tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post761115143685352476..comments2024-03-29T06:22:47.638-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: A Looming Gilded Age: Capital, Affluence & InfluenceDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-30957495873340612922014-06-03T16:05:52.361-07:002014-06-03T16:05:52.361-07:00The discussions of inequality seem to me to ignore...The discussions of inequality seem to me to ignore the suppression of the prosperity at the bottom. The bureaucratic state hurts the little guy worse than the large corporations. <br /><br />You demonize those few offshore bank accounts and conflate corporate and private accounts. This hurts a great many innocent people.<br /><br />FATCA hurts a great many Americans who work abroad. It's handy to have local accounts, but the banks don't want American customers. <br /><br />On a personal note, my wife had a life before she met me, which included bank accounts. She naturally didn't want to close them all when she moved to the USA. Now her banks won't work with her, because of FATCA.<br /><br />Don't dismiss this unless you're willing to take an arbitrary 15% or more hit on all your savings.Bobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-32845621076331365322014-05-20T11:33:50.843-07:002014-05-20T11:33:50.843-07:00Cheating:
http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/ste...Cheating:<br />http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/stephen_colbert_meets_his_match_in_elizabeth_warren_20140520Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-37793469252333955012014-05-20T10:42:49.823-07:002014-05-20T10:42:49.823-07:00p.s.: you may find unexpected support here:
http:...p.s.: you may find unexpected support here:<br />http://www.thebaffler.com/blog/2014/05/ask_uncle_ralph<br /><br />"... how to persuade those tens of millions of non-elite Republicans to stop voting against their own interests....<br />...<br />... Why would any conservative vote ... against corporate fraud and abuse ...? Because a lot of them hate the corporations and the corporate state as much as leftists do, and are equally disgusted with the two major parties. Substantial public majorities favor single-payer health care, tax hikes on the rich, raising the minimum wage, cutting the defense budget, increased spending for education, and reducing the role of money in politics, yet most or all of these things are off the table politically. It’s true that the members of this anti-corporate, anti-militarist majority disagree sharply about many other things. But why can’t they nevertheless achieve the goals they have in common?..."<br /><br />Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9380909745806572742014-05-20T10:36:26.800-07:002014-05-20T10:36:26.800-07:00Ok, you're the author, you're entitled to ...Ok, you're the author, you're entitled to assert "an implicit pause" changed what you meant by the words -- and it's a blog, not tightly written.<br /><br />I trust what you mean to say, I nitpick when I see ambiguity in the written text.<br /><br />This is the Oxford Comma joke:<br /><br /> "I want to thank my parents, Mother Teresa and the Pope."<br /><br />You've probably read <a href="http://www.thebaffler.com/past/the_long_con/" rel="nofollow">The Long Con</a> about cheating as revealed by the advertising in the tea-party-type publications -- which shows those politicians believe their chosen audience is easily fooled by ambiguity.<br /><br />Write unambiguously for that audience; they need all the help clear writing can give, because they're so routinely fooled.Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-74843996502225261442014-05-19T20:41:23.475-07:002014-05-19T20:41:23.475-07:00There was a recent NS article discussing relations...There was a recent NS article discussing relationships between limits to longevity and stem cell lineage.<br /><br />(At 115, world's oldest women was found to be soldiering on with just *three* cells of her original complement still viable)<br /><a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229672.600-blood-of-worlds-oldest-woman-hints-at-limits-of-life.html#.U3rOXCiIU_Q" rel="nofollow">Here's the link</a>Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-42860880175472128242014-05-19T20:28:56.496-07:002014-05-19T20:28:56.496-07:00The belief that extended lifespans would lead to e...The belief that extended lifespans would lead to extended periods of decrepit old age is known as the <a href="https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2002/11/the-tithonus-option-is-not-an-option.php" rel="nofollow">Tithonus fallacy</a>.<br /><br />Many people believe the Tithonus fallacy because that has been the personal observation of most people alive today. Actually, the practical ability of medical science to extend the period of decrepit old age probably peaked in the 1980s. I have never heard any reasonable argument that humans will ever extend the period of decrepit old age beyond its current level.<br /><br />There is an urgent need to eliminate the aging process rather than focusing on lifespan. Human civilization cannot afford to warehouse countless millions of decrepit old people in nursing homes as the number of old people living through the decrepit period increases. <br /><br />If we focus on healthspan, then old people can continue to be productive and self-supporting for an unlimited period of time.Jerry Emanuelsonhttp://www.futurescience.com/je.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-60142941569975776452014-05-19T17:11:12.764-07:002014-05-19T17:11:12.764-07:00Quality of life, that is.Quality of <b>life</b>, that is.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-60987396641607155962014-05-19T17:10:03.173-07:002014-05-19T17:10:03.173-07:00Alex Tolley:
