The Seattle Times has a good article on this although it should be taken as preliminary data subject to change.
To summarise
Due to airframe changes from previous models Boeing introduced MCAS which automatically lowers the nose when approaching a stall.
The MCAS was introduced to allow pilots with 737 experience to fly the 737 MAX with a minimal amount of conversion training thus saving airlines a lot of cost and making the MAX even more attractive to them.
As initially designed a failure of MCAS was classed as a "Major" hazard in that it could cause passenger discomfort but not death. This was because MCAS was limited to a very small change to the flight control surfaces. For this category the use of a single sensor is allowed assuming the sensor reliability is sufficient.
During the flight test phase the ability for MCAS was extended to unlimited repeat operations. These repeat operations have a cumulative effect on the flight control surfaces. The MCAS can now lead to a catastrophic failure.
At this point the category of hazard should have been changed. This should have lead to a design change but because the category remained at "Major" and not "Catastrophic" no further changes were made.
There could be any number of reasons why this categorisation change was missed, hopefully any future investigations will get to the root cause.
Think of a coordinate system with the three usual dimensions (x, y and z) and then one other dimension orthogonal to the other three, this extra dimension is time (t).
An object at rest describes a vector where x= y = z = 0 and t = c (the speed of light).
As an object moves the vector rotates to point in a new direction and therefore the resolution of the (now rotated) vector on the t dimension is smaller than when the object was at rest. Therefore as the object moves time passes more slowly for the object. When the object moves at speed c, time stops for the object.
I leave it for others to translate this model to a gravitational field (it's been too long and I've forgotten).
I'm replying as someone who had a vasectomy and then had it reversed.
The problem with vasectomies is that they should be considered permanent because the reversal is not guaranteed and, you know, things change, you may end up regretting that decision.
Also there are other complications, in my case the Post-Vasectomy-Pain (PVP) was quite unbearable and induced a lot of nausea.
That's why vasectomies are not like "normal" contraception.
Oh I remember them! Do you recall the way the display went all weird when it was doing the calculation?
I also remeber my physics teacher extolling the virues of Sinclair calculators, the man being "they've done more for mental arithmetic than anything else".
When I did my engineering degree the university forced me to do a series of modules on something they called "sociology of engineering" or something similar. That was back in 1979. It was a complete waste of time.
You obviously do not work in IT if you expect the computers to do much better.
That's correct, I'm an engineer in the aviation industry.
None of that even starts to discuss proper maintenance, cleaning the sensors, weather, other bad drivers,...
I could list all the factors that affect human drivers but that would just turn this into a pissing content for who's worst at driving. However, it's likely that other bad drivers will only be a temporary problem but a significant problem at that. I think it will be harder for self-driving cars to interact safely with human drivers than it will be to interact with other self-driving cars.
As a motorbike rider I wonder what that will mean for us, would a self-driving motorbike even be desirable?
This fetish of self driving cars is getting pretty sick. Sure in 30 years it will probably be much better, but the people who want and demand it tomorrow are nuts. And should be called out on their unreal expectations.
I don't know if I'd characterize it as sick but there certainly are concerns. I don't think self-driving cars are ready now but they do have the potential to be much safer than humans and I'm glad someone is pushing this particular technology; the payoff is thousands of lives saved, it's got to be worth a punt.
That's not what I'm focussing on. My assertion is based on the many cognitive errors the human brain makes especially (but not only) those involving vision and memory.
I've always thought that the use of time zones was a bit of an anachronism. Pick a longitude; the international date line is as good a place as any, and that sets the time and date for everyone on the planet.
So you end up going to work at 22:00 and return at 08:00 and it's all in the daylight, so what , these are just numbers. Travel planning will be simplified and so will arranging meetings where people join on-line from different time zones.
Oh and I forgot to say that this website is very useful, I've used it quite a lot and it explains the source of the apostrophe confusion, and it's by an American! (I think)
What I meant (and probably didn't make very clear, sorry) was that I hear these things spoken by people in the UK by the English. It's coming more common but I didn't realise it was Southern (American) English, thanks for that.
If English is to stand a chance of remaining a useful language it has to change so we shouldn't be too bothered about it. When I hear my children speak they have a UK accent but what they say and how they say it sounds American.
Generally I'm ok with it but I still struggle with what I perceive to be the loss of the adverb in favour of the adjective; I hear "that was real hard" instead of "that was really hard" and "do it quick" instead of "do it quickly".
Other things jarring to my UK ears are saying "momentarily" instead of "in a moment" which have two different meanings and the word "irregardless" when "regardless" is what is meant.
We have a lot of technical reports at work and I see many abuses of the English language by native speakers, the most common are not knowing how to use apostrophes (or should I say apostrophe's) and a liberal use of capital letters to begin words that are not at the beginning of a sentence and not a proper noun but are just plain old common-or-garden nouns.
By the way, you can also upgrade like this from shell if that is what you prefer:
$ sudo dnf system-upgrade download --releasever=27
$ sudo dnf system-upgrade reboot
This is my preferred method, you do have to install dnf-plugin-system-upgrade first though. The process is described here.
I'm relatively new to fedora, jumping on board at version 25 but I have been pleasantly surprised at how easy the last to distro upgrades have been.
Slashdot Mirror
The Seattle Times has a good article on this although it should be taken as preliminary data subject to change.
