When I mentioned that "He used a lighter" , I should have elaborated. Making fire is HARD .. and would be stone age 'Franklins' might have been discouraged before actually completing an experiment that led to something useful due to a lack of dexterity.

Or, they would have seen a more immediate need .. "Making this hot stuff has GOT to be easier!", hence the flint.

Yes, we could have used electricity at almost any point in time. We could have made telegraphs, but most likely, we would have realized just how hot things became during experiments and put the knowledge to a more immediate need and use.

If I traveled back in time to the age where fire was still novel and needed some form of mass communication, I would quickly rule out electricity as a tenable solution.

I might use a system of vines, smoke signals or other more practical solutions, just as our ancestors did.

The spin on TFA was bad, but that doesn't make it uninteresting. The ramifications of our ancestors discovering things earlier, or in a different order does make for entertaining thought. Try not to focus on things like:

- He used a lighter
- He had plenty to eat, so he had time to experiment (he was not addressing an immediate need)
- He may have been cold, but wasn't trying to solve that problem (sort of redundant, but worth mentioning)
- He was not distracted by other marvels that we see as commonplace, such as other uses for clay and fire .. the list goes on

Still, while the video might be silly, the thinking behind it is worth a cup of coffee and consideration.

From TFA:

During the first six months of the year, state Department of Transportation workers faced 101 significant IT outages totaling 4,677 hours: an average of more than 46 hours per outage. One took 360 hours to fix.

Suddenly, I don't feel so bad for that 2 1/2 hour glitch last week :)

Why, oh why does everyone at Intel think that people just want to 'surf the web' with whatever they happen to invent? You invent freaking brain implants and the first obvious use becomes surfing the web?

It could not be ... `write code` or `use photoshop` or .. anything even remotely challenging to a human brain?

Ah well.

Just to be clear though .. did you mean eating as much AS the villagers, or the villagers themselves?

I was going to reply harshly to this .. you insensitive clod! But, I started laughing harder at the small African village part.

Aww come on. This is the smuckin fartest invention ever!

... unless the robot happens to be drunk. Think about it .. an army of drunk robots with lasers.

I honestly thought they would be gone within a year of hitting the pink sheets. Right now they're on the we-may-actually-own-the-copyright-to-unix-after-all respirator, I'm just waiting for someone to pull the plug on that one.

I think most people expected them to be existentially challenged at this point .. yet they keep on living.

Though it isn't exactly spelled out in TFA, I would _hope_ that their conclusion was drawn after noticing the trend in ordinary / normally healthy people. I think what they mean is, ordinary / healthy people who get the flu shot seem to be twice as likely to contract Swine Flu.

Not a lot of information regarding the study itself is in the TFA, unfortunately. Most of the article just states current and potential ramifications.

What, no lasers?

Well, looking at the diagram, dongles to connect USB and other types would be the means to do that. Personally, if it works as well as they say that it works, I'd be opting for gadgets and devices that just support it natively.

As a parent of a three year old girl, I agree with you. However, standing over their shoulder the entire time they use a computer is not going to be very productive.

I wish more parents would understand that you have about 8 years from the time that a kid is born to install a sense of confidence and worth in them that can't be easily (if at all) broken by future peers, predators or come what may. If you manage to do it, your kid will make good choices.

No software is a substitute for a desire in a child to make good, positive self serving choices when they are confronted with the various bumps in growing up.

What a world this police state is becoming, sheesh.