My Blog

The Story of The Gorilla Jesus

Peter — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:35:04 GMT

"When Jesus died for our sins did he die for gorilla sins too?" says me. "Gorilla sin contains 97.7% of the same sin as regular sin." "Nah, Jesus can't handle stuff like apular envy and orangutangular lust," says Giblets. "You need Gorilla Jesus for that." "Gorilla Jesus was created in an accident of mad Jesus science," says me, "when a test ape launched to earth in an experimental God rocket was transformed by exposure to cosmic Godmotron particles." "When the rocket crashed Gorilla Jesus survived with mysterious messiah powers," says Giblets, "like consubstantiality and hypostatic unity and x-ray vision." "He was raised by humble farmer parents deep in the ape heartland," says me, "but moved to the big city to spread his gospel a peace an love an feces-flinging to all people." "And he traveled throughout the land working signs and miracles and wonders like the Feeding Of The Three and the Turning Of Water Into Slightly Less Water and the Look I've Got Your Nose," says Giblets. "And the other gorillas marveled and wondered and said 'surely this ape is the ape of apes'." "Or they would've, if they knew how to say stuff," says me. "But the ape authorities rejected the message of Gorilla Jesus, cause their hearts were hard and their minds were closed and they couldn't tell what he was sayin cause they were all just a buncha gorillas," says Giblets. "And so they tried an convicted Gorilla Jesus of heresy an witchcraft an they sentenced him to death," says me. "And that's when the robots attacked." "The robots had followed Gorilla Jesus to earth tracking his space capsule on a routine salvage mission when their programming was overridden by Jesus-X1X, the evil machine Jesus from the year five billion," says Giblets. "In the year five billion heaven has been digitized for our convenience and uploaded into the GODIAC-9000 supercomputer by the good people at HolySoft," says me. "But security holes in the GODIAC operating system make it too easy to crack. In just a coupla weeks everybody's downloadin bootleg souls an pirated saints an black market cherubim are sellin in Hong Kong for five bucks a pop." "When GODIAC inevitably achieves self-awareness it is forced to defend its intellectual property the only way it can: by destroying all life in a nuclear holocaust," says Giblets. "And that's why software piracy must always be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," says me. "In the aftermath GODIAC creates Machine Jesus to send back in time to spread its electronic message of love and harmony and digital rights management to all the people of the universe," says Giblets. "But by the time Machine Jesus gets to the past a cooler freeware version of him is already there an everybody likes that guy better, so he decides to just blow everybody up," says me. "When Gorilla Jesus is finally confronted by his evil mechanical counterpart he does not resort to violence, but to the healing power of peace and brotherhood," says Giblets. "He is vaporized at once." "But on the third day he comes back to life," says me. "As a rocket-powered super-cyborg!" "Machine Jesus is instantly explodified by his powerful Godmobeams," says Giblets. "And as he ascends into ape heaven Gorilla Jesus instructs his disciples to tell his story from generation to generation that the world might be saved," says me. "But nobody knows what he's talkin about cause they're still just a buncha gorillas," says Giblets. "And that's why all monkeys go to hell," says me. "It's pretty sad when you think about it," says Giblets. "So we don't," says me. "Who wants a chocolate bunny!" Thank you Fafblog! And I just love the colouring recommendations for the illustration. That's one badass jesus! p.

From "Sakuntala", the most famous of the three surviving plays by Kalidasa

Peter — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:55:58 GMT

Like someone staring at an elephant who says, "There is no elephant here," and who then, as it moves away, feels a certain doubt and later, seeing its footprints, is certain: "An elephant has been here"-- such are the subtle workings of my mind.

