What robots cannot be programmed to do, is answer the question of: "How do we want to live?"

You have assumed that humans have a specific purpose: propagating genes and having kids.

I don't see it that way. Yes, we have a sex drive, but there is no such encoding in the mind that says: "Your purpose is to breed."

I wake up in the morning; I have a million more desires than "just breed." Some of these desires include: I want to live in an enlightened society. I want clean air and water and plants and life. I want a society where people genuinely like one another and grow and learn and develop. More ambitiously, I'd like people to be able to live longer lives. I'd like people with self-discipline and care. I'd like people who want to do what is right, and feel confident that they can do it. Also sex: I want a world that is much more sexual.

But all together, this is a bit more than just, "just breed." We have hearts. In particular, YOU have a heart. You might be depressed in your outlook, but the fact remains. You have a heart.

You've said: "Human beings are not special." I don't see the point of your statement; What does it matter if human beings are special or not? I care more about the kind of life and world that you are wanting to make.

If you're disappointed with how things are going, that disappointment requires a sense that things could be some other way -- the "appointment" that has not been made.

Exactly so.

There's a much better alternative - Vaadin. It allows pure server-side Java development of Ajax web applications much the same way as you would develop desktop applications with Swing, etc. Vaadin renders the server-side UI in the browser with widgets and a JavaScript rendering engine. However, you can also develop client-code in Java. The Java code is compiled to JavaScript with the GWT Compiler, which is also included in Vaadin. In Vaadin 7, the Java objects are serialized transparently between the server-side and client-side, so you can essentially work with the same objects on both sides.

So, there is no real reason for node.js, unless you're really good at JavaScript and want to work with it instead of Java, or you have some JS code that you need to run on both sides. If you have already made a client-side JS library, you can integrate it with Vaadin quite easily.

They use lenses and software to expand the field of view to more than 110 degrees diagonal.

The proper sequence should be:

Humans reason (with their morals) --> Humans write laws/code --> The laws/code go into the machines --> The machines execute the instructions.

Laws are not a substitute for morals; they are the output from our moral reasoning.

It's not about states. It's about cities.

And if you look at a county map, you will almost certainly see the CITIES.

Time to update the urban archipelago maps. I bet they still hold.

Surprised it hasn't been more prominently mentioned...

Now, given the normally U.S. libertarian bent of the Slashdot audience, it is understandable that an outright British Socialist writer like Brunner would get short shrift, ...

I know, right? The U.S. Libertarians were all too busy citing George Orwell, 1984..!

Me neither, until I discovered (ta-dah!) "Correction Tape" ..!

It's fantastic, and I swear by it.

Mod up, please.

Pfft... Slashdot is for Nerds.

For News that Matters, you've gotta trot off elsewhere.

I am very curious about the rational for why OpenMW switched from D to C++.
The FAQ points to this page for an explanation, which, at 2012-07-03 8:16 PM Pacific Time, I, an outsider to the effort, do not have access to.

Water Molecule: 275 pico-meters

Ecoli Bacteria: 0.6 micro-meters (109,000x larger)

Rhinovirus: 30 nm (110x larger)

I'd really recommend taking a look at Vaadin. It's a server-side Java and Ajax web application development framework that lets you forget most of the web stuff. The Ajax and HTML rendering are all hidden and it's closer to desktop application development than traditional web development. The client-side is based on GWT, so if you want to make new components, you can do it with Java. In addition to the built-in components, there are some 250+ add-ons, so you can most likely find what you are looking for from those.