of yet. It is nothing but text and images detached from the reality behind it. You leave your house, you have flowers, earth, sun, the wind and a whole plethora of sensations that the Internet can only mimick.
Then there is the world of human interaction, the touch of another's hand, a loved ones voice, their breath on your neck, their heartbeat against yours. Even just being amongst friends, the act of laughing, looking into another's eyes, being surrounded by others you care about and who care about you.
I'm sorry but reality is so much more vast and rich than the Internet. Just like television the internet detaches us and removes us from reality. It dulls the senses which blurs and distorts our perception. The Internet is great place to learn and share information but it is only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what really exists.
You don't get the argument. The argument rests on a principle that software should be free, free as in freedom. That the source code should be made available to anyone who wants to look at it. Also one should be allowed to make changes to the software if they wish.
It has nothing to do with if the programmer gets paid or not. Honestly if the programming task is difficult the paid professionals do a better job. Unless the amateur is of exceptional quality. However there is no paradox in someone being paid to write open source software. Actually it is encouraged.
It has to do with freedom of information. The freedom to look inside how something works. Yes there are advantages of open source code and there are disadvantages. Just like there are advantages/disadvantages to closed source code. But the argument does not rest there. It is an argument based on principle. Those in the open source movement simply believe that code should be free. Binaries can be bought and sold, but the source code should be available to anyone and open to contributions.
X isn't as bad as you say. It is improving. The next release of X.org 6.9/7.0 (monolith/module based) has various improvements. The most important is the new module based structure in 7.0. This should improve not only the installation procedure but also making the code more accessible to would-be developers. The most important next step is trying to come up with a new accelerated arch based on modern day GPUs. I refer you to Jon Smirl's paper
Jon himself left his project because the little attention it was receiving from other xorg developers. However his work was not unnoticed and him leaving actually stirred up some debate on the future of Xorg. Check the mailing lists for some interesting debate.
Anyway there is a group of developers who will continue Jon's work after the new Xorg is released. It is that right now everyone is trying to push 6.9/7.0 out the door.
Honestly, if Red Hat or some other Linux companies invested in more X coders and hired more developers to work on this project. We could have a modern desktop comparable to OS X and Vista within a year. However I doubt this will ever happen.
Why is it so hard to believe that us humans are responsible for global warming? The Industrial Revolution brought about automated machinery which required energy and power. We decided to use fossil fuels like oil and coal. We burn these things and it releases carbon dioxide into the air. The more we produced the more people could be sustained, so there was a population boom. This meant more farm lands needed to be created so we cut down more trees. This also lead to more factories, more power stations, the need for more energy. We burned more fossil fuels hence more carbon dioxide.
Why does it seem to some that humans can not bring about climate change? Our population keeps swelling, we keep burning fossil fuels and chopping down trees. Do you think we are unable to produce enough greenhouse gases? Is nature so vast and giant that humans seem to dwindle in strength? We humans are a part of nature. Locusts can devour forests. Why can't us humans ravage the earth?
I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty or offend anyone. I'm just pointing out that buying a new xbox is what it is. The poster tried to paint it as some accomplishment that made you a "winner". Which is just ridiculous.
Also my second point was actually that other people's excessive spending is going to become your problem. People need to recognize that through the economy and just the nature of society, we are all intertwined. If we keep spending and not saving and our government builds up this massive debt it is going to effect a lot of us. It is not the terrorists that is going to bring this nation down, but us Americans.
Re:Bitterness over other's success or excesses
on
Xbox 360 Launches In U.S.
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Congrats!! You get The Most Twisted Defense for Consumer Greed of the Day Award!! Please stop by Slashdot HQ for your prize, A NEW XBOX 360!!?!?!?!?! OMFGWTFBWBQNQEW
I mean seriously how is forking over $400 for a toy some sort of success in your life? If you equate buying things with success you need a reality check. Currently us Americans are spending more than we earn. If we continue this trend we are going to be in trouble. They tell us to keep spending, it's good for the economy, etc. But it's bullshit. The economy is the same, we keep losing jobs, inflation is creeping and we have a huge national debt. In other news the House passed a bill cutting 50 billion in social services but in the same day passed 60 billion in tax cuts which mostly target the rich. WAKE UP!
