The Howling

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Intelligence II

I had thought to just start writing...mainly a rant, I suppose, on how sometimes I seem to have to simply get away from both TV (I’ve started talking to it now) and the Internet. The main reason being that, from my perspective, it becomes pointless. Obviously, it’s pointless to talk back to the TV, other than a momentary flash of emotional satisfaction, but often online becomes, if possible, even more frustrating because you can explain things to people online, and yet so few seem to understand or even care. Sometimes I scold myself too, because I should know better. I DO know better, at least I think I do. I think I know that relatively few people are highly intelligent or ever will be, for the same basic reason that no midget will ever grow to six feet tall. After all, 100 is said to be the average or “mean” IQ. Yes, I know there are many problems with the standardized IQ tests...still, have you ever tried to have a deep philosophical or scientific conversation with someone whose IQ is 100?

That reminded me of this boy I heard about in the news.
"The boy wonder, who taught himself calculus, algebra, geometry and trigonometry in a week, is now tutoring fellow college classmates after hours. And now Jake has embarked on his most ambitious project yet - his own 'expanded version of Einstein's theory of relativity'."

Has an IQ of 170, higher than that of Einstein, and WAY higher than mine. Indisputably a genius. I’m not quite certain exactly what calculus even IS, much less anything substantial about it. I suppose I might learn all about it if I had sufficient motivation to do so. But if it doesn’t come easily and naturally, where might such motivation come from?

He was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, said to be a mild form of autism. Apparently a bit of a savant regarding maths and physics, even though he apparently doesn’t seem to have any trouble getting along in general with other people...aside from the fact that his thinking is way above that of almost everyone else. I am very curious about his thoughts on things that are not not directly related to maths and physics...would he be a genius, in my opinion, if I heard his views on life after death, moral philosophy, etc.? Aside from fields in which advanced knowledge of mathematics is a must, how does one measure intelligence or genius? Were Freud and Jung in the genius category? Robert G. Ingersoll?

Reasons are abundant why I might be a bit of a ‘social outcast’ in most circumstances, everything from appearance to atheism. In most gatherings I would be in, such as family get-togethers, I get on just fine. I mainly keep quiet unless I see an opening to interject a bit of humor. There is certainly no discussion of politics or religion...I have never been in a “natural" social group in which doing that would not result in police and doctors. By “natural”, I mean a group I might normally be expected to be in, such as a family thing, rather than some freethought or atheist group meeting. The talk at such events is hunting, fishing, work, maybe sports like NASCAR or football (though you have to be careful with NASCAR because it appears to be a love it or hate it kind of thing). MY thoughts tend to be some of the things I mentioned in a previous blog...latest news from science and technology; growing a human ear on the back of a mouse; discussing what might be a marker beyond which we could say with certainty, “that ‘machine’ is intelligent”. Luckily for me I do find some people online with whom I can talk about such things...so far I have yet to meet such a person...in person.

Naturally Jacob (the genius boy mentioned above) is something of a celebrity now, but if I were to encounter such a person, I wonder if I could have a meaningful conversation with them about physics? I think I could as long as we talked about the conclusions drawn, the meanings, and didn’t get into calculations and equations...if we did that I’d be lost and have no idea what’s going on...you might as well be speaking Hebrew or Klingon to me.

Is there a similar distinction or translation needed between “spiritual” people and “hard-nosed scientific atheists” in order to have any understanding? Or is it closer to trying to get a person with an IQ of 50 to understand Jacob’s maths? Here’s a thing I wonder...do people who were born blind ever see any colors in their dreams?

Where do you “go” when you are put under anesthesia which renders you totally unconscious? What’s the difference between a person who genuinely wonders what the answer to that is, and a person who thinks it is a dumb question because the answer is so obvious? Why do so many people ignore the ‘U’ in UFO and instantly assign it an extraterrestrial identity? Why do so many people ignore the ‘near’ in Near Death Experience? Why do more than 80 percent of Americans ‘believe in the soul’ according to some sources? Is it a similar thing to my not being able to understand a blackboard full of equations with symbols I have never even seen before?

