21 APR 2017 by ideonexus
A Cerebral Cortex Makes Animals Programmable
As we ascend the scale of cerebral development the possibility of teaching increases. It becomes possible to domesticate and train these higher-brain animals in just the measure that their brains are developed. You can teach very little to a fish or a reptile, but directly you come to the higher cerebral mammals you are confronted by the new possibility of establishing an artificial, taught, motive system to control, supplement or altogether replace natural instinct. You must catch them young...Folksonomies: plasticity higher thinking
Folksonomies: plasticity higher thinking
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notes21 JUN 2014 by ideonexus
Technology VS Nature is a False Dichotomy
The way to solve the conflict between human values and technological needs is not to run away from technology, that's impossible. The way to resolve the conflict is to break down the barriers of dualistic thought that prevent a real understanding of what technology is—not an exploitation of nature, but a fusion of nature and the human spirit into a new kind of creation that transcends both.
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The Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a digital computer o... 1 notes
notes24 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Florence Nightingale Worshiped Quantification
[Of her] Her statistics were more than a study, they were indeed her religion. For her Quetelet was the hero as scientist, and the presentation copy of his Physique sociale is annotated by her on every page. Florence Nightingale believed—and in all the actions of her life acted upon that belief—that the administrator could only be successful if he were guided by statistical knowledge. The legislator—to say nothing of the politiciantoo often failed for want of this knowledge. Nay, she we...Folksonomies: virtue quantification
Folksonomies: virtue quantification
1 Described here as being virtuously dedicated to statistics and measurement in medicine.
02 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
The Power of the Masses
The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.
"On Coalition Government" (April 24, 1945), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 257.*
The masses are the real heroes, while we ourselves are often childish and ignorant, and without this understanding it is impossible to acquire even the most rudimentary knowledge.
"Preface and Postscript to Rural Surveys" (March and April 1941), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 12.*
The masses have boundless creative power. T... 1 notes
notesMao on the power and heroism of the collective.
24 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
The Universe Holds the Meaning we Give It
Things happen because the laws of nature say they will—because they are the consequences of the state of the universe and the path of its evolution. Life on Earth doesn’t arise in fulfillment of a grand scheme but as a by-product of the increase of entropy in an environment very far from equilibrium. Our impressive brains don’t develop because life is guided toward greater levels of complexity and intelligence but from the mechanical interactions between genes, organisms, and their surr...Sean Carroll argues that our existence and our intelligence is the product of nature's algorithms. Life holds the meaning we give it.
07 OCT 2013 by ideonexus
Imagining the Primitive Mind
AND now let us indulge in a very interesting speculation; how did it feel to be a man in those early days of the human adventure? How did men think and what did they think in those remote days of hunting and wandering four hundred centuries ago before seed time and harvest began. Those were days long before the written record of any human impressions, and we are left almost entirely to inference and guesswork in our answers to these questions.
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Primitive man probably thought very much ... 1 notes
notesAs evolution tends to build in lairs, the primitive mind must have been much like that of a child.
21 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Science Makes People Virtuous
The fundamental characteristic of the scientific method is honesty. In dealing with any question, science asks no favors. ... I believe that constant use of the scientific method must in the end leave its impress upon him who uses it. ... A life spent in accordance with scientific teachings would be of a high order. It would practically conform to the teachings of the highest types of religion. The motives would be different, but so far as conduct is concerned the results would be practically... 1 notes
notesAs virtuous as any religion.
20 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Statistics as Religion
Her [Nightingale's] statistics were more than a study, they were indeed her religion. For her, Quetelet was the hero as scientist, and the presentation copy of his Physique Sociale is annotated by her on every page. Florence Nightingale believed—and in all the actions of her life acted upon that belief—that the administrator could only be successful if he were guided by statistical knowledge. The legislator—to say nothing of the politician—too often failed for want of this knowledge. ...Folksonomies: religion statistics
Folksonomies: religion statistics
1 notes
notesFlorence Nightingale saw nature as god's plan and statistics the means to understand it.
10 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Non-Anthropocentricm as a Virtue
Anthropocentrism isn’t just a faulty value
system, but also a faulty way of understanding the
world. Modern science has shown this, displacing
human beings from the center of the universe,
opening up immense vistas of space and time, telling
a story of life in which chance, not destiny, has raised
an unusual primate to dominance for a short time on
a tiny planet in one insignificant corner of the
universe. We know this, of course. But our daily
experience tends to contradict it, as we walk ...Science displaced humans as the center of the Universe, and as a result, we can see reality more clearly.
06 MAR 2011 by ideonexus
The Prime Directive
As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Starfleet personnel may interfere with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture. Such interference includes introducing superior knowledge, strength, or technology to a world whose society is incapable of handling such advantages wisely. Starfleet personnel may not violate this Prime Directive, even to save their lives and/or their ship, unless they are a...Most eloquent definition of the Prime Directive I've found yet.
