what is the 42nd digit in pi? You don't maintain and memorize every thing that you write down. I would even see that writing things down may free your mind from having to remember them. We use Google to look up random trivia facts that we don't feel the need to store in our brain. The main benefit of this (IMHO) would be in being able to see trends and relationships between the data points that you log. You don't have to remember how many calories you eat everyday, but by logging them consistently you will gain a sense of what an average number is and you may change your habits based on how you feel about it. (and yes, I sure somebody will reply with an answer to the first question)

That is what I was thinking as well... and if the sibling post/thread is correct that this is due in 2011, I guess we don't have to worry about ending the war anytime next year.

*pull rip cord* "The cow says..." "Meh"

I view it as the responsibility of the scientist to research and come up with "do this just because we can". It is the responsibility of the engineer to find a practical application of the science. No research or knowledge is bad.

I wholeheartedly agree. While open source software still requires work to be created, it benefits greatly by not being restricted (much) by hard materials. Cars, food, computers, etc, and other hard goods is where supply/demand and capitalism really take hold. This is one thing that the politicians need to understand. Until we make a machine that can rearrange particles and change one element to another, I believe there is nothing as easy and pure to the cause of advancing mankind as open source software. On a ramble: I am sure there will always be the want for people to have power over others, but with software (especially open-source), it is very hard to have elitist software, when the masses set the standards.