471 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
471 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
Bikeshedding Working Group ~lucidiot, Ed.
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Bikeshed-Draft Bikeshedding Microsystems
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Intended status: Informational July 20, 2022
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Expires: January 20, 2023
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Proposed Reclassification of Computer Science
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as a Field of Geology
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draft-geology-00
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Abstract
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This document argues for the reclassification of computer science as
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a field of geology by demonstrating a relation of causality between
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both, and demonstrates the potential positive consequences this can
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have on both fields.
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Status of This Memo
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This Bikeshed-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
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provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
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Bikeshed-Drafts are working documents of the Bikeshedding
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Microsystems Working Task Force (BM-WTF). Note that other groups may
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also distribute working documents as Bikeshed-Drafts. The list of
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current Bikeshed-Drafts does not exist.
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Bikeshed-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
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and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
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time. It is inappropriate to use Bikeshed-Drafts as reference
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material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
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This Bikeshed-Draft will expire on January 20, 2023.
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Copyright Notice
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Copyright (c) 2022 Bikeshedding Microsystems and the persons
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identified as the document authors. All rights reserved.
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This document is subject to BCP 78 and the Bikeshedding Microsystems'
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Legal Provisions Relating to Bikeshedding Documents in effect on the
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date of publication of this document. Please review these documents
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carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
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to this document.
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~lucidiot Expires January 20, 2023 [Page 1]
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Bikeshed-Draft Computer Science as a field of Geology July 2022
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Table of Contents
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1. Introduction ..................................................2
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1.1. Notational Conventions ..................................2
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2. Computer Science Requires Geology .............................3
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3. Influence of Computer Science on Geology ......................3
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4. Consequences of Computer Science as a Field of Geology ........4
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5. Conclusion ....................................................5
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6. Security Considerations .......................................5
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7. Internationalization Considerations ...........................5
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8. Privacy Considerations ........................................5
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9. Interoperability Considerations ...............................6
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10. Morality Considerations .......................................6
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10.1. Likelihood of misuse by depraved or sick individuals ...6
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10.2. Likelihood of misuse by misguided individuals ..........6
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10.3. Likelihood of misuse by large, multi-national
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corporations ............................................6
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10.4. Availability of oversight facilities ...................6
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10.5. Inter-SDO impact .......................................7
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10.6. Care and concern for avian carriers ....................7
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11. BANANA Considerations .........................................7
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12. References ....................................................7
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Appendix A. Warranty Exclusion Statement ...........................8
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Acknowledgements ...................................................8
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Author's Address ...................................................8
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1. Introduction
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It has come to my attention, through a discussion with some
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inhabitants in the city hall of the Town of Tildes, that Computer
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Science should be reclassified as a field of applied geology.
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In this essay, we will first demonstrate the existence of a
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relationship between computer science and geology, then demonstrate a
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relation of causality, discuss why computer science can be made a
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field of geology, and finally show how making the link between
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geology and computer science official can prove beneficial to the
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scientific community.
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1.1. Notational Conventions
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The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
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"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
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"OPTIONAL" in this document MUST be interpreted as described in
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BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
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capitals, as shown here.
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The key words "MUST (BUT WE KNOW YOU WON'T)", "SHOULD CONSIDER",
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"REALLY SHOULD NOT", "OUGHT TO", "WOULD PROBABLY", "MAY WISH TO",
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"COULD", "POSSIBLE", and "MIGHT" in this document MUST be
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interpreted as described in [RFC6919] (BUT WE KNOW YOU WON'T).
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~lucidiot Expires January 20, 2023 [Page 2]
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Bikeshed-Draft Computer Science as a field of Geology July 2022
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2. Computer Science Requires Geology
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The core part of all modern computers or microcontrollers is the
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transistor, which relies on semiconductors. The most common
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semiconductor material used in transistors is highly purified
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silicon. 15% of all the silicon production is transformed to reach
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the levels of purity required for semiconductors, and most silicon is
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produced from reducing quartzite or sand with highly pure coke.
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Quartzite is a type of rock, sand is just crushed rocks, and coke
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comes from heating up coal or oil without air. Both coal and oil are
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found in the ground and their study belongs to geology.
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Computers are also built using other metals, such as iron, copper or
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gold, which are all obtained from digging the ground as Minecraft
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taught us. Circuit boards are made of slices of copper and slices of
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an epoxy resin; the most common material is FR-4, a mix of glass
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fiber and epoxy resin. Glass fiber is made of glass, which is made
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of silicon. Epoxy resins are of many types but almost all of them
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come from petroleum-derived materials (plant-based materials are
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slowly coming in but those are not going to get really far thanks to
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lobbies).
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Computers are therefore made of rocks. Identifying those rocks is a
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requirement to obtaining all the raw materials used to produce
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computer parts, making geology a core requirement for Computer
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Science to exist.
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3. Influence of Computer Science on Geology
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Computational physics have benefited to large fields of physics,
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including some that can affect geology, such as fluid dynamics or
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solid-state physics.
