Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Computer Problems Can Be Life or Death

This article on CNN demonstrates that computer problems can make the difference between life and death.

What was the precise nature of the "computer problems" in this legal case? It would be interesting to know. Other professionals could then take measures to prevent a similar scenario from arising in the future. Too often the mainstream media makes the assumption that nobody cares about the technical details. Details matter a great deal in this technological world of ours.

I'm reminded of the media's handling of scientific research papers. Often they provide just the conclusions of the researchers. Such conclusions may go too far. In order to evaluate scientific research, readers require additional information about the experiments performed. Not all research is created equal, and just because a new scientific finding issues forth from a prestigious institution does not make it golden.

The New York Times has superior writing than any television-oriented company like CNN, where I found the article above. This is why I prefer to click on articles that are from newspapers, rather than television. I'm not sure why newspapers make their content available free of charge on the web, but I'm glad that they do. I hope that a system can be developed whereby quality newspapers like the NYT can survive and be profitable.

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