Bill Hart wrote: > An interesting talk by Terry (which I did not attend). > > It would be interesting to see Terry give a talk on the dangers of the > internet for mathematicians. Here are a few: > > * Poor eye health. Constant use of laptop and computer displays leads > to dry eyes which can cause shrivelling of the cornea and eventually > infection, even cutting the length of your life, especially for those > of us who wear contact lenses.
/me quickly glances out the window to rest my eyes... > > * Poor posture. Slouching at a computer can cause issues such as > hunched shoulders, lower back pain. /me subconsciously sits up in my straight-back chair > > * Poor health. The lack of physical exercise associated with constant > computer use can lead to poor circulation, increased cholesterol and > increased risk of stroke and cardiac arrest, resulting in early death. > Also, lack of exposure to sunshine leads to chronic shortage of > vitamin D which results in significantly increased risk of cancers and > other serious diseases. /me remembers William and others taking a day or two off to go snowboarding... > > * Culture of instant gratification. The increase in availability of > things *now* means people become impatient and do not want to wait for > any result which cannot be achieved *now*. yep---I see this more increasingly with students too... > > * The impersonality of the textual medium. Communicating exact > intentions through text is difficult. This can result in people > disagreeing and becoming polarised over issues they would otherwise > find common ground on. Furthermore, some people find it much easier to > be rude in text, or on an online forum than in person. /me is very, very grateful for several Sage days that put names and personalities with online nicks. I hope I'm not rude in this reply! > > * Lower reproductive success. The complete failure of hackers to get > girlfriends is well documented. The associated risks to longevity > through lack of companionship are well documented. Well, gee, I'm married and have a nice family :). I hope people don't give up that wonderful experience for bits on a pipe. In fact, it seems that Craig at one time was thinking about something like a Sage Babies group, since several of us (i.e., our spouses) were having babies around the same time... > > * Excessive use of email. Many researchers answer in excess of 300 > emails a week, something which accounts for a significant proportion > of their time. /me wonders if I should really reply to this email... > > In short, if you want a long happy life. Don't use the internet. ahem---don't be *addicted* to the internet :). > > Be well, citizen. I wish you a happy happy joy joy day. Great. Thanks. I wish I could have the five minutes I took reading this message to go outside and do that! :). Thanks, Jason --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send an email to sage-devel@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to sage-devel-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel URL: http://www.sagemath.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
