Yes, it’s my birthday. And, no, I’m not 21 yet.
Rather than writing something somewhat longish, here’s some things I found interesting recently:
A Simple Example of Why the RIAA Will Fail
Why Old People Shouldn’t Run the Music Industry
Voila!
Anyone having issues with the latest update of Prototype JS? I started using Prototype so things could be cross-browser very easily. And now portions of it are broken.
IE throws a “script error” when I try to do:
$(’dataContainerId’).innerHTML = ‘<p>stuff</p>’;
This didn’t happen until recently, when I started using the latest edition. It works in FF. Why not IE?
Anybody? You can find this question over at the Google Groups discussion.
Update 1: Roland tells me that it should be: $(’dataContainerId’).update(’<p>stuff</p>’);
Update 2 (delayed): the .update() method did work. Just be careful if you use underscores [_] in the ID names… that doesn’t always fly in IE with this, for some reason.
…Christians, Jews, and other religions involving Moses, CRACKED has an article up about “The 9 Most Badass Bible Verses”.
Maybe it’s me, but I find this awesomely hilarious. I know, I know, it’s highly offensive and mostly made up… but still. References to Splinter Cell? 300? Child-maiming bears?
Go check it out.
It probably wasn’t widely covered, but this blog (and the first I’ve heard of it) that gorillas have been seen using “weapons” for the first time in combat recently. Hmm… didn’t we (humans) have a similar moment in time? Other articles have suggested that certain groups of apes/chimpanzees/etc. are developing higher level intelligence through advanced usage of “tools”, hand/signal-based communication, etc.
Pretend With Me
We all evolved from some form of ape, right? Unless you’re one of the few staunch believers in “creationism” as being a realistic idea of how we currently exist (along with the dragons and made up stories), this is the general idea of our history. So, let’s pretend that a species of ape is currently in the midst of “evolving up” (a phrase I just made up to become fully sentient and highly advanced… let’s go with chimpanzees.
Since these chimps are currently (in pretend) making the slow-but-eventual leap towards a stature like ours, you can only assume that at one point they will be physically interacting with us, in an exploratory way, with language. Let’s also pretend that the year that happens is 2020.
What Happens Now?
As wonderful humans, we have the luxury of being the only sentient and advanced (as far as we know) species on the planet. Dolphins are credited with being highly intelligent, but we’ve yet to be able to communicate with them… maybe when we do, they’ll turn out to be like the dolphins in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Anyways, we only have to deal/interact/argue with ourselves. What happens when you add another species to the mix?
Not a podcast, but you get the idea.
In general, humans have been waiting for the appearance of another life form to appear from the skies for hundreds of years… always assuming they will be of higher intelligence and with more advanced technology, waiting to greet us with open arms. Are we prepared to deal with a still-developing species?
Interaction
When the chimpanzees first approach humanity, what will their language be like? Will they still have all that body hair, or will that have been “evolved out”? Will they understand how alike our two species are, or will they see humanity as a strange foe?
I’d like to think that we could live in a peaceful harmony, but something named “history” tells me otherwise. Assuming we come to an understanding on a language basis… what then? Do we let them integrate into our culture and society, if that’s what they want? Or do we try and keep them removed from us so they can develop on their own? Do we provide them with human knowledge, or do we keep them in the dark from even the most basic of things?
Actuality
In truth, chances are that any newly-arrived species that comes from Earth will be directly affected by humans, whether we want to be involved or not. Human rights activists will probably be fighting to “help” them, while others argue against it. But either way, they will see how we are dressed, how we act, and how we live… and it will effect the course of history forever.
Fast Progress
Given everything I’ve said/created/pretended so far, it all adds up to one eventuality: a super-fast hyper-evolution. One day, these chimpanzees will walk out of the forest and communicate with us… another day, not too long from that, they will be our equals. Why? It took us an astronomical amount of time to get to where we currently are, but that was without any outside help (assuming no aliens came down and showed us things). These new super-chimps will have the benefit of human knowledge and experience, and be able to come to a very quick equalization with humans in a fraction of the time it took us.
What if these were the same creatures you saw in a zoo? What then?
Prepare Now
I think this is something that truly needs to be addressed in the scientific community, now. Everyone likes to talk about how “cute” and “humanlike” chimpanzees and other apes are, but I’ve yet to see or hear thoughts on when and how we deal with the eventuality of another branch of evolution (except Planet of the Apes… and that doesn’t count). It may be 200 years or 1000 years, or maybe only 20… who knows?
But it’s going to happen. Think about your grandchildren… do you want them at war with a new species? Or do you want them to learn and interact with this new species for the benefit of everyone?
