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Demon-Haunted World

locusmag.com

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Re: Demon-Haunted World

#251

Post by Bartweiss »

hutzlibu wrote: post #209
Nomentatus wrote: post #147

This isn't a new demon-haunted world, this is the old, demon-haunted world before nineteenth-century progressive politics, back when "milk" that wasn't half chalk still might have a fish in it (see famous Thoreau quote on evidence.) We aren't enforcing the laws we have and our grandfathers and mothers had. (Three guesses why.) Not on monopolies, contracts, patent misuse... nothing. Just this week I and Hearthstone ca…

"on the beat, and Trump vowing to fire more regulators, that's what's changed. " I don't really like to defend trumps sayings, but in this case I don't think there are government regulators needed. The company acted shitty and you took the consequences and quit and avoid this company. That's how market works. No need for regulation here. The "only" problem with this in general today is, that most people do not unders…

> The company acted shitty and you took the consequences

Historically, "the consequences" have often included "you die horribly".

Sure, we can all avoid Hooker Chemical Company. (Well no, we can't, because it doesn't sell to consumers and we can't find out who consumer companies are supplied by.) But if we could, it wouldn't have saved anyone living in Love Canal. They got leukemia no matter what the market did afterwards.

I'm not being hyperbolic here. Markets work because they're iterated, voluntary transactions which gradually reveal asymmetric information. If the interaction is not iterated (e.g. fly-by-night companies), markets don't protect you. If the interaction is not voluntary (they poison your air), markets don't protect you. If the first asymmetric exchange is a disaster (you buy tainted produce and die), you never benefit from the gradual reveal of hidden information.

I'm generally a pretty staunch libertarian. But it's simply not true that this problem can be solved with a simple "you chose to buy this"; non-government solutions are vastly more complicated than that.

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#252

Post by KickKat »

computator wrote: post #171
to3m wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But according to this theory, it sounds as if one should ask for the receipt afterwards?

I see the misunderstanding. You're thinking that the pumps should be designed to always give the receipt afterward. Yes, that would be the ideal way to reduce the possibility of cheating. However, in the pumps he's talking about, the machine prompts you beforehand: "Click here for a receipt". The receipt decision (yes or no) is always before. There is no way to ask for a receipt afterwards. He always asks for a recei…

One can always get a receipt from the attendant after the sale, at least at every gas station I have ever been to.

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#253

Post by Bartweiss »

zaroth wrote: post #17

Why do our phones, which certainly felt damn snappy the day we bought them, inevitablely seem to slow down to the point of unusability after a couple dozen months? Even after a factory reset and installing no apps at all... I know it didn't take that long to open/close the built in apps when I bought that iPhone 4, 5, 5s... The only thing I can think of is the flash drive is slowing down as it wears. Or, the CPU cloc…

Perhaps not over months, but over years OS bloat becomes nontrivial. Subjectively, my phone appears to slow down after most updates; objectively it definitely loses usable space to the operating system. App bloat displays a similar problem, albeit less blatant.

This seems to mirror Wirth's Law more generally; every piece of software on your phone gets more demanding every time it updates.

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#254

Post by Bartweiss »

leggomylibro wrote: post #38
zaroth wrote: post #17

Why do our phones, which certainly felt damn snappy the day we bought them, inevitablely seem to slow down to the point of unusability after a couple dozen months? Even after a factory reset and installing no apps at all... I know it didn't take that long to open/close the built in apps when I bought that iPhone 4, 5, 5s... The only thing I can think of is the flash drive is slowing down as it wears. Or, the CPU cloc…

I don't get this; everyone says it, but I've never seen it in smartphones. Laptops, sure, but Windows really DOES accumulate a lot of cruft, and OSX's updates never seem to improve performance. Smartphones, though? The only slowdown I've noticed is when the battery starts to go. And then you can usually tell; the device gets hot as the battery pushes up against all the ESR it's accumulated, the CPU steps back a bit..…

I've had a succession of Android phones made by Samsung. Each of them has become nontrivially slower over time, seemingly as a product of OS updates. I've even timed startup before and after installing updates as a crude check; startup at least gets measurably slower every time I update the damn thing.

Obviously regular updating is important for security, but I sort of suspect users would be more open to updates if they weren't consistently harmful and occasionally catastrophic.

