tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post8273887379813457296..comments2024-03-28T20:50:49.311-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Space Marvels for 2017David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-26015728405669497002017-07-20T00:39:35.553-07:002017-07-20T00:39:35.553-07:00“The only question is whether we’re in for a very ...“The only question is whether we’re in for a very bad ride, or a pants-crappingly catastrophic one.”<br />-Peter Watts, “Why sci-fi can’t be a happy place”<br /><br />http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2012/10/peter-watts-vs-minister-faust-can-sci-fi-be-a-happy-place.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77683035538528466692017-07-20T00:33:30.337-07:002017-07-20T00:33:30.337-07:00"The telltale line in all this is Brin’s invo..."The telltale line in all this is Brin’s invocation of “wanting your descendants to bestride the stars.” Behind that line lies one of the great archetypal narratives of the recent past, the dream of infinite expansion into outer space. That’s the narrow ideological stance I mentioned a moment ago. As we’ll see in an upcoming post, the recognition that civilizations have a life cycle—they rise, and then fall, and then new ones rise in their places—is far from a prophecy of doom, and it leaves at least as much room for science and wonder as the rigidly linear notion of history Brin evidently prefers. The one thing it doesn’t permit is the claim that humanity is on a one-way track that leads straight from the caves to the stars. That’s an issue, in turn, because interstellar travel plays the same role in the secular religion of progress—the established faith of our age—that the Second Coming of Christ plays in Christian theology."<br />-John Michael Greer, "Men Unlike Gods"<br />http://www.ecosophia.net/men-unlike-gods/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20519495478715837672017-07-20T00:23:32.254-07:002017-07-20T00:23:32.254-07:00"This essay itself is just a long non sequitu..."This essay itself is just a long non sequitur pointing out pretty pictures taken by mostly decades old machinery as proof of continued human advancement. It does read like a sermon. The meat of the argument is in the comments, where all reasonable worries about the future are viciously attacked because they don’t offer solutions. Besides the mind boggling idea that we should only talk about problems after we know how to fix them, the tone of the replies from the author suggests he is struggling with his own denial."<br />(A user's comment left in John Michael Greer's "Men Unlike Gods")<br />http://www.ecosophia.net/men-unlike-gods/#comment-6095Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-37561946808369994422017-05-16T03:12:39.730-07:002017-05-16T03:12:39.730-07:00The <a href="http://earthmeasured.com/cont...The <a href="http://earthmeasured.com/contact-us/ ”> Sator </a> has been describe in earth measured abhishek manehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16652710713666252839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-87923065916235067302017-03-30T14:55:09.036-07:002017-03-30T14:55:09.036-07:00Darrell sorry but you are wrong. From the French R...Darrell sorry but you are wrong. From the French Revolution to Reagonomics and Supply Side, it has always been the middle class that's willing to sacrifice for the long term good, when it comes to taxes or environmentalism and so on. While SOME aristos join in this, they always prove, overall, to be the most grabby and short sighted.<br /><br /><br />On ward<br /><br />onward<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3160291411342368772017-03-30T11:23:16.699-07:002017-03-30T11:23:16.699-07:00I think the emphasis on elites is inaccurate and p...I think the emphasis on <i>elites</i> is inaccurate and perhaps a bit of a cop out, especially in the context of modern times. It is not just elites who are addicted to the unearned bounty realized from the use of fossil fuels or who do all they can to insulate themselves from the negative consequences of their actions. The majority of people of every economic demographic are just as guilty of those things as the elites. I think we should give all the non-elites, including most of us here I'm sure, due respect and consider them responsible agents.<br /><br />The only relevant differences are that elites can have a bigger impact on a per person basis, both negatively and positively, and elites run things. But though elites run things, in many countries the general population has a significant input into determining which elites run things. For example in the US, one of the largest users of energy in the world. How do you get the tens of millions of poor and middle class people, who are just as jealous of their modern luxuries as any elite, perhaps more so on average, to stop voting for people like the Reagans, Bushes and Donald Trumps of the world who always reduce and remove any regulatory obstacles that might inhibit whichever big corporate interests have lobbied (bribed) most successfully from making as much money as possible right now and who cares what happens tomorrow?