Note that the entities prayed to were drawn from many religions, suggesting that the act of prayer is the important thing, not so much entity prayed to.
Well, I don't think that is a correct conclusion (from having read only your comment, not the article, I must say). I mean, if only the people praying to the right thing were helped, in the statistics all the prayers would benefit from it.
But we can PROVE that 2+2=4, you can't PROVE God exists.
Um, that wasn't really my point, it just happened to be a maths example. Mabye I should have talked about a tree standing, or not standing, outside my window. Only one of them is true, but to you they may both seem just as likely.
But also, not having the proof (for the mathematical statemet above, for example) does not make it any less true or false. The one who hasn't is in the same situation as the onw who is wondering wheter God or the potato guy is the one to go for.
Btw, _can_ you actually prove that 2+2=4? If you can, please do... I'll be waiting.;-)
explain how 'God' is different to 'The King of the Potato People'
Mabye in the way 2+2=4 is different from 2+2=3. I mean, for someone hasn't yet learnt to count, it's just a bunch of characters, but one of them is actually true while the other one is false.
Maybe not creating a market where ten people earn enough to buy a LearJet, but where tens of thousand earn enough to get a really nice car.
Hmm.. Some of those many people should get together for a LearJet instead. I mean, who wants to roll when you can fly?! Also, an even smaller, more agile, flying machine would perhaps be better. We're not in it for a gentle trip with grand ma, are we? Oh, sorry, off topic.
Interestingly, its corresponding crime rate is one of the lowest in the world--60 people imprisoned per 100,000, as compared to the United States' 690.
That's because we don't have any police. So the 60 out of 100000 is just the ones there was a general consensus in the crowd about should be hunted down and locked in. Not so bad.
but at the same time, where is the spirit NASA used to have?
Totally, brother! Erm.. I agree, I mean. It was a long time since man stepped on the Moon or built ever increasingly cool (and fast!) aircraft just for fun^H^H^Hscience. Why don't we all have our own rocket.. things... to fly in?! Combine the computer development we've seen the latest decades with what we could have had if the "hard" technology had continued to flourish and we would be living in a sci-fi novel. It seems. To bad I will have to arrange that new cold war to get them going. (Don't tell anyone. Oh, hi Slashdot!)
A memo written by unidentified government officials in Washington stated that Microsoft's complaints raise 'substantial concerns' about the way Microsoft is being treated
What, they take Microsoft's word for it just like that?!
While elitest, you fail to grasp what the grand parent was saying;
ISPs should be doing this anyway, to save on bandwidth.
Yes, I think I understood that. My point was that if they are going to deliver the mail anyway (as I would like them too) they aren't saving any bandwith.
Elitist.. well, whatever you say. It just happens that I think "Oh, they shouldn't be using a computer if they don't know how to fix this or that." when I hear of someone who has some problem with their computer. But I then realise that everyone is supposed to use a computer nowadays, whether they want it or not. It's kind of like it would be if everyone was forced to play their share of tunes on the violin every day, even if they couldn't. Not pleasant for them, and not for people around them either.
I'm surprised most ISPs wouldn't do this anyways. It's a considerable waste of bandwidth
I'd say the kind of spam filter I'd prefer does not delete any mails, just tags them so I easily can do any filtering I want with them. But oh, I forgot. You don't have to know how to use a computer to use a computer. That is, people could never be bothered with something like that.
...for the money, anyway? We do it because we like it, because we are of an inquisitive character who likes to learn and figure out how stuff (maths, physics, electronics, computers,...) works.
Everyone should just get a real job! *ducks* (I tend to say that about all things I like doing, since I consider it more fun than work and gladly do it for free.)
In a topological space you have a notion of a neighbourhood of a point
Eh.. I actually had to look up the definition of "neighbourhood", since I still thought it required a metric. I had forgotten about the more general definition (with open sets).
More general than 1st-countable spaces.
Ok, I thought we were already talking about a general topological space. I'm not very familiar with first-countable spaces (or, again, have forgotten).
Furthermore, that net thing seems neat. Gotta look into it. Thanks for your lecture.
In all topological spaces you have a sense of convergence of a sequence
I must admit I didn't know of any way to speak of convergence without the notion of a metric. How is that possible?
