that plaintiffs could have taken steps to keep their browsing histories private
speaks of incognito etc mode, it seems really an encouragement (if not a directive) to use ad blockers. If the official legal opinion (in a silicon valley court, no less) is a variation of caveat emptor (browser beware), that can't be particularly good for legitimate folks.
Yeah, I know many folks here are already big advocates of ad blockers, and I'm aware every sizable nation state on the planet is already watching what I do. But, to have the court pretty much say: "you are on your own here" starts the conversation about personal privacy at a pretty low bar.
fwiw, the reports I read of folks that watched showscan movies ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showscan ) 20+ years ago overwhelmingly said that the higher framerate gave the films an level of realism that they'd never seen in films before.
This sounds reasonable. How do I go about making sure my ISP/hosting provider is not harboring spammers/botnets? Is there a reputable site somewhere where this kinda info is tracked?
For folks interested, another interesting view on mathematics teaching is in the book "Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers' Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States" by Liping Ma. It's very thought provoking. It doesn't persuade me to any particular solution, but definitely gives me more data to think about how we teach people things like mathematics.
That I don't disagree with. It depends on what one considers "free will". I think that without an agreed upon definition of what these words (free will, determined) mean, it's not very useful to say one or the other is or is not involved.
I think the original article is suggesting that "free will" is the same as conscious awareness of some decision. By that self-declared definition, then of course they are right that there is no free will involved, because they've defined "free will" as conscious awareness of the decision. Since unconsciousness is not consciousness, then by their definition it can't be free will.
I don't have the same definition, so I don't agree with the way they phrase their conclusion.
> I am not conscious of every calculation my brain performs when I decide to lift my coffee cup to my lips, but this does not mean I did not consciously decide to do it.
I'm not certain what you mean by "consciously". To me, that means that there was a decision to lift the cup that you were aware of at the moment it was made, and that you (however briefly) consciously thought about it and decided it was a good idea. Further, it *implies* to me that there was some process you were aware of leading up to that decision where you consciously noticed you wanted the cup at your lips and considered how to satisfy that wish by analyzing various possibilities (moving your head to the cup, lifting the cup, getting someone else to move the cup, etc).
My personal experience is that neither the meaning nor the implication I listed above is accurate for how my mind and body work. I often operate with an illusion that this is true, but the actual decision to lift the cup is made without conscious awareness. Once the decision is made, I have opportunities to consciously notice the action has started, but most often I run with the illusion that the conscious part of me (meaning, the subsystems of my mind that can "see" and comment on sensory input) is in control of decisions etc. It is convenient, but not at all real in my own experience.
I haven't used this particular mouse, so I can't comment on it. I have, however, used a different "vertical" mouse called the "3M Renaissance Mouse" (e.g. http://www.3m.com/cws/renmouse.html ) for several years. I swear by it, in that all my RSI symptoms vanished once I started using it. I've also recommended it to two friends with RSI problems and they also swear by it. Your mileage my vary, of course. Check it out!
In a twist of irony, the mouse is ergonomically shaped because the pistol grip alleviates stress on your carpal tunnel-ridden wrist
I enjoyed that comment and also want to point out that the "3M Renaissance mouse" is ergonomic for the same reason and lacks the irony of being a violent yet gentle device.
Disclaimer: My wrists are very happy beneficiaries of using this mouse, but I have no affiliation with anyone selling the thing.
speaks of incognito etc mode, it seems really an encouragement (if not a directive) to use ad blockers. If the official legal opinion (in a silicon valley court, no less) is a variation of caveat emptor (browser beware), that can't be particularly good for legitimate folks.
Yeah, I know many folks here are already big advocates of ad blockers, and I'm aware every sizable nation state on the planet is already watching what I do. But, to have the court pretty much say: "you are on your own here" starts the conversation about personal privacy at a pretty low bar.
fwiw, the reports I read of folks that watched showscan movies ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Showscan ) 20+ years ago overwhelmingly said that the higher framerate gave the films an level of realism that they'd never seen in films before.
This sounds reasonable. How do I go about making sure my ISP/hosting provider is not harboring spammers/botnets? Is there a reputable site somewhere where this kinda info is tracked?
For folks interested, another interesting view on mathematics teaching is in the book "Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers' Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States" by Liping Ma. It's very thought provoking. It doesn't persuade me to any particular solution, but definitely gives me more data to think about how we teach people things like mathematics.
That I don't disagree with. It depends on what one considers "free will". I think that without an agreed upon definition of what these words (free will, determined) mean, it's not very useful to say one or the other is or is not involved. I think the original article is suggesting that "free will" is the same as conscious awareness of some decision. By that self-declared definition, then of course they are right that there is no free will involved, because they've defined "free will" as conscious awareness of the decision. Since unconsciousness is not consciousness, then by their definition it can't be free will. I don't have the same definition, so I don't agree with the way they phrase their conclusion.
> I am not conscious of every calculation my brain performs when I decide to lift my coffee cup to my lips, but this does not mean I did not consciously decide to do it.
I'm not certain what you mean by "consciously". To me, that means that there was a decision to lift the cup that you were aware of at the moment it was made, and that you (however briefly) consciously thought about it and decided it was a good idea. Further, it *implies* to me that there was some process you were aware of leading up to that decision where you consciously noticed you wanted the cup at your lips and considered how to satisfy that wish by analyzing various possibilities (moving your head to the cup, lifting the cup, getting someone else to move the cup, etc).
My personal experience is that neither the meaning nor the implication I listed above is accurate for how my mind and body work. I often operate with an illusion that this is true, but the actual decision to lift the cup is made without conscious awareness. Once the decision is made, I have opportunities to consciously notice the action has started, but most often I run with the illusion that the conscious part of me (meaning, the subsystems of my mind that can "see" and comment on sensory input) is in control of decisions etc. It is convenient, but not at all real in my own experience.
I haven't used this particular mouse, so I can't comment on it. I have, however, used a different "vertical" mouse called the "3M Renaissance Mouse" (e.g. http://www.3m.com/cws/renmouse.html ) for several years. I swear by it, in that all my RSI symptoms vanished once I started using it. I've also recommended it to two friends with RSI problems and they also swear by it. Your mileage my vary, of course. Check it out!
I enjoyed that comment and also want to point out that the "3M Renaissance mouse" is ergonomic for the same reason and lacks the irony of being a violent yet gentle device.
Disclaimer: My wrists are very happy beneficiaries of using this mouse, but I have no affiliation with anyone selling the thing.