Excellence achieved. - 24 September 2007
Sep. 25th, 2007 12:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptWhy do I say that? I have received my first six-figure check. Now, to deposit it, and receive the drafting instruments, and I’ll be ready to go. Tomorrow I try to convince young children that books are actually fun to read. Wait, maybe that’s my general daily job. Maybe it’s to convince parents that they want to read books to their children. I think that’s it.
An interesting take on how knowledge is passed around in a place where trade secrets and patents are applicable, but not necessarily used. Intellectual Property and Magicians explores how illusions could very well be considered trade secrets, and patented, but that magicians tend not to do so, preferring to build and borrow on each other’s material, with credit applied, to create shinier and flashier illusions. The article itself wonders whether the current mentality is good or not, but one of the commenters suggests that there’s not much for patent work because to patent, one must describe the process being done, which could ruin the mystery. Another says that while publishing may be needed, good illusionists are able to create the proper atmosphere for their work, and that a good showman will draw audiences, regardless of the selection of his illusions. I think there’s something in that - artisans, craftspersons, and others who make aesthetically-pleasing things can patent their processes and methods and secrets, but the method by itself means nothing, unless appleid by someone who understands it and can utilize it to the fullest potential. Violins are made every day, but Stradivarius violins will fetch great prices because of their aesthetic qualities. Perhaps that attitude can be applied to other media, rather than lockdowns and clamps and DRM out both orifices. After all, if someone can generate works of art that are composed entirely of ASCII characters, but look pencil-drawn, then there’s plenty of room for both innovation and creativity in execution. Like Red/Blue LED lights that turn the water the respective color. Or customised Mr. Potato Head dolls. Or haptic devices that simulate a cat's whiskers. (What? You thought they were all going to be cute and potentially useless things?)
Tension grows, or is perceived to do so, regarding matters of the Middle East. Iraq's prime minister is worried about his nation's sovereignty , pushing while not shoving at his American backers, as Iran closed a border with Iraq in protest over the U.S. arresting a person who had obtained an Iraqi visa. Actually in Iraq, United States soldiers are leaving "bait" packages around areas and then sniping anyone who picks it up and tries to leave with it. This, in addition to allegations that evidence was planted on dead civilians after they had been killed so as to make the case for their death more convincing. And those Blackwater cases of firing into crowds and murdering people. Oh, did we mention that the Department of Homeland Security's profiles on you are detailed to the point of noting what you bring to read on a plane, if they so desire it?
Some things are encouraging. Surprisingly, a programme about the Holocaust, financed by state dollars and running on state television, is drawing many people to it. In Iran. Coming in the same batch of information that tells me mathematically, parallel worlds may very well exist, and I might have a working example of the latter in the former.
Distressingly, here in the Americas, education about government, history, and the foundations of the Republic for which we should all be fighting is... abysmal. On this, the commentator and I can agree - more people should be civically knowledgeable. A knowledgeable populace would be less likely, in my opinion, to buy into jingoistic propaganda about brown people and a religion trying to take over the world, would fight back against the people who want to make white Christians the rulers of the country in law, rather than just in fact. Fighting against the people that are stripping away the readiness of the armed forces and National Guard to do their jobs to try and do this) They might understand and demand accountability and efficiency in running the government and force them to spend only within the means of their budget and revenues. And most of this education I got was from stepping outside the classroom and learning a few things from others by asking questions and doing some research. Can’t have hurt that I was forced through two history courses, stone-skippers that they were, a civics class, and then elected to take on a comparative government course and some other things. For public schools not to give a thorough grounding in government is inexcusable.
ABC News holds something of interest to us - a look at "conversion therapy" for gay men, noting that it’s not generally successful, and that the “failure” could be very harmful to people’s psyches. Tell me again why someone would want to worship a demon that says the different must be killed or subjugated? The people who fire a teacher because he taught that the Bible should not be interpreted as straight truth. And that link global warming to the flood of Noah.
Amazon rainforests responds well to drought, counter to computer models. This response is the photosynthetic response, with lots more of that going on in the sunlight and heat. A continued drought, however, is always deadly. Perhaps that positive response was getting some much-needed light through the canopy and allowing things to leaf out a bit more. Perhaps there was some drawing on reserves, as well.
