The problem is with the statement "Just because people associate a word with something other than its meaning...". What people associate a word with is the meaning, it can't be "something other than its meaning".
Perhaps I was careless in my choice of words, my utmost apologies.
"Just because some people associate a word with a different meaning to the one that was intended..."
Much in the way that I described, language is about conveying "meaning" they conveyed a meaning, subtly (and cleverly), to those who understand the words definition(s).
The word rendition, actually has the following meanings:
# a performance of a musical composition or a dramatic role etc.; "they heard a live rendition of three pieces by Schubert"
# interpretation: an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious; "the edict was subject to many interpretations"; "he annoyed us with his interpreting of parables"; "often imitations are extended to provide a more accurate rendition of the child's intended meaning"
# the act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance; "her rendition of Milton's verse was extraordinarily moving"
Of course it's since been corrupted somewhat and now conjures up different thoughts, (as detailed in the link)... however when performing, I will still refer to it as a "rendition".
Therefore, when I say I performed a "rendition", it will mean something different than when a Government Security Service uses the same words.
The (primary) meaning of Illuminati: 1. People claiming to be unusually enlightened with regard to a subject.
Just because people associate a word with something other than its meaning doesn't mean we should stop using the word. In this instance, I think it's quite a clever piece of word-play.
OMG!!! The Black hole will eat the world!!! /me Removes his paranoia hat
Actually, what interests me regarding the LHC project is whether the Micro-Black-Holes that will possibly be created still hold true to the effects of Gravitational Time Dilation when in close proximity to the singularity?
Anyone a Theoretical/Particle Physicist? Can you elaborate if so?
2. That people will continue to argue whether Linux is superior to Windows (and vicea versa) on an ideological basis and continue to ignore individual situations/circumstances where their opposing OS would make a better choice.
3. That people will still buy (or not buy) Mac's based on a fashion over function idea (despite the fact the actual Mac offering isn't too bad functionally).
4. That people will make a bunch of random predictions, and several of these will pan out as predicted, and the people will say "Oh Wow!!!", (and then post the original predictions to Slashdot).
One thing that is great about science is that it does have a way of eventually finding errors and correcting them in the face of new evidence.
As opposed to Politics, where if you're proven wrong you just need to argue your point HARDER!;) Oh, and also try to trash your opponents reputation with some irrellevant nuance.
There is of course VERY simple solution - make sure your Professors/Academic Council don't really understand what you're doing... and don't release the "brilliant" parts of your solution(s).
Lets say you've come up with a brilliant way to perform Inventory/Order Management within an Information System... don't document the entire thing, put enough information in so they can see that it can (potentially) work, but the devil is (of course) in the detail... I did this one time when I didn't trust the person running the subject I was studying at the time (the individual also OBVIOUSLY didn't know his subject material and, in my opinion, had the ethical stance of a rat).
In any case, if your invention is innovative/worthwhile, you'll get to negotiate an agreement with the University should you continue developing it... remember though, give a VAGUE overview of the concept, and don't detail how it can be implemented to perform the function that you invisage it being used for UNTIL YOU'VE GOT THE SIGNED AGREEMENT/CONTRACT!!!
Think of what happened if you exchanged the military and the science budget!
The USA could become a country of geniuses with a very successful economy and education in 10-20 years.
Umm, not all Scientists live in the USA, mate.;)
(Case in point - Neither Amenacier or myself live in the U.S.) You could probably substitute "Sports Budget" for Military Budget in your example when residing in our Country, and it would be (more or less) the equivilent.
Oops... that was meant to be "I'm a nice Man, Really!:)"
As I said though, I haven't used my Dutch in quite awhile now, and was only semi-fluent at my best.
Ben jij een Nederlander? Belgie?
Of a very well built piece of software (after they fixed the lack of caching) that did nothing new or interesting, aside from let some University Conveners try and impress the female students in their subject.
It looked to me like someone at Google wanted to create a 3D graphically-enhanced version of IRC, isn't that what IMVU already did? I mean jeez, WoW players were doing that (in addition to maintaining their virginity) WAY back...
I dont know a fucking thing about how to design an embedded software application, but I'm a computer guy. I dont know how to program for mainframes, but I'm a computer guy. I dont know (but I'm trying to learn) graphics programming, but I'm a computer guy. Should I, a "computer guy" know about all these topics in great detail?
From your website, it seems that you're a Digital Photography/Multimedia/Web guy. To those outside your field, they may refer to you as a "Computer Guy" because you work with Computers? To correct the confusion (if it annoys you)... why not simply tell them what you are?