<br /><br />It's like the opposite of biting the hand that feeds. The hand that is supposed to feed them keeps biting them, or rather smacking the shit of them, but they still keep going back to the same hand expecting some food. It all comes back to many of the kinds of intricately interconnected issues David has been writing about here since at least Bush Jr's tenure in the White House. Somehow we need to bring about a more educated, more engaged, wider viewing general public.Darrell Ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14054311762477388637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-28679482189558283652017-03-30T10:28:38.248-07:002017-03-30T10:28:38.248-07:00In about 4 1/2 hours from this writing, SpaceX is ...In about 4 1/2 hours from this writing, SpaceX is planning to launch the first of its rockets to use a recycled booster. Godspeed, little rocket!<br /><br />https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/live-today-spacex-attempts-to-launch-a-flight-proven-rocket/TheMadLibrariannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-66610730203884339132017-03-30T10:15:19.336-07:002017-03-30T10:15:19.336-07:00Dave
Please don't take the last comment as a...Dave <br />Please don't take the last comment as a personal slam.<br /><br />To summarize my position on the future of our civilization :<br />Things are on a bad trajectory and we are not even doing 10% of what we would need to do in order to avoid the decline and fall.occam's comicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-33823723500957116542017-03-30T09:59:56.878-07:002017-03-30T09:59:56.878-07:00Maybe Laurence wanted to point out that it is myop...Maybe Laurence wanted to point out that it is myopic to narrowly focus on a few species that have not yet gone extinct, when a broader perspective shows we are in the middle of a mass extinction. And the fundamentals driving the mass extinction are stronger than they have ever been and getting stronger. ( the fundamentals are human population growth and the increase in through put of matter and energy and expansion of space used in human activities on the earth.)<br /><br />I wonder if elites in past civilizations wanted to be insulated from similar dyspeptic moaning. And if they used confirmation bias to find some cherry picked bits of information to provide them with comforting illusions that prevented them doing the really hard work and sacrifice that might have prevented the decline and fall of their civilization. <br />occam's comicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-34302522829182583702017-03-30T09:54:21.358-07:002017-03-30T09:54:21.358-07:00 Decarbonizing energy is a national security matt... Decarbonizing energy is a national security matter.Tim H.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-36872224726071588412017-03-30T08:12:13.907-07:002017-03-30T08:12:13.907-07:00Lamar Smith stated during a house hearing yesterda...Lamar Smith stated during a house hearing yesterday that <i>Science</i> is known as not being objective (at least in regards to climate change).<br /><br />http://www.snopes.com/2017/03/29/smith-journal-science-not-objective/<br /><br /><i>DR. MANN: [Smith] indicated at this conference that he, according to Science, and I am quoting from them, he sees his role in this committee as a tool to advance his political agenda rather than a forum to examine important issues facing the US research community, as a scientists I find this deeply disturbing.<br /><br />CHAIRMAN SMITH: Who said that?<br /><br />DR. MANN: This is according to Science Magazine, one of the most respected outlets when it comes to science …<br /><br />CHAIRMAN SMITH: Who are they quoting?<br /><br />DR. MANN: This is the author, Jeffrey Mervis.<br /><br />CHAIRMAN SMITH: That is not known as an objective writer or magazine.</i>A.F. Reynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8062844124847676432017-03-30T08:07:57.737-07:002017-03-30T08:07:57.737-07:00The species loss is significant. Much of the probl...The species loss is significant. Much of the problem is the huge number of humans crowding out the environment. The fix is making birth control and education available now. Yes, there is rejection of that idea. Keep on persuading. <br />The bit about running out of power is farfetched. As soon as petroleum and coal get priced out, solar takes over. Solar provides more power per person than current sources. With more energy comes more wealth. To summarize, I speak for birth control and solar power.<br /><br />Speaking of solar, imagine a world where there is enough energy to make you rich as Croesus and able to use the surplus power to actually clean up some of the mess we've made.Jumperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794110173836133321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90145543292069063662017-03-30T08:06:25.499-07:002017-03-30T08:06:25.499-07:00'Forseeable future' is always an amusing s...'Forseeable future' is always an amusing subject, because some see further than others.