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Comment: Re:Try private schools (Score 2) 409

by Mr. Slippery (#40196145) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: What To Do With a Math Degree?

Some public school administrators are largely a joke.

And so are some private school administrators. Private schools can mostly be divided into expensive, mostly secular, ones, which do well; Catholic schools, which do on average a little worse than public schools, and conservative religious schools, which are generally crap.

Private schools tend to be run more like companies and lousy administrators don't last.

Where does this myth that private sector companies somehow are run competently and effectively come from? Have people not worked

Comment: Re:The world's tiniest violin plays for UCLA (Score 1) 119

by Mr. Slippery (#40073551) Attached to: California Considers DNA Privacy Law

Wrong....There are a number of generic traits which show an extremely high correlation with psychopathy. That doesn't mean they ARE a psychopath, however

You say I'm wrong, then go on to agree with me. You seem to be confused. I suggest you re-read my post and contemplate the difference between "one-to-one correspondence" and "extremely high correlation".

It would also be nice if you provided a link to appropriate research. My quick googling finds just one study of one genetic trait that corresponds to psychopathic tendencies only in those who grow up poor . If you've got other research, please link to it. Thanks.

Comment: Re:The world's tiniest violin plays for UCLA (Score 1) 119

by Mr. Slippery (#40056571) Attached to: California Considers DNA Privacy Law

I think socialism is about the only likely outcome of all of this

What in the world does an economic system based where workers and the people, rather than a state-backed owning class, control the means of production, have to do with anything under discussion here? Or do you just have no idea what "socialism" means?

Comment: Re:The world's tiniest violin plays for UCLA (Score 2) 119

by Mr. Slippery (#40056539) Attached to: California Considers DNA Privacy Law

So perhaps some genetic traits can be secret but others should be divulged under certain circumstances. No psychopaths in political office, as police or teachers.

Thank you for perfectly illustrating the danger here.

There is no genetic trait that corresponds one-to-one with psychopathy. There may (or may not) be certain genetic traits associated with a increased risk of psychopathy. As this distinction is pretty much lost on the general public, it is important that we do on brand people who have a greater change of developing psychopathy as actually being psychopaths. This is why genetic privacy is crucially important.

Comment: Re:Don't post while idiot (Score 1) 466

by Mr. Slippery (#40042001) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Wrist Watch For the Tech Minded

I wouldn't want you driving me if you kept on fishing a phone out of your pocket to tell you the time.

I wouldn't want you driving me if you kept looking at your wrist, rather than the road, to tell you the time.

This is a very stupid argument.

A few observations:

1) We don't need constant updates on the time.

2) Clocks are everywhere, including cars. That wasn't always the case, some of us are old enough to remember when a clock in a car was a luxury item. But now they're built in to pretty much everything electronic, so watches are less necessary than they were a few decades ago.

3) Some people have an social/emotional attachment to wristwatches, apparently using them as some sort of status broadcast. I don't understand that bit of primate behavior, but the use of wristwatch as ornamentation by some subcultures should be noted and may account for some of the bizarre vehemence in discussions of this topic.

4) A clip watch is the best solution, anyone not using one is wrong -- I have spoken. :-)

Comment: Re:Don't post while idiot (Score 1) 466

by Mr. Slippery (#40041713) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Wrist Watch For the Tech Minded

How does a phone in your pocket tell you the time?

There's a reason wristwatches supplanted pocket ones.

On the other hand, a watch in your pocket or clipped to a belt loop doesn't irritate your wrist. Once I started typing on computers regularly, in my teens, I started to find wristwatches really annoying. (Yes, I'm old enough that computers were not found in people's homes when I was a kid. Get off my lawn.)

I use a clip watch on a belt loop. It's about as convenient to access a clip watch as a wristwatch. Also a handy place to keep a mini LED flashlight, or anything else small. When I want to bring the fancy,I have a nice pocket watch, which does take an additional moment to access, but won't get banged into things.

Comment: Re:Why delete the recordings? (Score 1) 306

by Mr. Slippery (#40041273) Attached to: US Justice Dept Defends Right To Record Police

Visible firearms do cause a disturbance, and it makes perfect sense that they can make an officer feel uncomfortable, because they are an existential threat to the officer.

Cop's firearms do cause a disturbance, and it makes perfect sense that they can make an citizen feel uncomfortable, because they are an existential threat to the citizen.

I'm more worried about guns in the hands of cops -- members of an organization with a demonstrated tendency towards illegitimate violence -- than guns in the hands of a random citizen.

God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.

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