Questions of size...

[Ben Laurie]

Tim May wrote:
> 
> At 7:42 PM +0000 12/12/00, Ben Laurie wrote:
> >Sampo A Syreeni wrote:
> >>
> >>  On Mon, 11 Dec 2000, Ben Laurie wrote:
> >>
> >>  >Chambers defines geodesic as "the shortest line on a surface between two
> >>  >points on it" and that is precisely the meaning in general relativity.
> >>
> >>  No question about it. The term also doesn't mean a whole lot when applied
> >>  as-is in the many instances it is on this list. As Tim put it, it pretty
> >>  much equates to "cyberpunkish".
> >
> >Not being subscribed to cypherpunks (has S/R improved?) I will have
> >missed that.
> 
> Signal happens when good writers contribute good articles. Noise
> happens in the expected ways. Noise is what the delete key, and
> filters, were made for.

Hmm. So, please send me your noise filter. I could do with one.

> As you are apparently reading this from the "DBS" list, you are not
> seeing any of my contributions. Regrettfully, DBS (and DCSB, or
> Bearebucks, or whatever Bob is calling his list(s)) is not an "open
> system." The Cypherpunks tried such a censored list a few years ago,
> and we rejected the approach.

The list I'm writing to is not censored, AFAIK.

> I wrote a large article debunking the "geodesics is about topology"
> point of view. Others have said similar things.

Actually, they're really about geometry, though there are some kinds of
topology which can support geodesics (not the standard rubber-sheet kind
most people are familiar with, though). For example, a graph can support
the notion of a shortest distance between two points, and that is
definitely a topological entity.

> Please don't contribute articles to the Cypherpunks list if you are,
> as you say, not subscribed. While we don't reject articles by
> nonsubscribers, as per the above, it is tacky and rude for
> nonsubscribers to address articles to lists they are not tracking.

This is an email, not an article. Is it tacky and rude to copy to a list
to which you'd prefer I didn't reply? I think so. Is it polite to
include all recipients in a mail to which you reply? I think so.

Cheers,

Ben.

--
http://www.apache-ssl.org/ben.html

"There is no limit to what a man can do or how far he can go if he
doesn't mind who gets the credit." - Robert Woodruff