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Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

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lchic - 12:46pm Mar 22, 2003 EST (# 10331 of 10338)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

"Dis-information

from the Iraqi side"

media reporter

A picture says a 1000 words -- dramatic smoke filled pictures of Baghdad

And yet -- Iraq says (only) '200 casualties'

rshow55 - 01:09pm Mar 22, 2003 EST (# 10332 of 10338)
Can we do a better job of finding truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have done and worked for on this thread.

Lchic and I are trying to clarify -- and simplify - - and generalize some of the basic points connecting statistics and logic built into all our brains - points related to latent semantic analysis and some other things -and carry them further.

One thing that's new is a clear sense of HOW VERY BIG the payoffs with simplification usually are -- how VERY likely checked sequences are to converge on useful (if imperfect) order. And how VERY large the number of checks often are. Because of some basic statistics associated with N! . (Click rshow55 for some basic facts about sequences involving factorials - as logical sequences connected to real data almost always do.) Connecting the dots can work very well if you keep at it.

Looking hard at the statistics of induction is worthwhile. That hard look lets us think about induction in a more orderly, hopeful way.

I have tremendous respect for the references cited in 3936-3945 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.pKLFaIRo5P9.844785@.f28e622/4959

But it seems to me that as far as human welfare goes, lchic's rhyme, widely taught, might do as much good as all those references put together. In part by summarizing much of what those references teach. With an added "sense of the odds" that hasn't been taught enough.

. Adults need secrets, lies and fictions

. To live within their contradictions

If children and adults understood that - we'd be more humane, and solve more practical problems.

Before adults would let children learn lchic's little rhyme -- they'd have to learn some things themselves.

9575 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.pKLFaIRo5P9.844785@.f28e622/11115

Notions like "truth" - "legitimacy" - "honor" -"Christianity" -- "Islam" -- "justice" - -"symettry" -- are high level abstractions - in some ways - the highest levels of abstractions.

"Truth" - "honor" -- "legitimacy" - and other of our high level abstractions have a role in our (quite heirarchical) logical-emotional-meaning structures quite analogous to the role of "transcendence" in the Maslow pyramid in the picture in http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html

Our language, much of the rest of our brains, and the world itself are organized in somewhat self-similar (fractal) and classificatory-logical ways for BASIC reasons that not even a God could change.

We're facing a question about what we have to fight about.

Some essential logical questions are here - and as human beings we should know them. Maps aren't territories. And different maps, even if perfectly valid - describe different things (weather maps, road maps, and geological maps aren't the same.)

There needs to be some exception handling in all religious systems - and it seems particularly on point, just now - to notice how that must be true of Islam, which is the arabic word for "submission." To decently serve either God or man - there have to be times where people - all people - are expected and permitted to think for themselves.

Some followers of Islam, including some leaders and some clergymen - would do well spending some time looking at some pictures. They have a lot of good to build on, but some messes to fix.

4164 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@0@.f28e622/5255

BASIC logical point:

. 4165 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.pKLFaIRo5P9.844785@.f28e622/5256

6433 http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?8@28.pKLFaIRo5P9.844785@.f28e622/7937

I'm hopeful.

lchic - 01:28pm Mar 22, 2003 EST (# 10333 of 10338)
~~~~ It got understood and exposed ~~~~

Saddam alive --- BBC reporter in Baghdad - Arabic speaker

Asked how did he know

Said that the meeting of cabinet was true because members had an up-to-date-map discussing bombardments

(5 following messages)

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