It is easy to just dismiss someone as 'crazy' and therefore an exception that warrants no investigation into their psyche. I don't think anyone has ever said that Klebold and Harris were mentally insane. They were obviously disturbed. However one has to question why they became that way. Surely you yourself are a great example of how simple things like geography can mold someone's way of thinking. We can't just ignore these things. Yes, violent video games and gun ownership do not themselves lead to tragic events like Columbine. Yet they are symptoms to perhaps a larger problem that is embedded into our society.
Dupes and the terrible editing give slashdot its charm. Come on. Also great trolling here on slashdot.... superb. Slashdot has an entire culture around it now. The crap on the front page doesn't even matter anymore. Cmdrtaco knows it. Thats why he doesn't give a shit about dupes and everything else. You could post a story that is nothing but random letters and still generate 100+ comments.
It's amazing to me how much energy there is in nature. It gets manifested in things like hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, cosmic rays, sunlight, and even simple things like a breeze. There are huge amounts of energy all around us. Yet our energy solution is drilling for oil and burning it. It just seems very archaic. Has there been any real difference in how we harness energy since man first learned to use fire?
We need a new revolution in technological solutions for energy gathering. The problem is not lack of energy sources but lack of energy solutions.
Because manga is a booming business unlike american comics. Also manga has captured a market comics never has, girls. So there is a reason to use the word 'manga' instead of 'comics', it sells.
Also to add to what does the word 'manga' mean? Sure it means 'comic' from Japan. But it also carries with it an intrinsic style. Art styles have no borders and influence those who read it. So if American artists start to pick up tendencies and even plain out copy the styles... well thats just natural. Now the argument is whether or not american made 'manga' is indeed manga. Well sometimes you can't tell the difference other than language. So surely it must be manga. Is non-english hip hop not hip hop? Again describe an american made manga as a 'comic' and many will scratch their heads. 'It doesn't look like a comic.' >'Oh. But It has an American author/illustrator.' 'Yeah but it looks like manga!'
Maybe the word 'manga' has changed in its meaning.
A great place to get scanlated manga is lurk. Stop by sometime.
Science is not entirely empirical. Claiming that science does not prove anything is equivalent to saying science is just based on empirical facts which appear to be consistent. I don't think many people would agree with that. Rather many scientists believe that the structure of their theories is isomorphic to the structure of the universe which said theories describe. From this science has proven many things. Also is disproves things as well which is another way of saying "proof of not A".
Also many scientists and mathematicians will admit many of their best ideas do not come from the scientific method. But sometimes they come during a shower or staring at a fire. Scientific insight is almost like lightning of the mind. The scientific method is used to communicate and pan out these ideas. However for the most part the "truth" and the scientific method are compatible.
First off how can the United States be anti-science when everyone has a cellphone, computer, car, xbox, television, ipod and some other technological gadget? I think being anti-science would mean banning these types of devices and labeling them as witchcraft. What is happening is more people are simply not accepting scientific theories as 'ultimate' truth. Which I find nothing wrong with. Just because you do not believe in evolution does not stop the physical mechanism of evolution. Or make evolution ceast to exist. Also I think the set of scientific theories under question is rather small. No one questions electromagnetism or general relativity. They just question the life sciences. Which can you really blame them? Biology can not answer some fundamental questions such as the place of consciousness in the universe and how does inanimate matter become life? In this void people grasp onto religion. But this doesn't make the US anti-science. If anything this should encourage scientists to try to answer these questions.
Also we must be reminded that science is not the end-all of knowledge.
it is a password protected system which only queries for a password when you fail biometric authentication. essentially it is more convenient than a password system that queries on usage or on time intervals. also because it registers by the way you walk, the authentication is hands and voice free.
i suppose for ultra security you could have the gait biometric which defaults to some other traditional biometric. but thats expensive and somewhat impractical for the average person.
Hrm. On 2, if the universe is expanding then p is never zero. Rather there is always a non-zero velocity. However in some places it might be pretty close to zero considering the cosmological constant is approximately 10^-120. The invariant or rest mass may be more of a limit a particle approachs as it slows down or removes momentum. However because of the nature of a positive cosmological constant there is always energy being applied to a particle's momentum.
I'm sorry but hackers get their warez from usenet. Also how does Slashdot feel about HBO hacking usenet servers? Of course, no one cares when someone "pwns n00bs" but when they shit where you eat it's a different story.
Seriously, Primer is a great movie. The director/creator Shane Carruth has a BA in Mathematics and worked for a software company after graduation. He was dissatisfied with his job and left to make movies. He taught himself everything and came up with a great product on the cheap. Hopefully someone will give him an appropriate budget so his talent will be recognized by all.
