Dark Buzz | |||
Natura non facit saltus Debunking the Paradigm Shifters Links Dark Buzz RSS feed Singular Values (unframed) About these blogs
Archives
Jan 2003 Feb 2003 Mar 2003 Apr 2003 May 2003 Jun 2003 Jul 2003 Aug 2003 Sep 2003 Oct 2003 Nov 2003 Dec 2003 Jan 2004 Feb 2004 Mar 2004 Apr 2004 May 2004 Jun 2004 Jul 2004 Aug 2004 Sep 2004 Oct 2004 Nov 2004 Dec 2004 Jan 2005 Feb 2005 Mar 2005 Apr 2005 May 2005 Jun 2005 Jul 2005 Aug 2005 Sep 2005 Oct 2005 Nov 2005 Dec 2005 Jan 2006 Feb 2006 Mar 2006 Apr 2006 May 2006 Jun 2006 Jul 2006 Aug 2006 Sep 2006 Oct 2006 Nov 2006 Dec 2006 Jan 2007 Feb 2007 Mar 2007 Apr 2007 May 2007 Jun 2007 Jul 2007 Aug 2007 Sep 2007 Oct 2007 Nov 2007 Dec 2007 Jan 2008 Feb 2008 Mar 2008 Apr 2008 May 2008 Jun 2008 Jul 2008 Aug 2008 Sep 2008 Oct 2008 Nov 2008 Dec 2008 Jan 2009 Feb 2009 Mar 2009 Apr 2009 May 2009 Jun 2009 Jul 2009 Aug 2009 Sep 2009 Oct 2009 Nov 2009 Dec 2009 Jan 2010 Feb 2010 Mar 2010 Apr 2010 May 2010 Jun 2010 Jul 2010 Aug 2010 Sep 2010 Oct 2010 Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Feb 2011 Mar 2011 Apr 2011 May 2011 Current page Powered by RogBlog
| Monday, Dec 31, 2007
Science acknowledges human biodiversity The Science mag breakthrough of the year 2007 is Human Genetic Variation. The unveiling of the human genome almost 7 years ago cast the first faint light on our complete genetic makeup. Since then, each new genome sequenced and each new individual studied has illuminated our genomic landscape in ever more detail. In 2007, researchers came to appreciate the extent to which our genomes differ from person to person and the implications of this variation for deciphering the genetics of complex diseases and personal traits.7 years ago, those politically correct researchers were claiming that human genome research proved that all people are the same, and not much different from chimps. Humans stopped evolving 50k years ago, they said. It turned out to be not true. People have genetic differences after all. Of course the magazine does not admit that the only people who were surprised by the news are the leftist-atheist-evolutionists who disingenuously claim that teaching evolution promotes their egalitarian ideals. The accompanying editorial finds a way to include a lot of Bush bashing. It says that a strong runner-up was the research that proved that stem cells will continue to available under Pres. Bush's policy of not federally funding embryo destruction: James Thompson of the University of Wisconsin, who did the first research with embryonic stem cells, has now taken a major step toward ending the "ethical" controversy over their use. But hold on: That controversy was generated by specific objections from one religion, not some universal ethic. There is every reason to continue research along the old path, with embryo-derived cells: The new methods may carry unknown liabilities, so making the case for changing Bush's 2001 presidential order should continue.Then it gets even weirder. It claims that Bush somehow covered up the possibility that global warming with cause mental health problems among environmentalists having anxiety about global warming. I wonder if these leftist scientists ever even talk to someone who is not a lying Bush-hater. Sunday, Dec 30, 2007
What I've changed my mind about The online magazine Edge is asking some prominent people the question, "What have you changed your mind about? Why?" The answers are supposed to be posted shortly. I used to think that general relativity and quantum mechanics have some fundamental incompatibility that must be resolved by some unified field theory like string theory. Most theoretical physicists have believed this for 50 years, but no good has ever come from this thinking. There are no incompatibilities at any observable energy level, and no known way to test whether anybody's ideas are good or bad. It is just one of those goofy philosophical problems, like asking whether information can be lost in a black hole. It is not physics. I used to think That Einstein invented relativity theory. I have always believed that Einstein was one of the great scientists of all time, but his most renowned work was actually mostly plagiarized from others. Poincare, Lorentz, Hilbert and others deserve more credit for relativity. I used to think That it is feasible and useful to figure out people's motives. Some of the most evil people in the world have somehow gotten a free pass by convincing people that they have good motives. I have discovered that people are very frequently wrong when then make inferences about the motives of others, and that the inferences are often not useful even when they are correct. I used to think that creationists represented some sort of threat to the scientific establishment. But the creationists are just people with fringe ideas and no influence. Fringe ideas are no threat to science. The mainstream evolutionists who push unscientific ideas are much worse. Maybe I'll get some more ideas when the Edge essays appear. Saturday, Dec 29, 2007