For even more general topological spaces you need the concept of a net
More general than what? And do you mean we need the "net" to replace the sequence? If you say so I'll believe you. However, one must still be able to define a sequence (a function from "the set of all natural numbers" to "the topological space in question"), since it doesn't really require much of the space, right?
Why not mention signal processing, that makes it possible to filter out unimportant data from sound so that iPods (and it's likes) can store more music and MP3 and Vorbis files (and their likes) doesn't can be as small as they are. See there, iPod is still mentioned, but not in a way that makes you think there was something special (mabye mechanically) about the construction of an iPod that the world never before had seen.
When seeing the iPod referenche, I at first thought there mabye was something cool with it, related to this maths work, that I didn't know about. It wasn't. Just a boring sound player.
Slashdot Mirror
But also, not having the proof (for the mathematical statemet above, for example) does not make it any less true or false. The one who hasn't is in the same situation as the onw who is wondering wheter God or the potato guy is the one to go for.
Btw, _can_ you actually prove that 2+2=4? If you can, please do... I'll be waiting.
You mean they are so many they would have to wait in a queue?
I agree with you on the Britain thing, but.. who said we all assumed America?!
What, they take Microsoft's word for it just like that?!
Finally!
Yeah, it's called "VoIP" I hear.
Ok, I will. Oups, gotta go. Incoming SPF! Gah, I'm no spam I'm tellin ya! Get off me!!!
Yes, I think I understood that. My point was that if they are going to deliver the mail anyway (as I would like them too) they aren't saving any bandwith.
Elitist.. well, whatever you say. It just happens that I think "Oh, they shouldn't be using a computer if they don't know how to fix this or that." when I hear of someone who has some problem with their computer. But I then realise that everyone is supposed to use a computer nowadays, whether they want it or not. It's kind of like it would be if everyone was forced to play their share of tunes on the violin every day, even if they couldn't. Not pleasant for them, and not for people around them either.
(-- this comment has not yet been proved to be non-spam and is therefore not visible to you --)
psst.. because people want to communicate sometimes also.
I'd say the kind of spam filter I'd prefer does not delete any mails, just tags them so I easily can do any filtering I want with them. But oh, I forgot. You don't have to know how to use a computer to use a computer. That is, people could never be bothered with something like that.
...for the money, anyway? We do it because we like it, because we are of an inquisitive character who likes to learn and figure out how stuff (maths, physics, electronics, computers, ...) works.
Everyone should just get a real job! *ducks* (I tend to say that about all things I like doing, since I consider it more fun than work and gladly do it for free.)
Which would then lead you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMS.
Isn't long cables to you elsewhere placed computer enough?
Ah, I see it now. Britney Spears music is the "negliable points" he assumed no one would care about.
Eh.. I actually had to look up the definition of "neighbourhood", since I still thought it required a metric. I had forgotten about the more general definition (with open sets).
More general than 1st-countable spaces.Ok, I thought we were already talking about a general topological space. I'm not very familiar with first-countable spaces (or, again, have forgotten).
Furthermore, that net thing seems neat. Gotta look into it. Thanks for your lecture.
This is interesting, please give us more!
In all topological spaces you have a sense of convergence of a sequenceI must admit I didn't know of any way to speak of convergence without the notion of a metric. How is that possible?
For even more general topological spaces you need the concept of a netMore general than what? And do you mean we need the "net" to replace the sequence? If you say so I'll believe you. However, one must still be able to define a sequence (a function from "the set of all natural numbers" to "the topological space in question"), since it doesn't really require much of the space, right?
(We need more maths on Slashdot!)
...IMHO.
Why not mention signal processing, that makes it possible to filter out unimportant data from sound so that iPods (and it's likes) can store more music and MP3 and Vorbis files (and their likes) doesn't can be as small as they are. See there, iPod is still mentioned, but not in a way that makes you think there was something special (mabye mechanically) about the construction of an iPod that the world never before had seen.
When seeing the iPod referenche, I at first thought there mabye was something cool with it, related to this maths work, that I didn't know about. It wasn't. Just a boring sound player.
...and I didn't even mean to be one. Bad moderator, bad moderator.