Jun 17 2011: That confirms my thinking. We would be better off without war in just about every way, including technology. But you didn't answer my question about how technology actually helps in the war zone compared to other advantages like training, home field, etc... Any data or thoughts on that?
Jun 17 2011: And we know it just isn't possible to totally eliminate an infection. The antibiotic leaves the toughest bugs behind but reduces the total load to the point that the bodies own system can control it. In the same way, an invader can wipe out /most/ of the insurgents, but some will survive. If the culture (being the body) doesn't contain those last few, or if the culture actually promotes the activities of those few, then the insurgent infection simply returns, stronger than ever. As long as the invader remains, and does not win the "hearts and minds" of the culture as a whole, there will never be peace.
Jun 17 2011: Sean, I'm curious if technological advantages actually show a strong difference in the statistics of "success" in war... more so than the "home plate" advantage of the insurgents or standard measures like training and experience. And then after a war, (assuming the current wars will ever actually end) does the new technology developed for the war really provide an advantage to the society?
Jun 17 2011: Isn't logistics a huge part of that disparity? The invading army must support it's day to day life on top of defending it'self and attacking the enemy. The insurgents simply go about their daily life as they have and once in a while pull off an attack. There is an old story about kids who get up early, go out and plant some trap for the supply convoy of the invaders, then continue on with their chores and school.
Jun 17 2011: That advantage does then raise the question of what we do with all the injured vets. Especially in a political environment where DAV benefits are under attack.
May 26 2011: Wow... you really don't like this idea huh? The "newspaper clippings" were just examples... and he said that... but you didn't want to hear it? The shifts he is talking about come from the data they collected overall, not just the individual examples.
May 26 2011: Krisztian, you are confusing Communism with Socialism. You lived in a Communist country. The USA is a combination of Capitalism (free market, etc...), Socialism (Medicare, Social Security, etc...) and Fascism (corporatism, lobbyist, monopolies, etc...). Please don't confuse what the government of Hungary did to you and your friends with socialism: "where the means of production, distribution, and exchange are owned or regulated by the community as a whole." Southwest airlines is socialism. Social Security is socialism. Fire departments are socialism. Not so bad....
Aug 6 2010: "How come the only bird that can make the hole in the first place has a tongue like that ?"
Thank you for saying that... It saved me from taking the time to try to explain natural selection to you. If you can't grasp something that basic, my time would have been wasted. Best Wishes in your life, please don't vote.
Jul 21 2010: Good talk. I'm not sure I understand what he means by life being significant in time if not in space. This Universe is almost 14 Billion (with a B) years old... life on earth is perhaps 4 Billion years old, but humans have only been around for perhaps 200 Thousand years. I guess that is more significant that the size of the earth compared to the universe, but it still seems like a flash in the pan to me.... no?
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A reply on Conversation: LIVE CHAT With Sean Gourley: What are some of the lessons from war we can apply to other human endeavors? June 17, 2PM EDT
A reply on Conversation: LIVE CHAT With Sean Gourley: What are some of the lessons from war we can apply to other human endeavors? June 17, 2PM EDT
A comment on Conversation: LIVE CHAT With Sean Gourley: What are some of the lessons from war we can apply to other human endeavors? June 17, 2PM EDT
A reply on Conversation: LIVE CHAT With Sean Gourley: What are some of the lessons from war we can apply to other human endeavors? June 17, 2PM EDT
A reply on Conversation: LIVE CHAT With Sean Gourley: What are some of the lessons from war we can apply to other human endeavors? June 17, 2PM EDT
A reply on Talk: John Gerzema: The post-crisis consumer
A reply on Talk: John Gerzema: The post-crisis consumer
A reply on Talk: Richard Dawkins: Militant atheism
Thank you for saying that... It saved me from taking the time to try to explain natural selection to you. If you can't grasp something that basic, my time would have been wasted. Best Wishes in your life, please don't vote.
A comment on Talk: Dimitar Sasselov: How we found hundreds of potential Earth-like planets