tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post3125263119296870991..comments2024-03-28T09:30:58.096-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: A war against modernityDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77408656923573715842019-06-01T12:46:31.687-07:002019-06-01T12:46:31.687-07:00onward
onwardonward<br /><br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4808761038026553642019-06-01T10:16:26.582-07:002019-06-01T10:16:26.582-07:00That locum cannot see the self-referential irony o...That locum cannot see the self-referential irony of his latest is what makes it ironic.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-88077889520494894322019-06-01T09:45:03.946-07:002019-06-01T09:45:03.946-07:00Well, when we were talking about "mating"...Well, when we were talking about "mating", I thought we were talking about, um, <i>mating</i>. Full cross-breeds. While there are issues about whether a human/chimp mating might work, I don't think we would really know unless it were tried. And regarding that, there are both ethical issues and the fact that adult chimpanzees can be really, really violent. (Maybe human/bonobo?) I am not aware of any attempts (partly because, if it was tried, the ethical issues might preclude announcing it).<br /><br />Regarding inserting portions of DNA into other species, either to/from humans, while there are ethical issues, I don't feel that those are as strong. In this story, <i>Ethically Fraught Experiment Has Produced Monkeys With Added Human Brain Genes</i>,<br /><br />https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-added-a-human-brain-gene-to-a-monkey-genome<br /><br />at least one can make the argument that by better understanding how the human genes work, one can help with or correct human disabilities.<br /><br />And of course, on this blog, there is always the quest to learn how to do Uplift.Ahcuahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06514651362748555460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-36795994886864272492019-06-01T07:50:12.180-07:002019-06-01T07:50:12.180-07:00It's nice to return to Lake Wobegon now & ...<br />It's nice to return to Lake Wobegon now & again, "the little town that time forgot and the decades cannot improve", where the intelligence of the average citizen is (miraculously) above average.<br /><br />That the West has become incapable of critical and/or scientific thinking, there is no doubt, as exemplified by this Real_Clear_Science article wherein <b>65% of Americans Think They Are More Intelligent Than Average</b>.<br /><br />https://www.realclearscience.com/quick_and_clear_science/2018/07/05/65_of_americans_think_they_are_more_intelligent_than_average.html<br /><br />Either you lie or you delude yourselves when you misrepresent Rule by Intelligentsia as anything other than rule by a tyrannical & non-representational minority, for even rule by pornocracy would be preferable to this alternative.<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12512879495404967032019-06-01T05:08:04.851-07:002019-06-01T05:08:04.851-07:00reason: coalitions joined by only abstract ideas
...reason: <i>coalitions joined by only abstract ideas</i><br /><br />I agree with your call for a more modest species name. However, credulity can sometimes be a selection advantage, especially in early times. Scary stories about particular poisonous snakes and spiders could be believed or ignored by little ones. Those that believed them are our ancestors.scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-79615528139737541512019-06-01T00:27:01.801-07:002019-06-01T00:27:01.801-07:00Jim,
I think homo sapiens an absurd name, wise is ...Jim,<br />I think homo sapiens an absurd name, wise is one thing we definitely are not. I think the correct name should be homo credulus. Our ability to believe (almost anything) is our defining feature. <br /><br />As to trading distinguishing us from say the neanderthals, i think that might just have been a function of density and climate - the neanderthals were heavier and stockier and so more dispersed and less mobile because they developed in a colder environment. But as an interesting speculation in the Scientific American pointed out humans form big coalitions joined by only abstract ideas. Homo credulus.reasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09488435543492412991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90987797246565233982019-05-31T20:16:00.843-07:002019-05-31T20:16:00.843-07:00In Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter prompts C...In <i>Silence of the Lambs</i>, Hannibal Lecter prompts Clarice to consider the essential nature of the serial killer she's after, and then instructs her that "His essential nature is, he covets."<br /><br />Likewise with your returning prodigal. His essential nature is, he lies.<br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-33792533426302085802019-05-31T20:08:30.305-07:002019-05-31T20:08:30.305-07:00@locumranch
