The likelihood of survival decreases if idiots are playing on their toys and not paying attention.
Does the statement "and nothing of value was lost" apply here?
On a more topic-related note, the flight crew does not need to have attention from 100% of the passengers. Likely they would need less than 50% and hopefully at least 1-2 per row. If you are sitting there, completely not paying attention, and you don't notice the flight attendants waving their arms and shouting instructions, you will probably notice the person next to you flinging themselves forward and putting their head between their knees.
While I understand your point that the chances of survival increase if people are paying attention to authority figures / those in-the-know and actually listen to their instructions, it is naive to believe that just because someone isn't playing with some toy that they are actually paying attention. There are those that will be daydreaming out the window, dozing off or engaged in some conversation with their travel companion.
It makes sense for people to read the instructions in the seat-back pocket at least once in their life. It makes sense for people to actually listen to the flight attendants during their overview of safety procedures at least once in their life. And it makes sense for people to actually be aware of their surroundings, to at least know that something is not right and that they should seek out someone that might be able to help them (i.e. flight crew)...
In the end, no matter how many things we ban or how many rules we impose on having to pay attention, there will always be some people that will be over-prepared in a crisis and those that are under-prepared. If some crisis happens, I just hope I'm sitting next to an over-prepared person who notices I'm asleep and nudges me awake. Thank you in advance, fictional person!
We initially left the choice of using it up to you because there's a downside: https can make your mail slower since encrypted data doesn't travel across the web as quickly as unencrypted data.
Any analysis of this really is pedantic, but fundamentally the statement is still accurate.
If you consider the same set of data, encrypted winds up being larger than unencrypted, so, technically, it would take longer to fully complete its journey (i.e. travel)... They didn't say that encrypted data transmits slower through the tubes of the interwebs, they just said that it "doesn't travel across the web as quickly".
I think their wording is fine. The "crypo-illiterate" public read it most likely said "Oh, yea, makes sense, so that's why they didn't do it to begin with..." and those that do notice something odd with the wording already know the true meaning anyway.
Besides, your suggested re-wording is not without its faults. You say to make it:
But wouldn't "accessing web pages with HTTPS is typically slower than with HTTP" convey exactly the same information to the public, except for the wrong part?
(crypo-illiterate response) So, wait, when I visit a page that has https:/// in front of it my internet connection suddenly slows down?! I'm going to avoid those pages at all costs and any time I have the option, I will disable it!
*emails child*
HEY I MADE MY INTERNET FASTER TODAY, WILL TELL YOU HOW TO DO IT AT SUNDAY DINNER.
Wrong. Wheelchair-bound people unwilling to sacrifice a small part of their dignity cannot access the building on their own. It is totally possible for most of them to scoot up and down steps on their arse.
Assuming they do get off their wheelchair, and "scoot" up a few steps like you suggest, then what? Does their wheelchair magically do the same thing and then they continue on their journey into the building?
In one of his first acts as president, Obama signed a memo saying FOIA "should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure."
That would be a step in the right direction, if it had any teeth to it, and wasn't just to make Obama look good to the general public.
Maybe true reform will come some day.
They're assumed to know something, whether or not they really do.
Which is exactly how they want to be viewed.
Scientists will study your brain to learn more about your distant cousin, Man.