Lawyer wants to redistribute wealth Theodore H. Frank writes: There is a critical distinction between Mitt Romney’s and John Edwards’s wealth. Mr. Romney, as a businessman, made investments that created wealth. Mr. Edwards, as a trial lawyer, made his money through lawsuits that merely took from one pocket and gave to another, and probably destroyed wealth in the process. (Mr. Edwards’s multimillion-dollar medical malpractice verdicts almost certainly hurt the quality of health care in North Carolina.)Excellent point. The Democratic presidential nominee will almost certainly be a lawyer who has never had any executive responsibilities, has never played a leadship role, and has never done anything productive for our economy. The Republican nominee will have far more relevant experience, and will have a proven track record of accomplishments. 1980s covert war in Afghanistan I just watched the new movie Charlie Wilson's War, and the promotional History Channel documentary. It was about American support for the Afghan resistance to the invading Soviet army in the 1980s. The movie has some strange omissions. It showed Congressman Wilson getting drunk the night before a big trip to Afghanistan in which he was going to convince the committee chairman to approve more covert money for the Afghan Mujahideen rebels. But it skipped the story about how he caused a car accident on a bridge on his way home, and should have been charged with hit-and-run driving. Considering that a major theme of the movie was how Wilson improbably succeeded in supporting the Afghans while facing personal scandals, I can't see why they would omit this story. Another major omission was Pres. Ronald Reagan's role. The movie explains how the USA initially supported the Afghans covertly by buy Russian AK-47s and other military equipment from Egypt and other countries, and supplying them thru Pakistan so that the Soviets would not have proof of American involvement. Then it explains how the war was later won by American Stinger missiles that shot down a lot of Soviet aircraft. But it gives the impression that the Stingers were part of the covert war and bought from Egypt or elsewhere. In fact Reagan had to personally approve the Stingers, and he did it over the objections of all the CIA-types who believed that the aid had to concealed from the Soviets. Only the USA had Stingers, and the Soviets would soon know what we were doing. The movie also ends on an odd note. It shows Congressmen debating whether to fund an Afghan school after the war. The point seems to be that if we had only spent a bunch of money re-educating the Afghans after the war, then we might not have had to invade the country in 2001. The argument is wildly speculative and unsupported. The movie looks as if someone made a factual movie, but then some Hollywood producer decided to correct the politics by removing the Reagan scene and tacking on an anti-American message at the end. If you want to watch the story, I would suggest just watching the History Channel version, as it has commentary from the real Charlie Wilson. Thursday, Dec 27, 2007
Bush deplores cowardly acts On 9-11-2001, Pres. Bush said: THE PRESIDENT: I want to reassure the American people that the full resources of the federal government are working to assist local authorities to save lives and to help the victims of these attacks. Make no mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.Now he says: The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy.I don't think that "cowardly act" is the best term here. Brazen act, perhaps. Also Pakistan does not have a democracy, and we don't know the motives of the assassin. Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007
Repressed memory does not exist Harvard Magazine reports on research that there is no such thing as repressed memory, and that fictional use of it is a recent invention: In a recent study, professor of psychiatry Harrison Pope, co-director of the Biological Psychiatry Lab at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, put “repressed memory” to the test of time. He reasoned that if dissociative amnesia were an innate capability of the brain—akin to depression, hallucinations, anxiety, and dementia—it would appear in written works throughout history. In collaboration with associate professor of psychiatry James Hudson, Michael Parker, a professor of English at the U.S. Naval Academy, Michael Poliakoff, director of education programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities, and research assistant Matthew Boynes, Pope set out to find the earliest recorded example of a “repressed memory.”So why do people believe in such a nutty and unfounded idea? Because of the influence of Freudian psychoanalysis, and because Hollywood uses flashbacks as a useful dramatic device. Egypt to copyright antiquities Here is another example of absurd copyright overreach. The UK BBC reports: Egypt's MPs are expected to pass a law requiring royalties be paid whenever copies are made of museum pieces or ancient monuments such as the pyramids.Meanwhile, college students today do not see anything wrong with many forms of copyright infringement. David Pogue is quoted here as saying: I just could not find a spot on the spectrum that would trigger these kids’ morality alarm. They listened to each example, looking at me like I was nuts. Tuesday, Dec 25, 2007
