Simon

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• Commented on Schadenfreude
  This doesn't differ that much from many nation state currencies which are backed on the "good faith and credit" of the polity....
• Commented on Trust Me (I'm a kettle)
  This is not entirely a new problem. There was a rash of picture frame Malware back in the 00's , 2007 and 2008 http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/yet-another-digital-picture-frame-malware-incident/ Its only going to get worse and in the end I would not be surprised to...
• Commented on The cult of justice
  I ama little leery of your first point and unsure of 2 and 3 On #1 I've personally seen non Primate animals, Corvids in particular with something akin to a court and I don't think they have relgious ideation. A...
• Commented on What scared H. P. Lovecraft
  Lovecraft was a complex individual some combination of privelage and perury (he went hungry quite often) along with a certain madness riding that change wave you mentioned created his unique style. As for sinugulatarian scary, the best scene I've noticed...
• Commented on The revolution will not be hand-stitched
  Automation and Convergence are not going to make a better world, technically they can but humanity has exceeded its social carrying capacity. We aren't capable of good enough judgements to tget through many of the problems we face. I suspect...
• Commented on Another deceptively simple question
  With apologies for replying to myself. I neglected a couple of things. The issue in play is a faliure of policy in the interaction of the society with cultures that make up parts of it. Its not a race issue...
• Commented on Another deceptively simple question
  My general guess is that do to various social and technologicla trends, you'll see a lot of fragmentation in the market. Paperbacks might survive for a while yet and E-Books will certainly grow more diverse, howevever the actual number of...
• Commented on Time tourism
  Agreed on the cultural issue if not the language . Still I think the way women think and what they want would have a pretty big part in it as well. In the modern West there is only a little...
• Commented on On Syria
  Not well but thats reality. Power is in fact truth. The only reason that anything like "human rights" exist is that either a hegemon or someone with enough power chooses to do something about actions they don't like, Thats also...
• Commented on On Syria
  A pox on both their houses I say. Neither of the parties involved in that civil war and darned few of the civilians either are friends or allies of ours. If they insist on killing each other, let them. As...
• Commented on The next moves in the Spooks v. News cold war
  You do know the Right sees the Left as doing the same thing with a Marxist influenced "Deep State" moled into entertainment and education. I've even heard the same terms used....
• Commented on The next moves in the Spooks v. News cold war
  Err, Google? Google is part of the system. Silicon Valley and the others like Google aren't a band of plucky rebels these days, if they ever were. They aremore like one of those staid old companies that sells leg irons...
• Commented on The next moves in the Spooks v. News cold war
  Not very likely, anyone as connected as the Clintons has long been co-opted in the group think. Not by some conspiracy exactly but by the way education is delivered , promotions are handed out and political machines work If Paul...
• Commented on The next moves in the Spooks v. News cold war
  The reason for the "United" things going bad so fast is pretty simple. Like most polities they are far too large and not homogenius enough. The idea that bigger is better is just wrong IMO and humanity would be better...
• Commented on Snowden leaks: the real take-home
  When our host hits the ball, he hits a homerun (yes I am from the USA. Why do you ask? ;) Fine, fine piece of writing. Anwyay those last words "avoided major expenses like children" ought to scare the powerful...
• Commented on The Anthropic Stupidity Hypothesis
  People aren't smarter because apparently there is no particular evolutionary situation where more smarts would be an advantage. Humans are ready are the dominant verterbrate on planet Earth and are numerous and found in nearly every land based niche. What...
• Commented on Women in SF and Fantasy
  Anything domestic before the 1950's or so was a lot of work and its little wonder that people wanted to get some progress ASAP. Just use an outhouse one cold winter (I have) and you'l long for an indoor toilet....
• Commented on Big Guns[1]
  Force of bad habit here, part of my post was directed at our host and not his most excellent stand in who is like myself is American . Mea Culpa. I guess you could substutute a different pronoun for your...
• Commented on Big Guns[1]
  The problem with the gun issue or the crime issue in general in the US is that its cultural not factual. Its simply not possible to have a rational discussion of the issues, get useful data or deal with it...
• Commented on The ticking clock, stopped
  of course I'd take it. Heck there is a non trivial chance that some of us will end up actually doing jsomething ust like that. As for doing things, I'd build my own little Lothlorian and keep on keeping on....
• Commented on 2512
  RFID tags are in their infancy. The jury is still out on that one. And exactly that fear of street crime is what will bring about a tyranny. Why not have state watch your house to keep you safe. I...
• Commented on 2512
  Yes, but. This assumes that humans are the failure point. That won'ty necessarily be the case. A pervasive surviellance system could easily consist of simple, efficient weighing algorythms linked to interactive databases. We could program a crude version in LISP...
• Commented on 2512
  Concetrating on conventional weapons seems to miss the point in my opinion. Certainly guerillas will be well guerillas and use technology in novel and hard to predict ways. Its the uncoventional stuff that counts even for nations or whatever replaces...
• Commented on 2512
  A point on this though, While I agree the Shroud of Turin is almost certainly a manufactured relic, thats actually not relevent. Its sacred because people regard it was scared. It has I dunno, numina for lack of a better...
• Commented on 2512
  500 years is far to long to predict anything really. I suspect it won't be very pleasant and they won't remember anything about us postdating printed books One solid EMP event which has a non trivial chance of happening in...