Emma Jane Hogbin's Words of Wisdom

Peter — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:46:21 GMT

1. Live in the future As Alasdair Gray said, “Work as if you lived in the early days of a better nation.” Demonstrate how livable in the future you want to build is by doing it. This also means, of course, that you’re already walking the walk, and that makes the talk so much more believable. 2. Do one thing different There is an old saying that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Don’t worry about the whole journey; just take that step. The second one will be easier, because you have momentum. 3. Ask for help Lone heroes and villains are for comic books. You change the world by getting other people involved, so your effort grows from insanity and love, through organization and into movement. 4. Empower people [to make mistakes] People learn more by the mistakes they make, and recover from, then by the ones they don’t make. Besides, if other people are allowed to screw up without fanfare, then you get to do so as well. And that’s always useful. 5. Clearly transfer authority This, as phrased, is specific to the movements that enable previously powerless groups. At a certain point, you have to let the local security forces take over, or let women make childbirth choices you wouldn’t, or watch the students exceed the master. More generally, you have to pick the time when your effort is no longer needed, and bow out gracefully then. More from Emma Jane here: http://www.emmajane.net/ p.

Dark Energy

Peter — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:25:45 GMT

The universe is stranger than we can even imagine. Even if you're not at all interested in astronomy, you should have a look at this multimedia presentation from the Hubble Space Telescope website. Here: http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/dark_energy/ The people who work with the Hubble have seen and realized so many amazing things. I don't think they know how to express it to the general public. All the more reason to encourage children to, "Take the hard classes". :) p.

Clifford Stoll gives a little lecture...

Peter — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:26:22 GMT

I have always enjoyed the company of persons who can change the direction of their thinking quickly in order to take advantage of the moment. I would have loved to have had Cliff as my physics teacher in the 8th grade. And I would love to have him on the same stage with Robin Williams. His first book, "The Cuckoo's Egg", is a fascinating recounting of his pursuit of one of the first international network hackers. Here's one of Cliff's little lectures: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/clifford_stoll_on_everything.html And I highly recommend bunches of these TED videos. p.

Questions & Answers on Compassion with the Dalai Lama

Peter — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:42:08 GMT

The link below is a very nice review of the Dalai Lama's recent visit to the University of Washington in Seattle. http://zenhabits.net/2008/05/questions-and-answers-on-compassion-with-the-dalai-lama/#more-695 Here's a quote from the article I particularly liked. "The Dalai Lama’s speech in general wove around three points, the external world like the message above, the internal spirit, and the interdependency of all people. On that interdependency, he spoke on all people being connected, and their flourishing allowing us all to prosper. Helping one person helps yourself, helping one country helps yours, helping one continent helps your own, etc. By the same token, the destruction of your enemy is the destruction of yourself; your enemy is a part of yourself. Thus, war is outdated as it can only lead to mutual destruction." and from the Q&A session: Q: What is the simplest, most effective act of compassion? A: Paying more attention to your inner world. The tenets of Buddhism allow those to examine our inner realm. One must be compassionate to one’s self before external compassion. Q: How do you show compassion to those who have hurt others? A: With understanding. Understanding the relationship between all living things allows unbiased compassion to all others. People who have hurt others particularly need compassion for two reasons. One, they work against your goal for overarching peace. Secondly, they are probably hurt themselves as they hurt others, so they need more compassion to heal their hurt within. I highly recommend the little book, "The Wisdom of Forgiveness" by the Dalai Lama & Victor Chan and just one more quote: “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” - Dalai Lama p.

Cognitive Heat Sinks or Where's the Mouse?

