tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post8452703014580329639..comments2024-03-28T14:07:18.682-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Tune into “LIFE AFTER PEOPLE” Monday at 9pm!David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-38919261942908275552008-01-27T11:33:00.000-08:002008-01-27T11:33:00.000-08:00I checked the History Channel's program listings f...I checked the History Channel's program listings from 5 until midnight eastern time and didn't see Life After People at all. And as I mentioned in my first comment, what was on at 9 local time was something about ancient Rome.<BR/><BR/>Unless there are two different History Channels with the same name, this seems rather hard to square with what you are saying.<BR/><BR/>Did anyone on the East Coast see this thing? Perhaps they have different versions of their programming on the east side of the continent or something. I know there are separate satellite footprints for the east and west sides, so it's entirely possible for the programming shown to the coasts to differ even with satellite TV. If so, it may be a good reason to complain, if half of North America got screwed out of watching that show.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10914806726492890132008-01-26T10:54:00.000-08:002008-01-26T10:54:00.000-08:00Found mentioned several places recently, and reall...Found mentioned several places recently, and really good:<BR/><BR/>http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/SelfApptdExp.htmHank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-6425666981322676832008-01-25T00:05:00.000-08:002008-01-25T00:05:00.000-08:00false data: I never said that lefties were more m...false data: I never said that lefties were more mature or less prone to human failings that righties. ALL fanatically dogmatic romantics are inherently bigoted creatures who strawman and demonize their opponents, instead of viewing them as potential partners for negotiation.*<BR/><BR/>Both sides devote fealty on many levels. To surface catechisms (political correctness or the Book of Revelations or belief that CEOs who engage in GAR are devoted to markets). And to deeper psychological drives.<BR/><BR/>But here's a big difference: the fundamental psychological drive of the left is to devote fanatical, exclusionary and incantatory fealty to the process of horizon expansion. Yes, this is utterly ironic and hypocritical and inherently weird. But it is what we see. They are also frenetic.<BR/><BR/>Conservatives, by contrast, are deeply skeptical of horizon expansion and resist it where possible. This may be troglodytic... and I may prefer the lefty agenda overall because at least it moves us toward being better... but at least in this one area, the right is consistent.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, the right is manic-depressive (as we'll see, next posting. So emotionally they swing between bipolar highs and snarky lows.<BR/><BR/>It is often said that rightists score much higher on obedience to authority. Surveys show this - and yet I think part of it may be an artifact of definitions. Romantic lefties strike me as just as subject to reflex obedience to incantations and opinion leaders. Though at least they make more noise and move about and express themselves more. <BR/><BR/>All told, I prefer modernists... a word I am trying to reclaim, because there is no classification as yet for militant moderates, for pragmatist negotiator problem-solvers, for people in the middle who differ from the dogmatists NOT because we are tepid! But because we are fundamentally and mentally DIFFERENT FROM THEM!<BR/><BR/>Because we believe in problem-solving and the Enlightenment and mixed solutions that use both markets and consensus action, and trying solutions and abandoning those that OUGHT to have worked, but didn't.<BR/><BR/>Yes, a plague on both their houses, for getting us into this mess, with the anti-science fixation of the right and the anti-engineering fetish of the left.<BR/><BR/>Except for one thing. THE LEFT IS INEFFECTUAL AND DOES NOT HAVE THE POWER TO DO SHIT. They don't control a major political party, or a nation, or troops, or mysterious black-ops mercenary regiments.<BR/><BR/>The far-right does.<BR/><BR/>---<BR/><BR/>* And yes! My very first para seems to commit the same crime I am describing! That's another diff. We modernists can step outside and see what human nature makes of us. We can compensate. Laugh at ironies. Get the joke. And move on.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20559368816188975822008-01-24T23:48:00.000-08:002008-01-24T23:48:00.000-08:00Music & PoetryArtSeductionThat's the theory of whe...Music & Poetry<BR/><BR/>Art<BR/><BR/>Seduction<BR/><BR/>That's the theory of where human intelligence comes from. We aren't talking about women liking guys with protractors.<BR/><BR/>Note that the Neanderthals had bigger brains than we did. They had fire and tools and cooperation.