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Comment Re:Library computers even worse (Score 1) 147

It's even simpler than that. Usually the computers are already running, and you don't need to tell anyone what you are searching for. and the next user will cover your browsing history just like you covered the history of the prior user. And there's no sign-up log. (The librarians are too busy to bother with such things.)

The only problem is you need to use a computer with MSWind installed. And usually an old browser.

Comment Re: Taxpayers (Score 1) 155

Yeah, but voting for another party doesn't do any good either. I've done that rather consistently for decades, though altering which other party occasionally. And most people don't like to vote for someone who doesn't have a chance. (Besides, generally the people who will run for election without any chance of winning aren't any better than the incumbents, though their defects are different...and that's assuming that they're telling the truth.)

Comment Re:The best trick (Score 1) 260

Sounds like the right advice for most kids. Doesn't sound like it would protect against scammers. ... Possibly a refillable credit card? That could let them learn with limited repercussions.

OTOH, some children are "less able". I don't know how one can protect them. I have an autistic neice, and while I don't approve of the way she is being raised, I have to admit that I wouldn't know how to deal with the situation. (But Pavlov proved that the way being used is wrong. You don't positively reinforce temper tantrums.)

Comment Re:Sweet F A (Score 1) 576

That's clearly not true. We could certainly be ahead of them at, say, DNA manipulation. They may not even use DNA, but even if they do it's not guaranteed that they would have advanced in that direction. (I don't see any need to master DNA editing to build, e.g., a space elevator.)

OTOH, they'd need to have mastered most of what we have developed. They'd need a recirculating air environment, e.g. And they would probably need to have mastered maintaining a closed eco-system far beyond our abilities.

Comment Re:Theory vs Empericism (Score 2) 249

You misunderstand Game Theory. Game Theory is, AFAICT, always correct. Unfortunately it's usually too difficult to calculate outside of simplified toy examples. Which is why it's used in capitalist economics, and artificially over-simplified description of how people interact. When Game Theory makes a prediction about what action will happen in capitalist economics, it's not a prescription. It merely says that if this doesn't happen, then the model you are using isn't a correct description of reality. It doesn't say it *should* be a description of reality. Unfortunately, some people, often for selfish reasons, take it as a prescription, often because taking it that way is to their benefit.

Comment Re:Theory vs Empericism (Score 1) 249

Read the article. It explains the matter in detail, and Game Theory *does* explain the actual predictions. Basically, however, a sociopath does better playing against other individuals, but in a large population will occasionally play against another sociopath, at which point both do worse.

Even so, the theory as developed is, indeed, still an oversimplification. E.g., it hasn't been developed to include unions of individuals, including unions of sociopaths. But game theory math is formidable once you get outside of toy examples.

Comment Re:Resonace: Beings of Frequency (Score 1) 38

Lasers need to be quite accurately directed. You may well need a laser to generate the signal, but you probably want to focus it at a mirror that will spread the signal around the room. The trick is to either avoid or allow for multi-path "ghosts". This will even allow the receiver to be moving around within the room (as long as it is moving "slowly" enough .. and my rough guess is that anything slower than 100 Kps would count as slow enough).

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