[I know it’s been awhile since I wrote anything here, I’ve been busy. And it’s Thanksgiving, so what better way to celebrate than a post?]
An article over at CenterNetworks made mention of something that gets alot of attention: programmers as rockstars.
Normal People
For the uninitiated, many see programmers merely as “hackers” through movies like Swordfish, The Matrix, and others like it. Think about the image portrayed… the standard uniform is long (or “short ‘n messy”) hair, black clothing, leather, a heavy night life, and an ego.
My…name…is…NEO!
Real Programmers
In real life, is this true? I’d argue that there are two kinds of programmers: nerdy-WoW-playing-geekoid-trekkies, and the programmer rockstar. I’d also argue that the non-rockstar types are usually the lesser programmers, who aren’t as talented, and probably came upon the occupation as a fallback because of their social life, more than a natural calling.
The Rockstars
Those of us who are rockstar programmers, myself included, usually have huge egos… but not without good cause. Able to knock out complicated working programs/functions in a very short amount of time, we find ourselves feeling akin to God, or other deities, because of our natural ability. We typically can visualize entire program structures and functionality inside our heads, which makes it very easy to “realize” it (like an artist!) on the computer.
Yeah, not what I’m talking about at all.
Why?
Why are we so awesome (some would call that “cocky”)? I really have no idea, but I know that it’s never taken for granted. Every time I sit down to code for hours, I get what’s called a “code high”. Basically, it’s an adrenaline rush fueled by caffeine and a sense of abstract accomplishment that few others would understand. For many of us the joy of programming is not actually coding, but the efforts before and after: visualizing the entire thing, and then enjoying the aftermath of complete and total bug destruction (it’s like a giant puzzle… except you need a certain IQ level).
But we are.
Be Nice
So the next time you see “that guy” in your office, or at Starbucks, that is obviously dressed in the rockstar programmer uniform, and carries himself a slight air of superiority [but you’re pretty sure he’s not a “real” rockstar]… walk up to him (or, in the 2% chance it’s a woman, ‘her’), bow to them, and say “thank you for making my world much better, oh mighty Promaterus, God of Programming”.
They’ll appreciate it.
I know I said that I wouldn’t post videos of funny/hilarious things on here…
But this one I have to.
[youtube R_UA-oKiNoU]
Apparently some people felt the need to explain the psychology behind religion. While I think saying that all religions are “cults” and that all religions “brainwash” people is a little extreme, I agree on the whole.
Ahh, religion.
What Is Religion?
Average Joe can easily answer this question: religion is the belief in some supreme being(s) that may intercede on your behalf to make life better, and usually involve some form of an afterlife or reincarnation. Now, as the article so deftly put it, cults are ” cohesive social group[s] devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture considers outside the mainstream”. Do you see the very minuscule difference? Religion is a widely accepted set of beliefs, a cult is a set of beliefs outside of the norm.
Humanity
It has been suggested (Google it) that humanity may be naturally drawn to religion and the ideas of a higher power, because of either some genetic trait or a function of the brain. It actually would make sense, given that we’ve worshiped some form of gods or goddesses as far back as science can dig. If you look at any form of religion, and the ideas behind them, without any bias, you should come up with a simple conclusion: how can one religion’s ideas be correct, and all the others ‘wrong’?
Origins
All forms of religion have been created/founded/”discovered” at one time or another by humans, everything from Hinduism to Islam to Mormons to Catholicism. Trace down the history, and you find that it’s true. Now, compare that with the roots of “cults”: can their origins, however brief, be also traced to humans’ involvement? What makes the cults any worse than the religions? Why is a religion like Catholicism acceptable, but any involvement in a so-called cult is not?
Even cavemen believed in rudimentary ‘gods’.
All Religions Are Cults
I truly believe that not only are all religions cults, but that given humanity’s need for a higher power throughout all Time, I think they are all created by man himself, invalidating them. It remains to be seen whether or not there is any “true” religion or belief system, if they all are the same, or if they’re all wrong…
But it’s enough to make you wonder if the people that devote themselves to religion are wasting their lives. Science has shown time and time again the validity of evolution, and yet religious organizations continue to claim blasphemy, while insisting on Divine Creation. That seems a little …unintelligent… to me.
