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Comment IBM PC (Score 2) 42

IBM used to create products like the ThinkPad... then they sold that business to a Chinese company. The company's past actions are the only solid data by which to judge whether this current promise will come true.

Comment Nickelodeon (Score 1) 19

I remember watching a program on Nickelodeon when the HST launched, I think it was SK8 TV, and they said the show is so great that it blows the doors off the Hubble telescope. I thought that was the funniest thing ever. Apparently it was so memorable, I'm writing it on Slashdot, 35 years later.

Comment So that's what I'm worth? (Score 1) 112

That's as clear an analogy as possible for the value of AI vs a human doing the same job. So, a masters degree, software engineering... is worth maybe $15k/mo in eyes of OpenAI? I can only imagine that cost will go down, and then what? A handful of people make tons of money while the majority of white-collar workers are out of a job.

This is just fundamentally different than previous technical revolutions because of its broad scope, and terminal heirarchy. In previous technical revolutions, a replaced worker had the potential to get more education and move up into a different job. This time, there are no roles to move into. If you replace the doctors and lawyers and engineers with AI, there is no moving up. It's only possible to move down.

Comment Return on investment (Score 4, Insightful) 110

I think it's two main reasons: money and specialization.

1) To obtain a PhD you need to go to school for another 4-7 years, during which you're paid very little. After you graduate, there are still few job options. Often you will have to move to find a job. If that job is in academia, you will continue to paid very little. Working at a biotech company is financially ideal, but those jobs are hard to find.

2) Imagine you spend 5 years getting a PhD in biomedical engineering, and your speciaty is imaging of the aortic valve. You know everything there is to know about it, and you've written papers about it. But unless someone is hiring aortic valve imaging specialists... you'll have a hard time finding a job.

It's overall not a great return on investment of your own time. For some people academia is a terrific life and they're willing to accept less pay, but for other people its not worth it.

Comment Psych meds (Score 1) 303

Unfortunately many psych meds have a side-effect of weight gain. SSRIs, antipsychotics are notorious for causing weight gain. Even stimulants (when used for years) will eventually result in massive weight gain when the med is stopped.

The use of psych meds has skyrocketed since 1990, even among children. Once a child becomes obses due to a medication side-effect, it is extremely difficult to reverse that.

Comment How to Win Friends and Influence People (Score 5, Insightful) 482

The Israeli government definitely read that book cover to cover. They are doing a fine job implenting their skills.

It's an impressive feat of espionage and infiltration, but how does it benefit Israel? They killed 35,000 palestinian civilians, and now there's a generation of Palestinians who will "never forget." They've now injured thousands of Lebanese, and that generate will also "never forget." Israel has made more enemies, it hasn't made itself safer.

Comment So, can we just revert to glass, wood, and metal? (Score 5, Insightful) 170

It seems simple. Microplastics are now found (because we know to look) in every part of our body, in our drinking water, in the ait we breathe. Perhaps its time to stop using plastics as readily. We banned the use of leaded gasoline because it was found to be contaminating everything with lead, so why not do that with plastic

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