I wish you were right, but take it from someone on the East Coast: you're wrong.

That's like saying that Jesus Christ's performance has fallen off quite a bit since he died, yet hundreds of millions of Christians revere him. Regardless of whether I share that belief I respect it. By contrast people who revere Jobs the same way are just assholes.

You have assumed that most people have never even tried. An equally likely explanation is that people often don't want to advertise their failures to learn "basic skills".

Why do you say that, because you did it and you've known other people that have? BFD. "Other skills" include math. Anyone should be able to learn it up to the level of at least basic differential equations (very far from an especially difficult math subject). I wasn't born with that ability, I had to learn it, and I've known other people who've done likewise. Ergo, according to your reasoning, you CAN learn math. Except that some people suck at math - not everyone has talents for the same things.

The classic example is people with Asperger's. Yes, I know half of all Slashdotters have self-diagnosed, but I'm not one of them. But Asperger's isn't a yes or no thing. In fact it's not really a separate diagnosis; the next edition of the DSM will classify it as high-functioning autism. There's a reason that they refer to the autism spectrum - it can vary from very severe to very mild, and from very low functioning to very high functioning. Hence there are also people who are sub-clinical, or in plain language lean that way a little. It's like saying that you can be a bit slow without being retarded, or untrusting without being paranoid.

The only reason that high-functioning autism is considered a disorder is that many (probably most) people consider "play the game" human interaction to be the most important thing in the world. Considering how the world runs more on bullshit than anything else, it may be. Maybe the world would be better if most people had the sort of straightforwardness that high functioning autism people do, and "play the game" human interaction was considered a harmful and manipulative disorder like sociopathy. If it were up to me I'd classify anyone who couldn't learn at least basic differential equations as having a math disorder.

That's just on aspect of of why not everyone "CAN learn people skills like any other skills". I could write at least a few paragraphs on psychological issues too, but suffice it to say you're being very egocentric.

As long as they don't get too dirty. Think Captcha - humans do better. It's the same problem that they have with bar codes on freight cars. Not to mention other contextual cues that humans can use.

You obviously don't drive in Manhattan.

Rain and snow are also problems for SDC's. With all that testing in SV they might not have considered such things (I think everybody stays indoors when it rains), but in most of the rest of the world they're common conditions.

Here is a simpler idea using existing technology: freight trains. You still need trucks (eh, lorries) for local delivery, but even if they have a driver they can be electric. It's also quite different than your 5000 mi example. For anything over about 200 mi, intermodal (train/truck) uses less energy and is generally cheaper. I don't know about the UK, but what the US needs is more intermodal facilities and better coordination. Even still it's more widely used in the US than many people realize. Trains can be electric of course, but even if you don't want to pay to electrify long distance lines, trains use about 1/3 the amount of diesel fuel that trucks do per ton-mile.

In other words, the same sad story as the US.

An unclear antecedent, not unclear thinking. Warrantless wiretapping is against the 4th Amendment, but foreign SIGINT (what the latest news is about) is their job.

Yes, which is why he's gone too far. I think the people wiping their asses with the 4th Amendment should be prosecuted (note that may include high office), but this is the NSA's job, and like most people I support it as necessary and useful.

I agree, but now he's gone too far. The crimes were spying on the American people without warrants. But this sort of interception of information is exactly what the NSA is supposed to do. There has never been any secret about that, and I support it as useful intelligence. If Snowden keeps this up, he's going to alienate his supporters, or at the very least give a lot of ammo to his detractors.

RTFA. It doesn't say those aren't factors, just that there are also genetic factors.

Get an account and when you log in you have the option to disable ads. I also find it unusable before I log in, with too much video and endlessly piggy scripts. I have no problem with advertising (something's got to pay the bills) if it doesn't half-trash my machine.

The Bill of Rights was was written by 18th century terrorists and c***d molesters. It would never pass congress today.