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#255

Post by Bartweiss »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #60
adrianratnapala wrote: post #7

Hmm, I suspect the article is not really news to the people who frequent sites like this, and perhaps not even to the readership of a science-fiction mag like locus. But I would like a nice readable article like that to appear in more mainstream publications. It should make a good story, being both true and sensationalist and important at the same time.

> being both true and sensationalist and important at the same time Doctorow has been sensationalist for as long as I've been reading him (15 years?), I think even moreso as time goes on. Too often, it detracts from his point, but sometimes he hits the nail on the head. Also recommended by him, The Civil War over General Purpose Computing" (2012): https://boingboing.net/2012/08/23/civilwar.html It's even truer in hin…

I really enjoy Doctorow, but he's been getting into territory where the hyperbole becomes factually inaccurate. His coverage of the Wells Fargo debacle featured some headlines that simply weren't true, which really put me on edge for reading his other stuff.

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#256

Post by mcguire »

hutzlibu wrote: post #210

The bigger issue with this, than beeing cheated in the casino, to me is, the increasingly amount of technology around us, we depend on. In a few years robots in the household will be common. I really want to have my robot servant - but only if he really is MY servant and controlled by ME and not someone else, I do not trust ...

Anybody remember Runaway?

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#257

Post by pavel_lishin »

astrange wrote: post #198
Nomentatus wrote: post #147

This isn't a new demon-haunted world, this is the old, demon-haunted world before nineteenth-century progressive politics, back when "milk" that wasn't half chalk still might have a fish in it (see famous Thoreau quote on evidence.) We aren't enforcing the laws we have and our grandfathers and mothers had. (Three guesses why.) Not on monopolies, contracts, patent misuse... nothing. Just this week I and Hearthstone ca…

> Blizzard's new policy insists on a credit card and that I owe them for purchases made if they leak the card no! This can’t hurt you if you use a credit and not a debit card. Any false charge on a credit card is not your fault, and it’s not your money. The CC company will pay for it.

It depends on how you define "hurt"; while the CC company will take care of it, it's not instant - and it's no fun dealing with someone going over your credit limit on a cross-state shopping spree.

By all means, please - don't use debit cards online - but it's still not a panacea.

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#258

Post by pavel_lishin »

titzer wrote: post #193
jstanley wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Having the printer stop and let you put in a new cartridge when ink is low is a helpful feature. Only if it also comes with a "I know it might be streaky, but print it anyway because I own this machine and I'm in charge here" feature.

If I were designing my own printer and wanted to both fully utilize ink cartridges (maximize efficiency) and also be able to print absolutely perfect pages when necessary, it'd be a simple solution: two cartridges. One that is potentially "low" and is used for printing low quality stuff, and one that is guaranteed to be full and is used for printing high quality stuff. Presumably, the "low" cartridge would run out fi…

> One that is potentially "low" and is used for printing low quality stuff, and one that is guaranteed to be full and is used for printing high quality stuff.

It's a good idea, but you do realize that realistically, people would just swap the two out, and in a few weeks or months would just have two near-empty cartridges?

I used to have a truck with two gas tanks, and a switch that would let me toggle which one I used. I would usually be pretty diligent at refilling every time I had to switch over, but there were several occasions when I found myself with both tanks dry.

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#259

Post by otakucode »

History repeats itself. Car makers tried to lock out third party parts decades ago. Claimed you only had a license to operate the vehicle, no ownership. Music and movie companies argued against First Sale doctrine similarly.

Courts wouldn't have it. They will stop this too. Digital property will be declared property, not licenses. No limits on resale transfer or rental and the like. Companies will howl like stuck pigs. And it will benefit them, as well as consumers, tremendously.

Re: Demon-Haunted World

#260

Post by hutzlibu »

mcguire wrote: post #249
hutzlibu wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hm, I see it more in a way, that people are not so smart because of regulation. Like, if the state allows this to be sold, it can't be fraud. So they don't bother to check further. And regulation s about brainwashing ... I am not sure how that could really work.

As an exercise, list everything you have bought in the last month or so; food, gas, electronics, whatever. Now list all the ways those products could be adulterated, fraudulently modified, or faked. Now list the specialized knowledge and skills you would need to detect the fraud. Now try to get some work done while you are caveat emptoring.

why should I know everything?

There are many other experts, hackers, organizations, newspapers, etc. I can google before making a purchase.

Just like it allready is, only with more responsibility for everyone, but therefore hopefully better marketpositions for nice companys.

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