An irony...when I was publishing my little 'newsletter’, for lack of a better description, that I called SOAR, I had roughly 50 to 60 people who paid money to subscribe. Presumably virtually all of them read most of it. Like everyone else online, I now have access to instant and global publishing...and far fewer readers.

I might enjoy raising this kid...at least I could turn him off when I’ve had enough. Milo the virtual boy.

Why do so many people, even some scientists, see an “us vs them” future scenario between humans and AI’s or cyborgs? Why can they not see that we will BE the cyborgs?

There is a rare delusional disorder called Capgras. You can BlogThis!Share to X Share to Facebook Share to Pinterest

Monday, March 28, 2011

Pharaoh's Army

Sometime if you have nothing better to do and have a little curiosity about th “Civil War”, you might check this one out. It’s called Pharaoh’s Army. A very small but extremely realistic slice of life from that time. Apologies for the sacrilegious commercialism in it.

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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Bio-engineering

Here’s a look at where we are in bio-engineering...make a robo-rat; mouse grow human ear on it; brain of lamprey eel used to power a cart; individual neurons from rat brains self-aggregate to form living, organic computer chips; living moths and beetles wired with cameras and mics to keep an eye on you; glow-in-the-dark puppies...and people; purple people, green people, etc. It's a Brave New World.

TRB

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Saved!

I got saved today....from yardwork that is. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Melinda insisted we needed to mow lawn (we do) since it was a sunny afternoon. I put gas in mower, got it started and handed it over to her (what...I’m opposed to work, remember). Shortly, the storehouse of heaven opened and LO! there was deluge...even pounded a few of my believing gay friends nearby with hail stones. Set off the tornado warning sirens. Spared the poor benighted atheist though.

Found this on the Opinion page of the LaGrange Daily News:

"Dear Editor:

I was recently discussing world views with a friend, and he said he needed God as a foundation for morality. I made him an offer which would confirm or destroy his theory. I told him to awake tomorrow with a decision to be an atheist for just one day, and see if he had an urge to run out and start killing people. My friend may or may not try the experiment, but you can certainly try it.

If you do, will you find that you automatically start running red lights and speeding? Probably not. It appears that those folks with the little fishes on their cars already have a monopoly on that. You may find that without threats of eternal torture, you are the same good old you as before. You may even find that you really are a civilized human without any need for bribes to do what you know is right. Give it a try. I triple-dog dare you.

Mike Smith
Lakeshore Drive, LaGrange"

I have no idea who Mike Smith is but I gotta look that feller up, seeing as he’s in my town.

Got a brand new computer yesterday. It’s only a loaner though. Have to send my old one yet again for a new power supply (still under warranty). I’m making sure some wacked stuff gets downloaded on it for whoever rents it next (drumroll....) atheist stuff bwhahahaha. Gotta gets me a battery backup with guarantee they replace your whole computer if it gets fried. Maybe this one. Also downloaded IE9 on here...I like it so far...seems faster than previous editions.

Got a postcard in the mail today for an event next month at Faith Baptist Church here. Apparently an Easter thing. Only costs $5 in advance, but no kids under 5 allowed so it might be one of those ‘adult’ things, ya never know. Think I’ll check it out, I haven’t been to one of those since I played a wandering Jew in our church production about 20 years ago.

I hear they might release John Hinckley soon. Repubs apparently getting desperate to get rid of Obama. I’m sure Hillary is done, wouldn’t want to be Prez now if they handed it to her. She don’t even want to be Sec. of State after this term. Wonder if she knows something....about Hinckley? Dairy Queen here had a regular metal sign since forever. They posted a notice on it that folk should take pictures if they wanted. It got replaced by one of those fancy computer signs that change. I didn’t get a pic :(.

Saturday evenings are boring without Rachel. Here’s something...

"NAGPUR: A city with a population of more than 35 lakhs, but only 500 seemed to have woken up to the reality of Earth Hour. A little more than 500 people from Orange City shut their bulbs, fans, TVs, computers, etc to observe Earth Hour on Saturday at 8.30pm.”Source.