I might have found a(nother?) justification as to why things wander around so many different places in these linkdumps - Generalists generally don't have major funks when they hit setbacks. So if one idea turns out to be a bust, then there’s another way of going about it. One news article about negative reactions to something, along with a positive one about some other possible way of achieving the goal. Like building rovers that will learn and be curious about their environment so that they can cover much more ground quickly. There are occasional bumps, much like what happens when Hume children first learn to move, but it should learn quickly and start finding interesting things.
The next-to-last bits, which are as interesting as the last bits, but just preceding them, are two things that have a common thread, just realized. First, the underlying philosophy - Radical Honesty, the idea that everyone should say only honest things to each other. Cuts out all the bullshit, probably pisses some people off while you’re at it, and then things sort of subside back to normal once people realize that the world didn’t end by saying something honest or receiving it. Why do we like good critics? They’re radically honest. If it sucks, they say so. So, keep that idea in mind as the Slacktivist provides an excellent example of what happens when Radical Honesty is used in The Question and the Column, where a black athlete answers the question “What’s it like being a black athlete in a position where a bunch of white dudes resent your success and think that any white guy could do a better job than the best black guy?” with the truth “We have to work twice as hard just to be seen on the same level as the white guy.” And then the reporters write their column saying how much of a race-charged answer that was, and that America is a racism-free zone. Really. Mike Freeman calls them on that bullshit, and then we get a treat to some of the responses to that column about how much America really is a race-blind society. With all those accusations of playing a race card and race-related arguments, one might almost think that we’re not really a colorblind, race-indifferent society. But that is, of course, preposterous. We don’t discriminate in law, so we must not do it in society.
Last for tonight - Happiness is a warm electrode? A technique called deep-brain stimulation delivers small but steady current to the area of the brain thought to be a mood regulator. It could be helpful in treating patients with severe depression and get them back on a more even keel. Might be the answer to severe depression like full-spectrum lighting is for those affected with the seasonal variety.
Thus, having dropped a giant amount of data on you all, I’m going off to bed to get well-rested and ready to tell stories to pre-kindergarten-aged children. (They all are that, actually, but you know what I mean.)
An interesting take on how knowledge is passed around in a place where trade secrets and patents are applicable, but not necessarily used. Intellectual Property and Magicians explores how illusions could very well be considered trade secrets, and patented, but that magicians tend not to do so, preferring to build and borrow on each other’s material, with credit applied, to create shinier and flashier illusions. The article itself wonders whether the current mentality is good or not, but one of the commenters suggests that there’s not much for patent work because to patent, one must describe the process being done, which could ruin the mystery. Another says that while publishing may be needed, good illusionists are able to create the proper atmosphere for their work, and that a good showman will draw audiences, regardless of the selection of his illusions. I think there’s something in that - artisans, craftspersons, and others who make aesthetically-pleasing things can patent their processes and methods and secrets, but the method by itself means nothing, unless appleid by someone who understands it and can utilize it to the fullest potential. Violins are made every day, but Stradivarius violins will fetch great prices because of their aesthetic qualities. Perhaps that attitude can be applied to other media, rather than lockdowns and clamps and DRM out both orifices. After all, if someone can generate works of art that are composed entirely of ASCII characters, but look pencil-drawn, then there’s plenty of room for both innovation and creativity in execution. Like Red/Blue LED lights that turn the water the respective color. Or customised Mr. Potato Head dolls. Or haptic devices that simulate a cat's whiskers. (What? You thought they were all going to be cute and potentially useless things?)
Tension grows, or is perceived to do so, regarding matters of the Middle East. Iraq's prime minister is worried about his nation's sovereignty , pushing while not shoving at his American backers, as Iran closed a border with Iraq in protest over the U.S. arresting a person who had obtained an Iraqi visa. Actually in Iraq, United States soldiers are leaving "bait" packages around areas and then sniping anyone who picks it up and tries to leave with it. This, in addition to allegations that evidence was planted on dead civilians after they had been killed so as to make the case for their death more convincing. And those Blackwater cases of firing into crowds and murdering people. Oh, did we mention that the Department of Homeland Security's profiles on you are detailed to the point of noting what you bring to read on a plane, if they so desire it?
