tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post2999165763074263536..comments2024-03-28T07:58:16.979-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Chapter 2: "Underlying beliefs that most of us share" - And why that may help... even during a 'civil war.'David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20453365176614233112020-08-31T02:21:10.970-07:002020-08-31T02:21:10.970-07:00This political genre of books is more my grandpa&#...This political genre of books is more my grandpa's choice. I am more into sci-fi, fantasy and tech-related books, which is why he will relate more to "Below the Surface" that I will. His parents belonged to the Roosevelt era, and he would've loved to join this debate. Arunhttps://www.aliensandalibis.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-78263358684382462702020-08-28T20:39:03.079-07:002020-08-28T20:39:03.079-07:00Lots of fine discussion guys. But I am trying to g...Lots of fine discussion guys. But I am trying to get the book out to many eyes so...<br /><br />onward<br /><br />onwardDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39433092698770154162020-08-28T19:26:41.507-07:002020-08-28T19:26:41.507-07:00I seriously doubt an earlier release of tech advan...I seriously doubt an earlier release of tech advances would have made much difference to humanity. Many, many inventions were recorded first in China… and suppressed or not exploited. <br /><br />It's not the tech that matters. It's the barbarian's belief that they can change the world that does. There is a reason our current explosive growth came out of the Dutch rebellion against the Habsburgs. Only barbarians would think they could self-rule, let alone fight off a Power possessing a great deal of control spanning oceans.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4028322350232111372020-08-28T19:21:29.795-07:002020-08-28T19:21:29.795-07:00The Starlink constellation currently numbers 653.
...The Starlink constellation currently numbers 653.<br />60 more go up this weekend if weather permits.<br />Two more groups of 60 go up next month.<br /><br />Occasionally the number flown is less than 60. That happens when some other satellite is flown on the ride share plan. Maybe someone here would like to loft an amateur astronomy satellite? <br /><br />Satellite occlusion of the sky is not the issue. The problem is that many of us still have older hardware for imaging the sky that relies on long duration exposures. The modern way involve many, many short exposures laid on top of each other digitally. The modern way enables software to detect satellites in the field of view and delete their impacts digitally. <br /><br />This problem will solve itself shortly with a technology refresh. Until then, the solution is to refrain from using the older tech for parts of the sky where the phase one 500-600 km orbits are still in sunlight. The phase two orbits are lower, but with many thousands of satellites planned for them. Seriously… this isn't hard to do as it is just a matter of some calculation to determine the risk.<br /><br />Airplanes and meteors are an annoyance we've learned to work around. The Starlink birds don't have blinky lights on them and don't leave a burning plasma trail very often. The newer ones DO have optical laser links they point at each other, but lasers are trivially easy to avoid imaging.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-25326158561156121832020-08-28T19:04:32.191-07:002020-08-28T19:04:32.191-07:00Larry,
I could have sworn I saw--just recently to...Larry,<br /><br /><i>I could have sworn I saw--just recently too</i><br /><br />Yah. I had to be taught that one. I was waxing pedantic about the amendment creating 'separation of church and state' when I encountered someone who knew a lot more than I did. Simultaneously embarrassing and enlightening. 8)<br /><br /><br />I remember being at a local libertarian meeting when some Tea Party folks spoke to us. They were 'teaching' the Constitution back then. Mostly we smirked and poked holes in their explanations. By the end of the event, we were offering to help all of them instead. Nothing came of it, though, as I'm sure they were NOT interested. <br /><br />It was a bit like two missionaries from slightly different sects meeting face to face. Each one was pretty sure of their facts. A few years after that the irony finally hit me. Both missionaries were incurious and ignorant. I won't carry a pocket Constitution as a result.<br /><br />The 'meaning' of the Constitution was determined later by successive generations who keep to it… as Hamilton said we would.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27985738940336702472020-08-28T18:57:57.870-07:002020-08-28T18:57:57.870-07:00Jon S