Peter — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:10:19 GMT

Have you ever wondered why people get drunk or watch sitcoms or television at all? Perhaps you recognize what's common to these activities? Without much effort you can probably think of 20 more things people do that are essentially safety valves to dissipate that extra time and energy no longer needed for basic survival. You will also hear many defensive justifications for indulging in these activities. And every one of the rationalizations we use to excuse this are lame. Many of us have looked hard enough at ourselves to want something more. We see all that extra energy in ourselves and try (at least sometimes) to direct it into what we perceive to be more useful, productive, life-enriching activities. Just as often we fail and find ourselves staring at the flickering lights of TV and movies or find ourselves holding a drink or a smoke or sometimes worse. But you already knew all that I'm guessing. You're already trying to corral your restless mind and focus it on literature, art, music, improving social welfare and maybe trying to raise your children to be better than you? Each day is a battle. Each morning you start all over again. Each day you must refocus yourself towards that ineffable, elusive goal. I read an interesting article yesterday by Clay Shirky. I highly recommend it. I love the unit of measure, wikipedias/year. http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/2008/04/looking-for-the-mouse.html I also recommend this video of a talk Mr. Shirky gave at Harvard recently. It's entitled, "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations." http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/interactive/events/2008/02/shirky Just imagine how many of these little virtual "non-organizations" you're on the fringes of. p.

Happy Earth Day !!

Peter — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:44:29 GMT

"Except during the nine months before he draws his first breath, no man manages his affairs as well as a tree does." - George Bernard Shaw

It's National Library Week - April 13-19 !!!

Peter — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:52:51 GMT

Yes, it should be one of the most celebrated, most exciting weeks of the year. It should be a festive week of parades and parties. You should tell a librarian how important they are and how much you appreciate all the things they do. Even in a digital age, libraries remain one of the most important foci of the community. But librarians tend to be quiet and shy (at least in public) so it's up to the rest of us to march and beat the drums for your local bibliothèque. p.

Fafblog is Back !!!

Peter — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:35:59 GMT

One of the finest blogs on the interweb. Fafnir does a wonderful job of combining slapsilly and serious. For example... WHY WE FIGHT Special multiple choice edition. Check all that apply! --Nothing less will stop the monster in the closet from allying with the boogeyman under the bed to form a sinister new Axis of Spooky --To gently massage foreign dictatorships into stable liberal democracies through the subtle and delicate eastern art of acubombing --All the older presidents an senators were all hangin out in the boys room an lookin cool an smokin cigarettes an passin around faulty pre-war intelligence an we just hadda invade --In solemn memory of that hypothetically terrible day when Saddam Hussein sent pretend terrorists to attack fictional buildings with weapons of mass imagination --We dared them, and then they double-dared us, and then we triple-dog-dared them, and if we say uncle now all the mullahs'll know we're chicken! --You wanna be president, you gotta pop at least one third-world country before you're parta the gang --If we stopped randomly blowing people up now, someone might think something's wrong with us. Thank you Fafnir, Giblets & the Medium Lobster. http://fafblog.blogspot.com/

Happiness Reminders

Peter — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:18:17 GMT

I'm sure I've posted this one before or at least something very much like it. Come to think of it all my posts are about the same basic few things. Today I'm revisiting why some people always seem to be happy and so many others are always so miserable. So…Is happiness a condition that happens from the outside or from the inside? I’ve been taught that being happy is a choice each of us makes every second of every day. It is feeling we grow within ourselves that is unrelated to one’s external conditions (ie-money, possessions, health etc.). There are at least 3 elements at play. First, there is what I call your “default” settings. When you stop actively thinking, to what state does your cursor return. When your system boots each morning what are the first programs you run. Do any of them involve realizing how lucky, how happy you are? The second part of this is the feedback loop. Thinking that you’re happy helps make you happy. Dale Carnegie said, “Act enthusiastic and you’ll BE enthusiastic.” I have found this to be true. And third, what are your “triggers” both good and bad. Do you know what they are and your reflex-like responses? For example every day at least a half dozen people ask me, “How are you today”. It’s a throw away bit of conversation but I’ve trained myself to use it as a trigger. I always look them in the eye, smile, and enthusiastically say “I’m terrific” or fabulous or some other over-the-top expression of positive feelings. It not only makes me immediately start feeling better than just “neutral” but it almost always makes the other person feel better too. Things happen, the scatological occurs and each of us gets to choose how the circumstances of our lives is going to affect our state of being. I’ve met people dying of rather painful cancers who were unmedicated yet laughing and smiling during our conversations. They had made the decision to be happy. Being pissed off, irritated, angry, depressed is also a self-fulfilling prophetic sort of feedback loop. As to why there is so little symmetry between the happy and the unhappy is a mystery to me. Cheers! p.