I DO know how to design an embedded software application, and how to program for (a few types of) mainframes, and (some) graphics programming... however most people I meet think I'm a Barrista and/or Chef, and that's fine too, I don't get upset about it... that's just something else I do, and I'm happy for people to think that.
Being a wise-ass know-it-all will just get you nowhere in life.
Generally it means that people who need your knowledge and wise-ass-ness will ask for it, or appreciate you offering your assistance when required. There's a difference between saying "I'm the Smartest Person on Slashdot" and saying "This is what I think" or "This is how that (whatever thing) works".
I remember in online games, if everyone else looks like they're lagged, it's really you that has the problem. Perhaps, when everyone else looks like an idiot... well, you know.
Well, damn, that's just the most BRILLIANT analogy, by someone who's understanding of the world is (seemingly) based off an MMO, amazing!!!/sarcasm>
Just a quick question for you - based on the logic that you've just used, should I believe that the Earth is flat?
Let's see. You'll get a CS degree but don't feel like writing code for a living. That's a tough one.
Not really, there are elements of Algorithmic Design and Analysis in most Technology based positions, however it doesn't mean you have to be a programmer for your entire career - I found as time went on I spent less and less time infront of an IDE and more time infront of Word and/or Visio.
Are you a "people" person? All those introverted geeks need to talk to each other, make decisions and agree on stuff. Something that they (on average) do very poorly. You would have a career in product marketing, since you understand the geeks and can talk to them.
Most Geeks I've worked with (the talented ones anyway) aren't introverted, they just aren't engaged by "normal" people, mainly because "normal" people are stupid, or at least unwilling to learn, even when you try to break whatever concept you're talking about down for them.
I once had a brilliant young geek (he was 14 at the time) come into my Cafe, he was socially ostracized by his peers and his School Councillors had told his parents they thought he had Aspergers Syndrome, I spent time with him, talked to him, showed him some cool stuff he could do with computers and got him enrolled in a CCNA program. Since that time he's changed schools (from public to private), and is now one of, if not the most popular guy in his year, unfortunately I don't see him much anymore (due to his now busy social life), but it just shows if you're surrounded by people who don't (and can't, due to their innate stupidity/ignorance) understand you, anyone can feel like there's something "wrong" with them.
Alot of the "Geeks" (and I take that label to mean "A brilliant and curious person") I talk to say the same thing "I'm Different", my comment to them is "Yes, but AWESOME is different."
To the original Poster, I'd say if you want to avoid programming, get a SysAdmin job to start, do that for a few years (you will have to do SOME level of programming/scripting as a general rule), and then move on to Technical/Systems Architecture. Someone else suggested Bioinformatics/Computational Biology type work, but that tends to involve alot of coding for simulation purposes.
Who cares who she is? The paper she's credited with writing is by no means revolutionary...
Here's a couple of easy tips to help maintain a minor level of privacy while browsing:
- Disable Third-Party cookies (Option under "privacy" tab under Firefox versions >3.0).
- Add entries to your local hosts file fudging the DNS of known "WebSpy", sorry, I mean "WebAnalytics" domains.
My current hosts file contains entries similar to the following (but a few more than I list here):
--- Hosts File Example ---
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 www.google-analytics.com
127.0.0.1 google-analytics.com
127.0.0.1 ths.news.com.au
127.0.0.1 adsfac.net --- End Hosts File Example ---
Host File Locations:
Windows - %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Most Unixes -/etc/hosts
Mac OS X -/etc/hosts
The reason for utilizing the hosts file is to prevent such things as uniquely-generated transparent images (GIFs for instance) being used as inserts in pages to track your browsing in the advent you disable cookies, just add new domains/hosts to the file as you find them.
In any case, the point is more or less moot, you can minimize your privacy issues, but as any good security professional knows, where there's a will there's a way... and you can be tracked in a number of ways, understanding of how HTTP, DNS and other transfer protocols (also lower-level protocol layers) work will help you minimize your exposure though... if you're concerned, read up on the OSI/ISO network model and how IP and TCP work.
I'm surprised I hadn't heard about Dijskstra's telescope analogy before. People (especially family) assume that computer science means "fixing computers" and "making websites for their dog". I've been looking for a good way to explain what CS really entails.
Glad to have shown you something new... Here's something I was writing up and never finished (like most ideas that pop into my head momentarily, before something else takes my attention away), it may help you explain what "Computer-Science" is:
Computer Science - Science of all disciplines?
Recently I had the opportunity to explain what "Computer Science" is to some people who were studying in the field of Genetics.
My (almost) profound statement was "I'm a Computer Scientist, I have to understand how a process works so that I can create technology to perform the same function".
This caused a certain amount of self-realization as I then pondered my career... my first job had been a Systems Technictian/Programmer, where I wrote software for a simulator that was used to train Power-Plant operators, which meant I had to learn about power generation and many other concepts (thermodynamics etc etc...). Since then I've had many (probably too many) different roles in a number of different fields, the one thing that was consistant with all of them was the fact I had to learn and understand what my employer did, and wanted to do, to be effective in my job.
Allow students to advance their CS knowledge if they are interested, and teach everyone else how to use a computer! Plugging in peripphials, playing with wireless routers, how to properly plug computers in if they ever buy a new one, installing a basic operating system.. linux is perfect
What you describe is NOT Computer-Science... you're talking about how to utilize various "tools".
Computer-Science is the field/discipline where we take a process, break it down to its base tasks, and then develop computational tools/technology to automate components of the process or the process in its entirety.
Computer-Science == "I currently do X, by performing tasks A, B, and C, is there a way to make this easier or more efficient using formal logic tools (such as computer-software or simple electronic components)?"
Computer-Science != "How do I plug in a printer?"
I'd refer you to Dijkstra's Telescope analogy, but no-doubt it'll be used by someone else.
You know, I've always wondered what would happen if the worlds armies and security forces were placed between a bunch of horny teenagers and their porn... there WOULD be a massacre, but I'm not quite sure it'd be the kids on the losing side.;)
Slashdot Mirror
The problem is with the statement "Just because people associate a word with something other than its meaning...". What people associate a word with is the meaning, it can't be "something other than its meaning".
Perhaps I was careless in my choice of words, my utmost apologies.
"Just because some people associate a word with a different meaning to the one that was intended..."
Is that better?
Er, how do you think language develops?
Much in the way that I described, language is about conveying "meaning" they conveyed a meaning, subtly (and cleverly), to those who understand the words definition(s).
The word rendition, actually has the following meanings:
# a performance of a musical composition or a dramatic role etc.; "they heard a live rendition of three pieces by Schubert"
# interpretation: an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious; "the edict was subject to many interpretations"; "he annoyed us with his interpreting of parables"; "often imitations are extended to provide a more accurate rendition of the child's intended meaning"
# the act of interpreting something as expressed in an artistic performance; "her rendition of Milton's verse was extraordinarily moving"
Of course it's since been corrupted somewhat and now conjures up different thoughts, (as detailed in the link)... however when performing, I will still refer to it as a "rendition".
Therefore, when I say I performed a "rendition", it will mean something different than when a Government Security Service uses the same words.
Use Humor instead: In other news Samzenpus was seen wearing his "Respect My Authoritah" Cartman T-shirt while adding this to the mainpage ;)
'claiming' is the key. Unfortunately for you and me that means we are oxygen wasters to them.
Why do you think that?
Stop using the word? It's not even English..
Do you think that no-one should be allowed to speak anything other than English? Why?
Words have power; to limit yourself to only the ones you believe are "acceptable" is to limit your own ability to use reason with others.
The (primary) meaning of Illuminati:
1. People claiming to be unusually enlightened with regard to a subject.
Just because people associate a word with something other than its meaning doesn't mean we should stop using the word. In this instance, I think it's quite a clever piece of word-play.
Whenever I explain your point to other people, they look at me like I'm from another planet.
You'll get used to it, eventually... sometimes the easiest way is to just tell them that you ARE ;)
Hrm, tetchy, I think... you're low on Electrolytes, have some more! :)
OMG!!! The Black hole will eat the world!!!
/me Removes his paranoia hat
Actually, what interests me regarding the LHC project is whether the Micro-Black-Holes that will possibly be created still hold true to the effects of Gravitational Time Dilation when in close proximity to the singularity?
Anyone a Theoretical/Particle Physicist? Can you elaborate if so?
The following will happen in the next 10 years:
1. Some Terrorist group will blow something up.
2. That people will continue to argue whether Linux is superior to Windows (and vicea versa) on an ideological basis and continue to ignore individual situations/circumstances where their opposing OS would make a better choice.
3. That people will still buy (or not buy) Mac's based on a fashion over function idea (despite the fact the actual Mac offering isn't too bad functionally).
4. That people will make a bunch of random predictions, and several of these will pan out as predicted, and the people will say "Oh Wow!!!", (and then post the original predictions to Slashdot).
