> The folks at SFI did a paper a couple of years ago about how snippets > of constitutions have propagated into other constitutions around the > world… > > … Bob > And one wonders what is "beyond psyops" where "deep staters" (illuminati?) so deep they transcend states go about like retroviruses, inserting sequences into the genome (law/policy?) apparatus of nations? Wait, I think this very likely multinational corporations and industry-lobbies (fossil fuels, guns/arms, ??? ) and the wealthy families/individuals behind/entwined-with them are doing!
"I love/hate it when a metaphor comes together!" (visualize George Peppard muttering this around a fat stogie) >> On May 7, 2020, at 2:23 PM, Steven A Smith <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> >> Nick - >> >> I doubt I can do justice to this for you, but will give a try. >> >> The idea(l) behind open-source is two-fold: >> >> 1. develop a "commons" of re-useable resources to be shared by >> all. This concept really took off with the introduction of >> Linus Thorvald's Adaptation of BSD Unix to run on IBM PCs and an >> explosion of software built on top of and around that one >> thing. This movement began a lot earlier and the world of >> Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) variant of ATT Unix was >> perhaps the strongest center for that... other efforts I was >> aware of include things like the Andrew File System (AFS) out of >> CMU (nod to Frank) and project Athena out of MIT. >> 2. crowdsource the troubleshooting, debugging, and validation of >> system's design. By making the source code available and free >> to use (with some restrictions), large numbers of system/software >> designers become motivated to look at, adopt, improve, build-upon >> that code-base and thereby improve and vet the code well. There >> are notable exceptions indicating that big holes/bugs can exist >> in spite of this scrutiny. I think there was a hoopla a few >> years ago around some (obvious?) security holes in the primary >> open-source router software used in most pro-sumer grade network >> routers, and maybe even commercial-class ones. >> >> This GitHub thing Roger posted is (as Roger indicated in his >> subject/post) is clearly trolling on behalf of the anti-lockdown >> movement... trying to use the open-source community mechanism (open >> and free view of the software and the process of it's development, >> and the ability for anyone to pitch in, comment, criticize) against >> the ideas behind this particular model (and ANY? similar model). >> >> I'm not sure this is a first, but from what I know, there haven't >> been "political" trolls haranguing GitHub mediated open-source >> efforts... there have probably been "religious" wars between >> differing schools of thought on the best way to solve a particular >> problem, but the preferred way to handle that is to FORK the project >> and let the alternative subset go pursue their alternative ideas. >> >> To some extent, this is the way the world is responding to the >> pandemic at a policy level. Each country roughly has it's own >> unique/idiosyncratic response to the pandemic... some perhaps taking >> their lead from others. Within the USA (and I presume other >> "federated" governments) we have states/governors following the >> general guidelines (lame as they may be) of the federal government >> and modifying/elaborating them to match their regional context, and >> again each county/city/borough/neighborhood may well do the same. >> In principle these policies are open and transparent as are the data >> that are gathered at each level on the resources expended and the >> results obtained. This is the Open-Data aspect that Tom Johnson and >> others here promote. >> >> The US Constitution (and our entire body of law) might be considered >> open-source and I suspect more than a few states and younger >> countries have borrowed parts of our constitution and legal system to >> build their own from (for better and worse)... just as our Foundling >> Fatheds apparently used some of the features exhibited by the (orally >> maintained) Iroquois Federation and the ideas of French political >> thinkers such as Montesquieu. >> >> </ramble> >> >> - Steve >> >>> Marcus, >>> >>> Thanks for taking my question seriously. I understood what I was >>> talking about even less than I usually do. >>> >>> Let’s say I was an evil genius and wanted to introduce evil code >>> into a project on github. What would happen? >>> >>> N >>> >>> Nicholas Thompson >>> Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology >>> Clark University >>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>> https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/ >>> >>> >>> *From:* Friam <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Marcus Daniels >>> *Sent:* Thursday, May 7, 2020 11:05 AM >>> *To:* The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee >>> Group <[email protected]> >>> *Subject:* Re: [FRIAM] Meanwhile, back on the troll farms >>> >>> Nick writes: >>> * * >>> *< *What exactly IS the policing mechanism in open source. >>> Darwinian? Reputational? Does this HAVE to provoke a crisis of >>> confidence in the general public? Or could it be seen as a heroic >>> thrown-together first step that is now being improved? > >>> >>> They are whining about simple or absent unit tests as a litmus test >>> for whether the code is reliable. It’s like saying you don’t dare >>> drive your car if you didn’t take out its alternator and test its >>> voltage output last week. ‘cause someone might have changed the >>> alternator! Eventually there will be consequences if the >>> alternator fails, like stalling or the battery dying. Same thing >>> in a big simulation. All of the parts and pieces of a simulation >>> are there for a reason and global things will start to change in >>> noticeable ways if something is broken. I would say getting >>> mechanisms working correctly is less difficult that choosing what >>> mechanisms are appropriate in the first place. Usually in use of a >>> simulation one has instrumentation available on almost everything, >>> and there is a constant checking and double- checking even if those >>> checks are not embodied in automated tests. Automated tests can >>> even give a false sense of security, because they may not deal with >>> the parameter ranges that happen in with the coupled system. If you >>> would rather have a bunch of unit tests, or to have modelers using >>> and stressing the code every day, you have the wrong priorities. >>> >>> My irritation is with the notion of unit tests as a prerequisite for >>> code reliability. There are tighter ways to integrate assertions >>> of code behavior with the code. The bandwagon obsession with unit >>> tests is in some sense an obstacle even better practices. I >>> wouldn’t even call them trolls, because a troll has intention to >>> rile people up. These folks are more like pompous ditto heads who >>> feel the need to posture about the right way to do software >>> engineering. People that love unit tests love not understanding >>> the problem they are solving, and prefer to work in pieces. This >>> take a is a little harsh, but in this context (advising COVID-19 >>> policy) I don’t find the behavior very helpful. >>> >>> Marcus >>> >>> >>> .-. .- -. -.. --- -- -..-. -.. --- - ... -..-. .- -. -.. -..-. -.. .- ... >>> .... . ... >>> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >>> Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam >>> <http://bit.ly/virtualfriam> >>> unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >>> archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ >>> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ >> .-. .- -. -.. --- -- -..-. -.. --- - ... -..-. .- -. -.. -..-. -.. .- >> ... .... . ... >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam >> <http://bit.ly/virtualfriam> >> unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >> archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ >> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > > > .-. .- -. -.. --- -- -..-. -.. --- - ... -..-. .- -. -.. -..-. -.. .- ... > .... . ... > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam > unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/
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