A lakh is 100,000. Good deal. I applaud. We don’t need to save energy, that’s total BS. We have more energy than we could use in a million years. Y’all don’t buy into the “earth hour” propaganda please.

TRB

Friday, March 25, 2011

Taters

We live in Groundhog Day see, only most of it takes a lot more than a day to get back round again. But we do live in a cyclical place. Consider:

From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli.

We fight our country’s battles in the air, on land and sea.

First to fight for right and freedom, and to keep our honor clean;

We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine.

Know what that is? Part of the Marine Corps Hymn, of course, which wikipedia says is "the oldest official song in the United States military". Specifically, that "Shores of Tripoli" line refers to stuff as far back as 1805. And now, TADA! back we are... on the shores of Tripoli. Source.

Stuff I watched lately...

The Badge

Billy Bob Thornton is a Louisiana sheriff with a crazy, alcoholic dad who runs around with Indian feathers on his head shooting at stuff, ex-wife (Sela Ward), and a gay brother (Thomas Hayden Church) that he ran out of town (in order to get elected). Now he has to investigate the murder of a transgender "freak" with nice tits and a big pecker. Patricia Arquette is the "wife" of the "freak".

Survivors

The best way to describe this is, think The Stand, British version, sans supernatural aspects. Really enjoyed watching two seasons of the series over two evenings without any commercials. Good show but if such programs are meant to be really accurate representations of "regular people", my biggest problem would be surviving the group, never mind the virus/kidnappers/aliens, etc.

Taters...

You take a dinner platter (for the 'triple' serving) and lay out a bed of cooked hash browns. Add sliced jalapenos, chopped onions, slices of tomatoe (or diced), sliced mushrooms, chunks of diced ham, cover that with melted cheese, dump on a couple ladles of white country gravy, then a couple ladles of hot chili, and you have what is known in Waffle House parlance as hashbrowns 'all the way' or scattered, smothered, covered, chunked, diced, peppered, capped, topped, country. That was supper.

Some folks like to "eat healthy". I say that's cool for them. For me, the primary purpose of eating is pleasure (fueling is secondary). If the primary goal cannot be fulfilled, the secondary goal becomes moot. Many folks in the life extension field stress that lowering calorie intake is the best way yet known to extend life. I say science is falling down on the friggin' job in this case. If that be true, then prepare me casket. I flatly refuse to ever "eat healthy" or cut calories, etc. I say it's the job of science to find ways around such things. Organs can be grown, and quickly. Of course the best thing would be to completely dispense with these ridiculous animal meat bodies altogether...but that will take a very long time, because of the dumb factor in humans.

You might be surprised at the number of folk who would say something like, "But what about all the pleasures of life; all the visual beauty, the tender touch, the soul-enriching music, the smell of bacon, the taste of vanilla, etc." *sigh* No dear, you do not need a body to experience all these things to the fullest...experience is something that takes place within the brain. All the sensory receptors are just that - receptors. In the case of eyes, we can make "eyes" or receptors far superior to any grown "naturally"; eyes that sense in all light wavelengths, X-ray, ultraviolet; telescopic, microscopic, etc. The same can basically be applied to all the other senses. "But I want to feel the joy of running on a beach". Again, the experience is within the brain. But if you want a body, why not have one that can fly at supersonic speeds, soar above the atmosphere without being harmed by lack of oxygen, can crawl along the 7-mile deep Mariana Trench in the Pacific ocean without worrying about the hydrostatic pressure. Ask yourself...is your imagination really as limited as your body is? Remind yourself...no tool humans have every used, ever existed without first being imagined.