<BR/><BR/>But they didn't have art.<BR/><BR/>And I suspect they didn't have gods. Nor any other explanation of where we came from. I suspect it never occurred to them to ask.<BR/><BR/>Perhaps I'm pushing this, as the theory suggests millions of years and includes the Neanderthals as some of the beneficiaries. But perhaps not, perhaps they were the top of the line intelligent animals. But not us.Xactiphynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08254344563346437079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-56559202923496330062008-01-24T22:50:00.000-08:002008-01-24T22:50:00.000-08:00An internet group calling itself "Anonymous" (not ...An internet group calling itself "Anonymous" (not to confused with posters on this blog) have declared <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbKv9yiLiQ" REL="nofollow">War on Scientology</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-66708584935155040862008-01-24T21:20:00.000-08:002008-01-24T21:20:00.000-08:00Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but it seems to me t...Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but it seems to me that if you start from the distinction I mentioned, you arrive at the "real diff" you wrote about. Someone who tends to put less faith in others will put a greater emphasis on family ties and on like-thinking people: blood's thicker than water and all that. Similarly, someone who puts greater faith in others would tend to vest less importance in those traditional family and community ties.<BR/><BR/>But you're right that the distinction has problems. One of the biggest is that liberals, conservatives, independent thinkers, and whatever other political groups seem all too eager to demonize outsiders, or at least to tag them with a convenient label and then state general "truths" about everyone so tagged. If the left were really more inclusive than the right, I'd expect to hear "right wing nut-job" a lot less often than "liberal hippie" (substitute your favorite terms--there are several scattered through the comments of this blog and most other moderately high traffic ones). But when I tune out the viewpoints and just listen to the labels, I don't hear much difference.False Datahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07901490109393153935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-833236921501238382008-01-24T21:17:00.000-08:002008-01-24T21:17:00.000-08:00Females, overall, value strength, symetrical faces...Females, overall, value strength, symetrical faces and bodies, smells that indicate a good immune system, bright eyes, clear skin, full and shiny hair, and high social status in men. They also value intelligence.<BR/><BR/>Intelligence doesn't trump the rest of it in most cases, and certainly never did, but it's at least around the middle of the list.<BR/><BR/>We wouldn't be here if it was the ONLY thing on the list.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-29372432048327734882008-01-24T18:51:00.000-08:002008-01-24T18:51:00.000-08:00anonymous. Usually when a show runs at 9pm west c...anonymous. Usually when a show runs at 9pm west coast... it has already run at the same time east coast. Only Central has a difference.<BR/><BR/>And yes, women seem to be distracted from their (imputed) earlier fascination with brains. alas! ;-)David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27919606748376059462008-01-24T13:55:00.000-08:002008-01-24T13:55:00.000-08:00reruns: THC, Feb 2nd, 5-7pm (pacific)reruns: THC, Feb 2nd, 5-7pm (pacific)Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-22782783113908365322008-01-24T13:44:00.000-08:002008-01-24T13:44:00.000-08:00"In other words, we may have overshot our direct b..."In other words, we may have overshot our direct brainpower needs, because female humans found it sexy."<BR/><BR/>This seems at odds with the observed inverse correlation between nerdiness and getting laid.<BR/><BR/>And I still have not got a satisfactory explanation for not seeing that show. If it was on at 9pm on the west coast, it should have been on at 6pm here. But the History Channel had something else on at 6pm here too. (It definitely didn't have Life After People anytime from 5pm till after midnight here.) Neither did Discovery, Discovery Civilization, or any of the other clump of edu-channels I get via satellite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10110257692774783542008-01-24T09:52:00.000-08:002008-01-24T09:52:00.000-08:00A Great Piece of Ostrich AmmoSometimes an ostrich ...<B>A Great Piece of Ostrich Ammo</B><BR/><BR/>Sometimes an ostrich needs it in a single whack. This chart shows how GWB's seven years in office have affected the U.S. and shows a comparison with eight years under President Clinton.