Your Daily Plateful of Reason

You're welcome.

Related source » The Loss of Trust: 'via Blog this'
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“Amid all the heated cross-currents of debate about the National Security Agency's massive surveillance program, there is a growing distrust of the Obama administration that makes weighing the costs and benefits of the NSA program itself hard to assess.

The belated recognition of this administration's contempt for the truth, for the American people and for the Constitution of the United States, has been long overdue.

But what if the NSA program has in fact thwarted terrorists and saved many American lives in ways that cannot be revealed publicly?

[…]

When Barack Obama squanders his own credibility with his glib lies, he is not just injuring himself during his time in office. He is inflicting a lasting wound on the country as a whole.

But we the voters are not blameless. Having chosen an untested man to be president, on the basis of rhetoric, style and symbolism, we have ourselves to blame if we now have only a choice between two potentially tragic fates -- the loss of American lives to terrorism or a further dismantling of our freedoms that has already led many people to ask: 'Is this still America?'”
— Thomas Sowell, June 18, 2013 (townhall.com)

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"Please, sir, I want some more."

Thank you, Prof. Sowell, for my daily plateful of reason and accountability.


Uploaded by wildyamss on Feb 23, 2010

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Post 1,974 “Your Daily Plateful of Reason”

This Week's Best of Rule5

(Image via Theo)

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Post 1,973 “This Week's Best of Rule5”

Reality in 500 Orders of Magnitude

English: This is an image of a two-dimensional hypersurface of the quintic Calabi-Yau three-fold. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It boggles the mind!

Related source » Complications in Physics Lend Support to Multiverse Hypothesis 'via Blog this' (h/t Newmark's Door)
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“According to a popular but polarizing framework called string theory, the number of possible types of universes that can bubble up in a multiverse is around 10^500. In a few of them, chance cancellations would produce the strange constants we observe.”
— Natalie Wolchover, May 24, 2013 (simonsfoundation.org)

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When it comes to string theory, as well as more traditional complexity, like quantum mechanics and general relativity, I, like most of humanity, am at best an interested layman. Anything I have to say about such subjects is nothing more than the personal thoughts and observations of a topically-informed reader.

On the other hand, when it comes to one's personal reality, I am inclined to think I have the same authority of expression as any other person who is not comatose. Hence, this post.

Roughly speaking, by which we mean within a factor of 10 (the definition of an order of magnitude), there are 10^80 photons in our known universe. That number is 80 orders of magnitude greater than unity (i.e., 10^0). For all intents and purposes, 10^80 represents the largest number that anyone would ever need for any real context.

Imagine, if you can, the enormity of the number 10^500, which is the same as a googol raised to the 5th power, namely (10^100)^5. You might as well treat that as a reasonable approximation for infinity.

If the totality of possible universes in the so-called multiverse is 10^500, and it is the goal of string theory to make some sense of such a reality, then I am inclined to think such pursuit of knowledge is utterly useless, given that that would be tantamount to understanding that anything and everything imaginable can and does occur somewhere in the multiverse. To my mind, the value of such knowledge is nil, and possibly negative, because it saps our capacity to understand our own little corner of the multiverse.

Understand that I am not averse to such endeavors. Humanity's thirst for knowledge knows no bounds. Nor should it. I also make no claim as to the worthiness of anybody else's research goals. I am simply positing that one's mileage may vary when searching for personal truth. One woman's truth is another man's mental masturbation.

For example, take psychiatric analysis. Please.

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• Physicist Discovers Computer Code Embedded Within the Equations of String Theory (disinfo.com)

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Post 1,972 “Reality in 500 Orders of Magnitude”

This Week's Best of Rule5

Алиса в стране чудес (Images via ru-foto.livejournal.com)

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Post 1,971 “This Week's Best of Rule5”

Memorial Day Weekend 2013

God Bless America

Ray Charles (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

America the Beautiful, Ray Charles, 2009 from vegaskev on Vimeo
Photos edited to Ray Charles' classic version of America the Beautiful

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Post 1,970 “Memorial Day Weekend 2013”

Got clarity of vision?

Eckhart Hall at University of Chicago
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Got civilized standards? Got decency?

Related source » Wimps Versus Barbarians 'via Blog this'
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“Just what is it that academics have to fear if they stand up for common decency, instead of letting campus barbarians run amok? At a prestigious college like Swarthmore, every student who trampled on other people's rights could be expelled and there would be plenty of replacement students available to take their places. Although colleges and universities across the country have been giving in to storm trooper tactics ever since the nationwide campus disruptions of the 1960s, not all have. Back in the 1960s, the University of Chicago was a rare exception.

As Professor George J. Stigler, a Nobel Prize winning economist, put it in his memoirs, "our faculty united behind the expulsion of a large number of young barbarians."

