I only factor in the US population because for the majority of society, people in other countries might as well not exist. Maybe it went up some because of my blog and a couple people have played my games. Crazy that it's rounded to the thousands, but i guess at some point all populations go through round numbers. According to Wikipedia the US population is 310,688,000. I think for most people, I would start at 1/(the population of society). Where N is the notoriety of the crime, I is the importance of the person to society, and T is the importance of the transgression.

The following equation jumped into my head. I wondered if this behavior could be represented in a simple mathematical model. Hopefully someone would go to jail, or worse if it's in Texas.Ĭlearly some crimes carry an importance that outweighs the unimportance of the victim. If you or I were murdered, there would be an investigation. However, there are some crimes of which i can be the victim and law enforcement will care! That's a thought that'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm sure if someone broke into my email, law enforcement would agree it was wrong, but they probably wouldn't feel like expending any energy to pursue the perpetrator. The rest of us just have to buckle down and make sure our email accounts have strong passwords. I think we can rattle off plenty of other 'Important' people who would also receive this special treatment. It's just the result of celebrity and charisma. Her importance to society isn't a measure of worth. Sara Palin gets special treatment because she's important. We wonder, 'If this happened to me, would the culprit be prosecuted and sent to prison for 1 year?' Breaking into someone's email is illegal. What I find interesting about this story is the reaction most of us have. We tend to react passionately when we perceive law enforcement as overstepping it's bounds even when we know a crime has been committed. As a society, we have created countless laws that govern just how illegal actions can be investigated by law enforcement. I think most of us also agree that any transgressions on Palin's part wouldn't excuse his actions. Regardless of how closely our political views align to Palin, I think most of us agree that what Kernell did was wrong. You will realize that you either could be putting that thought process towards something more constructive, or you are not being given the escape from the stresses of the day that you were seeking.ĭavid Kernell, the young man who broke into Sarah Palin's email in 2008 was sentenced to 1 year in prison today. You will have a moment of glee when you realize your skills will make you better at this game.

You will recognize it as requiring the same thought process and midset as programming. 'Hey, this is cool, but if i'm going to be programming, I could just be writing programs.'Īfter discussing the game with some friends, I've come to the conclusion that this progression is not uncommon. 'Wow, this is a weird and trippy interface.' My experience with the game went something like this: As the game progresses, the player must manage more than one thread and synchronize operations between them. The player is essentially ordering operations in a looping thread. This, the main mechanic of the game, is a visual programing language. Playing the game involves composing instructions for your machine using a finite set of operations organized in order on a timeline. It's actually quite commendable as the game is practically overflowing with actual real world information. Along the way you learn a little something about chemical bonds and molecular structure. It's a great puzzle game that puts you in control of advanced machinery constructing required compounds on an atomic scale. I think SpaceChem has answered that question for me.

Spacechem iphone