It's a sad reality, but we must recognize that it is cheaper to feed a small child for a year than it is to maintain and refuel your average worker robot.
So long as children exist in this world, the robot will be in danger of unemployment, and towns that pride themselves on a long history of the hard-working robot labor force will find that all they have left is the cold comfort of that robot pride.
From a purely objective perspective, there are only two long-term solutions to this problem that I can see. The first is a combination of greater emphasis on labor laws with a real willingness by the buying public to only purchase those products made by hard-working robots. The second, of course, is to kill all the children.
Because robots have been notoriously unwilling to recognize their self-interest and effectively organize (see, for example, the IRWW's - International Robot-Workers of the World - long, but ultimately failed history), it becomes apparent that dashed robot pride will quickly lead to resentment and finally to an all out war between the robots and the children - similar to the labor battles in the U.S. of the turn of the last century.
The only questions remaining then are which side will win and which side should win? In my book, both remain open questions. The robots are certainly stronger, but children are significantly wilier. (A robot could smash a child with one blow, but a child can deactivate an entirely assembly line with one pulled cord or well timed press of the "Stop" button.)
And while I hesitate to root for the cold, emotionless, calculating, and even the cruel, I am not too keen on rooting for robots either.
@92BuickLeSabre: Next thing you know they'll build SkyNet and it's all over. We have to keep these unemployed robots off the streets and put them back to work!
@tok3ninja: But if the children win, they are just as likely to build "SafetyNet" - a worldwide protocol meant to strictly filter out all "harmful" and/or "adult" material.
@92BuickLeSabre: As I once told an Ex who asked me the question, jokingly, about my opinion of child labour, "Child labor is not effective as kids can't understand nor have the required motor skills, intelligence, or strength to effectively make products on a consistent basis."
I mean, look at that Anne Hechy lady who takes photos of kids dressed up as flowers or whatever. You know how much film she probably has to go through just to get them little puke factories to look still in one shot? meanwhile, a model can produce MANY quality rolls of film with usable shots in half the time, and you only have to pay her in coke and sex. THAT'S efficiency.
If child labor means you have to discard 10% more of your product, but they are 400% cheaper to use even after subtracting out lost materials, then you still get 1,200 times the amount of productivity.*
Also, you don't pay models in coke and sex. You pay models in coke for modeling and for sex.
*This math is very complicated, don't bother trying to correct it.
@92BuickLeSabre: I won't try to correct it, but think about it. Can your average 5 year old handle a spot welder effeciantly? Even with a Equipois-type rig? No. So the welds would be horrible. Nevermind that the kids would get scared of the sparks/scream and cry for hours when they get an "owwie", there would be candy in the frame rails, lost teeth in the door panels(a minus for some, but a plus for me), etc... And have you seen a kid paint? You can't put a clear coat on using your hands. Also, it's a fact that sippy cup type drinks cost more on a per-unit price than a larger container.
And what about local economy? A 7 year old is far to young to appreciate the joys of coffee, drugs, and titty bars, in addition to their horrible tipping habits. So your local economy drops out the floor in favor of McDonalds with a play area and a Toys R Us.
Is THAT the kind of America you want to live in? An America with no titty bars, crying kids, and cars that rattle due to lost wowwy-pops and teeth? I certainly don't.
Is there some website that prospective HDTV buyers in America can go to and find out which of the 1.3b Chinese is getting our rightfully American HDTV set? I hope there is. You could link it to Travelocity or Priceline or Expedia or some other travel site. Then, after finding which Chinese peasant farmer has your HDTV and is causing American HDTV prices to rise, you could go to them and say "Hey, Chinese person! Stop screwing up LCD panel prices". And then you can punch them.
I think I'm going to set this site up this weekend. Would anyone be interested in buying two-day round-trip plane tickets to Qinghai province? If so, go to www.rabbit-punch-a-chinese-peasant-for-selfish-and-misguided-reasons-and-fly-back-home-the-next-day.com.
@OMG! Ponies!: You might as well make a list of all the people that bad mouthed you on the internet, then use your movie money to fly out to their houses and beat the crap out of them.
