That was 2002. The technology has evolved to the point where most of the scenes of Brad Pitt in "Benjamin Button" are in fact CGI, and it got Oscars for both makeup and special effects. (Why CGI counts as "makeup" is beyond me.) Although I'd still do motion capture from a real face for realistic movement, within the last year we have finally achieved the technology to actually make convincing virtual celebrities. We've come a long way from Virtual Valerie!
No need for a taxidermist. With motion capture and 3D modelign, Pixar already has the technology to make him live forever, as long as all his speeches are via videoconference. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain... I am the great and powerful Jobs!"
I think the point of Gattaca was related to the old "Nature vs. Nurture" debate. Your genetics don't necessarily determine your destiny. If someone has a strong enough will that they can pass as one of the golden children despite having what are considered genetic defects, then shouldn't they too be allowed to breed? In general, it is good to promote as much diversity as possible in your gene pool, because you don't know what traits could be useful in the future. In evolution, diversity is a survival factor, and homogeneity almost certainly dooms you when your environment changes.
Re:Parents choose their baby's name
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Designer Babies
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· Score: 3, Insightful
if you meet a coder who tells you her name is "Tiffani with an 'i'!", how much are you going to want her on your project?
I think we agree on all counts here. In normal human-to-human interactions, sexual preference is irrelevant. About the time they start trying to set you up with their female friends, you need to let your preferences be known in order to avoid awkwardness. Everyone should be discrete about their sexuality. No, saying "I'm gay" is not too much information. Saying what you did with your significant other last night IS Too Much Information -- regardless. Yes, banning someone for saying they are gay is innappropriate. I'm sort of conflicted on the issue of the lesbians that were kicked out of the stadium for kissing. On the one hand, everyone should be discrete in public. On the other hand, kicking just them out smacks of selective enforcement of the rules.
I don't believe in absolute, immutable moral laws that are applicable for all time and space. At the time the bible was written, the prosperity of a culture, sometimes even it's very survival, was dependent on maintaining a high birth rate. Cultures such as the Spartans foundered because homosexuality was such an established and "normal" part of the culture that they had negative population growth! The Jews placed a very high emphasis on having children, to the extent that my Jewish best friend and his wife still feel a sense of shame for never having had children. As far as murder, that is a virtually universal cultural taboo, and yet the US and Israel don't seem to have a problem with the "collateral damage" as their bombs take out innocent bystanders in addition to "terrorists", and the suicide bombers don't seem to have a problem with their bombs indiscriminately killing women and children of the same faith the suicide bombers claim to be defending. We have abandoned many of the laws laid out in the Old Testament, from the stoning of adulterers to the eating of pork. One should periodically examine one's moral laws to see if they still make sense in the current circumstances. Jesus healed prostitutes and hung out with tax collectors; I'm sure he wouldn't have any reservations about associating with homosexuals, especially since they are homosexuals because God created them that way. If there were such a thing as "moral intuition", we wouldn't need to explain the difference between right and wrong to our children, and we wouldn't really need churches either, would we?
Assuming somebody is straight until evidence shows otherwise is just as reasonable as assuming somebody is right-handed -- statistically, it is likely to be a correct assumption. Yes, I try to avoid using loaded terms like "wife" or "girlfriend" and instead use terms like "partner" or "significant other" (at the risk of sounding too politically correct). On the one hand, I really don't want to know the details of _anyone's_ sexual activities (like one of my gay friends referring to whipped cream as "a natural lubricant, from cows." On the other hand, people shouldn't be afraid to be who they are. I once had a gay housemate, and I found it really sad that he never could come out to me; that he felt he had this secret he had to hide. It didn't matter to me, but it some contexts like his career as a civil engineer, coming out may have had adverse consequences. It did take me a while to figure it out, but when he started having his male friend spend the night several times a week, it was pretty obvious. He even had a mechanism I thought was rather clever -- he and his boyfriend would double date with a lesbian couple he was friends with, because if 2 girls and 2 guys are out together, than it really shouldn't matter who is with whom! I'm straight, but I live by the motto that anyone else's sexual preferences are irrelevant to me unless I am planning on dating them -- in which case it is a rather important consideration!
