The "program" analogy is actually pretty good as far as analogies go - certainly far better than "clocks" or "steam engines", although the appropriateness of the analogy really depends on the context and purpose.
The genome of an organism (it's hereditary information) is encoded into its DNA - this would be the "program". DNA is composed of genes, sequences of genetic information that encode specific traits - analogous to statements or commands. Genes are composed of codons - analogous to words or bytes. There are even protocols (micro-code) or rules for encoding, transcribing and translating genes - start codons, stop codons, built in redundancy, and other sequences that aid the transcription machinery. The RNA "reads" (transcribes) a gene and ribosomes synthesize a protein.
So at least at the cellular level, the computer program analogy seems fairly good. For non-sentient animals, you could even use a computer analogy at the organism level. Brains process information, have long term and short term memory, various interfaces exist for input (sensory) and output (motor and instinctual behavior), etc.
However at the organism level, the computer analogy fails with humans, only because we don't yet have a computer that is truly intelligent of self aware. That's probably why the whole nature - nurture thing is interesting to people who work in AI.
That jeep was specially prepared for that demonstration.
The "engine/transmission" unit must have a self contained fuel tank, battery, and coolant reservoir (radiator) and some sort of quick release engine mounts. There were no fuel lines and while one guy dropped the radiator in just before the hood went on, he didn't connect up any coolant lines. It was probably a 2-wheel drive jeep, to eliminate connecting the front differential. There must have been some sort of quick disconnect on the drive shaft U-Joint. There also must not be a floor or firewall in the jeep so that the shift linkage and accelerator pedal and throttle linkage could all be left attached to the engine/transmission unit.
You could see a muffle hanging below the chassis, so the exhaust manifolds and header pipe must have just slid into some sort of receiver pipe (I guess it didn't have to pass CARB or EPA testing). Also unless there must have been some sort of multi-pin electrical harness connector or none of the lights would have been functional. The ignition switch was probably attached to the engine and accessible through the open floor / firewall.
The Jeep has no brakes; there were no brake lines connected to the "body" unit (where the master cylinder would be). Likewise, steering linkage between body and the front suspension/axel must have had some sort of quick disconnect. Also, no heater, no windshield wipers/washers, no speedometer or guages of any type mounted on the dash (possibly on the engine/transmission unit).
So given that the Jeeps was specially designed to be taken apart and put back together in under 4 minutes, it is not surprising that team trained for that function were able to do so.
The Globe and Mail had a story a while back about a woman following GPS mapping instructions in Belleville Ontario who kept driving into a swamp until the water started pouring in the doors of her car and it stalled.
"I just feel so stupid" said the 25 year old Federal Corrections office.... (sigh)
I absolutely hated TNG - not just because of the techno-babble, but because techno-babble became the turning point in too many episodes. Got a problem? Geordi, Data or that irritating little wuss Wesley will propose routing the tachyon emitters through the main deflection shield (or the holodeck grid) that will blah, blah, blah, solve the problem. Make it so.
The only thing I really hated about BSG was the word "Frack". I hated it in both the original series and the remade series.
At some point, asian languages are going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming into, oh, maybe the 8th century BCE.
Non-phonetic (logographic or idiographic) writing systems are an obstacle to literacy and communication. To be fully literate in English, with a 10,000 word vocabulary, you need to know 26 characters. To be fully literate in Chinese, with a 10,000 word vocabulary would likely require knowledge of 3000 to 5000 characters.
But if you look at the graph, Firefox is holding its own, or seeing slight declines in market share while IE is bleeding users. It appears that Chome's growth has come at the expense of IE, not FF. Mozilla will recapture some market share with the release of FF 4.0, but the question remains if Microsoft can do the same with IE9.
Large IT shops are scrambling to update internal portals and apps that rely on IE6. I fought the good fight on standards with a big5 accounting firm in the early 2000's and lost. However now, the proliferation of blackberrys, iPhones and Androids is forcing this as much as the Windows XP end of life. Once they start the move to standards based internal apps, are they going to repeat the mistakes of the past and develop "for" IE9, or will they develop standards based, cross browser apps that also support their burgeoning mobile users?
Personally, I think (hope) IE9 will get a bit of a dead cat bounce and then slowly decline into irrelevance.
Certainly people who create web content and layouts are pressuring MS to release IE9. Currently if you want rounded corners, drop shadows, element transforms, transitions, or HTML5 elements (canvas, nav, header, etc.) you have to bash on IE with multiple, version specific blunt objects (javascript). Most of the jQuery / javascript you see in modern websites are there to force various versions of IE to behave like a modern browser.
And Avatar was "Pocahontas in Space" - but the truly amazing world that Cameron created, the special effects, the acting and directing made it a good film in spite of a derivative plot and a bit preachy messaging.
Most 4 year olds have no concept of the permanence of physical injuries and death. When they lose a primary tooth, another grows in to take its place. You cut their nails or hair, they continue to regrow. They skin their knee, a bandaid makes it all better. You shoot the babysitter...
Slashdot Mirror
So no more pictures of my wife I guess ....
The "program" analogy is actually pretty good as far as analogies go - certainly far better than "clocks" or "steam engines", although the appropriateness of the analogy really depends on the context and purpose.