<BR/><BR/>http://www.dems.gov/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={D68CD0B2-1442-4804-9F6B-AF67DE7FF585}&DE={FDD09C4F-E958 4E13-A92B-179C2FAC6FEA}&Design=PrintViewDavid Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-75343681959829896502008-01-24T09:44:00.000-08:002008-01-24T09:44:00.000-08:00That is a refrain that I have always despised (not...That is a refrain that I have always despised (not your but the messaage you describe) all of my life. People know no history.<BR/><BR/>Yes, the US has stomped around in its role as an imperial-scale power. There is much to atone-for, from banana-republic interventions to Iran in the 1950s-1970s. But we are human beings and humans with power, historically, have thrown it around. The alternatives: chaos, local bickers and wars, are almost never better for the overall number of people than a pax imperium is.<BR/><BR/>And there is no way that any other pax has as large a number of POSITIVE on its balance sheet than Pax Americana. Had Britain and France listened to Wilson, in 1919, Hitler might have been avoided. The fact that we could IMPOSE those values in 1945 gave the world a chance to begin climbing out of its nadir-hell.<BR/><BR/>GOP isolationism in 1935 tried to stay out of any preparation to confront fascism.<BR/><BR/>GOP isolationism in 1945 tried to stay out of a Cold War with the Soviet evil empire (and Reagan was later right about that). But Marshall's plan (merely end-gamed by Reagan) worked. Ask the people of Poland and Estonia whether we should have done nothing!<BR/><BR/>What these bipolar swings, from manic interventionism to depressive isolationism, prove is that even the decent wing of conservatism is largely out of its cotton-pickin' mind.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-17686965535216879282008-01-24T06:49:00.000-08:002008-01-24T06:49:00.000-08:00David Brin wrote: To them, our international unpop...David Brin wrote: <I>To them, our international unpopularity is not proof that we've disappointed our allies and need to lead better. It is proof that the world is un-leadable and we should take our marbles home.</I><BR/><BR/>Do they think the world is ungovernable, or just that the US has clearly demonstrated that it is incapable of doing it?<BR/><BR/>I can't get plants to grow, but that doesn't make me think that gardening is impossible. Just that I can't do it and should not try.<BR/><BR/>And since we are constantly being told that everything the US tries is either intentionally evil (or so screwed up that it works out the same as if it was), wouldn't the whole world be better off if the US did nothing?<BR/><BR/>And no, this isn't something that is due to the current administration's incredibly bad record. Since I first became aware of the larger world in the 1970s I have never heard any variation in the constant claims that the US is responsible for every bad thing in the world. Only the details change to fit current events.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-58650715631683398042008-01-24T00:20:00.000-08:002008-01-24T00:20:00.000-08:00false data, your dichotomy might work... if conser...false data, your dichotomy might work... if conservatism had anything whatsoever to do with boosting genuine free markets. But you'll not find more than a scintilla of anything more than relentless lip service.<BR/><BR/>Stock market value, economic metrics and small business startups always do better under democrats.<BR/><BR/>There is a better correlation with authoritarianism, retro-nostalgia and anti-science. Still, of these there are many lefties who are also nostalgic-retro and authoritarian and - yes - anti-engineering... another color of the same romanticism.<BR/><BR/>The chief diff is that the psychopaths of the right took over their political party and the moderate sane conservatives are too deluded to even fight for it. While the loony psychopaths of the left are not in charge of the Democratic Party, never have been and show no prospect of ever being in charge of it.<BR/><BR/>No. The real diff is this. (I believe) Conservatives nurse a deep skepticism toward expanding the tribal circle of inclusion. They always yearn for loyalties closer to home, self etc. Lefties, otoh, are so devoted to expanding that circle that they often abandon the older fealties prematurely.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3371081754034681702008-01-23T21:55:00.000-08:002008-01-23T21:55:00.000-08:00I like this blog is fantastic, is really good wri...I like this blog is fantastic, is really good written. Congratulation. Do you want to see something more? Read it...: Costa Rica is a country with a extremely sense of freedom. 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Visit us for more info at: <I><B><A HREF="http://www.costa-ricarealestate.com/jaco-bay-organic-landing.html" REL="nofollow" TITLE="http://www.jaco-bay.com/">http://www.jaco-bay.com/</A></B></I>Omar Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02944147038071391777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-63985757790448012502008-01-23T21:38:00.000-08:002008-01-23T21:38:00.000-08:00My company employs both PhDs and guys who dropped ...My company employs both PhDs and guys who dropped out of high school because it got in the way of their education. They're both valued, but it's the PhD that will be picked to go to conferences and write up patents.