but perhaps not useful in the evolutionary sense of getting more offspring earlier.
That said, one has to wonder how important it could be, in an evolutionary sense, to have early offspring, taking into account life expectancy and health.
Having children as soon as biologically possible, or in any case by age 20, is pretty much a given when life expectancy is 40. When you're looking at reaching 80 in pretty good health (and maybe even older for today's young) there's no such drive anymore. It does show in the industrialized world where parenthood happens more and more at a later age. Now that is a sociological consideration, but I wonder how it fits in terms of species evolution.
They are the people who investigate murders and give out speeding tickets on national highways. In other words, it's the police force, it just happens to be set up a bit like an army. (By memory, it's responsible to the interior minister, to counterbalance the power of the defence minister in the case of a coup, but I could be imagining that bit..)
Not quite, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread.
They do indeed have the same attributions as the Police Nationale (as you said, crime investigation, highway patrol...) with a different geographical jurisdiction. Mostly. There is some overlap -- in medium-sized cities one could find both ; highway patrol is also covered by the Compagnie Républicaine de Sécurité (CRS, which usually does crowd control), which is part of the Police.
However, the Gendarmerie is not just set up like an army, it is part of the army, under the ministry of Defence -- whereas the Police (and CRS) is a purely civilian force under the ministry of Interior. The Gendarmerie also serves as MP in the US sense.
Just to clarify -- I always understood the "Secret Service" to be the personal, close guard of the US President (so it's a bit of a misnomer).
The DGSE (or whatever it's called these days), or Direction Générale des Services Extérieurs, would be the equivalent of the CIA : intelligence gathering and covert action abroad.
If there is a functional equivalent to the Secret Service, we would be the last to know, of course.
Granted, those aren't gaming-oriented cards by any definition, but they're real workhorses.
Damn reliable too, I'm still using a Millenium II which must be close to 10 years old -- never glitched, through at least 4 computers and as many OSes.
But putting people in space is expensive, dangerous, and also futile, as it takes far too long to actually go anywhere at present.
Expensive and dangerous, sure. Still, there's a bunch of people (starting with some who post here) who'd go, given a chance.
Futile ? Certainly not. Besides the positive psychological impact of reopening the "new frontier", there's a lot to do and a lot to learn -- as it's been said elsewhere in this thread, in physics, metallurgy, and science in general ; energy ; assembly and building, self-contained environments creation and maintenance (incl. complete recycling), etc... Things that would make a difference back on the ground.
As for being to slow to go anywhere, all of it could (and at this point in time, *should*) be done in close vicinity -- orbitals (I'm talking O'Neill structures here, not ISS-type tin cans) and a moon base would be more than enough for now.
I'm not the biggest fan of the EU but it is still better than the old fragmented Europe of feuding nation states.
Hear, hear. Finally some perspective.
We may not like the way the EU is shaping up right now, but it's far better than what we had only 50 years ago (and for the previous 1000 years).
Besides, be that SW patents or any other issue that comes up... we stand a better chance of influencing the decision within the current structures of the EU, than scrap it all and try each in our own little corner.
Then we're left with the task of reshaping the structures themselves into something even more transparent and democratic, but that's a different issue.
We'll have a population explosion - how will we support this population?
We can't, under the current way of life. Some things will have to change ; mass consumption (and its corollary, mass production and industry) will have to go, among other things. Which might not necessarily be a problem in terms of comfort, if we do achieve breakthroughs in other technologies (nanotech, replicator-style, food production, etc.)
Living to be a 1,000 years old will make us complacent
On the other hand, living longer might help us see things and act in long-term perspectives.
It opens other doorways as well, which can't be seriously thought of now. Going to other stars, for instance : spending 25 years in transit at a decent fraction of c isn't a big deal when you live 1000, and it's certainly a better incentive than multi-generational ships.
Look at UI design. Is there a better way? Yes , but what is it. Would it be possible to build a computer that was based around speech instead of Vision.
It would certainly be possible, but not necessarily advisable. There are reasons why the voice interface hasn't taken off, and it's not only the quality of voice recognition.
For starters, *we* spend a lot more computing power (brain cells) on vision than most other senses. We are intrinsically visual creatures ; the amount of information we squeeze into visuals can't be equalled, I believe. I suspect that even if we managed direct brain interface, we'd still tap the visual cortex first.
On top of that, voice has the drawback of being, well, noisy. I wouldn't want my roommate to know what I'm telling my computer, even if it's innocuous. It's a matter of principle. It would be even worse in an office setup.
