"The Justice Department is trying to save children before they turn into hackers." is how the article begins. First of all, do they seriously think they can 'save' people who will become hackers? The people who later become hackers are usually the most intelligent people in their age group, and they are least likely to be affected by the advertising the DOJ is trying to put up.
Secondly, you have to consider the fact that people like this were the ones who built the Internet... Not the ones who destroy computer systems, but people who have the immense knowlege/skill that is needed. The only way they can discourage hacking effectively, is to discourage all forms of advanced computer learning, and if the campign suceeds, they will find that the shortage of high-tech workers will increase. But they will also find that the people that do hold high-tech jobs are not ones who are dedicated and love the work, but rather trainees of local technical college's who went into the computer industry because they heard it was full of 'oppurtunity'.
Telling 10 year-olds that hacking is bad won't make a differnce, for if anyone reads the newspaper of watches TV, they already know.
What are humans, then? If these people took fast computer, gave them a specialized program, and called it intelligence, then why aren't human brains simply advanced computers. Ones that have evolved for thousands of year...
What these people have done, is not create a form of intelligence, as they claim, but rather simply use a computer for what is what meant to be. These computer(s) were given a set of criteria, and a goal to complete, as the article says. This means that the computer was told what the bridge was supposed to look like, and what it could be built out of... It was a simple physical simulation, and unless they were using 286s, for the whole thing to take a day and a half, means that the computer simply tried the lego blocks in every position possible. It then simply chose the one that was most effective...
I once saw a program called "Interactive Physics" in which you would set up a situation, and the computer would immediatly and accurately simulate the situation for you; this ran even on a 100mhz Macintosh. This 'intelligence' is nothing more than a constant random generation of scenarios, and then input of this scenario into a physical simulation. Its not intelligence, its computing. --
"The more you know, the more you realize how little you know."
With this attitude, Linux will never succeed
on
CNN Installs Linux
·
· Score: 1
As I read the comments posted here, I get the general feeling that you all think the guy is a total moron. If this is the classification that all people who can't install Linux sucessfully(which this guy managed) get, then Linux will never succeed. Most people could care less if Linux is open source, or whether kernel modules can be loaded dynamically, or even about stability. They want the product to work out of the box, and once its installed, they want it to be easy to use. If all you can tell these people is RTFM, then Linux will simply remain an OS for the elite computer users of the world.
Secondly, people can be intelligent, and yet be ignorant in computing at the same time. Installing Linux, and using it successfully, versus using Windows/MacOS, is the same as writing essays in college, versus writing a novel. It is a big step, and the vast majority of the population can't do it. Even though most of you, like me, know how to compile modules that allow for SCSI emulation, you have to be open to that fact that an entire world exists outside of computing, and that there are people that dominate those other parts, like we dominate the world of computing. It is our job to make it simpler for the rest of them. This is the only way Linux will become widespread among the general population.
Slashdot Mirror
Secondly, you have to consider the fact that people like this were the ones who built the Internet... Not the ones who destroy computer systems, but people who have the immense knowlege/skill that is needed. The only way they can discourage hacking effectively, is to discourage all forms of advanced computer learning, and if the campign suceeds, they will find that the shortage of high-tech workers will increase. But they will also find that the people that do hold high-tech jobs are not ones who are dedicated and love the work, but rather trainees of local technical college's who went into the computer industry because they heard it was full of 'oppurtunity'.
Telling 10 year-olds that hacking is bad won't make a differnce, for if anyone reads the newspaper of watches TV, they already know.
What are humans, then? If these people took fast computer, gave them a specialized program, and called it intelligence, then why aren't human brains simply advanced computers. Ones that have evolved for thousands of year...
I once saw a program called "Interactive Physics" in which you would set up a situation, and the computer would immediatly and accurately simulate the situation for you; this ran even on a 100mhz Macintosh. This 'intelligence' is nothing more than a constant random generation of scenarios, and then input of this scenario into a physical simulation. Its not intelligence, its computing.
--
"The more you know, the more you realize how little you know."
Secondly, people can be intelligent, and yet be ignorant in computing at the same time. Installing Linux, and using it successfully, versus using Windows/MacOS, is the same as writing essays in college, versus writing a novel. It is a big step, and the vast majority of the population can't do it. Even though most of you, like me, know how to compile modules that allow for SCSI emulation, you have to be open to that fact that an entire world exists outside of computing, and that there are people that dominate those other parts, like we dominate the world of computing. It is our job to make it simpler for the rest of them. This is the only way Linux will become widespread among the general population.