<BR/><BR/>A good college friend has a PhD in particle physics. He actually had a university research job, working on particle-accelerator detector hardware and software, but it didn't pay the bills. So he gladly took a job with a high tech company started by alumni of the department.<BR/><BR/>* * *<BR/><BR/>One of the few things that History Channel and Discover do well is pick good people to be their talking heads. And I don't say that to be a brown noser! But I agree with Len. Overall the shows are light duty stuff. NOVA does a much better job.<BR/><BR/>For science news, I like:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.sciencedaily.com/" REL="nofollow">http://www.sciencedaily.com/</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-86215521742587399572008-01-23T21:33:00.000-08:002008-01-23T21:33:00.000-08:00Re. the presidential campaign, Long Now has an int...Re. the presidential campaign, Long Now has an interesting <A HREF="http://blog.longnow.org/2008/01/23/election-prediction-markets/" REL="nofollow">article</A> on the <A HREF="http://www.biz.uiowa.edu/iem/markets/Pres08.html" REL="nofollow">Iowa Electronic Market's</A> presidential campaign prediction market. The graphs of midnight closing prices for the various candidates are fascinating. <BR/><BR/>Re. DB's comment about isolationism, I'm sorry I'm not more of a historian: I'd love to be able to compare the social trends towards polarization and isolation today with those in the late 1920's top to mid 1930's.<BR/><BR/>I want to challenge this idea of ostriches, though. Maybe thinking about the U.S.'s isolationism of the late 1920's has me in a funky mood, but I'm concerned that it lumps too many people into a single mold. I'm still mentally feeling my way through this idea, but I think one of the fundamental axes in this whole liberal/conservative debate is how much faith a person is willing to put in others. If someone has little faith in others, he or she might naturally lean towards solutions that harness powerful instincts like greed, which leads towards market-based solutions to problems. On the other hand, someone who puts more faith in others might favor solutions that attempt to optimize overall social welfare beyond the levels achievable by (mostly) rational self-interested actors. <BR/><BR/>Now, it's true there are a lot of people in this world who don't have, or won't expend, the time or energy to do an independent assessment of the facts. But there are also a lot of people who are acting the way they're acting because their life experiences, and the information they've gathered, have led them to a particular assessment of how the people in society around them tend to behave. If someone tends to like market solutions because he or she believes most people act selfishly most of the time, small wonder that person might also lean towards self-reliance and, ultimately, isolationism in the face of what he or she perceives to be a hostile, selfish world.<BR/><BR/>As I said, I'm still playing around with this idea. I'm not quite willing to commit to it yet, but I'm throwing it out there to see if it strikes a chord.False Datahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07901490109393153935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8495304723468939022008-01-23T21:31:00.000-08:002008-01-23T21:31:00.000-08:00It doesn't help that "Life After People" lead into...It doesn't help that "Life After People" lead into a show about underwater UFOs. Everything on the History Channel is dumbed down for a (scientifically) illiterate audience.<BR/><BR/>I keep watching their "The Universe" series, but I've given up on learning anything I didn't know when I was 12, or couldn't find on Wikipedia in five seconds. Even the CGI is amateur looking. I watch it mostly to see Benford explain things, wondering who else I might recognize.<BR/><BR/>Which reminds me, PBS is running the NOVA on galactic center black holes right now - "If you stick your finger down in there, you ain't getting it back."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-21043476180947580952008-01-23T19:17:00.000-08:002008-01-23T19:17:00.000-08:00The best thing to do might be the encourage these ...The best thing to do might be the encourage these excess PhDs to become entrepreneurs. Make their own jobs!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-47728131093400591112008-01-23T18:16:00.000-08:002008-01-23T18:16:00.000-08:00orgon, the articles you cite have a deeply flawed ...orgon, the articles you cite have a deeply flawed premise. Fatally and egregiously flawed. The notion that all PhDs must be targeted at university faculty positions.