Posts by BenWilson
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
We did a much better job than general media, which got hung up on the teenager being a “whizz kid” going on a “hacking” and “phreaking” spree when all he did was to stumble on gaping security left open because of… convenience.
Yes, I remember half of a university lecture once, dedicated to debunking the myths surrounding hacking. It was quite interesting, actually the most valuable thing I learned in that paper.
Ever since, I'm continually amused by the popular conflation of hacker with computer genius. It's not quite "never the twain shall meet", but there's very little, if any, correlation. It doesn't really take much smarts to violate security, any more than it does to break into a car or house. And in some ways it's less smart than either one, since the main purpose seems to be to gain notoriety for doing damage. It's a lot more like vandalizing a car. If they were people who actually put thought into how to profit by hacking, they wouldn't be hacking, they'd just get a job in computing, which pays well anyway.
ETA ... and computer security pays especially well.
-
Legal Beagle: Asking the next question, in reply to Damian Christie,
Who would have thought Brash thinks in binary?
-
"Have you done criminal background checks into all of your people? Is there anything in there that you'd like to share with the public now, rather than in 2 years time?"
-
Cracker: Another Capital Idea..., in reply to Jeremy Eade,
Only if you conflate value with money.
If you think money doesn't have value, why worry about it?
Essentially the problem is that the direct value of people like investment bankers is easily calculated, indeed they structure their lives to make it so. They sell their service to some organization as "You will make x profit if you do y to your organization, if you use us". This makes it very easy for the organization to figure what slice of that profit the banker deserves, typically an auctioning process takes place there. And most often, the organization wants to take the biggest profit they believe is possible, so of course there is a ton of money in that kind of work.
The influence of teachers is much harder to quantify. In fact, quantification of it is almost anathema to the process itself. But it's not often a teacher is in a position that their influence directly made someone millions of dollars. So there just aren't millions of dollars to give them. That is why I say that I find it hard to imagine a situation where the two professions could ever be in the same league pay-wise.
If you are talking about their value to society then it's a much trickier call. A capitalist system could probably exist perfectly well without any investment bankers, just as it could also do without lawyers. But they would have to be legislated against, because, as I argue above, what they do sells itself for big bucks. People want lawyers because they know what they're doing and the person's very life could depend on it. People want investment bankers because good advice about organizational manipulation from people who have done it before is worth a fortune.
If the system is not capitalist, there could be no such people, but the basic function they serve would still fall on someone, it would wield enormous influence and thus power, way more than most teachers. Merging or changing bureaus in a big government works very much the same way.
There aren't too many ways that humans can be organized such that people who take huge initiative with large numbers of people, aren't much more powerful than people who don't. Some teachers might do this, but they're seldom going to be the people teaching you calculus, much more likely to be making big calls about the organization of education. These people are the ones who are highly paid within education.
However, despite all of the above, I think teachers should be paid more, and wealthy people taxed more. It just works better that way. The difference in real value between teachers and investment bankers is definitely not as much as the difference in how much they get paid. I just think there is a difference.
-
I'm not convinced investment bankers aren't worth the money they earn. Their advice and work is about extremely big movements of money, so the good advice really is worth a lot to the people paying them. Teachers do important work too, but they aren't holding anywhere near as much responsibility or liability. They just don't have as much at stake. A bad teacher affects some students for a year or two, and if it is noticed, they might get told off, or at worst fired, but would probably get work in another school. A M&A lawyer who gives bad advice could bankrupt their firm or their client's firm, could lay thousands of people off, or lose every cent they own. It's very hard and competitive work, and only the top candidates are taken. It does actually seem fair to me that they get very well paid, at least some of the time.
-
Field Theory: 65 bottles of beer on the wall..., in reply to Islander,
You words did not make sense to me.I just feel -slighted.
OK, I'm sorry about that then. Perhaps I should make it plainer what I meant.
Sometimes, when someone one likes, or holds in esteem, or respects the mana of, is outspokenly against something, then you don't feel inclined to tell them that you happen to actually like that thing. It's not worth the trouble. It can be very hard to know when this is going on for that someone. I felt you might actually find this observation useful rather than affronting. It certainly was not meant as any comment on generalized duplicity amongst your friends and family. Nor was it meant as a particularly serious contribution to the discussion. In essence, I don't see rugby love as a particularly serious crime, and was joking that around the idea of holding it up as such.
-
Field Theory: 65 bottles of beer on the wall..., in reply to Islander,
May I also say, you know absolutely nothing about my circumstances?
I was making a joke. In case you didn't notice, it was actually a joke about myself. Being told to STFU ain't nice, btw, but I'm not going to let it ruin my opinion of you. It just makes me feel that little bit less inclined to tell you how I feel. Think on that, and my joke, and you might get it. Good night.
-
Field Theory: 65 bottles of beer on the wall..., in reply to Islander,
Ben, that is rather impertinent and it was MY comment, not Jackie’s- so S
TFU-Yes, it was intended for you, and it wasn't accidentally impertinent. Lighten up. There's actual trouble in the world to worry about, you know.
-
Field Theory: 65 bottles of beer on the wall..., in reply to Jackie Clark,
And since such parties never involve family or close friends - why should I care?
You sure about that? Maybe they just don't tell you, and then sneak off and have a party. I remember doing that when I lived in a house of sincere and stern rugby disapproval. It felt so naughty, but sooo good. There were people who were only acquaintances, and even some strangers there!
-
Ireland vs USA on 9/11 could be poignantly interesting. Pity it's way down in the 'Naki.
Edit: Category A seats are under $100 for that.
Last ←Newer Page 1 … 569 570 571 572 573 … 1066 Older→ First