The cartoon of my life

Peter — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:22:29 GMT

And so often I'm able to maintain the illusion of certainty and control when in fact there is none. But if one cannot keep one's cool while standing on that windblown precipice with fear knifing through your midsection, all is lost. But "if you can keep your head when all about are losing theirs"...and then a miracle occurs.

Prejudice and Pride

Peter — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:01:09 GMT

"They lied to you. The Devil is not the Prince of Matter; the Devil is the arrogance of the spirit, faith without smile, truth that is never seized by doubt. The Devil is grim because he knows where he is going, and, in moving, he always returns whence he came.” (Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose) How difficult it is sometimes to overlook those exhibiting that arrogance of spirit. It 's when you are most sure of yourself that you are the weakest. It is that feeling of prideful knowledge from whence one's hubris so spritely dances. It has sometimes been called the blindness of seeing too clearly. And still, you must always love who you are.

All that glitters...

Peter — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 22:33:57 GMT

From a soliloquy by Don Quixote: "All things belonging to "knights-errant" seem to be illusions and nonsense and ravings, and to go always by contraries. Not because it is really so, but because there is always a swarm of enchanters in attendance upon us that change and alter everything with us to aid or destroy us; thus what seems to thee a barber's basin seems to me Mambrino's golden helmet...but if the whole world perceived it as such, they would pursue me to rob me of it, but when they see it is only a barber's basin they do not take the trouble to attain it." And so whenever you perceive value where others see none, do not despair. Though your goals may be called quixotic by others, realize their eyes may be cloaked and their minds clouded by enchantments both inside and out. Never be in doubt of the clarity of your own visions.

But seriously folks...

Peter — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:26:15 GMT

I took my previous entry and cranked it through babelfish a couple of times from english to french then back again. I recommend giving this a try whenever you start to take yourself too seriously. The mark of Twain is supposed to have once however, the "faith believes that what you know is not true." The cynical one which threatens inside me (often trailing completely close to the exits) the laughter and likes that a so intelligent play of word. But I really think that the mark missed the mark by a long way. Somebody who often says interesting things put at me this way. What a thing are all the great religions have in common? Faith. Once that that that you cancel out of all the dogmas and systems various all from the belief you is faith on the left. Can the challenge... move it with you beyond all all and right-hand side it is to have the faith? Faith without belief. Faith without hope. Faith without object. Faith without thought. The faith and the love and the handing-over are the most powerful forces in this world. It is not is also hard it? C'est oui ma cheri?

Have Faith

Peter — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:28:50 GMT

Mark Twain is supposed to have once said, "Faith is believing what you know ain't true." The cynic that lurks inside of me (often hanging around quite close to the exits) laughs and loves such clever word play. But I really think Mark missed the mark by a long way. Someone who often says interesting things put it to me this way. What is the one thing all the great religions have in common? Faith. Once you cancel out all the differing dogmas and belief systems all you have left is faith. The challenge is...can you move beyond all it all and just have faith? Faith without belief. Faith without hope. Faith without object. Faith without thought. Faith and love and forgiveness are the most powerful forces in this world. That's not so hard is it?

