Author: Amir Ban
Date: 03:16:00 12/03/03
Go up one level in this thread
On December 02, 2003 at 23:54:26, Will Singleton wrote: >On December 02, 2003 at 16:19:58, Amir Ban wrote: > >>On December 02, 2003 at 10:18:42, Robert Hyatt wrote: >> >>>On December 02, 2003 at 03:34:31, Roberto Nerici wrote: >>> >>>>>>>July 4. >>>>>>>What a bunch of morons. >>>>>> >>>>>>Would have you gone anyway? >>>>>> >>>>>>Roberto/. >>>>> >>>>>Perhaps if the ICGA provided flak vests. Bruce has attended recent >>>>>events. As have others over here. I am not the _only_ USA computer >>>>>chess person, you know??? >>>> >>>>Of course I know. >>>>You forgot to mention Charles and James (Noonian and Insomniac), both of whom >>>>have also attended a recent WCCC. >>>> >>>>My point is that I don't believe you would go to an event in Israel regardless >>>>of the date. I don't know if you would go to a WCCC outside North America, >>> >>>I have attended an event in London, I flew to Paris in 1984 to do a chess >>>demo. I have gone to Canada. And I have traveled multiple times to Europe >>>over the past N years. I was even at the _first_ WCCC event although I did >>>not participate, in Sweden. >>> >>>My problem is time. how to take about 2 weeks off from classes? The events >>>are now too long. What is the point in 11 rounds with 16 participants? Makes >>>absolutely no sense at all. It just drags out the event and triples the >>>cost and time. We don't have 2 week conferences anywhere. Care to guess why >>>that is? >>> >> >>All the university professors I know take off for 2 or so weeks for wherever as >>a matter of routine. >> >>I'm also pretty much in the corporate scene and trips by executives for 2 weeks >>are nothing unusual. Actually it's the corporate way of life. > >Amir, you are a level-headed fellow, but you must not have much contact with >Americans. We don't take as much time off as the rest of the world. Whether >one is a university professor or the CEO of Coca-Cola, we do not take 2 week >trips as a matter of course. To do so would be almost unthinkable, unless you >took your family along. And to play chess during your annual 2-week vacation? > >Not a single person I know would even contemplate going on such a trip, it's >just out of the question for us. (Unless you are single and wealthy, I should >say, but I don't know anyone like that.) > For executives I meant in the line of duty, i.e. business trips. In business, travel is a way of life. It's especially true in the USA where you can't get anywhere without a plane. No, the business doesn't flounder when they are away, and the employees don't goof off. You don't take your wife on a business trip, unless you tag a vacation to it. Bringing the kids is unthinkable. They need too much attention. To my knowledge academia is another well traveled class: conferences, visiting positions and sabbaticals are part of the ritual. Amir >However, even though the computer-chess scene is dominated by non-Americans, I >would like to see a world event here. I'm afraid we will have to do it >ourselves, since ICGA won't. And why should they? After all, there aren't any >commercials at all from the USA. > >So, I don't blame the ICGA, they are just being pragmatic. If Americans want a >world event, we have to create our own organization and develop our own chess >programs. And make it worthwhile for people from all over the world to come >here and play. > >Recently, there have been one or two efforts to get something going along these >lines. There has not been much support. Almost like beating a dead horse, >trying to make it get up and go. Though it's possible that these efforts were >flawed in one way or another. > >So, the question remains, why has computer chess not prospered on this side of >the pond? Two reasons come to mind: lack of interest in chess itself, and the >realization that computer chess is really an end in itself. I mean to say, that >we cannot pretend anymore that there are AI and related pursuits which can >ultimately benefit from research into chess algorithms. It's specific unto >itself, it doesn't generalize well. So you don't find much money flowing in >that direction, and researchers have other fish to fry. Wasn't always this way, >but it is now. > >I wish you fellows well in 2004, and I hope we can find a way to get all of you >over here sometime in the future. In the meantime, do ask David and the board >to change the name of their organization. Because if we do manage to get >something going over here, they are not welcome. > >Will
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