Which do you have more faith in?

Pigman II

As time goes on I find my faith in both dwindling but as things stand which would you put more faith in? Computers or people?

Do you trust/hope your computer won't crash at the worst moment possible. Do still have enough good-will to believe those important files on your harddrive won't all be wiped out by some evil virus? Do you have faith that printer will work when it's 5 mins til deadline and that document just HAS to be ready?

Likewise. Some people are more dependable than others. But do you find more and more there are people your life/work (esp in work cos you can't avoid them as easily) that you will ask to do something or be somewhere at a specificed time yet you know deep down in your heart they won't be there or they will let you down on your request?

So which is it to be?

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Binomate

I have faith in people to let you down.

Kojak

I would have more faith in humans at the moment, although there could come a time where computers would be more reliable than humans.

Heyes

I like to think id have more faith in people, however i have been proven wrong a number of times.

bluto63

Good question. It's a toughy.
I would probably go with computers. Humans are unpredictable and who knows what could happen.

cormie

Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear. The Terminator would never stop, it would never leave him... it would always be there. And it would never hurt him, never shout at him or get drunk and hit him, or say it couldn't spend time with him because it was too busy. And it would die to protect him. Of all the would-be fathers who came and went over the years, this thing, this machine, was the only one who measured up. In an insane world, it was the sanest choice.

Then there's the whole computers against the human race thingy too:D

Ruu_Old

People have let me down more often that computers have, so computers for me.
Murphy's law comes into effect in many of these situations.

Whats that computer? You cannot communicate with the printer? *goes for sledgehammer*:(

Black Swan

Pigman II wrote:

As time goes on I find my faith in both dwindling but as things stand which would you put more faith in? Computers or people?

Computers are mere extensions of the people who create them, so it's a moot point to say you trust computers more or less than people.

senordingdong

Hmmm....that's a toughie!

eamoss

After starting Computer Science degree I would have to go with people!


Computers are just so so so so stupid!!

wow sierra

We have these amazing computers which can perform tasks only dreamed of about 5 years ago, never mind 50 years ago. And we use them to have silly polls, and chats with other PEOPLE. I rest my case - people win every time!!!

Sam Vimes

the new euro fighter can't be flown if the computer fails. it has to perform a few thousand adjustments a second or it'll plummet out of the sky. i think the pilot has more faith in computers than people

Sam Vimes

The Scientist wrote:

"A computer will never beat the human brain."
Gary Kasparov circa 2000


T.Sc.

well that depends. if it was a race to find the cube root of 65.9384, a computer would win every time

monkey tennis

A computer is a logical, predictable machine (until someone does something stupid like install Windows on it...), while people visit new lows every day.

Peteee

Seeing as how people design and code computers, Putting your faith in computers is ultimatly the same as putting your faith in people.

Pighead

Depends on the computer and the person really.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=39578 V http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119123,00.asp = PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE TONED WELL OILED HUMAN.

http://www.uknet.net/showcase/Museum/130_Acorn_BBC_Setup.thumb.jpg V
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=54988= PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE RUSTY CLAPPED OUT 80'S COMPUTER

Mr Jinx

Pighead wrote:

Depends on the computer and the person really.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=39578 V http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119123,00.asp = PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE TONED WELL OILED HUMAN.

I would like to see this well oiled body you speak off ! please find pics to hotbods@guysforguys.com

Rb

Pighead wrote:

Depends on the computer and the person really.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=39578 V http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,119123,00.asp = PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE TONED WELL OILED HUMAN.

http://www.uknet.net/showcase/Museum/130_Acorn_BBC_Setup.thumb.jpg V
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=54988= PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE RUSTY CLAPPED OUT 80'S COMPUTER

Nice.

For me its people. Every time I've really had to rely on a computer, something has gone wrong i.e I'd a report due in one day, tried to email it to my college account to print in the college the next day, not only did the email not go through for some odd reason but after going home and bringing it the report back up on a USB disk, the printers decided not to work.

Whereas with people, any time I've relied on someone they've came through for me.

Mr Jinx wrote:

I would like to see this well oiled body you speak off ! please find pics to hotbods@guysforguys.com

Get in there Pighead!

thebman

Depends on the person TBH.

I know about 10 people that would make me choose the computer.

BlitzKrieg

you can bully and scare people, urgo once properly motivated you can have faith in them never letting you down.


Computers still break regardless if you hit it with a lead pipe or threaten to urinate on its hard drive. Nothing can stop it, a computer will f*ck you over at some point by breaking regardless of how well you take care of it or have it checked up. Case in point, my computer got a clean bill of help from shop in July, today it turns itself off randomly when I turn it on and takes a couple of go's before it stops being an arse.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Computers. They didn't invent God. And they won't use a human to destroy the world.

Goodshape

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

Computers are mere extensions of the people who create them, so it's a moot point to say you trust computers more or less than people.

QFT.

I can rely on my computer to always be a computer, but I've still got to rely on people (myself included) in order to get the thing to do what I want.