You forget that it is adding the said 165 messages a second to the network and not simply the traffic upper limit is 165 messages a second. Assume the upper limit is 165msgs/sec and by sending 165msgs/sec you are approaching the upper limit and most likely going over with the addition of normal traffic. This would create the slowdown mentioned. The goal of adding 165msgs/sec doesn't seem all that hard especially with the speed of modern computers. I think the article mentioned that one person with a cable modem could do it.
The Democratic Party's endorsement of the Civil Rights Movement caused many white southerners to move to the Republican Party. They brought along with them their ideas about small government and states' rights. The Republican party as it is now is really the old southern Democratic party. Also I'd like to mention there is some debate over whether or not Lincoln was gay. Which I find hilarious when you compare that notion to the Republican's stance on gays.
Slashdot Mirror
According to Kant moral propositions are synthetic a priori statements. In other words statements known without experience yet confirmed with experience. This is paradoxical. Nietzsche directly states this himself, "Synthetic judgments a priori should not 'be possible' at all; we have no right to them; in our mouths they are nothing but false statements"
Kant's problem is that he assumed necessity was epistemological yet it is metaphysical (See Kripke). Scientific laws and propositions are a posteriori and necessary. As moral/ethical propositions are simply a posteriori but not necessary.
Well for some yes and especially Jefferson. However there is nothing in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights that states this claim. Also the Declaration of Independence is not a legal document.
A constitutional government is not incompatible with there being no universal ethical and moral truth. But simply the constitutional is a legal document that is based upon beliefs shared by the majority of its people. It will be interesting to compare the new Iraqi constitution (after or if it is revised) and the United States constitution. Both will reflect the beliefs and will of their people.
At one time the majority of people believed that slavery was acceptable. Ethics shouldn't be dictated by the whims of the majority, but instead on rational thought. So, if you believe there is nothing wrong with violating copyright in downloading music, justify your opinion with a reasonable explanation. Don't just say it's ok because everyone is doing it.
A logical argument always starts with some assumptions. If you want to argue ethics you always start with your beliefs. However what you believe is no way tied to some universal truth. There is no "ethical truth" or what Kant called the categorical imperative.
The reason slavery is unacceptable today is because the vast majority of the world believes that it is wrong. The ideas of personal freedom and free-will have spread around the world. That is why is it unlawful. It is not because we discovered some truth about slavery similar to the way people recognized the Earth rotates around the Sun.
Slavery might return one day when people's attitudes change. You may claim that it is unethical and they would say it is not. Both views stand on similar ground. However people may one day think the Sun rotates around the Earth but it will not change the actual truth.
In related news /. is the #1 mover this week on Alexa. Also check out this graph. Pretty much proves via science that dupes == money.
In order to turn off the ugly minimizing animation that comes with metacity you actually have edit the code and cut out the relevant part*. People have submitted patches to make this an option but all have been refused. Linus is right. Gnome developers don't care about their users. I still use Gnome cause I like the look and feel but if you want to change certain parts you basically have to either edit the code or use their system registry editor. In a twisted sense, Gnome is for power users.
*There might be an option to turn this off in the system registry but it also turns off other features. For example a window now turns into a wireframe when you drag it.
One day blogging is the new media that encapsulates the freedom of the internet. The next day blogging is nothing but a bunch of loud mouth jerks who have a personal agenda. So which is it?
Exactly. I guess you can't change human "nature". I learned my lesson, humans are DOOMED!!
It's that the Internet is becoming reality.
I'm sorry friend but the Internet has not superseded reality as of yet. It is nothing but text and images detached from the reality behind it. You leave your house, you have flowers, earth, sun, the wind and a whole plethora of sensations that the Internet can only mimick.
Then there is the world of human interaction, the touch of another's hand, a loved ones voice, their breath on your neck, their heartbeat against yours. Even just being amongst friends, the act of laughing, looking into another's eyes, being surrounded by others you care about and who care about you.
I'm sorry but reality is so much more vast and rich than the Internet. Just like television the internet detaches us and removes us from reality. It dulls the senses which blurs and distorts our perception. The Internet is great place to learn and share information but it is only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what really exists.
You don't get the argument. The argument rests on a principle that software should be free, free as in freedom. That the source code should be made available to anyone who wants to look at it. Also one should be allowed to make changes to the software if they wish.