Finally there's random and parasitic noise. We'd need perfect voice recognition, which even we humans sometimes fail to achieve. Anyone who worked in an airport or a call center will know what I mean. (While on the subject of call centers, you'd be talking to the computer and the customer at the same time, likely to confuse both of them to no end, and the customer is already confused to start with.)
Voice has its place, as a niche. Mostly for people with visual impairment, or required hands-off computing under tightly controlled circumstances. But for the majority, the visual interface is here to stay for a very, very long time.
That said, there is probably room for improvement on that side as well.
Re:In other news... Bush declares war on..
on
Cray XT-3 Ships
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· Score: 0
So... who's growing the food for this nation of Java programmers?
In today's world, that would be a handful of corporations (or sometimes, individuals still) with a heavy reliance on technology, mechanical farm equipment and, increasingly, GMOs. Whether *that* is a good thing is another question entirely.
I don't understand your remark that a nation full of Java programmers results in better well being... Could you explain it?
The way I understand the PP is that the well-being of larger numbers is better achieved with a nation of middle-class Java developers, than with a highly-paid elite of C hackers out of 250M almost-starving farmers.
This, of course, assumes that there is a middle class left, but that's a debate for another forum.
I'm quite happy with my 16-year-old Citroen CX - it's just had a whole load of work done and drives like the day it was new.
Now I envy you. A CX, damn. I keep dreaming of having one, or a DS.
It's simple to work on (the hydraulic systems aren't as scary as people seem to think)
We'll have to get in touch... There's a BX waiting for me at my folks' (I'm out of the country atm) with a failing, leaking hydraulic circuit (master sphere, or something) -- the rest of the car is in pretty good shape. I'd be interested in knowing more about hydraulic maintenance and be able to fix it myself : the expense of having someone else fix it would be higher than the current value of the beast.
The parent poster was referring to a gravity well, not claiming we should live in a gravity-free environment.
The Earth being an important gravity well, Mars being 1/3 as deep a well, and the Moon at 1/6 would be a puddle.
An orbital colony allows any desired gravity for comfort, without the well.
</nitpick>
That said, regarding your 2nd point : for the little actual building in orbit we've attempted, my belief is that it's too soon to say.
As for point 3, I agree. We'll eventually manage to use space-borne resources, but that'll only be once we have the needed infrastructure in place. Until then, we'll have to haul up a lot of stuff.
Which brings us back to the perspective of a space elevator.
Whoever the author of this text actually is, he does have a point. I never thought of it that way, nor read anything about it, but once read it sounds right.
nudicle: The interesting thing about the society in High Castle was that it flowed from the idea that the other guys had won WWII. A street marketplace with asian stuff doesn't evoke that to me.
The "other guys" were the nazi's Reich, and the Japanese. In that regard it's consistent. Even more when you consider the setting, the former US being divided east/west between them. And what's the opening scene in Blade Runner ? "Los Angeles, november 2019". That would place it straight under High Castle's Japanese influence.
And of course, the High Castle is the Tyrell pyramid (taller than its surrondings) and the Man is Tyrell himself, knowing the truth about their real condition.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually it sounds more like David Brin's Earth.
That said, one has to wonder how important it could be, in an evolutionary sense, to have early offspring, taking into account life expectancy and health.
Having children as soon as biologically possible, or in any case by age 20, is pretty much a given when life expectancy is 40. When you're looking at reaching 80 in pretty good health (and maybe even older for today's young) there's no such drive anymore. It does show in the industrialized world where parenthood happens more and more at a later age. Now that is a sociological consideration, but I wonder how it fits in terms of species evolution.
Not quite, as mentioned elsewhere in this thread.
They do indeed have the same attributions as the Police Nationale (as you said, crime investigation, highway patrol...) with a different geographical jurisdiction. Mostly. There is some overlap -- in medium-sized cities one could find both ; highway patrol is also covered by the Compagnie Républicaine de Sécurité (CRS, which usually does crowd control), which is part of the Police.
However, the Gendarmerie is not just set up like an army, it is part of the army, under the ministry of Defence -- whereas the Police (and CRS) is a purely civilian force under the ministry of Interior. The Gendarmerie also serves as MP in the US sense.
That would be Émilie du Châtelet.
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophe
Just to clarify -- I always understood the "Secret Service" to be the personal, close guard of the US President (so it's a bit of a misnomer).
The DGSE (or whatever it's called these days), or Direction Générale des Services Extérieurs, would be the equivalent of the CIA : intelligence gathering and covert action abroad.
If there is a functional equivalent to the Secret Service, we would be the last to know, of course.
Considering a law to tax politicians would have to be passed by same politicians, fat chance of *that* happening.
Too bad, though, it sounds like a good idea...
One word: Matrox.