The sky did not fall. There was no bloodbath. The University of Chicago was in fact spared some of the worst nonsense that more compliant institutions were permanently saddled with in the years that followed, as a result of their failure of nerve in the 1960s.

[…]

The cost of resistance to the campus barbarians may not have been the only factor. Resistance requires a sense that there is something worth defending. But decades of dumbed-down education have produced people with no sense of the importance of a moral framework within which freedom and civil discourse can flourish.

Without a moral framework, there is nothing left but immediate self-indulgence by some and the path of least resistance by others. Neither can sustain a free society. Disruptive activists indulge their egos in the name of idealism and others cave rather than fight.

It's not just academics who won't defend decency. Trustees could fire college presidents who cave in to storm trooper tactics. Donors could stop donating to institutions that have sold out their principles to appease the campus barbarians. But when nobody is willing to defend civilized standards, the barbarians win.”

— Thomas Sowell, May 21, 2013 (townhall.com)

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Another dose of clarity from one of America's brightest sources.

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Post 1,969 “Got clarity of vision?”

Got questions?

Cover of Barbarella

A most annoying gimmick of the media these days is broadcasting leading-questions as news headlines. Are such headlines news? Of course not. They are biased assertions masquerading as news. Moreover, the contents of such news "articles" never offer definitive answers to the headline questions. Because there aren't any. They are, invariably, matters of opinion.

Let's rectify this bullshit (pun intended) with our own opinions, shall we?

Ask and You Shall Receive

• Was Obama kept in the dark about the IRS scandal? Yes. Moreover, he was also fed bullshit like the f*cking mushroom that he is.
• Do the American people deserve the truth? Yes. Moreover, they also deserve free lunch.
• Do Republicans owe Rice an apology? Yes. Moreover, they also owe her a gallon of sweet-and-sour soy sauce.
• Should Kim Jung-un be punished for thumbing his nose at the West? Yes. Moreover, Jane Fonda should personally administer the spanking, wearing her outfit from "Barbarella".
• Is Holder in trouble for the AP records grab? No. Why not? Because he is a weasel. Also, Obama's got his back, leading from behind, as is his wont.
• Should auld acquaintance be forgot? Who the hell knows? Is this even English?
• Do we have a free press? Not quite. But pretty soon they will have to pay you to read their newspapers. Got internet?

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Post 1,968 “Got questions?”

This Week's Best of Rule5

Портрет Ann (Images via ru-foto.livejournal.com)

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Post 1,967 “This Week's Best of Rule5”

The Good, the Ugly and the Fugly

A woman smoking crack from a glass pipe. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“There's good. There's not good. This is not good.”

Duplicate bridge is, arguably, the greatest game known to man and, unfortunately, to many vile women as well. It is played the world over by people from all walks of life, including billionaires, youngsters, invalids, the deaf, the legally blind, and some who are certifiably insane. The only requirements for a modicum of success is a functioning brain and a thirst for psychological mayhem. It is, in a word — exhilarating.

And yet, there is also a downside. If you want to observe humanity in action, warts and all, step inside your local bridge club during a typical afternoon game. The self-absorbed ugliness is palpable. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Fuhgeddaboudit. Try giving a menopausal bitch a bad score on a deal. It's fugly, bro.

So why continue to engage, you might wonder. Well, for one thing, competitive bridge is more addictive than crack cocaine (or so I imagine it to be). Once you are hooked on the game, you have to get your weekly (often daily) fix, and people have been known to drive 160 miles round-trip just to play for several hours.

Yes indeed, masochism is alive and well …

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Post 1,966 “The Bad, the Ugly and the Fugly”

This Week's Best Mug Shot

Jennifer Jensen
(Image via Theo)

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Post 1,965 “This Week's Best Mug Shot”

Let it be …

Cover via Amazon

Related source » Is Thinking Obsolete?: 'via Blog this'
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“By contrast, another man simply denounced me because of what was said in that column. He did not ask for my sources but simply made contrary assertions, as if his assertions must be correct and therefore mine must be wrong.

He identified himself as a physician, and the claims that he made about guns were claims that had been made years ago in a medical journal -- and thoroughly discredited since then. He might have learned that, if we had engaged in a back and forth discussion, but it was clear from his letter that his goal was not debate but denunciation. That is often the case these days.

It is always amazing how many serious issues are not discussed seriously, but instead simply generate assertions and counter-assertions. On television talk shows, people on opposite sides often just try to shout each other down.”
— Thomas Sowell, May 01, 2013 (townhall.com)

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In the broadest sense, thinking can not be obsolete, if for no other reason than that many people think they are thinking when they are merely regurgitating what they have been brainwashed to believe. Such is the state of mind of the mindless masses who think of themselves as liberals.

