(no subject)

“Why do the Vickys have such a big clave?” Nell asked.
“Don’t ever call them Vickys,” Rita said.
“Why?”
“It’s a word that people who don’t like them use to describe them in kind of a bad, unfriendly way,” Rita said.
“Like a pejorative term?” Nell said.
Rita laughed, more nervous than amused. “Exactly.”
“Why do the Atlantans have such a big clave?”
“Well, each phyle has a different way, and some ways are better suited to making money than others, so some have a lot of territory and others don’t.”
“What do you mean, a different way?”
“To make money you have to work hard-to live your life in a certain way. The Atlantans all live that way, it’s part of their culture. The Nipponese too. So the Nipponese and the Atlantans have as much money as all the other phyles put together.”
“Why aren’t you an Atlantan?”
“Because I don’t want to live that way. All the people in Dovetail like to make beautiful things. To us, the things that the Atlantans do- dressing up in these kinds of clothes, spending years and years in school-are irrelevant. Those pursuits wouldn’t help us make beautiful things, you see."
-- Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age

( That really got me thinking... )

What is the public school system for?

The obvious answer is "to ensure that everyone gets an education." But what does that really mean? What, exactly, is the school system supposed to do? There are several possible answers (and the real answer is probably a combination of several of these):

( Read more... )

More nanotechnology...

Scientists have successfully created a transistor using molecular nanotechnology (MNT).

The transistor self-assembled from molecules using DNA -- basically, the transistor was "grown" using the same molecular systems that grow living things.

It's not a revolution in science yet -- it's just one more step on the road to manufacturing with molecular nanotechnology. But someday this technology will change the world more profoundly than anything since the invention of agriculture.

I think that day will be within the next 30 years. MNT has progressed more in the last two years than in the last ten; it's amazing what they're starting to do, even if it's only in the proof-of-concept stage so far.

(no subject)

It's nice to have a day off of work; I don't remember the last time I used a vacation day. I think it may have been in April.

Gives me time to do some LJ posting, but I guess that would be obvious to anyone reading this. :)

I'm very much looking forward to December 12th -- as that's the day that I make up for not taking any vacation since April by taking off the rest of the year.

I like my job and all, but it's still work. :) It'll be nice to catch up on computer games, my own programming projects, reading, and the various other things I've put off.