almost_started's comments

On: Intel open sourced Stephen Hawking’s speech system

[almost_started]

.Net WinForms? No wonder it sounds so bad.

On: NASA announces discovery of Earth-like planet with earth similarity index 0.98

[almost_started]

It HAD an ESI of 0.98 1075 years ago. By now, the inhabitants have burned through all their fossil fuels and then annihilated each other with nuclear weapons leaving the planet in both a long-term nuclear winter and with a runaway greenhouse effect. Its ESI must be at least 1.0 by now.

[psaintla → almost_started]

I'm not sure what fossil fuels and nuclear weapons have to do with this but 1075 years isn't a very long time. There may not be intelligent life on the planet yet.

[redcalx → psaintla]

"There may not be intelligent life on the planet yet"

Sounds pretty similar.

[psaintla → redcalx]

Yes, let's not celebrate human achievement and think about the positive possibilities, let's focus on the negative at every turn.

[redcalx → psaintla]

> let's focus on the negative at every turn

You mean like the dearth of humour?

[psaintla → redcalx]

The cynicism is amazing.

[ck2 → almost_started]

Even earth has survived 5000 years of civilizations with the last 200 at that level.

Problem is even with a probe at 10% the speed of light we'll never even see it.

Heck if it was 107.5 light years away it would still be "useless" but might inspire better telescopes.

[myth_buster → almost_started]

Your comment reminded me of

  intelligence is a kind of lethal mutation

comment made by Ernst Mayr.

Here [0] is Noam Chomsky's talk referencing that in it's entirety. Quite fascinating. I'll link to the video when I find some time.

Edit: Video snippet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzBqPiSpgVA

[0]: http://www.chomsky.info/talks/20100930.htm

On: Target stores hit by data breach affecting 40 million cards

[almost_started]

Well, they are sort of asking for it with a name like "Target", and a giant red bullseye painted on every fricken store!