Climate models suck - It's the programming
in [Cobol]
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From: HeyBub on 20 Jan 2010 17:39 Pete Dashwood wrote: > > I wonder how many people still think it holds true? I knew a very > sweet girl in Dallas, Texas (we dated for a short time) who was > gentle and kind and honest. I found to my horror that she actually > believed negroes were an inferior race, like cattle, and it was the > bounden duty of white folks to care for them and benefit from their > labour. This was not 200 years ago; it was in the early 1980s. When I > asked her why she believed this she said:"It's in the Bible". I > pressed gently for Chapter and Verse and she said her father had told > her this and "Daddy never lies about the Bible". This was NOT an evil > family; they were normal, law-abiding, decent folk. But there was an > ingrained, handed-down, bigotry, that was wrapped in religion. > The experience chilled me. > > Reading your post above, I can see the roots of her family's attitude. > > How do you change people's minds about this? How long does it take? It's difficult. It's difficult because man is a "pack animal" and is compelled innately to be a member of a group. The need, nay, the necessity, to belong to a herd is what drives devotees of Manchester United to do silly things, it explains nationalism, religious extremism, and maybe even stamp collecting. People who hate Negros will root for them nevertheless if they are players on the home team. Descendants of both Irish Catholics and Irish Protestants will defend each other when sharing a foxhole. The urge to bond and defend your group against all others is a survival mechanism and deeply ingrained in the lizard brain. It cannot be denied. The best that can be done is to bend it to a larger group and an example of that is the military where all races serve in (mostly) harmony. Of course the faggots better not try to join...
From: Pete Dashwood on 20 Jan 2010 22:47 docdwarf(a)panix.com wrote: > In article <7ro791Fsd3U1(a)mid.individual.net>, > Pete Dashwood <dashwood(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote: >> docdwarf(a)panix.com wrote: >>> In article <gLmdnT37kbeSMMjWnZ2dnUVZ_q-dnZ2d(a)earthlink.com>, >>> HeyBub <heybub(a)NOSPAMgmail.com> wrote: > > [snip] > > >> This was NOT an evil family; they were normal, law-abiding, decent >> folk. But there was an ingrained, handed-down, bigotry, that was >> wrapped in religion. >> >> The experience chilled me. > > E'en more bloodcurdling, Mr Dashwood, might be to remember that there > seem to be more folks who hold to such opinions than to the ones you > espouse... and by the Laws of Democracy that makes them Right, no? > No, Democracy gives you the right to be wrong. I believe it is a right we should protect above all things. You can hold an opinion and speak about it (as long as we have Free Speech) and, by doing that, you may even change some minds. No matter how odious to me personally your opinion might be, I would defend vigourously your right to hold it and express it. That's why I believe Democracy, while not being a perfect form of Government, is the only one that guarantees freedom. And that, in passing, is the main reason I value this forum :-) >> >> Reading your post above, I can see the roots of her family's >> attitude. >> >> How do you change people's minds about this? How long does it take? > > I do not change minds, Mr Dashwood... I'se jes' a COBOL-codin' fool. That's a cop out. Before being a COBOL codin' fool you are a part of the society that permits you to be a COBOL codin' fool.. If you want to continue being a COBOL codin' fool you need to ensure that the society which allows it, continues to allow it, and that may require changing some minds... :-) (You might even change your own mind...in a Democracy you have the same rights as everybody else... :-)) .. > Some say the answer is found in early-age education, as pointed out > in the musical play/film 'South Pacific' (see 'You've Got to be > Carefully Taught')... > Yes, I remember your previous post on this. It is excellent. Pete. -- "I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything."
From: Pete Dashwood on 20 Jan 2010 22:58 HeyBub wrote: > Pete Dashwood wrote: >> >> I wonder how many people still think it holds true? I knew a very >> sweet girl in Dallas, Texas (we dated for a short time) who was >> gentle and kind and honest. I found to my horror that she actually >> believed negroes were an inferior race, like cattle, and it was the >> bounden duty of white folks to care for them and benefit from their >> labour. This was not 200 years ago; it was in the early 1980s. When I >> asked her why she believed this she said:"It's in the Bible". I >> pressed gently for Chapter and Verse and she said her father had told >> her this and "Daddy never lies about the Bible". This was NOT an evil >> family; they were normal, law-abiding, decent folk. But there was an >> ingrained, handed-down, bigotry, that was wrapped in religion. >> The experience chilled me. >> >> Reading your post above, I can see the roots of her family's >> attitude. How do you change people's minds about this? How long does it >> take? > > It's difficult. It's difficult because man is a "pack animal" and is > compelled innately to be a member of a group. > > The need, nay, the necessity, to belong to a herd is what drives > devotees of Manchester United to do silly things, it explains > nationalism, religious extremism, and maybe even stamp collecting. > > People who hate Negros will root for them nevertheless if they are > players on the home team. Descendants of both Irish Catholics and > Irish Protestants will defend each other when sharing a foxhole. That is a beautifully expressed paragraph. > > The urge to bond and defend your group against all others is a > survival mechanism and deeply ingrained in the lizard brain. Not sure about that. Lizards are not gregarious... :-) I think it might have more to do with raising children, where there is more safety in numbers. The more like-minded adults around, the better chance the young have of surviving. > It > cannot be denied. The best that can be done is to bend it to a larger > group and an example of that is the military where all races serve in > (mostly) harmony. > Of course the faggots better not try to join... :-) Jerry, I generally enjoy your posts and appreciate your wry humour, and comon sense, even if I don't always agree with your position. This is a very nice piece of writing. Thanks for posting it. Pete. -- "I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything."