Some folk say "you want the world handed to you on a platter" as though that were a bad thing. DUH! Of course I do, with melted cheese added please. Some folk call me lazy in what they think is a derisive kind of way; some folk think it virtuous to work hard. I'm all for anyone working hard who wants to...for me I'll gladly pass on that "virtue" in favor of enjoying my life. I think it a mark of high intelligence to do as little "work" as possible, while enjoying as much in life that is wonderful as possible. I wish all people thought like that. I think it is far beneath the dignity of any person to "work" at anything, unless they do it purely for their own pleasure. To me the notion of doing something for the purpose of "making money" or for "making a living" is extremely insulting.

You might note that in my previous blog, photobucket pulled one image, saying it violated terms of service. The pic is a woman's tits, in a bra, going round and round. So, photobucket's position re tits is: up and down - ok, side to side - ok, round and round - sorry that's too perverted, lol.

I'm seriously considering getting myself some traditional African or Arabic clothing...no, not a kilt I promise, more like a caftan or dishdasha. This pants with belt thing is getting old, especially the belt part. But without the belt the pants fall off and that's a horror no one wants. Solution....find a way wear both a beard and a mumu in public in the South without getting lynched...AHA! A dishdasha!

Did you ever think that "web log" hasn't turned out to be what it was probably meant to be? What's a log? Pilot's log, trucker's log, etc., usually means a detailed accounting of the day's activities. Some blogs may be like that but it now sounds more like tweets; "cutting my toenails now...oohh there's toejam!" Maybe not many folk thought regular people would write articles about current events, etc.

Ok, I'll go watch a documentary now.

TRB

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Earthquakes

(Shamelessly stolen from various websites...hey, it's my birthday blog, lol.)

ATTN Scientists:

It is a very good thing to communicate scientific principles and explanations to the laity. However, you must remember that most of them view the world differently than you do...so you have to speak their language. Here's an example...aside from the nuclear (and you should stress that the word is NOT nucular) power plant problems in Japan, suppose you want to explain something about the earthquake that created the whole problem, and the aftershocks...were the fault movements oscillatory or trepidatory? How to explain the difference? In "scientist mode" you might mention seismic waves, tectonic plates, or show something like this.

The laity enjoys visual aids, though I doubt this message would compute to most people. However, if you use THEIR language (think Larry the Cable Guy explains earthquakes) to explain these movements, they will pay more attention and understand....

This is a trepidatory earthquake - an up and down movement.

This is an oscillatory earthquake - a side to side movement.

This is a combination of the two.

Know your audience.

TRB

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Intelligence?

This is a Sunday Temy blog and y'all know what that means, right? Nah, me neither, but we can be fairly sure it'll be a rambling, diarrhea-of-the-keyboard, stream-of-consciousness, kind of thing, hopefully with at least a gem or two if you're willing to dig deep enough. Before I get too far afield or into the quicksand... I was having an IM chat with a friend earlier and I mentioned how sometimes I get frustrated writing blogs because you can explain all day, every day - theoretically - to righties why socialism is a good thing (according to Einstein) and to lefties why there should not be such restrictive gun laws and non of them ever seem to get it...any more that explaining to religious folk why atheism is true doesn't result in hoards of former Christians, Muslims, Jews, et al, wanting to know more.

She mentioned how a friend had posted on FB comparing FB to an asylum and we users as patients. She told her FB is much better than asylum cuz if you poke someone or write on walls in asylum you get put in isolation. (I look around me and think, in my case, the analogy may be more apt.) She allowed as to how it might be a case of the lunatics running the asylum and I averred I had a disquieting notion maybe only the lunatics have the brains to run an asylum. Which brings us back around, just to the left of the quicksand, in mentioning that Hitler (or at least the regime) had some good ideas, though for absurd reasons. In case you might possibly be a newbie to this blogging thing, there ain't many ways to get verbally crucified quicker by some lefties than saying Hitler had a good idea, or liking yer Rebel flag or defending the right keep and bear arms. Not many ways to avoid that kind of crucification (smarter Christians don't like the term "crucifiction") from righties if you mention you are an atheist or think socialism should rule the day. So...just why is it you can explain 'X' and back it up with science, empirical facts, etc. and it almost never seems to change anyone's mind?