I'm confused... so, if you're married to a true hermaphrodite (which is very rare, but God does allow them to be created) then touching one type of their genitalia is a sin, but touching the other isn't? I agree with you in that I would prefer that people engage in sex as part of a long term, committed relationship -- so wouldn't officially recognizing long term, committed relationships for same-sex couples be preferable to denying them that right? (Although churches may have the right to not recognize same-sex marriages, the law certainly should not have that right.) I also agree with the conservative Christians in that I am definitely "pro-family" and believe that children are better off with 2 parents than just one. But the conservatives seem to be deliberately ignoring the fact that same-sex couples can and frequently do have children as well -- shouldn't their children be entitled to all the benefits that your children are entitled to? Finally, although I concede that the bible does contain proscriptions against homosexual conduct, it also says that adulterers should be stoned to death and that a man cannot sit on the same chair that a woman has ever sat in during menstration. If you are going to enforce biblical edicts, please enforce ALL of them equally; you can't just pick and choose the ones that you agree with! Also, my interpretation of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is that it was destroyed for non-consensual homosexual conduct (i.e. rape) and thus should not be read as a proscription of all homosexual conduct. (I'm sure there are other biblical passages that specifically address consensual homosexual conduct.) God loves gay people -- that's why he made so many of them. Some Christians actually do live by the "Love the sinner, hate the sin" motto; hopefully you are one of those. But many others use their religion to justify their irrational hatred of people that are different from themselves.
Finally, I think you will agree that much of what we call "homophobia" is actually "homo-me-phobia", or fear of other people thinking that one is a homosexual. This would be a much smaller problem if we didn't put such a strong societal stigma on homosexuality.
I agree, homophobes definitely are not normal and should be condemned! Calling them "unnatural disgusting animals" does seem a bit extreme, however, even if all humans can technically be considered animals.
What's the purpose... Of identifying your sexual orientation in your profile anyway? Does the phrase "hooking up" mean anything to you? If I can't use an online service for the purpose of hooking up with members of the appropriate sex, then what good is it? Sure, you want to run a "family oriented" business -- but gays and lesbians have families too! M$ needs to apply the exact same standards to everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. P.S. Next time maybe she should try identifying herself as Bi?
I suspect attaching a paraglider to a car-driven fan and attaching a blimp to a camper are both patentable inventions. I suggest you rush to your nearest patent office and apply for a patent on your "flying home" idea before somebody else does. Be sure to cite "The Wizard of Oz" and Up as prior art!
How much extra should I pay to license a book if I move my lips when I'm reading? After all, moving my lips does constitute a "public performance" of a copyrighted work -- especially if there are any observers present who are capable of lip reading!
I will say, however, I am often surprised by the trepidation with which women approach electronic devices. This is entirely learned cultural behavior. It has nothing to do with inherent gender differences. My daughter doesn't hesitate at all to click everywhere or push every button to find out what they do, and is very good and finding new ways of locking up Windows apps. It is just like the local skate board park; boys are encouraged to take risks, while girls are encouraged to be more cautious because from the standpoint of propagation of the species, males are more expendable than females. As far as being good with money, again, that is learned, not innate behavior. My wife is an absolute idiot when it comes to technical issues, but because she grew up in a culture where haggling was a way of life, she is much better at financial negotiations than I am, and I have learned to just shut up and let her do her thing (at times, it is quite entertaining to watch her deal with experienced salespeople). Also, masculine and feminine traits are not binary differences; they are a continuum. There is enough variation within the genders that some women do take a much more "masculine" approach to problems than some men. This would be much more so if boys and girls didn't receive such different cultural indoctrination. Sadly enough, despite my best efforts to provide a gender-neutral upbringing, although my daughter enjoys playing with trucks, climbing trees, and wants to play hockey as much as play with dolls, her favorite color is pink and she really enjoys dressing up in fancy dresses and wearing makeup. And had 3 "boyfriends" in first grade. Sigh...
Judge: "Mr. Childs, why didn't you give the city the passwords they requested?"
Childs: "Uh... because I couldn't remember them!"
Judge: "Charges dismissed."
So the reason this hasn't gone to trial is almost certainly the decisions of his lawyer. No, the decision of his lawyer was probably to tell Childs "Do you have $30,000 to pay me to argue this for you in court? Because if you don't perhaps we should wait and see if the prosecutors come to their senses." Sure, if money is no object, you demand a speedy trial. If you're a normal person, you probably don't have that much cash in your back pocket. Good luck to Childs in finding a lawyer willing to take on a false imprisonment and malicious prosecution case on a contingency basis. And yes, once you keep somebody in jail for 7 months, you virtually HAVE to convict them of some offense for which the penalty is "time served". I agree Terry Childs is a paranoid jackass, but if he can afford good lawyers, the city is going to be in a world of hurt.
