At 10:10 AM 10/28/00 -0400, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
>Rumor has it that some modern video games with simulated recoil on the guns
>are actually quite effective training simulations, though you do have to
>actually shoot a real gun at some point to finalize the training. Can anyone
>personally attest to this?
I have yet to see a video game that can simulate both the recoil and noise.
The best way to learn to shoot is to go out and shoot, for real. Simulators
are not close enough to reality, yet.
>The US population exists at the sufferance of the US military until such time
>as the average Joe owns a tank and a fighter jet.
As long as our rule of law keeps the military from taking control of the
government, I am not worried about widespread use of tanks and planes.
Although, we must remember Waco.
Actually, armed civilians can make life pretty miserable for an invading
army - domestic or foreign - with just small arms and improvised weapons.
Tanks and planes are no match for guerilla fighters that can vanish into
the population or the woods. A tank can be disabled by a properly placed
satchel charge, for instance, if the attacker has the guts to run up behind
it. A fighter plane can be brought down by a cheap ground to air missile
(which will become available on the black market should our country ever go
to a dictator). Viet Nam should have taught us something.
Besides, where is the average Joe gonna keep his new toys? My neighbors
would complain instantly were I to try to pave a 15,000 foot runway here,
and Harrier jets drink way too much fuel for my budget. Ever try to get
replacement parts for a modern tank?
>No, actually the whole idea is that nanotech/AI/superintelligence scenario is
>hopefully alien enough to eliminate even the need for self-defensive
>thinking. My own philosophy is that the future is so distant - not just in
>terms of the environment, but in terms of who we will be - that the best
>course is to try and be the most intense human you can be, here and now,
>without moping too much over how much better you would be if you didn't have
>to be human. Arguably, firearms - and to an even greater extent, martial arts
>- are a part of that. The question, as always, is time.
Someday, we will have personal shields of nanobots that can deflect attacks
by other nanobots and possibly chemical and biological attacks as well. I
do not see how any nanotech could ever deflect a bullet - so the mope with
a gun will be able to kill or injure someone with high-tech defenses for
quite a long time into the future.
Chuck Kuecker
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:50:18 MDT