[EM] IRV in San Francisco

[Dave Ketchum]

On Thu, 11 Nov 2004 20:12:36 -0800 (PST) Justin Sampson wrote:

> On Thu, 11 Nov 2004, Brian Olson wrote:
> 
> 
>>Between this story and all of the snafu going on with the DRE voting
>>machines, my appraisal of the quality of software engineering in this
>>country is going down. Even Microsoft could do better.
>>
> 
> As a software engineer I'm certainly apalled but not really surprised.  
> Most software shops are totally undisciplined. It's amusing to me that
> some of the most vocal opponents of paperless computerized voting are
> software engineers and other technologists -- we love software but don't
> trust it.


To not trust software when there was no proper certification is PROPER.

HOWEVER simple equipment (software and hardware), such as is needed for 
elections, can be done well if we choose to see to it.

For example, many depend on medical equipment being done well:
      I am taking some pills I translate as rat poison - the clinic wants 
enough in my blood to do its good, but not enough to actually poison me - 
they give a computer a sample of my blood and assume it TRULY tells how 
much is there.

Autos now have bunches of computers - some possible failures can result in 
deadly accidents.  Most of us expect these systems to be dependable enough 
that we continue to dare to use autos.

> 
> Justin

-- 
  davek at clarityconnect.com    people.clarityconnect.com/webpages3/davek
  Dave Ketchum   108 Halstead Ave, Owego, NY  13827-1708   607-687-5026
            Do to no one what you would not want done to you.
                  If you want peace, work for justice.