The genome of an organism (it's hereditary information) is encoded into its DNA - this would be the "program". DNA is composed of genes, sequences of genetic information that encode specific traits - analogous to statements or commands. Genes are composed of codons - analogous to words or bytes. There are even protocols (micro-code) or rules for encoding, transcribing and translating genes - start codons, stop codons, built in redundancy, and other sequences that aid the transcription machinery. The RNA "reads" (transcribes) a gene and ribosomes synthesize a protein.
So at least at the cellular level, the computer program analogy seems fairly good. For non-sentient animals, you could even use a computer analogy at the organism level. Brains process information, have long term and short term memory, various interfaces exist for input (sensory) and output (motor and instinctual behavior), etc.
However at the organism level, the computer analogy fails with humans, only because we don't yet have a computer that is truly intelligent of self aware. That's probably why the whole nature - nurture thing is interesting to people who work in AI.
You mean most of them are engineers?
jumper cables dude! Stop before you smell smoke.
That jeep was specially prepared for that demonstration.
The "engine/transmission" unit must have a self contained fuel tank, battery, and coolant reservoir (radiator) and some sort of quick release engine mounts. There were no fuel lines and while one guy dropped the radiator in just before the hood went on, he didn't connect up any coolant lines. It was probably a 2-wheel drive jeep, to eliminate connecting the front differential. There must have been some sort of quick disconnect on the drive shaft U-Joint. There also must not be a floor or firewall in the jeep so that the shift linkage and accelerator pedal and throttle linkage could all be left attached to the engine/transmission unit.
You could see a muffle hanging below the chassis, so the exhaust manifolds and header pipe must have just slid into some sort of receiver pipe (I guess it didn't have to pass CARB or EPA testing). Also unless there must have been some sort of multi-pin electrical harness connector or none of the lights would have been functional. The ignition switch was probably attached to the engine and accessible through the open floor / firewall.
The Jeep has no brakes; there were no brake lines connected to the "body" unit (where the master cylinder would be). Likewise, steering linkage between body and the front suspension/axel must have had some sort of quick disconnect. Also, no heater, no windshield wipers/washers, no speedometer or guages of any type mounted on the dash (possibly on the engine/transmission unit).
So given that the Jeeps was specially designed to be taken apart and put back together in under 4 minutes, it is not surprising that team trained for that function were able to do so.
The Globe and Mail had a story a while back about a woman following GPS mapping instructions in Belleville Ontario who kept driving into a swamp until the water started pouring in the doors of her car and it stalled.
"I just feel so stupid" said the 25 year old Federal Corrections office .... (sigh)
Actually, its where they store the holes before they add them to the cheese.
I absolutely hated TNG - not just because of the techno-babble, but because techno-babble became the turning point in too many episodes. Got a problem? Geordi, Data or that irritating little wuss Wesley will propose routing the tachyon emitters through the main deflection shield (or the holodeck grid) that will blah, blah, blah, solve the problem. Make it so. The only thing I really hated about BSG was the word "Frack". I hated it in both the original series and the remade series.
No, no, the lawyers finished first, they just come back to pick over the bodies for any IP they can launch patent suits over.
There are Blackberry applications? Who knew?
Oh wait, I thought it said IIS.
At some point, asian languages are going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming into, oh, maybe the 8th century BCE. Non-phonetic (logographic or idiographic) writing systems are an obstacle to literacy and communication. To be fully literate in English, with a 10,000 word vocabulary, you need to know 26 characters. To be fully literate in Chinese, with a 10,000 word vocabulary would likely require knowledge of 3000 to 5000 characters.
Yeah - like there aren't already enough sources of errors in source code.
I'm starting to use MariaDB for the same reason.
Yeah - missed that.
lacking support for CSS 4.0?
But if you look at the graph, Firefox is holding its own, or seeing slight declines in market share while IE is bleeding users. It appears that Chome's growth has come at the expense of IE, not FF. Mozilla will recapture some market share with the release of FF 4.0, but the question remains if Microsoft can do the same with IE9.
Large IT shops are scrambling to update internal portals and apps that rely on IE6. I fought the good fight on standards with a big5 accounting firm in the early 2000's and lost. However now, the proliferation of blackberrys, iPhones and Androids is forcing this as much as the Windows XP end of life. Once they start the move to standards based internal apps, are they going to repeat the mistakes of the past and develop "for" IE9, or will they develop standards based, cross browser apps that also support their burgeoning mobile users?
Personally, I think (hope) IE9 will get a bit of a dead cat bounce and then slowly decline into irrelevance.
You see there are these things called iPods ...
When you install iTunes, I believe it prompts you to install Safari, that's probably how most Windows users end up installing Safari.
Certainly people who create web content and layouts are pressuring MS to release IE9. Currently if you want rounded corners, drop shadows, element transforms, transitions, or HTML5 elements (canvas, nav, header, etc.) you have to bash on IE with multiple, version specific blunt objects (javascript). Most of the jQuery / javascript you see in modern websites are there to force various versions of IE to behave like a modern browser.
And your point is?
And Avatar was "Pocahontas in Space" - but the truly amazing world that Cameron created, the special effects, the acting and directing made it a good film in spite of a derivative plot and a bit preachy messaging.
That's because in Avatar, 3D was done very well, and, for the most part, the scenery wasn't filmed, it was rendered (in focus).
Most 4 year olds have no concept of the permanence of physical injuries and death. When they lose a primary tooth, another grows in to take its place. You cut their nails or hair, they continue to regrow. They skin their knee, a bandaid makes it all better. You shoot the babysitter ...
Because you certainly don't want to use up those bits.