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Computer-aided design (CAD) and automation in general have enabled
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the development of industrial robots. CAD has increased the quality
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of geological instruments, and robots have increased their quantity
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and lowered their costs, enabling geologists to acquire measurements
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of higher quality more easily.
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Geographical information systems (GIS), computational topology,
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satellite-based positioning systems such as the Global Positioning
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System (GPS) have increased the accuracy of all measurements and
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enable studying the Earth's crust at a much larger scale. The field
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of geomodeling was born from the newly acquired data, using computer
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science to model the Earth's crust.
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Geomodeling contributes to geology at all scales: the studies of rock
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mechanics, thermochronology, hydrogeology, crustal dynamics, mantle
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convection, seismology, plate tectonics, the geo dynamo theory, etc.
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have all shown advancements thanks to computer-based analysis.
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~lucidiot Expires January 20, 2023 [Page 3]
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Bikeshed-Draft Computer Science as a field of Geology July 2022
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Computer science heavily contributes to the study of other planets,
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in particular by enabling continuous improvements in telescopes and
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enabling the development of satellites and space exploration in
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general. This in turn has contributed to research by planetary
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geologists.
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Computer science has both directly and indirectly accelerated
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geological research, sometimes causing entirely new fields of study
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to appear. Applied geology, as well as the application of other
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interdisciplinary fields in which geology is involved such as
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material science, in turn allow computer hardware to develop and
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further help geology grow, forming a virtuous cycle.
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4. Consequences of Computer Science as a Field of Geology
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When students think of working with computers, they mostly think of
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writing code, which is a fraction of software engineering. It is
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only after they enrolled in a software engineering course, in which
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they were told they would learn to code, that they might have a small
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possibility of learning about other fields with which a software
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engineer might interact with. Since those courses are often labeled
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"Computer Science", the field of software engineering alone is
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assumed to be computer science, when it is only one of the multiple
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fields of applied computer science.
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This causes a common questioning in the software engineering industry
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of the notion of computer science: is it a real science, when it is
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only an engineering field?
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Making computer science a field of geology will likely cause a lot of
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attention in the media, which through proper communication can be
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focused on the significant difference between computer science and
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software engineering.
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Further, we believe that geologists not involved in interdisciplinary
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fields involving computer science are computer users; they lack the
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required knowledge, or the learned helplessness over the state of the
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computer industry, to not see software engineers as evil beings, and
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they simultaneously have the required knowledge to understand what
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computer science truly is and distinguish it from software
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engineering. Their insistence can help make a difference in software
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engineering courses and reverse the trend of mislabeling computer
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science in the software engineering industry.
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This change can have a financial impact for universities and research
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institutes, as merging computer science and geology departments,
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facilities or organizations can reduce costs.
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The reputation of geology, which can sometimes be seen as something
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boring as it gets reduced to the mere study of some rocks, can be
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enhanced by making it part of the digital revolution we are
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experiencing these days.
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~lucidiot Expires January 20, 2023 [Page 4]
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Bikeshed-Draft Computer Science as a field of Geology July 2022
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The reputation of computers and computer science can also be improved
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thanks to new puns: instead of "computer bad", "computer rocks".
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With the ongoing trend of legalizing recreative uses of cannabis,
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this can also encourage computer scientists and engineers to get
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stoned, leading to an overall increase in happiness with the field.
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Finally, this change can increase the interactions between geology
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and computer science; this can further accelerate the virtuous cycle
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that makes geology and computer science both contribute to each
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other's progression, and is likely to lead to groundbreaking
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research.
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5. Conclusion
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We have shown that geology, by the study of rocks, led to computers
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and computer science. Furthermore, computer science is still today
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relying heavily on knowledge acquired from geology, and it has also
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enabled significant improvements in geology. Officially making
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computer science a field of geology can contribute to the reputation
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and progression of both fields, give a financial help to research
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institutions, and solve issues in the computer industry.
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We therefore encourage the scientific community at large to consider
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making computer science a field of geology.
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6. Security Considerations
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Reclassifying computer science as a field of geology can contribute
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to overall security in the field by making software rock solid.
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7. Internationalization Considerations
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Both geologists and computer scientists have existed all over the
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world, speaking many languages and sharing their knowledge with each
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other. Computer scientists also like to bikeshed with each other,
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while geologists are less prone to this behavior. Making computer
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science a field of geology could therefore help Bikeshedding
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Microsystems reach even further into markets outside of Western
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Europe and North America, enhancing our internationalization.
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8. Privacy Considerations
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Thanks to the help of geologists, computer scientists will be able
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to erect high quality stonewalling to field any questioning by
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attackers, enhancing the currently quite poor protections against
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social engineering attacks in the workplace.
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9. Interoperability Considerations
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The overall goal of this standard is to enhance interoperability
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between geologists and computer scientists. However, shall this goal
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not be achieved in a satisfying manner, interoperability issues will
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~lucidiot Expires January 20, 2023 [Page 5]
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Bikeshed-Draft Computer Science as a field of Geology July 2022
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be as always left up to the Protocol Police [RFC8962].