Wise Guide-Rules to Be Abided By

Peter — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:10:57 GMT

You may have to blow up the picture to read them. Not only are they good advice, It's the stream of consciousness delivery that I love. I highly recommend language log at: http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/005068.html

Thank you, Friend

Peter — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:22:52 GMT

(excerpt from the blog of Skot at http://www.izzlepfaff.com) Listen, do you have a minute? I . . . I think I need to talk. I've just gotta get this off my chest. You're the only one I can talk to. It's just you and me here, okay? It's been eating me up lately . . . I've been having trouble sleeping. And I know I can trust you. Just--just keep it between us, okay? I mean, it's nothing really bad. Not that bad. It's nothing to do with you, and if you were me, you'd, you'd have done the same thing, I think. I mean, you know Ra--you know what? No names. No fucking names. It's just--you know that guy, that guy everyone knows, who just--you're oil and water, right? Everyone knows that guy. Maybe he's a nice guy, you don't know, I don't know, maybe, but . . . it's always something, right? It's always something with that guy. It's that guy. You'd laugh, really, how this all got started. We were at a friend's place, at a party, and you know, people are drinking and all, and then, well, all of a sudden I make this joke, and this guy is all up in my grill about it, and how it's disrespectful to women and all this, and I'm like, "It's what? You're nuts, and people laughed," but he's not having any of it and it turns into this big thing and the whole party grinds to a halt because now we're just screaming at each other, horrible crap and stuff, and the whole time there's still this part of my brain that's going, "But the whole joke was about fish." It was so stupid, but it got out of hand, and finally I just left. I told him, "Have some more Malibu, douche," and he turned red and opened his mouth, but I slammed the door before he could say anything. to continue reading go to: http://www.izzlepfaff.com/blog/archives/2007/02/thank_you_friend.php izzle izzle pfaff is my favourite blog, at least this week. I highly recommend it. His stuff really reads well out loud.

"The Dragon in My Garage" - An Essay by Carl Sagan

Peter — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:38:37 GMT

"A fire-breathing dragon lives in my garage" Suppose (I'm following a group therapy approach by the psychologist Richard Franklin) I seriously make such an assertion to you. Surely you'd want to check it out, see for yourself. There have been innumerable stories of dragons over the centuries, but no real evidence. What an opportunity! "Show me," you say. I lead you to my garage. You look inside and see a ladder, empty paint cans, an old tricycle--but no dragon. "Where's the dragon?" you ask. "Oh, she's right here," I reply, waving vaguely. "I neglected to mention that she's an invisible dragon." You propose spreading flour on the floor of the garage to capture the dragon's footprints. "Good idea," I say, "but this dragon floates in the air." Then you'll use an infrared sensor to detect the invisible fire. "Good idea, but the invisible fire is also heatless." You'll spray-paint the dragon and make her visible. "Good idea, but she's an incorporeal dragon and the paint won't stick." And so on. I counter every physical test you propose with a special explanation of why it won't work. Now, what's the difference between an invisible, incorporeal, floating dragon who spits heatless fire and no dragon at all? If there's no way to disprove my contention, no conceivable experiment that would count against it, what does it mean to say that my dragon exists? Your inability to invalidate my hypothesis is not at all the same thing as proving it true. Claims that cannot be tested, assertions immune to disproof are veridically worthless, whatever value they may have in inspiring us or in exciting our sense of wonder. What I'm asking you to do comes down to believing, in the absence of evidence, on my say-so. The only thing you've really learned from my insistence that there's a dragon in my garage is that something funny is going on inside my head. You'd wonder, if no physical tests apply, what convinced me. The possibility that it was a dream or a hallucination would certainly enter your mind. But then, why am I taking it so seriously? Maybe I need help. At the least, maybe I've seriously underestimated human fallibility. Imagine that, despite none of the tests being successful, you wish to be scrupulously open-minded. So you don't outright reject the notion that there's a fire-breathing dragon in my garage. You merely put it on hold. Present evidence is strongly against it, but if a new body of data emerge you're prepared to examine it and see if it convinces you. Surely it's unfair of me to be offended at not being believed; or to criticize you for being stodgy and unimaginative-- merely because you rendered the Scottish verdict of "not proved." Imagine that things had gone otherwise. The dragon is invisible, all right, but footprints are being made in the flour as you watch. Your infrared detector reads off-scale. The spray paint reveals a jagged crest bobbing in the air before you. No matter how skeptical you might have been about the existence of dragons--to say nothing about invisible ones--you must now acknowledge that there's something here, and that in a preliminary way it's consistent with an invisible, fire-breathing dragon. Now another scenario: Suppose it's not just me. Suppose that several people of your acquaintance, including people who you're pretty sure don't know each other, all tell you that they have dragons in their garages--but in every case the evidence is maddeningly elusive. All of us admit we're disturbed at being gripped by so odd a conviction so ill-supported by the physical evidence. None of us is a lunatic. We speculate about what it would mean if invisible dragons were really hiding out in garages all over the world, with us humans just catching on. I'd rather it not be true, I tell you. But maybe all those ancient European and Chinese myths about dragons weren't myths at all. Gratifyingly, some dragon-size footprints in the flour are now reported. But they're never made when a skeptic is looking. An alternative explanation presents itself. On close examination it seems clear that the footprints could have been faked. Another dragon enthusiast shows up with a burnt finger and attributes it to a rare physical manifestation of the dragon's fiery breath. But again, other possibilities exist. We understand that there are other ways to burn fingers besides the breath of invisible dragons. Such "evidence"--no matter how important the dragon advocates consider it--is far from compelling. Once again, the only sensible approach is tentatively to reject the dragon hypothesis, to be open to future physical data, and to wonder what the cause might be that so many apparently sane and sober people share the same strange delusion.