<br /><br />As for S.J.Res 34, it's one of the reasons I'm fighting my city council's attempt to sell off the municipal fiber network.<br /><br />And as for space, that really does tie into the last article's posts on whether regular people actually comprehend science. I don't think some do, at all. I'm starting to hear more of the 'spend that money here where we have problems' stuff again. Many don't seem to comprehend that there's little way to know which research will pay off, and how. Nor do they seem to comprehend how all that 'useless' space research has changed things for the better. If nothing else, weather satellites and communications improvements have saved enough lives to justify the costs, I think.raitonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-5983834480918901542017-03-30T03:33:05.310-07:002017-03-30T03:33:05.310-07:00@ Dr. Brin:
I think Laurence´s remark about dozen...@ Dr. Brin:<br /><br />I think Laurence´s remark about dozens of species a day belongs in the ´shouting warnings´ category. Like your convictions about our civilisation, they need to be repeated over and over again, so other humans will grudgingly or willingly listen and take action. Not all shouters have useful ideas for change in the right direction, or the means to do them. Save for proxy activism. But still, they need to be heard.<br /><br />When they heap scorn on any possible solution proposed, then they belong to the defaitist faction, otherwise I´m willing to listen to their shouts that we need to do more.<br /><br />Both their warnings and your pointing to successes are needed. Twomindsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-86060097596620464492017-03-30T00:56:39.712-07:002017-03-30T00:56:39.712-07:00Bah. What is your aim with such dyspeptics moaning...Bah. What is your aim with such dyspeptics moanings, Laurence? To undermine our belief in our ability to do better? Because that is what your kind accomplish. I point to great achievements that were wrought by vigorous effort by tens of millions of sincere and dedicated people, as evidence that an order of magnitude MORE effort, by many more millions might do some more.<br /><br />You are the one - even if you are right - who is an enemy of action and of our world.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8621597710367622692017-03-29T22:44:53.677-07:002017-03-29T22:44:53.677-07:00"But you, OTOH, are just as myopic and tunnel..."But you, OTOH, are just as myopic and tunnel visioned. The ozone layer and whales and sea otters still exist because humans peered ahead, shouted warnings... and other humans grudgingly listened. Kids breathe in LA and eat fish from the river in Pittsburgh. Our ability to actually get things done is prodigious."<br /><br />These are minor exceptions. Our civilisation is responsible for between 50 and 100 exctinctions per day, a rate higher than is estimated for any of the 5 great mass extinctions of the past. Total numbers of animals (not species, numbers of creatures) have more than halved since 1970. The fact that we are able to save a handfull of charismatic species that hold a great deal of sentimental value and are of declining economic value is small comfort.Laurencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15525214461529206205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-36441652850899907542017-03-29T20:08:15.336-07:002017-03-29T20:08:15.336-07:00Hey Tony Fisk, you still around buddy? I got a me...Hey Tony Fisk, you still around buddy? I got a message from PBworks saying there hadn't been any activity on the website dealing with "Brin Predictions" and demanding some activity. I took care of it. <br /><br />But hey guys, whenever you see a big hit -or fail - in prediction by me, do feel free to drop by and rank me!<br /><br />http://earthbydavidbrin.pbWORKS.COM/ David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4652317929921135342017-03-29T18:28:15.844-07:002017-03-29T18:28:15.844-07:00Opera has VPN built-in, and Firefox has a variety ...Opera has VPN built-in, and Firefox has a variety of VPN plug-ins available. I cannot, for obvious reason, recommend Chrome.Zepp Jamiesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16261339498383415026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-62570713891785741432017-03-29T18:27:02.543-07:002017-03-29T18:27:02.543-07:00We just put VPN on the whole home network as a res...We just put VPN on the whole home network as a result of the legislation that just passed today. Being stared at may be unavoidable, but there's no reason to make it easy for them!TheMadLibrariannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4259962501004362132017-03-29T14:08:07.784-07:002017-03-29T14:08:07.784-07:00sociotard:
You want reciprocal transparency? I go...sociotard:<br /><i><br />You want reciprocal transparency? I got your reciprocal accountability right here.<br /><br />https://searchinternethistory.com/<br /></i><br /><br />Tangential, but I wonder if ISPs are allowed to sell your passwords, credit card numbers, and Social Security numbers. I mean, you'd hope not, but what's to stop them?<br />LarryHartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-21599209739575197702017-03-29T13:56:24.934-07:002017-03-29T13:56:24.934-07:00occam... I have read far more of that literature t...occam... I have read far more of that literature than you, my friend, and explored it in great detail and argued with Jared Diamond, whose COLLAPSE you'd doubtless like.<br /><br />Sure, fossil fuels gave us a rapid leg up. That a good thing can become toxic is a hard lesson for humans. Libertarians cannot grok that profit-incentives and personal wealth are great... up to a point where they poison the system.<br /><br />But you, OTOH, are just as myopic and tunnel visioned. The ozone layer and whales and sea otters still exist because humans peered ahead, shouted warnings... and other humans grudgingly listened. Kids breathe in LA and eat fish from the river in Pittsburgh. Our ability to actually get things done is prodigious.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12923997133799027502017-03-29T12:53:01.251-07:002017-03-29T12:53:01.251-07:00I have done all that and more my entire adult life...I have done all that and more my entire adult life.<br /><br />But even if I didn't it would not change the fact the we are a fossil fuel powered civilization with powerful and well insulated elites. If you want to help our civilization move off the pathway of decline and fall you might want to read up on the literature of why civilizations decline and fall. occam's comicnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-44097905575140247072017-03-29T11:29:41.199-07:002017-03-29T11:29:41.199-07:00Alas, Sociotard, the first thing oligarchs will do...Alas, Sociotard, the first thing oligarchs will do is pass rules that "what applies to peasants shall not shine on me."<br /><br />Occam's Comic: There is a difference between useful criticism, shouting at errors so's we can act on them... and stylish, lip-curled cynicism as an excuse for smug laziness. I'll listen to your dour gloomcasting when I see that you are also busting ass to help make it not come true.<br /><br />Are you at minimum doing the stuff described here?:<br />http://www.davidbrin.com/nonfiction/proxyactivism.html<br /><br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-92155558413156253802017-03-29T10:55:40.729-07:002017-03-29T10:55:40.729-07:00You want reciprocal transparency? I got your recip...You want reciprocal transparency? I got your reciprocal accountability right here.<br /><br /><a href="https://searchinternethistory.com/" rel="nofollow">https://searchinternethistory.com/</a><br /><br /><i>Thanks to the Senate for passing S.J.Res 34, now your Internet history can be bought.<br /><br />I plan on purchasing the Internet histories of all legislators, congressmen, executives, and their families and make them easily searchable at searchinternethistory.com.<br /><br />Everything from their medical, pornographic, to their financial and infidelity.<br /><br />Anything they have looked at, searched for, or visited on the Internet will now be available for everyone to comb through.</i><br /><br />I suppose normal reciprocal transparency would be requiring notification when your data has been bought and by whom. But this is a step.sociotardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697154298087412934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-64108705118088279082017-03-29T10:27:48.378-07:002017-03-29T10:27:48.378-07:00What makes our civilization so different is that w...What makes our civilization so different is that we figured out how to use the vast but limited supply of fossil fuels. It is this unearned bounty form nature that has enabled our civilization to be so wealthy and experience such "progress". It literally powers our civilization and is the source most of our environmental problems and will likely be one of the main reasons future historians will site for decline and fall of our civilization.<br /><br />If you look at the literature on why societies collapse; environmental problems caused by that society's actions combined with powerful elites who are insulated from the negative consequences of their actions is a deadly combination. Unfortunately, that sounds just like a description of us. <br /><br />Now we may be able to increase our use of solar, wind and nuclear power, but we have already caused huge environmental problems that will continue to get worse for the foreseeable future. And our powerful and insulated elites will not willingly give up that power and insulation. So, if I was a betting man I would bet that this century we see a ragged stair step downward trajectory in term of wealth, health and justice/fairness. occam's comicnoreply@blogger.com