Having said that, living well to 70-...Alex Tolley:<br /><i><br />Having said that, living well to 70-80 seems far more useful than living for much longer, but in an increasingly decrepit state. <br /></i><br /><br />I've thought quite a bit about that myself. When I was a naive teenager, I imagined scientific progress would allow me to live to 1000 or so, and thought of that as a good thing. Seeing what my dad went through the last five, miserable years of his life, I now kind of dread the thought of living much past 70 (and I'm in my 50s now). I'm not anxious to die or anything, but there's definitely a preference for quality of lofe over quantity.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10461473122150985472014-05-19T13:03:23.883-07:002014-05-19T13:03:23.883-07:00While it is true that evolution is generally assum...While it is true that evolution is generally assumed to drive reproduction and therefore the reproductive age of the animal is key, there are other factors to consider. It is sometimes suggested that the extended family structure of human, e.g. having grandparents help nurture, selected for longer lifetimes. However, AFAICS, this should not add more than a generation to longevity. Thus early reproduction might lead to maximal lifetime selection for perhaps 30-40 years, while late reproduction might lead to 70-80 years if this model were correct.<br /><br />However, that does not mean, IMO, that all the easy switches have been flipped. While few cases exist, there are people who live more than 100 years, so an extra 30 years is certainly possible.<br /><br />However, as we understand biology better, especially the possibilities of using stem cells to rejuvenate organ systems, it may well be possible to artificially extend lifetimes by "resetting" the switches. So I wouldn't assume that we cannot extend longevity substantially. Having said that, living well to 70-80 seems far more useful than living for much longer, but in an increasingly decrepit state. Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84089585400873364612014-05-19T10:32:39.563-07:002014-05-19T10:32:39.563-07:00Some fuel for the high-frequency trading fire:
ht...Some fuel for the high-frequency trading fire: <br />http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-14/stock-markets-had-a-rough-second-yesterday<br /><br />tl:dr- it looks like someone made an erroneous trade order near market close and this trade pointed out that the "safety fuses" designed to prevent flash crashes have some loopholes. Or, alternatively, Skynet is testing some boundary conditions.matthewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17757867868731829206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51515415682126505112014-05-18T20:36:50.461-07:002014-05-18T20:36:50.461-07:00If we assume humanity has already found all the ea...If we assume humanity has already found all the easy switches and we assume any switches we find are easy switches, then we'll never know if we found a switch humanity didn't evolve... or a switch that may in fact be a non-easy one but that we stumbled across by accident.<br /><br />Correlation and causation, you know.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-72769232000513458542014-05-18T18:09:22.272-07:002014-05-18T18:09:22.272-07:00@Rob H.
There's actually a biological theory ...@Rob H.<br /><br />There's actually a biological theory for why creatures have the lifespan they do, and the practical takeaway is as Dr Brin says: techniques which make mice liver longer are probably numerous and irrelevant to humans.<br /><br />Basically mice have enough age fighting machinery to make them live a couple years and no more because there's no natural selection for better. Suppose a mouse has a mutation that would allow it to live twice as long. Well, its overwhelmingly likely to make no difference to that mouse at all since it will probably be eaten within two years anyway. What the mouse needs is wings.<br /><br />Give it wings and it can escape predators, and now mice with better anti aging machinery would have a selection advantage and develop longer lifespans. (Thus bats live several times longer than mice).<br /><br />Creatures that occupy less dangerous environmental niches, humans, whales, elephants, etc, have evolved much more advanced methods for combating the ravages of time. Or as Dr Brin says, we've already flipped the easy switches.dgaetanonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-33507986815851800842014-05-18T14:49:40.366-07:002014-05-18T14:49:40.366-07:00HR recite the sentence in two different ways. The...HR recite the sentence in two different ways. The one in which I seem to be saying that cheating only occasionally spoils has an implicit pause in the wrong place. A good lesson in being careful not to leap to conclusions!<br /><br />BTW I am NOT mad! I do it myself.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9876423756223062362014-05-18T08:55:29.740-07:002014-05-18T08:55:29.740-07:00> I oppose all cheating.
