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 [F] New York Times on the Web Forums  / Science  /

    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.


Earliest Messages Previous Messages Recent Messages Outline (3739 previous messages)

rshow55 - 08:59am Aug 16, 2002 EST (# 3740 of 3747) Delete Message

Somewhat more advanced issues, involving both fact and morality, can be condensed, and taught - because they are intensely practical - - even though they are much too complicated to expect people to work them out, clearly and sharply, for themselves.

Here are relations that should be widely known:

People, ideas, and relationships are very flexible. All sorts of arrangements and patterns can be made to work to some extent. But if a pattern is to be stable , for real people in real situations - there are some things that are useful to consider - both to judge if the pattern is good, and if the pattern is stable.

. . . . the golden rule, with thought for the real characteristics of the real people involved.

. . . . Maslow's heirarchy of human needs

. . . . . some basic facts about human organizations set out in Berle's laws of power.

These things are only as complicated as they are -- they are very general -- and I think that when issues of stability are involved, they should be considered, and known, by everyone responsible for judgement or action.

That's the main message I was hoping to work out and give to Bill Casey.

rshow55 - 09:04am Aug 16, 2002 EST (# 3741 of 3747) Delete Message

These ideas, which focus a lot of human experience, are simple and apply to many basic things. Such ideas may be low status (for the same reasons that the most common words in a language are low status) but they are important for the same reasons that the most common words are important.

3693 rshow55 8/13/02 1:02pm ... 3694 lchic 8/13/02 1:33pm
3695 rshow55 8/13/02 2:16pm ... 3696 rshow55 8/13/02 2:23pm
3697 rshow55 8/13/02 2:27pm ... 3698 rshow55 8/13/02 2:35pm
3700 rshow55 8/13/02 2:45pm ...

In something as simple as the "see-say" drills of 3697 rshow55 8/13/02 2:27pm some of the most basic processes by which we convert from statistical to symbolic processing are on view. These processes are key to our humanity.

Hilary Putnam said this:

" We think because Newton somehow reduced the physical world to order, something similar must be possible in psychology. . . . . as we say in the United States . . . "I'm from Missouri -- show me! "

Maybe no such thing is possible. But we can take steps to do a lot better than we've been doing.

This thread is taking steps in that direction - at the levels that matter for human function - at the level ordinary human beings experience it.

I think if people understood how focusing works - how we "connect the dots" --- and how that process can be defeated -- people could solve many of their own practical and emotional problems, and the world would be much richer. I think this thread has made progress, and is making progress, toward making that clear.

MD3703 rshow55 8/13/02 4:58pm ... MD3658 rshow55 8/12/02 9:06am

We need disciplined hearts. To discipline our hearts, we need empathy and emotional experience - but some of the things we need are technical, too. Lchic and I are trying to focus some of these things - and I think I can speak for her as well as myself here. We think we're making headway.

lchic - 09:44am Aug 16, 2002 EST (# 3742 of 3747)

Headway ...

Threadway ...

Were the CIA to send Showalter 'that' note

Then Breadway ....

|> Almost midnight my way
Nite!

mazza9 - 10:55am Aug 16, 2002 EST (# 3743 of 3747)
"Quae cum ita sunt" Caesar's Gallic Commentaries

Robert: lchic says"Are people, like yourself, who support the nuclear annihilation of the world - 'all there' ? mazza9 8/15/02 10:21am <<<< my comment was clear." Since you are the keeper of the archives, I have a question. Have I ever said that I support nuclear annihilation?

lchic is you "sidekick". You gush over her many contributions. I suppose if the measure is "ad hominem vitriol" then maybe she is the charmer you describe. Is this the truth telling that you espouse?

LouMazza

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