So yeah, the federal government, like any other source of power, tries to increase its domain and is probably exceeding its ideal role these days, but that's not equivelant to every federal project being a failure.
You haven't drunk the LP koolaid. Repeat after me: the US government has never done anything right and destroys creativity and innovation. That is why the US has the lowest standard of living in the world, no large corporations, and no technological innovation. This also explains why so many people in the US are fleeing south to Mexico. War is peace.
You're right that in general, causation pretty much depends upon a time axis. Are we really close to dispelling the notion that there is one time axis? I don't know much about that.
As for the beginning of the Universe lying outside of time, that might speak against the future being predetermined at the beginning of time. However, that would not impact the notion of ongoing causation. The state of the Universe one hour from now is caused by the state of the Universe right now.
Perhaps the "Law of Big Numbers" cuts both ways, and for large enough units of time, the quantum uncertainty of even the largest mass (the Universe) does mean that determinism breaks down (I'm tap dancing here, don't try to hold me to 'random' thoughts). But this wouldn't much influence a few months worth of weather on our planet. And even if this notion pans out, we probably still should not say that causation or determinism has broken down, but predictability has gotten even harder. When two surfaces 'collide' (electro-magnetic repulsion of the probability clouds of the electrons of the two surfaces), the effects of one probability function on the the other probability function can be deterministic without ever resolving the precise location of either electron. Okay, this last para puts me well out of my depth (IANAP). If you have any solid information on non-unidirectional time (esp. outside of the quantum-level), and the interaction of electron probability functions (esp. for laymen), I would be interested.
Every single Libertarian rally or other event degrades into the "pot must be free!"
Free as in speech, or free as in beer? I can't see the Libertarians supporting a free as in beer mechanism.
they need to get rid of their advanced ideas and shut the hell up until they are in power on the free dope for all platform
Still assuming that we are talking about personal freedom, and not welfare-pot: if the Libertarians cave on personal freedom and don't promise to end the Drug War, they have nothing to offer anyone.
Don't police have more important things to do than wardrive?
Don't think of it as wardriving; think of it as a cheap and explicable way to provide 'always on' porn to police cruisers. You know that patrolling your burbclave is about the most boring job on the planet, right?
Suppose we had a geiger counter displaying an average count rate of 120 per minute. Then we make a detonator that explodes a bomb if 121 counts are made in the next minute.
But if a single neuron is composed of approx. 4 quadrillion atoms, these effects cancel each other out much more effectively, than if you are talking about 120 atoms. I've heard this called "The Law of Big Numbers", but that might have been a joke from a math professor.
Aside from quantum effects, the universe also is indeterministic because of chaotic systems.
This is really the point that I was trying to make originally: choatic systems are deterministic. They are not predictable by us, because the amount of complexity (the number of inputs to the system and the seemingly disproportionate impact of those inputs) is huge. But just because we are not able to predict them, does not mean that they are not inherently deterministic.
Even a system which would require a computer the size of the entire Universe to model (hence, being totally and forever 'unpredictable') can still be deterministic; its results are the result of causation, even if those results can never be predicted or precisely modelled.
With 70% of Internet commerce being outside the US, is this move by Google so clever?
That means that 30% of all Internet commerce is conducted under one set of laws (U.S.) What is the second biggest chunk of Internet commerce that is able to be conducted under one set of laws? Maybe Japan with 8% (totally made-up number, just asking)?
It seems that the EU member countries have their own legal, financial, commerce, and privacy laws that mean that Google cannot create a single service that can operate in the EU.
Drug companies weren't formed for altruistic reasons.
I suspect that for the older drug companies, altruism was a major factor in their founding. Those people who cry that our society is becoming less civilized are right, but they neglect to mention that "the fish rots from the head." Compare these quotes by Andrew Carnegie to today's "Death Tax" opponents: "Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community." and "The man who dies rich dies disgraced."
Individuals like Warren Buffet, George Soros, and Bill Gates (yes, boo hiss, his software sucks, but he understands that a charitable foundation is a better use for ridiculous amounts of wealth than creating the next Paris Hilton) stand out today as exceptions to the "Greed is good." attitude that dominates.
Okay, but in the future I recommend the use of the "unpredictable" rather than "nondeterministic". Though even with "unpredictable", we have to wonder wether you mean "We do not have the means to measure the inputs, and the models to allow us to predict...", or do you mean, "Regardless of any advances in technology and expenditure of extreme effort, it will never be possible to predict..." Noting that the latter still does not mean that the system under discussion is not deterministic.
These distinctions can be applied to human thought processes, and your reference to Free Will and spirituality comes into play. But discussions of choatic, but not conscious, systems such as weather don't touch on the Free Will issue. They could bump into some meddling-god(s) issue(s).
