Comments on: Oh, Ted… http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/ Random samplings from a universe of ideas. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:17:30 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Jeff http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48803 Jeff Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:01:34 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48803 Risa, I'm sorry for your grandfather. I think you can make policy decisions without needing to know all the technical details. Do you think JFK knew anything about chemical propellants or guidance systems for moon rockets? The real question is this: did Stevens's simplistic metaphor for the Internet lead him to make bad policy decisions, or did he make bad policy decisions because he was a bad politician? I think the latter is more likely (I'm not holding a torch for the scoundrel). Risa, I’m sorry for your grandfather. I think you can make policy decisions without needing to know all the technical details. Do you think JFK knew anything about chemical propellants or guidance systems for moon rockets? The real question is this: did Stevens’s simplistic metaphor for the Internet lead him to make bad policy decisions, or did he make bad policy decisions because he was a bad politician? I think the latter is more likely (I’m not holding a torch for the scoundrel).

]]> By: Risa http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48563 Risa Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:25:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48563 Jeff -- yes, I would ridicule my grandfather for it if he was heading a Senate committee in charge of regulating the internet. Jeff — yes, I would ridicule my grandfather for it if he was heading a Senate committee in charge of regulating the internet.

]]> By: spyder http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48511 spyder Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:18:38 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48511 <i>Every time the computer says “You’ve Got Mail,” he waits for the printer to produce a page.</i> Well after he waited for the longest time to hear the whoooompfff of the canister hitting the bottom of the tube. Odd that there are still drive through banks that use those. Ted must really enjoy that. Too bad they won't have those at the facility in Lompoc (what a perfect place for a guy from Alaska/Wash D.C.). Every time the computer says “You’ve Got Mail,” he waits for the printer to produce a page.

Well after he waited for the longest time to hear the whoooompfff of the canister hitting the bottom of the tube. Odd that there are still drive through banks that use those. Ted must really enjoy that. Too bad they won’t have those at the facility in Lompoc (what a perfect place for a guy from Alaska/Wash D.C.).

]]> By: Jeff http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48503 Jeff Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:30:11 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48503 OK, a correction: Ted Stevens advocated AGAINST network neutrality, but his "tubes" metaphor is still a decent one, and I stand by my original comment that ridiculing this metaphor smacks of ageism. OK, a correction: Ted Stevens advocated AGAINST network neutrality, but his “tubes” metaphor is still a decent one, and I stand by my original comment that ridiculing this metaphor smacks of ageism.

]]> By: Jeff http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48499 Jeff Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:13:10 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48499 Senator Stevens deserves ostracism for his criminal acts, and his failed re-election bid is good news, but scolding him for his "series of tubes" description (actually a decent metaphor for the internet) is undeserved. Would you ridicule your grandfather for comparing the internet to a "series of tubes"? Let's remember that Ted Stevens used the "series of tubes" metaphor to support his position on network neutrality, a position that I suspect is supported by most readers of this blog. Senator Stevens deserves ostracism for his criminal acts, and his failed re-election bid is good news, but scolding him for his “series of tubes” description (actually a decent metaphor for the internet) is undeserved. Would you ridicule your grandfather for comparing the internet to a “series of tubes”? Let’s remember that Ted Stevens used the “series of tubes” metaphor to support his position on network neutrality, a position that I suspect is supported by most readers of this blog.

]]> By: MedallionOfFerret http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48457 MedallionOfFerret Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:39:13 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48457 There are a lot of reasons to be glad that Senator Stevens lost his bid for re-election. His lack of understanding of what the internet is and how it works is a fairly minor one; and I suspect that most of us would be equally at a loss in explaining how to get a Bridge to Nowhere federal funding. He had no need to understand the internet to be far more effective--even if deleteriously so--than probably anyone that reads CV. There are a lot of reasons to be glad that Senator Stevens lost his bid for re-election. His lack of understanding of what the internet is and how it works is a fairly minor one; and I suspect that most of us would be equally at a loss in explaining how to get a Bridge to Nowhere federal funding. He had no need to understand the internet to be far more effective–even if deleteriously so–than probably anyone that reads CV.

]]> By: MZ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48431 MZ Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:24:53 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48431 Ted actually remembers the days of pneumatic tubes for delivery of mail. Every time the computer says "You've Got Mail," he waits for the printer to produce a page. Ted actually remembers the days of pneumatic tubes for delivery of mail. Every time the computer says “You’ve Got Mail,” he waits for the printer to produce a page.

]]> By: enthusiasm : archive : » So farewell then, Senator Stevens… http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48424 enthusiasm : archive : » So farewell then, Senator Stevens… Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:29:20 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48424 [...] (a nice reminder, on the occasion of his political demise, from Cosmic Variance) [...] [...] (a nice reminder, on the occasion of his political demise, from Cosmic Variance) [...]

]]> By: Low Math, Meekly Interacting http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48418 Low Math, Meekly Interacting Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:38:13 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48418 We have Stevens to thank for myriad entertaining neologisms, such as "interpipes" and "intertubes" (e.g. "I rul3z @ t3h int3rpip3z!!!11!!1!" and "me luvs teh intertubez!", respectively), just to name a few. So I'm willing to cut the guy a little slack. We have Stevens to thank for myriad entertaining neologisms, such as “interpipes” and “intertubes” (e.g. “I rul3z @ t3h int3rpip3z!!!11!!1!” and “me luvs teh intertubez!”, respectively), just to name a few. So I’m willing to cut the guy a little slack.

]]> By: Count Iblis http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/comment-page-1/#comment-48409 Count Iblis Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:32:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2008/11/19/oh-ted/#comment-48409 Theoretical physicists are already dreaming of <a href=http://arxiv.org/abs/0806.4195 rel="nofollow">The Quantum Internet</a> :) Theoretical physicists are already dreaming of The Quantum Internet :)

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