Actually I think it was when I was playing catch with my Nephew... I missed the ball and it started orbiting ;)
One thing that is great about science is that it does have a way of eventually finding errors and correcting them in the face of new evidence.
As opposed to Politics, where if you're proven wrong you just need to argue your point HARDER! ;)
Oh, and also try to trash your opponents reputation with some irrellevant nuance.
I use the same argument when my mother says "You've gained Weight!".... "NO!!! I haven't! I've gained MASS!" ;)
Because I don't trust wired.com much... I did a quick search for data on Max Butler from the source: The Department of Justice's own press release on this is dated 9/11/2007.
There is of course VERY simple solution - make sure your Professors/Academic Council don't really understand what you're doing... and don't release the "brilliant" parts of your solution(s).
Lets say you've come up with a brilliant way to perform Inventory/Order Management within an Information System... don't document the entire thing, put enough information in so they can see that it can (potentially) work, but the devil is (of course) in the detail... I did this one time when I didn't trust the person running the subject I was studying at the time (the individual also OBVIOUSLY didn't know his subject material and, in my opinion, had the ethical stance of a rat).
In any case, if your invention is innovative/worthwhile, you'll get to negotiate an agreement with the University should you continue developing it... remember though, give a VAGUE overview of the concept, and don't detail how it can be implemented to perform the function that you invisage it being used for UNTIL YOU'VE GOT THE SIGNED AGREEMENT/CONTRACT!!!
Think of what happened if you exchanged the military and the science budget! The USA could become a country of geniuses with a very successful economy and education in 10-20 years.
Umm, not all Scientists live in the USA, mate. ;)
(Case in point - Neither Amenacier or myself live in the U.S.)
You could probably substitute "Sports Budget" for Military Budget in your example when residing in our Country, and it would be (more or less) the equivilent.
Oops... that was meant to be "I'm a nice Man, Really! :)"
As I said though, I haven't used my Dutch in quite awhile now, and was only semi-fluent at my best.
Ben jij een Nederlander? Belgie?
Of a very well built piece of software (after they fixed the lack of caching) that did nothing new or interesting, aside from let some University Conveners try and impress the female students in their subject.
It looked to me like someone at Google wanted to create a 3D graphically-enhanced version of IRC, isn't that what IMVU already did?
I mean jeez, WoW players were doing that (in addition to maintaining their virginity) WAY back...
LOL, waarom denk je dat?
:)
Ik ben een leuk Mannen, echte!
(Sorry, mijn Nederlands is nou slecht - haven't used it much recently).
I dont know a fucking thing about how to design an embedded software application, but I'm a computer guy. I dont know how to program for mainframes, but I'm a computer guy. I dont know (but I'm trying to learn) graphics programming, but I'm a computer guy. Should I, a "computer guy" know about all these topics in great detail?
From your website, it seems that you're a Digital Photography/Multimedia/Web guy. To those outside your field, they may refer to you as a "Computer Guy" because you work with Computers? To correct the confusion (if it annoys you)... why not simply tell them what you are?
I DO know how to design an embedded software application, and how to program for (a few types of) mainframes, and (some) graphics programming... however most people I meet think I'm a Barrista and/or Chef, and that's fine too, I don't get upset about it... that's just something else I do, and I'm happy for people to think that.
Being a wise-ass know-it-all will just get you nowhere in life.
Generally it means that people who need your knowledge and wise-ass-ness will ask for it, or appreciate you offering your assistance when required. There's a difference between saying "I'm the Smartest Person on Slashdot" and saying "This is what I think" or "This is how that (whatever thing) works".
I remember in online games, if everyone else looks like they're lagged, it's really you that has the problem. Perhaps, when everyone else looks like an idiot... well, you know.
Well, damn, that's just the most BRILLIANT analogy, by someone who's understanding of the world is (seemingly) based off an MMO, amazing!!! /sarcasm>
Just a quick question for you - based on the logic that you've just used, should I believe that the Earth is flat?
Let's see. You'll get a CS degree but don't feel like writing code for a living. That's a tough one.
Not really, there are elements of Algorithmic Design and Analysis in most Technology based positions, however it doesn't mean you have to be a programmer for your entire career - I found as time went on I spent less and less time infront of an IDE and more time infront of Word and/or Visio.
Are you a "people" person? All those introverted geeks need to talk to each other, make decisions and agree on stuff. Something that they (on average) do very poorly. You would have a career in product marketing, since you understand the geeks and can talk to them.