Granted, those aren't gaming-oriented cards by any definition, but they're real workhorses.
Damn reliable too, I'm still using a Millenium II which must be close to 10 years old -- never glitched, through at least 4 computers and as many OSes.
Futile ? Certainly not. Besides the positive psychological impact of reopening the "new frontier", there's a lot to do and a lot to learn -- as it's been said elsewhere in this thread, in physics, metallurgy, and science in general ; energy ; assembly and building, self-contained environments creation and maintenance (incl. complete recycling), etc... Things that would make a difference back on the ground.
As for being to slow to go anywhere, all of it could (and at this point in time, *should*) be done in close vicinity -- orbitals (I'm talking O'Neill structures here, not ISS-type tin cans) and a moon base would be more than enough for now.
Huh?
Can someone explain to me the logic of being allowed to have sex at sixteen, but not to see it until two years later ?
What is a couple of sixteen-year olds to do ? Never fsck in daylight, and always switch the light off?
It's been said above, but these laws are utterly wrong. Legislation should never replace parenting.
Hear, hear. Finally some perspective.
We may not like the way the EU is shaping up right now, but it's far better than what we had only 50 years ago (and for the previous 1000 years).
Besides, be that SW patents or any other issue that comes up... we stand a better chance of influencing the decision within the current structures of the EU, than scrap it all and try each in our own little corner.
Then we're left with the task of reshaping the structures themselves into something even more transparent and democratic, but that's a different issue.
You're kidding, but for instance Skodas (now part of Volkswagen) are nowadays high-end cars...
*cough* Scanners *cough*
We can't, under the current way of life. Some things will have to change ; mass consumption (and its corollary, mass production and industry) will have to go, among other things. Which might not necessarily be a problem in terms of comfort, if we do achieve breakthroughs in other technologies (nanotech, replicator-style, food production, etc.)
Living to be a 1,000 years old will make us complacent
On the other hand, living longer might help us see things and act in long-term perspectives.
It opens other doorways as well, which can't be seriously thought of now. Going to other stars, for instance : spending 25 years in transit at a decent fraction of c isn't a big deal when you live 1000, and it's certainly a better incentive than multi-generational ships.
For starters, *we* spend a lot more computing power (brain cells) on vision than most other senses. We are intrinsically visual creatures ; the amount of information we squeeze into visuals can't be equalled, I believe. I suspect that even if we managed direct brain interface, we'd still tap the visual cortex first.
On top of that, voice has the drawback of being, well, noisy. I wouldn't want my roommate to know what I'm telling my computer, even if it's innocuous. It's a matter of principle. It would be even worse in an office setup.
Finally there's random and parasitic noise. We'd need perfect voice recognition, which even we humans sometimes fail to achieve. Anyone who worked in an airport or a call center will know what I mean. (While on the subject of call centers, you'd be talking to the computer and the customer at the same time, likely to confuse both of them to no end, and the customer is already confused to start with.)
Voice has its place, as a niche. Mostly for people with visual impairment, or required hands-off computing under tightly controlled circumstances. But for the majority, the visual interface is here to stay for a very, very long time.
That said, there is probably room for improvement on that side as well.
Bush doesn't even know what a division is.
This, of course, assumes that there is a middle class left, but that's a debate for another forum.
http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/SIC/impact_cratering/Ch icxulub/Discovering_crater.html
The parent poster was referring to a gravity well, not claiming we should live in a gravity-free environment.
The Earth being an important gravity well, Mars being 1/3 as deep a well, and the Moon at 1/6 would be a puddle.
An orbital colony allows any desired gravity for comfort, without the well.
</nitpick>
That said, regarding your 2nd point : for the little actual building in orbit we've attempted, my belief is that it's too soon to say.
As for point 3, I agree. We'll eventually manage to use space-borne resources, but that'll only be once we have the needed infrastructure in place. Until then, we'll have to haul up a lot of stuff.
Which brings us back to the perspective of a space elevator.
(Yes, I got the sarcasm, but the GP has a point. It's quite an achievement, really)
nudicle: The interesting thing about the society in High Castle was that it flowed from the idea that the other guys had won WWII. A street marketplace with asian stuff doesn't evoke that to me.
The "other guys" were the nazi's Reich, and the Japanese. In that regard it's consistent. Even more when you consider the setting, the former US being divided east/west between them. And what's the opening scene in Blade Runner ? "Los Angeles, november 2019". That would place it straight under High Castle's Japanese influence.
And of course, the High Castle is the Tyrell pyramid (taller than its surrondings) and the Man is Tyrell himself, knowing the truth about their real condition.
Makes perfect sense.