English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

2:01 AM

So?

A bit more, I believe. But that is not the point: any community has only a comparatively small number of people participating in the organization of society.

Robusto

So it was possible to be an actor on that stage.

Joseph Weissman

Life itself is the stage upon which we act in the properly political sense -- this is at least a reading I might suggest

Robusto

No. The point is that if you get bigger than that you lose the ability to be involved in all aspects of the society. The whole Greek ideal of balance flies out the window.

Cerberus

Oh, you mean direct democracy?

Robusto

Yes.

Cerberus

2:02 AM

Sure, that is a difference.

But people who really want to can still be involved in national politics, and there is local politics.

Robusto

Aristotle would not have thought what a ward-heeler in a Chicago precinct does was political, but today it certainly is.

Cerberus

And who says one needs to be involved in all aspects of society?

Robusto

@Cerberus The Greeks thought it was their responsibility.

Cerberus

Well, most people can't be involved in everything.

Robusto

Just as it was their responsibility to be farmers, warriors, scholars, athletes, etc.

Joseph Weissman

2:05 AM

I think it could work today. Washington is so slow, captured and ineffective anyway, participatory democracy can't be any worse.

Cerberus

@JosephWeissman As in voting on bills every week by e-mail?

Joseph Weissman

I would love to build the budget through national general assembly.

Cerberus

It certainly is an interesting option.

Robusto

Damn me, but I need to be up early. Nice chatting with you. And so to bed.

Cerberus

Aww.

Joseph Weissman

2:06 AM

Take care, sir

Cerberus

Good night!

Mahnax

@Robusto Will do.

Cerberus

How about if the agenda of the weekly voting sessions were determined by petitions?

And each person could support 5 petitions a week. Then top 10 are then picked for people to vote on.

Mahnax

0

Q: Is there a word that encompasses both "receiving" and "sending"?

Good afternoon all, In the sentence "There are many ways to receive and send information.", is there a word that can replace "receive and send"? I was thinking of the word transmit: "There are many ways to transmit information.", But transmit seems to convey only a one-way direction instead o...

vocabulary

15

Q: Word for application that is both sender and receiver

I am developing a software application that acts as a sender as well as a receiver. What is a single word for this? This is a peer application running on two different machines, sending data to and receiving data from its peer.

single-word-requests

Sorry for clogging up your screens.

Joseph Weissman

At the very least give us a popular vote for the main executive.
I would also like to see preferential voting, and some mechanism to make the party mix in the congressional houses a bit more diverse

Cerberus

2:10 AM

@JosephWeissman You mean as opposed to electors?

Yes, getting rid of all elector systems would be a great idea.

More parties will emerge eventually.

As in other districtless countries.

Then again, would you want to have the Dutch system?

Here, a 5-party coalition is sometimes necessary to get a majority.

It makes governments less stable.

Joseph Weissman

Better than two parties who agree on terrible things, and disagree on superficial things

...and there's no third choice

Cerberus

I think I agree.

Perhaps a 5 % limit as in Germany is a good compromise?

Then again, I think each MP should be able to vote independently.

As little party pressure as possible.

Joseph Weissman

Very nice! Yeah, that's what I would like to see. Presumably there are some pretty radical perspectives that get voiced

Cerberus

This is the Dutch Second Chamber, the place where things happen.

@JosephWeissman Yes, sort of.

Joseph Weissman

Gorgeous

Cerberus

2:16 AM

But that's not always good.

PvdD = Partij voor de Dieren, "Party for the Animals".

They are a bit of a one-trick pony.

Joseph Weissman

It's an important issue, though. I get what you're saying, though -- there's a danger of hyperspecialization on the other side of hyperpolarization

Cerberus

SP are socialists with some extreme points.

@JosephWeissman Yes. Though actually nearly all parties are not very specialized.

And they tend to generalize as they age.

GL = Groen Links ("Green Left"): they used to be all about the environment, but now they stick to elaborate party programmes through several elections.

So people know what their points of view are and what they want about, say, social security or drugs.

Joseph Weissman

Interesting. Seems like a much healthier ideological ecosystem, though

Cerberus

Our cabinet fell last week.

Joseph Weissman

Dear God, and I was going to say It has felt so toxic in the States lately

Cerberus

2:20 AM

Heh.

Well, cabinets fall all the time here.

Joseph Weissman

Because there are so many partners required to form coalitions, and they're easily disrupted?