So I suppose my choice is 'people'. The only reason I believe my project will be printed in time is that I have faith in the person who set-up the printer.

crosstownk

monkey tennis wrote:

A computer is a logical, predictable machine (until someone does something stupid like install Windows on it...), while people visit new lows every day.

I agree - I have 3 computers - 2 Apple Macs and a Dell with Windohs. I'd trust my Macs before people - but people before that Windohs stuff

Lust4Life

computers don't kill people. People kill people (and computers!)

But then again, a computer is only as good as the inventor/programmer


Oh what a crux!



Um..... I vote people!

User45701

computers

I love my friends and all but i dont trust people, too many bad things have happened

Feral Mutant

eamoss wrote:

Computers are just so so so so stupid!!

Agreed. All a computer can do is follow your instructions and do exactly what you tell them. If there's some kind of obstacle, a human will try to go around it but a computer will keep walking into it again and again and again . . . unless you tell it too try to go around the obstacle. Even then if the tiniest thing goes wrong, the computer is screwed.

Gurgle

Commander Vimes wrote:

well that depends. if it was a race to find the cube root of 65.9384, a computer would win every time

4.039982354594
[lie]I did it in my head, the computer is still trying to figure it out [/lie]

Dooom

Lust4Life wrote:

computers don't kill people. People kill people

Just wait'll Skynet becomes active.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Spike wrote:

Just wait'll Skynet becomes active.

That was 1997...

Dooom

Yeah well...it's taking it's time. Just wait!

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Ahhh.... the Global Warming tactic.... interesting, interesting....

galactus

The Scientist wrote:

"A computer will never beat the human brain."
Gary Kasparov circa 2000 T.Sc.

Kasparov did accuse the IBM team of cheating in the film "Game Over". Well worth a watch.

At the moment, a well prepared (eg Kramnik v. Deep Fritz, 2002) top-level grandmaster will beat even the best computers. More...

Here's my favourite man v. machine story:

In 1992 Marion Tinsley beat a computer for the world checkers (AKA draughts) championship. Tinsley won 4 games to 2 with 33 draws. At the end of the final game, Marion jumped to his feet and amid thunderous, appreciative applause raised his arms in triumph and exclaimed "Three cheers for human beings!".

Tar.Aldarion

AH yeah, but they will beat people every time soon enough with the best outcome for a person being a draw. Computars shall overcom all!

thelordofcheese

eamoss wrote:

Computers are just so so so so stupid!!

computers do exactly what you tell them to, no more, no less. Once you get yer head around that, you'll be fine.

So computers, they're more reliable than most people i know.

Thrill

People make computers, people program computers, so basicly, your still trusting people whichever way you vote.
(I voted for computers)

Tar.Aldarion

People are just computers too, just biological ones. Our program is changing as we evolve, but we still just do what we are designed to do, no more, no less.

Ickle Magoo

Always people - what would you have faith in a computer for? Faith in something would indicate to me that it has some kind of awareness of how it chooses to behave & you depend on it making certain choices - which obviously isn't the case with an inanimate object like a computer...

Tar.Aldarion

Computers aren't inanimate, I think you just mxed up the meaning.
Anyway, what makes you think people have some kind of awareness of how it chooses to behave and that it is not 100% nature?

Also, would you grant rights to Data from Star Trek? :P

Ickle Magoo

Sorry - they aren't free thinking is what I mean - or my home PC certainly isn't!

I don't understand your second point & as Data is a fictional character on a TV show - it doesn't really apply..:p

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Cyborgs FTW!!!

Blowfish

BlitzKrieg wrote:

Case in point, my computer got a clean bill of help from shop in July, today it turns itself off randomly when I turn it on and takes a couple of go's before it stops being an arse.

Yeah, but it was a human who gave it a clean bill of health.

It would depend on the person, and it would depend on the os. Some people are stupid, and some os's are stupid.

I never trust printers though, too many moving parts for my liking, they always end up breaking before any other part of the pc.

nobodythere

Computers are only as reliable as the people who program them.

Capt'n Midnight

grasshopa wrote:

Computers are only as reliable as the people who program them.

And those who program the OS and those who setup the security and the crackers who get in and the hardware design flaws and QC problems.

If it's a choice between people and bricks, choose the bricks every time. Electromechanical systems are far more reliable than people. Same with computers, mostly.

You can design mathematical exact programming languages but AFAIK none has any main stream use, you can build super redundant hardware like on aricraft control system. You can't make people more reliable. And as for politicians :rolleyes:

As the sayinng goes "Many people have a reputation for being honest, when in reality their price is too high."

The ESB are the one of the most trusted organisations in the country, possibly the CSO would be up there too, no coincidence that in both cases their work doesn't depend on peoples choices.

I would not trust eVoting, the simple question of "who benefits" applies,
the tax payer don't because it's more expensive
the pundits and people who like the buzz about the counting don't benefit
the media don't benefit since less time and less viewers and overall less interest in the result since there is no suspense
the politicians might benefit from a faster count, but since they aren't going to work the next day the benefit is marginal, they only find a day or so earlier about what they will be doing for the next five years.
the only people who could benefit by a large amount are those who would cheat for party reasons or for a betting scam or whatever