Most Geeks I've worked with (the talented ones anyway) aren't introverted, they just aren't engaged by "normal" people, mainly because "normal" people are stupid, or at least unwilling to learn, even when you try to break whatever concept you're talking about down for them.
I once had a brilliant young geek (he was 14 at the time) come into my Cafe, he was socially ostracized by his peers and his School Councillors had told his parents they thought he had Aspergers Syndrome, I spent time with him, talked to him, showed him some cool stuff he could do with computers and got him enrolled in a CCNA program. Since that time he's changed schools (from public to private), and is now one of, if not the most popular guy in his year, unfortunately I don't see him much anymore (due to his now busy social life), but it just shows if you're surrounded by people who don't (and can't, due to their innate stupidity/ignorance) understand you, anyone can feel like there's something "wrong" with them.
Alot of the "Geeks" (and I take that label to mean "A brilliant and curious person") I talk to say the same thing "I'm Different", my comment to them is "Yes, but AWESOME is different."
To the original Poster, I'd say if you want to avoid programming, get a SysAdmin job to start, do that for a few years (you will have to do SOME level of programming/scripting as a general rule), and then move on to Technical/Systems Architecture. Someone else suggested Bioinformatics/Computational Biology type work, but that tends to involve alot of coding for simulation purposes.
Who cares who she is? The paper she's credited with writing is by no means revolutionary...
Here's a couple of easy tips to help maintain a minor level of privacy while browsing:
- Disable Third-Party cookies (Option under "privacy" tab under Firefox versions >3.0).
- Add entries to your local hosts file fudging the DNS of known "WebSpy", sorry, I mean "WebAnalytics" domains.
My current hosts file contains entries similar to the following (but a few more than I list here):
--- Hosts File Example ---
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.1 www.google-analytics.com
127.0.0.1 google-analytics.com
127.0.0.1 ths.news.com.au
127.0.0.1 adsfac.net
--- End Hosts File Example ---
Host File Locations: /etc/hosts /etc/hosts
Windows - %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Most Unixes -
Mac OS X -
The reason for utilizing the hosts file is to prevent such things as uniquely-generated transparent images (GIFs for instance) being used as inserts in pages to track your browsing in the advent you disable cookies, just add new domains/hosts to the file as you find them.
In any case, the point is more or less moot, you can minimize your privacy issues, but as any good security professional knows, where there's a will there's a way... and you can be tracked in a number of ways, understanding of how HTTP, DNS and other transfer protocols (also lower-level protocol layers) work will help you minimize your exposure though... if you're concerned, read up on the OSI/ISO network model and how IP and TCP work.
I'm surprised I hadn't heard about Dijskstra's telescope analogy before. People (especially family) assume that computer science means "fixing computers" and "making websites for their dog". I've been looking for a good way to explain what CS really entails.
Glad to have shown you something new... Here's something I was writing up and never finished (like most ideas that pop into my head momentarily, before something else takes my attention away), it may help you explain what "Computer-Science" is:
Computer Science - Science of all disciplines?
Recently I had the opportunity to explain what "Computer Science" is to some people who were studying in the field of Genetics. My (almost) profound statement was "I'm a Computer Scientist, I have to understand how a process works so that I can create technology to perform the same function".
This caused a certain amount of self-realization as I then pondered my career... my first job had been a Systems Technictian/Programmer, where I wrote software for a simulator that was used to train Power-Plant operators, which meant I had to learn about power generation and many other concepts (thermodynamics etc etc...). Since then I've had many (probably too many) different roles in a number of different fields, the one thing that was consistant with all of them was the fact I had to learn and understand what my employer did, and wanted to do, to be effective in my job.
Allow students to advance their CS knowledge if they are interested, and teach everyone else how to use a computer! Plugging in peripphials, playing with wireless routers, how to properly plug computers in if they ever buy a new one, installing a basic operating system.. linux is perfect
What you describe is NOT Computer-Science... you're talking about how to utilize various "tools".
Computer-Science is the field/discipline where we take a process, break it down to its base tasks, and then develop computational tools/technology to automate components of the process or the process in its entirety.
Computer-Science == "I currently do X, by performing tasks A, B, and C, is there a way to make this easier or more efficient using formal logic tools (such as computer-software or simple electronic components)?"
Computer-Science != "How do I plug in a printer?"
I'd refer you to Dijkstra's Telescope analogy, but no-doubt it'll be used by someone else.
You know, I've always wondered what would happen if the worlds armies and security forces were placed between a bunch of horny teenagers and their porn... there WOULD be a massacre, but I'm not quite sure it'd be the kids on the losing side. ;)