Cerberus

They stay on for an average period of 2ish years I think. And the formation of a new cabinet often takes several months.

@JosephWeissman Yes, exactly. If just one party pulls the plug, the cabinet usually falls, though it could technically stay on if it can find a majority. But that is apparently very hard.

Historisch overzicht van kabinetsformaties (Nederland)

Deze pagina geeft een historisch overzicht van kabinetsformaties in Nederland en hun lengte, sinds de Tweede Wereldoorlog. De formatie van een Nederlands kabinet gaat de ene keer veel sneller dan de andere keer. Soms moeten verschillende mogelijke coalities worden onderzocht, waarbij de onderhandelingen na enige tijd stoppen omdat men niet tot overeenstemming komt. De kabinetten in dit overzicht die verder inspringen zijn op de voorgaande kabinetten gevolgd zonder verkiezingen. De aangegeven lijmpogingen zijn die gevallen waarin het kabinet zijn ontslag heeft aangeboden, maar later die ont...

Here you can see how many days formations take.

Joseph Weissman

Good catching up with you, @Cerberus :)

Probably gotta run

Cerberus

OK same here, later!

Note: the fall of a cabinet is no big deal here, usually. Partly because it happens frequently, and partly because often not much changes.

New ministers will not fire any civil servants normally.

And judges are not appointed by cabinet anyway.

A country just doesn't really need much governing, at least not the kind that cabinets do.

The usual things just take their course for the most part.

JSBᾶngs

4:04 AM

-5

Q: what is the meaning of "be"?

here ,it is two different sentence for "be".i can not get proper meaning of it. it may require **to be bound** to objects. Let p **be** the number of tasks with a one-to-one mapping of tasks onto processes. A fundamental technique for reducing the interaction overhead is to minimize the overall ...

verbs

does it get any more gen ref than this?

fortunately it's already closed

Mahnax

@JSBᾶngs I certainly hope not.

JSBᾶngs

-7

Q: What's the new rule regarding verb plurality?

In the fuddy-duddy old days, a verb generally agreed in plurality with its subject. Singular subject, singular verb; plural subject, plural verb. But in our brave new world, that is not necessarily so, and the plurality of verbs seems to be determined by a different rule, or rules. I have ident...

grammatical-number verb-agreement

vote to delete?

Mahnax

I would, but 20k is a long way off.

Matt Эллен

8:06 AM

what does he want?

0

Q: Gartner's hype cycle phases

I'm sorry for wasting your time and asking pretty simple question. I need to understand what actually hype cycle phases meaning. Can you explain me it with simple words, meaning following phases? Technology Trigger: A potential technology breakthrough kicks things off. Early proof-of-concept ...

meaning

Or, I should say, what more does he want?

BOSS

perhaps if he wasn't esl the question would be easier to read

I'm actually kind of intrigued by this wiki article

Hype cycle

A hype cycle is a graphic representation of the maturity, adoption and social application of specific technologies. The term was coined by Gartner, Inc. Rationale Since 1995, Gartner has used hype cycles to characterize the over-enthusiasm or "hype" and subsequent disappointment that typically happens with the introduction of new technologies. Hype cycles also show how and when technologies move beyond the hype, offer practical benefits and become widely accepted. According to Gartner, hype cycles aim to separate the hype from the reality, and enable CIOs and CEOs to decide whether or not...

Matt Эллен

I can read it, but I don't get what he doesn't understand

BOSS

me neither

it certainly isn't ambiguous

Matt Эллен

yeah

skullpatrol

9:42 AM

1.999... hours later... :D

Matt Эллен

I hate complex numbers. They are stupid

Robusto

@MattЭллен NO U R

skullpatrol

@MattЭллен 1.999... is not complex.

@Robusto That is not nice to call someone stupid :(

Matt Эллен

@Robusto maybe, but they started it

Robusto

Joke

A is something spoken, written, or done with humorous intention. Jokes may have many different forms, e.g., a single word or a gesture (considered in a particular context), a question-answer, or a whole short story. The word "joke" has . To achieve their end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices. Jokes may have a punch line, i.e. an ending to make it humorous. A practical joke or prank differs from a spoken one in that the major component of the humour is physical rather than verbal (for example placing salt in the sugar bowl). Purpose Jokes are typically ...

Matt Эллен

9:53 AM

@skullpatrol don't worry! It was a non sequitur

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English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…