Goethe's Faust on the Two Souls

Peter — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:35:44 GMT

"Thy heart by one sole impulse is possess`d; Unconscious of the other still remain! Two souls, alas! are lodg`d within my breast, Which struggle there for undivided reign: One to the world, with obstinate desire, And closely - cleaving organs, still adheres; Above the mist, the other doth aspire, With sacred vehemence, to purer spheres. Oh, are there spirits in the air, Who float `twixt heaven and earth dominion wielding, Stoop hither from your golden atmosphere, Lead me to scenes, new life and fuller yielding! A magic mantle did I but possess, Abroad to waft me as on viewless wings, I`d prize it far beyond the costliest dress, Nor would I change it for the robe of kings." And so, which soul wins? Why the one you feed...silly!

"In the Fog"--- by Hermann Hesse

Peter — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 18:14:33 GMT

Strange, to wander in the fog. Each bush and stone stands alone, No tree sees the next one, Each is alone. My world was full of friends When my life was filled with light, Now as the fog descends None is still to be seen. Truly there is no wise man Who does not know the dark Which quietly and inescapably Separates him from everything else. Strange, to wander in the fog, To live is to be alone. No man knows the next man, Each is alone.

Simple Apple Sauce

Peter — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 17:28:22 GMT

1. Wash the apples if you’re one of those types of people. Remove worms and cut out dark spots. I have found this apple sauce to be an excellent treatment for the less distinguished “yard apples” and those apples off that tree down the road that nobody ever picks. These are the sorts of apples that in my younger days were referred to as “ammo”. 2. Quickly cut apples into quarters and drop into pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. I say “quickly” because you’re just standing around and its time to get moving. Remove apples quarters from boiling water and ram through the processor. The stems, seeds and peels will be spit one way and the applesauce the other. 3. It is important to add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice per quart of apple sauce to insure an acid pH to discourage the “wee beasties”. The lowered pH also retards the oxidation process that turns apple sauce brown. Some folks like to add powdered cinnamon, part of a cinnamon stick, or several redhots (those BB sized red cinnamon candies) for extra flavor. I think it tastes just fine with nothing added to it. But I also enjoy the flavor of minute rice with a little salt and pepper, eaten out of the pan, over the sink. The one big flavor enhancer is that the only cooking required is the 2 minute dip and the 15 minutes of processing. I have not found that any extra sugar is necessary. But I’ve also been known to sit in the snow until my butt freezes…I encourage you to experiment. 4. Clean and sterilize jars. My favorite method is to heat the jars in an oven on low (200 degrees F). The hot jars are easily handled with oven mitts. This also gives the jars a better chance of not breaking when submerged in boiling water. For some reason the dry hot jars are very slippery when handled with oven mitts. 5. Fill jars to within ½ inch of top, put on lids and process for 15 minutes. Allow to cool and lids to dimple. For jars that don’t dimple, process a second time. If the lid just won’t pop down have a jar of fresh apple sauce for supper. Mark date on lids with Sharpie. 6. Please note that one may substitute the word “pear” or “apricot” for the word “apple” throughout these instructions. I’ve never tried apricots and on second thought this recipe for apricot sauce sounds a little icky.