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10. Morality Considerations
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This section contains morality considerations consistent with the
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demands of [RFC4041].
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10.1. Likelihood of misuse by depraved or sick individuals
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Reclassifying computer science as a field of geology should not have
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a significant influence on the ability to share immoral images over
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the network, except through a possible enhancement of overall
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network transfer time and bandwidth as described in Section 10.6.
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10.2. Likelihood of misuse by misguided individuals
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Rocks can represent some danger when not manipulated properly, as
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they can have sharp edges or be extremely heavy. It is RECOMMENDED
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that geologists keep untrained computer scientists away from their
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sample storage rooms or from working on the field with them, as to
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avoid any risk of them causing themselves harm.
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10.3. Likelihood of misuse by large, multi-national corporations
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Computers are more and more often affected by planned obsolescence
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and other cost-saving or revenue-generating morally dubious
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operations. Geology could contribute to making them more solid, by
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encouraging the use of various types of rocks. However, it is well
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known that all profit-driven institutions will use any opportunity
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they could have, however immoral they can be, to increase profits.
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It is likely that geologists could get blamed by large, multi-
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national corporations for the actions that those corporations took,
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not the geologists. Additionally, using more rocks implies mining,
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which is already currently done in terrible working conditions by
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underpaid workers in developing countries.
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The Lobbying Department of Bikeshedding Microsystems SHALL therefore
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take action to ensure politicians are aware any issues that could be
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occurring after the enactment of the proposed reclassification, and
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that they are properly encouraged to act on them.
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10.4. Availability of oversight facilities
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As most of the interactions between computer science and geology will
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occur through public events, conferences, research papers in the
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public domain, or just through non-confidential conversations within
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academic institutions, any relevant authorities will be able to
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oversee the integration of computer science within geology and apply
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any measures they deem necessary.
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~lucidiot Expires January 20, 2023 [Page 6]
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Bikeshed-Draft Computer Science as a field of Geology July 2022
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10.5. Inter-SDO impact
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It is possible that other standards organizations show their
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opposition to the integration of computer science as a field of
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geology, be it because of their animosity towards Bikeshedding
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Microsystems due to commercial competition or due to reasonable
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concerns.
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Bikeshedding Microsystems is willing to discuss any reasonable
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concerns with other standards organizations, and is open to
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reassessing its opinions or deepen the arguments presented in this
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document, in order to ensure a smooth, global and complete merger
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between both scientific fields.
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As for standard defining organizations that have no reason to refute
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this evolution of science solely out of spite, Bikeshedding
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Microsystems will gladly engage in any anti-competitive practices its
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Lobbying, Marketing and Corporate Spying departments will allow.
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10.6. Care and concern for avian carriers
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Both geology and computer science already have an important influence
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over birbs, as it can influence their routing, either through BGP
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or by changing the winds or the obstacles along the way while
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transporting IP packets. By forcing both fields to work together,
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we expect that enhancements could be made in how fast avian carriers
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can travel between two network appliances, and how much energy it
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requires them. This can improve response times and bandwidth, as
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well as reduce the costs of deploying new long-distance routes as
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birbs will need less rest when traveling over those. Packet loss
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can also be improved with routes that are easier to fly on.
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Further improvements in the management of avian carriers could be
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made by a later merging with the fields of ornithology, to better
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understand how birbs behave, or civil engineering, for larger scale
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changes to the large rock structures along Internet routes.
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11. BANANA Considerations
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As bananas are not classified as a mineral or have any part in a
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geological process, the BANANA is not affected by the
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reclassification of computer science as a field of geology.
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12. References
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[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
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Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
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DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
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<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
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~lucidiot Expires January 20, 2023 [Page 7]
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Bikeshed-Draft Computer Science as a field of Geology July 2022
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[RFC4041] Farrel, A., "Requirements for Morality Sections in Routing
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Area Drafts", RFC 4041, DOI 10.17487/RFC4041,
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April 1 2005, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4041>.
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[RFC6919] Barnes, R., Kent, S., and E. Rescorla, "Further Key Words
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for Use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", RFC 6919,
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DOI 10.17487/RFC6919, April 1 2013,
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<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6919>.
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[RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
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2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
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May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8174>.
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[RFC8962] Grover, G., ten Oever, N., Cath, C., Sahib, S.,
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"Establishing the Protocol Police", RFC 8962,
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DOI 10.17487/RFC8962, April 1 2021,
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<https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8962>.
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Appendix A. Warranty Exclusion Statement
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This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
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"AS IS" basis and M455.CASA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
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IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF
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THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
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WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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Acknowledgements
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The author would like to thank ~nihilazo, ~indigo and ~lown for
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participating in the preliminary research and wordplays that led to
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this essay, as well as ~durrendal for their review.
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Author's Address
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~lucidiot (editor)
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Bikeshedding Microsystems
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m455.casa
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138.197.184.222
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The Internet
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Email: lucidiot@brainshit.fr
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URI: https://tilde.town/~lucidiot/
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~lucidiot Expires January 20, 2023 [Page 8] |