To summarise
Due to airframe changes from previous models Boeing introduced MCAS which automatically lowers the nose when approaching a stall.
The MCAS was introduced to allow pilots with 737 experience to fly the 737 MAX with a minimal amount of conversion training thus saving airlines a lot of cost and making the MAX even more attractive to them.
As initially designed a failure of MCAS was classed as a "Major" hazard in that it could cause passenger discomfort but not death. This was because MCAS was limited to a very small change to the flight control surfaces. For this category the use of a single sensor is allowed assuming the sensor reliability is sufficient.
During the flight test phase the ability for MCAS was extended to unlimited repeat operations. These repeat operations have a cumulative effect on the flight control surfaces. The MCAS can now lead to a catastrophic failure.
At this point the category of hazard should have been changed. This should have lead to a design change but because the category remained at "Major" and not "Catastrophic" no further changes were made.
There could be any number of reasons why this categorisation change was missed, hopefully any future investigations will get to the root cause.
Do you think you are unique?
Now I know where Roddenbery got some of his ideas.
Think of a coordinate system with the three usual dimensions (x, y and z) and then one other dimension orthogonal to the other three, this extra dimension is time (t).
An object at rest describes a vector where x= y = z = 0 and t = c (the speed of light).
As an object moves the vector rotates to point in a new direction and therefore the resolution of the (now rotated) vector on the t dimension is smaller than when the object was at rest. Therefore as the object moves time passes more slowly for the object. When the object moves at speed c, time stops for the object.
I leave it for others to translate this model to a gravitational field (it's been too long and I've forgotten).
this is where you try out for the Morcambe and Wise show
You can't see the join!
The problem with vasectomies is that they should be considered permanent because the reversal is not guaranteed and, you know, things change, you may end up regretting that decision.
Also there are other complications, in my case the Post-Vasectomy-Pain (PVP) was quite unbearable and induced a lot of nausea.
That's why vasectomies are not like "normal" contraception.
Ahhh, a sort of "with my brains and your blood we'll win this war" statement.
SHELLOIL
Oh I remember them! Do you recall the way the display went all weird when it was doing the calculation?
I also remeber my physics teacher extolling the virues of Sinclair calculators, the man being "they've done more for mental arithmetic than anything else".
Ha, not only did we not have a computer we didn't have a phone!
When I did my engineering degree the university forced me to do a series of modules on something they called "sociology of engineering" or something similar. That was back in 1979. It was a complete waste of time.
That's correct, I'm an engineer in the aviation industry.
I could list all the factors that affect human drivers but that would just turn this into a pissing content for who's worst at driving. However, it's likely that other bad drivers will only be a temporary problem but a significant problem at that. I think it will be harder for self-driving cars to interact safely with human drivers than it will be to interact with other self-driving cars.
As a motorbike rider I wonder what that will mean for us, would a self-driving motorbike even be desirable?
I don't know if I'd characterize it as sick but there certainly are concerns. I don't think self-driving cars are ready now but they do have the potential to be much safer than humans and I'm glad someone is pushing this particular technology; the payoff is thousands of lives saved, it's got to be worth a punt.
That's not what I'm focussing on. My assertion is based on the many cognitive errors the human brain makes especially (but not only) those involving vision and memory.
People, in general, have never been good drivers.
The Merseyside Skeptics have a nice report on this sort of conference. Sounds very similar.
... New Silicon Chip-Based Quantum Computer Fails Major Test
I've always thought that the use of time zones was a bit of an anachronism. Pick a longitude; the international date line is as good a place as any, and that sets the time and date for everyone on the planet.
So you end up going to work at 22:00 and return at 08:00 and it's all in the daylight, so what , these are just numbers. Travel planning will be simplified and so will arranging meetings where people join on-line from different time zones.
GREAT! SUPER!
He got better!
Question asked:
Slashdot headline:
Are we afraid of the word "failure" now?
Oh and I forgot to say that this website is very useful, I've used it quite a lot and it explains the source of the apostrophe confusion, and it's by an American! (I think)
What I meant (and probably didn't make very clear, sorry) was that I hear these things spoken by people in the UK by the English. It's coming more common but I didn't realise it was Southern (American) English, thanks for that.
In that case stop filling your cars with gas.
If English is to stand a chance of remaining a useful language it has to change so we shouldn't be too bothered about it. When I hear my children speak they have a UK accent but what they say and how they say it sounds American.
Generally I'm ok with it but I still struggle with what I perceive to be the loss of the adverb in favour of the adjective; I hear "that was real hard" instead of "that was really hard" and "do it quick" instead of "do it quickly".
Other things jarring to my UK ears are saying "momentarily" instead of "in a moment" which have two different meanings and the word "irregardless" when "regardless" is what is meant.
We have a lot of technical reports at work and I see many abuses of the English language by native speakers, the most common are not knowing how to use apostrophes (or should I say apostrophe's) and a liberal use of capital letters to begin words that are not at the beginning of a sentence and not a proper noun but are just plain old common-or-garden nouns.
This is my preferred method, you do have to install dnf-plugin-system-upgrade first though. The process is described here.
I'm relatively new to fedora, jumping on board at version 25 but I have been pleasantly surprised at how easy the last to distro upgrades have been.