..with a broom handle and thrown in Guantanamo Bay forever.
Nah, I doubt that would have happened - this was an white kid. But if he'd been, um, not white....o yeah, they would have totally gone Abu Ghraib on him.
...that most banner ads will have a giant 'BETA' slapped across them? And frankly, banner are just a problem for folks you don't use the Firefox/Ad-Blocker/No-Script combo.... body blow! body blow! Put him away!!!!
I loved FF as much as the next sci-fi fan. I watched the entire series several times. But, IMO, prequels are the last vestige of the marketing department. That one last chance to generate some revenue. Just let it go guys so I can grieve and get some closure.
You are confusing simulation with education. All the simulation in the multiverse will not help you 'understand' anything. Crack a book, look it up, and site your sources if you disagree.
Thinkgeek has had these for sale for awhile (originally pre-order - currently out-of-stock). They have a pretty decent video hosted on their site. IMO, nothing can ever beat my Teddy Ruxpin...../tears up
All able-minded humans have an inherent aversion to harming other people for no reason. In order to get someone to hurt and/or kill a non-threatening person, they must be desensitized to that action. A person who's gets cut-off in traffic, insulted, or otherwise angered (but not threatened) may want to hurt the offender but will most-likely restrain themselves because of their nature aversion to violence.
If the same person has spent 100's of hours simulating brutally violent reactions to non-threatening stimuli, they would be more likely to ignore their aversion to violence and follow through on their initial urge to hurt someone.
I am talking about interacting violently, not simply observing. But basically yes; if a person spends significant time interacting with spiders they will eventually come to either enjoy them or stop interacting with them.
I agree that playing a violent game won't make a passive, non-violent person into a monster. But I am talking about, not making people into things they are not, but desensitizing people to certain types of behavior. Hours spent focusing on brutally violent actions will eventually do one of two things (even to a teddy-bear of a person):
1) You will eventually get disgusted by the actions or imagery and stop playing the game.
2) You will become desensitized to it, and eventually begin to crave the game.
From what I've observed watching games like GTA, this is not that uncommon. Like, beating a random pedestrian to death with a baseball bat, while he begs for mercy, and then having your skill points increase. I don't know if that's a perfect example, but I have definitely seen this type of model in some games.
When any game (video or otherwise) rewards a player for brutalizing a passive, non-threating character, I think it's reasonable to call that a desensitization device. Once someone become desensitized to something considered by all modern cultures to be objectionable, they are more likely to react the same way to similar real-world stimuli.
Just like therapists use certain interactive video imagery programs to help people with extreme phobias. If you have severe arachnophobia, but spend several hours every day interacting with realistic spiders in an simulated environment, you will be less likely to have a panic attack when confronted with a real-world spider. This is a long-documented psychologically valid method.
Law enforcement personnel (aka 'the police')are employed at all levels of the government. City cops, County Sheriff, State Patrol, and Federal Marshals. So it's not apples and oranges, as much as it's apples and a different kind of apples.
I think it's a bit more complex than that. The lady who answers the phones for some senator should not have to sign away major Constitutional rights just to make $28K a year. There is a reasonable middle ground between private sector employment and white collar slavery. By your reasoning, anyone who isn't self-employed (apparently the only 'real job') would be considered as 'owned' by their employer. These folks are being given a clear Hobson's choice here.
I think the first violent game ever made was chess. It basically simulates the tactics of field warfare, including the allowing of meaningless pawns to die to protect more powerful pieces. But after centuries games have become increasingly realistic. When any game (video or otherwise) rewards a player for brutalizing a passive, non-threating character, I think it's reasonable to call that a desensitization device. Once someone become desensitized to something considered by all modern cultures to be objectionable, they are more likely to react the same way to similar real-world stimuli.
Just like therapists use certain interactive video imagery programs to help people with extreme phobias. If you have severe arachnophobia, but spend several hours every day interacting with realistic spiders in an simulated environment, you will be less likely to have a panic attack when confronted with a real-world spider. This is documented psychologically valid method.
So, while you are downloading your 'gig of porn' (classy, BTW), what about your next-door neighbor whom you share a backbone switch with? He pays the same as you. Why should you get to hog unlimited bandwidth for perpetually downloaded greymarket material, why they spend hours on the phone with the ISP support wondering why their connection is so slow? Not that I don't agree with you, but that does happen...
Not really sure what an 'eternal hard drive' is, but the 360's hard drive is also eXternal and portable - though not as tiny and portable as the Wii flash card system. If I recall the Wii downloads aren't backup to the flash card, but moved there. But I am not certain of that....
