[mrarjen]

Likely in some way also to do with the amount of moving parts and it's complexity, not saying the dry dock is simple, but compared to many "invisible" and prone to break parts due to dependence on one another, code can be quite harsh.

When one section of the dock doesn't work it won't suddenly flip upside down as could be the case for code.

[pjc50]

> suddenly flip upside down

https://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/3.44.html (1986): early F-16 software would flip the plane upside down on crossing the equator :)

[exikyut]

Wh..oa.

From the above page:

> From Dagens Nyheter [Stockholm], Aug. 22, 1986. My translation, abridged.

> The chairman of the governmental data- and public-access committee [offentlighetskommitt'en], Carl Axel Petri, rejects the criticisms which have recently been brought by the moderate party [conservative] and folk-party [liberal conservative] concerning sales of personal information from computer data banks.

> "It is important to quickly get a law that stops general sales. We have allowed some exceptions, nine specified computer companies, but even their sales shall, in the future, be controlled by parliament. Nobody should be allowed to earn money by [selling] personal information. Sales should have a public interest, in principle, the new law will forbid sales" said Petri. ...

I'm removing a bit of context from the above, but it's nice/interesting that this was being discussed in this way back then. Ha.

[pjc50]

Yup, it's not a new idea: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/35/contents/enacted .. dating back to 1984, when access would have been over 300 baud modems.

The fact that this was largely ineffective against giant US multinationals that didn't respect local law is what lead to the giant international reach of GDPR.

[mrarjen]

Thanks for that! Now I'll have sweaty palms going past the equator in airplanes.

[pjc50]

It's good for everyone in their career to read some of RISKS. Reduces your chance of writing a self-driving car that doesn't see pedestrians. And many of the reports have an entertaining style to them. But if you inhale too much of it you'll want to go live in a computerless cabin in a computerless wood.

[Neil44]

I found your choice of words quite amusing because the dock really could simply flip upside down!

[mrarjen]

Would be fun to calculate what is required for the dock to actually flip, the scale of it is huge, so you would see it coming a mile away no?

[Neil44]

I’m thinking you would see it coming a mile away, but could you pump water quickly enough to stop it once the centre of gravity got away from you?