I just read an article about the Russian search engine Yandex (they hold 65 percent of the market share in R.). They are currently developing a traffic information system for Moscow that is updated in real-time.Here is a link of how this will look like: http://www.spiegel.de/fotos...
I was wondering what you think about this.
Will such a system for cities advance the traffic flow, or will it get more chaotic due to reflexive processes? What I mean is that it could be disadvantageous if too many people change their behavior simultaneously according to the real time updates.
France sold the Louisiana Territory to the US, and Russia similarly sold Alaska. The Maldive islands are going to drown with the global warming-based rise of sea level; that country is looking to buy land elsewhere to relocate its population.
Exceptions aside, I suspect this is just a matter of power. The leaders of the country control their land; the more land they have, the more power they have. Everyone wants more power.
I wouldn't say public education is "useless". Public education is a presumably useful to somebody.
Public education is useful for preparing students for a lifetime of taking orders from strangers with authority (this is crucial for industrial societies). It also gives kids great practice in asking those in authority for permission before taking any action, even things like standing up, or going to the bathroom. Another benefit is that it makes children think of learning as boring, repetitive, and painful, which makes them hate learning (and thus, makes them easier to control).
Another huge advantage is that, since it traumatically separates children from their families while extremely young, it weakens the natural favoritism people show for family members, and realigns loyalty to "society". This is why countries with a long history of public education are much less corrupt than those with closer family ties. Of course it probably also results in the cultural/social catastrophe of a "youth culture" obsessed with popularity, sex, and physical dominance.
And of course, public education is useful for you! You'll never be out of work! You get 3 months off every year! You'll make more than the average private sector earner, retire in 20 years, and never have to work again!
It is pretty simple. The price floor for wages (minimum wages) prevents the market from clearing. Of course, even without a minimum wage, there would still be unemployment as long as there were sufficient income transfers to the unemployed. (These income transfers include voluntary charity and transfers from friends/family).
Well it's possible that begging and scavenging the trash can be more profitable then getting a job. You don't need any government assistance for that to happen.
Nathan,Perhaps one of the main problems with K-12 education is that it doesn't really prepare the student for any kind of life in his or her own community. Instead the student is encouraged to believe in making a life for oneself by leaving upon graduation, to search for wherever the better future supposedly is. The lives we want, we should be able to create wherever we are. Some developing countries are making the same mistake and losing the ones they try so hard to teach, from their own communities.
I'd be willing to bet that even if some of your students can't run a business, they can still find plenty of ways to be responsible to themselves and to others. They are like everyone else in that they just want to be a part of what is going on, and willing to try to make that happen.
Suppose there was an effort to design the successors to humanity, and you were given the task of choosing which features they would have (possibly also deleted features if these beings are modified humans).
In what ways would their psychology differ from present-day humans? What kinds of things should they want? Should they be capable of the same emotional states? What mental capabilities would you emphasize?
Oops, I forgot to mention:* High taxes on business. Business leaders are not fools -- they will relocate to places where taxes are less, when practical. For example, many businesses are moving out of California right now (where business taxes are high) and moving to Texas (where business taxes are low). Likewise, unemployment is higher in California than in Texas.
Different approach by Google: Cars that drive themselves in traffic.http://www.nytimes.com/2010...
A combination of both:
Real-time traffic information system + Autonomous cars = near-balanced traffic system | (p < 0.05)
http://lesswrong.com/r/disc... Greg Egan's latest work of fiction includes a less than complimentary appearance from Robin Hanson.
This webcomic made me think of OB.
Hypergamy writ large.
I just read an article about the Russian search engine Yandex (they hold 65 percent of the market share in R.). They are currently developing a traffic information system for Moscow that is updated in real-time.Here is a link of how this will look like: http://www.spiegel.de/fotos...
I was wondering what you think about this.
Will such a system for cities advance the traffic flow, or will it get more chaotic due to reflexive processes? What I mean is that it could be disadvantageous if too many people change their behavior simultaneously according to the real time updates.
France sold the Louisiana Territory to the US, and Russia similarly sold Alaska. The Maldive islands are going to drown with the global warming-based rise of sea level; that country is looking to buy land elsewhere to relocate its population.
Exceptions aside, I suspect this is just a matter of power. The leaders of the country control their land; the more land they have, the more power they have. Everyone wants more power.
If it's effective, why not? Anyway, in this case that doesn't seem to be good public relations.
I wouldn't say public education is "useless". Public education is a presumably useful to somebody.
Public education is useful for preparing students for a lifetime of taking orders from strangers with authority (this is crucial for industrial societies). It also gives kids great practice in asking those in authority for permission before taking any action, even things like standing up, or going to the bathroom. Another benefit is that it makes children think of learning as boring, repetitive, and painful, which makes them hate learning (and thus, makes them easier to control).
Another huge advantage is that, since it traumatically separates children from their families while extremely young, it weakens the natural favoritism people show for family members, and realigns loyalty to "society". This is why countries with a long history of public education are much less corrupt than those with closer family ties. Of course it probably also results in the cultural/social catastrophe of a "youth culture" obsessed with popularity, sex, and physical dominance.
And of course, public education is useful for you! You'll never be out of work! You get 3 months off every year! You'll make more than the average private sector earner, retire in 20 years, and never have to work again!
It is pretty simple. The price floor for wages (minimum wages) prevents the market from clearing. Of course, even without a minimum wage, there would still be unemployment as long as there were sufficient income transfers to the unemployed. (These income transfers include voluntary charity and transfers from friends/family).
Well it's possible that begging and scavenging the trash can be more profitable then getting a job. You don't need any government assistance for that to happen.
is the belief of global warming a luxury good?
Nathan,Perhaps one of the main problems with K-12 education is that it doesn't really prepare the student for any kind of life in his or her own community. Instead the student is encouraged to believe in making a life for oneself by leaving upon graduation, to search for wherever the better future supposedly is. The lives we want, we should be able to create wherever we are. Some developing countries are making the same mistake and losing the ones they try so hard to teach, from their own communities.
I'd be willing to bet that even if some of your students can't run a business, they can still find plenty of ways to be responsible to themselves and to others. They are like everyone else in that they just want to be a part of what is going on, and willing to try to make that happen.
Suppose there was an effort to design the successors to humanity, and you were given the task of choosing which features they would have (possibly also deleted features if these beings are modified humans).
In what ways would their psychology differ from present-day humans? What kinds of things should they want? Should they be capable of the same emotional states? What mental capabilities would you emphasize?
Under what conditions does the human institution of science more likely to mislead than to point toward truth?
Lysenkoism produced false official truth, which was a hell of a bias to overcome.
Why do some people think that the most horrific ideas can be used to support their activism?
Oops, I forgot to mention:* High taxes on business. Business leaders are not fools -- they will relocate to places where taxes are less, when practical. For example, many businesses are moving out of California right now (where business taxes are high) and moving to Texas (where business taxes are low). Likewise, unemployment is higher in California than in Texas.