woefully ELITIST, UNDEMOCRATIC and UNE...@locumranch<br /><i>woefully ELITIST, UNDEMOCRATIC and UNENLIGHTENED</i><br /><br />Popular Vote 2016:<br />Hillary Clinton 48.2%<br />Donald Trump 46.1%<br />QED<br /><br /><br />Can you go back to the pornocracy quips? That was the good stuff.scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27049276499535244852019-05-31T19:25:54.817-07:002019-05-31T19:25:54.817-07:00The mating is happening now, in secret labs in Sib...The mating is happening now, in secret labs in Siberia and Sinkiang, where human genes are inserted into chimp ova and vice versa (ligament attachment points, for super strength.)<br /><br />locum's back. The scenario he describes is articulate and a cool sci fi story. But in THIS reality, the enlightenment has empowered and unleashed fair competition for the 1st time in history. His (lickspittle-adored) feudal lords made one criterion for power: family cheat-wealth. We have scores of dimensions a person can strive to succeed across, from looks (entertainment) to strength and speed (sport), to charisma all the way to inventiveness and or clever symbol manipulation.<br /><br />In other words, while he is articulate, locum as usual lies. He bald-faced and deliberately and openly lies. For the sake of his lords, he concocts a magical incantation lie about both the intent and effects of the liberation of smart people to compete with each other in a dozen dimensions...<br /><br />...while hypocritically using the computers, web, fridge and electricity etc that those nerds gave him. Ah, welcome back, son.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-33074833052460789712019-05-31T18:29:41.979-07:002019-05-31T18:29:41.979-07:00Bob Neinast:
Regarding a human/ape mating, ...
...Bob Neinast:<br /><i><br />Regarding a human/ape mating, ...<br /></i><br /><br />And I got grief for bringing up the topic of zero-gravity sex.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39275048247338711222019-05-31T18:28:00.851-07:002019-05-31T18:28:00.851-07:00Oh, just what we frickin' need.
:)Oh, just what we frickin' need.<br /><br />:)Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-76400312010449826152019-05-31T18:26:24.865-07:002019-05-31T18:26:24.865-07:00@Dr Brin, re Jim Wright,
I see your point that he...@Dr Brin, re Jim Wright,<br /><br />I see your point that he seems to be lumping all Americans together with the troglodytes. But I also see the point when he says something like:<br /><i><br />as a people we are deliberately incapable of critical analysis on even a fundamental level.<br /></i><br /><br />Maybe he should have said that our <b>culture</b> discourages critical analysis. It's not that all individuals are bad, but that the good ones aren't accomplishing the change that we desperately need.<br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-37129866531987051802019-05-31T18:22:03.910-07:002019-05-31T18:22:03.910-07:00TCB:
In any case, he seems to have intended to c...TCB:<br /><i><br /> In any case, he seems to have intended to create chaos in the US government by killing the top three in presidential succession: Lincoln, vice president Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward, third in line. Seward was stabbed but survived. Lincoln, of course, died. Johnson? His would-be assassin chickened out; BUT.<br /><br />It sure looks to me like the plot succeeded better with Johnson left alive!<br /></i><br /><br />Maybe it's the comic book reader--or the binge-watcher of <i>Designated Survivor</i>-- in me, but it sure sounds as if the plot was to <b>appear</b> to kill the top three in succession, but for Johnson to "miraculously" survive with the perfect alibi. How could he be suspected as a traitor when the traitors had tried to kill him?