> All who visit he...> I oppose all cheating. <br />> All who visit here know this.<br /><br />Yes, I know! I trust that a lot, that's why I mentioned that bit.<br /><br />Does one of us have a browser cache with a typo? Where do you see a comma added to what I quoted?Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9088600215617779822014-05-18T08:38:40.241-07:002014-05-18T08:38:40.241-07:00ack, I inserted a comma? Where?
Mangling a quote...ack, I inserted a comma? Where?<br /><br />Mangling a quote is bad behavior, not intended. I don't see where I did insert a comma (I inserted an ellipsis). Do you mean I changed the sense with the ellipsis, implying a comma somehow? Sorry, I take this seriously and I don't see where I did that.<br /><br />I'm glad I did misunderstand what you meant. Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-74167968722872013062014-05-18T08:25:57.722-07:002014-05-18T08:25:57.722-07:00Dr. Brin -- the Lessig/Superpac link seems broken....Dr. Brin -- the Lessig/Superpac link seems broken. I get:<br /><br />http://time.com/84556/lawrence-lessig-superpac/%20https://mayone.us/Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-72840391667070234502014-05-17T20:54:38.020-07:002014-05-17T20:54:38.020-07:00I just looked at my posting. Hank R. Are you kidd...I just looked at my posting. Hank R. Are you kidding me? You inserted a comma where there was none. Golly.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-48314505249410159192014-05-17T20:50:49.365-07:002014-05-17T20:50:49.365-07:00Talks should be up in 2 weeks.Talks should be up in 2 weeks.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4445417132273703912014-05-17T20:50:26.206-07:002014-05-17T20:50:26.206-07:00Tonight I sat next to George Takei and we were the...<br />Tonight I sat next to George Takei and we were the 2nd public audience on the planet to watch the new x men movie (fun but a bit illogical). (And it seems that folks in 1970 had technologies we're nowhere near having in 2014.) After, Patrick Stewart was interviewed on stage. <br /><br />Earlier in the Reagan Center:<br />Lots of excellent talks. I gave a good one, then interviewed Brian Greene onstage.<br /><br />===<br />Robert, I believe many enzymes etc will be found to switch on longer lives in flies & worms & mice. We have already flipped most of the easy switches. It will be harder for us.<br /><br />Neil I agree that it has taken a long time for the illusion of classlessness to evaporate… largely because it was so close to true for a while and because Americans deeply want to believe it.<br /><br />Hank R you simply misread me. I oppose all cheating. All who visit here know this.<br /><br />Oh re Buckley. Yes, he was in many ways a monster. But he argued. He believed in intellect. And like Goldwater and Billy Graham he changed his mind and recanted many awful statements. SHow me that in this clade of goppers.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12655483982259152912014-05-17T07:51:56.189-07:002014-05-17T07:51:56.189-07:00PS, Daniel Duffy quotes Will Durant, and those wor...PS, Daniel Duffy quotes Will Durant, and those words seem to me to be a paraphrase of Tom Paine:<br /><br />Tom Paine:<br /><br />“… Whatever wisdom constituently is, it is like a seedless plant; it may be reared when it appears, but it cannot be voluntarily produced. There is always a sufficiency somewhere in the general mass of society for all purposes; but with respect to the parts of society, it is continually changing its place. It rises in one to-day, in another to-morrow, and has most probably visited in rotation every family of the earth, and again withdrawn.<br /><br />“As this is in the order of nature, the order of government must necessarily follow it, or government will, as we see it does, degenerate into ignorance.<br /><br />” … by giving to genius a fair and universal chance; … by collecting wisdom from where it can be found.<br /><br />“… As it is to the advantage of society that the whole of its faculties should be employed, the construction of government ought to be such as to bring forward, by a quiet and regular operation, all that extent of capacity which never fails to appear in revolutions.”<br />—————————————–<br />Tom Paine, The Rights of Man<br />http://www.ushistory.org/Paine/rights/c2-03.htm Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39454925479910664392014-05-17T07:43:59.560-07:002014-05-17T07:43:59.560-07:00Dr. Brin writes
