Herman Wouk’s brother Victor is credited with being the inventor of the hybrid car. He interviewed me for Caltech when I was a senior in high school.
Ed ____________ Ed Angel Founding Director, Art, Research, Technology and Science Laboratory (ARTS Lab) Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, University of New Mexico 1017 Sierra Pinon Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-984-0136 (home) an...@cs.unm.edu <mailto:an...@cs.unm.edu> 505-453-4944 (cell) http://www.cs.unm.edu/~angel <http://www.cs.unm.edu/~angel> > On Jan 15, 2019, at 12:18 PM, Nick Thompson <nickthomp...@earthlink.net> > wrote: > > Thanks for answering, Frank. > > As the old song goes, “Then you’re much older than I-yai!” > > Do you also remember when “They waltzed to a Souza Band” > > My wasn’t that music grand! > > Oh, it was more than the pomp Wouk bristled at. It was the removal of > discretion, as well. The American military is perhaps better than most in > that regard, but any military has to operate on algorithms, and nobody likes > to be a node in an algorithm. So, I guess my thesis was that in the second > world war we got a double and conflicting lesson: how effective an > algorithmic system can be AND how demeaning it can be to be part of one. Two > solutions present themselves: 1. Hire mercenaries and 2. Automate. Of course > we have done both. > > An officer of your dad’s rank, of course, was an exception and even within > that giant system he made big decisions daily, decisions that affected the > lives of thousands of people. There is a scene in that same book where an > officer is required to make one of those decisions between surely killing 50 > strangers or threatening the life of 150 you know that utilitarians are fond > of posing. It’s a harrowing scene. > > I wonder what the relation is between a distaste for government and service > as an enlisted soldier. That’s not a rhetorical question. I do wonder. I > am thinking there is a high correlation between states with high military > participation and states with anti-government politics. When a conservative > thinks of “government” is he more likely to think of the military? > > Nick > > Nicholas S. Thompson > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology > Clark University > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > <http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/> > > From: Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com > <mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com>] On Behalf Of Frank Wimberly > Sent: Monday, January 14, 2019 10:01 PM > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com > <mailto:friam@redfish.com>> > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Few of you ... > > I read the book but I don't remember that paragraph. As you know, dad was a > Naval Officer who achieved respectable rank. I was fascinated by it but he > felt that all the pomp and ceremony was BS. If computers are today's > sailors, something is lost and something gained. > > Frank > > ----------------------------------- > Frank Wimberly > > My memoir: > https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly > <https://www.amazon.com/author/frankwimberly> > > My scientific publications: > https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2 > <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Wimberly2> > > Phone (505) 670-9918 > > On Mon, Jan 14, 2019, 9:53 PM Nick Thompson <nickthomp...@earthlink.net > <mailto:nickthomp...@earthlink.net> wrote: >> , I imagine, are old enough to remember this: >> >> “The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses for execution by idiots. If >> you are not an idiot, but find yourself in the Navy, you can only operate >> well by pretending to be one. All the shortcuts and economies and >> common-sense changes that your native intelligence suggests to you are >> mistakes. Learn to quash them. Constantly ask yourself, "How would I do this >> if I were a fool?" Throttle down your mind to a crawl. Then you will never >> go wrong.” >> ― Herman Wouk, The Caine Mutiny >> <https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1059565> >> It seems right that the computer was invented by a democratic society after >> the largest successful naval campaign in the history of the universe. The >> navy was a giant algorithm. Computers are the conscripted sailors of our >> generation. >> >> Nick >> Nicholas S. Thompson >> Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology >> Clark University >> http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ >> <http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/> >> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >> <http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com> >> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ >> <http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/> >> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ >> <http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/> by Dr. Strangelove > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > <http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com> > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > <http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/> > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > <http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/> by Dr. Strangelove
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
