"The division between an intelligent being and human meat is nearly universally recognized, whether people like to admit it or not. Babies, toddlers, other children, incompetent or insane adults, and senile elders are not afforded the same legal status as other humans, despite having that hominid genetic blueprint. You can't just pop out of the womb and start filling out government forms, driving cars, and signing 2-year cell phone contracts."
We afford them different legal status to protect them, not to exploit them. 15-year-olds can't buy beer or cigarettes because they aren't old enough to know better, not because of some plot to keep them down (despite what teenagers may think). A senile old man may be prevented from driving to protect me and him, not because he has served his usefulness and we want him to die sooner.
From what I hear (I don't work in the field, but some of my family and friends do), it isn't really necessary that you have any kind of computer related degree to work in a computer-related feild. My brother works on a big linux cluster and says his office mate has a degree in like pastoral ministry or something. My cousin's degree is in Spanish. Now my 3 brothers who work in the field have Electrical Engineering or CIS degrees, but that's 2 out of 5.
Is my experience that uncommon?
What's the word? Is the computer world populated almost exclusively with related-degree-holders, or does it have a lot of people in it who have non-related degrees?
" If Kyoto wasn't a serious plan, why are individual states and cities signing up to it?"
I hope you aren't suggesting that cities and states subsrcribing to the Kyoto plan is evidence for how great it is. That just doesn't make sense. I'm here to tell you that cities and states enact dumb laws quite often.
Also, cars have to be designed to fulfill the following needs (needs the shuttle doesn't need to address):
Cruising for babes
Looking cool
Keeping up with the joneses
Satisfying our need to have the newest and greatest
Having the capability of achieving stupid and unsafe speeds that no responsible driver would ever attain off of the Autobahn
It is my opinion that people need a lot less car than they want. I'm sure car designers spend a lot of time making each year's models sexier than the last.
In cars, sexy trumps sensible. In space, I suppose the only issues are:
Does it get the job done?
Is it as safe as can be?
My '90 LeSabre is a wonderful machine. It handles beautifully, holds my lanky frame, has some get-up-and-go, and gets 29 mpg (freeway). It has 240,000 miles. It is still strong. If I had a million dollars, I would still drive that car.
Now, back on topic, I thought it interesting that one of the bonuses for Russia here was the fact that they could launch from closer to the equator. I feel like I should know this, but I don't:
Can someone explain to me why that is so vital? I mean, why can't they launch straight up in the air and assume a tilted orbit? Why does it make such a difference when they launch closer to the equator? I feel like the answer should be obvious to me, but it isn't. What am I overlooking?
Okay, never mind. I just looked it up. It really amazes me that the Earth's spin makes that much of a difference.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert on Apple. I read the book "No Logo" and it made me feel smart. So keep that in mind. If I am wrong, educate me.
One other reason that Apples cost more is because you are not buying just a computer, you are buying "cool." Apple has become like Nike (more about the brand than the product). Just watch the commercials.
Macs are high-quality products! No denying that. However, the reason we pay extra for Mac is not just for the superior hardware. We pay extra for the name and for the cool.
Watch the TV commercials. Sony is trying to become cool like Apple, but they aren't making it, even though their computers are well-designed, high-quality computers. They haven't become cool like that, though, and I don't think they ever will.
Some schools and districts are moving to a grading system where you are graded on your performance according to a set standard. If you can show that you have achieved the standard, your grades will show it. If not, your grade will show the level to which you missed or surpassed the standard. This would avoid giving students meaningless A's and should also prompt teachers to design their courses and lessons to promote good attendance through interesting, relevant, valuable lessons.
When you mentioned social promotion, I assumed you meant passing 6th-graders to 7th grade even though they can't read on a 5th grade level. This is a complex issue, which may reflect as much on society as on our schools. If this isn't what you meant, let me know.
"I don't assume anything outside of the information that I am able to reasonably verify, a quality that you seem to be unfamiliar with."
I don't know what I could have said that made you think that I am unfamiliar with the quality of not assuming anything outside of the information that I am able to reasonably verify.
