I think a portion of Slashdotters would appreciate Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go is a bit like Aldous Huxley with a heart. His other books are great too.

Well, the post was titled "Ask Slashdot: how do you view the Wall Street protests?" and my answer was that they are inspiring, more relevant than indicated by the media, and if they grew in size they could really get the attention of a congress which is otherwise dumb deaf and blind towards its electorate. What I find hilarious, but also pathetic, about your post, is that by demanding I address issues which are not essential to the discussion at hand, you are able to determine that I am uneducated politically, and the same as the Chinese cultural revolution, the Hitler Youth Brigade, etc. I wonder what information you use in general to reach conclusions, and how this determines your political ideas? As I indicated in my post, there are a variety of problems that most people can see. Some that I think are especially important are overturning the Citizens United decision, eliminating tax loopholes for the wealthy (capital gains, etc.), shifting education funding away from local property taxes and towards taxes collected at the state or federal level, establishing a cabinet secretary dedicated to the quality of life and political representation of the citizen, limiting more stringently the leverage ratio of banks while increasing their liquidity and capital requirements, funding research and development for sustainable energy, and nationalizing health care. I'm sure there are important issues that others see as more problematic. I think unifying dissatisfaction over several topics, by highlighting the disproportionate political power of corporations, and banks in particular, can strengthen the movement politically. I notice that you are quick and severe in your attack, but you yourself say nothing about your political beliefs while condemning me for not being more specific about mine. Do you support the status quo, or do you have a superior protest I can join?

I went down to Zuccotti Park to protest yesterday and it was really inspiring. Considering how screwed up our political system is right now, I think what it really takes to raise awareness is dedication and bravery rather than carefully planned bullet points. Sure, to the average IT guy there are new hairstyles, clothing styles, odors, financial backgrounds, employment statuses etc. represented, but if you want homogeneity you can go to North Korea, and besides, you can find something to criticize about ANY large group of people. What these protesters are doing should be celebrated, and everyone who thinks our government needs to stop weighting decisions by dollars needs to join. The Wall Street protests could easily be ten times the size, and you can always say "no one will listen to them anyway" but at some point you must have your say in whatever way you can. This is a good way.

As a PhD student in the best funded field of science in the US, I have to ask about the supposed spectre of outsourcing. If developing countries are better funding these fields, why not pursue a faculty position in one of these countries?

The point is that the sensor in this telescope is curved, so that the curve of focus coincides with the sensor making it possible to create aberration free images. I tried to find a description of the sensor in the SST but was unsuccessful. I think the Kepler telescope's sensor approximates this technique by tiling 42 flat CCDs along a parabolic surface. I'm not sure if SST does the same thing or actually managed to manufacture a curved individual CCD like this one, although presumably much larger: eye shaped camera is shaped like an eye (engadget article)