It has nothing to do with if the programmer gets paid or not. Honestly if the programming task is difficult the paid professionals do a better job. Unless the amateur is of exceptional quality. However there is no paradox in someone being paid to write open source software. Actually it is encouraged.
It has to do with freedom of information. The freedom to look inside how something works. Yes there are advantages of open source code and there are disadvantages. Just like there are advantages/disadvantages to closed source code. But the argument does not rest there. It is an argument based on principle. Those in the open source movement simply believe that code should be free. Binaries can be bought and sold, but the source code should be available to anyone and open to contributions.
X isn't as bad as you say. It is improving. The next release of X.org 6.9/7.0 (monolith/module based) has various improvements. The most important is the new module based structure in 7.0. This should improve not only the installation procedure but also making the code more accessible to would-be developers. The most important next step is trying to come up with a new accelerated arch based on modern day GPUs. I refer you to Jon Smirl's paper
Jon himself left his project because the little attention it was receiving from other xorg developers. However his work was not unnoticed and him leaving actually stirred up some debate on the future of Xorg. Check the mailing lists for some interesting debate.
Anyway there is a group of developers who will continue Jon's work after the new Xorg is released. It is that right now everyone is trying to push 6.9/7.0 out the door.
Honestly, if Red Hat or some other Linux companies invested in more X coders and hired more developers to work on this project. We could have a modern desktop comparable to OS X and Vista within a year. However I doubt this will ever happen.
Why is it so hard to believe that us humans are responsible for global warming? The Industrial Revolution brought about automated machinery which required energy and power. We decided to use fossil fuels like oil and coal. We burn these things and it releases carbon dioxide into the air. The more we produced the more people could be sustained, so there was a population boom. This meant more farm lands needed to be created so we cut down more trees. This also lead to more factories, more power stations, the need for more energy. We burned more fossil fuels hence more carbon dioxide.
Why does it seem to some that humans can not bring about climate change? Our population keeps swelling, we keep burning fossil fuels and chopping down trees. Do you think we are unable to produce enough greenhouse gases? Is nature so vast and giant that humans seem to dwindle in strength? We humans are a part of nature. Locusts can devour forests. Why can't us humans ravage the earth?
I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty or offend anyone. I'm just pointing out that buying a new xbox is what it is. The poster tried to paint it as some accomplishment that made you a "winner". Which is just ridiculous.
Also my second point was actually that other people's excessive spending is going to become your problem. People need to recognize that through the economy and just the nature of society, we are all intertwined. If we keep spending and not saving and our government builds up this massive debt it is going to effect a lot of us. It is not the terrorists that is going to bring this nation down, but us Americans.
Congrats!! You get The Most Twisted Defense for Consumer Greed of the Day Award!! Please stop by Slashdot HQ for your prize, A NEW XBOX 360!!?!?!?!?! OMFGWTFBWBQNQEW
I mean seriously how is forking over $400 for a toy some sort of success in your life? If you equate buying things with success you need a reality check. Currently us Americans are spending more than we earn. If we continue this trend we are going to be in trouble. They tell us to keep spending, it's good for the economy, etc. But it's bullshit. The economy is the same, we keep losing jobs, inflation is creeping and we have a huge national debt. In other news the House passed a bill cutting 50 billion in social services but in the same day passed 60 billion in tax cuts which mostly target the rich. WAKE UP!
It is easy to just dismiss someone as 'crazy' and therefore an exception that warrants no investigation into their psyche. I don't think anyone has ever said that Klebold and Harris were mentally insane. They were obviously disturbed. However one has to question why they became that way. Surely you yourself are a great example of how simple things like geography can mold someone's way of thinking. We can't just ignore these things. Yes, violent video games and gun ownership do not themselves lead to tragic events like Columbine. Yet they are symptoms to perhaps a larger problem that is embedded into our society.
Dupes and the terrible editing give slashdot its charm. Come on. Also great trolling here on slashdot.... superb. Slashdot has an entire culture around it now. The crap on the front page doesn't even matter anymore. Cmdrtaco knows it. Thats why he doesn't give a shit about dupes and everything else. You could post a story that is nothing but random letters and still generate 100+ comments.
It's amazing to me how much energy there is in nature. It gets manifested in things like hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning, cosmic rays, sunlight, and even simple things like a breeze. There are huge amounts of energy all around us. Yet our energy solution is drilling for oil and burning it. It just seems very archaic. Has there been any real difference in how we harness energy since man first learned to use fire?