I was looking at an interesting statement and attempting to examine some of the expectations and tendencies human beings seem to have. For example, I know people who think, "No WMDs were found. That means they have been removed to Syria (or hidden or whatever)." In an opposite situation (If WMDs had been found) I know people who might think, "They were planted there by US troops." Others would withhold judgement until all the facts were in. Still others will have a different definition of 'reasonable verification' than you. Yet others will wait until ALL of the facts were in, especially those facts that back up their own preconceived notions. Finally, there will be some (like you, we must suppose) who will keep an open mind and try to have as few preconceived notions as possible.
"The biggest surprise to me was that some covert group didn't plant WMD components in Iraq to be 'Discovered', I thought it was almost certian we would find WMD's if they existed or not."
I find this statement interesting. It seems that if WMDs were found, you would assume they had been planted by some covert group.
We all believe what we want, and many of us here seem to be using the facts to back up our own notions.
"Instead of using the wonderfully flexible english language, these kids are going to down to a couple of choices. A, B or C."
They have been doing this for years. It's the most common form of assessment out there in elementary schools and high schools. They somehow even manage to assess writing skills this way.
This is fine as long as you use it in moderation. It is a lot cheaper to grade multiple-choice tests than handwritten tests. It is, however, far from the most effective way to find out what students know.
The point I am trying to make is that this sort of thing (multiple choice response) is one of the quickest and easiest ways to assess student learning, but it is far from the most effective. So this sort of technology could be extremely useful if used correctly, and not as a substitute for more effective ways of finding out who's learning what. It could greatly supplement effective teaching and assessment practices.
See, that's funny. I just got my Master's Degree and it's like somewhere in my mind I expected something to change. I thought people might be impressed, someone might give my opinion higher status, or I might get smarter as I moved my tassle over or something, but all I got was a kiss, a cake, and a hood (not in that order). Maybe I just associate with smart people who know what should impress them!
Still, I totally agree with you on this one. I find myself guilty of it an alarmingly large number of times.
"In other words, not much effect at all, and what little there is is probably good for you. In my opinion, seeing real boobs is perfectly normal among healthy human beings."
I guess that boobs are censored, then, because a majority disagrees with you, or at least a voting majority or an oral majority, the only kind of majority that counts as far as these things go.
Another thing that your post made me think of was the fact that WoW and games like that don't seem to depict nearly the realism that porn can. It seems a lot harder to show realistic death than realistic boobs. (Insert implant joke here)
If you look at boobs in a game, the effects are way more similar to the effects of seeing real boobs. Seeing someone die on a game is very different than seeing someone get gunned down in real life. Just ask someone who's witnessed a drive-by or been to war. They start sweating and their heart-rate increases when they start talking about it. The video game death is out of our heads in minutes. I still talk about the time my roommate and I had someone get murdered in our apartment building. I never talk about the time we almost saw someone's boobs.
"Companies that want salaried positions to work far more than 40 hours a week are either bleeding money, cutting costs so badly they are understaffed or have no real concern for their employees..."
That's exactly what I thought. I looked it up and apparently if you vote your trojans as good when other people vote them as bad, you are calculated to be untrustworthy and your votes don't count.
That's an oversimplification of the answer I found in the FAQ.
I think the real problem is that the Space Shuttle is an amazingly complex system, and there is simply no way to think of everything. That combined with the deaths of their comrades in a previous launch due to something that went wrong with a related system. Space travel is a dangerous undertaking. The safest thing to do is stay on the ground.
My thoughts: It's probably no big deal and they are just being extra careful.
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We afford them different legal status to protect them, not to exploit them. 15-year-olds can't buy beer or cigarettes because they aren't old enough to know better, not because of some plot to keep them down (despite what teenagers may think). A senile old man may be prevented from driving to protect me and him, not because he has served his usefulness and we want him to die sooner.
The printing press was invented for one purpose only: To spread the Word.
Is my experience that uncommon?
What's the word? Is the computer world populated almost exclusively with related-degree-holders, or does it have a lot of people in it who have non-related degrees?
I hope you aren't suggesting that cities and states subsrcribing to the Kyoto plan is evidence for how great it is. That just doesn't make sense. I'm here to tell you that cities and states enact dumb laws quite often.
Yeah. That's one of the bonuses for the Russians of their cooperation with the ESA.
Cruising for babes
Looking cool
Keeping up with the joneses
Satisfying our need to have the newest and greatest
Having the capability of achieving stupid and unsafe speeds that no responsible driver would ever attain off of the Autobahn
It is my opinion that people need a lot less car than they want. I'm sure car designers spend a lot of time making each year's models sexier than the last.
