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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?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

commondata - 06:02pm Jan 15, 2003 EST (# 7687 of 7688)

<a href="/webin/WebX?14@93.CPxVaxhV0SY^354420@.f28e622/9205">rshow55 1/15/03 2:31pm</a>

I had my heart set on a simulation of the Iraqi case - but haven't touched it.

It took me a while to remember what that reminded me of, and then FLASH, I thought of Gaal Dornick and Sheldon Functions from a book I read as a teenager.

‘PSYCHOHISTORY— . . . Gaal Dornick, using non-mathematical concepts, has defined psychohistory to be that branch of mathematics which deals with the reactions of human conglomerates to fixed social and economic stimuli . . . Implicit in all these definitions is the assumption that the human conglomerate being dealt with is sufficiently large for valid statistical treatment. The necessary size of such a conglomerate may be determined by Sheldon’s First Theorem . . . A further necessary assumption is that the human conglomerate be itself unaware of psychohistoric analysis in order that its reactions be truly random . . . The basis of all valid psychohistory lies in the development of the Sheldon functions which exhibit properties congruent to those of such social and economic forces ... ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA.' (Foundation Series, Asimov 1967)

It makes great science fiction but it's never going to work at any useful level. How many of the 10^12 neurons in each of the 6x10^9 people were you going to model and how were you going to quantise the infinite environmental factors? No, not the approach? So what simple, small and finite qualities were you going to boil out of the current physical-psychological world and how were you going to describe and manipulate the relations between them? Gisterme's got a new creation theory as well - the two of you are redefining everything that was, is and will be - which is impressing the hell out of me.

rshow55 - 06:51pm Jan 15, 2003 EST (# 7688 of 7688)
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.

Dean Amadon, an Authority on Birds of Prey, Dies at 90 By WOLFGANG SAXON http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/15/obituaries/15AMAD.html

"Dean Amadon, a renowned authority on birds of prey and former Lamont curator of birds at the American Museum of Natural History, died Sunday at his home in Tenafly, N.J. He was 90.

. . . . .

" The author or co-author of 400 publications, he had his name on books considered classics by naturalists and bird lovers. Among them was the two-volume "Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World" (McGraw-Hill, 1968), an encyclopedic treatment of the raptors' behavior and natural history.

"He compiled "Birds Around the World: A Geographical Look at Evolution and Birds" (Natural History Press, 1966). He was co-author of the richly illustrated "Land Birds of America" (McGraw-Hill, 1953).

- - - - -

"Dr. Amadon was called to the scene 10 years ago when a pair of red-tailed hawks took perches on an upper Fifth Avenue co-op, sharing residency with Mary Tyler Moore. The species was known to hunt only in wild and rural country.

"Amazing," observed Dr. Amadon. "Maybe the male had a screw loose somewhere."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

It seems to me that I've been a good deal more perceptive, and somewhat more intelligent, than some other people, for a long time. I've also won my fights, by and large. Maybe to a surprising extent.

Tough nowhere near as beautiful a lunarchick !

It seems to me that, in some key ways, I have been unusual - and have been for as long as I can remember. I've done my best, and tried to be useful, and fit in.

These hopes seem reasonable still . . . http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@254.frd2bddWYad.1@.ee7b2bd/1662

The US is trying to achieve stability - and "weapons" that violate the 1st and 2nd law of thermo mostly show how afraid people are.

<a href="/webin/WebX?14@93.CPxVaxhV0SY^354420@.f28e622/9208">manjumicha1 1/15/03 2:49pm</a> -- - impresses me, as manj so often does. I've decided to rest a little.

If it is true that people are taking some time - I've got things I'd like to do - and would enjoy some resting. But if you think you're saving, say, 1000 lives/hour - and that seems reasonable - and news seems to correllate in positive ways to things you say - - how much resting would you like to do?

<a href="/webin/WebX?14@93.CPxVaxhV0SY^354420@.f28e622/9212">commondata 1/15/03 6:02pm</a> - - I'll try to respond carefully - but with thought to manj's request. People have been doing most things right for many, many, many years.

I don't think I'm such a bad guy, myself.

I'm probably out for tonight. It seems to me that some things are going well - and that with not much honesty and work - a lot could go much better.

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