Official "Discuss the latest page" thread

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Hey!! I JUST today saw your TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY video on You Tube and wanted to congratulate you!!

Two whole years, eh? I must've caught CD almost right after it started because that's about how long I've been reading!!

Well, here's hoping the next Two years are even better than these past Two!!



Kudos to you, my good man!

And Kudos again!

[David]

Pfft, that video is very old. CD is now over four and a half years old

[charles]

Above story serves just to illustrate the biggest difference still between current AI and Humans: discretion. While SciFi might like the idea of a AI completely like humans, the reality is that computers from the ground up are built to a completely different set of rules. I figure it will take a leap past just 0s and 1s for computers to better approximate a human.

As for in this universe (ie comic) it would sure put a crimp on the whole story if Kari piloted a drone even!

Drones work well for the U.S. against Iraq and Afghanistan because those two countries are low tech. Two high-tech rivals like the Alliance and the Republic would be able to block the signals to drones, or the lag might be too much.

On A.I. I think we'll be waiting a fair while. Really, current computing is going along a completely different rational path as you pretty much pointed out. What we're really relying on is scientists to work out the human brain, or almost any brain, and once we have the knowledge of how it works we can begin to apply that knowledge to build a computer system (or even the hardware for it) in a way to simulate those rules as close as possible.

Frankenstein thought: They've just developed a method to grow consumable meat in a laboratory (presumably to one-day grow it for human consumption on an effecient and profitable scale). One day they simply learn how to grow the materials of some kind of brain in such a way that it can interface with an electronics system, or be used in conjuction with a computer system that would interface with it in some way.

[Knowles2]

Pfft, that video is very old. CD is now over four and a half years old

So are you working on anything special to celebrate your fifth year.

[javcs]

Pirates and Pandas?
Panda Pirates?
Either way, awesome.
Made even more hilarious by the fact that I recently saw a trailer/commercial for Kung Fu Panda 2.


On a slightly more serious note ... dayumn. The more I see of the Scarborough, the more in awe of just how much it has to have cost - I mean, seriously - look at the interiors.
Also, how big is the Scarborough? I'm starting to wonder just how much of the ship is given over to blinged out areas that don't relate in any way shape or form to the practical function of the ship.

[Maanvis]

Ambrosia? As in the greek mythology definition, or is this some Deus Ex reference .

[CygnusX1]

I honestly thought that the previous page (11.43) nicely concluded chapter 11 and next one is about to appear.
Length is good and some topic is closed.

Unless Mensk set some booby trap in his ship in case it is stolen... (but that would be a good topic for next chapter too)

[Lokekar Kra]

Not that we have any reference points to how long jumps are for what distances but it appears to me that Mensk planned a long escape jump. I had initially thought the jump would be to null space nearby where they could then jump to an actual system. That actually is my gripe with any universe where people track others by knowing which direction they jumped. Has no one ever thought of jumping to just empty space between stars to lose a trail? Or... better stop before I ramble excessively.

[charles]

It was a short jump.

Sarah said in THIS PAGE that the pre-calcs were for a short-range emergency jump and they'd be out of riftspace in 19 minutes. She would then calculate another short-range jump to the system's edge (away from the gravity) and then probably begin plotting a long jump towards Cirin space which would allow them to get some sleep overnight.

When they came out of the short-range emergency jump, Larissa presumably forwarded the incriminating evidence to Navosi while they were calculating for the system's edge, so its arrived ahead of them and she's had time to organise with higher authorities to arrest Felton while the Niobids are still travelling in riftspace towards Fontana Station.

Its probably at least a couple of days jump distance from Espenson Station to Fontana Station.

Don't ask me to explain how communications can be sent ahead of something travelling faster than light speed. I can't recall reading anything that David's written about it, but I suspect that a jump drive might be able to send communications through riftspace somehow. Maybe, making some kind of ripples in the riftspace it's self that another jumpdrive device can listen out for. Whatever the case, it obviously can't be done while they're in riftspace.

[javcs]

Well, presumably they're not going FTL while in riftspace, relative to riftspace. Thus, a 'lightspeed' message sent through riftspace would, while not being effectively instantaneous, except over relatively short distances. You would, presumably need to send to a specific location in order for it to be picked up.


Riftspace transit, for a typical ship, could be say one light-year per day. Riftspace communications, or whatever long-range FTL communications system they use, could propagate at one light-year per hour. Both are FTL, but the communications transmission is faster, y'see?