"... when cheating (an inbo...Dr. Brin writes<br /><br />"... when cheating (an inborn human tendency) starts to spoil ... competition."<br /><br />That implies cheating is not toxic until it does start to "spoil ... competition" -- eh?<br /><br />Yes, that's been how human societies have always worked.<br /><br />No, you can't have cheating institutionalized and tell those institutions that they've cheated enough now and it's time to stop.<br /><br />Cheating uses individual people as grease for the wheels, to <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=" rel="nofollow">foam the runway for the banks</a>.<br /><br />Read your D.A. Levy:<br /><br /> <em>“Really”</em><br><br />the police try to protect<br><br />the banks – and everything else<br><br />is secondary” <br /><br />Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84103002192833255282014-05-16T21:49:55.050-07:002014-05-16T21:49:55.050-07:00@Neil in Chicago,
Substitute "Democrat"...@Neil in Chicago,<br /><br />Substitute "Democrat" for "negro" and "Republican Party" for "The South" in the screed above, and you get what I'm sure is the contemporary right-wing justification for voter suppression.LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-21264700580048599492014-05-16T19:53:21.446-07:002014-05-16T19:53:21.446-07:00*) a small quibble I date the interruption in the...*) a small quibble I date the interruption in the perennial American class war from 1945 to 1973. '80 at the latest, though obviously Reagan was being groomed for a long time before.<br />Seventy years is too much.<br /><br />*) Unlike contemporary "conservatives", Adam Smith was a marvelous writer, _and_ understood the absolute necessity of government restraining capitalists.<br /><br />*) Buckle? seriously?<br />Buckley: "We haven't occupied them [The Dominican Republic]"<br />Chomsky: "We never occupied the Dominican Republic? We sent 25,000 troops in 1965."<br />Buckley: "Now, I think you're being evasive."<br /><br />[L]et us speak frankly. The South... want[s] to deprive the Negro of a vote... [because] the White community merely intends to prevail on any issue on which there is corporate disagreement between Negro and White.... The central question... is whether the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail... in areas in which it does not predominate numerically? The sobering answer is Yes.... National Review believes that the South's premises are correct.... The axiom on which many of the arguments supporting the original version of the Civil Rights bill were based was Universal Suffrage. Everyone in America is entitled to the vote.... That, of course, is demagogy...<br /> -- William F. Buckley; National Review, 8/24/1957<br /><br />Neil in Chicagonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1735831082389539402014-05-16T17:07:56.887-07:002014-05-16T17:07:56.887-07:00I thought Dr. Brin might enjoy this article on res...I thought Dr. Brin <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/15/cellular-compound-extend-lifespan_n_5329910.html?utm_hp_ref=science" rel="nofollow">might enjoy this article on research into an enzyme that could increase cellular longevity</a> without caloric decreases. It works with worms at least. We'll have to test it with fruit flies and mice next.<br /><br />Rob H.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58093840854304722142014-05-15T20:30:05.231-07:002014-05-15T20:30:05.231-07:00In the cool and "Johnny *can* Code" cate...In the cool and "Johnny *can* Code" categories, <a href="http://www.playfuljs.com/realistic-terrain-in-130-lines/" title="Who needs Minecraft?" rel="nofollow">a fractal terrain generator, using 130 lines of javascript</a>.<br /><br />Less cool: Mozilla is (with gritted teeth)<a href="http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCwQqQIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnet.com%2Fnews%2Fmozilla-holds-its-nose-and-supports-drm-video-in-firefox%2F&ei=3IV1U7SQGJHpkAXBv4D4Bw&usg=AFQjCNGWeCKgUZ6PmkzGhndpXNtnvPMsPw&sig2=0U-iw-dBRSChTI1JPcYcyQ&bvm=bv.66699033,d.dGI" title="Who needs the MPAA?" rel="nofollow">incorporating DRM for video into Firefox</a>. At least they intend to use a user option model.Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.com