For example, I have often asked believers in God or gods what would convince them no such thing(s) exist and, surprisingly often, an honest answer to that pops up: "Nothing". On the other hand, you'd have to look a while (though it can be done) to find an atheist who would answer that there is "nothing" that could convince them that a God or gods exist. The usual answer is that credible evidence would do it. For the majority of god believers, "evidence" seems to have about as much value as a fresh can of smegma to the question. Others though, have an evidence bent and typically use bent evidence to support the claims.

My friend Jordan Se. (an appellative he assigns himself to mean 'self-educated') claims to be a former atheist who now describes himself as a 'fundamentalist libertarian Christian', leans heavily on 'evidence' and has read (and debated) extensively the works of many atheist and religious scholars. When pressed, he insists that the resurrection is the single most compelling piece of evidence he sees that God exists and is real. To people who take such arguments seriously, on either side, this basic position is sometimes known as LLL or "liar, lunatic or Lord", popularized in Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Although the 'LLL' is an amazingly weak argument, logically speaking, if given only those three possibilities, which do you pick? For most atheists the obvious answer will apply equally well to the biblical Jesus and David Koresh... either or both 'liar and lunatic'? For most Christians the obvious!? answer is Lord. A big question is just what is it in the brains that causes the difference between these 'choices'? How many understand that there are other possible choices besides these three? Maybe there was no Jesus, maybe there were many Jesuses, maybe alien beings used extremely advanced technology to resurrect Jesus, etc.

Define intelligence. If you check that link you see that ain't easy and if you simply look around you you see it's damn close to impossible. What does it mean to be intelligent? Can non-humans be intelligent? What about Watson, the computer that beat not one but two of the best players Jeopardy ever had? Could YOU beat either of those guys in Jeopardy? I'm assuming you're honest enough to say no...does, that mean Watson is more intelligent than you? But then, could Watson understand the nuances of the sentence "I shot an elephant wearing my pajamas", or what such a sentence even exists?

What's the difference between "the real world" and...anything else? The externally verifiable or objective world and the purely sensed internal or subjective world? The "everyday" world of human existence or the subatomic or quantum world? Why do most people think "spirits" can and do exist, while millions of others think they cannot? How far within the "common consensus" does a thing have to be, in order to be accepted as true? If you put all the people in the world who genuinely believe the earth is flat (or seriously question it) on one side of the scale and all other people on the other side, which weighs more? If you put all the people in the world who genuinely believe in anything "supernatural" on one side and all the people who say that's ridiculous on the other, which weighs more? Which is more likely to be right? Is 'number of believers' a factor in whether or not a thing is true? How can you determine what should or should not be considered as "evidence" for a thing?

Some people consider a statement to be profound, while others, say, "Huh?" Example: "Everyone dies alone." Profound or not? If we mean that all people who die are alone when they do, obviously that is not true. Tens of thousands died at virtually the same instant in Hiroshima. If we mean that no one else can have your experience of dying...so what? No one else can have your experience of getting a haircut...or eating supper. No one can experience what it's like for YOU to get a haircut or can eat YOUR supper. Is this profound?

Most ants lay down invisible hormone (scent) trails to lead other ants to the food source. Other ants "interpret" this trail and get to the food. How does this differ from saying, "A train 'interprets' the track it is on and gets to its destination"? Could either the ants or the trains suddenly decide, "Screw the trail (or track), I'll go where I please"? If society has laid down 'tracks' on which you must run, to what degree do you personally have the capacity to refuse to run on them? What might happen if a "rogue" ant (or train) went his own way? What might happen to you if you did? Is it more "intelligent" to follow the path or break away and try to make your own path?

Who is smarter, Mr. Spock or Mr. Data? Which is the superior being? Why? If you were going to be someone else, would you rather be one of them... or Q? When Captain Kirk said at Mr. Spock's funeral, "Of my friend, I can only say this...of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most...Human", was he being racist? Xenophobic? Disrespectful? Would Watson know the answer?

Ima have a sammich now.

TRB

P.S. Never mind Watson, are you smarter than the girl on "The Young Turks"?