Yeah, except when the consumer buys, say, Levis at Sears they are getting Levis made by the Levi-Strauss Company - in the levi-Strauss factories. When they get the 'same' Levis at Wal-Mart, they are getting more cheaply made lookalikes, made by a 3rd party, with the Levi brand stuck on them. Still, technically, Levis but not in the way the consumer thinks. Consumers are 'voting with their feet', but only because they have been lead to believe they can get the 'same thing' cheaper at Wal-Mart. Except that it's not the same thing at all, just a cheap imitation that's been branded to look like the same thing.
Comics can only be viewed in a Web browser, not downloaded,...
I'll take that bet. If it can be viewed on a screen, it can be downloaded. In fact, in a manner of speaking, if it's being viewed on your screen it has already been downloaded.
I think the argument that Wal-Mart 'drives out' the little guy is somewhat dubious as well. Though it would be interesting to see if Wal-Mart has some level of ownership in those other 'smaller stores'. Those shops rarely own the land they sit upon and I would bet that Wal-Mart (or one of its' LLC's) does. For that matter, do you know if these smaller stores are just de facto Wal-Mart owned chains?
But I digress. The real hitch for me is not the juggernaut business machine, but the borderline deception to the customer. Wal-Mart goes to a manufacture and says something like 'We want to sell your product and we will give you this dump truck full of money. All you have to do is lower your manufacturing cost by 30% by lower quality or outsourcing your workforce to Mexico.' When Wal-Mart comes on-board with a product, it generally means the entire product line quality is then reduced. Just read the account of Snapper, Inc. and how Wal-Mart changed customer perception by lowering quality.
...urge to support the Wal Mart beast. But Linux is good right? But wait...Wal Mart is not good. Unless, they throw me a open-source bone. Then they're good right? Damn, I hate moral dilemmas. Why can't everything Wal Mart sells, just be something I either do not want or do not need? It's almost as if they are pandering to....hey look! They have for $1.99/dozen!
Is Gunbound. Hands down the best free online game I have ever played. It was developed in Korea, so there is quite a bit of Engrish in there. Like today: "Come play Gunbound Tourney! Starting November 1th!". Gunbound is an artillery game. Think, qBasic Gorilla with better graphics and 10 different types of bananas.
To an 18 month old child, I doubt there much difference between the way they treat a pet and the way they treat a peer. For that matter, between nearly any object and a peer. Children will anthropomorphize anything. I've seen kids try to share their PB & J sandwich with a VCR. Is the VCR a peer? I guess in some abstract, childish way, it is. The real test is when they start competing with a parent for the affections of the robot. I still think my Mom likes her Roomba more than me....
Slashdot Mirror
Wow. Your post has spawned replies with very liberal use of fear quotes. But seriously, "I agree".
But after 'dealer delivery cost' and 'optional features' the price will be more like 15K, no doubt.
...that most banner ads will have a giant 'BETA' slapped across them? And frankly, banner are just a problem for folks you don't use the Firefox/Ad-Blocker/No-Script combo.... body blow! body blow! Put him away!!!!
I would call that for a fan fic piece. lol
I loved FF as much as the next sci-fi fan. I watched the entire series several times. But, IMO, prequels are the last vestige of the marketing department. That one last chance to generate some revenue. Just let it go guys so I can grieve and get some closure.
You are confusing simulation with education. All the simulation in the multiverse will not help you 'understand' anything. Crack a book, look it up, and site your sources if you disagree.
Thinkgeek has had these for sale for awhile (originally pre-order - currently out-of-stock). They have a pretty decent video hosted on their site. IMO, nothing can ever beat my Teddy Ruxpin..... /tears up
All able-minded humans have an inherent aversion to harming other people for no reason. In order to get someone to hurt and/or kill a non-threatening person, they must be desensitized to that action. A person who's gets cut-off in traffic, insulted, or otherwise angered (but not threatened) may want to hurt the offender but will most-likely restrain themselves because of their nature aversion to violence.
If the same person has spent 100's of hours simulating brutally violent reactions to non-threatening stimuli, they would be more likely to ignore their aversion to violence and follow through on their initial urge to hurt someone.
I am talking about interacting violently, not simply observing. But basically yes; if a person spends significant time interacting with spiders they will eventually come to either enjoy them or stop interacting with them.
I agree that playing a violent game won't make a passive, non-violent person into a monster. But I am talking about, not making people into things they are not, but desensitizing people to certain types of behavior. Hours spent focusing on brutally violent actions will eventually do one of two things (even to a teddy-bear of a person):
1) You will eventually get disgusted by the actions or imagery and stop playing the game.
2) You will become desensitized to it, and eventually begin to crave the game.
From what I've observed watching games like GTA, this is not that uncommon. Like, beating a random pedestrian to death with a baseball bat, while he begs for mercy, and then having your skill points increase. I don't know if that's a perfect example, but I have definitely seen this type of model in some games.