<br /><br />And the main reason #ThereAreNoGoodRepublicans is because the ones who had any integrity or patriotism have either left the party in disgust or been purged for not being sufficiently deplorable. The best of the remainder are those who are personally upset by Trump's antics and Congress's submission, but who won't do anything to alter course lest they lose the Petulant White Man vote. They may not be personally deplorable, but they're actively complicit. <br /><br />At this point, it matters little to me whether they are evil, stupid, insane, or any combination of the above. Usually, one is more dismissive of the harm done by others if that harm is not intentional because it's not likely to be a regular, repeated thing. But even the non-deplorable Republicans have made it clear that they intend to keep on causing harm in order to hang onto the reins of power, or in order to keep <b>liberals</b> from having any.<br /><br />It almost makes me wish I believed in Hell. Then, there might eventually be justice. But no, there's <b>just us</b>.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-17945413853344653962019-05-31T18:07:29.672-07:002019-05-31T18:07:29.672-07:00And this, my friends, is the Prayer of the Nerd:
...<br />And this, my friends, is the Prayer of the Nerd:<br /><br />(1) That brains should outrank strength, health, beauty, bravery & popularity as admiration and emulation-worthy qualities;<br /><br />(2) That elite intelligence should grant breeding rights; and <br /><br />(3) That the smart & cunning, although a statistical minority, are the rightful rulers of all mankind. <br /><br />Which, btw, is a woefully ELITIST, UNDEMOCRATIC and UNENLIGHTENED position for our fine host to take as he proposes nothing less than tyrannical rule by an unelected intellectual aristocracy.<br /><br /><i>Revenge of the Nerds is an American comedy franchise. The series revolves around a group of socially-inept students (the nerds) trying to get revenge on their harassers. The series began with the autonomous 1984 film and was followed by three sequels: Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (1992) (TV), and Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994) (TV). </i><br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61703875100149300212019-05-31T17:52:42.812-07:002019-05-31T17:52:42.812-07:00@TCB vital germs - the premise of H.G. Wells'...@TCB vital germs - the premise of H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds"<br /><br />scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-70718393283047918222019-05-31T17:33:39.836-07:002019-05-31T17:33:39.836-07:00@ scidata, Dr. Brin, et al: The Faraday book has a...@ scidata, Dr. Brin, et al: The Faraday book has a section of pull-out plates at the end, and a great many sections within, explaining exactly how he made his own batteries and dabbled with electroplating, fields in copper coils, and such. It's a real Ur-text.<br /><br />Re: our ape cousins, Dr. Frans de Waal has written a great deal on how sophisticated they are in the realm of social interactions, keeping track of foes and friends and so forth. I think they are very nearly our equals in that realm, while we exceed them in throwing, swimming, running in hot weather, making our own batteries, etc.<br /><br />And I recently saw this: <a href="https://aeon.co/essays/gut-worms-were-once-a-cause-of-disease-now-they-are-a-cure" rel="nofollow">Do we actually NEED certain intestinal worms?</a> We understand now that many gut bacteria are essential to our health, and this author says intestinal helminths may protect us from such things as allergies, MS, and inflammation. Each of us is a colony of organisms, and perhaps it's an error to think of homo sapiens as only homo sapiens. I can picture a giant, far-flung space ship filled with Earth colonists on its way to Somewhere, its resident scientists frantically to understand why its genetically perfect human crew are so sickly, when the real reason is that their forebears extirpated all the germs and 'contaminants' they could identify...TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-91632217795623074072019-05-31T15:59:36.331-07:002019-05-31T15:59:36.331-07:00@TCB Wonderful find. There's a PDF copy at the...@TCB Wonderful find. There's a PDF copy at the University of Waterloo (here in the heart of Quantum Valley) <a href="http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~abroderi/index_files/doc_files/Faraday-1846.pdf" rel="nofollow">Faraday</a><br /><br />The gating of the flow of electricity, beginning with Ampère and Faraday, and culminating at Bell Labs in 1947, is at the core of my 2011 piece on computational Asimovian psychohistory. That is no shit, hands down, the goddamdest thing I ever saw (from "The Abyss" 1989).