Hi Charles! :-)

 CA> I agree with your overall assessment and would add that we seem
 CA> best at 'inventing' what we are in dire need of. As long as
 CA> there is a quick and dirty way out (atomic) we don't look for
 CA> other options. 
Well, aiming for short term gains without looking at long-term effects
seems quite common nowadays. Take the stock market - if a company makes an
unpopular decision, its value drops, no matter how sensible the decision
might be in the long run. Same for governments, do they make unpopular
decisions when the next election draws close? Nope (and it might be said
that the short-sightedness of the average voter is the one main drawback of
democracy).

Ciao
Pascal

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