<BR/><BR/>I have seen this vastly dumb notion all my adult life and it is criminally stupid.<BR/><BR/>A PhD demonstrates that a poerson has dedicated her/himself to a monklike venture in advancing human knowledge somewhere on its periphery. That's it. Both the dedication that showed and the expertise it requires then manifest in a degree that can and should speak volumes about the person to any employer.<BR/><BR/>(It can scream "overqualified!" But that's up to the degree holder to mollify.)<BR/><BR/>Civilization ought to find lots of uses for such people. Many flag officers in the military get PhDs. Many tech industries hire em. Moreover, many are NOT by nature qualified to be college professors and teach!<BR/><BR/>In a world of accelerating change plus vastly increased opportunity for education, we had BETTER offer opportunities for ever-more such people. But I have no problem with some of them becoming taxi drivers.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-75395054008130837842008-01-23T15:56:00.000-08:002008-01-23T15:56:00.000-08:00(from Zorgon the Malevolent, logon kaput)Concernin...(from Zorgon the Malevolent, logon kaput)<BR/><BR/>Concerning SETI:<BR/><BR/>...Would bacteria growing on the underside of a log in the woods find much evidence of human intelligence, however diligently they looked for it? <BR/><BR/>As Arthur C. Clarke has pointed out, other intelligent creatures are probably not going to have civilizations exactly as old as ours, but are much more likely to have civilizations millions or billions of years ahead of ours, resulting in technologies and modes of being we can't even imagine.<BR/><BR/>---------<BR/><BR/>And now (as Monty Python were wont to say) for something complete different:<BR/><BR/>UNIVERSITIES OVERPRODUCE PhDs<BR/><BR/><B>In many fields, there are already too many Ph.Ds awarded for the full-time academic posts available, creating a surplus of likely jobseekers. That pool becomes adjuncts, who command wages and benefits so low that universities find them irresistible hires.<BR/><BR/>"It's not uncommon to have a disconnect like this in higher education, in which people are both concerned about the difficult career prospects being faced by recent Ph.D. graduates and concerned there aren't enough Ph.D. students," said Michael Teitelbaum, of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.<BR/><BR/>The ideas, he said, "often don't get connected. It's puzzling."<BR/><BR/>(..)<BR/><BR/>It's not just humanities. Groups such as the Business Roundtable have grabbed headlines with urgent warnings about the need to ramp up production of American scientists. In fact, Teitelbaum testified to Congress last year, there is no evidence of a shortage of scientists and engineers — particularly on the Ph.D. track.<BR/><BR/>In the life sciences, the U.S. is awarding twice as many doctorates as two decades ago, but has no more faculty jobs, according to one recent study that prompted the journal Nature to editorialize that "too many graduate schools may be preparing too many students." A 1998 National Research Council made much the same warning.<BR/><BR/>Nonetheless, universities keep flooding the academic pipeline. (..)<BR/><BR/>"We have flooded the labor market with Ph.Ds who can't get jobs doing what they've been trained to do," said Cat Warren, a North Carolina State English professor and state American Association of University Professors leader, who recently gave a talk to graduate students at nearby Duke warning them to be realistic. "I think we have to think very hard about that."</B><BR/><BR/>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080120/ap_on_re_us/part_time_profs;_ylt=AlIM1MivyhNK1Z2UyYTBVv8DW7oF<BR/><BR/>The problem is that every study since WW II has shown that if you want to make more money in America, you need a higher level of education. For example, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics studies, "More learning is the key to higher income":<BR/>www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2006/fall/oochart.pdf <BR/><BR/>How do we reconcile these two trends? It's not obvious.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-282918848312750242008-01-23T15:02:00.000-08:002008-01-23T15:02:00.000-08:00...which would explain Powell's silence, maybe.I r......which would explain Powell's silence, maybe.<BR/><BR/>I recall Rove's parting remark that his fondest wish was for Hilary to be the Democrat Presidential candidate.<BR/><BR/>Dan Hind has an interesting article in New Scientist which will strike some chords: <BR/><I><A HREF="http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg19726392.100-perspectives-what-are-the-true-threats-to-reason.html" REL="nofollow">What are the true threats to reason?