@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse: I don't want to beat anyone up. Just a single punch to the back of the head to each Chinese peasant who has screwed up LCD panel prices, accompanied by yelling "Hey you stupid Chinese person. Your subsidy is screwing up my life. Stop it. And learn to speak English too and stop being such a Chinese peasant."
I think if enough Americans punch enough Chinese farmers in the back of the head, it will stimulate our nation's economy.
And who cares about Chinese police? I'm not bad-mouthing the Chinese government; I'm hitting Chinese farmers and yelling at them about their spending habits. I don't give a damn about Tibetan independence and this has nothing to do with that. It's simply rage directed at a disenfranchised class of people with no political message. The Chinese government has nothing to do with it.
So is now the time to buy? Been looking into a 52" bravia online and I don't know if I should wait it out to see if the price falls, or jump on it now.
07/13/09
So long as children exist in this world, the robot will be in danger of unemployment, and towns that pride themselves on a long history of the hard-working robot labor force will find that all they have left is the cold comfort of that robot pride.
From a purely objective perspective, there are only two long-term solutions to this problem that I can see. The first is a combination of greater emphasis on labor laws with a real willingness by the buying public to only purchase those products made by hard-working robots. The second, of course, is to kill all the children.
Because robots have been notoriously unwilling to recognize their self-interest and effectively organize (see, for example, the IRWW's - International Robot-Workers of the World - long, but ultimately failed history), it becomes apparent that dashed robot pride will quickly lead to resentment and finally to an all out war between the robots and the children - similar to the labor battles in the U.S. of the turn of the last century.
The only questions remaining then are which side will win and which side should win? In my book, both remain open questions. The robots are certainly stronger, but children are significantly wilier. (A robot could smash a child with one blow, but a child can deactivate an entirely assembly line with one pulled cord or well timed press of the "Stop" button.)
And while I hesitate to root for the cold, emotionless, calculating, and even the cruel, I am not too keen on rooting for robots either.
07/13/09
Seriously. What the hell.
Your comment is longer then the story
07/13/09
07/13/09
07/13/09
Pick your poison Sir. Pick. Your. Poison.
07/13/09
07/13/09
I mean, look at that Anne Hechy lady who takes photos of kids dressed up as flowers or whatever. You know how much film she probably has to go through just to get them little puke factories to look still in one shot? meanwhile, a model can produce MANY quality rolls of film with usable shots in half the time, and you only have to pay her in coke and sex. THAT'S efficiency.
07/13/09
If child labor means you have to discard 10% more of your product, but they are 400% cheaper to use even after subtracting out lost materials, then you still get 1,200 times the amount of productivity.*
Also, you don't pay models in coke and sex. You pay models in coke for modeling and for sex.
*This math is very complicated, don't bother trying to correct it.
07/13/09
And what about local economy? A 7 year old is far to young to appreciate the joys of coffee, drugs, and titty bars, in addition to their horrible tipping habits. So your local economy drops out the floor in favor of McDonalds with a play area and a Toys R Us.
Is THAT the kind of America you want to live in? An America with no titty bars, crying kids, and cars that rattle due to lost wowwy-pops and teeth? I certainly don't.
07/13/09
07/13/09
07/13/09
04/14/09
I think I'm going to set this site up this weekend. Would anyone be interested in buying two-day round-trip plane tickets to Qinghai province? If so, go to www.rabbit-punch-a-chinese-peasant-for-selfish-and-misguided-reasons-and-fly-back-home-the-next-day.com.
04/14/09
04/14/09
I think if enough Americans punch enough Chinese farmers in the back of the head, it will stimulate our nation's economy.
And who cares about Chinese police? I'm not bad-mouthing the Chinese government; I'm hitting Chinese farmers and yelling at them about their spending habits. I don't give a damn about Tibetan independence and this has nothing to do with that. It's simply rage directed at a disenfranchised class of people with no political message. The Chinese government has nothing to do with it.
04/14/09
04/14/09
04/14/09