I assume that the indeterminism that you are talking about is the result of quantum effects, and not just insane-complexity-treated-as-randomness. However, at the macro level these quantum effects can be treated as static, since for large enough samples, they will average out to 0.5 (assuming range of zero to one). For instance, an average human brain contains approx. 456 trillion trillion atoms. For that many tests of randomness, the results will cancel out, and can pretty much be discounted. Scale that number up to the volume of the atmosphere (for weather systems), and the coin will come up heads "exactly" 50% of the time.
The EU, or any sovereign nation, has the right to seize the property of a company that refuses to pay legally levied fines. If they can seize real estate belonging to Microsoft, why can't they seize the "intellectual property" of Microsoft (only as it applies within the boundaries of the EU)? I can't see the WTO enshrining a right for corporations to ignore all laws (esp. not the laws of first-world nations).
Would they go as far as saying every citizen must install the (now-illegal) windows software?
I think you meant to say "un-install". But the EU would have a better recourse. They can declare Microsoft delinquent on the fines, and seize the copyright to Windows in the EU. Then the European Commission can either sell Windows at a profit, or declare it public domain. What the government giveth (copyright protection), the government can taketh away.
Yes it's true weather is too chaotic to ever be completly deterministic
Unless you believe that Thor, Zeus, and friends are meddling in our weather, it is completely deterministic. The fact that we cannot measure enough of the inputs to the system to make long-range predictions, does not mean that it is not a deterministic system created and controlled by causation.
Which term would describe a 40 year-old living in his mother's basement, watching 7 hours of Adult Swim every night as an alternative to being employed?
that the climate changing is what it is supposed to do.
Every minute, you are getting older and closer to the moment of your death. That is what is 'supposed' to happen. So you have no objections if I decide to shoot you in the head right now, yes?
In a fit of contratianism and anger at the government encroaching upon our lives (e.g. seatbelt laws), my brother once said, "We cannot prove that any individual's life has ever been saved by a seatbelt." He's probably right. You can review accident reports until the cows come home, and you will not be able to honestly say, "We have proven beyond all doubt that this Jane Doe's life would definitely have ended if she had not been wearing a seatbelt."
Unforunately, some people (commonly called idiots) would use this situation to argue that it is possible, perhaps likely, that seatbelts do not save lives. Statistical correlations between seatbelt use and accident survivability are egghead hogwash. My uncle never wore a seatbelt, and he's still alive.
Limiting what specific weapon or who is allowed to possess a weapon that can harm other individuals is denying the ability to defend one's own humanity.
Therefore everyone, including ex-felons and the criminally insane, should be allowed to possess any weapon from a knife to a nuke. Anything less would impose an artificial limit on a 'specific weapon' or limit 'who is allowed to possess a weapon', and would thus be a destruction of humanity.
I think a button saying LIBeRtARIAN would work as well.
Not likely. The idea of 'public libraries' are not compatible with Libertarianism. Perhaps after the Libertarians got rid of all public libraries, private libraries would come into existence, but don't hold hold your breath.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, dude! You are so lucky that I'm not a Chinese Girl Scout.
And DARPA. For some odd reason, the participants in the free market never saw building a global packet network as an opportunity.
You haven't drunk the LP koolaid. Repeat after me: the US government has never done anything right and destroys creativity and innovation. That is why the US has the lowest standard of living in the world, no large corporations, and no technological innovation. This also explains why so many people in the US are fleeing south to Mexico. War is peace.
Yes, updating part of a web page using JavaScript on the Internet! .
As for the beginning of the Universe lying outside of time, that might speak against the future being predetermined at the beginning of time. However, that would not impact the notion of ongoing causation. The state of the Universe one hour from now is caused by the state of the Universe right now.
Perhaps the "Law of Big Numbers" cuts both ways, and for large enough units of time, the quantum uncertainty of even the largest mass (the Universe) does mean that determinism breaks down (I'm tap dancing here, don't try to hold me to 'random' thoughts). But this wouldn't much influence a few months worth of weather on our planet. And even if this notion pans out, we probably still should not say that causation or determinism has broken down, but predictability has gotten even harder. When two surfaces 'collide' (electro-magnetic repulsion of the probability clouds of the electrons of the two surfaces), the effects of one probability function on the the other probability function can be deterministic without ever resolving the precise location of either electron. Okay, this last para puts me well out of my depth (IANAP). If you have any solid information on non-unidirectional time (esp. outside of the quantum-level), and the interaction of electron probability functions (esp. for laymen), I would be interested.
Free as in speech, or free as in beer? I can't see the Libertarians supporting a free as in beer mechanism.
they need to get rid of their advanced ideas and shut the hell up until they are in power on the free dope for all platform
Still assuming that we are talking about personal freedom, and not welfare-pot: if the Libertarians cave on personal freedom and don't promise to end the Drug War, they have nothing to offer anyone.
Don't think of it as wardriving; think of it as a cheap and explicable way to provide 'always on' porn to police cruisers. You know that patrolling your burbclave is about the most boring job on the planet, right?