</A></I><BR/><BR/>He discusses patterns of suppression, skewing and obfuscation of inconvenient research data, and identifies unscrupulous corporations and the state as the biggest threats, well ahead of religious zealotry (which is what he claims reason's main paladins, like Dawkins, are spending too much time on..no mention of our host, though)<BR/><BR/>While he points out 'the monsters in the lighted room', what he does *not* comment on is whether this behaviour is deliberate and orchestrated, or whether it is isolated (but widespread) corporate greed overcoming principles of citizenship to cash in on the moment.<BR/><BR/>Considering our previous discussions of FIBM vs GAR, when applied to 'the dark' I'm not sure which would be a worse form of threat.Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39338369965943101442008-01-23T10:33:00.000-08:002008-01-23T10:33:00.000-08:00Zecharia, we hire presidents to CHECK their facts ...Zecharia, we hire presidents to CHECK their facts or have smart professionals do so. The levels of sheer panic and imminent threat and screeches "here's proof!" mean that W is responsible for every lie. In fact, it's a bit scarier to imagine that he believed his crap.<BR/><BR/>Colin Powell. He is the ghost at the banquet. He slunk away, shamed by the lies they crammed into his mouth. He let us down. Was supposed to be the adult in the room. HE OWES US! Powell knows plenty. He could come forward. He could end the neocon era, shatter Rove's Big Tent, and ensure a transition to better days. If there was ever a time for a man to step forward, this is it.<BR/><BR/>Good pt re geosynchronous sats. Hey, it wasn't "my" show. They put a few of my remarks in. Still, I thought it was fun.<BR/><BR/>Oh, someone wrote in: "ever heard of a stretch of the PA turnpike (I-76) that was bypassed in 1968 and contains 2 tunnels and was essentially left alone for the past 40 years? It looks like a world of life after people are you aware of this place? Try this link: www.abandonedturnpike.com" Forty years later, the concrete looks pretty strong and vegetation-free. <BR/><BR/>Great "next six months" timeline, Mark. I'll add it to http://www.davidbrin.com/ostrich2a.html<BR/><BR/>The Future Is Wild! was way fun and utterly deceitful. Said "scientists believe" dozens of time about future evolution!<BR/><BR/>FUTURE RIFF ALERT: I will post about a growing phenomenon among ostrich republicans. Some are awakening, furious at Bushite imperialism and criminality. They admit it... and that the world now hates us...<BR/><BR/>...and have responded by swinging into traditional isolationism! Like sufferers from bipolar disease, their reaction to this utter manic/imperialist/interventionist debacle is to go utterly depressive and withdraw inside our borders. To them, our international unpopularity is not proof that we've disappointed our allies and need to lead better. It is proof that the world is un-leadable and we should take our marbles home.<BR/><BR/>Instead of restoring the international popularity that is one of the hallmarks of good world leadership (and that Clinton built to unprecedented heights), the new ostrich response is "#$#@! the world!" <BR/><BR/>Watch for this view to start appearing in the press, among GOP leaders and so on. At least as a trial balloon or sop, thrown to give these people an incantatory excuse to hope the NEXT bunch of Republicans might be different... and to vote against Hillary.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-40479434606972224692008-01-23T09:36:00.000-08:002008-01-23T09:36:00.000-08:00"Isn't lying to the public as a means of dragging ..."Isn't lying to the public as a means of dragging the country into a disastrous, expensive war unacceptable, unlawful behavior? ... If conservatives can justify this miserable conduct, why should we take them seriously about anything?"<BR/><BR/>http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/tonkin-g.htmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-50512726703786662762008-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:002008-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees current sci...I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees current science documentaries as dumbed down. Even the much hyped "Mars Rising" was just endless re-showings of the CGI ships and almost no real information about the problems, just rehashes of stuff that is almost common knowledge. It seems if you cannot show a dramatic clip representing some idea, then it isn't worth mentioning.<BR/><BR/>However grumbling about this state of affairs is probably as useless as wanting to see a good news channel.<BR/><BR/>When C. M Kornbluth wrote "The Marching Morons", little did he suspect that while genetics didn't dumb us down, the media corporations would do the job instead.<BR/><BR/>As David Brin expostulates so frequently on this blog, perhaps we really are getting dumber when exposed to so much blather in our social spheres.Alex Tolleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01556422553154817988noreply@blogger.com