Charles H

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• Commented on Things publishers can't do (yet)
  If his prediction about page shedding is correct (or if it's shared by many people) then it doesn't matter that what you say is it's a trade paperback, he says I'm not buying it in that form factor. For that...
• Commented on Things publishers can't do (yet)
  Magazine serials used to commonly do that without too much problem. Of course, it wouldn't work for all works, but it would for a large number. IIRC, Dune was originally a 5 part serial...actually two serials, one 3 part and...
• Commented on Political failure modes and the beige dictatorship
  P.S.: The only reasonable alternative that has occurred to me is the randomized choice of officials that was mentioned earlier. But do note the importance of diluting the power of any one official in such a system. Some of the...
• Commented on Political failure modes and the beige dictatorship
  That's not quite correct, though close. A smaller government can be supported *if* it's a government that yields more control to those deciding policy. (Even in that case, though, it's one of the rarer modes of action.) To me the...
• Commented on The Anthropic Stupidity Hypothesis
  Yes, human brains have shrunk in average size since the early Cro-Magnons. (OTOH, we don't have that many Cro-Magnon skulls, so this could be a sampling bias.) The normal explanation is that their organization has gotten more efficient. I know...
• Commented on The Anthropic Stupidity Hypothesis
  Even corvids (and I think a couple of insects) can invent new (to them) tools. The problem is establishing a culture that can pass them on. Chimpanzees have managed that, but I don't know of any non-anthropoid that has done...
• Commented on The Anthropic Stupidity Hypothesis
  Humans predate on other humans, so there's your arms race. Also check out "Machivellian Intelligence". As to why we aren't more intelligence, it's probably too expensive in various different ways. Birth problems is one of the big costs, and, in...
• Commented on Tapeworm Logic
  The problem is that it's a poor metaphor to deal with the Fermi paradox. Tapeworms are sessile. Tapeworms can only manipulate their enviroment via chemical cues. And their host is alive. (Unless you opt to take the simulation argument seriously,...
• Commented on Tapeworm Logic
  What you need to realize is that those "primes" are metaphors for corporations. Look at the characteristic you listed. Consider the attitude of many corporations towards their (non-managerial?) employees. So we've already encountered them. They're just as dangerous as you...
• Commented on Tapeworm Logic
  Evolution is a very clumsy process, and selects from those things that happen to appear. If most of the people you meet are your close kin, then altruism towards people is selected for. If some of them are enemies, then...
• Commented on Fang Fuckers: some reflections (in a mirror)
  Saberhagen's Count Vladimir doesn't seem to fit the general mould either. (But I think he does whitewash the historical Vlad Teppis a bit.)...
• Commented on What are the big issues of 2013 going to be?
  The thing is, domestic PV costs doesn't free you from mains cost, unless battery prices come WAY down...which they don't appear to be doing. So, subject to sensible regulations, domestic PV isn't a threat to mains distribution. But it *is*...
• Commented on Things that keep me awake at night #1: The end of telephony
  Greylisting, perhaps? That's sort of like whitelisting, as whitelisted numbers get through immediately, but unrecognized numbers go directly to an answering machine (which you can configure to be audible or silent). A more sophisticated version would have pass codes, but...
• Commented on The ticking clock
  It's not *just* a thought experiment. Terry Pratchett was given a somewhat similar sentence. He seems to be continuing to write books, though I think he now has more co-authors. But his sense of humor seems to be slipping. (I...
• Commented on 2512
  No. The first rational genomes will be extremely small. In fact, IIRC, it's already being worked on. The entity will be a procaryote, sort of, but it will have a differrent gene coding system. (OTOH, I think it's still basically...
• Commented on 2512
  Additionally, cooling things off rapidly while the oceans are warm is a recepie for a global ice age. (OTOH, Greenland melting may lead to a mini-ice age around the northern Atlantic.)...
• Commented on 2512
  My expectation is that batteries are nearing their limits. Capacitors, however, don't appear to be even close to theirs. This is one area in which I expect "vacuum nanotechnology" to be significant, but it might be doable with other means....
• Commented on 2512
  Sorry, but there have been periods in the Earth's past when the tropics got too hot for tropical vegetation to live there. I think the Triassic was (or contained?) such a period. So we can't depend on anything natural being...
• Commented on 2512
  I'm not sure about self-driving taxis. It's a tempting idea, but how does one deal with the vandalism problem? And inspection after every ride? Internal cameras with passenger recognition? I think that's more of an "eventually". (Well within 500 years...
• Commented on 2512
  While I'll accept your definition of a speciation event. (With reservations. Cultural backsliding may cause us to periodically lose GM skills.) I think the "ethical considerations" with respect to genetic modifications is a cultural thing, and is subject to changes...
• Commented on 2512
  If you were to allow uploading, then zipping around the universe at the speed of light would be reasonable. But you'd need a VERY robust error correction code....
• Commented on Context is everything
  You are right that historic cycles don't repeat, but the do rhyme. Similar circumstances bring forth similar responses. Saying it will be a medieval serfdom isn't precisely correct, since it will be different. But if the circumstances are similar, it...
• Commented on Context is everything
  Limiting offspring to control population (i.e., no more than you can support) has been seen among several animals in natural environments. Most of the ones I heard of have been birds. The usual approach is some variant of infanticide. But...
• Commented on Context is everything
  What are your purposes? Quibbling about terminology, e.g., "Save the Earth" has importance in sharpening your perspective, but it isn't going to change anybody's mind, only, perhaps, improve communication. Few people would disagree with anything you said (unless power or...