Some things are encouraging. Surprisingly, a programme about the Holocaust, financed by state dollars and running on state television, is drawing many people to it. In Iran. Coming in the same batch of information that tells me mathematically, parallel worlds may very well exist, and I might have a working example of the latter in the former.
Distressingly, here in the Americas, education about government, history, and the foundations of the Republic for which we should all be fighting is... abysmal. On this, the commentator and I can agree - more people should be civically knowledgeable. A knowledgeable populace would be less likely, in my opinion, to buy into jingoistic propaganda about brown people and a religion trying to take over the world, would fight back against the people who want to make white Christians the rulers of the country in law, rather than just in fact. Fighting against the people that are stripping away the readiness of the armed forces and National Guard to do their jobs to try and do this) They might understand and demand accountability and efficiency in running the government and force them to spend only within the means of their budget and revenues. And most of this education I got was from stepping outside the classroom and learning a few things from others by asking questions and doing some research. Can’t have hurt that I was forced through two history courses, stone-skippers that they were, a civics class, and then elected to take on a comparative government course and some other things. For public schools not to give a thorough grounding in government is inexcusable.
ABC News holds something of interest to us - a look at "conversion therapy" for gay men, noting that it’s not generally successful, and that the “failure” could be very harmful to people’s psyches. Tell me again why someone would want to worship a demon that says the different must be killed or subjugated? The people who fire a teacher because he taught that the Bible should not be interpreted as straight truth. And that link global warming to the flood of Noah.
Amazon rainforests responds well to drought, counter to computer models. This response is the photosynthetic response, with lots more of that going on in the sunlight and heat. A continued drought, however, is always deadly. Perhaps that positive response was getting some much-needed light through the canopy and allowing things to leaf out a bit more. Perhaps there was some drawing on reserves, as well.
I might have found a(nother?) justification as to why things wander around so many different places in these linkdumps - Generalists generally don't have major funks when they hit setbacks. So if one idea turns out to be a bust, then there’s another way of going about it. One news article about negative reactions to something, along with a positive one about some other possible way of achieving the goal. Like building rovers that will learn and be curious about their environment so that they can cover much more ground quickly. There are occasional bumps, much like what happens when Hume children first learn to move, but it should learn quickly and start finding interesting things.
The next-to-last bits, which are as interesting as the last bits, but just preceding them, are two things that have a common thread, just realized. First, the underlying philosophy - Radical Honesty, the idea that everyone should say only honest things to each other. Cuts out all the bullshit, probably pisses some people off while you’re at it, and then things sort of subside back to normal once people realize that the world didn’t end by saying something honest or receiving it. Why do we like good critics? They’re radically honest. If it sucks, they say so. So, keep that idea in mind as the Slacktivist provides an excellent example of what happens when Radical Honesty is used in The Question and the Column, where a black athlete answers the question “What’s it like being a black athlete in a position where a bunch of white dudes resent your success and think that any white guy could do a better job than the best black guy?” with the truth “We have to work twice as hard just to be seen on the same level as the white guy.” And then the reporters write their column saying how much of a race-charged answer that was, and that America is a racism-free zone. Really. Mike Freeman calls them on that bullshit, and then we get a treat to some of the responses to that column about how much America really is a race-blind society. With all those accusations of playing a race card and race-related arguments, one might almost think that we’re not really a colorblind, race-indifferent society. But that is, of course, preposterous. We don’t discriminate in law, so we must not do it in society.
Last for tonight - Happiness is a warm electrode? A technique called deep-brain stimulation delivers small but steady current to the area of the brain thought to be a mood regulator. It could be helpful in treating patients with severe depression and get them back on a more even keel. Might be the answer to severe depression like full-spectrum lighting is for those affected with the seasonal variety.
Thus, having dropped a giant amount of data on you all, I’m going off to bed to get well-rested and ready to tell stories to pre-kindergarten-aged children. (They all are that, actually, but you know what I mean.)
