From: Brian Atkins (posthuman@posthuman.com)
Date: Thu Sep 07 2000 - 22:08:38 MDT
[Non-member submission]
Or you might say it is due to a lack of an easily searchable reputation
system that penetrates into the real world. Who wants to build one?
hal@finney.org wrote:
>
> Phil Osborn writes, regarding dental scams:
>
> > There are entire books by licensed dentists that describe exactly the
> > procedures that are commonly used by dentists to ensure that you will be
> > making many unhappy returns. As Paul correctly points out, the average
> > person stands little chance going up against a professional scam
operation.
> > They have had lots of experience working out the bugs in their legal
warfare
> > kit.
>
> It is no doubt true that there are dental frauds, as in other areas.
> And these people may well be skilled at protecting themselves in the
> court system.
>
> But to put this in the context of the thread, this is not a problem of
> "big business". These are not giant dental conglomerates, for the most
> part (some may be chains preying on the poor, I imagine). Many of them
> are small businessmen who are short on honesty and long on greed.
>
> The problem is not with big business. It is with a legal system which
> benefits knowledgeable insiders. The practice of law is tightly closed
> and regulated, which is a recipe for unfairness.
>
> Hal
-- Brian Atkins Director, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence http://www.singinst.org/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:30:53 MST