<br />scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-89767274761947568212019-05-31T15:27:12.822-07:002019-05-31T15:27:12.822-07:00I have to admit that I did my chromosome research ...I have to admit that I did my chromosome research for my original comment in the shallow end of Wikipedia.<br /><br />Regarding a human/chimp mating, I rather figured that the ethical issues associated with such a thing meant it had not happened (or at the least, nobody would admit to it). Could you point me to a place where I can read more about the attempts? Laurence mentions haphazard Soviet "experiments".<br /><br />Regarding a human/<b>ape</b> mating, from my point of view, that happens all the time. As far as I'm concerned, by any reasonable taxonomy, humans <b>are</b> apes (which kind of references the <i>pan narans</i> discussions), so humans mating are also apes mating. If an advanced alien suddenly arrived and started doing a taxonomy of Earth's creatures, it's not clear to me <i>homo</i> and <i>pan</i> would be classified into separate genera.Ahcuahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06514651362748555460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28231979284388934972019-05-31T15:24:22.929-07:002019-05-31T15:24:22.929-07:00Alfred. Fire. Protected us, warmed us, enabled muc...Alfred. Fire. Protected us, warmed us, enabled much smaller chewing jaws, increased nutritional value of food, required brains to tend it well. Best scene in the history of cinema was the “realization scene” in Quest for Fire.<br /><br />Larry Hart. I am rarely unimpressed with Jim Wright, but on this occasion I am. It comes off as superior and dismissive. Sure, the “good side” in the civil war contains many Americans who want a more rational society but haven’t a clue how. OTOH, it includes almost everyone who DOES have a clue how.<br /><br />Where the dems are clueless is the art of persuasive polemic. The number of potential judo moves they could do…<br /><br />TCB kool find!<br /><br />Lincoln’s previous VP — radical republican - wanted harsh punishment of the south, which would have led to an Ireland situation up to today. Alas, Lincoln should have gone middle ground.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84945913608077424432019-05-31T14:54:39.191-07:002019-05-31T14:54:39.191-07:00@ LarryHart: I'd say the reason #ThereAreNoGoo...@ LarryHart: I'd say the reason #ThereAreNoGoodRepublicans is that the really bad ones haven't been punished for it in over 40 years.<br /><br />I've been thinking about John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators. I gather that their conspiracy was (perhaps) approved at the highest levels of the Confederate 'government' and that they received funds from a particular bank account which could only be drawn upon with Jefferson Davis's signature. In any case, he seems to have intended to create chaos in the US government by killing the top three in presidential succession: Lincoln, vice president Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward, third in line. Seward was stabbed but survived. Lincoln, of course, died. Johnson? His would-be assassin chickened out; BUT.<br /><br />It sure looks to me like the plot succeeded better with Johnson left alive!<br /><br />Here's a reasonable sounding synopsis:<br /><br />"After Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson took the oath of office on April 15, 1865. Two profound questions faced the nation. First, under what conditions should the Southern rebel states be readmitted into the Union? Second, what rights should the freedmen, or ex-slaves, have?<br /><br />A little over a month after becoming president, Johnson began executing his plan for reconstructing the South. Johnson pardoned all rebels except Confederate leaders. He also restored all rebel property except for slaves. Finally, he authorized each rebel state to call a convention of white delegates to draw up a new constitution. Once completed, a new state government could then be formed, and the state could apply for readmission to the Union.<br /><br />"During the summer of 1865, the rebel states held their constitutional conventions, followed by elections to choose state and federal government representatives. None of the new state constitutions allowed the black freedmen to vote. President Johnson himself opposed the idea of ex-slaves voting. "It would breed a war of races," Johnson said."<br /><br />From http://www.crf-usa.org/impeachment/impeachment-of-andrew-johnson.html<br /><br />I ask you: Could Jeff Davis have chosen a better successor to Lincoln, than Andrew Johnson, to carry on the treason?