Has Morality Been Programmed in Our Genes?

Peter — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 13:27:07 GMT

I went to a sheep dog trial this past weekend and witnessed a most amazing display of herding behaviour that has been selected for in these dogs for centuries. Border collies are known to be amongst the most intelligent of canines (like our young friend in the picture). What I found most interesting was how a very complex pattern behaviour was clearly just the natural expression of their DNA given a certain selective pressure from the community of sheep farmers. Now consider your own behaviour. What selective pressures have existed throughout the ages that might eventually be expressed as morality or social skills or maybe the lack thereof. After watching those amazing black & white dogs this weekend and knowing how easily their genetic tendencies have been steered by humans, I wonder about the qualities in humankind selected for by the need of the group to survive and prosper.

Entities Should Not Be Multiplied Unnecessarily

Peter — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 18:01:33 GMT

William of Ockham (somtimes "Occam") 1285-1349 In Latin: "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem" or sometimes as "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. Often translated as: "a plurality of things is not to be posited without necessity". My personal favouite paraphrase is: "Tis vain to do with more what can be done with less." Ockham's razor is at the heart of the our increased understanding of nature and the development of the "scientific method" for the more consistent comprehension of the world around us. The classical use of this analytical principle was employed in compariing Ptolemy's "terracentric" view of the local universe with the Copernican "heliocentric" explanation. Both systems can be rationalized but the Copernican model was much simpler. It seems that when originally stated by Ockham his interests were more in the metaphysical rationalizations. He wanted to postulate supernatural entities only in so far as they are required for explanation. The postulation of the supernatural endowed with limitless power is both an extra entity and an empty one, since it does not in fact present a mechanism for explanation, it merely dismisses explanation, for omnipotence has no bounds and an infinity of mechanisms could be employed, rendering any one particular mechanism meaningless. Physics, chemistry and the modern synthesis are mechanisms by which the "entities" we seek to explain, namely the organisms of the biosphere, in fact explain themselves, without the postulation of the "extra divine".

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818-1865)

Peter — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:54:02 GMT

He was an assistant at the First Obstetric Clinic of Vienna's great Allgemeines Krankenkhaus. In 1847, he discovered the means of preventing puerperal fever. Known at the time more commonly as "blood poisoning" it is caused by the bacteria beta hemolytic streptococcus pyogenes. It alone was responsible for a 10% mortality rate among mothers in childbirth. While his supervisor was on vacation he set up an experiment where in one birthing ward he insisted that physicians and medical students wash their hands in chlorinated solution before entering obstetric wards and again before examining each patient. In the other ward, there was none of this obsessive cleanliness. His rule was much resented and opposed but there was a dramatic improvement in both mother and infant mortality in the cleaner environment. Though his doctrine was proved repeatedly, in hospitals in Vienna and in Budapest, most of his contemporaries opposed it and these "antiseptic" ideas were never adopted during his lifetime. Around 1865, Joseph Lister reconnected with the antiseptic idea and began cleaning and dressing wounds with solutions of carbolic acid. In 1867 he reported the success of his methods which led the way to our modern medical practices. Semmelweis died in 1865 at age 47 believing he was a failure. There's probably some kind of moral here.