Diamond's theories not well-accepted From a NY Times essay: Jared Diamond’s “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed,” ...My problem with Diamond is that he speaks with such certainty about the behavior of illiterate societies that died out 1000s of years ago. His far-fetched theories are conveniently politically correct, and get widespread praise, but his evidence is thin. Meanwhile, his analysis of recent events is well off the mark. By recent, I mean 20th century USA. He erroneously attributes the success of QWERTY, DOS/Wintel, and VHS to market failure. Sailer comments here. Monday, Dec 24, 2007
Calling for a science debate John Tierney of the NY Times has joined the evolutionist bloggers in calling for a presidential science debate. An impressive array of scientists, academics, politicians and journalists have joined Science Debate 2008, the grass-roots group urging the candidates to have a debate on science and technology.One comment explains the main problem with this idea: From what I have read and heard, there is no point to a debate on any science topic. The candidates, and I mean all of them, are illiterate in science. Why watch posturing when we have more than enough of that already? These people are incapable of any depth greater than a bumper sticker.Most of the evolutionists pushing this idea present it as an opportunity to embarrass candidates with Christian beliefs. But they would all be embarrassed if they had to say something intelligent about science. Another comment says: Candidates should be asked this most fundamental science question. Are you willing to use science as tool to better inform public policy decisions? If not, why? and what will you use to guide your decision-making process if not well-informed science?That is indeed the most fundamental question. Science does not say whether we should send a mission to Mars, fund embryo destruction, impose a carbon tax, or build more nuclear power plants. All science does is to provide better info for those policy decisions. For the most part, it is people like Al Gore who are afraid of a science debate. When asked about contrary views, Al Gore says There are still people who believe that the Earth is flat, ...Pres. Harry S Truman is quoted as saying: If you can't convince them, confuse them. Saturday, Dec 22, 2007
Evolutionism and eugenics To see why evolutionists like to deny that humans are still evolving, see this pro-eugenics article. It argues: 1. Human intelligence is largely hereditary.Eugenics is a bad word. No one wants to deal with this stuff. Water fluoridation is still an issue in California Tap water fluoridation is not a priority of the John Birch Society anymore, according to the LA Times: Today, fluoride isn't among the topics on the John Birch Society's website.The Birch Society is concerned scientists in the United Kingdom believe that women may be evolving as humanity's sole representatives. Water fluoridation does reduce tooth decay, but there is no proof that drinking fluoride is any better than putting it in your toothpaste. The main benefit is to those who do not brush their teeth. And 10% or so of the population suffers some (minor) adverse health effects from too much fluoride. Thursday, Dec 20, 2007
Pope defends hard science x Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.It is now the environmentalists who are pursuing a dogmatic and unscientific ideology. Monday, Dec 17, 2007
Pygmy evolution According to new research, pygmies are short because they die young: African pygmies usually live in forests, and the conventional explanation for their stature has been that it makes it easier for them to move through dense vegetation. There are also two competing explanations: that small bodies keep cool more readily than large ones (pygmyism tends to be a tropical phenomenon) or that pygmies live in places with unreliable food supplies, and their size means they can make do with smaller meals. Sunday, Dec 16, 2007
Huckabee's inspiration to politics CBS News reports, about Mike Huckabee: At 14, he got a job at the local AM radio station, where the station manager, a passionate, deeply conservative Republican, became his first political mentor. Haskell Jones gave Huckabee a copy of Phyllis Schlafly's 1964 book, "A Choice Not an Echo," written in part to promote Barry Goldwater's presidential bid. Schlafly railed against the moneyed East Coast elites who she argued were diluting the Republican Party's core values. Huckabee found the ideas in the book electrifying. Thursday, Dec 13, 2007