<br />TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-85654001499395377532019-05-31T14:22:33.670-07:002019-05-31T14:22:33.670-07:00The other day, I found a mind-boggling bargain in ...The other day, I found a mind-boggling bargain in the bins at my local thrift store. Cover damaged, spine missing, and the paper has some foxing. But for about 2 dollars I got what appears to be a real-deal 1849 second edition copy of Michael Faraday's Experimental Researches in Electricity, Volume 1 of 2. You can bet your ass I dug around to see if there was a Vol. 2 in the bins. Also a nice 1924 2nd edition of Niels Bohr's Theory of Spectra. Both owned by one Benjamin B. Dayton who attended MIT in the 1930's. (I think I would have really liked this guy.)TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-25433921825335278242019-05-31T14:17:48.761-07:002019-05-31T14:17:48.761-07:00Inspector Javert and Alexander Hamilton had it rig...Inspector Javert and Alexander Hamilton had it right.<br /><br /><i>The world is upside down.</i><br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-18930057834072325702019-05-31T14:16:03.574-07:002019-05-31T14:16:03.574-07:00Arthur Laffer on the schedule to get a Presidentia...Arthur Laffer on the schedule to get a Presidential Medal of Freedom next month for you know what.<br /><br />Ugh.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51687165943793839872019-05-31T13:10:48.875-07:002019-05-31T13:10:48.875-07:00Jim Wright (Stonekettle Station) again. There'...Jim Wright (Stonekettle Station) again. There's much more than this snippet, but it is relevant to discussions we've had about critical thinking:<br /><br />http://www.stonekettle.com/<br /><i><br />...<br /><br />And the majority of Americans aren't equipped to even recognize this as nonsense.<br /><br />The news media, the average citizen, lets nonsense -- literally "no sense" -- like this just roll on past without question, without any deeper examination. Liberals reject it because it's Trump, conservatives embrace it for the same reason. But they don't even know why.<br /><br />It's just nonsense. Faulty thinking. Failed reasoning.<br /><br />This is why problems don't get solved.<br /><br />This is why shit keeps getting worse. <br /><br />This is how some moron like Trump gets elected and why 60 million morons think he's some sort of genius. <br /><br />Because as a people we are deliberately incapable of critical analysis on even a fundamental level. And that’s the real tragedy. It’s not rocket science. It’s the basics. When you break it down, examine each piece, drug smuggling, drug deaths, legal trade deficits, all of these are highly complex problems that may or may not relate to each other in complex ways -- but not in the manner Trump describes. And that should be obvious, even if you don’t understand the complex issues underneath. But for too many Americans, it’s not.<br /><br />...<br /></i>Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-57719326881089407612019-05-31T13:02:26.475-07:002019-05-31T13:02:26.475-07:00Dr Brin in the main post:
And finally... Mitch Mc...Dr Brin in the main post:<br /><i><br />And finally... Mitch McConnell, gravedigger of democracy: Majority leader's shocking power grab.<br /></i><br /><br />In an actual functioning democracy, competing interests such as the pros and cons of adding the "citizenship question" to the census would be addressed and debated in good faith. One side could show that there are good reasons to want to have an accurate accounting of citizens in addition to the Constitutionally-required accounting of all persons, and advocacy groups could assert that the question makes people less likely to want to participate in the census, and we could attempt to solve one problem without creating another.<br /><br />Instead, we've got a party in power which <b>desires</b> to discourage participation in the census because they can't hold onto power on the merits of their values, so they have to cheat. Every Republican is complicit in that the fact of their party's cheating doesn't change their support for that party. They'll claim out loud that their motives are benign and their lame excuses are legitimate, but the subtext is obvious to even the most obtuse by now, "Their ability to cheat effectively is a reason we <b>do</b> support them. As long as we get lower taxes, less regulation, and make liberals feel bad, why upset the apple cart?"<br /><br />#ThereAreNoGoodRepublicans<br /><br /><br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.com