Maximum Advantage (Defined) Visualized

(Click to enlarge)

link.

Disproportionate Reaction

Disproportionate reaction is an excellent gauge of weakness.

Saying Goodbye

Saying goodbye is harder when it isn't permanent.

Periodic Maintenance

Absent periodic maintenance even the strongest link will fail.

Shut the hell up, already

Q: Why are so many specialists Idiots?

A: The more you know of one subject, the less you know of others.  There is only so much time in the day.  The problem is most specialists don't seem to know this limitation, and spew on and on and on as if it were not so.  Their egos are inflated by achievement in direct proportion to its irrelevance in the greater world.  Shut the hell up, already.

Ambition

Ambition is for people with too much time on their hands.

Expectations

Expectations are not always what you expect.

Winning

Winning only matters to losers.

Lies

If a comforting lie seems better than harsh reality, it may seek to supplant reality.  It will fail.  The damage done as it seeks the bottom can often be more extreme than what it seeks to replace.  Addiction comes in many forms.

Technology will save us?

How the Internet will save civilization?  (see Also.)  I suppose it depends on your definition of civilization.  The author of the text under discussion lists 6 factors:

1. Disease Epidemics--(can isolate during pandemics)
2. Availability of Knowledge
3. Speed by Decentralization
4. Minimization of censorship
5. Democratization of Education
6. Energy Savings

1. Although I can certainly see his point with #1, this same strength also helps destroy social cohesion by promulgating anti-social behavior.  For instance, people will often have more friends on-line, yet not know any of there neighbors.  This is not very useful if the power goes out...
2. Knowledge might be available, but it often lacks context or citation.  It is very rarely peer reviewed.  Data is not knowledge.
3. Decentralization can mean a faster response, but can also uncoordinated in a disaster situation. Remember Hurricane Katrina? The Internet sure didn't do much there.
4. Minimization of censorship? Perhaps for now, but as the Wikileaks Cablegate affair show, this might not be the case for not much longer. Internet censorship appears to be relatively effective in China.
5. Democratization of Education does lead to better access. However, as most people seem more interested in the piece of paper than what they get out of it, it also leads to the lowest common denominator as less rigorous courses lose out to those that are harder.
6. Energy may be saved by minimizing travel for meetings.  The Internet sure doesn't build things. However, Internet facilities do use a large amount of energy. Also, energy savings do not mean much if the lights are not on.

Also, the Internet won't grow your food for you...

So in closing, the author seems more like a technophile cheerleader than someone presenting an objective analysis.  He knows where his bread is buttered.

Bringing Attention

The better path for maintaining silence is not bringing attention to the subject in the first place.

Shared Values

A civilization that loses its shared values will soon decay from within.

Suckers Multiply

Sucker's multiply; Chumps dissemble.

Wishful Thinking

Wishful thinking only works in fantasy.

Lies

Lies can be more instructive than truth.