First off, you're twisting and misinterpreting my words. I was stating a fact that most people who whine, cry and preach about the greediness and selfishness of others are just trying to cash in (figuratively or literally) on the guilt of others.
I NEVER SAID IN MY POST THAT ACTING FOR ONE'S OWN INTEREST IS WRONG! If I made the statement that workingn for one's own benefit is wrong, quote me!
Remember the looters of Atlas Shrugged? These class action lawers are the modern reincarnation of them. They are not wealth creators, just wealth "getters."
If you want to chide me on my knowledge of Ayn Rand, perhaps you should read her books first . . .
First off, you assume that the work was done by the lawers themselves, and was not done mainly by interns and/or assistants burning the midnight oil while the lawers went off to some Democratic or Green party fund-raiser.
The problem is that the whole purpose of class action lawsuits is to ensure a massive pay-off for the lawers. The suits against the tobacco companies, Microsoft, as well as the suits that will be filed against restaurants and food companies are all about the money. They don't care about you, they only care about scaring the crap out of some executives and buying themselves a new Hummer.
Here's a good rule of thumb: anytime anyone gives altruistic justifications for their actions, nine times out of ten they are looking after their own ass.
My personal prediction is that within ten years, we'll see the first automated tractor-trailer truck. It'll have a Moravec-like brain that will run the truck for the 95% of the time the truck is rolling cross-country, and a satellite link for a driver to help direct it for the last 5%.
What happens when that robot brain in that truck hits a patch of ice? What will it do if a tire(s) blow(s) out on the vehicle, and the vehicle goes out of control? Even with a human capable of guiding the truck via satellite, I doubt the efficiency of this approace in an emergency. Humans have had thousands of years of evolution to hone these split - second decisions. I very much doubt that any computer brain will feasibly be able to act fast enought to handle these types of split-second occurances. Certainly not in 10 years.
Things like creativity, intuition, and instinct are going to be very hard, if not nearly impossible to reproduce for very long time. Nobody is going to be talking to HAL, let alone Commander Data, anytime soon.
I'm logged on to a high-speed line at the university here in Brookings, SD (with my 12-inch Powerbook), so I hope you're kidding. I also have access at home. Certainly some isolated, rural areas(i.e. farms) may have trouble getting proper internet access, but that does not give you the right to insult the whole state. Do you even live in South Dakota "newt_sd"? If so, what town?
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Remember the looters of Atlas Shrugged? These class action lawers are the modern reincarnation of them. They are not wealth creators, just wealth "getters."
If you want to chide me on my knowledge of Ayn Rand, perhaps you should read her books first . . .
Here's a good rule of thumb: anytime anyone gives altruistic justifications for their actions, nine times out of ten they are looking after their own ass.
I wonder if this is why the top managers at NASA often can't see the obvious.
What happens when that robot brain in that truck hits a patch of ice? What will it do if a tire(s) blow(s) out on the vehicle, and the vehicle goes out of control? Even with a human capable of guiding the truck via satellite, I doubt the efficiency of this approace in an emergency. Humans have had thousands of years of evolution to hone these split - second decisions. I very much doubt that any computer brain will feasibly be able to act fast enought to handle these types of split-second occurances. Certainly not in 10 years.
Things like creativity, intuition, and instinct are going to be very hard, if not nearly impossible to reproduce for very long time. Nobody is going to be talking to HAL, let alone Commander Data, anytime soon.
Nice to know that you were just kidding. It is scary that some people might actually have believed you.
I'm logged on to a high-speed line at the university here in Brookings, SD (with my 12-inch Powerbook), so I hope you're kidding. I also have access at home. Certainly some isolated, rural areas(i.e. farms) may have trouble getting proper internet access, but that does not give you the right to insult the whole state. Do you even live in South Dakota "newt_sd"? If so, what town?