25 November 1998 Courtesy of fravia's pages of reverse engineering ~ Slightly edited by fravia+
Well, 'firm for facts' is an even better allitteration, yet H.Cioff is quite right (apart from
his beer-related footnotes menaces, he probably just never tasted the beer quintessence: Ename triple): "Reality cracking is so important that it should have a (completely open and transparent but) unambiguous terminology, quite
distinct from the language of politicians". Yeah, quite right... yet I still would like some more
practical beef and less taxonomical theory :-) Somehow I don't believe that
the links to the pharmaceutical industry's
international gossip magazine, though VERY interesting are 'beefy' enough for a 'normal'
reader... unless Cioff himself (or somebody else)
does not care to explain "the up and the downs" -in a reversing sense- of that specifical sector. I'll make an easy example. Though I knew
from the beginning that my chances of winning a lottery are rather slim, I never realized, before
learning +Atheist's unsurpassed essay Statistical cracking: basics: cracking lotteries that
there is a PURPOSELY spread of lotteries all over the world in order to STEAL money from
the gullible ones. So, you see, that's 'reality cracking beef' IMNSHO. But Cioff's essay is -of course-
jolly worth
publishing as it is, and those among us that will follow his links in order to consider
(and delve a little inside) the pharmaceutical industry's
ugly deeds will find this really worth it... in order to defend themselves and us all
Reality cracking tools: Cioff's suggestions
I believe, dear reader, that we agree on the need of reality reversal. So it is
inhibitory to our real purpose to use too much energy in deepening and
extending our understanding of the need. This could wait until we need
to recruit more members of the Reversing Society. I think there is
homework to be done before that.
It is my impression that you may be more analytically tempered than
I in matters relating to the real world. I may be more impatient -
maybe I have fewer years to do it? Fravia+ wants more from me on marketing.
I will give some to you, but in a secondary context. Doing too much
primary work in that direction now would lose time for us in more
urgent matters. Most people don't mind about mass marketing, so
reversing it will be soooooooo slow. As I said in my previous essay:
If we go for the less sophisticated industries first, a lot of simple
people may get hurt. Let's take the big ones first of all, that's where the
challenges are. And the nice tools. Some toolboxes are out
there, rewarding to be found and cracked. Some other ones must be invented.
I believe we should start working on more advanced tools and start
having real debates, not only about beers (I really would need a
footnote here, but I abstain 0|8--)
AND, dare I say it: Field tests. If we really are among the few survivors of
the Age of Reason (those not taken over by the thistledown emotionality of
the politicians or the popular press, or the general cowardice of
organisation and corporation inmates), I think we should stand firm on
facts (nice alliteration, don't you think?).
First we must make ourselves some ideas and plans
I have some suggestions. But so have others. How about a
competition? Best reversing projects Authors
will earn a reversed question mark in
front of their names. ?Cioff - looks nice, doesn't it? (You pronounce
it "Cioff?")
These ideas must be tried out scientifically.
In practice: We could state a hypothesis, give an experimental
setting, and try to find
quantifyable variables to study. We could start quite simply. I can
list a few experiments, but again I abstain.
I'm not sure yet how we should set up the experimental protocol.
Could
we discuss it? Internet social science and computer activism FUSION
project?
Hurting Muckrosoft
If we are going to hurt Meekrosoft, we should start doing the Oryx
Orca (the North Atlantic Killer Whale) thing: Eat into the fat of the
slow and stupid plankton-eating whale (the oceanic variety of the
cow). Could it be an idea to launch a
Debian-for-beginners-who-are-a-little-afraid-of-taking-the-big-step-out-of-the-long-Win-Doze
workshop on Fravia+' pages? Explain step-by-step -for instance- how to migrate to Linux
for dummies. Get 100000 clever ones, per day,
bidding farewell to Gates... If successful such a move could REALLY hurt µ$, and
strengthen all GNU (I suppose GNU are friends)
Reversing tools
Of other reality reversing tools I would like to develop a vocabulary.
Unlike you I have no classical education, just a technical one. I'm
not very good in
languages, either. But we need specific words apart from the
technicalities of Softice.
Just for a start. Maybe all the words are useless, maybe not.
Anyone could come up with a list of other words to be taken care of. I
come along with these suggestions because I'm not sure I have
understood the difference between reality cracking and reality
reversing - unless cracking is breaking the code, i.e. understanding,
and reversing is planning to or actually implementing improvements in
the code. We need a common and simple code if we have the ambition of
doing mass reversal. Reversing the world!?
Reality cracking is so important that it should have a (completely
open and transparent
but) unambiguous terminology, quite distinct from the language
of politicians. I think we must keep politics - as up to now - more
than an arm's length away.
I also must put on the brakes a little on the top-down reality
cracking
or reversing. The top-down reality cracker or reverser must not be seen
as such. Obscurity is the best way to stay in office. Schindler saved
some Jews. von Stauffenberg was executed.
Another very important matter: If we go for the top-down stealth
option (not you or me - but we can support those why go for it 8--) )
we should calculate a net yield of less than 5 percent. Most will
defect when they have reached office because they are rewarded for
changing sides, or see the keeping of their convictions as a too
expensive luxury. Only those with nothing to lose... or with so much all
their life long that they don't care... Go for those
with the well-educated and well-paid wives (or husbands), go for those
lucky enough that they give for granted -and yet don't like-
the 'affluent society they live in! Go for 'noble' (in a knowledge sense,
of course) and despise 'vulgar' (in a knowledge sense,
of course) ones!
I'm so thrilled by this because I see your efforts and quite a few
others as a restoration of generosity in this world of greed. I
believe there must be donors around if the world is going to be put
right. Important for quality, important for productivity, important
for innovation. And the donors must be middle-aged or old men. You'll seldom
find the young there: They have mostly nothing to give away, but struggle hard
to establish themselves. It can't be -mostly- the women
either (I'll try to explain you
why with anorther essay, in the mean time I would love it if
some girl would show me that I'm wrong). So it must be the
"middle-age plus" men, the 'clever seniores'
with a career of learning or teaching already behind them, so they have
experience and real knowledge to give away. (most of them are not
generous, but cling to their knowledge to gain power over others, or
are well-adapted cowards, some of them have lost any illusion about life,
democracy or politics, and
are just trying the last tricks in the box in a desperate attempt to change things).
Reality reversing tools
The best of all sources about the pharmaceutical industry is the
international gossip magazine Scrip, which is published twice weekly,
and is updated online. I have access to a paper subscription, so I'm
unstalkable there. I've never been at the Web sites.
But even though it is an invaluable source, you should read the
conditions of sale.
Their conditions for sale are (1 & 2 are rather strict copyright
notices). Points 3 and 4: may interest you more:
3.That it will not be circulated without prior agreement with the
publisher outside the staff who work at the address to which it is sent.
4. An order for additional copies at reduced rates constitutes as
undertaking by the subscriber that such copies will not be exported or
distributed so as to avoid taking full price subscriptions elsewhere
without prior agreement with Scrip."
And then the annual subscription prices: Europe: £615 (UK £535) -
(380 and 320, respectively, for additional copies in the same envelope).
I can imagine that a fair number of people who cannot afford it
would love to see the meat of these sites. Would Fravia+' Web
searching methods work for these sites?
I consider this as a possible beginning for the tools section of the
big reversing effort. Other industries must have similar tools, I
suppose. Who dares be the next?
?H.Cioff
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