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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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rshow55 - 07:30am Aug 2, 2002 EST (#3423 of 3445)

Lchic, you're a wonder! So many interesting references.

I'm trying to be constructive, and wondering if a short message might do some good.

First, just some background, by way of example and analogy. Human language is essential. Complicated, too. The average native speaker is likely to know about 50,000 words (most with multiple definitions) in her native language - anyway, that's what researchers have found for English. But some words are MUCH more important than others. And the one's that are most important are "humble" - "low status" words - that people take for granted.

In english text the most common words are MUCH more common than average.

Here are rough percentages (I'm reading from a pie chart) of text accounted by words, in frequency order:

First 10 words -- 20% of all words spoken or written

First 100 words - 48% of all words spoken or written

First 1000 words - 65% of all words used

First 2000 words - 75% of all words used

First 4000 words - 80% of all words used

First 9000 words - 90+% of all words used

Words in frequency order from 9000 up -- less than 10% of all text, but more than 90% of the words educated people know, use and value.

The most frequent words - - the ones that are taken for granted are much more frequent (and basically, much more important) than others.

rshow55 - 07:37am Aug 2, 2002 EST (#3424 of 3445)

For reasons of the logical connection of the world (and our brains) other patterns of use have similar statistics, where the most frequent and "most elementary" things are MUCH more important than average -- essential for virtually everything that has to work.

What if, at a basic level, a mistake is made, a sign is reversed, something is screwed up?

Such problems can be hard to catch. And they deal with "low status" issues that people don't like to look at.

HERE'S A BASIC POINT FOR NEGOTIATORS - INCLUDING IRAQIS, AMERICANS, AND EVERYBODY ELSE.

When distrust is necessary for basic reasons, as it often is, and when the possibilities of deception and error are present, as they most often are,

- distrust and POLITENESS have to go together.

Distrust and tact - distrust and a knowledge that everyone is indirect, and that everyone remains human, have to go together.

- - -

The alternatives much too often -- monotonously -- are grisly and wasteful.

rshow55 - 08:18am Aug 2, 2002 EST (#3425 of 3445)

Mankind's Inhumanity to Man and Woman - As natural as human goodness? http://talk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?14@@.ee7b085/0 deals with a basic, very high frequency of occurrance pattern -- that is going wrong. (Especially the first posting.) That first posting ends:

". . . we all have the basic instincts to be kind, sensitive, and good, within our groups, but at the same time are naturally "monsters" in our behavior toward outsiders.

"If this is right, the role of civilization is to find ways of peace and effective cooperation where isolation, conflict, duplicity, and merciless manipulation, including murder, might otherwise occur."

And do occur, much too often. At great cost and risk to us all.

Note: Lchic and I are working hard on basic high frequency patterns, and needs - working to focus the process of "connecting the dots" -- the issues of judgement involved in the idea of "disciplined beauty" -- the simple, partly instinctual idea of the golden rule - and some simple things bridging the connection between the world we live in, and the abstractions of mathematics.

Not highfalutin' things. Basic things. Easy things, once they are seen.

mazza9 - 08:37am Aug 2, 2002 EST (#3426 of 3445)
"Quae cum ita sunt" Caesar's Gallic Commentaries

Robert Showalter's treatise on "missile defense"

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,

...and the frequency of inanity is only surpassed by your egoistic tripe.

For crying out loud. When will you go away? ...and your little dog lchic, too!

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New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense