[ExI] google translator

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of Mike Dougherty
...

>...Drilling?  no please, let's agree that's a waste of time too...

Hmmm, you are right MIke, poor choice of terms on my part.

>...Until we get teachers who make science and math as fun and interesting
as you know it can be then there is no way to make it palatable to your
"proles." 

Sure, but of course they are not *my* proles.  If one wishes to interpret it
as a disrespectful term meaning below the ruling elite, I do claim immunity,
for I am a prole myself.  There are those who tell me I have no class.  With
these I beg to differ.  Low is a class.

>... Until that happens, we'll continue to be behind where we could be...

Ja, way behind.

>... one of my classmates expressed some resentment that "computers" were
"taking jobs away from people."  I was horrified...

Before being horrified, consider they *are* taking some jobs from some
people.  Think that one overward.  Of course they result in more jobs, but
ask your classmate to elaborate.

>...  It will be an interesting semester to see if I can persuade him to see
the other side of his argument...

While you are at it, try to see his.  You and he might actually be in
agreement, just looking at the same question from different angles and
suffering from difference in use of language.

>...My last professor made a point to explain that translation services can
never be as good as humans with language...

Does your last professor follow the Jeopardy contestant Watson?  We have
seen software get better and better at chess until it surpassed all humans.
Very impressive.  We have now seen computers climb the ranks in Jeopardy.
Even more impressive.  Why not the ability to translate realtime as good or
better than humans?  

>...  I almost laughed his lack of awareness for machine translation (but
it's not funny after all).  My guess is that your several language
translation is at least as good as a first-year language class' two-language
translation...

Here's what I am looking for: the improvement by humans in the skill of
using realtime translators.  That is the real skill.

spike