Lawyer of the year Former U.S. attorney general Alberto Gonzales is 2007 lawyer of the year. The runners-up are also pretty bad. It is amazing how the traits admired by lawyers are despised by everyone else. Wednesday, Dec 12, 2007
More on evolution speeding up For decades, the leftist-atheist-evolutionists have denied that they were eugenicists. To escape associations with eugenics, they've always claimed that evolution doesn't really apply to humans because humans stopped evolved 50k years ago. They never really had any evidence for that claim, of course. It was as if they didn't really believe in evolution, and only cited evolution when it suited their political purposes. From the LA Times story: The researchers looked for long stretches of DNA that were identical in many people, suggesting that a gene was widely adopted and that it spread relatively recently, before random mutations among individuals had a chance to occur.SciAm says: "Ten thousand years ago, no one on planet Earth had blue eyes," Hawks notes, because that gene —- OCA2 -— had not yet developed. "We are different from people who lived only 400 generations ago in ways that are very obvious; that you can see with your eyes."Just a few days ago, I heard Craig Venter plugging his new book, and he claimed that we do not have the technology to look at someone's DNA and determine whether or not he has blue eyes. Venter is a leading authority on DNA, so I am not sure who is right. But if this new paper is correct, then much of what you have been taught about human evolution is wrong. Tuesday, Dec 11, 2007
Researchers: Human Evolution Speeding Up AP Science Writer reports: Science fiction writers have suggested a future Earth populated by a blend of all races into a common human form. In real life, the reverse seems to be happening. People are evolving more rapidly than in the distant past, with residents of various continents becoming increasingly different from one another, researchers say.Also, in Wired: "We're more different from people 5,000 years ago than they were from Neanderthals," said study co-author and University of Utah anthropologist Henry Harpending.This is contrary to a lot of evolutionist dogma. Saturday, Dec 08, 2007
Recording proves cop lied Here is a cop who wishes he told the truth: Recording Nets Charges for NY DetectiveThis is a good thing. People who act in an official govt capacity to take away people's rights ought to be monitored. And when they lie about what they are doing, they should be held accountable. Freddy Hill writes: Instead of the marriage ammendment and a few other stupid constitutional proposals out there, I'd suggest an ammendment to the effect that any citizen has the right to record the words and visual interactions of any representative of the state, at any time, for no reason whatsoever. It rings like a 21st century complement to the 2nd ammendment, doesn't it?I'd vote for that amendment. We are not so similar to chimps Ever hear evolutionists argue that humans are 99% the same as chimps? I am not sure what that was really supposed to prove, but the argument is made frequently, and it is wrong. I just heard J. Craig Venter plugging his new book that human differ from each other by 2% of the DNA, and chimps differ by as much as 5 or 6%. Friday, Dec 07, 2007
Human evolution is speeding up PhysOrg.com reports: Researchers discovered genetic evidence that human evolution is speeding up - and has not halted or proceeded at a constant rate, as had been thought - indicating that humans on different continents are becoming increasingly different. "We used a new genomic technology to show that humans are evolving rapidly, and that the pace of change has accelerated a lot in the last 40,000 years, especially since the end of the Ice Age roughly 10,000 years ago," says research team leader Henry Harpending, a distinguished professor of anthropology at the University of Utah.The site has now blocked this story, and says that it will be back on Monday. Sunday, Dec 02, 2007
Comparing psychoanalysis to astrology Randy writes, in response to this: If you are really interested in knowing whether psychoanalysis is "an ongoing movement and a living, evolving process" or a "desiccated and dead, historical artifcact" I would suggest consulting the yellow pages of your local phone book, since the public tends to vote with their wallet. Based on your coordinates, that would be the yellow pages of Santa Cruz, CA. I count 135 Psychotherapists in the yellow pages of Santa Cruz, Ca. That does not include psychologists who practise psychotherapy.In Santa Cruz, we also have astrologers in the yellow pages. Astrology and psychoanalysis are based on principles that are known to be false. There have been many many attempts to scientifically prove that these fields have merit, and they have failed. But that doesn't stop people from spending money. People spend money on all sorts of foolish things. |