New York Times on the Web Forums
Resource
Area for Forum Hosts and Moderators
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.
(9354 previous messages)
rshow55
- 10:29am Feb 28, 2003 EST (#
9355 of 17697) Can we do a better job of finding
truth? YES. Click "rshow55" for some things Lchic and I have
done and worked for on this thread.
rshowalter - 06:31am Sep 30, 2001 EST (#9979 of
9981)
Missile defense is one approach to achieving security. It
is to be thought of as a part of a system of security
measures, to meet the system of security needs that we have.
To meet needs, we have to do possible things.
That means we have to avoid approaches that cannot possibly
work, and find patterns that are consistent with the
constraints, including constraints on fact, that solutions
have to be fit to.
The logic of consistency is absolutely central to
any reasonable hope.
Here are postings about consistency relationships, that
seem to me to be practical and hopeful.
MD9469 rshowalter 9/19/01 5:22pm ... MD9470 rshowalter
9/19/01 5:26pm MD9471 rshowalter 9/19/01 5:27pm ...
MD9472 rshowalter 9/19/01 5:28pm MD9477 rshowalter
9/19/01 5:31pm ... MD9478 rshowalter 9/19/01 5:33pm
MD9479 rshowalter 9/19/01 5:34pm ... MD9480 rshowalter
9/19/01 5:35pm
http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md9000s/md9467.htm
http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md9000s/md9472.htm
http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md9000s/md9477.htm
http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md9000s/md9480.htm
http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md9000s/md9489.htm
MD9484 rshowalter 9/19/01 5:42pm http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md9000s/md9480.htm
An absolutely fundamental fact is that to get ideas focused
well enough for action takes a lot of crossreferencing, and
crosschecking - - and somehow people "form" connected idea
systems out of context.
You can't expect enemies, or people from very different
worlds, to sort out their differences, well enough to keep out
of each others' way, and even cooperate, with radically less
talking than people who work together need to sort out their
relationships.
You may not need an unreasonable amount of talk. But it
takes a lot of talking.
When people interact successfully, there is a lot of talk,
while they're getting ready, if you count words (people have,
and word counts are huge). People need this talk.
Want to ASSURE misunderstandings between groups - -
enough so that they cannot really cooperate, except in very
minimal ways?
Restrict conversation.
To see how very completely this can be done, here is a
document which is, depending on your assumptions, either
absolutely beautiful, or starkly ugly.
. NUNN-WOLFOWITZ TASK FORCE REPORT:
INDUSTRY "BEST PRACTICES" REGARDING EXPORT COMPLIANCE
PROGRAMS http://164.109.59.52/library/pdf/nunnwolfowithttp://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md9000s/.pdf
July 25, 2000
rshowalter - 06:48am Sep 30, 2001 EST (#9980 of
9981)
Simple, basic points, that people shouldn't have to be
told. MD3843 rshowalter 5/14/01 3:25pm
Basic points, that people need to know, understand, and
remember. And think about as they watch events: MD3844
rshowalter 5/14/01 3:28pm ... MD3845 rshowalter 5/14/01
3:43pm MD3846 rshowalter 5/14/01 4:01pm ... MD3847
rshowalter 5/14/01 4:05pm
http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md3000s/md3841.htm
http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md3000s/md3845.htm
http://www.mrshowalter.net/a_md3000s/md3850.htm
Gusts of emotion can make people feel better, for a while.
But perhaps it would be safer, and permit more beauty in
the real world, if we grew up a little? MD3848 rshowalter
5/14/01 4:12pm ... MD3849 rshowalter 5/14/01 4:15pm
(8342 following messages)
New York Times on the Web Forums
Resource
Area for Forum Hosts and Moderators Missile Defense
|