40,000 - or more satellites of that sort of ...Jon S<br />40,000 - or more satellites of that sort of size and 500 miles up will still not occlude anything<br /><br />The visual field is VAST - 500 miles is a damn long way <br /><br />The only ones that will be visible will be the ones still in sunlight - 30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset<br /><br />Because they will be accurately positioned people with serious telescopes will be able to simply filter them outduncan cairncrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14153725128216947145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-50457548345040025552020-08-28T16:57:34.932-07:002020-08-28T16:57:34.932-07:00Fan fic: Thank you Dr. Brin. I will read it ASAP. ...Fan fic: Thank you Dr. Brin. I will read it ASAP. Did a quick Ctl-F search for 'Memory Alpha' before remembering that Foundation is not Trek :)<br /><br />Re: Patent System<br />How about a tale about an unknown young patent clerk who revolutionizes physics. Nah, nobody would believe it.<br />scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04992209167553267488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4451108236746801462020-08-28T16:14:42.799-07:002020-08-28T16:14:42.799-07:00Yeah, later in the day I saw Antioch, Illinois in ...Yeah, later in the day I saw Antioch, Illinois in a newspaper article. I'm very good at US geography EXCEPT the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region, which to my brain is an amorphous blob. It would surely help if I had ever been there... but <a href="http://ispol.com/sasha/remembered/remembered.png" rel="nofollow">clearly it isn't just me having this problem.</a><br /><br />@ Larry Hart, yep, this is the problem with police. Go find any old lefty activist anywhere in America and ask them whether the police play favorites. The fuzz have worked with the political right since long before I was born, and never with the political left going back at least a century.<br /><br />Which would be FINE if the pinkos were all really as bad as the conservatives say. But, myself, having been born and raised in a pretty right-wing corner of Unistat, and having left for Massachusetts as I came of age (recalling Dr. Brin's oft-repeated comment on colleges stealing the hearts and minds of Middle America's children)... well, I discovered that the coolest and smartest and truest people I met were, ummmm, NOT on the political right... ever...<br /><br />And it became obvious that the fuzz were always dangerous for the little people and never dangerous toward the very rich, even when the very rich were as crooked as you can get...<br /><br />(incoherent sputtering)<br /><br />TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-78751055388364199152020-08-28T15:04:25.661-07:002020-08-28T15:04:25.661-07:00Thanks Sci data. I had to hunt, but here's th...Thanks Sci data. I had to hunt, but here's the amateur Foundation fan-fic novel that's actually pretty thoughtful and readable!<br /><br />https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5810546/1/Foundations-ResolveDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-54970014556478294482020-08-28T14:28:10.653-07:002020-08-28T14:28:10.653-07:00Dr. Brin: "But methods that were close-held b...Dr. Brin: "But methods that were close-held by a family... certain steels, clear glass, batteries and anthekithera machines and steam engines... all were lost for the lack of a patent system."<br /><br />Ah, the Baghdad Batteries ... wonder how history would have developed differently if the Parthians or Sassanids had developed electric light and heating two milennia earlier ...<br /><br />The Caliphs might have dined in the light of electric lamps, telegraphed their orders to the farthest reaches of their realm ... or perhaps, there wouldn't have been caliphs at all, only the Sassanid Shahs and Zoroastrians or the Byzantian Emperors and the Orthodox Church. <br /><br />And thinking about your sentence: The patent system we have nowadays might be a great achievement of the modern civilization in itself, underappreciated and overlooked. And misused, at times.<br /><br />But, just perhaps, the Ancients had such a system ... and it was destroyed when Alexandria's library burned down. Wonder what that what-if story would look like.<br />A German Nursenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90585111253564745672020-08-28T14:06:52.443-07:002020-08-28T14:06:52.443-07:00scidata:
I've always liked stories where the ...scidata:<br /><i><br />I've always liked stories where the participants realize that they're in a time loop and take steps to escape.<br /></i><br /><br />There was a funny Star Trek TNG episode about just that subject, although I got the sense that it was making fun of fans watching the same Star Trek episodes over and over again.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-45800435409958057312020-08-28T14:06:27.491-07:002020-08-28T14:06:27.491-07:00scidata email me and I'll share with you a pie...scidata email me and I'll share with you a piece of fan fiction that's pretty good followup to F.Triumph.<br /><br />Snails obey fibonacci because overlapping 'influence" - say from growth hormone secretion sites - can form standing waves and thus influence where the next growth site develops etc. If that standing wave results in more offspring, then that set of influences is rewarded.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77522039831472032512020-08-28T13:11:24.873-07:002020-08-28T13:11:24.873-07:00Dr. Brin suspicious of "patterns"
That,...Dr. Brin <i>suspicious of "patterns"</i><br /><br />That, in a nutshell, is my problem with mathiness. Daisies and snails know nothing of Fibonacci. Ascribing such deep 'plans' to Mother Nature is anthropomorphism, plain and simple. Computation is so much more important than mathematics.<br /><br />A clarification of my Shatnerian question: I vaguely remember a blurb about Shatner and Memory Alpha. I did a search on 'Tek Memory Alpha', but all I got was a long list of references from a site with that name, not specific mentions of it in Shatner's books. Of course "Foundation's Triumph" is perfect, but I've already read it. BTW this is the theme I'm always on about when I quip about bullets vs transistors or 2020 not being 1933 redux. Every grifter thinks they invented cheating. Every tin-pot dictator thinks they invented demagoguery. Yawn. The only mechanism that reliably moves forward is science. Double-bind detection/handling and rational self-correction are neat tricks. I've always liked stories where the participants realize that they're in a time loop and take steps to escape.scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04992209167553267488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-91552260210447810302020-08-28T12:56:50.348-07:002020-08-28T12:56:50.348-07:00scidata I am always suspicious of "patterns&q...scidata I am always suspicious of "patterns" folks see in history, even smart guys like Pinker. Though I do admit some sort of exist. What is paramount is ATTRACTOR STATES. like feudalism, which self reinforce by the darwinian advantages that bully thug males get when they call themselves "kings" and "lords" and cheat to suppress criticism and competition. We're all descended from their harems.<br /><br />Knowledge that was spread a bit is never lost. But methods that were close-held by a family... certain steels, clear glass, batteries and anthekithera machines and steam engines... all were lost for the lack of a patent system.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-6787438474083523212020-08-28T12:26:28.293-07:002020-08-28T12:26:28.293-07:00https://www.thedailybeast.com/rnc-speaker-boosts-q...https://www.thedailybeast.com/rnc-speaker-boosts-qanon-conspiracy-theory-about-jewish-plot-to-enslave-the-world-1?source=twitter&via=desktop<br /><i><br />One of the speakers for the second night of the Republican National Convention was pulled from the program after The Daily Beast surfaced a tweet from her, earlier in the day, urging her followers to investigate a supposed Jewish plot to enslave the world.<br /></i><br /><br />I'm confused. Are we supposed to like Netenyahu and Sheldon Adelson because they will save us from the Jewish plot to enslave the world?Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-6000834318947915642020-08-28T10:40:46.814-07:002020-08-28T10:40:46.814-07:00"Consider the angles a satellite mayby 10 met...<i>"Consider the angles a satellite mayby 10 meters across 500 miles above you will not "occlude" anything!!<br />The only way that it will be visible at all is if it is still in sunlight"</i><br /><br /><i>One</i> satellite that size won't occlude anything significant.<br /><br />The number in orbit so far is 558, and they say they're just getting started.Jon S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13585842845661267920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3861734136585045422020-08-28T09:07:27.162-07:002020-08-28T09:07:27.162-07:00Alfred Differ:
Art 1 Section 3 describes how to d...Alfred Differ:<br /><i><br />Art 1 Section 3 describes how to do it for the first election. It says nothing about new states added to the union later. What we chose to do is a logical extension, so no one will quibble about it, but it wasn't required.<br /></i><br /><br />You may be right. I could have sworn I saw--just recently too--language to the effect of "...but no state shall have both its Senators in the same class", but I can't find it now.<br /><br /><i><br />There are a lot of people who carry around little copies of the Constitution as if understanding it was like knowing Scripture. The real document is so short, though, that you'd think they'd understand that most of what it 'means' occurs elsewhere in the form of case law. Few do, but it's easy to prove with almost every phrase of the Constitution.<br /></i><br /><br />That was most evident when the newly-empowered Tea Party congress decided as their first act to read the Constitution into the Congressional Record. They didn't notice how underwhelming it was until they were doing the reading--many of them likely for the first time.<br /><br />It would be laughable if not so dire when they assert with a straight face that "God and the founding fathers" gave us Executive Orders in order to overcome Congressional gridlock. Of course, that didn't apply to President Obama.<br /><br />I have to admit that until very recently, I thought the presidential succession order was in the Constitution, but it is not. If it ever comes to the Speaker of the House becoming president--especially if that means a change of party--I suspect it will be challenged on separation of powers grounds.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-22658739280082974352020-08-28T08:24:42.158-07:002020-08-28T08:24:42.158-07:00Advancement of civilization is not a smooth curve,...Advancement of civilization is not a smooth curve, but rather a sawtooth as described by Steven Pinker among others. What seems to be the key factor is how much knowledge survives from before periods of feudal stagnation or fascistic cleansings. This is the premise of Hilton's "Lost Horizon", Asimov's "Foundation", and lots more (I'm not a Brin authority yet).<br /><br />I'm a very slow reader (mild dyslexia), so I must choose my books carefully. I'm interested in William Shatner's Tek series, particularly anything that revolves around 'Memory Alpha'. Does anyone have a recommendation? Thanks. scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04992209167553267488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-11480991420040909432020-08-28T08:06:41.179-07:002020-08-28T08:06:41.179-07:00One thing I like about the new blogger is the auto...One thing I like about the new blogger is the auto-spamming feature doesn't even give me a brief glimpse of the crap. But I hope it's not sweeping is some of you, along the way. Maybe someone can volunteer a disposable email address folks can write to, when that happens?David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58026061192604606612020-08-28T06:50:31.809-07:002020-08-28T06:50:31.809-07:00TCB:
Come over to the Rebel Alliance, we have bet...TCB:<br /><i><br />Come over to the Rebel Alliance, we have better parties than the Empire ever had.<br /></i><br /><br />I like that one! Much more uplifting than "If we burn...you burn with us!"Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90374527900170018982020-08-28T06:02:08.685-07:002020-08-28T06:02:08.685-07:00Ya think?
The Republican message seems to be &quo...Ya think?<br /><br />The Republican message seems to be "If Joe Biden is elected, the stuff you hate and fear about Trump's America will happen. Only Trump can stop it." #VoteForSideshowBob<br /><br />https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2020/Pres/Maps/Aug28.html#item-1<br /><i><br />...<br />Later in the evening, there was a "law and order" tag-team with President of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York Patrick Lynch, followed by former New York mayor (and current Presidential TV lawyer) Rudy Giuliani. Both of them made the same exact argument, namely that New York City has become a scary place in the last year or so, thanks to trouble-making thugs and a spineless liberal mayor. Lynch and Giuliani agree that only Donald Trump can fix it. Somewhat unclear: (1) Didn't the alleged decline happen under Donald Trump? and (2) If he can fix it, why isn't he working to do so already? Those questions might well be asked about many of the litany of things wrong with America that Republicans spent four days complaining about.<br />...<br /></i><br />Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-23137269263403107082020-08-28T05:08:55.758-07:002020-08-28T05:08:55.758-07:00TCB:
we see stills from the shooting of three BLM...TCB:<br /><i><br />we see stills from the shooting of three BLM protesters, two of whom died, by a 17-year-old Trump supporter and police fan who had driven 20 miles and across a state line from Antioch, Ohio. ...<br /></i><br /><br />That's Antioch, Illinois. It's a far north suburb (exurb?) of Chicago. And literally spitting distance from Wisconsin. Not to undermine your point--it's just that this is almost a local story for me.<br /><br /><i><br />A line of police then push BLM protesters TOWARD the armed militia because the police "knew [the militia] could deal with them and then we're gonna leave"<br /></i><br /><br />While I still think "Defund the Police" is a <b>terrible</b> slogan for gaining support and <b>not losing</b> support to terrified suburbanites, I'm appreciating more and more that "bad apples" is an excuse, and that police departments nationwide (and their vocal supporters) seem to embrace the "occupying army" characterization over "to protect and serve". <br /><br />Even ignoring for the moment the overt racism that seems to be an essential part of policing (which is hard to ignore), the Bill of Rights is supposed to guarantee Americans certain freedoms to engage in certain activities, no matter how unpopular, without interference or harassment by authorities. Trumpism encourages Brownshirts to engage in violence against people <b>they</b> don't like. And if the authorities are backing them up, then I'd say defund them back to the stone age!Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-14941589413626135002020-08-28T02:38:31.582-07:002020-08-28T02:38:31.582-07:00Just a note: I am pretty sure it is Antioch, Illin...Just a note: I am pretty sure it is Antioch, <i>Illinois</i>, which is just over the Illinois-Wisconsin border. Antioch, Ohio is much further away: near the Ohio-West Vrigiana border.gregory byshenkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08565517478782844083noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3205220210525044142020-08-28T00:21:22.974-07:002020-08-28T00:21:22.974-07:00Larry,
Art 1 Section 3 describes how to do it for...Larry,<br /><br />Art 1 Section 3 describes how to do it for the first election. It says nothing about new states added to the union later. What we chose to do is a logical extension, so no one will quibble about it, but it wasn't required. A state could reasonably challenge it some day if they wanted to shift the balance of power in the Senate. It is a loophole that would enable cheaters to shift an election to a time more favorable to them. All you need is a new state to test this. 8)<br /><br />There are a lot of people who carry around little copies of the Constitution as if understanding it was like knowing Scripture. The real document is so short, though, that you'd think they'd understand that most of what it 'means' occurs elsewhere in the form of case law. Few do, but it's easy to prove with almost every phrase of the Constitution.<br /><br />Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-71143680855264098102020-08-27T19:04:19.757-07:002020-08-27T19:04:19.757-07:00@ A German Nurse, the US constitution gives Congre...@ A German Nurse, the US constitution gives Congress more power than the president, but this is usually not apparent because the congress is like a herd of bison. Most of the time it's wandering all over the place. Once in a while, however, the bison all stampede in the same direction and the herd cannot be stopped. Nobody dare stand in the herd's path. All who defy them will be trampled to dust. And then, as suddenly as it began, the stampede ends and they go back to wandering all over.<br /><br />Re: the Kenosha shootings, I saw this fascinating video last night. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FymA6b03kZk" rel="nofollow">Kenosha Police Caught On-Cam Working With White Militia & Teen Shooter At Protest</a><br /><br />In this video (WARNING: VIOLENCE) we see stills from the shooting of three BLM protesters, two of whom died, by a 17-year-old Trump supporter and police fan who had driven 20 miles and across a state line from Antioch, Ohio. All he had to do was stay home; now people are dead and he's on the hook for murder in the first degree, at age 17. What makes the video fascinating is the context we learn: cell phone video shows the police "appreciating" the armed white militia being there "and giving them bottled water" while ordering BLM protesters to disperse. We see young Erostratos given water from a police armored car. A line of police then push BLM protesters TOWARD the armed militia because the police "knew [the militia] could deal with them and then we're gonna leave". This is told to BLM protesters on video by a young man who is with the militia! It looks like he (and a few others) are finding out they were lied to and used.<br /><br />Come over to the Rebel Alliance, we have better parties than the Empire ever had.TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.com