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 01:48 pm (UTC)The main problem with Many Worlds is that it was originally formulated to "solve" the Schroedinger's Cat "paradox" - we now know that the formulation of that thought experiment doesn't accurately reflect the nature of quantum entanglement (although lots of physicists seem to forget this), and so the original impetus has been removed.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-26 09:05 am (UTC)We use Newtonian Mechanics because it was discovered first, and it is easier to calculate with than General Relativity. Thus, when we're working in regimes where the corrections due to GR are not significant, it is sensible to use Newtonian Mechanics.
My understanding of the paper is that it does not /change/ the basic behaviour of quantum mechanics - there is no "additional level of accuracy" gained, just a level of potential /explanation/. Thus, you can't actually calculate anything useful with it - but you can use it to explain why your existing calculations /work/. Since there are a bunch of other explanations, some of which are even deterministic, there seems no particular reason to pick this one over all the others. (The state of play is actually that Many Worlds has always been hampered by /not/ being able to provide this kind of detailed explanation - this paper just makes it competitive with newer ideas again.)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-26 03:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-26 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-26 06:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 03:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 03:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 03:34 pm (UTC)It's nation-wide, first time since 1970. None of the workers are going into the factories, they all walked out yesterday. My friend who works with the machines at GM had to BREAK into the factory. There are picketers EVERYWHERE and it's a huge deal in Michigan because of all of the auto factories, but it's been on the national news too.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 03:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 03:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 06:31 pm (UTC)And the end of their contract? Did all the negotiations fail so spectacularly that they've actually run out of a contract without finding a compromise that works? Wow.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 03:58 pm (UTC)And you'll be great telling stories. What story did you pick for your first time? :)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 06:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 06:36 pm (UTC)What was the theme?
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 09:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 10:58 pm (UTC)I think I've personally learned more about American History in the past five years I've been out of college, than I had in high school or college. Heck, I didn't even take a history class in college. It wasn't a requirement for me.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 11:10 pm (UTC)I think it's sad that you didn't need a history requirement, nor a government one. We send people out of high school believing that we've given them sufficient knowledge to make their way in the world and survive. If you don't know why to vote, or what things a candidate says that should set off alarm bells because it's contrary to the very fabric and history of the country, then school fails miserably. (And that's before we talk about financial knowledge, maturation knowledge, and other such subjects) University, by accepting you, assumes that you either have that knowledge or will learn it in your dealings with their school. Rather than trying to turn school elections into matters resembling the real things, the real elections are resembling school ones, ridiculous promises and appeals to popularity included. It shouldn't take someone stomping on the Constitution for someone to sleepily notice that their rights are being overturned - they shoud have been out in the field with pitchforks and shotguns at the first sign there was a weasel.
And still I'm sure there are people who won't vote in the next election cycle because they don't know how, are defrauded of their rightful vote by people who want to suppress their demographic, or can't be arsed enough to get out and cast a ballot for their ideological match (or closest to). Civics and history classes should be able to instill the desire to become knowledgeable about issues and candidates and to use their elective power wisely and responsibly.
Our kids is not learning, and it seems more and more that our "education" system is actively trying to make it harder for them to learn.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-25 11:37 pm (UTC)My major didn't require any history or government. I had a humanities requirement - but that was nicely covered by freshman English, English 202, and women's studies (Ok, i lie. WMST was a lot of history) the two English classes were requirements that happened to double count.
It's not surprising I didn't have to take history. My major theoretically had nothing to do with history, considering I even chose Early Childhood Education as my focus. And unless something is made a requirement, it's not going to get taken as an elective.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-26 03:40 am (UTC)As I said, at university, if you didn't learn it before, there's no requirement that you learn it there. Mind you, you will, if you take classes that have had history or politics intersect with them in some meaningful way, but that's it, really. Most people exit high school without requisite knowledge, and then they do what they're supposed to do in university - focus and specialize somewhat in their chosen field of study. If it's not imparted by 18, when you get the right to vote, there's no real chance to regain that unless you make self-effort. That's what I'm getting at. How many of your fellows actually elect to improve their political knowledge when it doesn't directly affect them (and even then, how many actually do it?)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-26 04:07 am (UTC)Well, when Election 2000 was underway, it was the first election myself and most of my peers were voting in that was "important", so out of my FRIENDS, I'd say we did a great job at getting ourselves informed and trying to inform the rest of the campus. Can't say much for anyone else, though.