There is nothing for it but to withdraw from public debate, because real debate is obsolete. It has been subsumed by dueling assertions. We don't need no steenking logic. Henceforth, I will content myself with the occasional soliloquy here (oh, OK, let's dispense with euphemisms — it's a rant) knowing full well it is hopeless to convince anyone on the Left that he is a useful idiot.

I am convinced that the Left has achieved a supermajority that will enable Obamanation to "fundamentally change" our once-great meritocracy into the emerging idiocracy. Whereas our former meritocracy championed the pursuit of happiness for the very people who worship the ground Obama hovers over, namely the less fortunate, the ignorant, even the lazy and/or the stupid, our ascendant idiocracy will drive such losers into a great miasma of government dependency, while the movers and shakers lock-in their wealth and power for the duration. This will leave a dwindling middle class of diehard scrappers who will persevere to maintain a sense of decency, logical thinking, and independence.

Eventually, the miasma of dependency will dissipate via several channels of attrition, including over-consumption of government-cheese, mental retardation, and boredom. Perhaps a small fraction will come to realize that they traded-in their individuality for a stinking Obama-phone, and that it had been a very bad trade. Perhaps an even smaller fraction will muster enough energy to step up to the middle class of those who clung to personal accountability.

Let it be …

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Post 1,964 “Let it be …”

Caption this!

 “That's right — Lincoln is my hero.”

Image via Theo
“[Your caption goes here.]”

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Post 1,963 “Caption this!”

An Entitlement Named Desire

No problem, dude. As long as you really want it …

"Hey, STELLA!"        (Image via photobucket.com)
Marlon Brando and Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire

Related source » Latino Undocumented Immigrant Poll Finds Most Want To Be Citizens: 'via Blog this'
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“WASHINGTON -- Nearly 90 percent of Latino undocumented immigrants say they would try to become citizens if comprehensive immigration reform went into effect, according to a poll released Monday.

The poll -- conducted by Latino Decisions on behalf of pro-reform groups National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund and America's Voice Education Fund -- surveyed 400 undocumented immigrants and found that 87 percent would like to become legal residents and eventually citizens, if they could.”
— Elise Foley, 04/15/2013 (huffingtonpost.com)

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Yo, what's the problem here? The so-called "undocumented" immigrants really want to be here. All they need is some documentation. For chrissakes, just give 'em some documents. Sheesh!

It's not that complicated. Just give them a green Social Security number. There are millions of them that once belonged to people who are now dead. You can never have enough recycling. Hello?

Then, give them a driver's license. Hell, driving is not that hard; most people can even drive when they're drunk. Might as well give them a passport, too, just in case they want to visit their relatives in the old country.

What's the big deal? These people are already here. Might as well make 'em legal. We don't want millions of illegals running around, do we?

Look at it this way. Some day, one of these illegals could end up being the first or second illegal alien to become the President of the United States.

It could happen.

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Post 1,962 “An Entitlement Named Desire”

This Week's Best of Rule5

(Image via Theo)

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Post 1,961 “This Week's Best of Rule5”

The Medium Is the Message

(Image via Wikipedia)
Arecibo Message

Where is everybody?

Related source » Moore's Law and the Origin of Life | MIT Technology Review: 'via Blog this'
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]

“As life has evolved, its complexity has increased exponentially, just like Moore’s law. Now geneticists have extrapolated this trend backwards and found that by this measure, life is older than the Earth itself.”
— The Physics arXiv Blog, April 15, 2013 (technologyreview.com)

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Hiding in plain sight.

As everyone knows, the answers to some puzzling questions are occasionally right in front of our noses. Enrico Fermi's famous paradox may well be just such a question.

Suppose the extraterrestrials (ET) had already visited Earth; perhaps even as long as a billion years ago, or more. It seems likely that, rather than establishing a permanent colony here, they only stayed long enough to leave a message for some future native intelligence to decipher. How would they safeguard such a message from destruction over potentially extremely long periods of time?

As others have speculated, a prime candidate for such an indestructible medium of information would be DNA, especially the so-called noncoding DNA that, presumably, would be less susceptible to evolutionary alteration. Moreover, in order to maximize the survivability of the ET message, the ET visitors would choose those DNA-vehicles that are the most nearly ubiquitous form of all — bacteria.

Furthermore, the ET would want to insure that such DNA-vehicles were both prolific as well as abhorrent to more evolved species, in order to maximize the survivability of their message carriers.

Which now brings us to the follow-up question for Fermi's paradox: What medium in our biosphere is loaded with bacteria, is ubiquitous, and is universally shunned by sentient beings?

I strongly suspect that it is shit.

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Post 1,960 “The Medium Is the Message”