2007-08-28
International Space Station Crew to be Armed
This is really cool, just so long as ET doesn't find it threatening. ;)
2007-08-21
Redshirts: Hope Kirk Scores
On the DITL Forums, the following link appeared.
Analytics According to Captain Kirk
I can't vouch for the numbers, but the whole thing is hysterical if true.
Notable quotes:
Classic!
Analytics According to Captain Kirk
I can't vouch for the numbers, but the whole thing is hysterical if true.
Notable quotes:
"It was found that red-shirted crewmembers tended to die in groups."
"When Captain Kirk meets an alien woman and "makes contact" the survival rate of the red-shirted crewmen increases by 84%."
Classic!
2007-08-07
Delta Flyer II Acceleration
In "Drive"[VOY7], the new Delta Flyer is taking part in a race, and unbeknownst to the crew it's rigged to explode at the finish line, with the explosion feared capable of wiping out anything within a million kilometers.
The vessel comes to a dead stop at a stated distance of "less than a million kilometers" from the finish line, where Voyager and other vessels are gathered within a handful of kilometers. "Less than a minute" from the detonation, those aboard the Flyer realize what's going on and Paris sets a course for a nearby small nebula, hoping it will contain the blast to some extent. He books it and arrives just in time to dump the rigged warp core and get far enough away to survive.
Shortly after the winner crosses the finish line, Voyager is rocked by the explosion. Tuvok reports that it was the shockwave from an antimatter explosion, "approximately 1.2 million kilometers from here".
Now, besides the fact that it was clearly one helluva bang, this example also gives us the opportunity to compare two distances from a known stationary point. Voyager, after all, was right at the finish line. If the Delta Flyer was stopped relative to the finish line less than one million kilometers away, and then was approximately 1.2 million kilometers away circa the time of the blast, then obviously it must've travelled about 200,000 kilometers, assuming a straight line away from the finish line. (That assumption is actually not supported by the episode, so the true distance should be further, but whatever.)
And, of course, that's 200,000 kilometers in "less than a minute".
To travel 200,000 kilometers in one full minute would require a velocity of 3,333.333 kilometers per second. From zero, then, the Delta Flyer would've had to have reached a final speed of 6,666.666 kilometers per second.
To do that in 60 seconds would require an acceleration of 111.111 kilometers per second per second, or 111,111m/s^2.
That's 11,330.2g, or over 3 times the Earth-to-Jupiter performance of the Enterprise in TMP, and over 18 times the maximum estimated value for an ISD (from a preliminary (and sadly incomplete) analysis of the highest acceleration known in Star Wars).
Top Gear, eat your heart out.
The vessel comes to a dead stop at a stated distance of "less than a million kilometers" from the finish line, where Voyager and other vessels are gathered within a handful of kilometers. "Less than a minute" from the detonation, those aboard the Flyer realize what's going on and Paris sets a course for a nearby small nebula, hoping it will contain the blast to some extent. He books it and arrives just in time to dump the rigged warp core and get far enough away to survive.
Shortly after the winner crosses the finish line, Voyager is rocked by the explosion. Tuvok reports that it was the shockwave from an antimatter explosion, "approximately 1.2 million kilometers from here".
Now, besides the fact that it was clearly one helluva bang, this example also gives us the opportunity to compare two distances from a known stationary point. Voyager, after all, was right at the finish line. If the Delta Flyer was stopped relative to the finish line less than one million kilometers away, and then was approximately 1.2 million kilometers away circa the time of the blast, then obviously it must've travelled about 200,000 kilometers, assuming a straight line away from the finish line. (That assumption is actually not supported by the episode, so the true distance should be further, but whatever.)
And, of course, that's 200,000 kilometers in "less than a minute".
To travel 200,000 kilometers in one full minute would require a velocity of 3,333.333 kilometers per second. From zero, then, the Delta Flyer would've had to have reached a final speed of 6,666.666 kilometers per second.
To do that in 60 seconds would require an acceleration of 111.111 kilometers per second per second, or 111,111m/s^2.
That's 11,330.2g, or over 3 times the Earth-to-Jupiter performance of the Enterprise in TMP, and over 18 times the maximum estimated value for an ISD (from a preliminary (and sadly incomplete) analysis of the highest acceleration known in Star Wars).
Top Gear, eat your heart out.
2007-06-02
First Uncontact
On this Tech Archive page about Pathways, I poked fun at the notion of undiscovered bumpy-headed quasi-alien primitive tribes being found in 2344 Central America.
While that's still rather goofy, there is actually some precedent for awfully-late discoveries of primitive tribes in the vast jungles of South America, which was a surprise to me. Here, for instance, is a story on the recent first contact with the Metyktire tribe, previously living in seclusion on a large native American reservation in the Amazon. Even the main tribe of the reservation had enjoyed no contact with the tribe in a long while.
