sdurkin

13 ms·

91.
by sdurkin 17y ago
Very true, DNA evidence alone conclusively demonstrates the truth of evolution. However, DNA alone cannot tell you the path through which humans arose. This path is called the phylogenetic tree. Fossils help fill in the gaps in the tree, an
92.
by sdurkin 17y ago
Sweet. So let's just test everyone at birth, then discard those that don't make the cut. That way, we'll be able to keep health costs sufficiently low. Should be easy once we liberalize the laws on abortion. Hmm... but people might object t
93.
by sdurkin 17y ago
I agree that the motives of the author are self-serving. In the ideas themselves, I saw a less-than-creative Darwinistic rehashing of Hobbes. From The Leviathan, Chp. VIII. - "From this equality of ability ariseth equality of hope in the at
94.
by sdurkin 17y ago
My understanding of schizophrenia is that the psychosis you describe arises from unresolved competition for dominance between the hemispheres of the brain. This competition results in a schism of sorts, hence the Greek root "split". However
95.
by sdurkin 17y ago
Smart move. Washington ought to remember that the War of the Laws was the watershed event in the collapse of the Soviet Union. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Laws The Federal Soviet government insisted upon laws that the satellites f
96.
by sdurkin 17y ago
I would refer pg to the work of the pragmatic school. Pierce James, and Dewey offer a totally different view of philosophy.
97.
by sdurkin 17y ago
The basic problem is one of power. A large corporate entity can muster greater legal resources than a small startup to defend patents, even those that will never be developed into products. Perhaps a firmer "use it or lose it" deadline coul
98.
by sdurkin 17y ago
IMHO, this is wonderful. Laughing at the death is the only way to deal with it. Ask anyone who actually has gone through a long, slow, painful experience. The only way to come out the other end intact is to keep your sense of humor. Laughin
99.
by sdurkin 17y ago
!HN
100.
by sdurkin 17y ago
Watch and make sure no edits come from anyone connected to Roche pharmaceuticals. They hold the marketing rights to Tamiflu and stand to profit tremendously from this.
101.
by sdurkin 17y ago
This article doesn't factor in the value of the writer's time. Ignoring opportunity cost is a major no-no.
102.
by sdurkin 17y ago
There's nothing special about Brazilians that makes them fear government authority any less.
103.
by sdurkin 17y ago
Brilliant strategy. I remember a few years back a port scan of NSA.gov would give a stern "THIS COMPUTER SYSTEM IS PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS WILL BE PROSECUTED." As a twelve-year-old mes
104.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Analogous: Someone breaks your car window with a brick, but doesn't steal anything. You thank them for showing that car windows aren't brick-proof.
105.
by sdurkin 18y ago
WHAT? This from the generation that just borrowed a trillion dollars from us?!
106.
by sdurkin 18y ago
I liked that until I found out it was an ad. It isn't logical, but after seeing the Samsung logo I felt used.
107.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Jesus, I don't expect groupthink from HN. Be rational. Most users use IE on Windows. Even if you don't like it, that's the way it is. Adobe Reader 9 loading in IE can crash the browser. Don't believe me? Google "IE loading PDFs" and you'll
108.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Windows PDF viewing is problematic. Scribd's iPaper eliminates that problem. Do you use Windows?
109.
by sdurkin 18y ago
I can tell humans are sapient through high level communication of complex thoughts that could only come from a sentient being. I know humans are sentient because sentience is a precondition to sapience.
110.
by sdurkin 18y ago
I don't mean to get bogged down in a grammatical argument, but I really did intend to set a lower standard than sapience. What I mean is the second definition given by the OED for sentience, "self-awareness." For example, I could make a rob
111.
by sdurkin 18y ago
This is the same question as animal rights. Of course neither robots or animals are human or sentient. But doesn't killing them have a scarring effect on us? And is that enough to outweigh the efficiency benefits of treating them as objects
112.
by sdurkin 18y ago
To exist, or not to exist? That question occupies my thoughts.
113.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Summary: Create value. What a novel idea...
114.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Its so irreverent it hurts. Upvote for balls.
115.
by sdurkin 18y ago
It is, but not only is that not true in practice, its irrelevant. Gold is an industrial good, just like anything else. Its price fluctuates for a variety of reasons, including simple changes in taste.
116.
by sdurkin 18y ago
You're an aerospace engineer with an ivy league business degree who's so concerned about being courteous that you posted this topic. If you're not welcome here, I'm sure as hell not. Welcome, you seem like a nice guy. Say what you think and
117.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Grrr... Austrian economics. The ultimate value of a currency has never been shiny metal, even when we were on the gold standard. The value of a currency is that it allows you to invest in companies in a particular country. That is, if you t
118.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Yeah, but the Yellowstone volcano blowing its top is one of those "so bad and unlikely its not worth worrying about" scenarios, like asteroid impacts.* *That's not to say someone shouldn't worry about asteroid impacts. It just shouldn't be
119.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Texas alone would be more powerful than Mexico.
120.
by sdurkin 18y ago
Can we stop screwing around with anecdotes and cite some sort of study? In my family, we have had 5 macs. An iBook G3, a Macbook Pro, two Macbooks, and an old Powerbook 170 from 1991. All of them are still in perfect working order, and have

More ›