In cars, sexy trumps sensible. In space, I suppose the only issues are:
Does it get the job done?
Is it as safe as can be?
Now, back on topic, I thought it interesting that one of the bonuses for Russia here was the fact that they could launch from closer to the equator. I feel like I should know this, but I don't:
Can someone explain to me why that is so vital? I mean, why can't they launch straight up in the air and assume a tilted orbit? Why does it make such a difference when they launch closer to the equator?
I feel like the answer should be obvious to me, but it isn't. What am I overlooking?
Okay, never mind. I just looked it up. It really amazes me that the Earth's spin makes that much of a difference.
Just use a glad bag!
One other reason that Apples cost more is because you are not buying just a computer, you are buying "cool." Apple has become like Nike (more about the brand than the product). Just watch the commercials.
Macs are high-quality products! No denying that. However, the reason we pay extra for Mac is not just for the superior hardware. We pay extra for the name and for the cool.
Watch the TV commercials. Sony is trying to become cool like Apple, but they aren't making it, even though their computers are well-designed, high-quality computers. They haven't become cool like that, though, and I don't think they ever will.
When you mentioned social promotion, I assumed you meant passing 6th-graders to 7th grade even though they can't read on a 5th grade level. This is a complex issue, which may reflect as much on society as on our schools. If this isn't what you meant, let me know.
Also, did you notice from their website that it only works with OSX?
I don't know what I could have said that made you think that I am unfamiliar with the quality of not assuming anything outside of the information that I am able to reasonably verify.
I was looking at an interesting statement and attempting to examine some of the expectations and tendencies human beings seem to have. For example, I know people who think, "No WMDs were found. That means they have been removed to Syria (or hidden or whatever)." In an opposite situation (If WMDs had been found) I know people who might think, "They were planted there by US troops." Others would withhold judgement until all the facts were in. Still others will have a different definition of 'reasonable verification' than you. Yet others will wait until ALL of the facts were in, especially those facts that back up their own preconceived notions. Finally, there will be some (like you, we must suppose) who will keep an open mind and try to have as few preconceived notions as possible.
I find this statement interesting. It seems that if WMDs were found, you would assume they had been planted by some covert group.
We all believe what we want, and many of us here seem to be using the facts to back up our own notions.
They have been doing this for years. It's the most common form of assessment out there in elementary schools and high schools. They somehow even manage to assess writing skills this way.
This is fine as long as you use it in moderation. It is a lot cheaper to grade multiple-choice tests than handwritten tests. It is, however, far from the most effective way to find out what students know.
The point I am trying to make is that this sort of thing (multiple choice response) is one of the quickest and easiest ways to assess student learning, but it is far from the most effective. So this sort of technology could be extremely useful if used correctly, and not as a substitute for more effective ways of finding out who's learning what. It could greatly supplement effective teaching and assessment practices.
Still, I totally agree with you on this one. I find myself guilty of it an alarmingly large number of times.
I guess that boobs are censored, then, because a majority disagrees with you, or at least a voting majority or an oral majority, the only kind of majority that counts as far as these things go.
Another thing that your post made me think of was the fact that WoW and games like that don't seem to depict nearly the realism that porn can. It seems a lot harder to show realistic death than realistic boobs. (Insert implant joke here)
Anyway, thanks for your response.
Dang! Now I can't hate Apple as much! Now if they only make it affordable, I'll have no choice!
How about punishing the person who broke the law? You want to punish more people, extend the law to punish the enablers.
If you look at boobs in a game, the effects are way more similar to the effects of seeing real boobs. Seeing someone die on a game is very different than seeing someone get gunned down in real life. Just ask someone who's witnessed a drive-by or been to war. They start sweating and their heart-rate increases when they start talking about it. The video game death is out of our heads in minutes. I still talk about the time my roommate and I had someone get murdered in our apartment building. I never talk about the time we almost saw someone's boobs.
... or college. Everywhere I've gone to school uses my SS number to identify me.
...or are public elementary schools.
That's an oversimplification of the answer I found in the FAQ.
My thoughts: It's probably no big deal and they are just being extra careful.
I thought it was Flipchip Pin Grid Array.
As long as it's YOUR money, not mine.