Most fascinating is this note:
So maybe there's a smidgen of plausibility in the idea after all, were it not for the fact that the Trek writers put Chakotay's find in the much smaller Central American jungles.
While that's still rather goofy, there is actually some precedent for awfully-late discoveries of primitive tribes in the vast jungles of South America, which was a surprise to me. Here, for instance, is a story on the recent first contact with the Metyktire tribe, previously living in seclusion on a large native American reservation in the Amazon. Even the main tribe of the reservation had enjoyed no contact with the tribe in a long while.
Most fascinating is this note:
Indians were pushed deeper into the jungle by settlers and it is relatively uncommon for the Indian Bureau to come across previously uncontacted native groups. The bureau said that it has learned from other Indians of a few uncontacted tribes in the western Amazon state, where the region's jungle is thickest.
Moura said anthropologists no longer attempt to contact those groups, but instead demarcate the land and wait for them to make contact.
So maybe there's a smidgen of plausibility in the idea after all, were it not for the fact that the Trek writers put Chakotay's find in the much smaller Central American jungles.
2007-05-29
Happy (Belated) 30th, Star Wars
It was a busy weekend, but at last I'm able to make the note.
Here's to 30 more.
Here's to 30 more.
2007-05-13
Fact and Consensus: Argumentum ad Populum
The notion of consensus has been appearing a fair bit recently in attempts to prove things or persuade people. As an example, global warming advocates like Al Gore have been claiming consensus among climate scientists that current Earth climate change is human-caused and destructive, hence requiring immediate action.
I've been quite familiar with that type of argument form for some time. Opponents of mine have frequently claimed "everyone believes X" when I'm saying something contrary to X. "Everyone" in that case, of course, refers to the small active population of web boards such as SDN.
It's a neat trick, really, since when stated to an uninformed audience such a thing can sound convincing.
It is obvious that the SDN treatment of dissent is no coincidence, when viewed in that light. Dissenting opinions are shuffled off into private forums, invisible to non-members. Dissenters themselves have been banned, spammed, harrassed, and even threatened. The very climate of well-poisoning vitriol and personal attacks also serves to keep potential dissenters away. And opposition elsewhere on the internet is sought out and attacked via board invasions, wiki-wars, 'sock puppets', and even occasional legal threats. Interested parties even moderate other boards on similar topics, with members of both holding the party line elsewhere. And let's not forget, of course, that even SW authors are attacked and maligned across the internet if they fail to subscribe to SDN views.
And this, so we're told, is consensus of opinion.
I think not. Even if one thinks consensus is important, one does not build it by such action. Ancient kings might've built a consensus that divine right existed, but they did so by slaughtering those who disagreed. That's not consensus at all, except in an ironic sense.
But even if we grant the claim of consensus, let's not kid ourselves that consensus is a determinant in matters of fact.
Truth is not determined by the number of adherents. That includes the collective opinion of a consensus. If everyone on Earth believed that 1+1=3, there would be consensus. However, the consensus opinion would be wrong.
Consensus is what is sought when there is ignorance. In jurisprudence, we could not know the facts with certainty, so consensus of peers was employed. Creating the appearance of consensus is also useful for swinging uninformed public opinion, which is why spin doctors try to claim that everyone believes such-and-such.
This, of course, is nothing new. Hence the fallacy of argumentum ad populam, or the appeal to the belief of the masses.
(Of course, one might argue that for this to be labelled a fallacy, it has been recognized as such by a group of logicians and thinkers through time, and as such could be wrong since that determination has been made by consensus. However, in doing so, one acknowledges that it's a fallacy anyway.)
Most of the above is not new to my readers, but the following is. A very nice and much more interesting take on the matter, the following link refers to a Parliament of Clocks. Much as a stopped clock is falsely said to be right twice a day when in reality it's just lucky, so too is a Parliament of Clocks misunderstood by laypeople:
http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/004879.html
(Incidentally, it's worth noting something tangentially relevant here. One SDN member quotes a statement of mine wherein I note that one does not determine fact by use of persuasive essays, but instead by reason. This quotation of me is apparently used to suggest that I'm a silly person, which is of course true. However, it's not true because I made that statement.
Persuasion occurs via many channels, and many forms of appeal. Appeals to authority, mass belief, emotion, and all manner of other things are valid when one seeks only to persuade. However, matters of fact are not determined with those. Reason is the only arbiter of fact. Write as many persuasive essays as you like, turn as many ears to your message as you can, but don't think for an instant that having people agree on that basis means that your position is factually accurate.)
I've been quite familiar with that type of argument form for some time. Opponents of mine have frequently claimed "everyone believes X" when I'm saying something contrary to X. "Everyone" in that case, of course, refers to the small active population of web boards such as SDN.
It's a neat trick, really, since when stated to an uninformed audience such a thing can sound convincing.