We have IP for a reason: it helps make social structures work better. We have only had the legal concept of IP for a few hundred years now. Are you saying social structures didn't work before then? I think the ancient Egyptians, Mayans, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and many other civilizations too numerous to mention would probably disagree with you on that one.
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Nano-origami!
They can't read the federal laws since they are written in English, so they make up their own in French.
That was 2002. The technology has evolved to the point where most of the scenes of Brad Pitt in "Benjamin Button" are in fact CGI, and it got Oscars for both makeup and special effects. (Why CGI counts as "makeup" is beyond me.) Although I'd still do motion capture from a real face for realistic movement, within the last year we have finally achieved the technology to actually make convincing virtual celebrities. We've come a long way from Virtual Valerie!
Yes, commercial CDs are pressed from masters... this is a supposedly more accurate way of creating the masters.
That's ok, I don't have a girlfriend... my wife won't let me have one! Man, that woman is SO unreasonable!
No need for a taxidermist. With motion capture and 3D modelign, Pixar already has the technology to make him live forever, as long as all his speeches are via videoconference. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain... I am the great and powerful Jobs!"
I think the point of Gattaca was related to the old "Nature vs. Nurture" debate. Your genetics don't necessarily determine your destiny. If someone has a strong enough will that they can pass as one of the golden children despite having what are considered genetic defects, then shouldn't they too be allowed to breed? In general, it is good to promote as much diversity as possible in your gene pool, because you don't know what traits could be useful in the future. In evolution, diversity is a survival factor, and homogeneity almost certainly dooms you when your environment changes.
That depends... how large are her breasts?
I think we agree on all counts here. In normal human-to-human interactions, sexual preference is irrelevant. About the time they start trying to set you up with their female friends, you need to let your preferences be known in order to avoid awkwardness. Everyone should be discrete about their sexuality. No, saying "I'm gay" is not too much information. Saying what you did with your significant other last night IS Too Much Information -- regardless. Yes, banning someone for saying they are gay is innappropriate. I'm sort of conflicted on the issue of the lesbians that were kicked out of the stadium for kissing. On the one hand, everyone should be discrete in public. On the other hand, kicking just them out smacks of selective enforcement of the rules.
Assuming they aren't just trying to cover their asses There you go, making another homophobic remark! ;-)
I don't believe in absolute, immutable moral laws that are applicable for all time and space. At the time the bible was written, the prosperity of a culture, sometimes even it's very survival, was dependent on maintaining a high birth rate. Cultures such as the Spartans foundered because homosexuality was such an established and "normal" part of the culture that they had negative population growth! The Jews placed a very high emphasis on having children, to the extent that my Jewish best friend and his wife still feel a sense of shame for never having had children. As far as murder, that is a virtually universal cultural taboo, and yet the US and Israel don't seem to have a problem with the "collateral damage" as their bombs take out innocent bystanders in addition to "terrorists", and the suicide bombers don't seem to have a problem with their bombs indiscriminately killing women and children of the same faith the suicide bombers claim to be defending. We have abandoned many of the laws laid out in the Old Testament, from the stoning of adulterers to the eating of pork. One should periodically examine one's moral laws to see if they still make sense in the current circumstances. Jesus healed prostitutes and hung out with tax collectors; I'm sure he wouldn't have any reservations about associating with homosexuals, especially since they are homosexuals because God created them that way. If there were such a thing as "moral intuition", we wouldn't need to explain the difference between right and wrong to our children, and we wouldn't really need churches either, would we?
Assuming somebody is straight until evidence shows otherwise is just as reasonable as assuming somebody is right-handed -- statistically, it is likely to be a correct assumption. Yes, I try to avoid using loaded terms like "wife" or "girlfriend" and instead use terms like "partner" or "significant other" (at the risk of sounding too politically correct). On the one hand, I really don't want to know the details of _anyone's_ sexual activities (like one of my gay friends referring to whipped cream as "a natural lubricant, from cows." On the other hand, people shouldn't be afraid to be who they are. I once had a gay housemate, and I found it really sad that he never could come out to me; that he felt he had this secret he had to hide. It didn't matter to me, but it some contexts like his career as a civil engineer, coming out may have had adverse consequences. It did take me a while to figure it out, but when he started having his male friend spend the night several times a week, it was pretty obvious. He even had a mechanism I thought was rather clever -- he and his boyfriend would double date with a lesbian couple he was friends with, because if 2 girls and 2 guys are out together, than it really shouldn't matter who is with whom! I'm straight, but I live by the motto that anyone else's sexual preferences are irrelevant to me unless I am planning on dating them -- in which case it is a rather important consideration!