When any game (video or otherwise) rewards a player for brutalizing a passive, non-threating character, I think it's reasonable to call that a desensitization device. Once someone become desensitized to something considered by all modern cultures to be objectionable, they are more likely to react the same way to similar real-world stimuli.
Just like therapists use certain interactive video imagery programs to help people with extreme phobias. If you have severe arachnophobia, but spend several hours every day interacting with realistic spiders in an simulated environment, you will be less likely to have a panic attack when confronted with a real-world spider. This is a long-documented psychologically valid method.
Law enforcement personnel (aka 'the police')are employed at all levels of the government. City cops, County Sheriff, State Patrol, and Federal Marshals. So it's not apples and oranges, as much as it's apples and a different kind of apples.
I think it's a bit more complex than that. The lady who answers the phones for some senator should not have to sign away major Constitutional rights just to make $28K a year. There is a reasonable middle ground between private sector employment and white collar slavery. By your reasoning, anyone who isn't self-employed (apparently the only 'real job') would be considered as 'owned' by their employer. These folks are being given a clear Hobson's choice here.
I think the first violent game ever made was chess. It basically simulates the tactics of field warfare, including the allowing of meaningless pawns to die to protect more powerful pieces. But after centuries games have become increasingly realistic. When any game (video or otherwise) rewards a player for brutalizing a passive, non-threating character, I think it's reasonable to call that a desensitization device. Once someone become desensitized to something considered by all modern cultures to be objectionable, they are more likely to react the same way to similar real-world stimuli.
Just like therapists use certain interactive video imagery programs to help people with extreme phobias. If you have severe arachnophobia, but spend several hours every day interacting with realistic spiders in an simulated environment, you will be less likely to have a panic attack when confronted with a real-world spider. This is documented psychologically valid method.
Yeah. And the Government Run ISP in Sweden gets it money from where? Oh yeah, there's that whole 60% tax rate thing....
Just a bit of the devil's advocate here...
So, while you are downloading your 'gig of porn' (classy, BTW), what about your next-door neighbor whom you share a backbone switch with? He pays the same as you. Why should you get to hog unlimited bandwidth for perpetually downloaded greymarket material, why they spend hours on the phone with the ISP support wondering why their connection is so slow? Not that I don't agree with you, but that does happen...
Not really sure what an 'eternal hard drive' is, but the 360's hard drive is also eXternal and portable - though not as tiny and portable as the Wii flash card system. If I recall the Wii downloads aren't backup to the flash card, but moved there. But I am not certain of that....
Yeah, except when the consumer buys, say, Levis at Sears they are getting Levis made by the Levi-Strauss Company - in the levi-Strauss factories. When they get the 'same' Levis at Wal-Mart, they are getting more cheaply made lookalikes, made by a 3rd party, with the Levi brand stuck on them. Still, technically, Levis but not in the way the consumer thinks. Consumers are 'voting with their feet', but only because they have been lead to believe they can get the 'same thing' cheaper at Wal-Mart. Except that it's not the same thing at all, just a cheap imitation that's been branded to look like the same thing.
I think the argument that Wal-Mart 'drives out' the little guy is somewhat dubious as well. Though it would be interesting to see if Wal-Mart has some level of ownership in those other 'smaller stores'. Those shops rarely own the land they sit upon and I would bet that Wal-Mart (or one of its' LLC's) does. For that matter, do you know if these smaller stores are just de facto Wal-Mart owned chains?
But I digress. The real hitch for me is not the juggernaut business machine, but the borderline deception to the customer. Wal-Mart goes to a manufacture and says something like 'We want to sell your product and we will give you this dump truck full of money. All you have to do is lower your manufacturing cost by 30% by lower quality or outsourcing your workforce to Mexico.' When Wal-Mart comes on-board with a product, it generally means the entire product line quality is then reduced. Just read the account of Snapper, Inc. and how Wal-Mart changed customer perception by lowering quality.
...urge to support the Wal Mart beast. But Linux is good right? But wait...Wal Mart is not good. Unless, they throw me a open-source bone. Then they're good right? Damn, I hate moral dilemmas. Why can't everything Wal Mart sells, just be something I either do not want or do not need? It's almost as if they are pandering to....hey look! They have for $1.99/dozen!
Is Gunbound. Hands down the best free online game I have ever played. It was developed in Korea, so there is quite a bit of Engrish in there. Like today: "Come play Gunbound Tourney! Starting November 1th!". Gunbound is an artillery game. Think, qBasic Gorilla with better graphics and 10 different types of bananas.
To an 18 month old child, I doubt there much difference between the way they treat a pet and the way they treat a peer. For that matter, between nearly any object and a peer. Children will anthropomorphize anything. I've seen kids try to share their PB & J sandwich with a VCR. Is the VCR a peer? I guess in some abstract, childish way, it is. The real test is when they start competing with a parent for the affections of the robot. I still think my Mom likes her Roomba more than me....