From: Charles Hottel on 20 Jan 2010 23:06 >> "Pete Dashwood" <dashwood(a)removethis.enternet.co.nz> wrote in message >> > Actually, Charlie, I'm a bit disappointed with Kurzweil. > > The guy is certainly brilliant but some of this "GNR" technology is simply > not being delivered. He claims Mitsubishi have a patent for nanotechnology > and have had working nanobots for over 10 years now. > > Yet people are still having to donate blood to keep kids alive and > arteriosclerosis is still life threatening, when nanobots could be > cleaning up our arteries and doing the general job of blood. I can't see > whether the technology is being suppressed by the God Squad or "commercial > interests", but either way it is long overdue... > > I have a friend who has nine stents keeping him alive. He has to inject > himself with insulin and some other medication 4 times a day. > Nanotechnology could completely transform his life, but where is it? > > Stem cell research is being stifled by religious convictions, 40 percent > of Americans believe the world was created by God within the last 10,000 > years (in some countries this belief is even higher), it just looks like > Science is losing the battle and Reason is being supplanted by Darkness. > > Some days I'm actually glad to be old... > > Pete. > -- > "I used to write COBOL...now I can do anything." > I posted this because I think Kurzweil is at least worth listening to. I am sure he has studied this more than I have. No one predicting the future is going to be right all of the time. From his 'Singularity" book I rather expect more results coming out from biotechnology before we get results from nanotechnology, though some overlap will occur. I receive the KurzweilAI.net Daily Newsletter and while it is difficult to keep up with all the research advances, I have noticed regular claims of improvement in solar cell efficiency. I am not saying he is right or that he is wrong, which is why I am not responding to HeyBub. I have no interest in defending Kurzweil and arguing with HeyBub is pointless anyway. I have not heard the claims about Mitsubishi, but if it is true, the only reason I can think of, for them not delivering the technology, would be because there is somehow more money (profit) in not releasing it. This seems counterintuitive because that technology is certain to be a big money maker. I am sure your friend would be willing to pay a lot to be restored to good health even if he had to spend some portion of those extra years working to pay off the cost. Stem cell research has been slowed but progress is still being made and ways are being found that do not require fetal stem cells. The earth used to be flat and also the center of the universe but some progress has been made. Actually since everthing in the universe came out of a volume smaller than an atom I guess some argument could be made that everything everywhere is (was) the center of the universe. I am sure it is warmer there than here so go outside and enjoy the sun and have a cool drink or anything else that might cheer you up.
From: HeyBub on 21 Jan 2010 10:52
Pete Dashwood wrote: >> >> It's difficult. It's difficult because man is a "pack animal" and is >> compelled innately to be a member of a group. >> >> The need, nay, the necessity, to belong to a herd is what drives >> devotees of Manchester United to do silly things, it explains >> nationalism, religious extremism, and maybe even stamp collecting. >> >> People who hate Negros will root for them nevertheless if they are >> players on the home team. Descendants of both Irish Catholics and >> Irish Protestants will defend each other when sharing a foxhole. > > That is a beautifully expressed paragraph. >> >> The urge to bond and defend your group against all others is a >> survival mechanism and deeply ingrained in the lizard brain. > > Not sure about that. Lizards are not gregarious... :-) > > I think it might have more to do with raising children, where there > is more safety in numbers. The more like-minded adults around, the > better chance the young have of surviving. > >> It >> cannot be denied. The best that can be done is to bend it to a larger >> group and an example of that is the military where all races serve in >> (mostly) harmony. >> Of course the faggots better not try to join... > > :-) > > Jerry, I generally enjoy your posts and appreciate your wry humour, > and comon sense, even if I don't always agree with your position. > > This is a very nice piece of writing. Thanks for posting it. > As for "lizard brain," I meant the Limbic System. As we know, the Limbic System is responsible for the four "F's": Fight, Flight, Feeding, and Reproduction. And you're correct about the "safety/strength in numbers." If there is a switch in the brain somewhere that got flipped once upon a time to encourage group bonding, that bonding would prove evolutionarily beneficial; The "switch" would stand a better chance of being passed on than the "loner" switch. Consider dogs. Dogs are pack animals and the survival of the "pack" works best when all the members simultaneously attack the prey or the enemy. (That's why yappy lap dogs get gobbled up by 'gators in Florida so easily - damned pooches run right up to the reptile's mouth and try to bark the one-ton lizard into submission. Zip! Right down the hatch. The dogs can't help it - they were wired that way.) In my view, an awful lot of human inclinations can be laid at the doorstep of biology. |