Finally, I think you will agree that much of what we call "homophobia" is actually "homo-me-phobia", or fear of other people thinking that one is a homosexual. This would be a much smaller problem if we didn't put such a strong societal stigma on homosexuality.
...a lot of lesbians have things in common that they might not with... your typical xbox live player. Like a vagina, for instance.
What language do they speak in Lesbia? Greek. And it is Lesbos not "Lesbia".
I agree, homophobes definitely are not normal and should be condemned! Calling them "unnatural disgusting animals" does seem a bit extreme, however, even if all humans can technically be considered animals.
What's the purpose... Of identifying your sexual orientation in your profile anyway? Does the phrase "hooking up" mean anything to you? If I can't use an online service for the purpose of hooking up with members of the appropriate sex, then what good is it? Sure, you want to run a "family oriented" business -- but gays and lesbians have families too! M$ needs to apply the exact same standards to everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation. P.S. Next time maybe she should try identifying herself as Bi?
As long as you get banned from Xbox live for identifying yourself as straight too, I don't see a problem with this...
I suspect attaching a paraglider to a car-driven fan and attaching a blimp to a camper are both patentable inventions. I suggest you rush to your nearest patent office and apply for a patent on your "flying home" idea before somebody else does. Be sure to cite "The Wizard of Oz" and Up as prior art!
How much extra should I pay to license a book if I move my lips when I'm reading? After all, moving my lips does constitute a "public performance" of a copyrighted work -- especially if there are any observers present who are capable of lip reading!
I will say, however, I am often surprised by the trepidation with which women approach electronic devices. This is entirely learned cultural behavior. It has nothing to do with inherent gender differences. My daughter doesn't hesitate at all to click everywhere or push every button to find out what they do, and is very good and finding new ways of locking up Windows apps. It is just like the local skate board park; boys are encouraged to take risks, while girls are encouraged to be more cautious because from the standpoint of propagation of the species, males are more expendable than females. As far as being good with money, again, that is learned, not innate behavior. My wife is an absolute idiot when it comes to technical issues, but because she grew up in a culture where haggling was a way of life, she is much better at financial negotiations than I am, and I have learned to just shut up and let her do her thing (at times, it is quite entertaining to watch her deal with experienced salespeople). Also, masculine and feminine traits are not binary differences; they are a continuum. There is enough variation within the genders that some women do take a much more "masculine" approach to problems than some men. This would be much more so if boys and girls didn't receive such different cultural indoctrination. Sadly enough, despite my best efforts to provide a gender-neutral upbringing, although my daughter enjoys playing with trucks, climbing trees, and wants to play hockey as much as play with dolls, her favorite color is pink and she really enjoys dressing up in fancy dresses and wearing makeup. And had 3 "boyfriends" in first grade. Sigh...
Judge: "Mr. Childs, why didn't you give the city the passwords they requested?"
Childs: "Uh... because I couldn't remember them!"
Judge: "Charges dismissed."
So the reason this hasn't gone to trial is almost certainly the decisions of his lawyer. No, the decision of his lawyer was probably to tell Childs "Do you have $30,000 to pay me to argue this for you in court? Because if you don't perhaps we should wait and see if the prosecutors come to their senses." Sure, if money is no object, you demand a speedy trial. If you're a normal person, you probably don't have that much cash in your back pocket. Good luck to Childs in finding a lawyer willing to take on a false imprisonment and malicious prosecution case on a contingency basis. And yes, once you keep somebody in jail for 7 months, you virtually HAVE to convict them of some offense for which the penalty is "time served". I agree Terry Childs is a paranoid jackass, but if he can afford good lawyers, the city is going to be in a world of hurt.
We have IP for a reason: it helps make social structures work better. We have only had the legal concept of IP for a few hundred years now. Are you saying social structures didn't work before then? I think the ancient Egyptians, Mayans, Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and many other civilizations too numerous to mention would probably disagree with you on that one.
Mao is dead!