It would only make sense. Imagine the embarrassment if they said they had a life of one year but died after nine months. Even given the harsh conditions, it's unimaginable that something that expensive and specialized could only last three months. An R/C car with solar panel and big batteries could probably do better!;)
Sure, but the astronauts will know what to do ahead of time and will be relatively independent, with all experiments planned out ahead of time. New mission information can be transmitted while the astronauts sleep, so the delay doesn't raise its ugly head as much as with robotic missions, which rely on constant monitoring and direction from the Earth.
Our species is doomed to die, anyway. Perhaps it is better for other civilizations in the universe that we contain our "values" and "explorations" on this pile of crap we call Earth and not infect other worlds with our wisdom.
For one thing, humans can carry out many more experiments in much less time. Also, they travel in feet per second, not inches per minute. For another, there isn't a 20 minute delay in communications, and unless the human gets sick or dies, he/she does not run the risk of crashing his/her software/hardware and becoming a useless piece of $1 billion trash. And perhaps the most important is the notion that sending humans to such areas helps to ignite the flames of millions of people, including students, politicians, "funders," and so on.
Except cars on a tire in one year travel over MUCH MORE road and experience much more wear due to a lot of factors, so you can't compare them. Everything was made to last as long as possible and the proposed "lifetime" was only due to estimates regarding the diminishing of solar power due to dust collecting and blocking sunlight. However, friendly martians have been keeping it clean, thus the extended lifetime of the rovers.
So which one *is* real? Some guy says it can only be conferred when the previous person who was awarded dies, another says it's given away like candy. How many are given non-honorary awards annually?
The Order is limited to 100 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commanders, and 8960 Commanders. There are no limits on the total number of members of the fourth and fifth classes, but no more than 858 Officers and 1464 Members may be appointed per year.
Knighthood has lost its "gold"
on
Sir Peter Molyneux?
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
I mean, have you seen some of the people who have been Knighted? Charleton Heston, Peter Falk, Bob Hope, etc. I can only think of a handful of people who truly deserve this, such as Tim Berners Lee, etc. It's as overrated and unfair (in the subjective sort of way) as the Nobel Prize, where politics, incredible bias, and so forth determine nominees and laureates, not pure merit.
It's about time for a replacement, but I hope the changes made - if the rumor is indeed true - are solid, needed ones rather than an artsy, candied gloss over the previous offering.
Re:And let's not forget who is funding a lot of th
on
New and Improved SETI
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
You're being unfair. You DON'T have to give your money to ANYONE or for ANY CAUSE, but when you decide to give millions for such causes, or a billion+ to fight diseases in certain other countries, well, I applaud that. You are the kind of person who can't be pleased, as your genes have modified themselves over the years on Slashdot to have a gag response to anything remotely related to Microsoft, even if what Gates, Allen, and others are doing should be celebrated, congratulated, and enjoyed.
WAIT? We don't have the time to WAIT. Nothing was ever accomplished by WAITING. You have to do what you can NOW and change with time, as it warrants.
Re:And let's not forget who is funding a lot of th
on
New and Improved SETI
·
· Score: 1
Sorry, that Allen Telescope Array, not Alien.
And let's not forget who is funding a lot of this
on
New and Improved SETI
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
None other than Paul Allen. Yep, of Microsoft fame. Boo, hiss, where are the groups of objectors now?
Not that I'm being a jerk about it, but it is only fair to note that without him, most of this would probably not be possible. Not only did he contribute millions to SETI, but also funded the Alien Telescope Array which the Slashdot blurb mentions.
There's still a large window when tracking 25 miles out, almost an hour. Are they doing this so "terrorists" do not "attack" with large boats? Bad waste of money.
I think you are mistaken. The "Hitler move" was invading Russia. That move is perhaps the worst in all of the 20th century, as it sealed his party's fate.
I didn't RTFA, but does this guarantee extend to all authorized retailers? Also, does this cover already manufactured models which are in stock as of today?
Just kidding, but scientists are very passionate about which theories they choose to believe. I can see someone disagreeing to that extent, even with established theories.
He's referring to the nuking of Japan, which was indeed our enemy. But do realize that most of the people who died were innocent, ordinary citizens, not military targets. Regardless, many people - myself included - believe that dropping of two nuclear bombs was not only unnecessary, but immoral, as well. Japan was almost dead militarily and no matter how hard one tries, one cannot justify the short term effects of 250,000+ dead innocent people - as well as the thousands more over the years. Some will argue that the bombs spared the lives of many American soldiers, but you're free to take whatever side you'd like, as history/conditioning/etc. has cemented that point of view in the hearts and minds of most Americans.
He does amaze me, as well, but I think someone else would have eventually derived his formulas and theories. I mean, Calculus was simultaneously derived/invented/discovered by at least two people, namely Newton and Leibniz. Had they not, someone else would have, sooner or later.
I say this not to take anything away from Einstein, because he was truly a genius. In fact, there have been very few individuals as influential and as damn smart as Einstein. Forget Paris Hilton, drool over Einie!
E=MC^2 is pretty simple to understand, though I'm not sure that's what they're referring to. All it says is that the energy (E) containted in any mass (M) is equal to the multiplication of the said mass by the speed of light, squared. Don't ask me to explain anything else, as I never went beyond Calculus BC.