Die Roman scum! Oops, sorry. That was a monotheistic response. Let me try again: "When in Rome..."
But if a single neuron is composed of approx. 4 quadrillion atoms, these effects cancel each other out much more effectively, than if you are talking about 120 atoms. I've heard this called "The Law of Big Numbers", but that might have been a joke from a math professor.
Aside from quantum effects, the universe also is indeterministic because of chaotic systems.
This is really the point that I was trying to make originally: choatic systems are deterministic. They are not predictable by us, because the amount of complexity (the number of inputs to the system and the seemingly disproportionate impact of those inputs) is huge. But just because we are not able to predict them, does not mean that they are not inherently deterministic.
Even a system which would require a computer the size of the entire Universe to model (hence, being totally and forever 'unpredictable') can still be deterministic; its results are the result of causation, even if those results can never be predicted or precisely modelled.
Zeus is so going to kick your ass.
That means that 30% of all Internet commerce is conducted under one set of laws (U.S.) What is the second biggest chunk of Internet commerce that is able to be conducted under one set of laws? Maybe Japan with 8% (totally made-up number, just asking)?
It seems that the EU member countries have their own legal, financial, commerce, and privacy laws that mean that Google cannot create a single service that can operate in the EU.
I suspect that for the older drug companies, altruism was a major factor in their founding. Those people who cry that our society is becoming less civilized are right, but they neglect to mention that "the fish rots from the head." Compare these quotes by Andrew Carnegie to today's "Death Tax" opponents: "Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community." and "The man who dies rich dies disgraced."
Individuals like Warren Buffet, George Soros, and Bill Gates (yes, boo hiss, his software sucks, but he understands that a charitable foundation is a better use for ridiculous amounts of wealth than creating the next Paris Hilton) stand out today as exceptions to the "Greed is good." attitude that dominates.
Okay, but in the future I recommend the use of the "unpredictable" rather than "nondeterministic". Though even with "unpredictable", we have to wonder wether you mean "We do not have the means to measure the inputs, and the models to allow us to predict...", or do you mean, "Regardless of any advances in technology and expenditure of extreme effort, it will never be possible to predict..." Noting that the latter still does not mean that the system under discussion is not deterministic. These distinctions can be applied to human thought processes, and your reference to Free Will and spirituality comes into play. But discussions of choatic, but not conscious, systems such as weather don't touch on the Free Will issue. They could bump into some meddling-god(s) issue(s).
I assume that the indeterminism that you are talking about is the result of quantum effects, and not just insane-complexity-treated-as-randomness. However, at the macro level these quantum effects can be treated as static, since for large enough samples, they will average out to 0.5 (assuming range of zero to one). For instance, an average human brain contains approx. 456 trillion trillion atoms. For that many tests of randomness, the results will cancel out, and can pretty much be discounted. Scale that number up to the volume of the atmosphere (for weather systems), and the coin will come up heads "exactly" 50% of the time.
This program is only going to cost approx. $99.99 ... per citizen.
The EU, or any sovereign nation, has the right to seize the property of a company that refuses to pay legally levied fines. If they can seize real estate belonging to Microsoft, why can't they seize the "intellectual property" of Microsoft (only as it applies within the boundaries of the EU)? I can't see the WTO enshrining a right for corporations to ignore all laws (esp. not the laws of first-world nations).
I think you meant to say "un-install". But the EU would have a better recourse. They can declare Microsoft delinquent on the fines, and seize the copyright to Windows in the EU. Then the European Commission can either sell Windows at a profit, or declare it public domain. What the government giveth (copyright protection), the government can taketh away.
Unless you believe that Thor, Zeus, and friends are meddling in our weather, it is completely deterministic. The fact that we cannot measure enough of the inputs to the system to make long-range predictions, does not mean that it is not a deterministic system created and controlled by causation.
You had a cassette drive? My system was connected to a hand-cranked Victriola!
Which term would describe a 40 year-old living in his mother's basement, watching 7 hours of Adult Swim every night as an alternative to being employed?
Every minute, you are getting older and closer to the moment of your death. That is what is 'supposed' to happen. So you have no objections if I decide to shoot you in the head right now, yes?
Unforunately, some people (commonly called idiots) would use this situation to argue that it is possible, perhaps likely, that seatbelts do not save lives. Statistical correlations between seatbelt use and accident survivability are egghead hogwash. My uncle never wore a seatbelt, and he's still alive.
Therefore everyone, including ex-felons and the criminally insane, should be allowed to possess any weapon from a knife to a nuke. Anything less would impose an artificial limit on a 'specific weapon' or limit 'who is allowed to possess a weapon', and would thus be a destruction of humanity.
Not likely. The idea of 'public libraries' are not compatible with Libertarianism. Perhaps after the Libertarians got rid of all public libraries, private libraries would come into existence, but don't hold hold your breath.
Trust us.