nova

22 ms·

61.
by nova 13y ago
We need an alternative mechanism to fund medical research. Granting artificial monopolies aka patents isn't cutting it, and it's getting highly unethical. Given that what we currently have isn't a free-market approach at all
62.
by nova 13y ago
Steganography, then?
63.
by nova 13y ago
Are the (few in percentage) "good patents" the carrot so that we the pull the cart and accept the whole patent system?
64.
by nova 13y ago
> Not everyone with a patent is a troll, rather many are the little guy who were not able to win the race because A) they don't have enough resources or B) they couldn't rally enough troops to get behind them In other words, th
65.
by nova 13y ago
Arithmetic coding, one of the early victims of software patents.
66.
by nova 13y ago
> You don't need to be doing something illegal, in order to want privacy... But due to the existence of general-purpose computers the only way of really enforcing copyright law (meaning to stop the unauthorized transfer of informati
67.
by nova 13y ago
Maybe if we didn't have the absurd excuse of "the tyrant is evil, but at least he'll die someday" we would be more inclined to do something , instead of sheepishly obeying and letting time pass.
68.
by nova 13y ago
> I can accept everything about being human, except for death, so this is a challenge I've wanted to take on since I was quite young, but was afraid to directly face. Glad to read this. The enterprise will be very difficult, but yo
69.
by nova 13y ago
Your reasoning seems too ceteris paribus. I'd say that widespread immortality would have big social consequences other than just people not dying.
70.
by nova 13y ago
If only it were merely technically and scientifically super-difficult. The biggest hurdle is cultural and social, as many comments show. The first step towards ending death is to consider the fight possible and positive. But we are still de
71.
by nova 13y ago
> Unfortunately it’s really hard to get traction for anything else, because the whole world already has JPEG decoders built into everything. Patents don't help either.
72.
by nova 13y ago
"The AI does not hate you, nor does it love you, but you are made out of atoms which it can use for something else." ( http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Paperclip_maximizer )
73.
by nova 13y ago
And somehow there are still people who believe patents protect the little inventor from being robbed blind by big businesses. The worst thing that can happen to an innovator is not that somebody copies your precious thing, is that they (tro
74.
by nova 13y ago
You mean the ones caused by sugars, flours and vegetable oils?
75.
Why Life Does Not Really Exist(blogs.scientificamerican.com)
2 points by nova 13y ago|0 comments
76.
by nova 13y ago
I'd say the patent system is working exactly as intended.
77.
by nova 13y ago
Intellectual "property" is a serious business.
78.
by nova 13y ago
> Some European countries has very good regulations about supporting disabled children thus equipment is very expensive. Regulations, at least the well intentioned ones, try to avoid accidents from ill-designed products. The downside is
79.
by nova 13y ago
> If our work was unprotected then larger companies could just sit and watch the small companies try, and then swoop in and take over the market if the idea is valid and the market is there. But could you actually take on a large compa
80.
by nova 13y ago
> I wonder, is there still someone who believes that patents are protecting the small inventors and companies? If that were true we wouldn't have any patent system at all.
81.
by nova 13y ago
Although I am not entirely convinced (what to do with immigrants, in particular) I believe this could be a good idea. We should judge this from a pragmatic, not ideological, viewpoint. It may not be the ideal libertarian society, but it cou
82.
by nova 13y ago
So, Wordperfect 5.1's "reveal codes" from 1989.
83.
What Is The Origin of Cancer?(robbwolf.com)
4 points by nova 13y ago|1 comments
84.
by nova 13y ago
I am against patents in general, and specially in software, but I can see there is no way to change the system the way politics and lobbying work. So maybe we should try another approach, something every government likes: taxes. Let's
85.
by nova 13y ago
> How can the little guy ever make money on an idea if he or she can be instantly wiped out by someone with more money? But that is exactly the way it happens now: the little guy can consider himself lucky if he is not the one to get sue
86.
by nova 13y ago
Deathism is an insidious and pervasive meme. It is so widely accepted that we didn't have a word for it. That's why I am so happy right now with this announcement: extremely rich and influential people moving beyond the same old D
87.
by nova 13y ago
Add me up. Also, we are nowhere near being immortal and in many developed countries people already have stopped reproducing (Germany, Japan, Spain, etc)
88.
by nova 13y ago
I'd happily take the 5,000 million years (or whatever physics say) lifespan now please. If I can't call it immortality, well, it'll have to do.
89.
by nova 13y ago
Well, deathism going out of fashion with one of the biggest technological companies of the world can only be good. This is the greatest news I've heard in a long time and even if it ends up in nothing the attitude alone is commendable.
90.
by nova 13y ago
> How can any government accept a situation where communications are so secure that none of their agencies can break it? Chief George Earle: Sensors all over the city can zero in on anyone at any time. I can't even conceive of what

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