Re:I know this isn't a book review, but...
on
100 Years of Einstein
·
· Score: 5, Informative
They also have the video programs on PBS, for free viewing.:)
Slashdot Mirror
It would only make sense. Imagine the embarrassment if they said they had a life of one year but died after nine months. Even given the harsh conditions, it's unimaginable that something that expensive and specialized could only last three months. An R/C car with solar panel and big batteries could probably do better! ;)
Sure, but the astronauts will know what to do ahead of time and will be relatively independent, with all experiments planned out ahead of time. New mission information can be transmitted while the astronauts sleep, so the delay doesn't raise its ugly head as much as with robotic missions, which rely on constant monitoring and direction from the Earth.
Our species is doomed to die, anyway. Perhaps it is better for other civilizations in the universe that we contain our "values" and "explorations" on this pile of crap we call Earth and not infect other worlds with our wisdom.
For one thing, humans can carry out many more experiments in much less time. Also, they travel in feet per second, not inches per minute. For another, there isn't a 20 minute delay in communications, and unless the human gets sick or dies, he/she does not run the risk of crashing his/her software/hardware and becoming a useless piece of $1 billion trash. And perhaps the most important is the notion that sending humans to such areas helps to ignite the flames of millions of people, including students, politicians, "funders," and so on.
Except cars on a tire in one year travel over MUCH MORE road and experience much more wear due to a lot of factors, so you can't compare them. Everything was made to last as long as possible and the proposed "lifetime" was only due to estimates regarding the diminishing of solar power due to dust collecting and blocking sunlight. However, friendly martians have been keeping it clean, thus the extended lifetime of the rovers.
So which one *is* real? Some guy says it can only be conferred when the previous person who was awarded dies, another says it's given away like candy. How many are given non-honorary awards annually?
According to WikiPedia:
The Order is limited to 100 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commanders, and 8960 Commanders. There are no limits on the total number of members of the fourth and fifth classes, but no more than 858 Officers and 1464 Members may be appointed per year.
I mean, have you seen some of the people who have been Knighted? Charleton Heston, Peter Falk, Bob Hope, etc. I can only think of a handful of people who truly deserve this, such as Tim Berners Lee, etc. It's as overrated and unfair (in the subjective sort of way) as the Nobel Prize, where politics, incredible bias, and so forth determine nominees and laureates, not pure merit.
It's about time for a replacement, but I hope the changes made - if the rumor is indeed true - are solid, needed ones rather than an artsy, candied gloss over the previous offering.
You're being unfair. You DON'T have to give your money to ANYONE or for ANY CAUSE, but when you decide to give millions for such causes, or a billion+ to fight diseases in certain other countries, well, I applaud that. You are the kind of person who can't be pleased, as your genes have modified themselves over the years on Slashdot to have a gag response to anything remotely related to Microsoft, even if what Gates, Allen, and others are doing should be celebrated, congratulated, and enjoyed.
WAIT? We don't have the time to WAIT. Nothing was ever accomplished by WAITING. You have to do what you can NOW and change with time, as it warrants.
Sorry, that Allen Telescope Array, not Alien.
None other than Paul Allen. Yep, of Microsoft fame. Boo, hiss, where are the groups of objectors now?
Not that I'm being a jerk about it, but it is only fair to note that without him, most of this would probably not be possible. Not only did he contribute millions to SETI, but also funded the Alien Telescope Array which the Slashdot blurb mentions.
I disagree. Had Russia not been invaded, Hitler might have "won."
There's still a large window when tracking 25 miles out, almost an hour. Are they doing this so "terrorists" do not "attack" with large boats? Bad waste of money.
I think you are mistaken. The "Hitler move" was invading Russia. That move is perhaps the worst in all of the 20th century, as it sealed his party's fate.
I didn't RTFA, but does this guarantee extend to all authorized retailers? Also, does this cover already manufactured models which are in stock as of today?
Is it possible the "benevolent" worm actually does damage covertly? Has this been investigated thoroughly?
...otherwise, I'd eat everything and everyone in the station!
;)
Mod me Funny...you know you want to...
Your professor was an anti-Semite. ;)
Just kidding, but scientists are very passionate about which theories they choose to believe. I can see someone disagreeing to that extent, even with established theories.
He's referring to the nuking of Japan, which was indeed our enemy. But do realize that most of the people who died were innocent, ordinary citizens, not military targets. Regardless, many people - myself included - believe that dropping of two nuclear bombs was not only unnecessary, but immoral, as well. Japan was almost dead militarily and no matter how hard one tries, one cannot justify the short term effects of 250,000+ dead innocent people - as well as the thousands more over the years. Some will argue that the bombs spared the lives of many American soldiers, but you're free to take whatever side you'd like, as history/conditioning/etc. has cemented that point of view in the hearts and minds of most Americans.
He does amaze me, as well, but I think someone else would have eventually derived his formulas and theories. I mean, Calculus was simultaneously derived/invented/discovered by at least two people, namely Newton and Leibniz. Had they not, someone else would have, sooner or later.
I say this not to take anything away from Einstein, because he was truly a genius. In fact, there have been very few individuals as influential and as damn smart as Einstein. Forget Paris Hilton, drool over Einie!
E=MC^2 is pretty simple to understand, though I'm not sure that's what they're referring to. All it says is that the energy (E) containted in any mass (M) is equal to the multiplication of the said mass by the speed of light, squared. Don't ask me to explain anything else, as I never went beyond Calculus BC.
They also have the video programs on PBS, for free viewing. :)
Einstein speaks!