It is obvious that the SDN treatment of dissent is no coincidence, when viewed in that light. Dissenting opinions are shuffled off into private forums, invisible to non-members. Dissenters themselves have been banned, spammed, harrassed, and even threatened. The very climate of well-poisoning vitriol and personal attacks also serves to keep potential dissenters away. And opposition elsewhere on the internet is sought out and attacked via board invasions, wiki-wars, 'sock puppets', and even occasional legal threats. Interested parties even moderate other boards on similar topics, with members of both holding the party line elsewhere. And let's not forget, of course, that even SW authors are attacked and maligned across the internet if they fail to subscribe to SDN views.
And this, so we're told, is consensus of opinion.
I think not. Even if one thinks consensus is important, one does not build it by such action. Ancient kings might've built a consensus that divine right existed, but they did so by slaughtering those who disagreed. That's not consensus at all, except in an ironic sense.
But even if we grant the claim of consensus, let's not kid ourselves that consensus is a determinant in matters of fact.
Truth is not determined by the number of adherents. That includes the collective opinion of a consensus. If everyone on Earth believed that 1+1=3, there would be consensus. However, the consensus opinion would be wrong.
Consensus is what is sought when there is ignorance. In jurisprudence, we could not know the facts with certainty, so consensus of peers was employed. Creating the appearance of consensus is also useful for swinging uninformed public opinion, which is why spin doctors try to claim that everyone believes such-and-such.
This, of course, is nothing new. Hence the fallacy of argumentum ad populam, or the appeal to the belief of the masses.
(Of course, one might argue that for this to be labelled a fallacy, it has been recognized as such by a group of logicians and thinkers through time, and as such could be wrong since that determination has been made by consensus. However, in doing so, one acknowledges that it's a fallacy anyway.)
Most of the above is not new to my readers, but the following is. A very nice and much more interesting take on the matter, the following link refers to a Parliament of Clocks. Much as a stopped clock is falsely said to be right twice a day when in reality it's just lucky, so too is a Parliament of Clocks misunderstood by laypeople:
http://chicagoboyz.net/archives/004879.html
(Incidentally, it's worth noting something tangentially relevant here. One SDN member quotes a statement of mine wherein I note that one does not determine fact by use of persuasive essays, but instead by reason. This quotation of me is apparently used to suggest that I'm a silly person, which is of course true. However, it's not true because I made that statement.
Persuasion occurs via many channels, and many forms of appeal. Appeals to authority, mass belief, emotion, and all manner of other things are valid when one seeks only to persuade. However, matters of fact are not determined with those. Reason is the only arbiter of fact. Write as many persuasive essays as you like, turn as many ears to your message as you can, but don't think for an instant that having people agree on that basis means that your position is factually accurate.)
2007-05-03
Détente, Of Sorts
A continuation of the last post . . . Wayne's posted something interesting on SD.Net:
I've often said that their incessant aggressive bluster is used to cover up other things (weakness in arguments and so on). And so I generally just read past the bluster.
In this case, that leads me to a notion for which I have no direct evidence, but would like to believe. It's possible that after seeing my umpteenth railing against their poisoning the well of discourse . . . the umpteenth description of how I have little interest in and don't want to be involved in their ad hominem battles but will clearly go to the mat when needed . . . he saw through the fog of the other side's spin and realized that maybe what I was saying was true.
In other words, he's declared victory but still taken a step I outlined in my last post for détente.
I can live with the former to get the latter. Thus I shall also begin removing references to Poe from ST-v-SW.Net. And incidentally, the same old offer naturally remains open for Wong as well.
"After yesterday's fun and games, I was all set to update the Darkstar Database, complete with a whole new chapter. I made space on my desktop, moving the G2K bridge damage textures for "The Last Bastion" part 5, the voice overs, and other things off to the side, so I could amass all the info I needed for the update. But then I began thinking. (Shut it, Dalton.) Darkstar is unruffled by these updates [ ... snip bluster ... ]
So last night, I didn't update the Darkstar Database. Today, after thinking about it for quite a while, I erased it. I did a quick purge of any mention of Darkstar on my website. [...] I'll let "The Last Bastion" [parody video] stand as my ultimate criticism against this idiot."
I've often said that their incessant aggressive bluster is used to cover up other things (weakness in arguments and so on). And so I generally just read past the bluster.
In this case, that leads me to a notion for which I have no direct evidence, but would like to believe. It's possible that after seeing my umpteenth railing against their poisoning the well of discourse . . . the umpteenth description of how I have little interest in and don't want to be involved in their ad hominem battles but will clearly go to the mat when needed . . . he saw through the fog of the other side's spin and realized that maybe what I was saying was true.
In other words, he's declared victory but still taken a step I outlined in my last post for détente.
I can live with the former to get the latter. Thus I shall also begin removing references to Poe from ST-v-SW.Net. And incidentally, the same old offer naturally remains open for Wong as well.
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