Hmm… do the statistics on scientists and engineers (some of the most intelligent people on Earth) having a lack of faith have any bearing on this? I think so…
A random article suggests that anger/rage may be a genetic trait. While the article is pretty short, and doesn’t link directly to the study, if it’s true, it could mean a few things in the future…
It’s like an angry Picasso…
Baby Killing
Want a Utopian society? Well, if this rage gene is truly a “rage gene”, and can be detected early on, who’s to say that “the government” at the time (a world government?) doesn’t ban babies with these genes from being born? “Baby Killing” would be extreme, because we all know abortion is around, but either way it amounts to the same thing.
Super Soldiers
You know all of those movies where there’s a race of super soldiers? That could easily become a reality if “the government” decides not to prevent these rageaholic infants from being born, but rather makes sure to …acquire… all of them for early , and life-long, military training.
Segregation
Pretend that a bunch of these super-ragers figured out their genetic secret, and started banding together. You could very easily end up with a segregated, or “caste” if you prefer, world: the super angry in control of the world, and the rest of us “normals” living in subhuman colonies.
Feel the anger, my child…
Bleak?
I realize I painted a pretty bleak picture, and there’s obviously ways this could never happen (like, if it’s not real), but it’s always fun to try and figure out how apocalyptic movie scenarios can happen in real life, don’t you think?
I got a question from someone at my former highschool, Loyola Blakefield, about what COEN is like, so here’s my answer:
——————————
Well, COEN is alot like a grenade… they just give a bunch of information to you, and wait for you to explode. And I’m not kidding… what I’ll describe isn’t just me, but friends from other schools in similar programs as well.
It involves a very broad study of science in general:
Alot of math classes:
And then there’s the COEN classes:
And those are just classes I took in my first two years. I’m sure you’ve looked at course overviews, so I’ll be a little more personal…
It’s hard. Very very hard. I never had any problems in school (didn’t even really study) until college, and then I quickly found out that I really am only good at programming. That comes natural to me, and everything else is pretty much an exercise in trying not to drown.
My first COEN requirement was a general chemistry class, only alloted to people in engineering. There were three sections of the class, but in my section we started at at about 200 students, and ended with around 80. The schools will try to weed out people who are “unintelligent” (read: stupid) and those who aren’t dedicated, so they throw it to you fast and hard.
That being said, it’s very interesting and exciting. I’ve had a pretty rough time for reasons other than my studies (I’ve had alot of “drama” with other things that carried over), so I’m not your typical engineering student, but I’ve enjoyed it. You have to push through the things you hate (like physics and chemistry) in order to do some of the things you love (like being awesome in your programming classes). You meet alot of very very smart people who may frustrate you in the beginning, but end up being your friends, or at least your study-buddies because you know they get the A’s.
As for jobs… Pretty much anything. That’s the beauty of an engineering degree, people hear the word “engineering” and it’s like a key turns. Everyone I mention this to always responds “oh wow, you must be very smart” (or something similar). The same goes in the job field… you can run a business, work for NASA, or be a hobo. It really doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it doesn’t require an extra certification (like if you want to be an accountant or something).
I have friends that have already intern’d at places like NASA, Ebay/PayPal, and our school’s IT department. But I, personally, have the intention to graduate and never need to apply my degree. I’ve been programming since middle school, and recently started my own legitimate business, with the intent to grow it big enough by graduation that I won’t have to get a “real job”. Another one of my friends, as a Civil Engineer, is going to work for his dad’s structural design firm after graduation.
Like I said, you can pretty much do whatever you want.
So, I’ll close this up for you, since it was alot. If you want to do anything computer related in the future, COEN sounds like a good fit for you (CS is ok, but it’s alot easier and doesn’t have that “wow” factor). It really doesn’t matter if you know how to program or not, because they teach you. You just have to be an “engineering mind” that likes to figure out how things work, tinker, and doesn’t give up easily.
The three physics classes I had to go through were some of the hardest things I’ve done in my entire life. Ever. But you know what? We all went through it, most of us hated it. Now we joke about it, and even though we hated it, when we read something in a newspaper, technical journal, or hear someone speak that involves detailed physics things… we understand it.
And that’s exactly what engineering is about. They throw all this at you so that you don’t necessarily use it… but that you understand it, and will be able to figure things out when you need to. In my experience, Loyola was a good step before going into an engineering program, because some of the kids coming from public schools had a harder time than the private schools…
All that money being used, eh?
Let me know what you think, and if you have any more questions. Or if I didn’t make any sense at all.
–Kyle
It’s like a festival of hate… everyday I see more and more anti-Mahalo posts, or even anti-Jason Calacanis (the guy behind it who thinks he’s God, when in reality he’s pretty much nothing).
Here’s an interesting post on why Jason, not Mahalo, sucks.
You can find my own thoughts on Mahalo (and why it sucks) over here.