We need a new revolution in technological solutions for energy gathering. The problem is not lack of energy sources but lack of energy solutions.
Because manga is a booming business unlike american comics. Also manga has captured a market comics never has, girls. So there is a reason to use the word 'manga' instead of 'comics', it sells.
Also to add to what does the word 'manga' mean? Sure it means 'comic' from Japan. But it also carries with it an intrinsic style. Art styles have no borders and influence those who read it. So if American artists start to pick up tendencies and even plain out copy the styles... well thats just natural. Now the argument is whether or not american made 'manga' is indeed manga. Well sometimes you can't tell the difference other than language. So surely it must be manga. Is non-english hip hop not hip hop? Again describe an american made manga as a 'comic' and many will scratch their heads.
'It doesn't look like a comic.'
>'Oh. But It has an American author/illustrator.'
'Yeah but it looks like manga!'
Maybe the word 'manga' has changed in its meaning.
A great place to get scanlated manga is lurk. Stop by sometime.
Science is not entirely empirical. Claiming that science does not prove anything is equivalent to saying science is just based on empirical facts which appear to be consistent. I don't think many people would agree with that. Rather many scientists believe that the structure of their theories is isomorphic to the structure of the universe which said theories describe. From this science has proven many things. Also is disproves things as well which is another way of saying "proof of not A".
Also many scientists and mathematicians will admit many of their best ideas do not come from the scientific method. But sometimes they come during a shower or staring at a fire. Scientific insight is almost like lightning of the mind. The scientific method is used to communicate and pan out these ideas. However for the most part the "truth" and the scientific method are compatible.
First off how can the United States be anti-science when everyone has a cellphone, computer, car, xbox, television, ipod and some other technological gadget? I think being anti-science would mean banning these types of devices and labeling them as witchcraft. What is happening is more people are simply not accepting scientific theories as 'ultimate' truth. Which I find nothing wrong with. Just because you do not believe in evolution does not stop the physical mechanism of evolution. Or make evolution ceast to exist. Also I think the set of scientific theories under question is rather small. No one questions electromagnetism or general relativity. They just question the life sciences. Which can you really blame them? Biology can not answer some fundamental questions such as the place of consciousness in the universe and how does inanimate matter become life? In this void people grasp onto religion. But this doesn't make the US anti-science. If anything this should encourage scientists to try to answer these questions.
Also we must be reminded that science is not the end-all of knowledge.
it is a password protected system which only queries for a password when you fail biometric authentication. essentially it is more convenient than a password system that queries on usage or on time intervals. also because it registers by the way you walk, the authentication is hands and voice free.
i suppose for ultra security you could have the gait biometric which defaults to some other traditional biometric. but thats expensive and somewhat impractical for the average person.
Hrm. On 2, if the universe is expanding then p is never zero. Rather there is always a non-zero velocity. However in some places it might be pretty close to zero considering the cosmological constant is approximately 10^-120. The invariant or rest mass may be more of a limit a particle approachs as it slows down or removes momentum. However because of the nature of a positive cosmological constant there is always energy being applied to a particle's momentum.
I'm sorry but hackers get their warez from usenet. Also how does Slashdot feel about HBO hacking usenet servers? Of course, no one cares when someone "pwns n00bs" but when they shit where you eat it's a different story.
Seriously, Primer is a great movie. The director/creator Shane Carruth has a BA in Mathematics and worked for a software company after graduation. He was dissatisfied with his job and left to make movies. He taught himself everything and came up with a great product on the cheap. Hopefully someone will give him an appropriate budget so his talent will be recognized by all.
You forget that it is adding the said 165 messages a second to the network and not simply the traffic upper limit is 165 messages a second. Assume the upper limit is 165msgs/sec and by sending 165msgs/sec you are approaching the upper limit and most likely going over with the addition of normal traffic. This would create the slowdown mentioned. The goal of adding 165msgs/sec doesn't seem all that hard especially with the speed of modern computers. I think the article mentioned that one person with a cable modem could do it.
The Democratic Party's endorsement of the Civil Rights Movement caused many white southerners to move to the Republican Party. They brought along with them their ideas about small government and states' rights. The Republican party as it is now is really the old southern Democratic party. Also I'd like to mention there is some debate over whether or not Lincoln was gay. Which I find hilarious when you compare that notion to the Republican's stance on gays.