comicjk

53 ms·

541.
by comicjk 13y ago
I agree that there are no universal morals. I propose this solution: we let everyone follow his own morals as much as possible, and when it's impossible for everyone to be satisfied on a given point, we vote on it. Constitutional democracy
542.
by comicjk 13y ago
Yes, we could use more research in the technical side of that. Right now hard-rock drilling is so expensive that geothermal is only viable where natural circulation of underground water brings heat up from hotter regions.
543.
by comicjk 14y ago
True, it will also increase internal resistance. I'm more of a thermo guy, though, so I can't estimate the remainder.
544.
by comicjk 14y ago
In fact cooling solar cells does make them more efficient. It's just that the effect is small because the "high" temperature is already so high (the temperature of the incoming photons is effectively that of the surface of the sun). A Carno
545.
by comicjk 14y ago
This is the problem with stating efficiency in terms of energy instead of exergy (work). Capturing the low-temperature waste heat of the solar panels is not comparable to capturing the same amount of energy as electricity. It's a good techn
546.
by comicjk 14y ago
I agree with you. That said, to quote the article, "this is true even for young Americans who are financially well off." I have no money problems, but I never got a license and I eat limited meat, with environmental reasons as a major facto
547.
by comicjk 14y ago
> by this logic we should just follow the fantasies of whoever comes up with the most catastrophic scenario - no matter the likelihood. This is called "Pascal's Mugging." http://lesswrong.com/lw/kd/pascals_mugging_tiny_probabilitie...
548.
by comicjk 14y ago
Ergo impiorum designare omnia tempora "inter arma"
549.
by comicjk 14y ago
This brings up the problem of patent terms. At least in software, the ordinary term of a patent is obviously much too long. Even granting a ten-year monopoly would be onerous in this business; twenty is absurd - the technological landscape
550.
by comicjk 14y ago
Yes, surely the fishermen who were sailing it would be ignorant of shallow rocks right next to the boat. It's not like they would have to avoid hitting them.
551.
by comicjk 14y ago
If speculators decide they've had enough and start selling, then the bitcoin will return to a value based on its usefulness for transactions, instead of its attractiveness as an investment. How far it can go down depends on the size of cons
552.
by comicjk 14y ago
Which allows interesting strategies. If you put a smart person in the right scenario with the right hints, he will reinvent whatever you want. You just have to keep him in the dark until the flash of brilliance, and you have a patented-idea
553.
by comicjk 14y ago
Uh, finance? Maybe this isn't as obvious to a non-New Yorker, but that seems to me like the easiest way for a smart person to make money.
554.
by comicjk 14y ago
The title of the article is horribly misleading. The coverage area is thirteen blocks. That's maybe 1/3 of Chelsea.
555.
by comicjk 14y ago
> I know we'll have to take a hit, just as the armed forces did take hits when they put negroes, and then women, and then homosexuals on the firing line. If by "take a hit" he means "take political arguments," then this is true but irr
556.
by comicjk 14y ago
If you're writing games or scientific programs, you still need C++, if not Fortran or assembly.
557.
by comicjk 14y ago
Wow, I guess my family have some handy mutations here...my mom and dad were both born to mothers older than 36, and my mom gave birth to me and my brother at 39 and 42, respectively. As fertility technology improves, don't you think that su
558.
by comicjk 14y ago
> It's a false distinction because we all eventually die... There _only are_ N-year survival rates. The metric he's discussing is death rate from the disease in question. So although we all eventually die, we don't all die from, for e
559.
by comicjk 14y ago
99%+ of Stuyvesant students graduate, so that's not really a good measure at the level of the specialized high schools. Also, there are practically no black or Latino kids to compare. In 2011 72% of the students were Asian and 24% were whit
560.
by comicjk 14y ago
Stuyvesant has plenty of bad teachers. The good schools are largely defined by getting the good students. If we switched the student body of Stuyvesant with that of Washington Irving, Washington Irving would become one of the best high scho
561.
by comicjk 14y ago
I would say the 10 is best for Turing regardless of color. It has a 1 and a 0, apt for a computer scientist.
562.
by comicjk 14y ago
The common Chinese understanding of government is cyclical: each dynasty dispels the abuses of the past when it arrives, then becomes corrupt and is itself overthrown. The current regime is trying to base its legitimacy on "results" - ie gr
563.
by comicjk 14y ago
I suspect that the thoughts people have in space will be of the same order as those they have on the ground. Thus space tourism is unlikely to have much mind-expanding effect. We have profound quotes from astronauts because we don't send id
564.
by comicjk 14y ago
Like the Viking probes, Curiosity uses the heat from natural decay, not fission. It's a much more foolproof system than a reactor, but it only generates 110W, meaning it needs batteries to handle bursts of demand over 110W.
565.
by comicjk 14y ago
Romney is comparing money loaned ($90 billion) to money spent ($2.8 billion). As an investor Romney knows the distinction; as a politician he knows that many voters will not.
566.
by comicjk 14y ago
"American" is not a race. If anything it's the opposite.
567.
by comicjk 14y ago
Lithium-air batteries (an immature technology, certainly) have an energy per gram 3.5 times less than gasoline's. But electric motors are about 3.5 times more efficient than internal combustion engines. And the technology to produce synthet
568.
by comicjk 14y ago
| Pen and Paper -> Computers Computers existed in 1960, but they didn't replace pen and paper (and electric typewriters) until the 1990s. | Newspapers -> Ubiquitous electronic media. This obviously happened after 1960. I do not cons
569.
by comicjk 14y ago
Keeping a separate connection to the database for searching, which doesn't effect the performance of the current messages? That sounds like the kind of thing computers should be doing for us.
570.
by comicjk 14y ago
Or just install twice the solar panels, if they're getting cheap enough. Or put them 4 time zones East (they will have to float in some cases) and send the electricity West.

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